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THE .
DISPENSATORY
OF THE
UNITED  STATES  OE  AMERICA
        BY

GEORGE B. WOOD, M.D.,
PROFESSOR OF MATERIA MEDICA AND PHARMACY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA,
     ONE OF THE PHYSICIANS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL, &C, &C,
            FRANKLIN BACHE, M.D.,

PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN JEFFERSON MEDICAL COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA, ONE OF THE
     VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, &C, &C.
     FIFTH EDITION,

ENLARGED AND jC^REF-ULXJTpnrreEDv

^y i  v <*m 0 •
PHILXFFLTTTrar'
PUBLISHED BY GRIGG  & ELLIOT,

      NO. 9 NORTH FOURTH STREET.

              1843. 
     Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1843,
          By George B. Wood, M.D., and Franklin Bache, M.D.,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States in and for
                the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Pti.-m,  A)0.  53 6&,  7^0,}
Printed by T. K. & P. G. Collins, No. 1 Lodge Alley.
/ 
i
                  TO





       JOSEPH PABBISH, M.D.,




                 AND





    THOMAS T. HEWSON, M.D.,




                  AS




         A MARK OF RESPECT




                 FOR




THEIR PRIVATE  WORTH AND PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER,




                AND AS




        AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT




                  OF




      THEIR NUMEROUS KIND OFFICES,





           THIS  WORK




           IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED




                  BY




             THEIR FRIENDS,




           THE  AUTHORS. 
 
       PREFACE

               TO

THE  FIRST  EDITION.
   The objects of a Dispensatory are to present an account of medicinal
substances in the state in which they are brought into the shops, and
to teach the modes in which they are prepared for use.  The import-
ance of these objects, and the general value and even necessity of a
work of this nature, will not be disputed.  It may, however, be a
question, how far the wants of the medical and pharmaceutical com-
munity in this country are supplied by the Dispensatories already in
circulation; and whether such a deficiency exists as to justify the offer
of a new one to the public attention.   The great merits of the  works
severally entitled  "The  Edinburgh  New Dispensatory," and "The
London Dispensatory," the former edited by the late Andrew Duncan,
M. D., the latter by Anthony Todd Thomson, M. D., are well known
wherever the English language is spoken.  Founded, as they both are,
upon the excellent basis laid by Lewis, they are nevertheless entitled,
from the great addition of valuable materials, and the distinctive cha-
racter exhibited in the arrangement of these materials, to be considered
as original works; while  the style in  which they have been executed
speaks strongly in favour of the skill and industry of their  authors.
But they were calculated especially  for the sphere of Great Britain,
and are too deficient in all that relates exclusively to this country, to
admit of being received as standards here.  In the history of our com-
merce in drugs, and of the nature, growth, and collection of our indi-
genous medical plants; in the chemical  operations of our extensive
laboratories; and in the modes of preparing, dispensing, and applying
medicines, which have gradually grown into use among us; there is
much  that is peculiar, a knowledge of which  is not to be gained from
foreign books, and is yet necessary to the character of an accomplished
American  pharmaceutist. We have,  moreover, a National Pharma-
copoeia, which requires an explanatory commentary, in order that its
                              1* 
vi
Preface.
precepts may be fully appreciated, and advantageously put into prac-
tice. On these accounts it is desirable that there should be a Dispensa-
tory of the United States, which, while it embraces whatever is useful
in European pharmacy, may accurately represent the art as it exists
in this country, and give instruction adapted to our peculiar wants. It
appears due to our national character, that such a work should be in
good faith an American work, newly prepared in all its parts, and not
a mere edition of one of the European Dispensatories, with here and
there additions and alterations, which, though they may be useful in
themselves, cannot be made to harmonize with the other materials so
as to give to the whole an appearance of unity, and certainly would
not justify the assumption of a new and national title for the book.
Whether in the Dispensatories which  have been published in the
United  States,  these requisites have been  satisfactorily fulfilled, it
rests with the public to determine. That valuable treatises on Materia
Medica and Pharmacy have been issued in this country, no candid per-
son, acquainted with our medical  literature, will be disposed to deny.
In offering a new work to the medical and pharmaceutical professions,
the authors do not wish to be considered as undervaluing the labours
of their predecessors.  They simply conceive, that the field has not
been so fully occupied as to exclude all competition.   The pharmacy
of continental Europe is  ground which has  been almost untouched;
and much information in  relation to the natural history, commerce,
and management of our own drugs, has lain ungathered in the posses-
sion of individuals, or scattered in separate treatises and periodicals
not generally known and read.   Since the publication of the last
edition of our National Pharmacopoeia,  no general explanation of its
processes has appeared,  though required injustice both  to that work
and to the public. The hope of being able to supply these deficiencies
may, perhaps, be considered a sufficient justification for the  present
undertaking.
   The Pharmacopoeia of the United States has been adopted as the
basis of this Dispensatory.  It is followed both in its general division
of  medicines, and in its alphabetical arrangement of them under each
division.  Precedence is, in every instance, given to the names which
it recognises; while the explanations by which it fixes the signification
 of these names, are inserted in immediate connexion with the titles to
 which  they  severally belong.  Every  article which  it designates is
 more or less fully described; and all its processes, after being  literally
 copied, are commented  on and explained whenever  comment  or
 explanation  appeared necessary. Nothing, in fine, has been omitted, 
Preface.
vn
which, in the estimation of the authors, could serve to illustrate its
meaning or promote the ends which  it was intended to subserve.
This course of proceeding appeared to be due to the national character
of the Pharmacopoeia, and to the important object of establishing, as
far as possible, throughout the United States, uniformity  both in the
nomenclature and preparation of medicines.  In one particular, con-
venience required that the plan  of the Pharmacopoeia should be de-
parted from.  The medicines belonging to the department of Materia
Medica, instead of being  arranged in two divisions, corresponding
with  the Primary and Secondary Catalogues of that  work, have
been treated  of indiscriminately in alphabetical succession; and the
place which they respectively hold in the Pharmacopoeia  is indicated
by the employment of the  term Secondary, in connexion with the
name of each of the medicines included in the latter catalogue.
  But, though precedence has thus been given to the Pharmacopoeia of
the United States, those of Great Britain  have not been neglected.
The nomenclature adopted by the different British Colleges, and their
formulae for the preparation of medicines, have been so extensively fol-
lowed throughout the United Sates, that a work intended to represent
the present state of pharmacy in  this country would be imperfect with-
out them; and the fact that the writings of British physicians and sur-
geons, in which their own officinal terms and preparations are exclu-
sively employed and referred to, have an extensive circulation among
us, renders some commentary necessary in order to prevent serious
mistakes.  The Pharmacopoeias of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin,
have, therefore, been incorporated, in all their essential parts, into the
present work. Their officinal titles are uniformily given—always in
subordination to those of the United States Pharmacopoeia, when they
express the same object; but in chief, when, as often happens, no cor-
responding medicine  or preparation is  recognised by our national
standard. In the latter case, if different names are applied by different
British Colleges to the same object, that is  generally preferred which
is most in accordance with our own system of nomenclature, and the
others are given as synonymes.  The medicines directed by the British
Colleges are  all described, and their processes either copied at length,
or so far explained as to be intelligible in all essential particulars.
   Besides  the  medicinal substances recognised  as officinal by the
Pharmacopoeias alluded to, some others have been described, which,
either from the lingering remains of former reputation, or from recent
reports in their favour, or  from  their important relation to medicines
in general use, appear to have claims upon the attention of the phy- 
viii                         Preface.
sician and apothecary.  Opportunity has, moreover, been taken  to
introduce incidentally brief accounts of substances used in other coun-
tries or in former  times, and occasionally noticed in medical books;
and that the  reader may be able to refer to them when desirous  of
information, their names have been placed with those of the standard
remedies in the Index.
   In the description of each medicine, if derived immediately from
the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom, the attention of the authors
has been directed to its natural history, the place of its growth or pro-
duction, the method of collecting  and preparing it for market, its
commercial history, the state in which it reaches us, its sensible pro-
perties, its chemical composition and relations, the  changes which it
undergoes by time and exposure, its accidental or fraudulent adultera-
tions, its medical properties and application, its economical uses, and
the pharmaceutical treatment to which it is subjected. If a chemical
preparation, the mode and principles of its manufacture are indicated
in addition to the other particulars.   If a poison,  and  likely to be
accidentally taken, or purposely employed as such, its peculiar toxico-
logical effects, together  with the mode of counteracting  them, are
indicated; and the  best means of detecting its presence by reagents
are explained.
   The authors have followed the example of Dr. A. T. Thomson, in
giving botanical descriptions of the plants from which the medicines
treated of are derived.  In relation to all indigenous medicinal plants,
and those naturalized or cultivated in this country, the advantages of
such descriptions are obvious. The physician may often be placed in
situations, in which it may be highly important that he should be able
to recognise the vegetable which yields a particular medicine; and the
apothecary is constantly  liable to imposition from  the collectors of
herbs, unless possessed of the means of distinguishing by infallible
marks the various products presented to him.  A knowledge of foreign
medicinal plants, though  of less importance, will be found useful in
various ways,  independently of the gratification  afforded  by  the
indulgence of a liberal curiosity  in relation to objects so closely con-
nected with our daily pursuits.  The introduction of these botanical
notices into a Dispensatory appears to be peculiarly appropriate; as
they are to be  considered rather as objects for occasional reference
than for regular study or continuous perusal, and therefore coincide
with the general design of the work, which is to collect into a conve-
nient form for consultation all that is practically important in relation
to medicines.  The authors have endeavoured to preserve a due pro- 
Preface.
IX
portion between the minuteness of the descriptions, and their value
as means of information to  the  student; and, in pursuance of this
plan, have generally dwelt more at length upon our native plants,
than upon those of foreign growth: but in all instances, in which they
have deemed any botanical description necessary, they have taken
care to include  in it the essential scientific character of the genus and
species, with a  reference  to the position of the plant in the artificial
and natural  systems  of  classification; so that a person acquainted
with the elements of botany may be able to recognise it when it comes
under his observation.
  In preparing the Dispensatory, the authors have consulted, in addi-
tion to many of^he older works of authority, the greater number of
the treatises and dissertations which have recently appeared upon the
various subjects connected with Pharmacy, and especially those of the
French writers, who stand at present at the head of this department
of medical science.   They have also endeavoured to collect such de-
tached facts scattered through the various scientific,medical,and phar-
maceutical journals, as they conceived to be important in themselves,
and applicable  to the subjects under consideration; and have had fre-
quent recourse to the reports of travellers in relation to the natural and
commercial history of foreign  drugs.  The occasional references in
the body of the work will indicate the sources from which they have
most largely  drawn, and the authorities upon  which they have most
relied. In relation to our own commerce in drugs and to the operations
of our chemical laboratories, they are indebted  for information chiefly
to the kindness of gentlemen engaged in these branches of business,
who have always evinced, in answering their numerous inquiries, a
promptitude  and  politeness which  merit their  warm thanks, and
which they are pleased to have this opportunity of acknowledging.*
  It has not been  deemed necessary to  follow  the example of the
British Dispensatories, by inserting into  the  work a  treatise  upon
Chemistry under the name of Elements of Pharmacy. Such a treatise
must necessarily be very meagre  and imperfect; and, as systems of
chemistry are in the hands of every physician and apothecary, would
uselessly occupy the place of valuable matter  of less easy access.

  *  The authors deem it proper to state that they are peculiarly indebted for assistance
to Mr. Daniel B. Smith, president of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, to whom,
besides much important information in relation to the various branches of the Apothe-
cary's business, they owe the prefatory remarks on Pharmacy which are placed at the
commencement of the second part of the work, and the several articles, in the Materia
Medica, upon Leeches, Litmus,  and the Carbonate and Sulphate of Magnesia. 
X
Preface.
   The authors may perhaps be permitted  to observe, in  relation to
themselves, that they have expended much time and labour in the
preparation of the work; have sought diligently for facts from every
readily  accessible source; have  endeavoured,  by a  comparison of
authorities, and a close  scrutiny of evidence, to ascertain the truth
whenever practicable; and have exerted themselves to the extent of
their abilities to render the Dispensatory worthy of public approbation,
both for the quality and quantity of its contents, and the general ac-
curacy of its statements. They are conscious, nevertheless, that in so
great a multiplicity of details numerous errors and deficiencies may
exist, and that the faults of undue brevity in some cases, and prolixity
in others, may not have been entirely avoided: but they venture  to
hope that a candid public will make all due allowances; and they
take the liberty to invite from all those  who may feel interested in the
diffusion of sound pharmaceutical knowledge, the communication  of
friendly suggestions or criticisms in relation to the objects and execu-
tion of the work.
Philadelphia, January, 1833. 
      PREFACE
            TO THE
FIFTH   EDITION.
  In the several editions of this Dispensatory subsequent to the first,
such modifications of the original plan as set forth in the  foregoing
preface, and such additions and emendations have  been  made, as
were thought calculated to increase the usefulness of the work, and
to maintain it on a level with the advancing knowledge of the times.
In the  second edition, an Appendix was introduced  containing no-
tices and descriptions of numerous drugs, which, though not in gene-
ral use, were possessed of some interest from their former or existing
relations  to Medicine  and Pharmacy.   In the  third edition, the
authors adopted the present plan  of treating, in the  body of the
work,  of those  medicines  and preparations exclusively which are
recognised  in the American and British Pharmacopoeias, while all
others  deemed worthy of notice were placed in the Appendix; thus
giving  a precision to the  arrangement which was  before wanting.
In the  preparation of the fourth edition, many changes were rendered
necessary by the previous  publication of the revised London Phar-
macopoeia of 1S36.   But on no revision of the Dispensatory have
the authors bestowed so much labour as on the present.   The new
editions of the  United States and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias  re-
quired  comment; and  the recent pharmacological  treatises of Dr.
Pereira and Dr. Christison,  containing much original observation,
and the Medical Flora of Dr. Lindley,not to speak of other valuable
works  in different departments of Materia  Medica and Pharmacy,
afforded a great mass of new material for selection and arrangement.
The periodical medical press has also presented much that demanded
notice; and the changes in the commerce in drugs, and the  various
modifications in pharmaceutical operations, resulting from  increased
experience  and the  advancement  of science, called- for careful  per-
sonal examination and inquiry.   It has been the aim of the authors,
by pruning redundances and concentrating the new matter within
the smallest possible space, to swell  the  Dispensatory as  little as
consisted with the great object of utility; but, with all their endea-
vours,  they have been compelled to exceed  the former  limits by
more than one hundred pages.   In offering their work a fifth time
to the  public, they feel themselves justified in expressing their confi-
dent hope  that it will  be  found, not less  than formerly, to meet the
wishes of the medical and pharmaceutical community.
Philadelphia, July, 1843. 
ABBREVIATIONS EMPLOYED IN THE  WORK.
U.S.—"The Pharmacopoeia of the United  States of America.  By
  authority of the National Medical Convention, held at Washington, A. D.
  1840."
Lond.—London Pharmacopeia, A. D. 1836.
Ed.—Edinburgh Pharmacopeia, A. D. 1841.
Dub.—Dublin Pharmacopeia, A. D. 1826.
Off.  Syn.—Officinal Synonymes, or the titles employed by the Pharma-
  copoeias with the accompanying explanations, when these titles are not
  given in chief.
Sex. Syst.—The Sexual System,  or  the artificial  system of Linnaeus,
  founded on the sexual organization of plants.
Nat. Ord.—The Natural Order to which any particular genus of plants
  belongs.  When  not otherwise stated, it is  to be  understood  that the
  natural orders referred to are those recognised by Professor Lindley, of
  the University of London, in his "Introduction to the Natural System of
  Botany."
Gen. Ch.—The Generic Character, or scientific description of any par-
  ticular genus of plants under consideration.
Off. Prep.—Officinal Preparations;  including all  the preparations into
  which any particular medicine directed by the U.  S. Pharmacopoeia or
  the British Colleges enters.   When the  same preparation has  received
  different names in the different Pharmacopoeias, only one of these names
  is  mentioned, and precedence is always given to that of the U. S. Phar-
  macopoeia.
Sp. Gr.—Specific  Gravity.
Equiv., or Eq.—Chemical Equivalent, or the number  representing the
  smallest quantity  in which one body usually combines with others.
Linn., Linnjeus.—Juss., Jussieu.—De Cand., De Candolle.—Willd.
  Sp. Plant., Willdenow's  edition of the species plantarum of Lin-
  naeus.—Woodv. Med. Bot., Woodville's Medical Botany, 2d edition.
  —B., Baume's Hydrometer.
Fr., French.—Germ.,  German.—Ital.,  Italian.—Span., Spanish.__
  Arab.,. Arabic 
THE
DISPENSATORY
                           OF

THE   UNITED   STATES.
PAET   I.
                  MATERIA   MEDICA.

   The  Materia Medica, in its most comprehensive sense, embraces all
those substances which are capable of making sanative impressions on the
human system; but, as the term is employed in this work, it has a more re-
stricted signification.  The Pharmacopoeias of the United States and Great
Britain very appropriately arrange medicines in two distinct divisions, one
including all those which are furnished immediately by nature, or thrown
into commerce by the manufacturer; the other, those which are prepared by
the apothecary, and are the objects of officinal directions.  The former are
enumerated under the title of " Materia Medica;" the latter, under that of
"Preparations," or " Preparations and Compositions."  In Dispensa-
tories, which  may be considered as commentaries on the Pharmacopoeias,
the same arrangement is usually followed;  and  the authors of  the present
work adopt it the more willingly, as, independently of the weight of autho-
rity in its favour, it has the recommendation of being the most convenient.
By this  plan,  all the directions which relate to the practical operations of
the apothecary are collected in one place, and are thus more easily referred
to, than  if mixed indiscriminately with other  matters, as they  must be by
any mode of arrangement which makes no distinction between  the original
medicinal substances and their preparations.   Under the head of Materia
Medica, therefore, in this Dispensatory, we treat of medicines  in the state
only in which they are produced by nature, or come  into  the hands of the
apothecary.   Of  these medicines, such as are recognised by our National
Pharmacopoeia are most  minutely described; but we consider also all that
are included in the officinal catalogues of the British Colleges.
  Another point in which we accord with the Pharmacopoeias, is the alpha-
betical arrangement of the objects of the Materia Medica. As a Dispensatory
is intended rather for reference than for regular perusal, it is important that
its contents should be so disposed as to facilitate  consultation.   Medicines,
in a work of this  kind, are considered as independent objects, to be studied
      2 
2
Materia Medica.
part i.
 separately, and without anv reference to community of source, or similarity
 of character.  Their scientific classification belongs to works winch treat of
 them rather in their relations than their essential properties; and different sys-
 tems have been adopted, according to the set of relations towards which the
 mind of the author has been especially directed.  Thus, the naturalist classifies
 them according to the affinities of the several objects in nature  from which
 they are derived; the  chemist, according to their composition;  the  practi-
 tioner of medicine, according to their effects upon the  system  in a state of
 health and disease.  But none of these classifications is without imperfec-
 tions; and a  simple alphabetical arrangement is decidedly preferable in every
 case in which the medicines are  considered solely in their individual capa-
 city.  Yet,  as it comes within the scope of this work to treat of their phy-
 siological and therapeutical effects, and as the terms by which these effects
 are expressed are also the  titles of  classes to which the  medicines  belong,
 it will not be  amiss to present the reader with the outlines of  a system of
 classification, by consulting which he will be enabled to ascertain the precise
 meaning we attach to  the terms employed to designate the  peculiar action
 of different  medicinal  substances.
  Remedies are divided into general and local, the former acting on  the
 whole system, the latter on particular parts  or organs.
  I. GENERAL REMEDIES include 1. Arterial  Stimulants, some-
 times called Incitants, which, while they raise the actions of the system above
 the standard of health, exhibit their influence chiefly upon the heart and ar-
 teries; 2.  Narcotics,  which especially affect the cerebral functions, and are
 either stimulant or sedative according as they increase or diminish action;
 3. Antispasmodics, which, with a general  stimulant power, exert a pecu-
liar influence over the  nervous system, exhibited in the relaxation of spasm,
the calming of nervous irritation, &c; without any  special and decided
tendency to  the brain;  4. Tonics, which moderately and permanently exalt
the energies of all parts of the frame, without necessarily  producing  any
apparent increase of the healthy actions; and 5. Astringents,  which have
the property of producing contraction in the living tissues with which they
may come in contact.
  II. LOCAL REMEDIES may be divided into four sections: a.  Those
affecting the function of a part, namely,  1.  Emetics, which  act on  the
stomach, producing vomiting; 2. Cathartics, which  act on the bowels,
producing a  purgative  effect; 3. Diuretics, which act on the kidneys, pro-
ducing an increased flow of  urine;  4. Antilithics, which act on the same
organs,  preventing the formation of calculous matter;  5.  Diaphoretics,
which increase the cutaneous discharge; 6. Expectorants, Avhich auo-ment
the secretion from the  pulmonary mucous membrane,  or promote the  dis-
charge of the  secreted matter; 7. Emmenagogues, which excite the men-
strual secretion;  8. Sialagogues, which increase the flow of saliva;  and 9.
Errhines, which increase the discharge from the mucous membrane of the
nostrils: b. Those affecting the organization of a part, including 1. Rube-
facients, which produce  redness and inflammation of the  skin; 2. Epis-
pastics  or Vesicatories, which produce a serous  discharge beneath  the
cuticle, forming a blister; and 3.  Escharotics  or Caustics, which destroy
the life of the part upon which they act:  c.  Those, operating by a mecha-
nical agency, consisting of 1. Demulcents, which lubricate the surface to
 which they  are applied, and prevent the contact of irritating substances, or
 mingle with these and  diminish their acrimony; and 2. Emollients, which
 serve as vehicles for the application of warmth and moisture,  at the same
 time excluding the air: d. Those which act on extraneous matters con- 
PART I.
Materia Medica.
3
tained vithin the organs, including 1. Anthelmintics, which destroy
worms, or expel them from the bowels; and 2. Antacids, which neutralize
acid, whether existing in the alimentary canal, or circulating with the blood.
  It is believed that all substances employed as medicines, with the excep-
tion of a very few which are so peculiar  in their action as  scarcely to admit
of classification, may be  distributed  without, violence among the  above
classes.  Some substances, however, in addition to  the  properties of the
classes to which they are severally attached, possess others  in  common,
which  give them practical  value, and authorize their association in distinct
groups, not recognised in the system of classification, but constantly referred
to in medical language.  Thus we have Refrigerants, which, when inter-
nally administered, diminish  animal temperature;  Alteratives, which
change, in some inexplicable and insensible manner, certain morbid actions
of the  system;  and Carminatives, which, by promoting contraction  in the
muscular coat of the stomach and bowels, cause the expulsion of flatus.  It
is common, moreover, to attach distinct names to  groups of remedies, with
reference to certain effects  which are incident to the properties  that serve to
arrange them in some more comprehensive class.  Thus Narcotics fre-
quently promote sleep and relieve pain, and in relation to these properties
are  called Soporifics and Anodynes; and various medicines, which by
diversified modes of action serve to remove chronic inflammation and en-
largements  of  the glands or viscera, are called Deobstruents.  These
terms are occasionally employed in the  following pages,  and  are here ex-
plained, in order that the sense in which we use  them may be accurately
understood.                                                     W. 
6
Acacia.
PART I-
  Acacia vera. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1805; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib.
tyc. x. 34.   This is  a  tree of middling  size, with numerous  scattered
branches, of which the younger are much bent, and covered with a reddish-
brown bark.   The leaves are alternate and bipinnate, with two pairs of
pinnae, of which the lower are usually furnished with ten pairs of leaflets,
the upper with eight.   The  leaflets are very small, oblong-linear, smooth,
and supported upon very short footstalks.  On the  common petiole is a
gland between each pair of pinnae.  Both  the common and partial  petiole
are smooth.   Two sharp spines, from  a quarter to half  an  inch long,
of  the  colour of the smaller branches, and joined  together at  their
base,  are found at the insertion of  each leaf.  The flowers are yellow, ino-
dorous,  small, and collected in globular  heads supported upon slender
peduncles, which rise from  the axils of the leaves, in number from two to
five together.  The fruit is a smooth, flat, two-valved legume, divided by
contractions, occurring at regular intervals, into several roundish portions,
each containing a single seed.   This species flourishes in Upper Egypt and
Senegal, and is probably  scattered over the whole intervening  portions of
the African continent.   The Acacia of the Cape of Good Hope, considered
by Sparrman and Thunberg as  the  Mimosa Nilotica of Linn., and  hence
treated by some authors as identical with the present species, appears to be
distinct, and has  received the name of Acacia Karroo.   It exudes a gum,
which is collected at the Cape.
  A.  Arabica. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 1805;  Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib.
x. 32.—Acacia Nilotica, Delil. III. for. de VEgypt, p. 79.—Acacia vera.
Vesling. AZgypt. p. 8.  This species, though often little more than a shrub,
attains in favourable situations the magnitude of a considerable tree, being
sometimes forty  feet high, with a trunk a foot or more  in diameter.  The
leaves are alternate and  doubly pinnate,  having from four to six pairs of
pinna?, each of which is furnished with from ten to twenty pairs of minute,
smooth, oblong-linear leaflets.   The common  petiole has a gland between
the lowest pair of pinna?, and often also between the uppermost pair.   Both
the common and partial petiole, as well as  the young branches, are downy.
The  thorns are   straight, and disposed  as in  the former species.    The
flowers are  also arranged as in the A. vera, and the fruit is of a  similar
shape.   The A.  Arabica  is perhaps the  most widely diffused of the  gum-
bearing species.   It grows in Upper and Lower Egypt, Senegal, and other
parts  of  Africa,  flourishes also  in Arabia, and is abundant in  Hindostan,
where its gum is used for food by the  natives.
   Besides the two species above  described, the following afford consider-
able quantities of gum:—The A.  Senegal, a small tree, inhabiting the hot-
test regions of Afriea, and  said to form vast forests in Senegambia;  the A.
gummifera, seen by Broussonet in Morocco near Mogador; the  A. Ehren-
bergiana, a shrub six or eight feet high, named  in honour of the German
traveller Ehrenberg, who observed it  in  the deserts  of Lybia, Nubia, and
Dongola; the A. Seyal, growing in the same countries with the  last men-
tioned species, and also in Upper Egypt and Senegambia;  the A. Adansonii
of  the Flore de  Senegambie, which is said to contribute a portion of the
Senegal gum; and  the A. tortilis, which sometimes attains the height  of
sixty feet, and inhabits Arabia Felix,  Nubia, Dongola, and  the Lybian de-
sert.   It is highly probable that gum is obtained also from other species not
hitherto described, growing in the hot latitudes of Africa.  The A. decur-
 rens  and A. floribanda, natives  of New Holland, yield by exudation  a
 tolerably pure gum,  which has not yet,  however, been extensively col-
 lected.   Other trees, moreover, not belonging  to the genus, afford a  similar 
PART I.
Acacia.
7
product,  especially the Feronia elephantum of Hindostan, the  gum  of
which, according to Ainslie, is used for medical purposes by all the practi-
tioners of Lower India.
  The gum-bearing Acacias are all thorny or prickly trees or shrubs, cal-
culated by nature for a dry and  sandy soil, and flourishing in deserts where
few other trees will grow.   We are told that  camels, attached to the cara-
vans,  derive from them their chief sustenance in many parts of those deso-
late regions in which Africa abounds.   In  these situations they have a
stunted growth,  and present a bare,  withered, and uninviting aspect; but in
a favourable situation, as on the  banks of rivers, they are often luxuriant
and beautiful.
  Their  bark and unripe fruit contain tannin and gallic acid,  and are some-
times used for tanning leather.  An extract was formerly obtained from the
immature pods of the A. Arabica and A. vera, by expression and inspissa-
tion.  It was  known to the ancients by the name of acaciae verse succus,
and was  highly lauded by some of the Greek medical writers.  It is at pre-
sent little used, though described  in most of the European works on Phar-
macy. It is a solid, heavy, shining,  reddish-brown substance, of a sweetish,
acidulous, styptic taste, and soluble in water.  Its virtues are probably those
of a mild astringent.  On the continent of Europe, a preparation is said to
be usually substituted for it called acacia nostras, obtained by  expression
and inspissation from the unripe fruit of the Prunus spinosa, or wild plum
tree.
   The gum of the Acacias exudes spontaneously from the bark of the trunk
and branches, and hardens on exposure; but incisions are sometimes made
in order  to facilitate the exudation. This is supposed by some to be favoured
by disease, and  it is stated by Jackson, that, in Morocco, the  greatest pro-
duct is obtained in the driest and  hottest weather,  and from the most sickly
trees.  An elevated  temperature appears to be essential; for in cooler cli-
mates, though the tree may flourish, it yields no gum.  According to Ehren-
berg, the varieties in the colour and other characters of the gum do not
depend  upon difference in the species of the plant.   Thus, from the same
tree, the  gum will exude frothy or thick, and clear or dark coloured, and will
assume,  upon hardening, different shapes and sizes; so that the pieces, when
collected, require to be assorted before being delivered into commerce.
   Commercial History and Varieties.  The most common varieties of this
drug  are the  Turkey, the Barbary, the Senegal, and  the India  Gum;  to
which may be added  the Cape  Gum.
   1.  Turkey Gum.  Gum Arabic  was  formerly  procured, chiefly, if not
exclusively, from Egypt and the  neighbouring countries; and much is still
obtained from the same sources.  It is collected in  Upper Egypt, Nubia,
and Darfur, whence it is taken down  the Nile to Alexandria.  A consider-
able quantity is  also brought to  the same port from Arabia.   We obtain it
in this country through Smyrna, Trieste, Marseilles, or some other entrepot
of the Mediterranean commerce.  Two varieties of the  gum have long been
noticed,  one more or  less coloured, the other white, which were formerly,
and, on the continent of Europe, are still distinguished  by the titles of gum
gedda, and gum turic, derived from the ports of the Red Sea, Jidda and
Tor, from which the varieties were erroneously supposed to be respectively
exported.  The gum from Egypt is commonly known to our druggists by
the name of Turkey gum, and is the kind with which  the apothecaries are
usually  supplied.   Though interspersed with roundish pieces of various
sizes, it  consists chiefly of small, irregular fragments, which are commonly
 whitish, or slightly tinged with yellow or reddish-yellow.  It is on the 
8
Acacia.
part i.
whole lighter coloured, more brittle, more readily soluble, and much freer
from impurities than the  other  commercial varieties, and contains much of
that form of gum Arabic, which is characterized by innumerable minute
fissures pervading its substance, and impairing its transparency.   The best
comes in cases.
   2.  Barbary Gum.  Much gum Arabic is at present obtained from Bar-
bary; and Mogador, a port of Morocco, is the chief entrepot of the trade.
According to Jackson,  the natives  call the tree which affords it attaleh.
They gather it in the months of July and August,  when the weather is hot
and very dry.   Two kinds are brought to Mogador, one from the neigh-
bouring provinces, the other by caravans from Timbuctoo.  This may ac-
count for the fact that the Barbary gum in part resembles the Turkey, in part
the Senegal.  When first deposited in the warehouses, it has a faint smell,
and makes a crackling noise, occasioned by the spontaneous rupture of the
small masses as they become more  dry.   The Barbary gum is exported in
casks, and reaches the U. States through the route  of English commerce.
   3. Senegal Gum. This variety  was first introduced into Europe by the
Dutch.   The French afterwards planted a colony on the western coast of
Africa, and took possession of the trade; but  since the last great European
war, it has been largely shared by the English.  St.  Louis, at the mouth of
the Senegal, and Portendic, considerably  further  north,  are the  ports in
which the commerce in gum has chiefly centered.   Immense forests of the
Acacia exist at some distance in the interior.   These are composed chiefly
of two different trees, called  by the natives vereck or nereck, and  nebuel or
nebued, the former of which yields a white gum, the latter a red.  These
are probably distinct species, the vereck being, according to M. Rain, the
A. vera, and the nebuel the A. Senegal.   According to Adanson, there are
several other species in the neighbourhood which yield gum.  In the month
of November the juice begins to exude from the  trees.   The dry winds,
which prevail after the rainy season, cause the bark to crack; the juice flows
out, and hardens in masses, which are often as large  as a pigeon's egg, and
sometimes, according to M. Rain, as large as the  egg of  the ostrich.   At
this period the Moors and negroes proceed to the forests in caravans, collect
the gum in leather sacks,  and convey it to the  coast,  where they exchange
it for British goods.  Senegal gum is imported into the United States chiefly
from Bordeaux.  It is usually in roundish or oval unbroken pieces, of various
sizes, sometimes whitish, but generally yellowish or reddish, or brownish-
red, larger than those of the Turkey gum, less brittle and pulverizable, and
breaking with a more conchoidal fracture.  The French give the  name of
Gum Galam (Gomme de Galam)  to a variety consisting  of pieces more
irregular in shape, often  angular and broken, and  mixed  with small  frag-
ments, so as  to resemble Turkey gum in appearance. (Guibourt.)
   4. India Gum.  Considerable quantities of gum are imported into  this
country from India.   Ainslie states that it is derived  from  the A. Arabica;
and it is not  improbable  that much of it is taken  to Calcutta in  the Arab
vessels from  the  ports of  the Red Sea.   It is in pieces of  various size, co-
lour, and quality, some resembling the broken fragments of the Turkey o-iim,
though much less chinky; others large, roundish, and tenacious, like the
Senegal.  Its taste is sweeter than that of the other varieties.  It is usually
much contaminated, containing, besides the genuine gum Arabic, portions
of a different kind of gum, having the characteristic properties of that known
by the name of Bassora.   This is distinguished by its insolubility in water,
with which,  however, it unites, swelling up, and forming a soft viscid mass.'
It owes its properties to the presence of bassorin.  The pieces of this  gum 
PART I.
Acacia.
9
bear a considerable resemblance  to those of the  genuine  article, and may
easily escape detection.   Their want of solubility, however, is a ready test.
More or less of a similar substance is found in  the parcels of gum Arabic
from other sources; and we have seen  some said  to have come from Bar-
bary,  chiefly  composed of it.   Besides this impurity  in the  India gum,
there are often others more  readily detected.  Among these, we  have ob-
served a yellowish-white resinous substance, which has the sensible pro-
perties of the turpentines.   If proper  care  be used in  assorting  this  com-
mercial variety, it may be employed for all the purposes of good gum Arabic.
The India gum is  brought into this country partly from Calcutta, partly by
way of England.   It usually comes in large  cases.   We have seen a parcel
of gum said to have come directly from  the Red Sea, enclosed in large sacs
made of a kind of matting, and bearing a close resemblance to the gum from
Calcutta, except  that it was more impure, and contained numerous large,
irregular, very brittle masses, not much less than the fist in size.
   5. Cape  Gum.  Pereira mentions  that gum has recently been imported
into Great Britain from the  Cape of Good Hope, where it is collected pro-
bably from  the Acacia Karroo, which grows abundantly  on the banks of
the Gariep and in  other  parts.   It is of a pale  yellow colour, in tears  or
fragments, and is  considered  an inferior variety.    None of  it  probably
reaches  this country.
   General Properties. Gum Arabic is in roundish  or amorphous pieces,  or
irregular fragments of various  sizes, more or less transparent, hard, brittle,
pulverizable, and breaking with a shining fracture.   It is  usually white,  or
yellowish-white; but frequently presents various shades of red, and is some-
times of a deep orange or brownish colour.    It is  bleached by exposure to
the light of the sun.  In powder  it is always more  or less  purely white.   It
is inodorous, has a very feeble  slightly sweetish  taste,  and when pure, dis-
solves wholly away in the mouth.   The specific gravity varies from  1*31  to
1*48. (Berzelius.)  Gum Arabic consists essentially of a peculiar  proximate
principle of plants  usually called gum, but for which the  name of arabin,*

  * Much confusion has existed in the use of the word gum, which has been  employed to
express various  concrete vegetable juices, and, at the same time, a peculiar proximate
principle of plants.  It is now proposed to restrict the term  to the former of these appli-
cations, and to designate the principle alluded to by  a distinct name.  Within a few years
the subject of the gums has been investigated  by M. Guerin, who has repeated  and cor-
rected the experiments of former chemists, and thrown new  light upon the nature of these
substances.   Several of the facts mentioned  in the text have been derived from his me-
moir, published  in the Ann. de Chim. et de Phys. t.  xlix. p. 248.  M. Guerin considers
as characteristic of gums, the property of affording  mucic acid, when acted  on by nitric
acid.  He recognises in the different gums  three distinct proximate principles;  namely,
1. arabin, or the pure gum of chemical writers, which is the essential constituent of gum
Arabic in all its varieties; 2. bassorin, which enters  largely  into the composition of Bas-
sora gum and tragacanth; and 3. cerasin, which constitutes the  portion of cherry gum
insoluble in cold water.  Of arabin sufficient is said in the text.  Bassorin will be treated
of under the head of Bassora gum. (See Appendix.)   Of cerasin it may be proper to say
a few words in this place.  The gums which  exude from the cherry, apricot, peach, and
plum trees, and which the French call  gomme du pays, appear to be identical in compo-
sition, consisting of a  portion soluble in cold water, which, is arabin, and a portion inso-
luble, which was formerly thought to be the same with bassorin, but has been proved by
M. Guerin to  be different, and  is appropriately denominated cerasin.  This principle is
colourless, seraitransparent, tasteless, inodorous, uncrystallizable, insoluble in alcohol,  in-
soluble in cold water, in which it softens and swells  a little, and convertible by the action
of boiling water into arabin, with which it appears to be isomeric.   In this last  property
it differs materially from bassorin, which is not changed by boiling water.   M. Guerin
suggests that the natural heat of the  climate in tropical countries  produces the same
effect upon the exuded gums as artificial heat  in colder regions, and that consequently
the acacia gum consists chiefly of arabin.—Note to  third edition. 
10
Acacia.
part I.
originally proposed by Chevreul, has been adopted by the French chemists.
In describing its chemical relations, therefore, we describe those of the prin-
ciple alluded to.  Water, either cold or hot, dissolves it, and forms a viscid
solution called mucilage, which, when evaporated, yields the gum unchanged.
(See Mucilago Acacise.)  It is insoluble in alcohol, ether, and  the oils; and
alcohol precipitates it from its  aqueous solution.  The diluted acids dissolve
it, but not more freely than water.   The  concentrated  acids decompose it.
Triturated with sulphuric acid, at ordinary temperatures, it is converted into
a substance similar to the gummy product which  results from  the action of
the same acid on linen rags and saw-dust.   Heated with concentrated sul-
phuric acid, it is decomposed  with the evolution of carbon.   The diluted
acid, when boiled with it, gives rise to the formation of a saccharine sub-
stance.   Strong nitric acid converts it into mucic acid, and at the same time
produces oxalic and malic acids.   It combines with  several of  the salifiable
bases.   With the alkalies and  earths it forms soluble compounds.   By the
subacetate of lead it is precipitated from its solution, in the form of a white
insoluble compound of gum  and protoxide of lead; and a delicate test of its
presence in  any liquid  is thus afforded.   It enters into  combination with
several salts. A solution of borax coagulates it.  When added  to a solution
of silicate of potassa,  it precipitates a compound of gum, potassa, and silica,
while a compound of  gum and potassa remains dissolved.  Its  solution
yields a precipitate with nitrate of mercury, and forms a brown, semi-trans-
parent jelly, when mixed with a strong solution of sesquichloride of iron.
In solution,  it unites  with sugar;  and the liquid, when  evaporated, yields a
transparent,  solid substance, which is not susceptible of crystallization.
   Gum  Arabic undergoes no change by time when kept in a dry place.  Its
aqueous solution, if strong, remains for a considerable  length of time unal-
tered, but ultimately becomes sour in consequence of the production of acetic
acid.  At a temperature between 300° and 400°, the gum becomes  soft, and
may be drawn intodhreads.   At a red heat it is decomposed, yielding, among
other substances, a minute proportion of ammonia.   When burnt,  it leaves
about three per cent, of ashes, consisting, according to Guerin, of the car-
bonates  of potassa and of lime, a little phosphate of lime, chloride  of potas-
sium, oxide of iron, alumina, magnesia,  and silica.   The lime exists in the
gum combined  with  an excess of malic acid, which  gives to  its solution the
property of reddening litmus  paper.  Besides pure gum or  arabin,  gum
Arabic contains a very small proportion of  some azotized body, which is
thought to occasion a slight opalescence in its solution, several saline sub-
stances, and a considerable  quantity of uncombined water,  amounting, ac-
cording to Guerin, to 16 or 17 per cent.   Pure gum may be obtained by
treating the compound of gum and protoxide of lead with sulphuretted hy-
drogen.   Its ultimate constituents are carbon, oxygen, and  hydroo-en; but
the proportions are stated somewhat differently by different chemists.  Thus
its formula has been variously given, C^H^O^; Ca2H10O10; and C^H^n.
   The  properties  above  described belong to gum Arabic  generally.
There  are, however, pharmaceutic varieties which  present differences
deserving  notice.   1.  Gum that  is  transparent and readily  soluble.
This constitutes by far the greater  portion of  the commercial  varieties
distinguished  by  the  names  of  Turkey gum  and Senegal  gum.   It is
characterized  by  its  transparency, ready  solubility,  and the  compara-
tively slight degree of thickness and viscidity of its solution.   Under this
head may be included the gomme blanche fendillee of Guibourt, and other
French writers.  It is distinguished by the whiteness and deficient transpa-
rency of the pieces,  attributable to the minute cracks or fissures with which 
PART I.
Acacia.
11
they abound, and which  render  them very brittle and easily pulverizable.
This  peculiar structure is  generally ascribed to the influence of solar heat
and light; but is conjectured by Hayne to arise from  the exudation of the
juice  in  the frothy state noticed by Ehrenberg.  Though the pieces are
somewhat opaque, each of the minute fragments into which they may be
broken is perfectly transparent and  homogeneous.  This variety, in conse-
quence of its prompt and entire solubility, is usually preferred for medical
use, and for most purposes in pharmacy.  2.  Gum less transparent and
less soluble.  Guibourt has proposed for portions of  this gum the name  of
gomme pelliculee, from the circumstance that the masses are always  appa-
rently covered, on some part of their surface, by a yellowish opaque pellicle.
Other portions of it have a mamillary appearance on the surface.   Its trans-
parency  is less perfect than that of the former variety; it is less freely and
less completely dissolved by water, and  forms a more viscid solution.   It
melts with difficulty in  the mouth; and adheres tenaciously to the teeth.
It is found in all the commercial  varieties of gum, but  least  in  that from
Egypt.   Its peculiarities may probably  be ascribed to variable proportions
of bassorin associated with the soluble arabin.   Between these two varie-
ties of gum there are insensible gradations, so  that it would be difficult
always to classify the specimens which may come under  notice.
   Impurities and Adulterations. In parcels of gum Arabic there are some-
times pieces of a dark  colour, opaque,  and  incorporated  with  ligneous,
earthy, or other impurities.   The  inferior are often  mixed with  or substi-
tuted for the better kinds, especially in powder; and portions of insoluble
gum, bdellium,  and other  concrete juices of unknown  origin, are found
among the genuine.   Flour or starch is sometimes fraudulently added to the
powder, but is  easily detected by  the blue colour which it produces with
solution  of iodine.   In consequence of  the impurities, and difference  in
quality,  gum Arabic should generally be  assorted for pharmaceutical use.
   Medical Properties and Uses. This gum is used in medicine, chiefly  as
a demulcent.  By the viscidity of its solution, it serves to cover and sheathe
inflamed surfaces; and by blending with and diluting irritating matters, tends
to blunt  their acrimony.   Hence it  is advantageously employed in  catarrhal
affections and irritation of the fauces, by being  held in the mouth and al-
lowed slowly to dissolve.  Internally administered it  has  been found espe-
cially useful in inflammatory affections of the gastric  and intestinal mucous
membrane; and its employment has even been extended to similar affections
of the lungs and urinary organs. Whether it is beneficial in the latter cases
in any other manner than by the dilution resulting from its watery vehicle,
is a doubtful point.   By some physicians it is thought to possess a posi-
tively sedative influence  over  the action of inflamed  surfaces to which it is
applied in the state of solution.   As  an  article of diet in febrile cases, and
others requiring an adherence to a very rigid regimen, it is perhaps superior
to aim,'/ }^any other substance.  If not positively sedative, it is certainly not
in the ktast irritating, while it is sufficienly nourishing to prevent  the inju-
rious action of the organs upon  themselves.  Its nutritive properties have
been  denied; but the fact of their existence rests on incontrovertible evidence.
The Moors and negroes live on it almost exclusively during the period of
its collection and conveyance  to market;  the Bushman Hottentots, in times
of scarcity, support themselves upon it for days together; and we are told
that the apes of South Africa are  very  fond of  it.   Six  ounces  a day are
said to be sufficient to sustain life  in a  healthy adult.  In many cases of
disease,  its solution  may with propriety  constitute the exclusive drink and
food of  the patient.   It is best prepared  by dissolving an ounce of the gum 
12
Acacia.—Acetosella.
part i.
in a pint of boiling water, and allowing the solution to cool.  In pharmacy,
gum Arabic is extensively used for the suspension of insoluble substances
in water, and for the formation of pills and troches.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Amygdalae, Lond.,  Ed., Dub.; Mistura Amyg-
dalae, U.S., Ed., Dub.; Mistura Cretse, U.  S.;  Mucilago Acaciae,  U.&.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.; Pulvis Cretae Compositus, Lond., Dub.; Pulvis 1 ra-
gacanthae Compositus, Lond., Ed.; Trochisci Acacia?,  Ed.          v* •


                     ACETOSELLA.  Lond.

                            Wood-sorrel.

   " Oxalis Acetosella." Lond.
   Oseille de bucheron, Surelle, Fr.; Sauerklee, Germ ; Allelnja, Ital; Acedorilla, Span.
   Oxalis.   Sex. Syst. Decandria Pentagynia.—Nat.  Ord. Oxalidacese.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved.  Petals five, connected by the claws. Sta-
mens unequal, the five shorter exterior ones  connected at the base.  Cap-
sules opening elastically at the corners, five angled.  Seeds  covered with
an arillus.  Pursh.
   Oxalis Acetosella. Willd.  Sp. PlanUM. 780.; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 563.
t. 201.   The wood-sorrel is a small perennial, herbaceous, stemless  plant,
with numerous radical leaves, which  are all  ternate, and supported  upon
slender hairy petioles.  The leaflets are obcordate, entire, hairy, of  a yel-
lowish-green colour, but frequently purplish on their under surface.   The
scape or flower-stalk, which usually exceeds the petioles in length, is fur-
nished with two scaly bractes near the middle, and terminates  in a large
white, or flesh-coloured flower,  marked with red streaks.  The  styles  are
of the same length with the inner stamens.
  This plant is a native both of Europe and N. America.  In this country
it is found  chiefly in the mountainous regions of the interior.   It selects
shady places, such as woods, groves, and hedges, and flowers in May.  Other
indigenous species of Oxalis, more widely diffused than the O. Acetosella,
might  be substituted for it without  disadvantage, as they possess similar
properties.   They all have ternate leaves with obcordate leaflets, and, with
the single  exception of the O. violacea, bear yellow flowers.  The whole
herbaceous portion may be used.
  Properties.  Wood-sorrel is without smell, and  has a pleasant sour taste.
It owes its  acidity to the binoxalate of potassa, which is sometimes  sepa-
rated for  use, and sold under the name of salt of sorrel.    This is prepared,
in Switzerland and Germany, from different species of Oxalis and Rumex,
by the following process.  The plants, previously bruised, are macerated for
some days  in water, and then submitted to pressure.  The liquid thus  ob-
tained is  mixed with clay and occasionally  agitated for two days.  At  the
end of this  time, the clear liquor is decanted, and evaporated so thaR-rystals
may form when it cools.   These are purified by solution and a new crys-
tallization.   Five hundred parts of the plant afford four parts of  the acidu-
lous salt.  The  same  salt may  be  prepared by exactly  neutralizing with
potassa one part of oxalic acid in solution, then adding one part more  of the
acid, and evaporating the solution so that it may crystallize upon cooling.
Binoxalate of potassa is in rhomboidal crystals, of a sour,  pungent, bitterish
taste, soluble in forty parts of cold and six parts of boiling water (Kane),
and unalterable in the air.   It  contains 72-48 parts or two equivalents of
oxalic acid, 47*5 parts or  one equivalent of potassa, and 18 parts or two
equivalents of water.  The quadroxalate  of potassa is often substituted 
PART I.
Acetosella.—Acetum.
13
for the binoxalate.   It is prepared in the same manner, except that, instead
of one part, three parts of the acid are added to  the original portion neutra-
lized by potassa.   Both salts are kept in the shops under the names of salt
of sorrel and essential salt of lemons, and are employed for removing iron
mould and ink  stains from linen, and  sometimes as a test for lime.   Both
are poisonous, though in  a less degree than uncombined oxalic acid.
   Medical Properties.  This  and other species of sorrel are refrigerant;
and their infusion,  or a whey made by boiling them in milk, may be used
as a pleasant drink in  febrile and inflammatory affections.  A solution of
the binoxalate of potassa  is used on the continent of Europe as a substitute
for lemonade.  The fresh plant, eaten raw, is said to be useful in scorbutic
cases.                                                           W.

                    ACETUM.  U.S., Lond.

                               Vinegar.
   " Impure dilute  acetic acid prepared by fermentation."  U. S.  " Acetum.
Fermentatione paratum."  Lond.
   Off. Syn.  ACETUM  BRITANNICUM.   ACETUM  GALLICUM.
Ed.;  ACETUM  VINI.  Dub.
   Vinaigre, Fr.; Essig, Germ.; Aceto, Ital.; Vinagre, Span.
   Vinegar is a sour liquid, the product of the acetous fermentation. Viewed
chemically, it is a very  dilute solution of acetic acid, containing foreign
matters.   (See Acidum Aceticum.)
   The acetous fermentation can be induced in all liquors which have under-
gone or are susceptible of the vinous fermentation.  Thus sugar and water,
saccharine vegetable juices, infusion of malt, cider, and wine may be  con-
verted into vinegar, if subjected to the action of a ferment, and exposed,
with access of air, to a temperature between 75° and 90°.
   In different countries, different liquors  are used for conversion into vine-
gar.   In France and other wine  countries, wine is  employed;  in Britain,
infusion of malt; and  in  the United States, for the  most  part, cider.   For
the use of the white lead manufacturer, it has, of latter years, been  exten-
sively made from potatoes.
   The method pursued in making wine vinegar at Orleans, in France, where
it is manufactured  in the  greatest perfection,  is as follows.  Casks are em-
ployed of about the capacity of 88 wine gallons, those being preferred which
have been previously used for a similar purpose.  They are placed upright
in three rows, one  above  another; each cask having an opening at the top
of about two inches in diameter.   In summer, no artificial heat is used; but
in winter, the temperature of the manufactory is maintained at  about  68°.
The wine intended to  be converted into vinegar  is kept in separate  casks,
containing beech shavings, on which the  lees are deposited.  Twenty-two
gallons of good vinegar, boiling hot, are first introduced into each vinegar
cask, and at the  end of eight days, about two  gallons of the wine, drawn
off clear, are added; and the  same quantity is added every eight  days, until
the casks are full.  After  this, the vinegar takes  about fifteen days to form.
At the end of that  time, only half the contents of each cask is drawn off;
and it is filled up again by the addition of two gallons of wine  every eight
days as at first.  In some cases, however, the quantity of wine added, and
the intervals between the  successive additions, are greater or less than those
here indicated;  the variations in this respect depending upon the progress
of the fermentation.  To determine this point, the vinegar makers plunge a
       3 
14
Acetum.
part I.
 stave into the cask; and if, upon withdrawing it, they find it covered with
 froth,  they judge that the fermentation  is going  on properly, and, accord-
 ingly, add more wine.
   When the infusion of malt is employed, the process is as follows.   The
 infusion, when properly cooled,  is put into large and deep fermenting tuns,
 where it is mixed with yeast, and kept in fermentation for four or five days.
 The liquor is now distributed into smaller vessels, placed in a room heated
 by means of a stove, and kept there for  about six weeks, or until the whole
 is soured.  It is then transferred  to common barrels, which are placed in
 the open air, the bung-holes being simply covered with a tile to keep out the
 rain; in which  situation  they are allowed to remain for several months, or
 until perfect vinegar is formed.   The process is then completed in the fol-
 lowing manner.   Large tuns are prepared, with false bottoms, on which is
 put a quantity of the refuse of raisins and other fruit, technically called rape.
 These tuns are worked in pairs,  one being completely filled with the vine-
 gar from the  barrels, and the other only  three-fourths filled.   In  the  latter,
 the fermentation takes place more rapidly; and the process is rendered more
 active alternately in one or the other tun, by filling up each daily from the
 other, until the process is  completed.
   In the United States, cider is the principal liquid from which vinegar is
 prepared.  When it is made on a large scale from cider, the liquor is placed
 in barrels with their bung-holes open, which are exposed during the sum-
 mer to  the heat of the sun.  The acetification is completed in the course of
 about two years.   The progress of the fermentation, however, must be
 watched; and as soon as  perfect vinegar is formed, it should be racked off
into clean barrels.  Without this precaution, the acetous fermentation would
 run into  the  putrefactive,  and the whole of the vinegar be spoiled.   The
 early cider is not so good for conversion into vinegar as the late, in conse-
quence of the abundance of malic acid in the former;  for it must be  recol-
lected that, in cider, the malic acid is not the subject matter of the acetous
fermentation, but the alcohol which it contains as a vinous liquor.
   Vinegar  is now  made by the  improved German method, by which the
time consumed in its formation is greatly abridged.  A mixture is made of
 one part of alcohol of 80 per cent., four to six  parts of  water,  and one-
 thousandth of honey or extract of malt to act as a ferment.   This mixture
 is allowed to  trickle through a mass of beech shavings, previously steeped
 in vinegar,  and  contained in a deep oaken tub, called a vinegar generator.
 The tub  is furnished, near the top, with  a shelf, perforated  with  numerous
 small holes, which are loosely filled with packthread about six inches long,
 prevented from slipping through by a  knot at one end.   The  alcoholic
 mixture, first heated  to between 75° and 83°, is placed on this shelf and
 slowly percolates the beech shavings, whereby it becomes minutely divided.
 It is essential to the success of the process that a current of air should pass
 through the tub.  In order to establish this current, eight equidistant holes
 are pierced near the bottom of the tub,  forming a horizontal row, and four
 glass tubes are inserted vertically in the shelf, of sufficient length to pro-
 ject above  and below it.  The air enters by the holes below and passes
 out by the tubes.   The contact of the air with the minutely divided  liquid
 rapidly promotes the acetification, which consists, essentially, in the  oxida-
 tion of the alcohol.   During the process the temperature rises to 100°  or
 104°, and remains nearly stationary while the process is going  on favour-
 ably.   The liquid  is drawn off by a discharge pipe near the bottom  and
 must be  passed three or four times through the tub, before the acetification
 is completed, which generally occupies from twenty-four to thirty-six hours 
PART I.
Acetum.
15
  Vinegar may be clarified, without injuring its aroma, by throwing  about
a tumbler full of boiling milk into from fifty to sixty wine  gallons of the
liquid, and stirring the mixture.   This operation has the effect, at the same
time, of rendering red vinegar pale.
  The series of changes which  occur during  the  acetous fermentation is
called acetification.  During its progress, there is a disengagement of heat;
the liquor absorbs oxygen, becomes turbid, and filaments form, which are
observed to move in various directions, until, finally, the fermentation being
completed, they are deposited in a mass of  a pultaceous consistence.   The
liquor now becomes transparent, its alcohol has disappeared,  and acetic acid
has been formed in its place.   How then is this change of alcohol into  acetic
acid effected? Liebig supposes that it takes  place in consequence  of the for-
mation of a new substance, called aldehyd, into  which the alcohol is changed
by the loss of part of its hydrogen.  The alcohol,  consisting of four equiv.
of carbon, six of hydrogen, and two of oxygen, loses two equiv. of hydro-
gen  through the influence of  the  atmosphere,  and  becomes  aldehyd, com-
posed  of four equiv. of carbon, four of hydrogen, and two of oxygen.
This, by the absorption of two equiv. of oxygen, becomes  four equiv. of
carbon, four of hydrogen, and four of oxygen;  that is, hydrated acetic acid.
Thus the conversion of alcohol into acetic acid  consists in, first, the  removal
of two  equiv. of hydrogen,  and  afterwards the addition of two equiv. of
oxygen.  Aldehyd is a colourless, very inflammable, ethereal liquid of the
density of 0*79.  It absorbs  oxygen with avidity, and is  thus  converted
into acetic acid, as just  stated.   Its name alludes  to its relation to  alcohol,
alcohol dehydvogenzted.
   Properties.   Vinegar, when good,  is of  an agreeable  penetrating odour,
and pleasant acid taste,   The better sorts  have a grateful aroma, which is
probably due to the presence  of an ethereal  substance, perhaps acetic ether.
The colour of vinegar varies  from pale yellow to  deep red.  When long
kept, particularly if exposed to the air, it becomes muddy and ropy, acquires
an unpleasant smell, putrefies, and loses its acidity.  This result may, in a
good measure, be prevented by boiling it for a few minutes,  so as to coagu-
late and  separate the gluten, and immediately transferring it to bottles, which
must be well corked.
   The essential ingredients of vinegar are acetic  acid and  water, but be-
sides these it contains various other substances, derived from the particular
vinous liquor from which it may  have been prepared.  Among  these may
be mentioned, colouring matter,  gum, starch, gluten, sugar,  a little  alcohol,
and frequently  malic and tartaric acids, with minute  portions of alkaline
and earthy salts.  According  to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, vinegar should be
free from sulphuric acid, and  of  such  a strength that a fluidounce would be
saturated by about thirty-five grains of crystallized bicarbonate of potassa.
   In the last Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia (1841), two kinds of vinegar have
been made officinal, malt vinegar and wine vinegar, under the names of
British vinegar and French vinegar.  In this Pharmacopoeia  the former
is stated to  vary in density from 1-006 to 1*019,  the latter from  1-014 to
 1-022.   Specific gravity, however, is not an accurate index  of the  strength
of vinegar.
   Malt vinegar has a yellowish-red colour.   That of British manufacture
usually contains sulphuric acid,  which the  manufacturer is  allowed by law
to add in a proportion not exceeding  one-thousandth part.   The strongest
kind, called  proof vinegar, contains from 4-6 to 5 per cent, of acetic acid.
 The Edinburgh College does not recognise this impurity,  although sanc-
 tioned by the British laws, and, therefore, rejects the vinegar if it  give evi- 
16
Acetum.
part I.
dence of the presence of free sulphuric acid.  On the contrary, the London
College admits the vinegar if the precipitate of sulphate of baryta, obtained
on  the addition of a  solution of chloride of barium, does not exceed  1-14
grains to the fluidounce {Imperial measure).
   Wine  vinegar is nearly one-sixth stronger than pure malt vinegar.   It is
of two sorts, the white and the red, according as it is prepared from white
or red wine.   White  wine vinegar is  usually preferred, and  that made at
Orleans is the best.    Red wine vinegar  may be deprived of its colour and
rendered limpid, by being passed through animal charcoal.   According  to
the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia,  wine vinegar may be  distinguished from
malt vinegar by the addition of ammonia in slight excess, which causes  in
the former "a purplish muddiness,  and slowly a purplish precipitate," and
in the latter, either no effect, or a dirty brownish precipitate.
  Adulterations. The principal foreign  substances which vinegar is liable
to contain, are sulphuric acid and certain acrid substances, introduced by de-
sign, and copper and lead derived from improper vessels used in its manu-
facture.   Muriatie and nitric acids are  but rarely present.  Chloride  of
barium will  detect sulphuric  acid, by producing a white precipitate in the
diluted vinegar; whereas, if it be pure, the test will produce a slight yellow-
ish, flocculent precipitate.  Muriatic acid may be discovered by adding to a
distilled portion of the suspected vinegar, a solution of nitrate of silver, which
will throw down a curdy white precipitate.  If nitric acid be  present, it  may
be detected by saturating the vinegar with carbonate of potassa, and evapo-
rating to  obtain the saline  matter.   If nitrate of  potassa be present in  this,
it will deflagrate partially on live coals, and give reddish vapours  of nitrous
acid, when mixed with brass filings, and  treated with sulphuric acid.   The
acrid  substances usually introduced into  vinegar are  red pepper, long pep-
per, pellitory, grains of paradise, and  mustard seed.  These may be de-
tected by evaporating so as to form  an extract, which will  have an acrid,
biting taste,  if any one of the substances mentioned be present.   By far the
most dangerous impurities in vinegar are copper and lead.  The former may
be detected  by a brownish precipitate on the addition of ferrocvanuret  of
potassium to the concentrated vinegar; the  latter, by a blackish precipitate
with sulphuretted hydrogen,  and a yellow one with chromate of potassa.
[Chevullier, Amer. Journ. of Pharm. ix.  33, from the Journ.  de Chim.
Med.)   Pure vinegar is not discoloured by sulphuretted hydrogen.
  Medical Properties.  Vinegar acts as  a refrigerant and diuretic.  With
this view, it is added  to diluent drinks  in inflammatory fevers.  It is used
in affections of the urinary organs, attended with a white deposite from the
urine, which consists  of phosphate of lime mixed with  phosphate of mag-
nesia and ammonia.   It is sometimes used as a  clyster, diluted with twice
or thrice  its  bulk of water.  It has been supposed to be a powerful antidote
to the narcotic poisons, but this is a mistake.  In the case of opium the best
authorities unite in considering it  worse than  useless, as  it  rather gives
activity to the poison than neutralizes it.  Externally it is  employed  as a
fomentation or lotion in bruises and sprains.  Diluted  with  water it forms
the best means of clearing the eye from small particles of lime.   Its vapour
is inhaled in certain states of sorethroat, and is diffused through sick rooms
under the impression  that it neutralizes pestilential effluvia, though in fact it
has no other effect than to cover unpleasant smells.   The dose is from one
to four fluidrachms; as a clyster from one to two fluidounces.
   Off. Prep.  Acetum Destillatum,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Cataplasma
Sinapis,  Lond., Dub.; Ceratum Saponis, Lond.; Emplastrum Ammoniaci
U. S.; Linimentum iEruginis, Lond.; Syrupus Aceti, Ed.; Tinctura Opii
Acetata,  U. S.                                                    -q. 
part i.                Acidum Arseniosum.                     17
           ACIDUM  ARSEiNIOSUM.  U. S., Lond.

                          Arsenious Acid.

  •' Sublimed  arsenious acid in masses." U. S.  " Acidum  Arseniosum.
Sublimatione paratum." Lond.
  Off. Syn. ARSENICUM ALBUM. Ed.  ARSENICI OXYDUM AL-
BUM. Dub.
  White arsenic; Acide arsenieux, Arsenic blanc, Fr.; Arsenichte Silure, Weisser Ar-
senik, Germ; Arsenik, Dan., Swed., Polish; Acido arsenioso, Arsenico, Ital.; Arsenico
bianco, Span.
  The basis of all the arsenical preparations is a peculiar metal called arse-
nic.   It is brittle and of a steel-gray colour, and possesses much brilliancy
when recently broken or sublimed.   Exposed to the air, its surface becomes
dull and blackens.   Its texture is granular, and sometimes a  little  scaly.
Rubbed in the hands it communicates a peculiar odour, but it  is devoid of
taste.   Its sp.  gr. is 5-7 according to Berzelius, 5-9 according to Guibourt.
When heated to about 356° of Fahr. {Berzelius), it sublimes without fusing,
giving rise to vapours having an alliaceous or garlicky odour.   Its subliming
point  is differently given by Dr. J. K. Mitchell and Mr. Durand, who state
it to be as high as a red heat visible  in  the dark.  {Journ. Phil.  Col. of
Pharm. iv. 108. July 1832.)  Its equivalent number is 37'7.
  Arsenic  forms  two well  characterized combinations with  oxygen, both
having acid properties, called arsenious and arsenic  acid.
  Preparation, 8fC.   Arsenious  acid is prepared chiefly in Bohemia and
Saxony, where it is procured on a large scale, as a collateral product, during
the smelting of cobalt  ores, which are almost invariably accompanied by
arsenic.  These ores are roasted in reverberatory furnaces, with long hori-
zontal flues.   The arsenic is converted, by combustion, into arsenious acid,
which sublimes and condenses on the sides of the flues,   fn this state it is
not pure, and requires a second sublimation, which is performed in cast iron
vessels, fitted with conical heads of the same materia], having an opening at
the summit.   The vessels  are placed over a furnace, and brought to a red
heat,  when a portion of the impure arsenious acid is  thrown in through the
opening, which is immediately stopped.   This portion being  sublimed, a
new portion is introduced  in  a similar manner.  Finally the vessels are
allowed to cool, and the  heads being removed, the  purified  acid is found
attached to them in vitreous  layers, at first as transparent as glass, but gradu-
ally becoming, by contact with the air, opaque at their surface.   These are
broken into fragments of a convenient  size, and thrown into commerce.
The arsenious acid which reaches this country is  generally packed in casks,
containing from two to five hundred pounds, and is shipped principally from
the ports of Hamburg and Bremen.
  Properties.  Arsenious acid, as it occurs in commerce, is in masses exhi-
biting a vitreous fracture.  It is of a milk-white colour  exteriorly, but inter-
nally, perfectly transparent.   As first sublimed, the whole mass is transpa-
rent, but it gradually becomes white and opaque, the change proceeding
progressively from the surface inwards.   The nature of this change has not
been well determined.  According to Guibourt, the sp. gr. of the transparent
variety is 3*73; that of the  opaque, 3-69.   The  experiments, however, of
Dr. Mitchell and Mr. Durand make  the  density of the former variety from
3-208 to 3-333.  As it occurs in the shops for medical  use, it is often in the
form of a white powder,  almost as fine  as flour.  In this  state it is  some-
                                 3* 
18
Acidum Arseniosum.
part I.
times adulterated with powdered chalk, or sulphate of lime, a fraud which
is easily detected by exposing the powder to a heat sufficient to evaporate
the arsenious acid, when these impurities will be left behind.   To  guard
against the fraudulent impurities of the powdered acid, it is directed in the
U. S. Pharmacopoeia to be kept in  masses.   When pure it is completely
dissolved by boiling water.  It is erroneously stated to have an acrid taste.
Dr. Christison asserts that it possesses hardly any taste, inasmuch as it pro-
duces  merely a  faint sweetish impression on  the  palate.  In strong, hot
solution, it has an austere taste, most nearly resembling that of sulphate of
zinc. {Mitchell  and Durand.)  It  has no smell even  when in  a state of
vapour.   The garlicky odour, which is sometimes attributed to it, belongs
only to the vapour of the metal; and when apparently arising from the acid
itself, is, in fact,  owing to its reduction.   Its point of sublimation, according
to Berzelius, is at an incipient red heat; but, according to  Mitchell and Du-
rand, it is lower instead of  higher than that of metallic arsenic, being only
425° of Fahr.   When slowly sublimed, it condenses in regular octahedral
crystals, exhibiting a sparkling lustre.  It  consists of two  equivalents of
arsenic 75-4, and three  equivalents of  oxygen 24=99-4.   It is, therefore,
a sesquioxide in  composition.
   Arsenious acid is soluble in water.  Guibourt states that its  solubility
differs according as it is transparent or opaque.   Thus 1000 parts of water
at 69° Fahr. dissolve 9-6 of the transparent, and 12-5 of the opaque variety;
and the same quantity of boiling water dissolves 97 parts of the transparent,
retaining 18 when cold, and 115 parts  of the opaque, retaining 29 on cool-
ing.  These results show that a boiling saturated  solution, when allowed to
cool, retains more of the acid in solution, than  can  be dissolved  in  cold
water without a  preliminary boiling, and teach the propriety of employing
a boiling temperature when searching for this mineral.   The solubility of
the powder of arsenious acid, as prepared for use  in medicine, corresponds,
of course, with that of the  opaque variety.  Guibourt, however, is said to
be wrong as to the  different solubility of the transparent and opaque varie-
ties.  From the  experiments of Taylor it would appear, that the two forms
do  not differ in  solubility,  and that the quantity of the same variety which
water will dissolve  is very  different according to  the mode of effecting the
solution; water in violent ebullition dissolving more than when moderately
boiling, and the  duration of the process having a decided influence on the
result.  {Lond. and Ed. Phil.  Mag. Nov. 1837.)
   Medical Properties.  Internally, the action of the prepnrations  of arsenic
is alterative  and  febrifuge; externally, for the  most part,  violently irritant.
They have been considered as peculiarly applicable to the treatment of dis-
eases of a periodical character.  When commencing their  exhibition, the
dose should be small, and afterwards gradually increased, the operation being
carefully watched.  When the  specific effects of the medicine are produced,
it must be immediately laid aside.  These are, a general disposition to oede-
ma, especially of the face and eyelids, a feeling of stiffness in these parts,
itching of the skin, tenderness  of the mouth, loss of appetite, and uneasiness
and sickness of  the stomach.   The peculiar  swelling  produced is called
oedema  arsenicalis.   Sometimes salivation  is produced,  and occasionally
the hair and nails fall off.   The principal preparations  now in use are the
arsenious acid, the substance under consideration, and the solution of arse-
nite of potassa, or Fowler's solution.   The arseniates of potassa  and  soda,
and the sulphuret of arsenic are also occasionally  employed.   One grain of
the arseniate of soda, dissolved in a fluidounce of water, forms the arsenical
solution of Pearson.
  It may be questioned whether the different arsenical preparations act pre- 
PART L
Acidum Arseniosum.
19
cisely in the same way, when exhibited internally.   It is supposed by some
that the selection need only be regulated by the convenience of exhibition.
The late Dr. Physick, whose opinion  is entitled to great respect, thought
otherwise; for, with regard to the arsenious acid,  and  the solution of arse-
nite of  potassa (Fowler's solution),  the result of his experience was  that
they act differently, and cannot be  substituted for each other.   Cases of
the efficacy of the metal, when  given in the form of Fowler's solution,  will
be noticed under the head of Liquor Potassse Arsenitis.  For a complete
list of the diseases  in which arsenic  has been tried, the  reader  is referred
to Mr. Hill's paper in the Edin. Med.  Journal, vols. v. and vi.
   Some writers have entirely proscribed the use of the  arsenical prepara-
tions in medicine.   Amongst these, one of the most authoritative is  Mr.
Brande, who considers their introduction into the Pharmacopoeias as a great
evil, on account of the facilities afforded, by legalizing the medicinal use of
the poison, for its employment for self-destruction and  murder.  At the same
time he believes that more harm than benefit has resulted from its adminis-
tration.  {Man. of Pharm. p. 29.)  We confess, however, that  we do not
share these opinions with Mr. Brande.  Arsenic is a virulent poison, and is
frequently employed for criminal purposes; but when it is considered how
extensively it is used in the arts, it  is questionable whether its exclusion
from the Materia Medica would materially lessen the facility of obtaining it.
On the  other hand, it may be asked, are poisons  more dangerous as medi-
cines than other medicinal  substances, if given in their appropriate doses?
We should think not; though we admit that dangerous mistakes are more
apt to  occur.   If the views of Mr.  Brande were carried out, they would
lead to the* discarding of the corrosive chloride of mercury,  hydrocyanic
acid, strychnia, and other articles from the Materia Medica;  but  we believe
that no practitioner will be found willing  to strike these substances from
the list  of remedies.
   While  we wish to retain arsenic as a potent  remedy in the hands of the
judicious  practitioner, we should be glad to find the sale of it subjected to
strict regulations, under heavy  penalties for their infraction.
   Arsenious acid has been exhibited in a great variety of diseases, the prin-
cipal of which  are scirrhus and cancer, especially cancer  of the lip;  anoma-
lous ulcers; intermittent fever; chronic rheumatism,  particularly that form
of it attended  with pains in the bones; diseases of the  bones,  especially
nodes,  and firm swellings of the  small joints of the hands; frontal neural-
gia; and different painful affections of the head, known under the names of
hemicrania and periodical headach.   Mr.  Henry Hunt of Dartmouth, Eng-
land, found it  useful in mitigating the pain of ulcerated cancer of the uterus
and in menorrhagia; also in irritable  uterus, attended with pain and  bearing
down in the erect posture.   He gave it in pill, in the dose of a twentieth of
a grain three times a day.   In  this dose the remedy seldom produces un-
pleasant feelings,  and  may  be continued for three  or  four  months, for
which  period it must sometimes be used, in order to produce the  desired
effect on the uterus.  Arsenious acid has been extolled as a remedy in cer-
tain cutaneous affections, particularly  lepra.   Dr. Pereira says that he has
seen it used in a large number of cases of this disease without a single failure
to cure.  Its external application has been principally restricted to cancer,
and  anomalous and malignant ulcers, especially of the  kind  denominated
noli me tangere.
   Arsenic is thought highly of by some practitioners  in cases of lupus, and
ill-looking sores of the face, lips, and tongue, and sometimes effects a cure.
Dupuytren was in the habit of  using with advantage a powder composed of 
20
Acidum Arseniosum.
PART I.
  one part of arsenious  acid and twenty-four  parts of calomel, as a topical
  application to herpes exedens, and to the foul ulcers occurring in those who
  have undergone repeated courses of mercury.
    Arsenic is the chief ingredient in nearly all the empirical remedies for
  the cure of cancer by external application.  Plunket's caustic was a remedy
  of this kind, of great celebrity, and consisted of the Ranunculus acris and
  Ranunculus Flammula, each  an ounce, bruised, and mixed with a drachm
  of arsenious  acid, and five  scruples of sulphur.   The whole was beaten
  into a paste, formed  into balls, and dried in  the  sun.   When  used,  these
  balls are rubbed up with yolk of egg, and  spread on pig's  bladder.   The
  use of the vegetable matter is to destroy the cuticle; for, unless this is done,
  the arsenic will not act.  Mr. Samuel Cooper thinks  this caustic was never
  of any permanent benefit in genuine cancer, but has  effected perfect cures
  in some examples of lupus, and malignant ulcers of the lips and roots of the
  nails.  In onychia maligna, Mr. Luke, of London,  regards an ointment  com-
  posed of two grains of arsenious acid and an ounce of spermaceti ointment
  as almost a specific.  {Fereira.  Mat. Med.  647.)
   At Paris, an  arsenical  paste of the following composition  is used as an
 application  to malignant ulcers:—Red  sulphuret of mercury 70 parts; dra-
 gon's blood 22 parts; arsenious acid 8 parts.   It is applied, made up into a
 paste with saliva.  The pain produced by this composition is very severe,
 and its application dangerous.   The practice  of sprinkling unmixed arse-
 nious acid on ulcers is now reprobated, as fraught  with the greatest danger.
 Mr. S.  Cooper characterizes it as a murderous practice.  It may, however,
 be used either in solution, or reduced by some mild ointment.   A lotion
 may be formed of eight grains of arsenious  acid and  the same quantity of
 carbonate of potassa,  dissolved in four fluidounces of  distilled water; and  a
 cerate, of one drachm of arsenious acid and twelve drachms of simple cerate.
 The cerate  is sometimes  formed of half  this  strength.  The lotion  is in
 effect a solution of arsenite of potassa.
   Febure's remedy for  cancer consisted of ten grains of arsenious acid dis-
 solved in a pint of distilled water, to which  were added an ounce of extractum
 conii, three fluidounces of liquor plumbi  subacetatis, and a fluidrachm of
 tinct. opii.  With this  the cancer was washed every mornino-.   Febure's
 formula for  internal exhibition was, arsenious acid two grains,°rhubarb half
 an ounce, syrup of chicory q. s., distilled water a pint.   Of'this mixture,
 a tablespoonful, which contained about a sixteenth of a grain of the acid, was
 given every night and morning, with  half a fluidrachm of the syrup of
 poppies.  The dose was gradually increased to six tablespoonfuls. *
   The  average dose of  arsenious acid is the tenth of a grain, three times a
 day, given in the form of pill.  It is sometimes combined with opium, which
 enables the stomach to bear the mineral better.   A  convenient formula is to
 mix one grain  of the acid  with ten grains of sugar, and to beat the mixture
 thoroughly with crum of bread, so as to form a pilular mass, to be divided
 into ten pills.   The Asiatic pills, so called, consist of arsenious acid  and
 black pepper, in the proportion of 1 part of the former to 80 of the latter
   Properties of Arsenious Acid as a Poison.  Arsenious acid, in an over-
 dose, administered internally, or applied  externally, acts with very o-reat
 energy, and generallydestroys life in a short time.   The symptoms ^pro-
 duces are an austere taste;  fetid state of the mouth; frequent ptyalism-  con-
 tinual hawking; constriction of the pharynx and oesophagus;  the sensation
 of the  teeth being on edge; hickups; nausea;  anxiety;  frequent sinking-
burning pain at the precordia; inflammation of the lips,  tongue, palate'
 throat, and oesophagus;  irritable stomach, so as not to be' able to'support 
part i.                Acidum Arseniosum.                     21

the blandest drinks; vomiting of matters, sometimes  brown, at other times
bloody; black, horribly fetid stools; small, frequent, concentrated, and irre-
gular pulse, but occasionally slow and unequal; palpitations; syncope; insa-
tiable thirst; burning heat over the whole body, or a sensation of icy cold-
ness; difficult respiration; cold sweats; scanty, red, and bloody urine; change
in the countenance; a livid circle round the eye-lids; swelling and itching of
the body; livid spots over the surface, and occasionally a miliary eruption;
prostration of strength; loss of feeling, especially in the feet and hands; deli-
rium; convulsions, often accompanied with insupportable priapism; falling
off of the hair; detachment of the cuticle, Sic.   Sometimes there exist in-
flammation and burning pain  in the urino-genital organs.  It is very rare to
observe all these symptoms in the same individual.  In some cases, indeed,
they are nearly all wanting, death taking place without any pain or promi-
nent  symptoms.   After death, the morbid  appearances  are various.   In
some cases, no  vestige of lesion  can be discovered.  The  appearances,
however, in the  generality of cases, are the following.   The mouth, sto-
mach, and  intestines are inflamed; the stomach and duodenum exhibit spots
resembling eschars, and perforations of all their coats;  and the villous coat
of the former is  in a manner destroyed, and reduced to the consistence of a
reddish-brown pulp.
   Dr. Christison divides the  poisonous effects of arsenious acid into three
orders of cases,  according to  the character and violence of the  symptoms.
In the first order, the poison produces symptoms of irritation and inflamma-
tion  along  the course of the alimentary canal, and commonly kills in from
one  to three days.  In the second, the signs of inflammation are moderate,
or even altogether wanting, and death occurs in five or six hours, at a period
too early for inflammation to be always fully  developed.   In the third order
of cases, two stages occur, one in which  inflammatory symptoms are de-
veloped, as in the first order; the other, marked by symptoms referable to
nervous  irritation, such as imperfect palsy  of the arms or legs, epilepsy,
tetanus, hysterical affections,  mania, and coma.   It is a general character of
this poison to induce inflammation of the  stomach in almost all  instances,
provided death does not take place immediately, whatever be the part to
which it is applied.  Thus the  poison, when applied to a fresh wound, will
give rise to the same morbid  appearances in the stomach and intestines, as
when it is swallowed.  In some cases, observed by Drs. Mall and Bailie, the
rectum was much inflamed, while the colon and small intestines escaped.
   The  precise rank which should be assigned, in the scale of poisons, to
arsenious acid when applied  externally, is still  undetermined.  One set of
observers contend that its external application is not  attended with great
danger; while another party conceives that it acts  as a  virulent poison.
Hunter,  Sir Everard Home,  Jceger, Brodie, Dr.  Campbell of Edinburgh,
Smith, and Orfila, have all adduced experiments on the  inferior animals,
which prove that arsenious acid, inserted into a recent wound, causes death
after a longer or shorter period.  Indeed, some observations g^ to prove that
the poisonous effects of the substance are developed in a smaller dose, when
used in this way, than when  taken into the stomach.   Nor are there want-
ing many well authenticated  facts  of its deleterious  effects on  the human
constitution.   Roux reports  the case of a young woman under his care,
whose death was caused, after agonizing sufferings, by the application of an
arsenical paste to a cancerous breast.  A case is  related of death from the
application of an arsenical paste to a soft tumour of the temple; the poisonous
effects on the system at large  being the cause of the fatal result.  {Archives
Generates, ii. 230.)  Sir Astley Cooper, in his lectures, bears testimony to 
22
Acidum Arseniosum.
PART I.
the dangerous  effects of arsenic  externally applied.  On the other hand,
some writers contend for the safety of the external application of this poison.
Mr. Blackadder applied it in large quantities to sores, and never witnessed
a single instance in which it acted constitutionally.   Dr. Randolph, of this
city, {North Amer. Med. and Surg. Journ. v. 257), states that Dr. Physick
frequently and successfully employed arsenic by external application, with-
out its being productive of the injurious consequences which have been
attributed to it.  In weighing such conflicting- testimony, we are constrained
to believe, that the circumstances  of the different experiments and observa-
tions must have been different; and we think that the observations of Black-
adder and Harles show in what this difference consists.  It seems to depend
entirely on the circumstances of the application, as being favourable or un-
favourable to absorption.   Blackadder attributes his very success  to the
large quantities of the arsenic which he employs;  and which, he contends,
kills the part without being absorbed; and this is probably the fact.   Harles's
observations may  be explained on the same  principle.   He contended that
the outward  application of arsenic is comparatively safe to  ulcers, either
common or malignant; but is dangerous to parts recently  wounded and pour-
ing out blood.   Here the difference would seem  to  consist  in the greater
liability to absorption in the latter than in the former case.  The very dilu-
tion caused by the blood, may be  an efficient promoter of absorption, and is
entirely consonant with  the experiments  of Dr. Campbell, who found that
arsenic acted  with more energy, when dissolved in water, than in the solid
state.  The case  in which Dr. Randolph employed this mineral, by the
advice of Dr. Physick, was one of ulcerated scrotum, in which it acted by
producing the death of the diseased part, a state evidently unfavourable to
absorption.   The  formula  employed was one  part of the arsenious acid to
five of the flowers of  sulphur.
   Arsenious acid, when it produces the death of a part, does not act, strictly
speaking, as  an escharotic.  It destroys the vitality of the organized struc-
ture, and its  decomposition is the consequence.  The true  escharotic acts
chemically by decomposing the part  to which it is applied, and the loss of
life follows.  This distinction being  borne in mind, we can explain why
the operation of arsenious acid is  often limited to the  destruction of diseased
formations, which  are known to possess a feeble  vitality;  while the true
escharotics destroy both the diseased and  healthy  structure.  When  the
arsenious acid  succeeds  as an external application  to  cancers, which is a
very rare occurrence,  it acts on this principle; destroying the vitality of the
whole diseased portion, and causing it to be thrown off as something foreign
to the system.
   Upon the whole, new facts are wanting to clear up this difficult subject.
Judging from the lights we possess, the  external application of arsenious
acid, in case  it  is  absorbed, is attended with very great dano-er; and the con-
ditions of a part and of the system at large, favourable  or otherwise to ab-
sorption, are too little understood, to  make it warrantable to use this poison
externally without the greatest caution.
   Treatment of Poisoning by  Arsenious Acid.   Before the antidote, to
be mentioned presently, can be obtained, the poison should be dislodged as
far as possible by free vomiting,  induced by the  finger, the  feather part of
a quill, and the administration of an emetic of sulphate of copper or sulphate
of zinc.  The same object is promoted  by the use of  the stomach-pump.
Demulcent drinks should at the  same time be freely given, such as milk,
 white of eggs and water, or flour and water, which serve to encourage the
 vomiting and envelope the poison. 
PART I.
Acidum Arseniosum.
23
  The antidote above referred  to is the hydrated sesquioxide (peroxide) of
iron in the moist  or pulpy state.  As soon as it is ready, it must be given
in doses  of a tablespoonful to an adult, of a dessertspoonful to  children,
every five or ten minutes, until the urgent symptoms are relieved.  It is
calculated that the quantity taken  should be at least twelve times the sup-
posed amount of the poison  swallowed; but as the antidote is  perfectly
innocent,  it  is  prudent to give it in larger quantities.  Its efficacy is of
course greater, the  sooner it  is administered after the ingestion  of the
poison;  but  even after delay, its use will  prove advantageous, so long as
there is reason to believe that a portion of the  poison still remains in the
stomach.  The antidote  acts by producing with the poison, by a transfer
of oxygen from the oxide to the acid,  an insoluble and  therefore inert
subarseniate of protoxide of iron (4Fe04-As205).  The manner of prepar-
ing the antidote will be  given under another head.  (See Ferri Oxidum
Hydratum, U. S.)  It should be kept by all apothecaries ready for use.
  This antidote for arsenious acid was discovered by Drs. Bunsen and Ber-
thold, of Gottingen, in  1834, and  its  efficacy  has  been abundantly con-
firmed by experiments on inferior animals, and by its successful application
to numerous cases of poisoning in the human subject.   Among others, the
reader is referred to the following:—1. The case of M. Blondel, in which
two drachms of arsenic had been swallowed, {Amer. Journ. of Pharm, new
series, i. 350, from  the Journ. de Chim. Med.)   2. Two cases treated by
Dr. Buzorini, {French Lancet, Nov. 17,  1835.)  3. A case reported by
Mr. John Robson, in which more  than a drachm and  a half of the poison
had been swallowed, and the antidote was  not administered until two hours
after the poison had been taken.  In the last mentioned case, about an hour
after the  ingestion  of the poison, the  stomach-pump had been used, but
unsuccessfully, on account of the instrument becoming choked with the
remains of food. {Amer.  Journ. of the Med. Sci. xx. 222, from the Lond.
Med. Gazette of Nov. 5, 1836.)  4. Case related by Dr. Thomas, of Balti-
more, in which twenty grains of the poison had  been swallowed.  {Amer.
Med. Library and  Intelligencer, ii. 205.)  5.  Case of Dr. Macdonald in
the New Fork Journ. of Medicine and Surgery, ii. 205.  6. Case reported
by  Dr. Gerhard, {Med. Exam. iii. 250.)   7.  Cases related by Drs. Smiley
and Wallace of this city.  A family of eight  persons  were poisoned, of
whom six recovered and two  died.   In the fatal  cases,  the  patients could
not retain the antidote. {Med. Exam. iii. 679.)
   Since the publication  of the last  edition of  this Dispensatory,  several
valuable observations have been  made as to the antidotal powers of the
different oxides of iron, and the circumstances which influence their efficacy.
The forms of oxide experimented with, are the anhydrous sesquioxide (col-
cothar),  the dry hydrated sesquioxide (rust of iron and the subcarbonate of
iron of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which are  both essentially hydrated oxides),
the hydrated oxide in the state of pulp or magma, and  the same oxide kept
under a stratum of water. Orfila has shown that colcothar is without effect,
because  it does not combine  with the  arsenious acid.   Dr. Von  Specz, of
Vienna, has proved that  rust of iron acts as an antidote to arsenious acid,
but, being much less  powerful than the  pulpy hydrate, should be used
only in  the  absence of  the latter,  and until it can be procured.   Orfila
agrees with Von  Specz as to the degree of efficacy of the rust, and explains
its  inferior  power  by its inability completely  to neutralize the arsenious
acid.   According to the French toxicologist, it forms with the acid a subsalt
which is poisonous, though in a much inferior  degree to the free arsenious
acid.  Thus it would  appear that Dr. T. R.  Beck is  in error  in stating 
24
Acidum Arseniosum.
part I.
 that the dry hydrated oxide is inert. {Amer. Journ. of the Med. Sciences,
 new series, ii.95.)  All the best authorities unite in considering the hydra-
 ted oxide in the state of pulp or magma to be the best form of the antidote;
 but opinions are divided as to the necessity of its being freshly prepared as
 well as moist, and as to the relative advantage of much or little water, to
 maintain it in the  moist state.  An able paper, recently published by Mr.
 William Proctor, Jr., of this city, {Amer. Journ. of Pharmacy, xiv.  29,
 April, 1842,) appears to have settled these disputed points.   He has proved
 by satisfactory experiments, that the moist oxide gradually decreases in its
 power  of neutralizing arsenious acid the longer it is  kept,  and that this
 decrease in power is more rapid in the oxide, when mixed with much water,
 than when in the form of a thick magma.
   It follows from the above facts and observations, that the forms of sesqui-
 oxide of iron are efficacious as antidotes to  arsenic in the following order,
 beginning with the one having least  power:—1, dry  hydrated oxide; 2,
 hydrated oxide, long kept and  mixed  with  much water; 3, the  same long
 kept, and in  the form of a thick magma; 4, the same just precipitated and
 still pulpy.    The form  of antidote which can be  obtained  first must be
 used first, although not the best, and may be replaced by a better as soon as
 it can be procured.  The apothecary should, therefore, always keep the oxide
 in the form of thick magma, and, as Mr. Proctor suggests, be prepared, at a
 moment's warning, to make the antidote.  When applied to for  it, he must
 instantly furnish the magma, or, if unprovided with this, the rust or pre-
 cipitated carbonate, and  immediately proceed to prepare the  oxide which
 may be done, according to Mr. Proctor,  in  ten or  fifteen minutes, if the
 proper solutions are always ready for effecting the precipitation.
   The solutions necessary are those of the sulphate of sesquioxide  of iron,
 and of ammonia.  The preparation of this sulphate in solution forms the
 first step in the officinal formula for  obtaining the antidote,  and  will be ex-
 plained under the head of that substance.  (See Ferri Oxidum Hydratum.)
   The antidote having  been  faithfully applied, the subsequent treatment
 consists in the administration of mucilaginous drinks.  Should the patient
 survive long  enough for  inflammatory  symptoms to  arise, these  should be
 combated on the general principles of treating inflammation.   Accordingly,
 venesection  and leeches  may become  necessary; and in the  course of the
 treatment, emollient enemata, antispasmodics, and narcotics will often prove
useful in mitigating pain and allaying nervous irritation.  Convalescence is
 generally long and distressing, and hence it becomes of the greatest  import-
 ance to attend to the diet, which should consist exclusively of milk, gruel,
 cream, rice, and similar bland articles.
   It was formerly supposed that bodies poisoned by arsenious  acid were
 unusually prone to putrefaction; but so far from this being the case, it exerts
 a preservative effect.
   Reagents for detecting Arsenious  Acid.  As arsenic is so  frequently
 employed for criminal purposes, it  becomes of importance   to  detect  its
 presence in  medico-legal investigations.  The tests  for it may  be  divided
 into, 1. those which  indicate indirectly its presence; and,  2.  those which
 demonstrate its presence  incontestably,  by bringing it to the metallic state.
 The former embrace all the liquid reagents, so called; the latter the different
 processes for metallization.
   The most characteristic reagents, according to Dr. Christison, are sul-
phuretted hydrogen, ammoniacal nitrate of silver, and ammoniacal nitrate
 of copper.  In the opinion of this writer, the concurrent indications of these
 three tests are all-sufficient for detecting, in an infallible manner, the presence 
PART I.
Acidum Arseniosum.
25
of arsenious acid; but we think that in questions involving life and death, it
is best to make assurance doubly sure, and, therefore, that the metallization
of the poison ought never to be omitted.
   In using sulphuretted hydrogen, the solution must be neutral.  An excess
of alkali may be neutralized with acetic acid; and an excess of nitric or sul-
phuric acid,  by potassa.   A slight excess of acetic acid is  not, however,
hurtful; on the contrary, it  rather favours the subsidence of the precipitate,
which is  of course sulphuret of arsenic.  According to Dr.  Christison,
this test is so exceedingly delicate, that it detects the poison, when dissolved
in one hundred thousand parts of water.   The colour it produces is lemon
or sulphur-yellow; but the presence  of vegetable or animal matter  com-
monly changes  it to a whitish or  brownish tint.   Some medical jurists
recommend the use of sulphuretted hydrogen water; but  the gas  is  far
preferable.  It can be applied with much convenience by  using one of Dr.
Hare's self-regulating gas reservoirs.
   Dr.  Christison has shown, that how  delicate  soever the ammoniacal
nitrate of silver may be in ordinary solutions, it is not to be depended upon
in dilute solutions of the poison, where animal or vegetable matter is present;
for the precipitate is either not formed in consequence of the organic prin-
ciples exerting a solvent  power over it, or, if formed, is  essentially altered
in colour.
   The ammoniacal sulphate of copper is a test of very great delicacy.  The
precipitate occasioned by it is the arsenite of copper, of an apple-green or
grass-green colour.  Its operation is prevented by muriatic, nitric, sulphuric,
acetic, citric, and tartaric acids in excess; as also by ammonia.  But a greater
objection to it is, that its indications fail  when animal or vegetable matter is
present, in case the arsenic is not abundant.
   Of the three  tests mentioned, perhaps the sulphuretted hydrogen is the
most delicate; and it has the advantage of yielding a precipitate eligible for
subsequent  reduction.  But  they are all  liable to the objection of being
obscured in their indications, where the amount of poison  is  minute, by the
presence of organic principles; a complication which constitutes  the most
difficult problem which  can  be presented to the attention of the  medical
jurist.  As  this  case includes all  others  of more  easy solution,  we shall
suppose it presented to the medical chemist,  and shall indicate the  steps
which are to be pursued.
   Having obtained general indications of  the presence of arsenic,  the first
step will be to separate the organic matters; the second,  to throw down the
arsenic by means of sulphuretted hydrogen;  and the third, to reduce  the
precipitate obtained.
   The following are the directions given by Dr. Christison for separating
the organic principles.   Boil the suspected matter with  distilled water for
half an hour, and filter, first through gauze to separate the coarser particles,
and afterwards through paper.  To the  transparent solution thus obtained,
add acetic acid,  which will coagulate some animal principles.   To ascertain
whether the solution has been sufficiently freed from animal matter by this
measure, neutralize  with ammonia,  and  test a small  portion of it with  the
ammoniacal nitrate of silver.   If this gives a characteristic precipitate,  the
solution is sufficiently deprived of animal matter; if not,  another measure
must be adopted to separate it.  This consists in first rendering the solution
neutral or slightly alkaline, next faintly acidulating with muriatic acid, and
then adding an excess of nitrate of silver.  This salt precipitates the animal
matter in  combination with oxide of silver.   After this  step, the excess of
        4 
26
Acidum Arseniosum.
part I.
silver is  thrown down by a slight excess  of chloride of sodium (common
salt), and the solution filtered.
   Having in this manner disembarrassed the solution of organic matter,
the free nitric acid is  neutralized by potassa in slight excess, and the solu-
tion acidulated with acetic acid.  A stream of sulphuretted hydrogen is then
passed through it, which will throw down the arsenic as sesquisulphuret.
If the proportion of arsenic be very small,  a yellowishness only will be pro-
duced, owing to the precipitate being soluble in an excess of the precipitant.
In this case it is necessary to  boil, to drive off the excess of sulphuretted
hydrogen.  The  precipitate  is  then collected and dried.  If  it be very
minute, it must be allowed to subside,  and  the clear liquid having been
withdrawn, the remainder is to be poured upon  a  filter.   After filtration,
the precipitate is washed down to the bottom of the filter by means of the
instrument called the pipette, employed  for washing scanty precipitates.
The filter is then gently pressed between  folds of bibulous paper, and the
precipitate removed with the point of a knife before  it dries, and then dried
in little masses  on a watch-glass.  In  this manner Dr.  Christison states
that it is  easy to  collect a  portion of the  sesquisulphuret so small  as the
twenty-fifth part  of a grain.   When the precipitate is  small and not easily
separated, Devergie recommends to  dissolve it in a small quantity of am-
monia, and then  filter and evaporate the  solution in a watch-glass, when
the sesquisulphuret will be left.   The precipitate is then  to be reduced by
means of a flux, which  this author recommends to  consist of two parts of
ignited carbonate of soda and  one of charcoal, as preferable to  black flux.
The best flux for the arsenious acid is freshly  ignited charcoal.
  A method different from that of Dr. Christison has been recommended by
M. Maufflier for separating organic substances.  It  consists in adding to the
liquid, resulting from the decoction of the suspected matters, a solution of
oxide of zinc in potassa.  The oxide precipitates in union with the organic
substances, while the  potassa unites with the arsenious acid and remains in
solution.   The clear  solution, obtained by decantation or filtration, being
then acidulated with muriatic acid, the arsenic is precipitated by sulphuretted
hydrogen, as recommended by Dr. Christison.  {Journ.  de Pharm. xx. 492.)
  The general  formula for reduction is as follows.   The  operation is per-
formed in a small glass tube.  If the matter to be operated on is small, it is
introduced to the  bottom of the tube, and then  a little of the flux is added to
cover it, care being taken that the materials are conducted to the place  they
are to occupy, by means of a small  glass  funnel with a slender stem, with-
out soiling the empty part of the tube.   The heat is to  be  applied by'means
of a spirit lamp, the upper part of the material being first heated with a small
flame, and afterwards the lower part with a larger flame.  A little  water,
disengaged at first, should be removed with a  roll of filtering paper, before
sufficient  heat has been applied to sublime the metal.  When the dark crust
begins to  form, the tube should be held quite steady, and in the same part of
the flame.  This crust  is the  metallic arsenic, having the surface next the
tube resplendent and polished,  and the interior surface  crystallized   Its
characters are quite distinct, even when it does not amount to more than the
three-hundredth part of a grain.  If any doubt should be felt as to the nature
of the crust, it may be driven up and down the tube, so as to convert it into
sparkling octohedral crystals of arsenious acid, readily seen with a maenifv-
ing glass.  Finally, the crystals may be dissolved  in a drop or  two of dis-
tilled water, and the solution will  react  characteristically with the liquid
tests.                                                              4
   A new method of testing for arsenic  has been proposed by Mr. Marsh. 
part i.     Acidum Arseniosum.—Acidum Citricum.          27

[Edin. New Phil. Journ. for Oct. 1836.)  It consists in taking advantage
of the power, which nascent hydrogen possesses, of decomposing the acids
of arsenic, with the  result of forming water and arseniuretted hydrogen.
The liquid in the stomach, or obtained from its contents by boiling  water,
is mixed  with  some dilute sulphuric acid, and placed in  a self-regulating
reservoir for hydrogen, in which a piece of zinc is suspended.   The mate-
rials are here present for the production of hydrogen; but if the liquid from
the stomach contain  arsenic, the nascent hydrogen  will combine with  the
metal, and the nature of the compound gas formed may be ascertained by
burning a jet of it from a fine jet-pipe connected with the  reservoir, taking
care that the atmospheric air is  first expelled before applying the fire, for
fear of an explosion.   The flame will have a characteristic blue colour, and
by  holding a piece of white porcelain over it, a thin  film of metallic  arsenic
will be formed.  Liebig and Mohr  bear testimony to the delicacy  of this
test; but to remove every source of fallacy, it is necessary to be sure of the
purity of  the apparatus, as  well as of the zinc and sulphuric acid; as these
latter are liable to contain a minute portion of arsenic.  The  piece of zinc
employed should be changed in  every experiment.
  Lassaigne has proposed to pass  the arseniuretted hydrogen through  a
solution of nitrate of oxide of silver.   Arsenious acid is formed, nitric acid
set free, and metallic silver  deposited  in  black flocculi.   Muriatic  acid is
cautiously added to  the  decanted liquid  to decompose the excess of the
nitrate, by throwing  down its silver in the form of a chloride.   The  filtered
liquor will contain nitric and arsenious acids,  the  latter of which may be
detected by the usual tests.   Or it may be evaporated to drynes's, whereby
the arsenious becomes arsenic acid, by oxygen derived from the nitric acid
which is decomposed.   The solution of arsenic acid obtained  from  the dry
residuum is then tested by nitrate of silver which forms with it a brick-red
precipitate of arseniate of silver.  Lassaigne's mode of proceeding  has the
merit of saving the first portions of the arsenical gas.
   Marsh's test has been objected to by  Mr. L.  Thompson, who alleges that
antimony forms a compound with hydrogen, very similar to  arseniuretted
hydrogen, both in the colour of its flame, and in the  metallic crust which it
deposites during  combustion on  cold surfaces.  Still, according to Turner,
these two compounds of hydrogen may be discriminated.   For further de-
tails, see  Turner's Chemistry, Sixth American  Edition,  p. 335, where a
figure of the apparatus to be employed is given.
   Off. Prep. Arsenici  Oxydum  Album Sublimatum, Dub.; Liquor Potassae
Arsenitis, U. S.,  Lond.,  Ed.                                      B.


       ACIDUM  CITRICUM,  U.S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.

                            Citric Acid.

  Acidum limonis; Acide citriqne, Fr.; Citroneneaure, Germ.;  Acido citrico, Ittil., Span.
   Citric acid is the peculiar acid to which limes and lemons owe their sour-
ness, being found in  greatest abundance in the  former.  It is present also in
the juice of other fruits, though in smaller amount;   such as the cranberry,
the red  whortleberry, the berry  of the bittersweet, the red gooseberry, the
currant, the strawberry, the raspberry, and the tamarind.
   The  acid is extracted from lemon or lime juice by a very simple process,
for  which we  are indebted  to  Scheele.  The juice is imported into the
United  States  from the West Indies, principally from the  Island of Cuba,
for the purpose of being converted into syrup, or manufactured into citric 
28
Acidum Citricum.
part i.
  acid.  To obtain the acid, the juice is first completely saturated with carbo-
  nate of lime,  (chalk or whiting,)  in  fine powder, and  the citrate  of lime
  formed is allowed to subside.  This is then washed repeatedly with water,
  and decomposed by diluted sulphuric acid.  An insoluble sulphate  of lime
  is immediately formed, and the citric acid,  being separated, remains in the
  supernatant liquor.   This is  carefully concentrated  in leaden  boilers, until
  a pellicle begins  to form, when it is transferred to other  vessels in order to
  cool and  crystallize.  As the crystals obtained by the first crystallization
  are generally brown, they require  to be redissolved  and recrystallized for
  several successive times,  in order to render them pure and white.
    The late Mr. Parkes, in his Chemical Essays, has given a  very interest-
 ing account of the manufacture of citric acid, which  is made in large quan-
 tities in London  for the use of the calico-printers.  As Mr. P. was  himself
 engaged in this manufacture, the following outline of the process which he
 pursued, may be received with the greater confidence.  The juice is placed
 in large square vats, in which  it is saturated with clean soft chalk or whiting,
 gradually added to prevent excessive effervescence.   The insoluble citrate
 of lime is  allowed to subside, and the  supernatant liquid, containing muci-
 lage, saccharine matter, and a little malic acid, is drawn off by means of a
 syphon.   The citrate is  then passed through a sieve,  and  washed with
 warm water, until all remaining mucilage, and other  soluble impurities are
 removed.    It is then decomposed, while yet moist, by means of sulphuric
 acid, taken in the proportion  of nine pounds and a half of the strong acid
 diluted with seven gallons of  water, for every ten pounds of chalk used in
 the saturation.  Some deduction, however, may be made from the water of
 dilution, in consideration of the water present in the moist citrate.  The
 quantity of chalk  expended may be easily ascertained by weighing out more
 than is sufficient for the purpose of saturation, and weighing the remainder
 after the point of saturation shall have been attained.  The sulphuric acid
 is gradually poured in  immediately after the water has been added to it, in
 order that the decomposition may be assisted by  the heat generated by its
 dilution; and at the same time,  the whole is well stirred with  a  strong
 wooden spatula, in order to prevent the citrate from running into lumps and
 thus escaping the action of the acid.  As the point of complete decomposi-
 tion of the citrate approaches, the sulphate of lime precipitates more and
 more quickly,  and the quantity  of supernatant  liquid becomes  sensibly
 greater.  When the decomposition has been completed,  the solution of
 citric acid is drawn off, and the sulphate  of lime washed  repeatedly with
 cold water, to  separate any remains of acid.  The  solution  of the acid,
 together with the washings, is then concentrated  by  evaporation in  leaden
 boilers, until it  reaches the sp. gr. of about 1-130; when the  fire  is  with-
 drawn and  the acid removed to a smaller leaden vessel, where  it underooes
 a further concentration by means of a water-bath.  When the bulk  of&the
 acid liquor  becomes very much reduced by evaporation,  it requires to be
 transferred  to a  still smaller leaden boiler, where it is further evaporated by
 the same means, until the liquor acquires the consistence of very thin
 molasses.   It is then watched  with the  greatest attention for noting the pro-
 duction of a pellicle, upon the  appearance of which over the whole surface
of the liquor, the  acid is  to be deemed sufficiently concentrated, and must
be immediately removed  from the water-bath,  and  put aside  to cool and
 crystallize.  If  at this  stage of the process  the removal  of the acid were
neglected,  the whole would be in danger of being  charred and spoiled
  The liquor is allowed to remain at rest  four davs, that crystals may be
formed, from which the mother waters, presenting'a black colour, are to be 
PART I.
Acidum Citricum.
29
 drained.   These  are then  diluted with ten or twelve times their bulk of
 water,  saturated anew by  means of carbonate of lime, and treated in all
 respects as if they consisted of fresh lemon juice.  By this  proceeding, a
 new crop of crystals will be obtained.
   Whatever care may be taken in conducting the process, the first crop of
 crystals will be of a light brownish colour; but if the solution has been burnt
 during  the evaporation, or the mucilage imperfectly separated, they will be
 dark brown or black.  In order to have the crystals perfectly pure and white,
 it is necessary to subject them to repeated  solutions  and crystallizations.
 According to Mr. Parkes, a  gallon of good juice, if the process be well con-
 ducted, will yield  eight ounces of white crystals.  But the product depends
 very much on the proportion of citric acid in the juice, which is very vari-
 able.   The more recent the juice the better the quality.   That which is
 stale will sometimes  be quite  sour, without  containing any citric acid, in
 consequence of its having undergone the acetous fermentation.
   In decomposing the citrate of lime by sulphuric acid,  it is not prudent to
 trust altogether to the appearance of the liquor, in deciding when the decom-
 position is complete.   A more certain criterion is to  filter a small portion
 of the liquor, and  test it with acetate of lead.  If  no sulphuric acid be pre-
 sent in  excess, the precipitate will consist of citrate of lead, and be entirely
 soluble  in nitric acid.   On the contrary supposition, the precipitate will be
 a mixture  of citrate and  sulphate of lead, the latter of  which will remain
 undissolved on the addition of  nitric acid.
   It is  desirable to have a slight excess of sulphuric acid; as it rather favours
 than otherwise the crystallization of the citric acid.  It is found necessary
 also, to add occasionally a small portion of sulphuric acid to the citric acid
 liquor,  during the  progress of its concentration.
   Citric acid is manufactured in different cities of the United States, for use
 in the arts  and in  medicine.  In Philadelphia it is made in the usual man-
 ner, from the juice of limes and lemons.   The imported juice furnishes from
 four to  six ounces of the pure crystallized acid to the gallon.
   Citric acid is properly placed in the Materia Medica of the United States
 Pharmacopoeia, as an article purchased from the manufacturing chemist, and
 not  made by the  apothecary.   The British Colleges  place it among  the
 preparations.
   The  following is an outline of the process of the London Pharmacopoeia
 of 1836, for preparing this acid.   Four ounces and a half of prepared chalk
 are  added  by degrees  to  eighty fluidounces of heated lemon juice.  The
 resulting citrate of lime is  carefully washed with tepid  water, and decom-
 posed, while yet moist, by the addition of twenty-seven  and a half fluid-
 ounces  of diluted sulphuric acid,  and forty  fluidounces of distilled water.
 The liquor is boiled for a quarter of an hour, and, after  having been strained
 through a cloth with strong  compression,  is filtered.  The filtered liquor is
 then evaporated by a gentle  heat, and set aside to crystallize.   The solution
 and  crystallization are to be  repeated several times, in order to get the crys-
 tals pure.
  The process of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, which is now for  the first
 time introduced, is substantially the same with the London.   The principal
 differences are, that the Edinburgh College purifies the  lemon juice  to a cer-
 tain  extent from mucilage by boiling, rest, and subsidence, before it is boiled
 with a view to the addition of the chalk, and indicates  the proportion of the
diluted  sulphuric acid to the chalk expended, without fixing the absolute
quantities.   These are improvements; for the presence of much mucilage
interferes with the purification of the crystals, and the quality of the juice
                                  4* 
30
Acidum  Citricum.
part I.
 is too variable to allow of the quantity of chalk necessary for saturation to
 be fixed.  Dr. Christison states  that the juice is advantageously clarified
 by albumen.
   In the process of the Dublin College,  the citrate of lime, which is unne-
 cessarily directed to be dried, is  decomposed by a quantity of diluted sul-
 phuric acid, equal to eight times the weight of the chalk employed.
   Properties. Citric acid is a white crystallized solid, often in large crystals,
 having the form of rhomboidal prisms with dihedral summits.   It is perma-
 nent in a dry air, but becomes moist in a damp one.   Its sp. gr. is 1-6.   Its
 taste is strongly acid, and almost caustic.  When heated, it dissolves in its
 water  of crystallization, and at a higher temperature  undergoes decomposi-
 tion, becoming yellow or brown, and forming a very sour syrupy liquid,
 which is uncrystallizable.   By destructive distillation, it gives rise to water,
 empyreumatic oil, acetic and carbonic acids, carburetted  hydrogen, and a
 number  of pyrogenous acids; and a voluminous coal  is left.
   Citric acid  dissolves in three-fourths  of its  weight of cold, and half its
 weight of boiling water.   It is also soluble in alcohol.  A  weak  solution of
 it has an agreeable taste, but cannot be kept, as it undergoes  spontaneous
 decomposition.   It is incompatible with alkaline solutions, whether pure or
 carbonated, converting them into citrates; also with the earthy and metallic
 carbonates, most acetates, the alkaline sulphurets, and soaps.   It is charac-
 terized by its  taste, by the shape of its crystals, and by its forming an inso-
 luble salt with lime, and a deliquescent one with potassa.  If sulphuric acid
 be present, the precipitate by acetate of lead will not be entirely soluble in
 nitric acid; the insoluble portion being sulphate of lead.  Sometimes large
 crystals of tartaric acid are substituted for or mixed with the citric, a fraud
 which is readily detected by the addition of carbonate of potassa, which
 forms with the substituted acid a crystalline precipitate of bitartrate of po-
 tassa (cream of tartar).   Lime or other fixed impurity is detected by incine-
rating  the  acid,  either  alone or by the aid of red oxide of mercury, when
 the fixed matter  will be left.
   Composition.   This acid consists of two eqs. of hydrogen  2, four of
 carbon 24-48,  and four of oxygen 32=58-48.   The  acid usually met with
 in commerce contains one and a third equivalents of water.
  Medical Properties.   Citric acid is principally employed for making a
 substitute for  lemonade, and in  the composition of effervescing draughts.
 It is used also for preparing the neutral mixture, for which a formula has been
 newly introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  (See Liquor Potassse Ci-
 tratis, U. S.)  When added in the quantity of nine drachms and  a  half to a
 pint of distilled  water, it forms a  solution of the average streno-th of lime
juice.  Of this solution, or of lemon juice, a scruple of bicarbonate of po-
 tassa saturates three fluidrachms and a half; a scruple of carbonate of potassa,
 four fluidrachms; and a scruple of carbonate of ammonia,  six fluidrachms'
 Half a fluidounce of lemon juice, or of an equivalent  solution of citric acid',
 when saturated,  is considered a dose.  An agreeable  substitute for lemon-
 ade may be formed by dissolving from two to four parts of the acid mixed
 with a little sugar and oil of lemons, in nine  hundred parts of water-  or a
 scruple of the acid may be  dissolved in  a pint of water, and sweetened to
 the taste  with  sugar which has been rubbed on  fresh lemon-peel
   Off. Prep.  Liquor Potassae Citratis, U. S.                         "R 
PART I,
Acidum Muriaticutn.
31
           ACIDUM  MURIATICUM. U.S., Dub.

                          Muriatic Acid.

  " Aqueous solution  of chlorohydric acid gas of  the specific gravity
116."  U.S.
  Off. Syn. ACIDUM HYDROCHLORICUM. Lond.  ACIDUM MU-
RIATICUM PURUM.  Hydrochloric acid.  ACIDUM MURIATICUM.
Hydrochloric acid of commerce.  Ed.
  Spirit of sea-salt, Marine  acid, Hydrochloric acid, Chlorohydric acid; Acide hydro-
chlorique, Fr.; Sulzs&ure, Kochsalz>aure, Germ.; Acido murialico, Iial., Spun.
  The muriatic acid of pharmacy  and the arts, is a solution of muriatic acid
gas in water.   It is sometimes called  liquid muriatic acid, but more pro-
perly aqueous muriatic acid.  The  acid is officinal in its pure form in the
U. S., London, and Dublin Pharmacopoeias, and in  its pure and commer-
cial forms in the Edinburgh.   The sp. gr. of the pure acid is directed to be
1-16  in the U. S., London, and Dublin Pharmacopoeias,  and 1-17 in  the
Edinburgh.   The three British Colleges give a process for the preparation
of the pure acid;  while, in the United States Pharmacopoeia, it is placed
exclusively in the list of the Materia Medica, as an article to be procured
from the manufacturing chemist.
  Preparation.  Muriatic acid is obtained by the action of sulphuric acid on
chloride of sodium or common salt.  The commercial acid is procured, on
a large scale, by distilling the salt with an  equal weight of sulphuric acid,
somewhat diluted with water, from iron stills  furnished with earthen heads,
into earthenware receivers containing water.  Thus obtained, it is contami-
nated with iron and other impurities, and is not  fit for  medicinal purposes.
  Commercial muriatic acid is now obtained in large quantities in England,
during the decomposition of common salt,  for the purpose of making  sul-
phate of soda, out of which  soda-ash  and  carbonate  of soda are manufac-
tured in immense quantities.   Indeed the quantity of acid generated in soda
works is so great,  that in many cases, so far from its being valuable, it  is a
difficult problem to devise  means to get rid of it.   When the object is to
obtain sulphate of soda, the  decomposition of  the sea salt is performed in
semi-cylindrical vessels,  the curved  part, next the fire, being made of iron,
and the upper or flat surface, of stone.  If the acid is saved, it is conveyed
by a pipe to a double-necked stoneware receiver, half  filled with  water,  and
connected with a row of similar receivers, likewise containing water.
  The  acid is  generally prepared in the laboratory,  when required to be
pure, by saturating distilled water with the gas in a Woulfe's apparatus. A
quantity of pure fused* common salt is introduced into a retort  or matrass,
placed in a  sand-bath.   The  vessel is then furnished with an S tube,  and
connected with  the series of bottles, each two-thirds full of water.  A quan-
tity of sulphuric acid is then  gradually added, equal in weight to the com-
mon salt employed, and diluted with  one-third of its  weight of water.   The
materials ought not to occupy more than half the body of the retort.  When
the extrication  of the  gas  slackens, heat is  to be  applied, and gradually
increased until the water in the bottles  refuses to absorb any more, or until,
upon raising the heat, no more gas is found to come over.  As soon as the
process is completed, boiling water is to  be added to  the contents of the
retort, in order  to facilitate the removal  of the  residue.   During the progress

  * According to Thenard, the fusion of the  common salt will  very much facilitate the
conducting of the process. 
32
Acidum Muriaticum.
part I.
 of the saturation, the water in the several bottles increases in temperature,
 which lessens its power of absorption.   It is therefore expedient, in order
 to obtain a strong acid, to keep  the bottles cool by means of water or ice.
 The connecting tubes need not plunge deeply into the acid.
   The rationale of the process for obtaining this acid is sufficiently simple.
 Common salt is a compound of  chlorine and  sodium;  muriatic acid, of
 chlorine and hydrogen;  and liquid  sulphuric acid, of dry sulphuric acid and
 water.   The water is decomposed; its oxygen, combining with the sodium
 of the common salt, generates soda, which unites with the sulphuric acid to
 form sulphate of soda; while the hydrogen and chlorine,  being both in the
 nascent state, combine and escape as muriatic acid gas.  The  residue of the
 process is consequently sulphate of soda, or Glauber's salt.   It is reserved
 by the British Colleges to be  dissolved  and crystallized, in  order to form
 the officinal sulphate of soda.  (See Sodse Sulphas.)
   The following is a synopsis  of the proportions of the ingredients pre-
 scribed by the British Colleges for obtaining the pure acid:—London, two
 pounds of dried chloride of sodium, twenty ounces of sulphuric  acid,  and
 twenty-four fluidounces of distilled water;—Edinburgh, equal weights of
 purified  and well dried  salt, pure  acid, and water;—Dublin, one hundred
 parts of dried salt, eighty-seven of commercial sulphuric acid,  and one hun-
 dred and twenty-four of water.  The Edinburgh College distils  " with a
 gentle heat by means of a sand-bath  or  naked gas-flame, so long as any
 liquid passes  over, preserving the receiver constantly cool by snow or a
 stream of cold water."  The Dublin  College  distils the materials  to dry-
 ness.  One-third of the water prescribed in the Edinburgh  formula, and
 one-half of that directed in the London and the Dublin, is  mixed with the
 sulphuric acid; the rest being put into  the receiver to absorb the gas.
   From the above view, it is perceived that the British Colleges differ as
 to the proportion of acid  and salt.  Theory calls for a little  less  than 82
parts of the liquid acid to  100 of the common salt; while the  London Col-
lege  uses about  83 parts,  the Dublin  87, and the Edinburgh 100 parts of
 acid  to that quantity of salt. The London proportions are, therefore, nearest
the theoretical quantities, and would even seem to furnish  a slight excess of
acid; but from careful experiments made by Dr. Barker of Dublin, it ap-
pears to be demonstrated,  that to decompose completely the  whole of  the
salt,  87 parts of  strong acid are necessary; for it  is a principle now gene-
rally conceded, and which was contended for many years ago by Dr. Hope,
that to produce the complete decomposition of a salt, it is sometimes neces-
sary to use  more than  an equivalent  quantity of the decomposing agent.
Accordingly, Dr. Hope declares, that the Edinburgh proportion of equai
 weights of sulphuric acid  and  salt gives a larger  product of muriatic acid,
 with less expense of time and fuel,  than when a smaller quantity of the
 decomposing acid is employed.
   The common  salt  is purified by  the Edinburgh College by dissolving it
 in boiling water, concentrating the solution, skimming off the crvstals as they
 form on the surface, draining  from them  the adhering solution, and subse-
 quently washing them slightly with cold water.   Dr. Christison states that
 the object of the process  is to separate nitrate of soda, which is almost
 always present in the common  salt of commerce.  It will  also separate
 nitrate of potassa if it happen to be  present.   The same College  directs
pure sulphuric acid,  on the ground that the commercial usually contains
 nitrous acid. (See Acidum Sulphuricum Purum.)  The effect of a nitrate
 in the common salt, and of nitrous acid in the sulphuric,  is to contaminate
 the muriatic acid with a  small  portion of chlorine. 
PART I.
Acidum Muriaticum.
33
  Properties of the Aqueous Acid.  Muriatic acid, when pure, is a transpa-
rent colourless liquid, of a corrosive taste and suffocating odour.   Exposed
to the air, it emits white fumes, owing to the escape of the acid gas, and its
union with the moisture of the atmosphere.  When concentrated, it blackens
organic substances like sulphuric acid.   Its sp. gr. varies with its strength.
When as highly concentrated as possible, its density is 1-21.   The medici-
nal acid has the sp.  gr. of 1-16, and 100 grains of it saturate 132 grains of
crystallized carbonate of soda.  When of this strength it contains  rather
more  than 33-9  per cent, of muriatic acid gas.  {Phillips.)   Mixed with
nitric acid, it forms nitro-muriatic acid, or aqua regia.  (See Acidum Nitro-
muriaticum. Dub.)
  As  it is desirable to know, on many occasions,  in chemical  and pharma-
ceutical operations,  the  quantity of strong  liquid acid,  of acid gas,  and of
chlorine, contained in samples  of acid of different densities,  we subjoin a
table by Dr. Ure, containing this information, as abridged by the  late Dr.
Duncan.
Table of the Quantity of Liquid Muriatic Acid of sp. gr.  1-2, of Muriatic
  Acid Gas, and of Chlorine, in 100 parts of Liquid Acid of different
  densities.
Sp. Gr.	Liquid Acid of sp. gr. 1-2	Acid Gas.	Chlorine.	Sp. Gr.	Liquid Acid of sp.gr. 1-2	Acid Gas.	Chlorine.
1-2000	100	40-777	39-675	1-1102	55	21-822	22-426
1-1910	95	38-738	37-692	1-1000	50	20 388	19-837
11822	90	36-700	35-707	1-08D9	45	18348	17-854
J 1721	85	34-660	33-724	1-0798	40	16-310	15-870
1 1701	84	34-252	33328	1-0697	35	14-271	13-887
1-1620	80	32-621	31-746	1-0597	30	12-233	11-903
1-1599	79	32-213	31-343	1-0497	25	10194	9-919
11515	75	30-582	29-757	10397	20	8-155	7-935
1-1410	70	28-544	27-772	1-0298	15	6116	5-951
1-1308	65	26-504	25-789	1-0200	10	4078	3-968
1-1206	60	24-466	23-805	1-0100	5	2-039	1-984
   Muriatic acid is characterized by forming, on  the  addition of nitrate of
 silver, a white precipitate (chloride of silver), which  is insoluble in  nitric
 acid, but readily soluble in  ammonia.   It is incompatible with  alkalies and
 most earths, with  oxides and their carbonates, and with sulphuret and tar-
 trate of potassa, tartar emetic, tartarized  iron, nitrate of silver, and solution
 of subacetate of lead.
   Adulterations.   This acid, when pure, will evaporate without residue in
 a platinum spoon.   If sulphuric acid  be  present, a solution  of chloride of
 barium will cause a precipitate of sulphate of baryta, in the acid previously
 diluted with distilled-water.   Iron may be detected by saturating the  dilute
 acid with carbonate of soda, and then adding ferrocyanuret  of potassium,
 which will strike a blue colour in case that metal is present.   Free chlorine
 may be discovered by the acid having the power to dissolve gold-leaf.  Any
 minute portion of  the leaf which may  be  dissolved,  is detected  by adding a
 solution of protochloride of tin, which will strike a purplish tint.  The free
chlorine is derived from the reaction  of  nitric or nitrous acid on a  small
portion of the muriatic acid, which is thus deprived of its hydrogen.  These
contaminating acids are derived from nitrates in the common salt, and nitrous
acid in the commercial sulphuric acid, employed  in the preparation of the
muriatic acid.  Hence it is that when free chlorine is present, nitrous acid,
or some other oxide of nitrogen,  is also present as an impurity. 
34
Acidum Muriaticum.
part I.
   Muriatic Acid of Commerce.  This acid has the general properties of
 the pure aqueous acid.   It has a yellow colour, owing to  the presence of
 sesquichloride of iron,  or of a minute portion  of organic  matter, such as
 cork, wood, &c.  It usually contains sulphuric  acid, and sometimes chlo-
 rine and nitrous acid.  But the most injurious  impurity to  those  who con-
 sume it in the arts, is sulphurous acid.   To detect this, M.  Girardin, Prof.
 of Chemistry at Rouen, has proposed a very delicate test, namely, the pro-
 tochloride of tin.  The  mode of using the test is to take about half an ounce
 of the acid to  be tested, and add to it two or three drachms of the protochlo-
 ride.   The mixture having been  stirred two or three times, as much dis-
 tilled water as of the protochloride is  to be added.   If sulphurous acid be
 present, the muriatic acid becomes turbid and yellow immediately  upon the
 addition of the protochloride; and, upon the subsequent addition of the water,
 a slight evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen takes place,  perceptible to  the
 smell,  and the liquid  assumes a  brown hue, depositing a powder  of the
 same colour.  The manner in which the test acts is as follows.  By a trans-
 fer  of  chlorine, it  is converted into bichloride  and  metallic tin,  the latter
 of which, by reacting with the sulphurous acid, gives rise to a precipitate of
 the peroxide and protosulphuret of tin.  {Amer. Journ. of Pharm. vii. 222,
from the Journ. de Pharm.)
   Another impurity occasionally present in the  commercial acid,  as shown
 by Dupasquier of Lyons, is arsenic.   The immediate source of this impu-
 rity is the sulphuric acid used to prepare the muriatic acid.   The  sulphuric
 acid derives the arsenic from the sulphur from which  it is manufactured, and
 this last from  pyrites containing a little of the poisonous metal.  The arse-
 nic, when present, is in the form of a chloride, and from its  volatility in this
 state of combination, is transferred to  the  purified  acid, distilled  from  the
 commercial acid.   This impurity is separated by diluting the acid with an
 equal volume of water,  and passing through it sulphuretted hydrogen, which
 throws down  the arsenic as a sulphuret. {Amer. Journ. of Pharm. xiii. 348,
from the Journ. de Chim. Med.)
   Muriatic acid of commerce  is  officinal only  in the Edinburgh Pharma-
 copoeia, and was made  so for the first time in the last edition of that work.
 Its  density is directed  to be at least  1-180.  Dr. Christison states that it
 varies  in this respect from 1-180 to 1-216.   Thus  the  commercial acid is
 stronger than the  pure acid of the Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia,  and conse-
 quently more fuming.   It is officinally  defined  to be always yellow,  and
 commonly to contain a little sulphuric acid, oxide of iron, and chlorine.
   Properties of Muriatic Acid Gas.   Muriatic acid  gas  is a colourless
 elastic  fluid, possessing a pungent odour, and irritating properties  to the or-
 gans of respiration.  It destroys life and  extinguishes flame.  It reddens
 litmus  powerfully, and has the other properties of a strong acid.   Its sp. gr.
 is 1-269.   Subjected to a pressure of 40 atmospheres, at the temperature of
 50°, it is condensed into a transparent liquid,  to which only the name of
 liquid  muriatic acid should be applied.   It absorbs  water with the greatest
 avidity, and, according to the temperature and pressure, unites with a greater
 or less quantity of that  liquid.   Water, at the temperature of 69°, takes up
 464 times its volume of the gas, increasing one-third in  bulk, and about
 three-fourths  in weight.  Water thus saturated  constitutes  the strono- aque-
 ous acid already described.  With metallic oxides it forms  a chloride of the
 metal and water.
    Composition.  Muriatic acid  gas consists of one eq. of  chlorine  35-42,
'and one of hydrogen  1 = 36-42;  or of one volume  of chlorine  and one of
 hydrogen united without condensation. 
part i.     Acidum Muriaticum.—Acidum Nitricum.          35

  Medical Properties.   Muriatic acid is refrigerant and antiseptic.  It is
exhibited, largely diluted with water, in fevers, some forms of syphilis, and
to counteract phosphatic deposites in the urine.  Dr. Paris has given it with
success in malignant cases of typhus and scarlatina, administered in a strong
infu#ion of quassia.  The same writer has found it one of the most efficacious
remedies for preventing the generation of worms,  after a free evacualion of
the bowels.  It proves also a  good adjunct to gargles in ulcerated sorethroat
and  scarlatina maligna.  The dose for internal exhibition is  from ten to
twenty minims, in a sufficient quantity of some  bland fluid, as barley water,
or gruel.  In the composition of gargles, it may be used in the proportion of
from half a fluidrachm  to two fluidrachms, to  six fluidounces of the  vehicle.
The diluted acid is  the most convenient form for prescribing. (See Acidum
Muriaticum Dilutum.)
   Toxicological Properties.   Muriatic acid, when  swallowed,  is highly
irritating and corrosive, but less so than sulphuric and nitric acids.  It pro-
duces blackness of the  lips,  fiery redness of the tongue, hickups, violent
efforts to vomit, and agonizing pain in the stomach.  There is much thirst,
great restlessness, a dry and burning skin, and a small  concentrated pulse.
If the acid has been recently swallowed,  white vapours of a pungent smell
are emitted from the mouth.  The best antidote is magnesia, which acts by
saturating the acid.  Soap is also useful for the same reason.   In the course
of the treatment, bland and mucilaginous drinks must be freely given. When
inflammation supervenes, it must be treated on general principles.
   Muriatic acid  is a very important pharmaceutical agent.  It is  used by-
 one or more of the Pharmacopoeias in the preparation of tartaric acid,  tar-
trate of antimony and  potassa, oxide of antimony, tartrate of iron  and po-
 tassa, muriate of morphia {Ed.), sulphate of quinia, bicarbonate of soda,
strychnia, and precipitated sulphur.  In the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, the
 commercial acid is  exclusively used in the formulae, whether it performs the
 part of an agent, or enters as an ingredient into the preparation.  Dr. Chris-
tison thinks it sufficiently pure "for all  medical  and most pharmaceutical
 purposes."  We cannot agree in this opinion.  In the Edinburgh Pharma-
 copoeia, the pure acid is surplusage; as it is used in no process whatever,
 and is, according to Dr.  Christison, unnecessary as a medicine.
    Off. Prep.  Acidum  Muriaticum Dilutum, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Aci-
 dum Nitromuriaticum, U.S., Dub.; Antimonii Oxydum Nitromuriaticum,
 Dub.; Barii Chloridum, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Calcii Chloridum, Lond.,
 Ed.; Calx Chlorinata, Lond.; Ferrum Ammoniatum, U. S., Lond.; Liquor
 Calcii Chloridi, U. S., Ed.; Morphiae Murias, U. S., Lond.; Tinctura Ferri
 Chloridi, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Zinci Chloridum, U. S.          B.


           ACIDUM NITRICUM. U.S., Lond., Dub.

                             Nitric Acid.

    " Nitric acid  of  the specific gravity 1*5."  U. S.
    Off. Syn. ACIDUM NITRICUM PURUM. Pure Nitric Acid. ACI-
 DUM NITRICUM.  Nitric Acid of Commerce. Ed.
   Spirit of nitre;  Aqua fortis; Acide nitrique, Acide azotique, Fr.; Salpetersaure, Germ.;
 Zalpeterzuur, Sterkwater, Dutch;  Skedwalter, Swed.; Acido nitrico, ItaL, Span.
    Nitric acid is now  officinal in three forms,—the strong, the commercial,
 and the diluted.   The strong and commercial acids will be noticed here; the
  diluted, under another head.  (See Acidum Nitricum Dilutum.) The strong
  acid is officinal in all the Pharmacopoeias, and is  directed to have the  sp. gr. 
36
Acidum Nitricum.
part r.
  1-5 in the U. S., Lond., and Ed. Pharmacopoeias, and 1-49 in the Dublin.
  The commercial acid is a new officinal of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia,
  and peculiar to it, and  is defined by the College to have a density varying
  from 1-38 to 1-39.  The strong acid is directed, in the British Pharmaco-
  poeias, to be obtained  according to a given  formula, but is more properly
  placed in the Materia Medica list of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, as an article
  to be  purchased from the manufacturing chemist.
    The usual process adopted in the laboratory for obtaining this acid is to
 .add to nitrate of potassa in coarse powder, contained in a retort, an equal
 weight of strong sulphuric acid, poured in by means of a tube or funnel, so
 as not to soil the neck.  The materials  should not occupy more than two-
 thirds of the capacity of the retort.   A receiver being adapted, heat is ap-
 plied by means of a spirit-lamp, the naked fire, or a sand-bath, moderately
 at first, but afterwards  more strongly when the materials begin to get solid,
 in order to bring the whole into a state of perfect fusion.   Red vapours will
 at first  arise, and afterwards disappear in the progress of the  distillation.
 Towards its close they will be reproduced, and their reappearance will indi-
 cate that the process is completed.
   The rationale of the process, when the ordinary acid of commerce is used,
 is as follows.   Nitrate of potassa is a dry salt, consisting of one eq. of nitric
 acid and one of potassa.   Liquid sulphuric  acid of ordinary strength (sp.
 gr. 1-8433, Phillips,) consists of one eq. of dry sulphuric acid, and one and
 a quarter eqs. of water; and  liquid nitric acid, of one eq. of dry acid, and
 one and a half eqs. of water.  The equivalent quantities of the materials for
 mutual decomposition are one eq. of nitrate of potassa, and two eqs. of com-
 mercial sulphuric acid, containing two and a half eqs. of water.  Two eqs.
 of dry sulphuric acid combine  with one eq. of potassa, forming one eq.  of
 bisulphate of potassa, which remains in the retort retaining one eq. of water;
 while the remaining one and a half eqs. of water from the sulphuric acid,
 uniting  with one eq. of dry nitric acid, form one eq. of liquid nitric acid,
 which distils over.   The nitric acid thus formed is, according to Mr. Phil-
 lips, the strongest procurable, and varies in density from 1-5033 to 1*504.
   If, in the above process, the decomposition were performed by the strono-est
 sulphuric acid,  the proportions, in round numbers, would be  one eq. of°the
 salt 102, and two eqs. of sulphuric acid  98, containing two  eqs. of water.
 Now this approaches nearly to equal weights; and when in practice an equal
 weight of the commercial weaker acid is taken, the increased quantity merely
 furnishes the additional portion of  water which is necessary.
   The British Colleges differ somewhat in the proportion of the materials
 employed for making this acid.   The following is an outline of their re-
spective processes.
   The London College takes equal weights, (two pounds, each,) of dried
nitrate of potassa and sulphuric acid.   These  are mixed in a glass retort,
and the nitric acid is distilled by means of a sand-bath.   About two hundred
and seventeen grains of  crystallized carbonate of soda are saturated by one
hundred grains  of this acid.                                        J
   The Edinburgh College, in their  new process, mixes in  a glass retort
equal weights of purified nitrate of potassa and of sulphuric  acid,  and dis-
tils into a cool receiver, with a moderate heat from a sand-bath or naked gas-
flame, so long as the fused material continues to give off vapour.  The pale-
yellow acid, thus obtained, may be rendered colourless, by heating it gently
in a retort.   The nitrate is purified from the chlorides of sodium Jnd potas-
 sium (the usual impurities) by two or more crystallizations;  the absence of
the chlorides being ascertained by the non-action of the nitrate of silver on 
PART I.
Acidum Nitricum.
37
a solution  of the purified  salt.   The  Edinburgh College have  dismissed
their  " Acidum Nitrosum,"  and substituted the  above for their  former
faulty and  wasteful process for nitric acid.
   The Dublin College mixes one hundred parts of nitrate of potassa with
ninety-seven parts  of commercial sulphuric acid,  " in a glass  retort,  and
with an apparatus adapted  to collecting the acid  products, distils until the
residuum in the retort concretes,  and again becomes liquid."
   The proportion of equal weights, now adopted by the Edinburgh College,
after the  London, is the best for operations on a small scale in the laboratory.
This proportion  is also preferred  by Thenard.   In operations  on a large
scale, where iron vessels are used, a strong heat applied, and water placed
in the receivers  to condense  the acid, less sulphuric acid  may be  advan-
tageously used.
   Preparation of Nitric Acid for the Arts.  Two strengths of this acid
occur in the arts;—double aqua fortis, which is half the strength of con-
centrated nitric acid, and single aqua fortis, which is half as strong as the
double.  Aqua fortis  is sometimes obtained by distilling a mixture of nitre
and calcined sulphate of iron.  By an interchange of  ingredients, sulphate
of potassa and nitrate of iron are formed,  the latter of which, at the distil-
ling heat, readily abandons its nitric acid. The sulphate of potassa is washed
out of the  residue,  and the sesquioxide (peroxide) of  iron which is left, is
sold, under the name of colcothar,  to  the polishers of metals.   The distil-
lation is  performed in large cast-iron retorts, lined on the inside with a thick
layer of red oxide of iron, to protect them  from the action of the acid.
The  acid is received in large glass vessels  containing water.  A considera-
ble portion of  the  acid is  decomposed by the heat into reddish vapours,
which subsequently dissolve in  the water, and  absorb  the  oxygen which
has been disengaged.  The acid thus obtained is red and tolerably  strong;
but it is  diluted with water before being thrown  into commerce.  The sp.
gr. of this acid is about 1-22.
   In France nitric acid is manufactured on the  large scale  from nitre and
sulphuric acid in cast-iron  cylinders.   The cylinders are disposed horizon-
tally  across a  furnace, and are strewed internally  throughout their whole
length with nitre.  Two circular cast-iron  plates, each pierced with  a hole,
serve to  close the ends.  At one end, the  sulphuric acid is poured in, and
by means of a stoneware  tube connected  with  the other, the  nitric acid
is collected in  receivers.   The  sulphate of potassa is removed  after  each
operation.   The  iron  cylinders are acted upon by the acid; yet, notwith-
standing this disadvantage, the process, when conducted in such vessels, is
attended with  a great saving of expense.
   In England, nitric acid is generally  procured for the purposes of the arts,
by distilling the materials in earthenware  retorts, or cast-iron pots with an
earthen head, connected with a series of glass or stoneware  receivers  con-
taining water.  The proportion of sulphuric  acid  employed by  the manu-
facturer,  is between one and two equivalents to one of the salt;  and hence
the product has an orange-red colour, which is removed by heating the acid.
   In the United States, nitric acid is made on the  large scale, in a distilla-
tory apparatus, having the same general arrangement as in France and Eng-
land.  Sometimes  a cast-iron cylinder is used as  in France, and sometimes
a thick cast-iron pot, with  an  earthenware head.   The  pot is set in brick-
work over  a fire-place, and the materials having been placed in it, the head
is luted on with a fat lute, and made  to communicate with two receivers,
either of stoneware or glass, connected together by means of a tube.  Large
demijohns  of glass  answer the purpose of receivers very well.  The incon-
       5 
38
Acidum Niiricum.
PART I.
densible products  are made to pass by  means of a tube into a portion of
water.  The quantity  of sulphuric acid employed in different establish-
ments, varies from one-half to two-thirds of the weight of the nitre.  In a
large chemical establishment in this city, which we had the pleasure of  in-
specting,  through  the kindness of the liberal proprietor, the proportions
employed for a charge are 150 pounds of nitre to  84 pounds of strong sul-
phuric acid.   Nitrate of soda, imported  into the  United  States from Peru,
has  been  used by some  manufacturing  chemists  to obtain  nitric acid.  It
yields a larger amount of acid for a given weight than the nitrate of potassa;
but the residuum, sulphate of soda, is less valuable than sulphate of potassa.
The latter salt, under the name of sal enixum, is sold to the alum makers.
  Properties of Strong Nitric Acid.   Nitric acid, so called from nitre, is
a dense liquid, extremely sour  and corrosive,  it was discovered by Ray-
mond Lully, in the  13th century,  and  its constituents,  by Cavendish, in
1784.   When perfectly pure, it is colourless; but  as usually obtained, it has
a straw colour, owing to  the presence of nitrous acid.   Exposed to  the air,
it emits white fumes, possessing a disagreeable  odour.   By the action of
light, it undergoes a slight  decomposition and becomes yellow.   It acts
powerfully on animal matter, producing  its decomposition.  On the living
fibre it operates as a strong  caustic.  It  stains the  skin  and most animal
substances of an indelible yellow  colour.  On vegetable  matter,  it acts,
when concentrated, by imparting oxygen, converting the carbon into car-
bonic acid, and the hydrogen into water.   When diluted, it converts most
animal and vegetable substances into oxalic, malic, and carbonic acids.  The
general character of its action is to impart oxygen to other bodies, which it
is enabled to do in consequence of the large quantity of this principle which
it contains in a state of loose combination.  It acidifies sulphur and phos-
phorus, and oxidizes all the metals, except chromium, tungsten, columbium,
cerium, titanium, osmium, rhodium, gold, platinum, and iridium.   In  the
liquid state, it always contains water, which is essential  to its existence in
that  state.  Mixed with a certain quantity of water it forms the diluted nitric
acid  of the Pharmacopoeias.   It combines with salifiable bases  and forms
nitrates.   When mixed  with muriatic  acid, mutual  decomposition takes
place, and a liquid is formed, capable of dissolving gold,  called nitro-muri-
atic acid or aqua regia. (See Acidum Nitromuriaticum, U. S., Dub.)  When
of the sp. gr. 1-42, its composition being one equivalent of dry acid to four
of water,  it boils at  250°.   When  either stronger or weaker than this, it
volatilizes at a lower temperature; and by losing more acid than water in  the
first case, and more water than acid in the second, it constantly approaches
to the sp. gr. of 1-42, when its boiling point becomes stationary.
  As in many chemical and pharmaceutical operations, a nitric acid below
the standard strength is necessarily employed, it often becomes important to
know the proportion of dry acid, and of acid of the standard strength of 1-5,
contained in an acid of any given specific gravity.   The followino- tablej
drawn up from experiments  by Dr. Ure, gives information on these°points' 
part i.                  Acidum Nitricum                       39
Table, showing the Quantity of Liquid Nitric Acid, (sp. gr. 1-5,) and of
  Dry Nitric Acid, contained in  100 parts of the Acid at different Den-
  sities.
	Liq.	Dry		Liq.	Dry		Liq.	Dry		Liq.	Dry
Sp.Gr	Acid	Acid	Sp. Gr.	Acid	Acid	Sp. Gr.	Acid	Acid	Sp.Gr.	Acid	Acid
1 500	ire 100	in 100		ire 100	in 100		in 100	in 100		ire 100	in 100
	100	79-700	1-4189	75	59-775	1-2947	50	'39-850	1-1403	25	19925
1 408	99	78-903!	1-4147	74	58-978	1-2887	49	39053	1-1345	24	19-128
1-4960	98	78-106	1-4107	73	58-181	1-2826	48	38-256	1-1286	23	18331
1-4940	97	77-309	1-4065	72	57-384	1-2765	47	37-459	il-1227	22	17-534
1-4910	96	76-512	1-4023	71	56-587	1-2705	46	36 662	1-1168	21	16-737
1-4880	95	75-715| | 1-3978		70	55-790	1-2644	45	35-865	1-1109	20	15-940
1-4850	94	74-918 , 1-3945		69	54993	1-2583	44	35-068	1-1051	19	15-143
1-4820	93	74-121 !| 1-3882		68	54196	1-2523	43	34-271	1-0993	18	14-346
1-4790	92	73-324 1-3833		67	53399	1-2462	42	33-474	1-0935	17	13 549
1-4760	91 j 72 527 1-3783			66	52-602	1-2402	41	32-677	1-0878	16	12-752
1-4730	90	71-730!! 1-3732		65	51-805	12341	40	31.880	10821	15	11-955
1-4700	89	70-933|| 1-3681		64	51-068	1-2277	39	31-0.-5.3	,1-0764	14	11-158
1-4670	88	70136'	1-3630	63	50-211	1-2212	38	30-286	10708	13	10-361
1-4640	87	69-339	1-3579	62	49-414	1-2148	37	29-489	,1.0651	12	9564
1-4600	86	68542	1-3529	61	48-617	1-208-1	36	28-692	11-0595	11	8 767
1-4570	85	67745	1-3477	60	47-820	1-2019	35	27-895	11-0540	10	7-970
1-4530	84	66-948	1-3427	59	47-023	11958	34	27-09rt	1-0485	9	7-173
1-4500	83	66.155	1-3376	58	46-226	1-1895	33	26-301	,1-0430	8	6-376
1-4460	82	65-354	1-3323	57	45-429	1-1833	32	25-504 il-0375		7	5-579
1-4424	81	64-557	1-3270	56	44-632	1-1770	31	24-707 1-0320		6	4-782
1-4385	80	63-760	1-3216	55	43-835	1-1709	30	23-910	1-0267	5	3-985
1-4346	79	62 963	1-3163	54	43-038	1-1648	29	23113	1-0212	4	3-188
1-4306	78	62-166	1-3110	53	42-241	1-1587	28	22316	1-0159	3	2-391
1.42( 9	77	61-369	1-3056	52	41-444	1-1526	27	21-519	1-010C	2	1-594
l-4->^8	76	60-572	1-3001	51	40-647	1-146.5	26	20-722	1-0053	1	0-797
  Nitric acid,  when  uncombined,  is recognised by its dissolving copper
with the production of red vapours, and by its forming nitre when saturated
with potassa.   When in the form of a nitrate, it is detected by its action on
gold-leaf,  after the addition of muriatic  acid, in consequence of the evolu-
tion of chlorine; or  it may be discovered, according to Dr.  O'Shaughnessy,
by heating the supposed nitrate in a test tube with a drop of sulphuric acid,
and then adding a crystal of morphia.  If nitric acid be present, it will be
set free by the  sulphuric acid, and reddened by the morphia.  The same
effect is produced by brucia; as also by commercial strychnia, on account
of its containing brucia.   To prevent all ambiguity, arising from  the acci-
dental presence of nitric acid in the sulphuric acid employed, the operator
should satisfy himself by a separate experiment, that the latter acid has no
power to produce the characteristic colour with morphia. {Turner's Chemis-
try,  Sixth Amer. edit. p. 184.)
  The most common impurities in nitric acid are sulphuric acid and chlo-
rine; the former derived  from the  acid used in the  process, the latter from
common salt, which is not an unfrequent impurity in nitre.  They may be
detected by adding  a few drops of the solution of chloride  of barium and of
nitrate of silver to separate portions of the nitric acid, diluted with three or
four parts of  distilled water.   If these precipitants should  produce a cloud,
the chloride will indicate sulphuric acid, and the nitrate, chlorine.   These
impurities  may be  separated by adding nitrate of silver in slight excess,
which will precipitate them as chloride  and sulphate of silver,  and then  dis-
tilling nearly to dryness in  very clean  vessels.  The sulphuric acid  may
also be  got rid of by distilling from a fresh portion of nitre.  These impu- 
40
Acidum Nitricum.
part I.
rities, however, do not in the  least affect the medicinal properties of the
acid.
   Properties  of the Nitric Acid of Commerce.   This has  the general
properties of the strong acid.   The Edinburgh acid of commerce is charac-
terized as colourless or nearly so, and,  if diluted with  distilled water, as
precipitating but slightly, or not at all, with  solution of nitrate of" baryta,
or of nitrate of silver.  According to M.  Lembert of Lyons, the nitric acid
of commerce sometimes contains iodine, probably derived from  the native
nitrate of soda, in which he detected iodine.   It may be detected by satu-
rating the suspected acid  with  a carbonated alkali, pouring in a little clear
solution of starch, and then adding a few drops of sulphuric acid.   If iodine
be present, the sulphuric acid will set it free, and the stareh solution will
become blue.   {Journ. de Pharm. Avril, 1842.)
   Composition.  The officinal nitric acid consists of one  eq. of dry acid
54-15, and one  and a half eqs. of water 13-5=67-65.   The dry acid con-
sists of one  eq. of nitrogen 14-15,  and five eqs. of oxygen 40=54-15; or in
volumes of one volume of nitrogen, and two and a half volumes of oxygen,
supposed to  be condensed, to form  nitric acid vapour, into one volume.  The
strongest possible liquid acid consists of one equiv. of dry acid and one
equiv. of water, and has the sp. gr. 1-513.  {Thcnard.)
  Incompatiblcs.  Most of the substances with which nitric acid is incom-
patible, may be inferred from what has been already said.  It is incompati-
ble with the  sulphate of protoxide of iron, which it converts into the sulphate
of the sesquioxide, with  salifiable bases, carbonates, and sulphurets, and
with the  acetates of lead and potassa.   It  is also capable of decomposing
alcohol, with which it forms an ether.
  Medical Properties.  Nitric  acid is tonic and antiseptic.  Largely diluted
with water, it forms a good acid drink in  febrile diseases, especially typhus.
In syphilis,  and in the chronic hepatitis  of India, it is  highly extolled by
Dr. Scott, formerly of Bombay.   It has occasionally excited ptyalism.  It
cannot be depended upon  as a remedy in syphilis, but is often an excellent
adjuvant in worn-out constitutions, either to prepare the  system for the use
of mercury,  or to lessen the effects of that metal on  the  constitution.   Ex-
ternally, it has been used with advantage as a lotion to ulcers, of the strength
of about twelve minims to the pint of water.   This practice originated with
Sir Everard  Home, and is  particularly applicable to those ulcers which are
superficial and not disposed to  cicatrize.   In sloughing  phagedcena, strong
nitric  acid is  one of the best applications, applied by means of a piece of
lint, tied round  a small stick.  As nitric acid  dissolves both uric acid and
the phosphates, it was supposed to be applicable to those cases of gravel in
which the uric acid and the phosphates are mixed; but experience has not
confirmed its efficacy in such cases.   Nevertheless, when the sabulous de-
posite depends  upon certain states  of disordered digestion, this acid may
prove serviceable by restoring the  tone of the stomach.  The dose is from
five to twenty minims in three  fluidounces or more  of water, given three or
four times a day.  The diluted acid is more convenient for prescription.
   Nitric acid,  in the state  of  vapour, is considered useful  for destroying
contagion; and hence is employed in purifying gaols, hospitals, and ships,
and other infected places.   It is prepared  for use  by the  extemporaneous
decomposition of nitre by sulphuric acid.  Half an ounce of powdered nitre
is put into a saucer, which is placed in an earthen  dish containing heated
sand. On the nitre, two  drachms of sulphuric acid are then poured, and
the nitric acid fumes are immediately  disengaged.  The quantities' hist
indicated are considered to be sufficient for disinfecting a cubic space of ten 
 part i.    Acidum Nitricum.—Acidum Pyroligneum.         41

 feet.   Fumigation in this manner was first introduced by an English physi-
 cian, Dr. Carmichael Smyth, who received from the British Parliament for
 its discovery, a reward of five thousand pounds.   It may well be doubted
 whether the nitric acid, as a disinfector, is at all comparable to chlorine; and
 since the introduction of chlorinated lime and chlorinated soda  as disinfect-
 ing agents, this gas has been brought into so manageable a form, that its
 use may very well  supersede that of every other  agent employed with
 similar intentions. (See Calx Chlorinata, and Liquor Sodse Chlorinatae.)
   Properties as a Poison.  Nitric acid, in its concentrated state, is one of
 the mineral poisons mcst frequently taken for the purpose of self-destruc-
 tion.   Immediately after swallowing it, there are  produced burning heat in
 the mouth, oesophagus  and stomach, acute  pain, disengagement  of  gas,
 abundant eructations, nausea and hiccup; which  are soon followed by re-
 peated and excessive vomiting of matter having a peculiar odour and taste,
 tumefaction of the abdomen  with exquisite tenderness, a feeling of cold-
 ness on  the surface, horripilations, icy coldness of the extremities, small
 depressed pulse,  horrible anxieties, continual tossings and contortions, and
 extreme thirst.  The breath becomes extremely fetid, and the countenance
 exhibits a complete picture of suffering.  The cases are  almost uniformly
 fatal.  The best  remedies are repeated  doses of  magnesia as an antidote,
 mucilaginous  drinks in large quantities, olive or almond oil in very large
 doses, emollient  fomentations,  and clysters.  Until magnesia can be ob-
 tained, an immediate resort to a solution of soap in  large amount  will be
 proper.
   Nitric acid  is  used to prepare Acidum Phosphoricum Dilutum, Lond.;
 Antimonii et  Potassae Tartras, U. S.; Antimonii Oxydum Nitromuriaticum,
 Dub.; Calomelas, Ed.; Ferri Ferrocyanuretum, U. S.; Ferri Oxidum Hy-
 dratum,  U. S.; Ferri Oxidum Nigrum, Ed.; Hydrargyri Oxidum Rubrum,
 U. S., Lond.; Sublimatus  Corrosivus, Ed.; Zinci Chloridum, U. S.   In
 preparing Ferrugo (Ferri Oxidum Hydratum, U. S.), the  Edinburgh Col-
 lege use their nitric acid of commerce.
   Off. Prep, of Nitric Acid.  Acidum Nitricum Dilutum,  U. S., Lond.,
 Ed., Dub.; Acidum Nitromuriaticum, U. S., Dub.; Argenti  Nitras, U. S.,
 Lond.,  Ed.; Bismuthi Subnitras,  U.S., Lond; Spiritus iEtheris Nitrici,
 Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.; Unguentum  Acidi Nitrici, Dub.; Unguentum  Hydrar-
 gyri Nitratis, U. S.. Lond., Ed., Dub.
   Off. Prep,  of Nitric Acid of Commerce.   Bismuthum Album, Ed.    B.


              ACIDUM  PYROLIGNEUM.  Ed.

                        Pyroligncous Acid.

   "Diluted acetic acid, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood." Ed.
   Acide pyro-ligneux, Fr.; Brenzliche tiolzsaure, Holzessig, Germ.; Acido pyrolignico,
Ita I.
   Wood, when charred, yields  many volatile products, among which are
an acid liquor, empyreumatic oil, and tar containing ereasote and some other
newly discovered proximate principles.   When  the  carbonization is per-
formed in close vessels, these products, which are lost in the ordinary pro-
cess of charring, may be collected, and at the same time, a large amount of
charcoal is obtained.
   Carbonization  in close vessels, with a view to preserve  the condensible
volatile products,  was first put in practice by Mollerat in France.  The ap-
paratus employed at Choisy, near Paris, is thus described by Thenard.  It
                                  5* 
42
Acidum Pyroligneum.
part i.
 consists of, 1st,  a  furnace with a  moveable top; 2d, a strong sheet-iron
 cylinder, sufficiently capacious to contain a cord of wood, and furnished with
 a sheet-iron cover;  3d, a sheet-iron tube proceeding horizontally from the
 upper and lateral part of the cylinder to the distance of about a foot; 4th, a
 copper tube connected with the last, which is bent  in such a manner as to
 plunge successively to the bottom of two casks filled with water, and, after
 rising out of the second, is bent back, and made to terminate in the furnace.
 At the bottom of each cask, the tube dilates into a ball, from the under part
 of which another tube proceeds, which, passing water-tight through the cask,
 terminates above a vessel, intended to receive the condensible products.
  The sheet-iron cylinder, being filled with wood, and closed by luting on
 its cover with fire-clay, is let down into the furnace by the  help of a crane.
 The fire is then applied, and when the  process is completed, the cylinder
 is removed by the  same means, to be  replaced by another.   During the
 carbonization, the volatile products are received by the tube;  and those which
 are condensible, being the pyroligneous acid and tar, are  condensed by the
 water in the casks, and collect in the lower bends of the tubes, from which
 they run into the several recipients; while the incondensible products, being
 inflammable gases,  are discharged into the  furnace, where, by their com-
 bustion,  they  assist  in maintaining the heat.  Eight  hundred  pounds of
 wood  afford, on  an average,  thirty-five gallons of acid liquor,  weighing
 about three hundred pounds.
  This is the crude pyroligneous acid,  sometimes  called pyroligneous
 vinegar.  It  is a dark brown liquid, having a  strong  smoky smell, and
 consists of acetic acid, diluted with more  or less water,  and holding in
 solution tar and empyreumatic oil.
  The Edinburgh officinal pyroligneous acid is  this crude acid purified.
Its purification is effected by repeated distillation, and  then neutralizing it
 with lime or carbonate of soda.  The  acetate formed is  decomposed by
 sulphuric acid, and  the disengaged  acetic acid repeatedly  distilled, until it
is obtained nearly colourless.
  Properties.   The pyroligneous acid of the Edinburgh College is a pale
 straw-coloured liquid, having a strong acetic odour,  scarcely empvreumatic
 if well prepared.  Its density must be at least 1-034.  One hundred minims
 of acid of this density neutralize fifty-three grains of carbonate of soda. The
 acid  is often stronger than this.   The Scotch acid has  sometimes the den-
 sity of 1-042, and the English, a specific gravity nearly as high as 1-050.
 {Christison, Ed. Dispensatory.)  As tests of its freedom from copper, lead
 and sulphuric  acid,  the Edinburgh College directs that it should  be  " unaf-
 fected by sulphuretted hydrogen or solution of nitrate  of baryta."
  Thus it appears that this new  officinal of the Edinburgh Colleo-e is no-
 thing else than acetic acid, whose  density is not to be under l-034,febut may
 be higher.   This want of precision in  the  specific gravity of the  acid is
 objectionable.   The name too, given by the College, is indefensible.  A
 complex product of distillation, characterized by the  presence of an acid
 may be designated by an unchemieal name;  but the convenience of such a
 nomenclature is no reason why the  acid, when separated, should be called
 by the same name,  merely on account of its source.  On the contrary the
 nature of the acid and not its source should determine its appellation. ' Dr.
 Christison insists that the acetic acid of the London College is really pyro-
 ligneous acid; because it is prepared from  acetate of soda, which is  usually
 made  from the acid obtained from wood by destructive distillation!
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  Pyroligneous acid, as defined  by the
 Edinburgh College, is an acetic  acid of medium strength, and,  therefore 
part i.   Acidum Pyroligneum.—Acidum Sulphuricum.      43

applicable to the general purposes of that acid.   It is accordingly employed
by the College in forming several acetates.  Dr. Christison states that it is
useful for preserving vegetable specimens, such as pulpy fruits, bulbs, and
fresh leaves.
   Uses of the Crude Acid.   The  crude  acid, in a dilute state, has  been
used as an  application to gangrene, and ill-conditioned ulcers.  It acts on
the principle of an antiseptic and stimulant, the former property being pro-
bably chiefly due to the presence of creasote.   Several  cases in which it
was successfully employed, are  reported  in a paper by Dr. T. Y. Simons,
of Charleston, S. C, published in the fifth volume of the American Journal
of Medical Sciences.
   The  crude  acid is advantageously applied to the preservation of animal
food.  Mr. William Ramsay, {Edin. Phil. Journ. iii. 21,) has made  some
interesting experiments on its use  for that purpose.  Herrings and  other
fish, simply dipped in the acid  and afterwards dried in the shade,  were
effectually  preserved, and when eaten, were  found very agreeable to the
taste.  Herrings slightly cured with salt,  by being  sprinkled with it for six
hours, then drained, next immersed in pyroligneous acid for a few seconds,
and afterwards dried in the shade for two  months, were found by Mr. Ram-
say to be of fine quality and flavour.  Fresh beef, dipped in the acid in the
summer season for the short space of a minute, was perfectly sweet in the
following spring.  Professor Silliman states, that one quart of the acid added
to the common pickle for a barrel of hams, at the time they are laid down,
will impart to them the smoked flavour as perfectly as if they had under-
gone the ordinary process of smoking.
   Off. Prep. Acetum Cantharidis, Ed.; Extractum Colchici Aceticum, Ed.;
Morphiae Acetas, Ed.; Plumbi Acetas, Ed.; Potassae Acetas, Ed.     B.


          ACIDUM SULPHURICUM. U.S., Lond.

                          Sulphuric Acid.

   " Sulphuric Acid of the  specific gravity 1-845." U.S.   "Acidum Sul-
phuricum. Hujus pondus specificum est 1-845." Lond.
   Off.  Syn.   ACIDUM  SULPHURICUM.   Sulphuric Acid of  Com-
merce.  Ed.;  ACIDUM  SULPHURICUM VENALE. Dub.
   Oil of vitriol; Acide sulphurique, Fr.; Vitriolol, Schwefd^iiure, Germ ; Acido solforico,
Ital.; Acido sulfurico, Span.
   Sulphuric acid is placed in the Materia Medica of all the Pharmacopoeias
noticed in this work, as an article  to be obtained from the wholesale manu-
facturer.  Its  officinal sp. gr., as prescribed in the U. S.  and London  Phar-
macopoeias, is 1-845; in the Edinburgh, 1-840; and in the Dublin, 1-850.
   Preparation.  Sulphuric acid  is obtained  by burning  sulphur, mixed
with one-eighth of its weight of nitre, over a stratum of water, contained in
a chamber lined with sheet lead.   If the  sulphur were burned by itself, the
product would be sulphurous acid, which contains only two-thirds as  much
oxygen  as sulphuric acid.  The object of the  nitre is to furnish, by its de-
composition,  the requisite  additional quantity of oxygen.  To understand
the process, it is necessary to bear in  mind that nitric  acid contains five,
sulphuric acid three, sulphurous  acid  two,  nitric oxide two, hyponitrous
acid three, and nitrous acid four  equivalents of oxygen, combined with one
equiv. of their  several  radicals.   One equiv.  of sulphur  decomposes one
equiv. of nitric acid of the nitre, and becomes one equiv. of sulphuric acid,
 which  combines with  the potassa of the nitre to form sulphate of potassa. 
44
Acidum Sulphuricum.
part i.
In the mean time, the nitric  acid, by furnishing three equiv. of oxygen to
form the sulphuric acid, is converted into one equiv. of nitric oxide, which
is evolved.  This gas, by combining with two equiv. of the oxygen of the
air, immediately becomes nitrous  acid vapour, which diffuses itself through-
out the leaden chamber.   While these changes are taking  place, the  re-
mainder of the sulphur is undergoing combustion, and filling the chamber
with sulphurous acid gas.  One equiv. of nitrous acid gas, and  one equiv.
of sulphurous acid gas, being thus intermingled  in  the chamber, react  on
each other by the aid of moisture, so as to form a  crystalline compound,
consisting of one equiv. of sulphuric  acid, and  one equiv. of hyponitrous
acid united with a portion of  water.   This compound falls into the water of
the chamber, and instantly undergoes  decomposition.  The sulphuric acid
dissolves in the water, and the hyponitrous acid, resolved, at the moment
of its extrication, into nitrous acid and nitric  oxide, escapes with effer-
vescence.  The nitrous acid thus^-set free, as well as that reproduced by
the nitric  oxide uniting with  the  oxygen  of the atmosphere, again reacts
with sulphurous acid and humidity, and  gives rise to a second portion of
the crystalline compound, which  undergoes the  same changes as the first.
In this manner the nitric oxide performs the part  of a carrier of oxygen from
the air of the chamber to the  sulphurous acid, to convert  the latter into sul-
phuric acid.   The residue of the  combustion of  the sulphur and nitre con-
sists of sulphate of potassa, and is sold to the alum makers.
  Preparation on the Large Scale.  The leaden chambers vary in size,
but are generally from thirty  to thirty-two feet square, and from sixteen to
twenty feet high.  The floor is  slightly inclined to facilitate the drawing
off of the  acid, and  covered to  the  depth  of several inches with  water.
There are several modes of burning the mixture of sulphur and nitre, and
otherwise conducting  the process, but that pursued in France is as follows.
Near to one of the sides of the chamber, and at about a foot from its bottom,
a cast iron tray is placed over a furnace, resting  on the ground, its mouth
opening  externally, and its  chimney having no communication  with the
chamber.   On this tray the mixture is placed, being introduced by a square
opening which may be shut by means of a sliding door, and the lower side
of which is level with the surface of the tray.   The door being  shut, the
fire is gradually  raised in the  furnace, whereby the sulphur is inflamed, and
the products  already  spoken  of are generated.   When the combustion is
over,  the door is raised, and the  sulphate of potassa removed.  A  fresh
portion of the mixture is then  placed on the tray,  and the air of the chamber
is renewed by opening a door and valve situated at its opposite side.   Next,
the several openings are closed, and the fire is renewed.   These operations
are repeated with fresh portions of the mixture,  every three or four hours,
until the water at the bottom of the chamber has reached the sp. gr. of about
1-5.  It is then drawn off and transferred to leaden boilers, where it is
boiled down until it has attained the sp. gr. of 1-7.  At this density it begins
to act on lead, and, therefore, its  further concentration must  be conducted
in large glass  or platinum retorts, where it is evaporated as  lono- as  water
distils over.  This water is slightly acid and is thrown back into&the  cham-
ber.  When the acid is fully concentrated, opaque  grayish-white vapours
arise, the appearance of which indicates  the completion of the process.
The acid  is allowed to cool,  and  is then transferred  to large  demijohns of
green glass, called carboys, which, for greater security, are surrounded with
straw or wicker-work, and packed in square boxes, or in flour barrels sawed
in two.
   The method of manufacturing this acid, as described by Mr. Parkes is 
PART I.
Acidum Sulphuricum.
45
somewhat  different.   The mixture  is usually spread on  iron  or  leaden
plates, resting on stands of lead  within  the  chamber, placed at some dis-
tance from each other, and a foot or two above the surface of the  water.
The sulphur is then lighted by means of a hot iron, and the doors closed.
If the sulphur and nitre be well mixed, the combustion will last for thirty
or forty minutes; and  in three hours from the time of lighting,  the conden-
sation of the gases having in  that interval been completed, the doors are
thrown open for from fifteen to thirty minutes, to admit fresh atmospheric
air, and to  allow time for  the residuary nitrogen to escape, preparatory to
the next burning.  These operations are repeated with fresh charges of the
mixture, every four hours, both night and day, until the water has attained
the requisite acid impregnation, when it is transferred to leaden boilers, and
otherwise treated as just explained.   The quantity of the charge for each
burning is  determined by the  size of the chamber, allowing one pound of
the mixture for every three hundred cubic feet of atmospheric  air which it
may contain.
   As, in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, the nitre is the most expensive
material, many plans  have been  resorted to, for  the  purpose of obtaining
the nitrous acid at a  cheaper rate.   One plan is  to procure it  by treating
molasses or starch with common nitric acid.   In this case, the manufacturer
obtains  oxalic acid as a collateral product,  which serves to  diminish his
expenses.
   In some manufactories  of sulphuric acid,  nitrate of soda is  substituted
for nitre.   The advantages of the former salt are its  greater  cheapness,
and the circumstance of  its containing a larger  proportional  quantity of
nitric acid.
   A new method is now practised by some  manufacturers for  making sul-
phuric acid.   It consists in filling the leaden  chamber with sulphurous acid,
by the  ordinary combustion  of sulphur, and afterwards admitting  into it
nitrous  acid and steam.   The nitrous acid is generated from a mixture of
sulphuric  acid with nitrate of  potassa or nitrate of soda, placed  in an iron
pan, over  the burning sulphur in the sulphur furnace, where  the draught
serves to conduct the  nitrous acid fumes into the chamber.  As, under these
circumstances,  sulphurous and nitrous  acid, and the  vapour of water are
intermingled in the chamber, it follows that all the conditions necessary for
generating the crystalline compound, already alluded to, are  present.   Of
course,  the rationale of this new process  is the  same as that already given.
The  details of this process, and  a wood-cut of the sulphur furnace, steam
boiler, and chamber employed, are  given by Dr. Pereira in his Materia
Medica, Second Edition, p. 465.
   The  above explanations relate  to the mode of preparing common  sul-
phuric acid; but there is another kind known on the  continent of Europe
by the name of the fuming sulphuric acid of Nordhausen, so  called from
its properties, and a place in Saxony where  it is largely manufactured.
This acid is obtained  by distilling dried sulphate of iron in large stoneware
retorts,  heated to redness, and connected with receivers of glass or stone-
ware.  The acid distils over, and sesquioxide of iron is left behind in the
form of colcothar.
   The process for making sulphuric acid by the combustion of sulphur with
nitre was first mentioned  by Lemery, and afterwards put in practice by an
English physician of  the name of Ward.  As practised by him, the com-
bustion  was conducted  in very large glass vessels.   About the year 1746,
the great improvement of leaden chambers was introduced by Dr. Roebuck,
an eminent physician of Birmingham, where the first apparatus of this kind 
46                     Acidum Sulphuricum.                 part i.

was erected.   In consequence of this improvement, the acid immediately
fell to one-fourth of its former price, and was  employed  for many purposes
for  which previously it could not be used, on  account of its cost.
  In the United States, the first manufactory of this acid was established in
Philadelphia by the late Mr. John Harrison.   At present there are manu-
factories in successful operation in most of the cities of the Union.  These
supply the entire demand of the United States.
  Properties.   Sulphuric acid, or, as it is commonly called, oil of vitriol,
is a dense, colourless, inodorous liquid,  of an oleaginous  appearance, and
possessing strong corrosive qualities.   On the living  fibre,  it acts  as a
powerful caustic.  Rubbed in small quantity between the fingers, it has an
unctuous feel, in consequence of its  dissolving the cuticle.  In the liquid
form, it always  contains water, which is essential to  its existence in that
form.   When pure  and as highly concentrated as possible, its  sp. gr. is
1-845, a fluidounce weighing a small fraction over fourteen drachms. When
of this specific gravity, it contains about 18 per cent, of water.   Whenever
its  density exceeds this,  the presence of sulphate of lead, or of some other
impurity is  indicated.   The commercial acid is  seldom of full strength.
According to  Mr. Phillips, it is generally only about 1*8433, and  contains
22  per cent,  of  water.   The commercial acid of the Edinburgh College is
stated to have the  density of 1-840 or near  it.  The  strong  acid boils at
545°, and  freezes at 15° below zero.   When diluted,  its boiling  point is
lowered.  When of the sp. gr. 1-78, it freezes  above 32°;  and hence it is
hazardous for manufacturers to keep an acid of that strength in glass vessels
in  cold weather, as they are liable to burst.   With salifiable bases, it forms
a numerous  class of salts called sulphates.   It acts powerfully on organic
bodies,  whether vegetable or animal, depriving them  of the  elements of
water, developing charcoal, and turning them black. A small piece of cork
or  wood dropped into the acid, will,  on this principle, render it of a dark
colour.  When diluted with pure water, it ought to  remain limpid, and when
heated sufficiently in a platinum spoon, the fixed residue should not exceed
the four-hundredth  part of the  acid employed.   When present  in  small
 quantities in solution,  it is detected unerringly by chloride of barium, which
 causes a precipitate of sulphate of baryta.  The most usual impurities in it
 are the  sulphates of potassa and lead, the former  derived from the residue
 on the iron tray, the latter from the leaden boilers in which the acid is con-
 centrated.  Occasionally  nitre is  added  to  render dark  samples of acid
 colourless.   This addition will give  rise  to  the  impurity of sulphate of
 potassa.   These impurities often amount to three or four  per cent.   The
 commercial  acid cannot be expected to be absolutely pure;  but, when pro-
 perly manufactured, it ought  not to contain more than one-fourth of one
 per cent, of impurity.   The fixed impurities are discoverable by  evaporat-
 ing a portion of the suspected acid, when they will remain.  If sulphate of
 lead be present, the acid will become turbid  on dilution with an equal bulk
 of water.   If only a scanty muddiness arises, the  acid  is of good commer-
 cial quality.  Freedom  from metallic impregnation is shown by the diluted
 acid not being coloured by sulphuretted hydrogen.
    Other impurities occur in  the commercial sulphuric  acid.   Nitrous acid
 is  always present in more or less amount.   It  may be  detected by gently
 pouring a solution of green vitriol over the commercial acid in a tube; when
 the solution, at the line of contact, will acquire a deep red colour, due to
  the sesquioxidation of the iron by the nitrous acid.  The  commercial acid
  is not to  be rejected on  account  of the indications of this test   unless it
  shows the presence of nitrous acid in unusual quantity.   When sulphate of 
PART I.
Acidum Sulphuricum.
47
potassa is fraudulently introduced into the acid to increase its density, it may
be detected by saturating the acid with ammonia and heatino- to redness in
a crucible; when the sulphate of ammonia will be  expelled, and the sulphate
of potassa left behind.   The dangerous impurity  of arsenious acid is some-
times present in sulphuric acid.  In consequence of the high price of Sicilian
sulphur, some of the English manufacturers have employed iron pyrites for
the purpose of furnishing the necessary sulphurous acid in the manufacture
of oil of vitriol.   With this view the pyrites is  subjected to combustion,
and the sulphurous acid fumes are conducted into the leaden chamber.   As
the pyrites usually contains arsenic,  it happens that the sulphurous  acid
fumes are  accompanied by arsenious acid, and thus the sulphuric  acid
becomes contaminated.   From 22 to 35 grains of arsenious acid have been
found in 20 fluidounces of  oil of vitriol of English manufacture, by Dr. G.
O. Rees and  Mr.  Watson.   To detect this impurity, the acid, previously
diluted  with distilled water, must be examined by Marsh's test, or subjected
to a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen. (See Acidum Arseniosum.)
   As sulphuric  acid is often  under the standard strength, it becomes im-
portant to know how  much liquid sulphuric acid of the standard specific
gravity, and of dry acid, is contained in an acid of any given density.  The
following table, drawn up from  careful experiments  by Dr. Ure, gives this
information.  In using  it, the specific gravity of  any sample  of the acid is
first ascertained  by experiment; and then, opposite to this specific gravity
in the table, will be found the quantity, per cent.,  of standard  liquid  acid
and of dry acid contained in it.

Table of the Quantity of Liquid Sulphuric Acid of Sp. Gr. 1-8485, and of
      Dry Acid, in 100 parts of Dilute Acid at 'different Densities.
Sp.Gr.
1-8485
1-8475
1-8-160
1-8439
1-8410
1-8376
1-8336
1-8290
1-8233
1-8179
1-8115
1-8043
1-7962
1-7870
1-7774
1-7673
1-7570
1-7465
1-7360
17245
1-7120
1-6993
1-6870
1-6750
1-6630
Liq.	Dry 1
Acid	Acid \
ire 100	ire 100
100	81-54!
99	80-72
98	79-90
97	79-09
96	78-28
95	77-46
94	76-65
93	7583
92	75-02
91	7420
90	73-39
89	72-57
88	71-75
87	70-94
86	7012
85	69-31
84	68 49
83	6768
82	66-86
81	66-05
80	65 23
79	64-42
78	6360
77	62-7p
76	61 !.7j
      | Liq.  | Dry j|
Sp. Gr. Acid I Acid | Sp. Gr
      lira 100 in 100 !
16520
1-6415
1-6321
1-6204
1-6090
1-5975
1-5868
1-5760
1-5648
1-5503
1-5390
1-5280
1-5170
1-5066
1-4960
1-4860
1-4760
1-4660
1-4560
1-4460
1-4360
1-4265
1-4170
1-4073
1-3977
75 I 61-15
74  60-34
73  59-52
72 ! 58-71
71
70
69
68
67
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
57-89
57-03
5626
55-45
54 63
53-82
5300
52-18
51-37
5055
49-74
48-92
48 11
47-29J
46-48
4566
44 85:
4403
43-22
42-40
41-58||
1-3884
1-3788
1-3697
1-3612
1-3530
1-3140
1-3345
1-3255
13165
1-3080
I -2999
1-2913
1-2826
1-2740
1-2654
1-2572
1-2490
1-2409
1-2334
1-2260
1-2184
1-2108
1-2032
1-1956
1-1876
 Liq. ! Dry
 Acid  Acid
inlOOlinlOO
50 | 40-77
49 I 39-95
48 : 39-14
    33-3-j
    37-5!
    366'!
    35-8c
    35-OC
    34-25
    33-43
    32 6
    31-8(J
    30-98
    3017
    29-35
    28-54
    27-72
    26-91
    26-0'j
    25-28
    24-4f;
    23 65
    22-83
    22011
    21-20
 47
 46
 45
 44
 43
 42
 41
 40
 39
 33
 37
 36
 35
 34
 33
 32
 31
 30
 29
28
27
26
       Liq.
Sp. Gr.  Acid
       rclOO
 1-1792
 I-170G
 I 16-JI
 1-1549
 1-1480
 1-1410
 1-1330
 1-1246
 1116
 1-1090
 1-1019
 1-0953
 1-0887
 1 -0809
 1-0743
 1-0682
 1-0614
 1-0514
 1-0477
 1-0405
 1-0336
1-0268
 I 0206
10140
1-0071
25
21
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
 9
 8
 7
 G
 5
 4
 3
 2
 1
 Dry
 Acid
in 100
2038
19-57
18-75
17-94
1712
16-31
15-49
14-68
13 86
1305
12-23
11-41
1060
 9-78
 8-97
 815
 7-34
 652
 5-71
 4-89
 408
 3 26
 2-446
 1-63
 0.8154
  The only way to obtain pure sulphuric acid is by distillation.   Owing to
the high boiling point of this acid, the operation  is rather precarious, in con- 
48
Acidum Sulphuricum.
PART I.
sequence of the danger of the fracture of the retort, from the sudden concus-
sions to which the boiling acid gives rise.   Dr. Ure recommends that a
retort of the capacity of from two  to four quarts be used in distilling a pint
of acid.   This is connected, by means of a wide glass  tube three or four
feet long, with a receiver surrounded with cold water.   All the vessels must
be perfectly clean, and  no  luting is employed.   The retort is  then  to be
cautiously heated by a small furnace of charcoal.  It is useful  to put into
the retort a few sharp-pointed pieces of glass, or slips of platinum foil, with
the view of diminishing the shocks produced by the acid vapour.  The
distilled product  ought not to be collected until a dense grayish-white va-
pour is generated, the appearance  of which  is the  sign that the pure con-
centrated acid is coming over.   If this vapour should not immediately ap-
pear, it shows that  the  acid  subjected to distillation is not of full strength,
and the distilled product, until the  point of utmost concentration is attained,
will be an acid water.
   The Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges give formulae for purifying the  com-
mercial acid. (See Acidum Sulphuricum Purum.)   The strong acid is not
convenient for medicinal use; and hence a formula for a diluted acid is given
in the United States Pharmacopoeia, following the  example of the British
Colleges.  (See Acidum  Sidphuricum  Dilutum.)
   Incompatibles.   Sulphuric acid  is incompatible with most metals;  with
salifiable bases and their carbonates; with most salts, effecting their decom-
position; with alcohol, which it converts into ether;  with all organic sub-
stances, which it chars or otherwise decomposes; and  with vegetable astrin-
gent solutions.
   Composition.  The liquid acid of the sp. gr. 1-845, consists of one equi-
valent of dry acid 40-1,  and one equiv. of water 9=49-1; and the dry  acid,
of one equiv. of sulphur 16-1, and  three equiv. of oxygen 24=40-1.   The
ordinary commercial acid (sp. gr.  1-8433) consists, according to Mr. Phil-
lips, of  one  equiv. of dry acid, and one  and a quarter equiv. of water; or
four equiv. of the former to  five of the latter.   The  liquid acid of Nord-
hausen has a density as high as 1-89 or 1-9,  and consists of two equiv. of
dry acid, and one equiv. of water.   This acid is particularly adapted to the
purpose of  dissolving indigo for  dying the Saxon blue.   When  heated
gently in a retort, connected  with  a dry and refrigerated receiver,  dry or
anhydrous sulphuric acid distils over, and the common liquid acid remains
behind.   The anhydrous acid under 64° is in the form of small  colourless
crystals, resembling  asbestos.  It  is tenacious, difficult to cut, and may be
moulded in the fingers like  wax, without acting on them.  Exposed to the
air, it emits a thick opaque vapour of  an acid  smell.  Above 64°  it is a
liquid,  very nearly of the  density  of 2.  It  has  so strong an affinity for
water, that when  thrown into that liquid, it causes a hissing noise, like that
produced by quenching  red-hot  iron.
   Medical Properties.  Sulphuric  acid is tonic, antiseptic, and refrigerant.
Internally it is always administered in a dilute state.   For its medical pro-
perties in this form, the reader is referred to the title, Acidum Sulphuricum
Dilutum.   Externally it is sometimes employed as  a  caustic; but from its
liquid form,  it is very inconvenient for  that purpose.  It  is employed also
as an ointment mixed with lard, in swellings of  the  knee-joint  and other
affections, in the  proportion of a  drachm to an ounce. (See Unguentum
Acidi Sulphuna, Dub.)  Charpie, corroded by it,  forms a good°applica-
tion to gangrene.                                                rr
   Toxicological Properties.  The  symptoms of poisoning by this acid are
the following:—Burning heat m the throat and stomach, extreme fetidness 
 part r.   Acidum Sulphuricum.—Acidum  Tartaricum.       49

 of the breath, nausea and excessive vomitings of black or reddish matter,
 excruciating pains in the bowels, difficulty of breathing, extreme anguish, a
 feeling of cold on the skin, great prostration, constant tossing, convulsions,
 and death.  The intellectual faculties  remain unimpaired.   Frequently the
 uvula, palate, tonsils, and  other parts  of the fauces, are covered with black
 or white  sloughs.   The treatment consists in the administration of large
 quantities of magnesia, or, if this is not at hand, of a solution of soap.   The
 safety of the patient depends upon the greatest promptitude in the applica-
 tion of the antidotes.  After the poison has been neutralized, mucilaginous
 and other drinks must be taken in large quantities.
    Uses in the Arts. Sulphuric acid is more used in the arts than any other
 acid.   It is employed to obtain nearly all other acids; to extract soda from
 common salt; to make alum and sulphate of iron, when these salts command
 a good price, and the acid is cheap; to dissolve indigo; to prepare  skins for
 tanning; to prepare phosphorus, chlorinated lime or bleaching salt, sulphate
 of magnesia, &c.   The arts of bleaching and dyeing cause its  principal
 consumption.
    Sulphuric acid is used as a chemical agent,  in one or more of the Phar-
 macopoeias commented on in this work, for  preparing the following offici-
 nals:—acetic, hydrocyanic, muriatic, and nitric acids; sulphuric ether and
 spirit  of nitric ether; carbonic acid water and chlorine water; ferrocyanuret,
 hydrated oxide, and black oxide of iron; mild and corrosive  chlorides of
 mercury;  solution of chlorinated  soda; bicarbonates of potassa and soda;
 and phosphate of soda.
    Off. Prep.  Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum, U. S., Ed., Dub.; Acidum
 Sulphuricum Dilutum,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Acidum Sulphuricum Pu-
 rum,  Ed., Dub.;  Ferri Sulphas, U.  S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.;   Hydrargyri
 Persulphas, Dub.;  Hydrargyri Sulphas Flavus, U. S.; Magnesiae Sulphas
 Purum, Dub.; Oleum ^Ethereum,  U.S., Lond.; Potassae Bisulphas, Lond.,
 Ed., Dub.; Potassae Sulphas, Lond.;  Quiniae Sulphas, U.  S., Lond., Ed.;
 Sodae  Sulphas, Lond., Ed.;  Unguentum Acidi  Sulphurici,  Dub.; Unguen-
 tum Sulphuris Compositum, U. S.; Zinci Sulphas, U. S., Ed., Dub.   B.


    ACIDUM TARTARICUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                           Tartaric Acid.

   Acide tarlrique, Fr.; Weinsteinsaure, Germ.; Acido tartarico, Ital.tSpan.
   Tartaric acid is officinal in all the Pharmacopoeias commented on in  this
 work.   It is placed  among the preparations by the British Colleges; but
 stands  more properly, in the United States Pharmacopoeia, in  the Materia
 Medica, as an article to be purchased from the wholesale manufacturer.  It
 is extracted from tartar, a peculiar  substance which concretes on the inside
 of wine-casks, being deposited there during the fermentation of the wine.
 Tartar, when purified and reduced to powder, is the cream of tartar of the
 shops,  and is found to be a  supersalt, consisting of two equivalents of  tar-
 taric acid and one of potassa.  It is, therefore, in correct chemical language,
 a bitartrate of potassa.  (See Potassae Bitartras.)
  Tartaric acid was first obtained in a separate state by Scheele in 1770.
The process consists in  saturating the  excess of acid  in the bitartrate  of
potassa with carbonate of lime, and  decomposing the resulting insoluble tar-
trate of lime by  sulphuric acid, which precipitates  in combination with the
lime, and liberates the  tartaric acid.   The  equivalent quantities are one
equiv.  of  bitartrate, and one of carbonate of lime.  The  process, when
       6 
50
Acidum Tartaricum.
PART I.
thus conducted, furnishes the second  equivalent  or excess of acid only
of the bitartrate.   The other  equivalent may be  procured by decomposing
the neutral tartrate  of potassa,  remaining in the solution after the  pre-
cipitation of the tartrate  of lime,  by chloride of calcium  in excess.  By
double decomposition, chloride of potassium will be formed in solution, and
a fresh portion of tartrate of lime will precipitate, which may be decomposed
by sulphuric acid in the same manner  as the first  portion.  The  process,
when thus conducted, will furnish  twice as much tartaric acid as when the
excess of acid only is saturated and set  free.
  Preparation on the Large Scale.  The mode of obtaining this acid on
the large scale is as follows.   Mix  intimately, by grinding  in a mortar and
passing through a sieve, 100 parts  of bitartrate of potassa (cream of  tartar)
with 26^  parts of pulverized chalk.  Throw the mixture, by spoonfuls, into
8 or 10 times its weight of boiling water, waiting until the effervescence has
ceased, before every fresh addition.   Examine the solution  by litmus  paper,
and if not neutral, make it so by the addition  of a little chalk.  Wash the
tartrate of lime with abundance of cold water, and add to it a quantity of
sulphuric acid equal in weight to  the chalk employed, and diluted with from
10 to 16 times its weight of water.  Agitate the mixture frequently  for 24
hours, and then test a small portion of the clear  solution for sulphuric acid
by acetate of lead.   A precipitate will be formed, which is  either tartrate of
lead, or a mixture of tartrate  and sulphate of  lead.  If the former,  it will
dissolve entirely in dilute nitric acid;  if the latter, only  partially,  as the sul-
phate of lead is  insoluble in that acid.   If a slight  excess of sulphuric acid
should be indicated,  it is of  no consequence; but if the excess be consider-
able, it must be removed by a fresh addition of chalk.  On the other hand,
an excess of tartrate  of lime, which interferes very  much with the crystalli-
zation of the tartaric acid, must be  decomposed by adding a small  quantity
of sulphuric acid.  The clear liquor, separated from the sulphate of lime, is
concentrated by evaporation to the consistence  of syrup,  and allowed to
crystallize.   Repeated solutions and crystallizations are necessary to get the
crystals white.  The mode  of ascertaining the  quantity of chalk consumed,
is to weigh out more than is necessary in the process, and,  after the satura-
tion has  been completed, to weigh what is left.   If  the neutral tartrate of
potassa be also converted into tartrate of lime in the manner already explained,
the quantity of sulphuric acid for decomposition must be doubled. Sometimes
the bitartrate of  potassa is decomposed by lime, in which case the whole of
the tartaric acid  present is converted into tartrate of lime at one operation;
but the caustic potassa at the same time  liberated, renders this process ineli-
gible, by  dissolving the tartrate of lime  formed, and preventing it from pre-
cipitating.
  The reader is now prepared to  understand the  formulae of the British
Colleges.  In that of the London College,  the Imperial measure is of
course employed.
  "Take  of bitartrate of potassa four pounds; boiling distilled  water two
gallons  and a half;  prepared  chalk twenty-five  ounces and six drachms;
diluted sulphuric acid seven pints and seventeen fluidounces; hydrochloric
acid twenty-six and a  half fluidounces, or as  much as may be sufficient.
Boil the bitartrate of potassa with  two gallons of the distilled water, and add,
by degrees, the half  of the chalk; when the  effervescence is over add the
remainder of the chalk, previously dissolved in the hydrochloric acid diluted
with four pints of the distilled water.   Then  set aside that the  tartrate of
lime may subside, and, having poured off the  liquor, wash the tartrate fre-
quently with distilled water until it is free from taste.  Then  pour on the 
PART I.
Acidum  Tartaricum.
51
diluted  sulphuric acid, and boil for a quarter of an hour.  Having filtered
the liquor, evaporate  it by a gentle heat, that crystals may form.   These,
in order to be pure, must be dissolved in water two or three times, and the
solution as often filtered, evaporated, and set aside." Lond.
   The formula of the Edinburgh College is substantially the  same as that
of the London.
   "Take of bitartrate of  potassa, reduced to-powder, ten parts; prepared
chalk, four parts; sulphuric acid seven parts; water, one hundred and twenty
parts.   Mix the bitartrate of potassa with one hundred parts of hot water,
and  gradually add the prepared chalk; then, as soon as  the effervescence
shall have ceased, pour off the supernatant liquor.  Wash the  residual tar-
trate of lime, until it becomes tasteless.   Into  the  clear decanted liquor,
drop as much of the water of muriate of lime  as may be sufficient to throw
down the tartrate of lime.   Let this also be washed with water, and mixed
with the former deposite.   Then add the sulphuric acid, diluted with twenty
parts of water,  and, employing frequent agitation, digest the mixture with a
medium heat during three days.   Pour off the supernatant acid fluid, and
wash out the acid from the sediment.  Let the  liquors, including the first
acid liquor  and the washings, evaporate with  a gentle heat to the  point of
crystallization.   Let the crystals, purified by repeated solutions and crystal-
lizations,  be kept in a stopped glass vessel." Dub.
   The  quantity of chalk directed in the Dublin formula is excessive, being
two-fifths of the weight of the bitartrate; whereas, by theory, a portion only
one-fourth the weight of the latter is  required; and making every allowance
for impurities,  one-third would be amply sufficient.  The plan of dissolving
the bitartrate in boiling water and then adding the chalk, is not an eligible
one.  It is better to mix them together according to the plan  given by Dr.
Henry, as described in the beginning of this article, and to throw the  mix-
ture by spoonfuls at  a time into boiling water.  In this way, less water is
necessary; and less excess of chalk is required, as less of it escapes decom-
position.   Instead.of prescribing the quantity of  chalk, it would, perhaps,
have been an improvement, if the Colleges had  directed a quantity " suffi-
cient for  saturation."  The London and Edinburgh Colleges have  very
properly  followed  the  example  of the  Dublin College, by  directing the
decomposition  of the  neutral tartrate of potassa by means of  a solution of
chloride of calcium.
   Properties.  Tartaric acid is a white crystallized solid, in the form of irre-
gular six-sided prisms.  Sometimes two opposite sides of the prism become
very much enlarged, so as  to cause the crystals to present the appearance of
tables.  It is unalterable in the air, and possesses a strong acid taste, which
becomes agreeable when  the acid is  sufficiently diluted  with  water.   It is
soluble  in five or six  times its weight of cold, and twice its weight of  boil-
ing water.  It is also soluble in alcohol.  A weak solution undergoes sponta-
neous decomposition  by keeping, becoming covered with a mouldy pellicle.
In the form of crystals, it  always contains combined  water, from which it
cannot  be  separated without the substitution of a base.  In uniting  with
bases, it has a remarkable  tendency to form double salts, several of which
constitute important medicines.  When subjected to  heat it  gives rise to
three peculiar acids, described in systematic chemical works.   It is distin-
guished from all other acids by forming a precipitate, consisting of bitartrate
of potassa, when added to  a neutral  salt of that alkali.  Its most usual im-
purity is sulphuric acid, which  may be detected by the  solution affording,
with acetate of  lead, a precipitate  only partially soluble in nitric acid.
When incinerated with red oxide of mercury, it leaves  no residuum, or a
mere trace. 
52               Acidum Tartaricum—Aconitum.          part i.
  Tartaric acid is incompatible with salifiable bases  and their carbonates;
with salts of potassa, with which it produces a crystalline precipitate of
bitartrate; and with the salts of lime and of lead, with which it  also forms
precipitates.   It consists when dry, of two equivalents of hydrogen 2, four
equiv. of carbon 24-48,  and five equiv. of oxygen 40=66-48;  and when
crystallized, of one equivalent of dry acid 66-48, and one equiv. of water
9=75-48.
  Medical Properties.  Tartaric acid, being cheaper than citric acid, forms,
when dissolved in water and sweetened, a good substitute for lemonade. It
is very much used in medicine to form  aeid refrigerant drinks and efferves-
cing draughts.  What are called soda powders consist of tartaric acid, and
bicarbonate of soda, put up in separate papers.  These powders have been
made officinal in the last Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, under  the name of
Pulveres Eff'ervescentes.  Tartaric acid is also a constituent  in the gentle
aperient  called Seidlitz powders.  These consist of a mixture  of two
drachms of tartrate of potassa  and  soda (Rochelle  salt), and two scruples
of bicarbonate of soda, put up in a white paper, and thirty-five grains of
tartaric acid contained in a blue one.  The contents of the white paper are
dissolved in about half a pint of water, to which those of the blue paper are
added;  and the whole is taken in a state of effervescence.  The excess of
acid renders the medicine more pleasant, without injuring its aperient quality.
This acid, when powdered and dried by a gentle heat, and then mixed in
due proportion with bicarbonate of soda, forms a  good effervescing pow-
der, a teaspoonful of which, stirred  into  a tumbler of water, forms the dose.
The mixture must be kept in well-stopped vials.   The neutralizing power
of tartaric acid is about the same as that of citric acid.
  Off. Prep.   Pulveres  Effervescentes, Ed.; Trochisci Acidi Tartarici,
Ed.                                                            B.

                    ACONITUM.   U.S., Ed.

                              Aconite.

  " The  leaves of Aconitum  Napellus  and of Aconitum paniculatura (De
Candolle)." U.S.  " Leaves of Aconitum Napellus." Ed.
  Off. Syn. ACONITI FOLIA.   ACONITI RADIX.  Aconitum pani-
culatum.  Folia. Radix. Lond.; ACONITUM PANICULATUM. Folia.
Dub.
  Aconit,  Fr.; Eisenhut, Monchskappe, Germ.; Aconito, Nnpello, Ital.; Aconito, Span.
  Aconitum. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Calyx none.  Petals five, the highest arched.  Nectaries two,
peduncled, recurved.  Pods three or five. Willd.
  The plants belonging to this genus are  herbaceous, with divided leaves,
and violet or yellow flowers, disposed in spikes, racemes, or panicles.   In
the  French Codex three species are  recognised as officinal, the A. Anthora,
A. Cammarum, and A. Napellus  of Linnaeus.   The Edinburgh  College
adopts only the A. Napellus, which was  erroneously supposed to be the
plant employed by Storck, who introduced the medicine into notice.  The
U. S. Pharmacopoeia at present recognises the A. Napellus and A. panicu-
latum of De  Candolle, the London and Dublin  Colleges only  the latter.
De  Candolle, in his Prodromus, divides the genus Aconitum into four sec-
tions—Anthora, Lycoctonum,  Cammarum, and Napellus.  The A. pani-
culatum  belongs  to the  third of these  divisions; and the particular plant
believed to have been used by  Storck, is a variety  of this species  distin- 
PART I.
Aconitum.
53
guished in the Prodromus as the Storckianum.   De Candolle is probably
correct.   The A. neomontanum of Willdenow,  for which  the honour has
been generally claimed, is, according to Geiger, possessed of little acrimony,
and is therefore very different from Stb'rck's plant, which is represented as
extraordinarily acrid.   It is, however, of little consequence which was used
by Storck; as most of the species possess similar virtues,  and one is fre-
quently substituted for  another  in  the shops.   Geiger  states that he has
found none equal to the A. Napellus in acrimony; and this  may, therefore,
perhaps, be considered as the most efficacious. Only one species of aconite
is indigenous in  this country—the A. uncinatum.  Most of the others are
natives of the Alpine regions of  Europe and Siberia.  Those employed in
medicine  appear to be indiscriminately called by  English writers wolfsbane
or monkshood.
   Aconitum Napellus. Linn. Flor. Suec. ed. 1755,  p. 186.—A. neuber-
gense. De Cand.  Prodrom. i.  62.—A. variabile neubergense.   Hayne,
Darstel.  und Beschreib.  &,c, xii.  14.   This is a perennial herbaceous
plant, with a turnip-shaped or fusiform root, seldom  exceeding at top the
thickness of the finger, three or four inches or more in length, brownish
externally, whitish and fleshy within, and  sending forth numerous  long,
thick, fleshy fibres. When the plant is in full growth, there  are usually two
roots joined together, of which  the older is dark brown and supports the
stem, while the younger is of a light  yellowish-brown, and is destined to
furnish the stem of the following year.  The stem is erect, round, smooth,
leafy, usually simple, and  from  two to four feet high, though it sometimes
rises even six or  eight feet.  The leaves  are alternate, petiolate, divided
almost to the base, from two to  four  inches in  diameter, deep green upon
their upper surface, light green beneath, somewhat rigid, and more or less
smooth and shining on  both sides.  Those on the lower part of the stem
have long footstalks and five or seven divisions; the upper,  short footstalks
and three or five divisions.   The  divisions are narrow at their base, but
widen in  the form of a wedge towards their summit, and  present two  or
three lobes, which extend nearly or quite to the middle.   The  lobes are
cleft or toothed, and the laciniae  or teeth are linear or linear-lanceolate and
pointed.   The flowers are of  a dark violet-blue colour, large and beautiful,
and are borne at the summit of the stem upon  a thick, simple, straight,
erect,  spike-like raceme,  beneath which, in the cultivated plant, several
smaller racemes arise from the axils of the upper leaves.  Though without
calyx, they have two small calycinal stipules, situated on the peduncle within
a few lines of the flower.  The petals are five, the upper helmet-shaped and
beaked, nearly hemispherical, open or  closed, the two lateral roundish and
internally hairy, the two lower oblong-oval.  They enclose two pediceled
nectaries, of which the spur is capitate, and the lip bifid  and revolute.  The
fruit consists of three, four, or five podlike capsules.
   The plant  is abundant in the mountain forests of France, Switzerland,
and Germany.  It is also cultivated in the  gardens of Europe, and has been
introduced into this eountry as an ornamental flower.   All  parts of it are
acrid and  poisonous.  The leaves are usually employed, and should be col-
lected  when  the flowers begin  to appear, or shortly before.  In  the last
edition of the London Pharmacopoeia, the root also has been adopted as offi-
cinal.  According to Dr. Turnbull, this is by far the most active part of the
plant.  It should be  gathered in the spring, before  the  appearance of the
leaves.
   Properties.  The fresh leaves have a faint narcotic odour, which is most
sensible when they are rubbed.   Their taste is at first bitterish and herba-
                                  6* 
54
Aconitum.
PART I.
ceous, afterwards burning and acrid, and attended with a feeling of numb-
ness and tingling on the inside of the lips, tongue, and fauces, which is very
durable, lasting sometimes many hours.   When long chewed, they inflame
the tongue.  The dried leaves have a similar taste, but the acrid impression
commences  later.   Their sensible properties and medicinal activity are
impaired by long keeping.   They should be of a green colour, and neither
musty nor tasteless.   The root has the same effect upon  the mouth  and
fauces.   It shrinks much in drying, and assumes a darker colour.   Those
parcels, whether of leaves or roots, should always be rejected  which are
destitute of acrimony.   Other species of aconite are often substituted, and,
if possessed of the same sensible properties, without inconvenience.  The
analysis  of aconite, though  attempted  by several chemists, has not been
satisfactorily accomplished.   Bucholz obtained from the fresh herb of the
A. neomontanum, resin, wax, gum, albumen, extractive, lignin, malate and
citrate of lime and other saline matters, besides 83-33  per cent, of water.
During the bruising of the herb, he experienced  headach, vertigo, Sic,
though water  distilled from it produced no poisonous effect.  It has been
rendered probable by the researches of Geiger and Hesse, that there are two
active principles in aconite, one easily destructible, upon which the acrimony
depends, the other less acrid, having alkaline  properties, and capable of ex-
erting  a  powerful narcotic influence over the system.  For the latter the
name of  aconitin has been proposed; which, however, if the claim of the
principle to the rank of an alkali be admitted, should be changed to aconitia.
Hesse obtained it from the dried leaves by a process similar to that employed
in procuring atropia.  (See Belladonna.)  The London College has adopted
it  as  officinal, and given  a  process for  its preparation  under the  name of
aconitina.  (See Aconitina, in the second  part of this work.)   Peschier
discovered a peculiar acid in aconite, which he called aconitic acid.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Aconite was well known to the  ancients
as a powerful poison, but was first employed as a medicine by Baron Storck
of Vienna, whose experiments with it were published in the year 1762.  In
moderate doses it is said to excite the circulation, and occasionally  to increase
the perspiratory and urinary discharge, while it exercises considerable influ-
ence over the nervous system.  Recent writers, however, deny that it pos-
sesses any decided  diaphoretic or diuretic properties.  Among  its effects,
when it is pretty freely given, are, according to Turnbull, headach, nausea,
weakness of the joints and  muscles, slight  confusion  of  intellect,  and  a
remarkable sensation of tingling in various parts of the body, particularly in
the head,  face, and extremities.  In poisonous doses, besides the effects on
the mouth and throat  already mentioned, it occasions burning heat of the
stomach, thirst, violent nausea, vomiting, purging, severe gastric and intes-
tinal spasms, headach, dimness of vision with  contracted or expanded pupil,
numbness or paralysis of the limbs, diminished sensibility in general, stiff-
ness of the muscles, great prostration of strength, pallid countenance, cold
extremities, an extremely feeble pulse, and death in a few hours, sometimes
preceded by delirium, stupor, or convulsions.   All these effects are not ex-
perienced in every case, but there is no one  of  them which has not been
recorded as having occurred in one or more instances.  Dissection reveals
inflammation of  the stomach and bowels, and engorgement  of the brain and
lungs.  Life may usually be saved by a timely and thorough  evacuation of
the stomach, and the use of stimulant remedies internally and externally.
Pereira states that, when dogs are opened immediately after death from aco-
nite, no pulsations of the heart are visible.  {Elements of Mat. Med., #•<:.)
Applied to the skin, aconite is said to occasion a feeling of heat and prickling 
PART I.
Aconitum.—Adeps.
55
or tingling followed by numbness, {Turnbull,) and if in contact with a wound
produces its peculiar constitutional effects.   Applied to the eye, it causes
contraction of the pupil. {Pereira.)  In relation to its mode of action, aconite
appears to be locally irritant, and, at the same time, entering the system, to
operate powerfully on the brain, spinal marrow, and nerves, directly dimin-
ishing their power, and thus producing, to a greater or less extent, paralysis
both of sensation and  motion.  The heart feels also this paralysing influ-
ence, and hence proceeds the  great depression of  the pulse under the full
action of the medicine.
  Aconite  has  been employed in rheumatism, neuralgia,  gout, scrofula,
phthisis, secondary syphilis,  scirrhus and cancer, certain cutaneous  dis-
eases, amaurosis, paralysis, epilepsy, intermittent fever, dropsies, and other
complaints.  Professor Fouquier, who  experimented largely with  it in
the Hopital de la Charite,  found  little advantage  from  its  use,  except as
a diuretic in passive dropsy.   It has long enjoyed, in Germany, a  high
reputation as a remedy in rheumatism;  and  has recently come  into great
vogue elsewhere in the treatment of that disease,  especially in its chronic
and neuralgic forms.   By some practitioners  it is considered as one of the
most effectual  remedies in  neuralgia, in which it is used  both internally
and as a local application.  It may be administered  in powder, extract, or
tincture.   The dose of the powdered leaves is one or two grains, of the
extract from half a grain to a  grain, of the  tincture twenty or thirty drops,
to be repeated twice or three  times a day, and gradually increased till the
effects of the medicine are experienced.  Dr. Turnbull recommends a tinc-
ture made from the root, carefully dried and powdered, in the proportion of
an ounce to six fluidounces of strong alcohol.  Of this, eight  or ten drops
may be given three times a day, and  gradually increased till its effects be-
come obvious.  Few  patients, he observes,  will  bear  more than twenty
drops.   Aconite may be used externally in the form of the strong tincture
just referred to, of extract mixed with lard, of a plaster made with the extract,
or of aconitina.  (See Extractum Aconiti, Extractum Aconiti Alcoholi-
cum, and Aconitina.)  The tincture may be applied by means of a piece of
soft sponge fastened to the end of a stick.
   Off. Prep. Aconitina, Lond.;  Extractum  Aconiti, U. S., Lond., Dub.;
 Extract. Aconiti Alcoholicum, U. S., Ed.;  Tinctura Aconiti, U. S.


                       ADEPS.  U.S., Lond.

                                Lard.

   " The prepared fat of Sus Scrofa, free from  saline matter." U. S.  " Sus
Scrofa.  Adeps prseparatus."   Lond.
   Off.  Syn.  AXUNGIA.  Fat of Sus Scrofa. Ed.; ADEPS SUILLUS
PRSEPARATUS. Dub.
  Axonge, Graisse, Saindoux, Fr.; Schweineschmalz,  Germ ; Grasso di porco,  Lardo,
Ital.; Manteca de puerco, Latdo, Span.
   Lard is the prepared fat of the hog.   The Dublin College gives a process
for its preparation;  but, as in this country it is  purchased by the  druggists
already prepared, the introduction of any officinal directions into our  Phar-
macopoeia was deemed superfluous.  The adipose matter of the omentum
and mesentery, and that which surrounds the kidneys, are usually employed;
though the subcutaneous fat is said to afford lard of a firmer  consistence.
In  the crude state it contains  membranes and vessels, and is more or  less
contaminated with blood, from all which it must be freed before it can be fit 
56
Adeps.
PART I.
 for use.  For this purpose, the fat, having been deprived as far as possible,
 by the hand, of membranous matter, is cut into pieces, washed with water
 till the liquor ceases to be coloured, and then melted,  usually with a small
 portion of water, in a copper or iron vessel, over  a slow fire.   The heat is
 continued till all the moisture is evaporated,  which may be known  by the
 transparency of the melted fat, and the  absence of crepitation when a small
 portion of it is thrown into the fire.  Care should be taken that the  heat is
 not too great, as otherwise the lard might be  partially decomposed, acquire
 a yellow colour, and become acrid.   The process  is completed by straining
 the fluid through linen, and pouring it into suitable vessels, in which it con-
 cretes upon cooling.
   Lard, as offered for sale, often  contains common salt, which renders it
 unfit for pharmaceutic purposes.  To free it  from this, the Dublin College
 directs that it be melted with  twice its weight of boiling water, the mixture
 well agitated and set aside to  cool, and  the fat then separated.
   Properties. Lard is white, inodorous, with little taste, of a soft consist-
 ence at ordinary temperatures, fusible at about 100° F., insoluble in  water,
 partially soluble in alcohol, more so in  ether and the volatile oils, dissolved
 and decomposed by the stronger acids, and converted  into soap by union
 with  the  alkalies.  When melted, it readily  unites with wax  and resins.
 According to Braconnot, it contains, in  100 parts,  62 of olein or the liquid
 principle of oils, and 38 of stearin or the concrete principle.   But M. Le
 Canu has ascertained that the stearin of Braconnot consists of two distinct
 substances, differing in fusibility and solubility.   For the least fusible of
 these he retains the name of stearin, and to the other applies that of mar-
 garin, from  its  resemblance  to the principle of the same  name found  in
 vegetable  oils.  Most fats and oils, of animal origin, are composed of these
 ingredients, upon the relative  proportion of which  their consistence respec-
 tively depends.   The liquid and concrete principles may be obtained sepa-
 rate by the action of boiling alcohol, which on cooling  deposites the  latter,
 and yields the former upon evaporation.  Another method is to compress
 fat, or oil  congealed  by cold,  between  the folds of bibulous  paper.   The
 olein is absorbed by the paper, and may be separated by compression  under
 water; the stearin and margarin remain.
   Olein, originally denominated eldin,  resembles oil in appearance,  is co-
lourless when pure, congeals at 20° F.,  has little odour and a sweetish taste,
 is insoluble in water but soluble in boiling alcohol, and consists of carbon,
oxygen, and  hydrogen.  The olein of  lard has recently been  introduced
extensively into use for burning in lamps.
   Stearin is white, concrete,  of a crystalline  appearance like spermaceti,
pulverizable,  fusible at about 143°, soluble in alcohol and boiling ether, in-
soluble  in cold ether and in water, and composed, like the former principle,
of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.   It may be separated from the concrete
matter of lard by treating it with cold ether so long as any thing is dissolved.
The stearin is left behind, and the  ethereal  solution yields margarin by
evaporation.
   The margarin of animal fats resembles stearin very closely  differing
only in  its melting point, which is  about 118°, and in being soluble in cold
ether.   Very good candles are now made out of the concrete constituents
of lard.
   Exposed to the air, lard absorbs oxygen and becomes  rancid.  It should
therefore, be kept in well closed vessels, or procured fresh when wanted for
use.  In the rancid state it is irritating to the skin, and sometimes exercises
an injurious reaction on substances mixed with it.   Thus, the ointment  of 
PART I.
Adeps.—Alcohol.
57
iodide of potassium, which is white when prepared with fresh lard, is said
to be more or less yellow when the lard employed is rancid.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.  Lard  is emollient, and is occasionally
employed by itself in frictions, or in connexion with poultices to preserve
their soft consistence; but its chief use is in pharmacy as an ingredient of
ointments and cerates.   It is frequently added to laxative enemata.  W.

                        ALCOHOL.  U.S.

                               Alcohol.
  " Rectified spirit of the specific gravity 0-835." U. S.
  Off. Syn. SPIRITUS RECTIFICATUS. Lond., Ed., Dub.
  Spirit of wine; Alcool, Esprit de vin, Fr.; Rectificirter Weingeist, Germ.; Alcoole,
Acquavite rettificata, Ital.; Alcohol, Espiritu rectificado de vino, Span.

             SPIRITUS  VINI  GALLICI.  Lond.

                               Brandy.
  " Spiritus. E vino Gallico destillatus."  Lond.
  Eau de vie, Fr.; Brantwein, Germ; Acquavile, Ital.; Aqua ardiente, Span.
  The Pharmacopoeias have recognised several pharmaceutical strengths of
the liquid, which in its pure state is known to the chemist under the name
of alcohol.  The British Colleges have adopted three strengths of this sub-
stance; while the United States Pharmacopoeia has admitted only two.  The
following table presents a view of the names  and strengths of the alcohol
according to these different authorities; assuming  those spirits to be identi-
cal, the specific gravities of which approach to equality.
	U.S.	Lond.	Ed.	Dub.
Highest off. S strength. f Medium do. < Lowest do. <	Alcohol. Sp. gr. 0-835. AlcoholDilutum. Sp. gr. 0-935.	Alcohol. Sp. gr. 0-815. Spiritus Rectifi-catus. Sp. gr. 0-838. SpiritusTenuior. Sp. gr. 0-920.	Alcohol. Sp. gr. 0-794—6. Spiritus Rectifi-catus. Sp. gr. 0-838. SpiritusTenuior. Sp.gr. 0-912.	Alcohol. Sp. gr. 0-810. Spiritus Reclifi-fcatus. Sp. gr. 0-840. SpiritusTenuior. Sp. gr. 0-919.
  The London College, in their revised Pharmacopoeia for 1836, have intro-
duced brandy, under the officinal name of Spiritus  Vini  Gallici.   As this
is an alcoholic liquor, and may be considered as a  fourth form of alcohol
recognised by that College, its  officinal title has been  associated with
" Alcohol," in forming the heading of this article.
  By the  table it is perceived that  the officinal " Alcohol" of the United
States  Pharmacopoeia is a  rectified spirit of the sp. gr. 0-835; while the
spirit,  under the same officinal  name, of the British Colleges  is much
stronger.   It is certainly to  be regretted  that the same name has  been ap-
plied to the  substance of such different strengths, as it leads to confusion.
Our principal object, however, in this article, is to describe the alcohol of
the  United  States Pharmacopoeia, corresponding to the  British  Spiritus
Rectificatus; and we shall introduce  incidentally our notice of brandy and
of the stronger spirit of the British Colleges, also called alcohol.   The Al-
cohol Dilutum, and the corresponding preparations of the British Pharma- 
58
Alcohol.
PART I.
copoeias, will be considered in their appropriate place, in the second part
of this work.  (See Alcohol Dilutum.)
   Alcohol,  in the chemical sense, is a peculiar liquid, generated for the
most part in vegetable juices and infusions by a peculiar fermentation, called
the vinous or  alcoholic.   The liquids which  have undergone it are called
vinous liquors, and are of various kinds.   Thus the fermented juice of the
grape is called wine; of the apple, cider; and the fermented infusion of malt,
beer.
   With regard to the nature of the liquids susceptible of the vinous fermen-
tation, one general character prevails, however various they may be in other
respects; that, namely, of containing sugar in some form or other.  It is
found further, that after they have undergone  the vinous  fermentation, the
sugar they contained has, either wholly or in part, disappeared, and that the
only new products  are alcohol which remains in the  liquid, and carbonic
acid which escapes during the process; and these, when taken together, are
found to  be  equal in  weight to  the sugar lost.   It is hence inferred, that
sugar is  the subject  matter of the changes  that occur during  the vinous
fermentation, and that it is resolved into alcohol and carbonic acid.  Addi-
tional facts in support of this view, will be adduced under the head of  the
composition of alcohol.
  Sugar, however, will not undergo the  vinous fermentation by itself; but
requires to be dissolved in water, subjected to the influence of a ferment, and
kept at a certain temperature.  Accordingly, sugar, water, the presence of a
ferment, and the maintenance of an adequate temperature, may  be deemed
the prerequisites of the  vinous  fermentation.   The water  acts by giving
fluidity, and the ferment and temperature operate by commencing and main-
taining the chemical changes.   The precise  manner in which the ferment
operates  in  commencing  the reaction is  not known.  Neither has it been
certainly aeocrtninod whothor it is a peculiar vegetable principle, or -whether
a number of distinct vegetable substances are capable of acting in a similar
way.  As a general rule, substances  containing nitrogen, such  as gluten,
albumen, caseous matter, &c, possess the property of inducing the vinous
fermentation.  The proper temperature ranges from 60° to 90°.
  Certain vegetable  infusions,  as  those of potatoes and rice, though con-
sisting almost entirely of starch, are, nevertheless, capable of undergoing the
vinous fermentation, and form seeming exceptions to the rule that sugar is
the only substance susceptible of this fermentation.  The apparent excep-
tion is explained by the circumstance, that starch is susceptible  of a spon-
taneous change which converts it into sugar.   How this change takes place
is not well known, but it  is designated by some authors as the saccharine
fermentation.  Thus Kirchoff proved, that if a mixture of gluten  from flour,
and starch from potatoes, be put into hot water, the starch will be converted
into sugar.  When,  therefore, starch is apparently converted into alcohol
by fermentation, it is supposed that during the change it passes through the
intermediate state of sugar.
  Alcohol, being the product of the vinous fermentation, necessarily exists
in all vinous liquors, and  may be obtained from them by distillation.  For-
merly it was supposed that these liquors did not  contain  alcohol, but were
merely capable of furnishing it in consequence of a new arrangement of their
ultimate constituents,  the result of the heat applied.  Brande, however, dis-
proved this idea, by showing that alcohol may be obtained from  all vinous
liquors without  the application  of heat, and, therefore, must pre-exist in
them.  His  method consists in precipitating their acid and colouring matter 
part i.                       Alcohol.                               59

by subacetate of lead, and  separating the water by carbonate  of potassa.
Gay-Lussac  and Donovan have  proved the same fact.   According to the
former, litharge in fine powder is the best agent for precipitating the colour-
ing matter.
  In vinous  liquors, the alcohol is  diluted with abundance of water,  and
associated with  colouring matter, volatile oil, extractive, and various acids
and salts.  In purifying it we take advantage of its volatility, which enables
us to separate it by distillation, combined with some of the principles of the
vinous liquor employed, and more or less water.   The  distilled product of
vinous liquors forms the different varieties  of  ardent spirit of commerce.
When obtained from wine, it  is called brandy; from fermented molasses,
rum; from cider, malted barley, or  rye, whisky; from  malted barley and
rye-meal with hops, and rectified from  juniper berries, Holland gin; from
malted barley, rye, or potatoes, rectified with turpentine, common gin;  and
from fermented  rice, arrack.   These spirits are of different strengths,  that
is, contain different proportions of alcohol, and have various peculiarities
by which they are distinguished by the taste.  Their strength is accurately
judged of by the specific gravity, which is always less in proportion as their
concentration is  greater.   When they have a sp.  gr.  of 0-920  they are
designated in commerce by the term proof spirit.  If lighter than this, they
are said  to be above proof;  if heavier, below proof;  and the per centage of
water, or of spirit of 0-825, necessary to be added to any sample of spirit to
bring it  to the standard of  proof spirit, indicates the number of  degrees the
given sample is above or below proof.   Thus, if 100 volumes of a spirit
require 10 volumes of water to reduce it to proof spirit, it is said to be  "10
over proof."  On  the other hand,  if 100 volumes of a spirit require 10
volumes of a spirit of 0*825 to raise it to proof, the sample is said to  be  "10
under proof."
  Proof spirit is still very far from being pure;  being a dilute alcohol, con-
taining about half its weight of water, together with  a peculiar oil and other
foreign matters.  It may be further  purified  and strengthened by redistilla-
tion, or rectification as it is called.   Whisky is the spirit usually employed
for this purpose; and from every hundred  gallons, between fifty-seven and
fifty-eight may be obtained, of the average strength of rectified spirit, (sp, gr.
0-835,)  corresponding to the alcohol of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and the
Spiritus Rectificatus of the British Colleges.   When  this is  once more
cautiously distilled, it will  be further purified from water, and attain the sp.
gr. of  about  0-825, which is the lightest spirit  which can be obtained by
ordinary distillation, and is the pure spirit or alcohol of  the British system
of excise.   It still,  however, contains eleven  per cent,  of water.  In the
mean while,  the spirit, by these repeated distillations, becomes more and
more freed from the contaminating oil, called grain oil.
  If it be desired to obtain alcohol of still greater concentration, it is neces-
sary to avail  ourselves of certain substances which have  a powerful affinity
for  water.   Of  this nature are lime, carbonate of potassa, and  chloride of
calcium.  These, being mixed with  the rectified spirit, unite with  the water
and sink, while  the purer spirit floats above, and may be separated by de-
cantation or distillation.   By availing  themselves  of  substances  of  this
nature, the British Colleges are enabled to  produce their strongest spirit,
which  they denominate alcohol. (See tabular view, page 57.)  The follow-
ing are the processes which they adopt.
  Alcohol  (sp. gr. 0-815), Lond.—"Take of rectified spirit, a gallon;
chloride  of calcium,  a pound.   Add the chloride of calcium to the spirit,
and when it has dissolved, distil seven pints, and five fluidounces." 
60
Alcohol.
PART I.
   Alcohol (sp. gr.  0-794-6), Ed.—" Take of rectified  spirit, one pint,
 [Imp. meas.]; lime, eighteen ounces.  Break down the lime into small
 fragments: expose  the spirit and  lime together to  a gentle heat in  a glass
 matrass  till the lime begins to slake:  withdraw the heat till the slaking is
 finished,  preserving the  upper part of the matrass cool with damp cloths.
 Then attach a proper refrigeratory, and with a gradually increasing  heat
 distil off seventeen fluidounces.   The  density  of  this alcohol should  not
 exceed 796: if higher, the distillation must have  been begun before  the
 slaking of the lime  was finished."
   Alcohol (sp. gr.  0-810), Dub.—"Take of rectified spirit,  a gallon;
 pearlashes,  dried and still hot, three pounds and a half; muriate of lime,
 dried, a pound.  Add the pearlashes in powder to the spirit, and let the
 mixture  digest in a covered vessel for seven days, shaking it frequently.
 Draw off the supernatant spirit, and mix with it the muriate of lime. Lastly,
 distil, with a moderate heat, until the mixture in the retort begins to thicken."
   In these  processes, the  London College uses chloride of calcium,  the
 Edinburgh,  lime, and the Dublin,  both carbonate of potassa and chloride of
 calcium, for separating the water.   These substances are  all well fitted to
 remove the water, on account of their strong  attraction for that liquid. For-
 merly, the London  Pharmacopaeia directed the use of carbonate of potassa
 for this  purpose; but in the revision  of 1836, the  chloride  was  advan-
 tageously substituted, which,  on account of  its solubility  in  alcohol, is
 more powerful than the alkaline salt, as an agent for separating water.   By
 the processes of the London and Dublin Colleges, the  rectified  spirit is not
 entirely deprived of water;  but by the Edinburgh formula, it is brought at
 once  to its highest  strength, when it has a specific gravity between 0-794
 and  0-796,  and is  called anhydrous or absolute  alcohol.  The officinal
 alcohol of the London and  Dublin Colleges  may be brought to the same
 strength,  by very  carefully and repeatedly  distilling it from chloride of
 calcium.
   Soubeiran recommends  the following as an easy method for obtaining
 absolute alcohol abundantly and economically.  1st. Rectify alcohol, mark-
 ing 86° of the centesimal alcoholmeter of Gay-Lussac (rectified spirit), by
 distilling it from carbonate of potassa.  This  operation raises its strength to
 94° or 95°.   2d. Raise this alcohol to 97°, by distilling it  with fused chlo-
 ride of calcium, or  by digesting it with quicklime,  from which it  must be
 afterwards poured off, in the proportion of a pint of the alcohol to U ounces
 of the chloride, or  2? ounces of the lime.   3d. Distil the product of  this
 operation slowly, with quicklime, in the proportion of 3f ounces to the pint.
 The product will be absolute alcohol.  The operation  may be shortened to
two steps, by distilling the alcohol of 94° or 95°, with an excess of  quick-
lime,  {lh ounces to  the pint.)  In all cases, the alcohol must be  digested for
two or three days with the lime, before decanting or distilling, at a  tempera-
ture between 95° and 100° F.   Lime will not answer  as a substance to be
 distilled from, unless it be in sufficient excess; for  otherwise, towards the
 end of the distillation, the hydrate  of lime formed, will  yield up its water to
the alcohol,  and weaken the distilled product.   {Journ  de Pharm xxv 1
Jan.  1839.)
   It  thus  appears that the process adopted by the  Edinburgh  College  for
 absolute  alcohol, now first introduced into their Pharmacopoeia, is substan-
tially  the same as that recommended by Soubeiran.   Dr. Christison assures
us that, on using pure quicklime,  with the  precautions  mentioned  in the
 Edinburgh formula, he  has " always obtained  from rectified spirit  of the
 density of 0-838, seventeen-twentieths of its volume of alcohol, of density 
PART I.
Alcohol.
61
0-796; and if the first tenth be kept apart, the rest may be obtained so low
as 0-7942."   A good way for ascertaining  when all the water has been
removed, is to drop into the liquid a piece of anhydrous baryta, which will
remain unchanged if the alcohol be free from water; otherwise it will fall
to powder.
   Alcohol, though freed from water by the processes indicated, may still be
impregnated with  a  portion of the essential oil called grain  oil.   This is
usually removed by digesting the  spirit with  charcoal, especially animal
charcoal.  The same end may be attained on  a  small scale, by adding a
little of  the solution of  nitrate of silver  to the  spirit, and exposing it to a
bright light.   By the action of the oxide of silver on the oil, it is converted
into a  black  powder, and by a new distillation,  the spirit is obtained pure.
The absolute alcohol of the  Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia is submitted to this
test.   Its purity is directed to be such, that, " when mixed  with a little
solution of nitrate of silver and exposed to bright light, it remains unchanged,
or only a very scanty dark precipitate forms."
   Properties.  Alcohol is a  colourless,  transparent,  volatile  liquid, of a
penetrating,  agreeable odour, and  strong burning taste.   When free from
water  of dilution,  its sp. gr. is 0-796, or a little under, at the temp, of 60°.
Its density progressively increases by dilution, so that its sp. gr. is an index
of its strength.  When of the sp. gr. 0-820, its boiling point is at 176°; this
point being always lower in proportion as the alcohol is stronger.   Its spe-
cific gravity, as a vapour, is  1*60 compared with air.   Absolute alcohol has
never  been frozen; but  Dr. J. K. Mitchell, of this city, succeeded by a cold
of 146° below zero,  in rendering alcohol of 0-798 viscid,  so as to  resemble
melted wax.  In Dr. Mitchell's experiments, alcohol of 0-820  froze readily.
On account of the property of alcohol of resisting extreme degrees of cold,
without freezing, it is used in  thermometers for measuring low degrees of
temperature.
   Alcohol is inflammable, and burns without smoke or residue, the products
being water and carbonic acid. Its flame is of a bluish colour when strong;
but yellowish, when weak.  It combines with water and ether in all pro-
portions.  Its value depends  upon the quantity of absolute alcohol which it
contains;  and as this is  greater in proportion  as the sp. gr. of any sample is
less, it is found convenient to take the density in estimating its purity.  This
is done  by instruments with bulbs and long  stems,  called  hydrometers,
which, by being allowed to float in the spirit, sink deeper into it in propor*
tion as it is lighter.  Any given hydrometer strength corresponds with some
particular specific  gravity; and  by referring to tables constructed for the
purpose, the  percentage of absolute alcohol indicated in each case is at once
shown.  The following table, constructed by  Lowitz and  improved  by
Thomson, is  of this kind.  We have placed in notes, referring to their re-
spective  specific gravities in  the table, the names of the  different officinal
spirits, whereby the percentage of absolute alcohol is indicated which they
severally contain.
7 
62                             Alcohol.                         *ART I-
Table of the Specific Gravity of different Mixtures of Absolute Alcohol
            and Distilled Water, at the Temperature of 60°.
100 Parts.		1 Sp. Gr.	100 Parts.		Sp. Gr.	100 Parts.		Sp. Gr.	W Parts. \SpGr		
		at 60°.			at 60°.			at 60°.		at 60°.	
Ale.	Wat.	1	Ale.	Wat.		Ale. 52	Wat.		Ale. 28	Wat. |	
100	0	•796*	76	24	■857		48	•912-rt		72 ! -962	
99	1	•798	75	25	•860	| 51	49	•915	27	73 i -yC3	
98	2	•801	74	26	•863	50	50	•917	26	74 j -96.5	
97	3	•804	73	27	•865	i 49	51	•920ft	25	75 ' -967	
96	4	•807	72	28	•867	i 48	52	■952	24	76 1 -968	
95	5	•809+	71	29	•870	1 47	53	•924	23	77 | -970	
94	6	•812	70	30	•871	I 46	54	•926	22	78 j -972	
93	7	-8151	69	31	•874	1 45	55	■1)23	21	79 -973	
92	8	•sl7	68	32	•875	! 44	56	•930	20	80 ' -974	
91	9	•820	67	33	•879	1 «	57	•933	19	81	■975
90	10	•822	66	34	•880	42	58	•93f>§§	18	82	■977 ,
89	11	•825§	65	35	■bX3	41	59	•937	17	83	■978
88	12	•827	64	36	•886	40	60	•939	16	84	■979
87	13	•830	63	37	•889	39	61	•941	15	85	•981
86	14	■832	62	38	•891	38	62	•943	14	86	■982
85	15	■83.511	61	39	•893	37	63	•945	13	87	•984
84	16	•8381T	60	40	•896	36	64	•947	12	88 i -986 i	
83	17	•840**	59	41	•898	35	65	■949	11	89	■987
82	18	•843	58	42	■900	34	66	•951	10	90	■988
81	19	•846	57	43	•903	33	67	•953	9	91	■989
80	20	■848	56	44	•904	32	68	•955	8	92	■990
79	21	■851	55	45	■906	31	69	•957	7	93	•991
78	22	•853	54	46	•908	I 30	70	•958	G	94	•992
77	23	•855	53	47	•910	1 29	71	•960			
  Alcohol  is capable of dissolving  a great  number of substances;  as for
example, sulphur and phosphorus in small quantity, iodine, ammonia, and
potassa, soda and lithia in the caustic state, but not as carbonates.  Among
vegetable  substances, it is a solvent  of the organic vegetable alkalies, urea,
tannic acid, sugar, mannite, camphor, resins, balsams, volatile oils, and soap.
It dissolves the fixed oils sparingly, except castor oil, which is abundantly
soluble.  It acts on most acids, forming ethers with some, and effecting the
solution of others.  All deliquescent  salts are soluble in alcohol, except car-
bonate of potassa; while the efflorescent salts, and those either insoluble or
sparingly soluble in water, are mostly insoluble in it.   It dissolves muriate of
ammonia, and most of the chlorides that are readily soluble in water; also
some nitrates, but none of the metallic sulphates.
  It is capable of combining, in the  solid form, with different substances, so
as to form  definite compounds, which, from  their analogy to hydrates, are
called dlcoates.
   Composition.  Alcohol consists of six eqs. of hydrogen 6, four of carbon
24-48, and two of oxygen 16=46-48; or in volumes, of six volumes  of hy-
drogen, four volumes of the vapour  of carbon, and  one volume of oxygen.
These elements may be viewed as united, so as to form a compound  either
of one eq. of etherine and two of water (CJL+2HO), or of one eq. of ether
and one of water (C4HsO+HO).   Considered as a compound of etherine
and water, it consists in volumes, of one volume  of the vapour of etherine,
* Alcohol, Ed.            f Alcohol, Dub. (nearly.)
§ Lightest spirit obtained by ordinary distillation.
IT Spiritus Rectificatus, Lond., Ed.
tf Spiritus Tenuior, Ed.    tt Spiritus Tenuior, Lond.
        t Alcohol, Lond.
        || Alcohol, U. S.
Spiritus Rectificatus, Dub.
 §§ Alcohol  Dilutum,  U. S. 
PART I.
Alcohol.
63
and  two volumes of the vapour of water, condensed into  two volumes.
Etherine  is a highly volatile  liquid, discovered by Faraday, consisting of
four eqs. of carbon, and four of hydrogen (C4H4); or of four volumes of the
vapour of carbon and four of  hydrogen, condensed into one volume of its
vapour.
  It has  already been stated that, in the vinous fermentation, sugar is con-
verted into alcohol and carbonic acid.   This conversion is thus explained.
The sugar, of whatever kind,  is first changed into glucose or grape sugar.
This, at the temperature of 212°, consists  of H12Cia012, and  is resolved by
the fermentation  into two eqs. of alcohol (H^GgO,^, and four eqs. of car-
bonic acid (C408).
  Medical Properties, fyc.  Alcohol is a very powerful  diffusible stimulant.
It is the intoxicating ingredient in all spirituous and vinous liquors, includ-
ing under the  latter term,  porter, ale, and  cider, and every liquid in short
which has undergone the vinous fermentation.  In its pure stale it is never
used in medicine;  but diluted  to various degrees, it forms a menstruum for
many remedies.  In a diluted state, and taken in small quantity, it excites
the system, renders the pulse  full, communicates additional  energy to  the
muscles, and gives temporary exaltation to the mental  faculties.   In some
states of acute disease, characterized  by excessive debility,  it is a valuable
remedy.   In the  form of brandy it is frequently given in the  sinking stages
of typhus with advantage.  Other  kinds of ardent  spirit are occasionally
administered,  and each  is supposed to  have its peculiar qualities.   Thus,
according to Dr.  Paris,  brandy may be esteemed simply cordial and stom-
achic; rum, heating and sudorific; and  gin  and whisky, diuretic.  Physi-
cians should be on their guard not to prescribe alcoholic remedies in chronic
diseases, whether alone or in the form of tinctures, for fear of begetting in-
temperate habits in their patients.  Externally, alcohol is sometimes applied
to produce cold by evaporation, or  to stimulate when its evaporation is re-
pressed.   A mixture  of  equal parts of  rectified spirit and white of egg is
stated by Dr. Christison to be an excellent application in the early stage of
excoriation from  pressure in  protracted diseases.  It is to be  applied fre-
quently by a fine brush  or feather, and renewed as it dries, until an albumi-
nous coating is formed over the excoriated  surface.
   As an  article of daily use, alcoholic liquors produce the most deplorable
consequences.  Besides   the  moral  degradation  which they cause,  their
habitual use gives rise to dyspepsia, hypochondriasis, visceral obstructions,
dropsy, paralysis, and not unfrequently  mania.
   Alcohol is extensively employed by  perfumers and distillers, in making
essences and cordials.   In the arts it is  used to form drying varnishes, and
in chemistry, as an important  analytic agent.  Being a powerful antiseptic,
it is very useful in preserving  anatomical preparations.
  Effects as a Poison.   When taken in large quantity,  alcohol, in the form
of various ardent spirits, produces a true apoplectic state, and occasionally
speedy death.  The face becomes  livid or  pale, the  respiration  stertorous,
and the mouth frothy; and sense and feeling  are more or less completely lost.
Where the danger is imminent, an emetic may be administered, or the sto-
mach pump used.  The  affusion of cold water is often very useful.   As a
counter-poison, acetate of ammonia has been asserted to act with advantage.
After death, abundant evidence is furnished of the absorption of the. alcohol.
By Dr. Percy it has been detected  by chemical analysis in  the brain, and
by others  in the ventricles.
  Pharmaceutic  Uses.   Alcohol is very extensively employed as a phar-
maceutic agent.  Either  in its rectified state, or diluted with water, it is 
64
Alcohol. —Aletris.—Allium.
PART I.
used in the  formation of all the tinctures,  spirits, ethers, and resinous ex-
tracts.   It is added to the vinegars, some of the medicated  waters, and one
or more of the decoctions and infusions, to assist in their preservation; and
serves  as a vehicle or diluent of certain active medicines, as in the Spiritus
Ammonise, and Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum.   It is also employed
for various incidental purposes connected with its solvent power.
   Off. Prep, of Alcohol. Alcohol Dilutum, U. S., Ed.
   Off. Prep, of Brandy. Mistura Spiritus Vini Gallici, Lond.       B.

                  ALETRIS. U. S. Secondary.

                            Star  Grass.

   " The root of Aletris farinosa." U. S.
   Aletris.  Sex.  Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Liliaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla  tubular, six-cleft, wrinkled, persistent.   Stamens in-
serted  into the base of the segments.   Style triangular, separable into three.
Capsule opening at the top, three-celled, many seeded.  Bigelow.
   Aletris farinosa.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 183; Bigelow,  Am. Med. Bot.
iii. 92.  This is an indigenous  perennial plant, the leaves  of which spring
immediately from the root,  and  spread on the ground in the form of a star.
Hence have originated the popular names of star grass, blazing star, and
mealy  starwort, by which  it is known in different parts  of the country.
The leaves are sessile, lanceolate, entire, pointed, very smooth, longitudi-
nally veined, and  of unequal size,  the largest  being about four inches in
length.  From the midst of them a  flower stem rises,  one or two feet in
height, nearly naked, with remote scales, which sometimes become leaves.
It terminates in a  slender scattered  spike, the flowers  of  which stand on
very short pedicels,  and  have minute bractes at the  base.  The calyx is
wanting.  The corolla is tubular, oblong,  divided at the  summit  into six
spreading segments, of a white  colour, and presenting,  when old, a mealy
or rugose appearance on the outside.  The plant is found in almost all
parts of the United States, growing in fields and about the borders of woods,
and flowering in June and July.
   Properties.   The  root, which is the officinal portion, is  small, crooked,
branched, blackish externally, brown within,  and intensely  bitter.   The
bitterness is extracted by alcohol, and the tincture becomes  turbid upon the
addition of water.  The decoction is moderately bitter; but much less so
than the tincture.  It affords no precipitate with the salts of iron. {Bigelow.)
   Medical Properties.  In small doses the root appears to be simply tonic,
and may be employed advantageously for similar purposes with other bitters
of the  same class.  When largely given it  produces nausea.   The powder
may be administered as a tonic in the dose of ten grains.            W.


                  ALLIUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                              Garlick.

   "The bulb of Allium sativum." U.S., Ed. "Allium sativum. Bulbus."
Lond.
   Off.  Syn.  ALLIUM  SATIVUM.  Bulbus. Dub.
   Ail, Fr.; Knoblauch, Germ.; Aglio, Ital; Ajo, Span.
   Allium.  Sex. Syst. Hexandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Liliaceae
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla six-parted, spreading.  Spathe many-flowered   Umbel
crowded. Capsule  superior.  Willd. 
part i.                        Allium.                            65

  This is a very extensive genus, including more than sixty species, most
of which are European.  Of the nine or ten indigenous in this country,
none are employed.  Of the European species, several have been used from
a very early period, both as food and medicine.   Three only are officinal—
the A. sativum, or garlick; A. Cepa, or  onion;  and A. Porrum, or leek.
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia has adopted only the A. sativum, and to this we
shall confine our observations in the present place, simply stating that few
genera present a  greater  resemblance in medical and sensible  properties
among the various species that compose them, than the present.
  Allium sativum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii.  68; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 749, t.
256.   This  is a perennial plant, and like all its congeners, bulbous.  The
bulbs are numerous, and enclosed in a common membranous covering, from
the base of which the fibres that constitute the proper root descend.  The
stem is simple, and rises about two feet in height.   The leaves are long, flat,
and grass-like; and sheath the lower half  of  the stem.  At the termination
of the stem is a cluster of flowers and bulbs mingled together,  and enclosed
in a pointed spathe which opens on one side and withers.   The flowers are
small and white, and make their appearance in July.   This species of gar-
lick grows wild in Sicily,  Italy, and the south of France; and is cultivated
in all civilized countries.
  The part  employed, as well for culinary purposes as in medicine, is the
bulb.  The  bulbs are dug up with a portion of the stem attached, and, having
been dried in the  sun, are tied together  in  bunches, and thus brought to
market.   They are said to lose by drying nine parts of their weight out of
fifteen, with little diminution  of their sensible properties.   This species of
Allium is commonly called English garlick, to  distinguish it from those
which grow wild in our fields and meadows.
  Properties.  Garlick, as found in the  shops,  is of a  shape somewhat
spherical, flattened at the bottom, and drawn  towards a point at the summit,
where a portion of the stem several inches in length projects.  It is covered
with a white, dry, membranous envelope,  consisting of several  delicate
laminae, within which the small bulbs  are  arranged around the  stem, having
each a distinct  coat.  These small bulbs, which  in common language  are
called cloves of garlick, are usually five or six in number, of an oblong shape,
somewhat curved, and in their interior are whitish, moist, and fleshy.  They
have a disagreeable pungent odour, so peculiar as  to have received the name
of alliaceous.  Their taste is bitter and acrid.  This smell and taste, though
strongest in  the bulb, are found to a greater or less extent in all  parts of  the
plant.  They depend on an essential oil which is very volatile, and may be
obtained by  distillation, passing over with the first portions of  water. It is
of a yellow  colour, exceedingly pungent  odour,  and  strong acrid taste; is
heavier than water; contains  sulphur; and when  applied to the skin pro-
duces much irritation, and sometimes even blisters.   Cadet-Gassicourt ob-
tained  six drachms of it from  20 lbs. of  garlick.   Besides this oil, fresh
garlick, according to the same chemist, contains in 1406 parts, 520 of mu-
cilage, 37 of albumen, 48 of  fibrous matter,  and  801 of water.  Bouillon-
Lagrange  mentions among its  constituents,  sulphur, a saccharine matter,
and a small quantity of fecula.   The fresh bulbs yield upon pressure nearly
a fourth part of juice, which is highly viscid, and so tenacious as to require
dilution with water before it can be easily filtered.  When dried it serves as
a lute for porcelain.  It has the medical properties of the bulbs.  Water,
alcohol, and vinegar extract the virtues of  garlick.  Boiling, however, if
continued for some time, renders it inert.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.   The use of garlick as a medicine and
                                  7* 
66
Allium.—Allium Cepa.
PART I.
condiment, ascends to the highest antiquity.  When it is taken internally,
the active principle is very speedily absorbed, and penetrating throughout the
system, becomes sensible in the breath and various secretions.  Even ex-
ternally applied, as for example to the soles of the feet, it imparts its pecu-
liar  odour to  the breath, urine, and perspiration, and, according to some
writers, may be tasted in the mouth.   Its effects upon the system are those
of a general stimulant.   It  quickens  the circulation, excites  the nervous
system, promotes  expectoration in a debilitated state of the vessels of the
lungs, produces diaphoresis or diuresis according as the patient is kept warm
or cool, and  acts upon the stomach as a tonic and carminative.  It is said
also to be emmenagogue.  Agplied to the skin, it is irritant and rubefacient,
and moreover exercises,  to a greater  or less extent, its peculiar influence
upon the system, in consequence of its absorption.   Moderately employed,
it is beneficial in  enfeebled digestion and flatulence; and is  habitually used
as. a condiment by many who have no objection to an offensive breath.  It
has been given with advantage in chronic catarrh, humoral asthma, and other
pectoral affections in which the symptoms of inflammation have been sub-
dued, and a feeble condition of the vessels remains.  We use it habitually
and with great benefit in such affections occurring in children, as well as in
the nervous and spasmodic coughs to which this class of patients are pecu-
liarly liable.   Some physicians have highly recommended  it in old atonic
dropsies and calculous  disorders;  and it has been employed in the treatment
of intermittents.  It is said also to be an excellent  anthelmintic.   If taken
too largely, or in  excited states of the system, it  is apt to occasion gastric
irritation,  flatulence, hemorrhoids, headach, and fever.   As a medicine, it is
at present more used externally than inwardly.   Bruised and applied to the
feet, it acts very beneficially as a revulsive in disorders of the  head;  and is '
especially useful in the febrile complaints of children, by quieting restless-
ness and producing sleep.  In the same state it is  used to resolve indolent
tumours.  Its juice mixed with oil, or the garlick itself bruised  and steeped
in spirits,  is frequently used as a liniment in infantile convulsions, and other
cases of spasmodic or nervous disorder among children.   The  same appli-
cation has been made in cases of cutaneous eruption. A clove of garlick, or
a few drops of the juice introduced into the ear, are said to prove highly
efficacious in atonic deafness; and the bulb, bruised and applied in the shape
of a poultice above the pubis, has sometimes restored action to the bladder
in cases  of retention of urine, from debility of that organ.   In  the same
shape it has been recommended as a resolvent in indolent tumours, and may,
perhaps, prove beneficial by stimulating the absorbents.
  Garlick may be taken in the form of pill; or the clove may be swallowed
either whole, or cut into pieces of a convenient size.   Its juice is also fre-
quently administered mixed with sugar.   The  infusion in milk was  at one
time highly recommended, and the syrup is officinal.   The dose in substance
is from a half a drachm to a drachm, or even two drachms of the fresh bulb.
That of the juice is half a fluidrachm.
  Off. Prep.  Syrupus  Allii,  U. S.                                 W>


               ALLIUM CEPA. Bulbus.  Dub.

                                Onion.

  Offnon, Fr.; Zwicbel-Lnuch, Gnm.;  Cipolla, Ital; Cebolla Snnn
  Allium. See ALLIUM, U. S.                 ' P
  Allium Cepa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 80.  The onion is  a perennial bul-
bous plant, with a naked scape, swelling  towards the  base, exceeding the 
PART I.
Allium Cepa.—Aloe.
67
leaves in length, and terminating in a simple umbel of white flowers.  The
leaves are hollow, cylindrical, and pointed.
  The original country of this species of  Allium is unknown.  The plant
has been cultivated from time immemorial, and is now  diffused  over the
whole civilized world.  All parts of it have a peculiar pungent odour, but
the bulb only is used.
  Properties. The bulb is of various size and shape, ovate, spherical, or flat-
tened, composed of concentric fleshy and succulent layers, and covered with
dry membranous  coats, which are reddish, yellowish, or white, according
to the variety.   It has, in a high degree, the characteristic odour of the
plant, with a sweetish and acrid taste.  Fourcroy and Vauquelin  obtained
from it a white acrid  volatile oil holding sulphur in solution, albumen, much
uncrystallizable sugar and  mucilage,  phosphoric acid both free and com-
bined with lime,  acetic acid,  citrate  of lime, and lignin.   The expressed
juice is susceptible of the vinous fermentation.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   The onion is stimulant, diuretic, expec-
torant, and rubefacient.  Taken moderately,  it increases the appetite and
promotes digestion, and is much used  as a condiment; but in large quanti-
ties it is  apt to cause  flatulence, gastric  uneasiness, and febrile excitement.
The juice  is occasionally given,  made into syrup with sugar, in  infantile
catarrhs and croup, in the absence of much inflammatory  action.   It is also
recommended in dropsy and calculous disorders.  Deprived of its essential
oil by boiling, the onion becomes a mild esculent; and it is much more used
as food than as medicine.   Roasted and split, it is sometimes applied as an
emollient cataplasm to suppurating tumours.                       W.

                       ALOE. U.S., Lond.

                                Aloes.

  " The inspissated  juice of the  leaves of Aloe spicata,  and other species
of Aloe." U.S.  " Aloe spicata.  Foliorum succus spissatus." Lond.
   Off. Syn.  ALOE  BARBADENSIS.  ALOE INDICA.   ALOE SO-
COTORINA.  From undetermined species of Aloe.  Ed.;  ALOE HEPA-
TICA, ex  A. vulgari.   ALOE SOCOTORINA, ex A. spicata. Dub.
   Sue d'aloes, Fr.; Aloe, Germ., Ital.; Aloe, Span.; Alusebber, Arab.
  Most of the species belonging to the genus Aloe are said  to yield a bitter
juice, which has all .the properties of the  officinal aloes.  It is impossible,
from the various  and sometimes  conflicting accounts of writers,  to deter-
mine exactly from which of the species the drug is in all instances actually
derived.   The Aloe  spicata, however, is  generally acknowledged  to be an
abundant source of  it; and the  Aloe  vulgaris and Aloe  Socotrina are
usually ranked among the medicinal  species.   In Lindley's Flora Medica,
A. purpurascens,* A. arborescens,i  A. Commelyni, and A. multiformis,
all natives of the Cape of Good Hope,  are enumerated as  yielding aloes;
and others are, without doubt, occasionally resorted to.  The U. S. Phar-
macopoeia  and that of London at present recognise particularly  only the
Aloe spicata.   We shall confine ourselves to a description of the  three fol-
lowing species, which probably yield most of the aloes of commerce.
  Aloe. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Liliaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Corolla  erect, mouth spreading, bottom  nectariferous.  Fila-
ments inserted into the receptacle. Willd.

         * Curtis's Botanical Magazine,  pi. 1474.
         t Do Candolle, Plantcs Grasses, fig. 38. Curtis's Bot. Mag. pi. 1306. 
68
Aloe.
PART I.
   Aloe spicata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 185.  This species of aloes was first
 described by Thunberg.  The stem is round, three or four feet high, about
 four inches in diameter, and leafy at the summit.  The leaves are spread-
 ing, subverticilate, about two feet  long,  broad at the base, gradually nar-
 rowing to the point, channeled or grooved upon their upper surface, and
 with remote  teeth upon their  edges.   The  flowers are  bell-shaped, and
 spread horizontally in very close spikes.  They contain a large quantity of
 purple honey juice.  Beneath each flower  is  a  broad, ovate, acute bracte,
 of a white colour with three green streaks, and nearly as long as the corolla.
 Of the six petals, the three inner are ovate, obtuse, white, with three  green
 lines, and broader  than the outer, which otherwise resemble them.  The
 stamens are much longer than the corolla.  The spiked aloe is a native of
 Southern Africa, growing near  the  Cape of Good Hope, and, like all the
 other species of this  genus, preferring  a sandy soil.  In some districts of
 the colony it is found in great abundance, particularly at Zwellendam, near
 Mossel bay, where it almost covers  the surface of the country.   Much of
 the Cape aloes is said to be derived from  this species.
   A. Socotrina. Lamarck. Encycl., i. 85; De Cand. Plantes Grasses, fig.
 85; Curtis' Bot. Mag.pl. 472.—A. vera. Miller, Diet., ed. 8, no. 55. The
 stem of this species is erect, a  foot  and a half or more in  height, woody,
 and leafless below,  where  it is very rough  from the remains of former
 leaves.   At top  it is embraced  by green, sword-shaped,  ascending leaves,
 somewhat concave  on their upper surface, convex beneath, curved inward
 at the point, with numerous small white serratures at their edges.  The
 flowers, which are in a cylindrical, simple raceme, are scarlet near the base,
 pale in the centre, and greenish  at the summit, and have unequal stamens,
 of which three  are longer than  the  corolla.   The plant received  its  name
 from the island of Socotra, of which it is said to be a native; and it is sup-
 posed to be  the source of  the Socotrine aloes.
  A. vulgaris. Lamarck, Encycl.,  i. 86; De Cand. Plantes Grasses, fig.
 27.  This species has a very short woody stem, and lanceolate embracing
 leaves, which are first spreading, then ascending, of a glaucous-green colour
 somewhat mottled  with  darker  spots, flat  on the  upper  surface, convex
 beneath, and armed with hard reddish spines,  distant from each other, and
 perpendicular to the margin.  The flower-stem is axillary, of a glaucous-
 reddish colour,  and branched,   with  a  cylindrical-ovate spike of yellow
 flowers, which are at  first erect,  then spreading, and finally pendulous, and
 do  not  exceed the  stamens in  length.   A.  vulgaris  is a native of south-
 eastern Europe and the north of Africa, is cultivated in Italy, Sicily, Malta,
 and especially in the W. Indies, where it  contributes largely to furnish the
 Barbadoes aloes.
  The proper aloetic juice exists in  longitudinal vessels beneath the epi-
 dermis of the leaves, and readily flows out when these are cut transversely.
 The liquid obtained by expression from  the  parenchyma is mucilaginous,
 and possessed of little  medicinal virtue.  The quality  of the drug de-
 pends much upon the mode of preparing  it.   The finest  kind is  that ob-
 tained by exudation and subsequent inspissation in  the sun.   Most of the
better sorts, however, are  prepared by artificially heating the  juice which
 has spontaneously exuded from the cut leaves.  The chief disadvantage
 of this process is the conversion of a portion  of the soluble active  prin-
 ciple into an insoluble and comparatively inert substance, through the in-
 fluence of an elevated temperature.  The plan of bruising and expressing
 the leaves, and boiling down the resulting  liquor, yields a much inferior-
 product;  as  a large portion of  it must  be derived from  the mucilaginous 
part i.                         Aloe.                             69

juice of the parenchyma.  The worst plan of all is to boil the leaves them-
selves in water, and to evaporate the  decoction.  The quality of the drug
is also  affected  by the careless or fraudulent  mixture  of foreign matters
with the juice, and the unskilful management of the inspissation.
   Commercial History and Varieties.  Four chief  varieties of aloes are
known  in commerce,  that of the Cape of Good  Hope, the Socotrine, the
Hepatic, and  the  Barbadoes, of which the first two are most used in this
country.
   1. Cape  Aloes, which is by far  the  most abundant, and, by  its ex-
traordinary  cheapness and excellent  qualities, promises to supersede the
other varieties, has been  imported chiefly if not exclusively from Great
Britain; as no direct  trade has till recently been carried on between the U.
States and the Cape of Good Hope.  It is collected by the Hottentots and
Dutch boors, indiscriminately from  the A. spicata and other species, which
grow wild in  great abundance.  The process is  very simple.  According
to the account of Hallbeck, a  Moravian Missionary who resided  at the
Cape, a hole is made  in the ground,  in which  a sheep skin is spread with
the smooth  side upward.   The leaves  are then cut off near the stem and
arranged around the hole,  so that the juice which  runs out may be received
into the skin.  The  juice flows most freely in hot.weather.  {Un. Breth.
Mission. Intelligencer, N. ¥.,  vi. 436.J  When a  sufficient quantity of
the liquor has been  collected, it is inspissated by  artificial heat  in iron
cauldrons, care being taken to prevent its burning  by constant stirring.
When sufficiently concentrated, it  is  poured into boxes or skins, where  it
concretes upon cooling. The finest kind is collected at the Missionary Insti-
tution at Bethelsdorp, and hence called  Bethelsdorp aloes.   Its superiority
is owing exclusively  to the greater care observed in conducting the evapo-
ration, and in avoiding the intermixture of earth,  stones, and  other impuri-
ties. {Dunsterville, in Pereira's Mat. Med.)
   Cape aloes has sometimes  been confounded with the Socotrine,  from
which,  however,  it differs very considerably in appearance  and sensible
properties.  By  the  German writers it is  called shining aloes.  When
freshly broken, it  has a very dark olive or greenish colour approaching to
black, presents a smooth bright almost glassy surface, and if held up to the
light appears translucent at its edges.   The small fragments also  are semi-
transparent, and have a tinge of  yellow  or red  mixed with the deep olive of
the opaque  mass.  The same tinge is  sometimes observable  in the larger
pieces.   The powder is of a fine greenish-yellow colour, and being gene-
rally more or  less sprinkled over the surface of the pieces as  they are kept
in the shops, gives them a somewhat yellowish appearance.   The odour is
strong and disagreeable, but not  nauseous.  It has not the slightest mixture
of the aromatic.  Cape aloes,  when  perfectly hard, is  very brittle, and
readily reduced  to powder; but in  very hot weather, it is apt to become
somewhat soj/t and tenacious, and the interior of  the pieces is occasionally
more or less so even in winter.  It is usually imported in casks  or boxes.
Dr. Pereira says that a variety of aloes is sometimes imported into England
from the Cape, of a reddish-brown colour like hepatic aloes.
   2.  Socotrine Aloes.  The genuine Socotrine aloes  is produced in the
Island of Socotra, which  lies in the Straits of Babelmandel, about  forty
leagues to the east of Cape Guardafui;  but we are told by Ainslie, that the
greater part  of what is sold under that name is  prepared in the kingdom of
Melinda, upon the eastern  coast of Africa;  and Wellsted states that the aloes
of the neighbouring parts  of  Arabia is the same as that of Socotra.  It is
probable that the commerce in this  variety of aloes is  carried on  chiefly by 
70
Aloe.
PART I.
the maritime Arabs, who  convey it  either to India, or up  the Red Sea by
the same channel through which it reached Europe before  the discovery of
the southern passage into the Indian Ocean.  The species of  Aloe which
yields  it is not certainly known.   Ainslie says that it is evidently from
the same  species  with the Cape  aloes; but he does not  give his reasons
for the opinion;  and the external character of the two varieties  is so dif-
ferent, that we  cannot but hesitate in admitting  their identity  of origin.
We have been able to  discover no good reason for depriving the A. Soco-
trina of the honour formerly conceded to it, of producing this highly valued
variety of aloes.   According to Wellsted, the plant grows on the sides and
summits of  mountains, from five hundred to  three thousand feet  above the
level of the plains.   It is found in all parts of the island, but  most abundantly
on  the western  portion, where the  surface is thickly covered with it for
miles.   It appears to thrive best in parched and barren places.  Much  less
of the drug  is collected than formerly,  and in the year 1833 only two  tons
were exported.  The  whole produce was formerly  monopolized by the
Arabian Sultan  of Kisseen, who still  claims  sovereignty  over the island.
But at present the business of collecting the drug is entirely free to the in-
habitants.    The leaves are plucked at any period of the year, and are placed
in skins into which the juice is allowed to exude.   In what way the inspis-
sation is effected we are not informed.  The aloes is exported in skins.   Its
quality differs much according to the care taken in its preparation.   The
price  varies in Muscat from two to four shillings a  pound.   {Wellsted's
 Voyage to the coast of Arabia and Tour in the  Island of Socotra.)  A
portion ascends the Red Sea, and  through Egypt  reaches the  ports of
Smyrna and Malta, whence it is sent  to London.   Another portion is car-
ried to Bombay, and thence transmitted to various parts of the world.   The
little that reaches this country either comes by special order from London,
or is brought by  our India  traders.  We have known of two arrivals directly
into the United States from  the Island of  Socotra,  and have in  our posses-
sion parcels of  aloes brought by both.   They  are identical in character,
and correspond exactly with the following description.
   Socotrine aloes  is in pieces  of a  yellowish or reddish-brown colour,
wholly different from that of the former variety.  Sometimes the colour is
very lignt, especially in the fresh and not fully hardened parcels; sometimes
it is a deep  brownish-red like that of garnets.   It is rendered much darker
by exposure to the air; and the interior of the masses  is consequently much
lighter coloured  than the exterior.   Its surface is somewhat glossy, and its
fracture smooth and conchoidal, with sharp  and semi-transparent edges.
The colour  of its powder  is a bright  golden yellow.   It has a peculiar, not
unpleasant  odour,  and  a  taste, which, though bitter and  disagreeable, is
accompanied with an aromatic flavour.   Though  hard and pulverulent in
cool weather, it  is somewhat tenacious in summer, and softens by  the heat
of the hand.
   Under the name of Socotrine aloes are occasionally to be met with in the
market, small parcels beautifully semi-transparent, shining,  and of a yel-
lowish, reddish, or brownish-red colour.   These, however,  are very  rare,
 and do not deserve to be considered as a distinct variety.   They are proba-
 bly portions of  the juice  carefully inspissated in the  sun,  and may accom-
 pany the packages brought from any of the commercial sources of aloes.
   When in mass, as imported from the East, Socotrine aloes is soft and
 plastic, and of a very light yellowish-brown colour in the  interior. It be-
 comes hard and brittle when broken  into pieces; and the London dealers
 hasten the result by exposing it to a very  gentle  heat,  so as to evaporate the 
PART I.
Aloe.
71
moisture.   Pereira  tells us that impure and  dirty pieces of the  drug are
melted and strained, and that the skins from  which the best portions have
been removed are washed with water, which is then evaporated.   No in-
considerable  portion of the Socotrine  aloes received from London has pro-
bably undergone such processes.
   Much of the aloes sold  as Socotrine, has never  seen the Island of So-
cotra, nor even the  Indian seas.   It has been customary to affix  this title
as a mark of superior  value to those  portions of the  drug, from  whatever
source they may have been derived, which have been prepared wilh unusual
care, and  are supposed to be of the best quality.  Thus, both in Spain and
the West  Indies, the juice which is obtained without expression, and inspis-
sated in the sun without artificial heat, has been called Socotrine aloes; and
is probably little inferior to the genuine drug.
   The  Socotrine aloes has  been very long known under this name, and in
former  times held the same superiority in  the estimation of the profession,
which it still to a certain degree retains.
   3. Hepatic Aloes.   Much confusion and  uncertainty have  prevailed in
relation to this kind of aloes.  The name was originally applied  to  a pro-
duct from the East Indies of a reddish-brown or liver colour, which gave
origin to the  designation.   From a supposed  resemblance between this and
the aloes from the West Indies, the name was very commonly applied also
to the latter variety, and was also extended to  portions of the drug collected
in Spain and other  parts of the south of Europe.   But the West India aloes
is decidedly different from any now brought from the East, and deserves the
rank of a distinct variety, with the name of Barbadoes aloes.  In this coun-
try we seldom meet with aloes bearing the name of the hepatic, although
much that is sold as Socotrine probably deserves it.   In the drug commerce
of London, it is still recognised as a distinct variety.   It is  imported into
England  chiefly from Bombay; but, according  to Ainslie, is not produced
in  Hindostan, being taken  thither from Yemen in Arabia.  It  is  probably
obtained from the  same plant or plants which yield the Socotrine, but pre-
pared with less care, or by a somewhat different process.  In relation to the
Socotrine and hepatic aloes, we should probably not be far wrong in consi-
dering the former as embracing the finest,  and the latter the inferior parcels
of the same variety; and it is in fact stated that they sometimes come together,
 a large mass of the  hepatic  being crossed by a vein of the Socotrine.  They
are both embraced by the Edinburgh College  under  the title  of  Aloe
Indica—an improper designation; as the aloes which is produced in India is
 altogether inferior,  and is seldom or never exported from that region.  The
variety which the  Edinburgh  College  designates  as Socotrine aloes, and
defines to be " in  thin pieces translucent and garnet-red, almost entirely
soluble in spirit of the  strength of sherry," has  little claim  to the title,
being  of unknown origin, very rare, and wholly unlike the  drug usually
brought from Socotra.
   Hepatic aloes is  of a reddish-brown colour, but is darker and less glossy
than the Socotrine. Its odour is  somewhat  like that of the Socotrine, but
less agreeable, and  is  wholly different from that of Cape aloes.   The taste
is nauseous, and intensely bitter.  The fracture is not so smooth, nor the
edges  so  sharp and transparent as in either of the first mentioned  varieties.
It softens in the hand, and becomes adhesive.   The powder is  of a dull
yellow colour.
   4. Barbadoes Aloes.   This is the name by which the aloes produced in
 the West Indies is  now generally designated.   The aloes plants are largely
 cultivated in the poorer soils of Jamaica and Barbadoes, especially of the 
72
Aloe.
PART I.
latter island.  The species from which most of the drug is procured is the
A. vulgaris;  but the A. Socotrina, A. purpurascens, and A. arborescens,
are also said to be cultivated.   The process employed appears to be some-
what different in different places, or at least as described by different authors.
A fine kind was formerly prepared by the  spontaneous inspissation of the
juice, placed in bladders or shallow vessels, and exposed to the  sun.   The
common Barbadoes aloes, however, is now made, either  by boiling  the
juice to a proper consistence, or by first forming a decoction of the leaves,
chopped and suspended in water in nets or baskets,  and then evaporating
the decoction.  In either case, when the liquor has attained such a consist-
ence that it will harden on cooling, it is poured into calabashes and allowed
to concrete.   It is  imported into  England  in  gourds weighing  from 60 to
70 pounds or even more.  In  consequence of the great demand for it in
veterinary practice, it commands  a high  price in Great Britain, and very
little is consumed in the United States.
  The colour of Barbadoes  aloes is not uniform.  Sometimes it is dark
brown or almost black,  sometimes of a reddish-brown or liver colour, and
again of some intermediate shade.  It has usually a dull fracture, and is
almost perfectly opaque even at  the edges, and  in thin layers.   It is also
distinguishable by  its odour, which is very disagreeable and even nauseous.
The powder is of a dull olive-yellow colour.
  Besides these varieties of aloes,  others are mentioned by authors.  A very
inferior kind, supposed to consist  of the dregs of the juice which furnished
the better sorts, almost black, quite opaque, hard, of a rough fracture and
very fetid odour, and full of various impurities, was formerly sold under the
name of caballine, fetid,  or horse aloes.  It was  used exclusively  for
horses;  but, in consequence  of the  cheapness of better kinds, has  been
banished from veterinary practice, and is  not now found  in the market.
Aloes has recently been imported from Muscat, and a considerable quantity
came over in the vessel sent by  the Sultan to the United States.  Some of a
similar origin has been called  Mocha aloes in London;  but it is nothing more
than an inferior sort of hepatic.   Several inferior kinds produced  in different
parts of Hindostan have been described by  Pereira with the name of India
aloes; but they are not brought,  unless accidentally, into the markets of Eu-
rope or  this  country.
   General Properties.   The odour of aloes  is  different  in  the  different
varieties.  The taste is  in all of them intensely bitter and very tenacious.
The colour  and other  sensible properties  have already been  sufficiently
described.   Several distinguished chemists  have investigated the nature and
composition of aloes.  The opinion at one time entertained, that it was a
gum-resin, has been abandoned since the experiments of  Braconnot, who
found it to consist of a bitter principle, soluble in water and in alcohol of
38° B.,  which he considered  peculiar and  named resino-amer;  and of  an-
other substance, in much smaller proportion, inodorous and  nearly tasteless,
very soluble in alcohol,  and scarcely soluble in boiling water, which he de-
signated by the name of flea-coloured principle.  These results have been es-
sentially confirmed by the experiments of Trommsdorff, Bouillon-Lagrange,
and Vogel, who consider the former substance as extractive matter, and the
latter as having the chief characters of resin.  Besides these  principles,
Trommsdorff discovered in a  variety of hepatic aloes, a proportion of insolu-
ble matter which he  considered  as albumen; and Bouillon-Lagrange and
Vogel found that Socotrine aloes  yields, by distillation, a small  quantity of
volatile  oil, which  they  could not obtain from the hepatic.   The propor-
tions of the  ingredients vary greatly in the different varieties of the drug; 
PART I.
Aloe.
73
 and the probability is,  that scarcely any two specimens would afford pre-
 cisely the same results.   Braconnot found  about 73 per cent, of the bitter
 principle, and 26 of the flea-coloured principle. Trommsdorff obtained from
 Socotrine aloes about 75 parts of extractive, and 25 of resin; and from the
 hepatic, 81-25 of extractive,  6-25  of resin, and 12-50 of albumen, in the
 hundred parts.  The former  variety, according to Bouillon-Lagrange and
 Vogel, contains 68 per cent,  of extractive and 32 of resin; the latter 52 of
 extractive, 42 of resin, and  6 of the  albuminous matter of Trommsdorff.
 We are not aware that any analysis has been published of the Cape aloes as
 a distinct variety.
   Berzelius  considers the resin of Trommsdorff and others, to belong to
 that form of matter which he  calls apotheme, (See Extracts,) and which is
 nothing more than extractive, altered by the  action of the air.  It may be
 obtained separate, by treating aloes with water, and digesting the undissolved
 portion with  oxide  of  lead,  which unites with the apotheme  forming an
 insoluble compound, and leaves a  portion of unalterated extractive, which
 had adhered to it,  dissolved in the water.   The oxide  of lead may be sepa-
 rated  by nitric  acid very much diluted; and the apotheme remains in the
 form of a brown powder, insoluble in cold water, very slightly soluble in
 boiling water, to  which  it imparts a yellowish-brown colour, soluble in
 alcohol, ether, and alkaline solutions, and burning like tinder without flame
 and without being melted.  According to  the same author,  the bitter ex-
 tractive which  constitutes  the remainder  of the aloes, and for which the
 name of aloesin has been proposed, may be obtained by treating the watery
 infusion of  the drug with oxide of  lead, to  separate a  portion of apotheme
 which adheres  to it, and evaporating the liquor.  Thus  procured, it  is a
 yellowish, translucent, gum-like substance, fusible  by a gentle heat, of a
 bitter  taste,  soluble in ordinary alcohol, but insoluble in  that  fluid  when
 anhydrous,  and in ether.   Chlorine produces with its  solution a precipitate
 analogous to apotheme.   Cold sulphuric acid  dissolves without changing it.
 Nitric acid  dissolves it, producing a greenish colour.   Its  solution  is ren-
 dered brighter  by acids,  which occasion  a slight precipitate, and  dark
 red  by the alkalies  and the salts of iron.   Acetate of lead, tartar emetic,
 perchloride of tin,  and the salts of manganese, zinc, and  copper, do  not
 disturb the solution; the protochloride of tin, and the nitrates of  mercury
 and silver occasion  precipitates.  It is probably the active portion of the
 drug.
  Aloes yields  its active matter to cold water, and when good is almost
 wholly dissolved by boiling water; but the resinous portion, or apotheme of
 Berzelius, is deposited as the solution cools.  It is also  soluble in alcohol,
 rectified or diluted.  Long boiling impairs  its purgative  properties by con-
 verting the extractive into  insoluble apotheme.  The  alkalies, their carbo-
 nates,  and soap, alter in some measure  its  chemical nature, and render it of
 easier  solution.  It is inflammable, swelling up and decrepitating when it
 burns, and giving out a thick smoke which has the odour of the drug.
  Those  substances only are incompatible  with aloes, which alter or pre-
 cipitate the  bitter  extractive (aloesin), as the insoluble  portion is without
action  upon the system.   Its aqueous solution keeps a long  time,  even for
several months, without exhibiting mouldiness  or putrescency; but it be-
comes ropy, and acquires the character, which it did not previously possess,
of affording an abundant precipitate with the infusion of galls.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Aloes was known to the ancients.   It is
mentioned in  the works of Dioscorides and  Celsus, the former of whom
speaks of two kinds.  The varieties are  similar in their mode of action.
       8 
74
Aloe.
PART I.
They are all  cathartic, operating very slowly but certainly, and having a
peculiar affinity for  the large intestines.  Their action, moreover, appears
to be directed rather to the muscular coat than to  the exhalent vessels;  and
the discharges  which they  produce,  are  therefore seldom  very thin or
watery.   In a full dose they quicken the circulation, and produce general
warmth.  When  frequently repeated, they are apt to irritate the  rectum,
giving rise,  in* some instances, to hemorrhoids, and  aggravating them when
already existing.  Aloes  has  also a decided tendency to the uterine system.
Its emmenagogue effect,  which is  often very considerable, is generally
attributed to a sympathetic extension of irritation  from the  rectum  to the
uterus;  but  we can see no reason why the  medicine should not  act spe-
cifically Upon this organ;  and its influence in promoting menstruation is by
no means confined to cases in which its action upon the neighbouring intes-
tine  is  most conspicuous.   A peculiarity in the action of this cathartic is,
that an  increase of the quantity administered beyond the medium dose, is
not attended by a corresponding increase of effect.  Its tendency to irritate
the rectum  may be  obviated, in some measure, by  combining it with soap
or an alkaline carbonate;  but  it does not follow, as supposed by some, that
this  modification of its operation is the  result of increased  solubility; for
aloes given  in a liquid state produces the same effect as when taken in pill
or powder, except that it acts somewhat more speedily.   Besides, when
externally applied to a blistered surface, it operates exactly in the same
manner as when internally administered; thus proving that its peculiarities
are not  dependent upon the particular form in which it may be given, but
on specific  tendencies to particular parts.*   With its  other  powers, aloes
combines the  property of slightly stimulating the stomach.  It is, therefore,
in minute doses, an  excellent remedy in habitual cosliveness, attended with
torpor of  the digestive organs.   From its special direction to the  rectum, it
has been found peculiarly useful in the treatment of  ascarides.  In amenor-
rhoea it is perhaps more frequently employed than any other remedy,  enter-
ing into almost all the numerous empirical preparations which are habitually
resorted to by females in this complaint, and enjoying a no less favourable
reputation in  regular  practice.   It  is, moreover,  frequently given in com-
bination with  more irritating cathartics, in order to regulate their liability to
excessive action.  In the treatment of amenorrhoea, it is said to be peculiarly
efficacious when given in the  form of enema about the  period when  the
menses should appear.   Aloes is contra-indicated by the existence  of he-
morrhoids,  and is  obviously unsuitable, unless modified  by combination, to
the treatment  of inflammatory diseases.
   The medium dose is 10 grains; but as a  laxative it will often operate in
the quantity of 2 or 3 grains;  and when a decided  impression is required,
the dose may be augmented to 20 grains.  In consequence of its excessively
bitter and somewhat nauseous taste, it is most conveniently administered in
the shape of pill.t
   * See a paper on Endermic Medication, by Dr. Gerhard, in the North Am. Med. and
Surg. Journ. vol. x. p. 155.
   t Dr. Paris enumerates the following  empirical preparations, containing aloes as  a
leading  ingrcduMiti-ANDERsoN's  pills, consisting of alot-s, jalap, and oil  of aniseed;
Hooper s pills, of aloes, myrrh, sulphate  of iron, canell,i,and ivory black- Dixon's anti-
bilious pills  of aloes scammony, rhubarb,  and tartarized antimony;  Speediman's pills,
of aloes, myrrh, rhubarb, extract of chamomile, and ess. oil of chamum.;  Dinner pills, of
aloes, masl.ch red roses, and syrup of wormwood; Fothergill's p.lls, of aloes, scammony,
co ocy nth, and ox.de of antimony; Peter s pills, of aloes, jalap, scammony, gamboge, and
calomel; and  Radcliff s Llixir, of aloes, cinnamon,  zedoary, rhubarb  cochineal svrup
of buckthorn, and spirit and water as the solvent; to which may be added  Lee'sWind-
ham pills, consisting of gamboge, aloes, soap, and nitrate of potassa, and Lke's New LoN-
don pills, of aloes, scammony, gamboge, calomel, jalap, soap, and syrup of buckthorn 
PART I.
Aloe.—Althaea.
75
  Off. Prep.  Decoctum Aloe's Comp.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.; Enema Aloe's,
Lond.;  Extractum Aloes Hepaticae, Dub.;  Ext. Aloes Purificat., Lond.;
Ext. Colocynth. Comp.,  U. S., Lond., Dub.;  Pilulae  Aloe's,  U. S., Ed.;
Pil. Aloes Comp., Lond., Dub.; Pil.  Aloe's et  Assafoetidae,  U. S.,  Ed.;
Pil. Aloes et Ferri, Ed.;  Pil.  Aloe's et Myrrhae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Pil. Colocynth. Comp., Dub., Ed.;  Pil. Gambogiae Comp., Dub., Lond.,
Ed.;  Pil. Rhei Comp., U. S., Lond., Ed.;  Pil. Sagapeni Comp., Lond.;
Pulvis Aloes Compositus, Lond., Dub.; Pulvis Aloes et Canellae,  U. S.,
Dub.; Tinctura Aloe's, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinct. Aloe's et Myrrhae,
U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinct. Benzoini Comp., U.S., Lond.,  Ed.,
Dub.; Tinct. Rhei et Aloes, U. S.,Ed.; Vinum Aloes, U. S., Lond., Ed.,
Dub.                                                          W.

                        ALTHAEA. US.

                           Marshmallow.

   " The root of Althaea officinalis."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  KLTRJEM RADIX.  ALTHMJE  FOLIA. Lend.,  Ed.;
ALTHAEA OFFICINALIS.   Folia et Radix. Dub.
   Guimauve, Fr; Eibisch, Germ; Altea, Ital,.; Altea, M alvavisco, Span.
   AlthjEA. Sex. Syst.  Monadelphia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord.  Malvaceae.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx double, the exterior six or nine-cleft.  Capsules nu-
merous, one-seeded.  Willd.
   Althaea Officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 770.;  Woodv.  Med. Bot. p.
552.  t. 198.  The marshmallow is an  herbaceous  perennial,  with  a per-
pendicular branching root, and erect woolly stems, from two to four feet or
more in height, branched and leafy towards the  summit.   The leaves are
alternate, petiolate, nearly cordate on the lower  part of the stem, oblong-
ovate and obscurely three-lobed above, somewhat angular, irregularly serrate,
pointed, and  covered  on both sides with a soft down.  The  flowers are
terminal and axillary, with short peduncles,  each bearing one, two, or three
flowers.  The corolla has five spreading, obcordate petals, of a pale purplish
colour.   The fruit consists of numerous capsules united in a compact cir-
cular form, each containing a single  seed.   The  plant grows throughout
Europe, inhabiting salt marshes, the banks of rivers, and other moist places.
It is  found also in this country on the  borders of salt marshes.   In some
parts of the Continent of Europe, it  is largely cultivated for medical use.
The whole plant abounds in mucilage.   Both the leaves and root are offi-
cinal, but the  latter only is employed to any extent in  this country.   The
flowers are sometimes to be found in the shops, but are scarcely used.
   The roots  should be  collected  in autumn from plants at least two  years
old.  They are cylindrical, branched, as thick as  the finger or thicker, from
a foot to a foot and a half long,  externally of a yellowish colour which be-
comes grayish by drying, within white and  fleshy.   They are  usually pre-
pared for the market by removing the epidermis.   Our shops  are supplied
chiefly if not exclusively from Europe.
   Properties.  Marshmallow root comes to us in pieces three or four inches
or more in length, usually not so thick as  the finger, generally round, but
sometimes split, white externally and downy from the mode in which the
epidermis is removed, light and easily broken with a short somewhat fibrous
fracture, of a  peculiar faint smell, and a mild mucilaginous  sweetish taste.
Those pieces are to be preferred which are  plump and but slightly fibrous.
The root contains a large proportion of mucilage besides starch and saccha-
ri ne matter, which it yields readily to boiling water.  The mucilage, without 
76
Althaea.—Alumen.
PART I.
the starch, is extracted by cold water, which thus becomes ropy.   A prin-
ciple was discovered  in the root by M. Bacon, which he supposed to be
peculiar to the marshmallow, but which has been ascertained to be identical
with the asparagin of Robiquet.   MM. Boutron-Charlard  and Pelouze
found it to belong  to that class of organic principles, which are convertible
by the agency of strong acids, of potassa or soda,  or even of water alone at
a high temperature, into ammonia and peculiar acids, and which  are desig-
nated by the  termination  amide.   Thus asparagin, which must now be
called asparamide, is  converted into ammonia  and asparmic,  or, as it was
formerly named, aspartic acid;  and one atom of the  resulting asparmate of
ammonia is equivalent to one atom  of asparamide and one of water.   It is
found in various other  plants besides the marshmallow, as in  the  shoots of
asparagus, in all the varieties of the potato, and in the roots of the comfrey
and liquorice  plant.   {Journ. de Pharm. xix. 208.)  Asparamide has no
therapeutical value.   Marshmallow is  said to become somewhat acid by
decoction.   Those pieces should be rejected which are woody, discoloured,
mouldy, of a sour or musty smell, or a sourish taste.
  The roots of other Malvaceae are sometimes substituted without disad-
vantage, as they possess similar properties.   Such are those of the Althaea
rosea or hollyhock, and the Malva Alcea.
  The leaves, which  are recognised by the British Colleges, are without
smell, and of a mucilaginous taste,  and  are used  for the same purposes as
the root.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  The virtues  of  marshmallow are ex-
clusively those of a demulcent.   The decoction of the root is much used
in Europe in irritation and inflammation of the mucous membranes.  The
roots themselves, boiled and bruised, are  sometimes employed  as a poultice,
The leaves  are applied to similar uses.  In France, the powdered root is
much used in the preparation of pills and electuaries.
   Off. Prep.  Decoctum Althaeae, Dub., Ed.; Syrupus Althaeae, Lond., Ed.,
Dub.                                                           W.

              ALUMEN. U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                               Alum.

   " Sulphate of alumina and potassa."  U. S.
  Alun, Fr., Dan., Swed.; Alaun. Germ.; Allume, Ital.; AInmbre, Span.
   The officinal alum is a double salt, consisting of the sulphate of alumina,
united with the sulphate of potassa.   It is included in  the Materia Medica
of the United States and British Pharmacopoeias, as an  article  to be pro-
cured from the wholesale manufacturer.
  Alum is manufactured occasionally from earths which  contain it ready
formed, but  most generally from minerals which, embracing most or all of
its  constituents, are  called  alum ores.   The  principal alum  ores are the
alum stone,  which is a native mixture of subsulphate of alumina and sul-
phate of potassa, found in large quantities at Tolfa and Piombino in Italy,
and certain natural mixtures of sulphuret of iron with clay and  carbonaceous
matter, called aluminous schist or alum-slate.
   It is particularly at the Solfaterra and other places in  the kingdom of
Naples, that alum is extracted from earths  which contain it ready formed.
The ground being of volcanic  origin, and having a temperature of about
104°, an efflorescence of pure  alum is  formed upon its surface.  This is
collected and lixiviated, and the solution made to crystallize by slow evapo-
ration in leaden vessels sunk in the ground. 
PART I.
Alumen.
77
   The alum stone is manufactured into alum by calcination, and subsequent
 exposure to the air for three months; the mineral being frequently sprinkled
 with water,  in order that it may be brought to the  state  of a  soft mass.
 This is lixiviated, and the solution  obtained crystallized  by evaporation.
 The alum stone  may be considered  as consisting of alum,  united with a
 certain quantity of the hydrate of alumina.  This latter, by the calcination,
 loses its water, and becomes incapable of remaining  united with the alum
 of the mineral, which is consequently set free.  Alum of the greatest purity
 is obtained from  this ore.
   Aluminous schist, when compact, is first exposed to the  air for a month.
 It is then stratified with wood, which is set on fire.  The combustion which
 ensues is slow and protracted.  The sulphur is in part converted into sul-
 phuric acid, which unites with the alumina; and  the sulphate of alumina
 thus formed generates a portion of alum with the potassa derived from the
 ashes of the wood. The iron, in the mean time, is almost wholly converted
 into sesquioxide, and  thus  becomes  insoluble.  The matter is  lixiviated,
 and the solution crystallized into alum by evaporation.  The mother-waters,
 containing sulphate  of alumina, are then drawn off,  and made  to  yield a
 fresh portion of alum by the addition of sulphate of potassa,  or chloride of
 potassium.
   When the aluminous schist is easily disintegrated,  it is  not subjected to
 combustion, but  merely placed  in heaps, and occasionally sprinkled with
 water.   The sulphuret of iron gradually absorbs oxygen  and passes  into
 the sulphate of  the  protoxide, which  effloresces on  the surface of the
 heap.   Part of the sulphuric acid formed unites with the alumina; so that,
 after the chemical changes are completed, the heap contains both the
 sulphate of iron and the sulphate of alumina.   At the end  of about a year,
 the matter is lixiviated, and the solution of the two sulphates obtained is
 concentrated to the proper  degree in leaden  boilers.   The sulphate of iron
 crystallizes,  while the sulphate of alumina, being a  deliquescent salt, re-
 mains in the mother-waters.  These are  drawn off,  and  treated with sul-
 phate of potassa  in powder, heat being at the  same time  applied.   They
 are then allowed  to cool, that the alum may crystallize.  The crystals are
 then separated from  the solution, and purified  by a  second  solution  and
 crystallization.   They are  next added to boiling water to full saturation,
 and the solution is  transferred  to a  cask,  where, on cooling, nearly the
 whole concretes into a crystalline mass.   The cask is then  taken to pieces,
 and the salt, having been broken up, is packed in barrels for the purposes
 of commerce.  This  process is generally followed for manufacturing alum,
 being employed in France, Great Britain, and the United States.
   Alum is sometimes manufactered by the direct combination of its constitu-
 ents.  With this  view, clays are selected as  free from  iron and carbonate of
 lime as possible,  and  calcined to sesquioxidize the iron and render them
 more easily pulverizable; after which they are dissolved, by the  assistance
 of heat, in weak sulphuric acid.  The sulphate of alumina  thus generated,
 is next crystallized into alum by the addition of sulphate of potassa in the
 usual manner.
   Besides the officinal alum, which is sometimes called potassa-alum, there
are several varieties of this salt,  in which  the potassa  is replaced by some
other base, as, for example, ammonia or soda.  Ammoniacal alum, or the
sulphate of alumina and ammonia, is  sometimes manufactured in  France,
where  it is formed by adding putrid  urine to a solution of the sulphate of
alumina.  In Great Britain it is sometimes made by adding sulphate  of
ammonia from gas liquor to the sulphate of  alumina.   Scotch alum, made
                                  8* 
78
Alumen.
PART I.
near Paisley, generally contains both potassa and  ammonia.   Ammoniacal
alum resembles so exactly the potassa-alum, that it is impossible by simple
inspection to distinguish them; and in composition it is perfectly analogous
to the potassa salt.  It may, however, be distinguished by subjecting it to a
strong calcining heat, after which alumina will be found as the sole residue;
or by rubbing it up with potassa or lime and a little  water, when the smell
of ammonia will be perceived.
  Properties.  Alum is  a white, slightly efflorescent salt, crystallized  in
regular octohedrons,  and  possessing a  sweetish,  astringent  taste.   It dis-
solves in between fourteen and fifteen times its weight of cold, and three-
fourths of its  weight of boiling water.  Its  solution is  precipitated by
ammonia and potassa,  which throw down the  alumina  as a gelatinous
hydrate, free from colour, if the  alum be  pure.  Its sp.  gr. is 1-71.   It
reddens litmus, but changes the blue tinctures of the  petals of plants, green.
It cannot, therefore, be properly said to contain an excess of acid.   When
heated a little above 212°, it undergoes  the aqueous  fusion;  and if the heat
be continued, it loses  its water, swells up, becomes a white, opaque, porous
mass,  and is converted into the officinal  preparation, called dried alum.
(See Alumen Exsiccatum.)  Exposed to a red heat, it gives off oxygen,
together with sulphurous and anhydrous  sulphuric acids; and  the residue
consists of alumina and  sulphate of potassa.    When calcined  with finely
divided charcoal,  it forms a  spontaneously inflammable substance, called
Homberg's pyrophorus, which consists of a mixture of sulphuret of potas-
sium, alumina,  and charcoal.
   Several varieties of alum are known in commerce,   fioche alum, so called
from its having  come originally  from Roccha in Syria,  is a  sort which
occurs in fragments,  about  the  size  of an almond,  and presenting a pale
rose colour, which is given to it, according to Dr. Pereira, by bole or rose-
pink.   Roman alum  also  occurs in  small fragments, covered with a rose-
coloured efflorescence, derived from a slight covering of oxide of iron.
   All the alums of commerce contain more or less sulphate of iron, varying
from five to seven parts in the thousand.  Roman alum is among the purest
varieties, and is,  therefore, much esteemed.  The iron is readily detected
by adding to a solution of the suspected alum,  a few drops of the ferro-
cyanuret of potassium, which will cause a greenish-blue  tint, if iron  be
present.  It may be detected also by precipitating the alumina with a solu-
tion of potassa, and afterwards adding the alkali in  excess.   This will re-
dissolve the alumina, but any iron which may have  been precipitated with
it, will be left  in  the state  of sesquioxide.  The quantity of iron  usually
present, though small, is injurious to  the alum when used  in  dyeing.  It
may, however, be purified, either by dissolving it in the smallest quantity
of boiling water, and stirring the solution as it cools, or by repeated solu-
tions and crystallizations.
   Incompatibles.  Alum is incompatible with the alkalies and  their carbo-
nates, lime and lime-water, magnesia and its carbonate,  tartrate of potassa,
 and acetate of lead.
    Composition.   Alum was regarded  as  a sulphate of alumina,  until it
 was proved by  Descroizilles, Vauquelin,  and  Chaptal to contain  sul-
 phate of potassa, sulphate of ammonia,  or  both these salts.   When its
 second base is potassa, it consists of one equivalent of tersulphate of alu-
 mina 171-7, one equiv. of sulphate of potassa 87-25, and twenty-four equiv.
 of water 216=47495.  In the ammoniacal alum, the equiv. of sulphate of
 potassa is replaced by one of sulphate of ammonia.  In other  respects its
 composition is the same.   Alumina is classed by the chemist  as an earth. 
part i.                       Alumen.                            79

It is essential to the  constitution of true alum, as it cannot be replaced by
any other base.  It may be obtained by precipitating a solution of alum by
water of ammonia, added in excess.  As thus procured, it presents a gelati-
nous appearance, and is in the state of hydrate.   In this form it has been
used by some  practitioners on the continent of Europe in diarrhoea.  It
consists of two equiv. of a metallic radical called aluminium 27-4, and three
equiv. of oxygen 24=51-4.  It is,  therefore, a sesquioxide.
  Medical Properties, $-c.  Alum, in ordinary  medicinal doses, is astrin-
gent; in large doses, purgative.  It is used both as an internal and local remedy.
Internally it is employed as an astringent in  passive hemorrhages, colliqua-
tive sweats, diabetes, and chronic dysentery  and  diarrhoea, also in gleet and
leucorrhoea, in which latter diseases it is sometimes combined with cubebs.
It has been recommended by Kreysig and Dzondi in dilatation of the heart
and aortic  aneurism.  A striking case of benefit  from alum in dilatation of
the heart, by Schlesier,  is given  in the Eclectic Journal of Medicine, iv.
135, from the Medicinische Zeitung.  In this case, the alum was given in
combination with rhatany and digitalis.  As a purgative, it has been em-
ployed in colica  pictonum.  The practice was  introduced  by a Dutch
physician in 1752, and imitated  by Dr. Percival with great success.  Its
use in this disease has  been latterly  revived, and its efficacy fully  estab-
lished by Kapeler and  Gendrin, of Paris,  and  Copland,  of London.  It
allays nausea  and vomiting,  relieves flatulence, mitigates the  pain, and
opens the bowels with more certainty than any other medicine.   Its re-
markable influence in allaying the tormina in this disease, has led some to
attribute to it a sedative operation. Sometimes it is advantageous to conjoin
opium and camphor.
   The local applications of alum  are numerous.   In various anginose affec-
tions, it is found highly useful,  applied topically either in powder or solution.
When the affection is attended with membranous exudation, its efficacy has
been particularly insisted on by  Bretonneau, applied in solution prepared
with vinegar and honey for adults, and in powder, by insufflation,  in the
cases of children.   When used in the latter way, a drachm of finely pow-
dered alum may be placed in one end of a tube,  and then blown by means
of  the breath into  the throat of the  child.  M. Velpeau, in  1835, extended
the observations of M. Bretonneau, and has successfully applied alum, not
only in simple inflammatory  sorethroat, but in  those forms of angina de-
pendent on small-pox, scarlatina, &c.  In these  cases the  powdered alum
may be applied several times a day  to the  fauces  by means of the  index
finger, so as to cover the affected surfaces.   In relaxation of the uvula, and
in the beginning of sorethroat, with or without  membraniform exudation,
a solution of alum  forms one of our best gargles.   It forms also a  useful
astringent wash in  certain  states of mercurial sore-mouth.  In gleet and
leucorrhoea the solution is  an  approved remedy,  either alone or conjoined
with sulphate of zinc. (See Liquor Aluminis Compositus, Lond.)   It is
frequently applied as a local styptic, in epistaxis,by means of a plug soaked
in a saturated solution, and pressed up the nostril, and in menorrhagia, by
a sponge soaked in  a similar solution, and introduced into  the vagina.   In
the latter stages of conjunctival  inflammation it  is often proper, and  in the
purulent  ophthalmia of infants,  it  forms the most efficacious remedy we
possess.   In these  cases it is sometimes applied in the form of the alum
cataplasm. (See Cataplasma Aluminis, Dub.)
   The ordinary dose of alum is from ten to  twenty grains,  repeated every
two or three hours, taken in the form of pill or solution. To prevent nausea,
nutmeg  or some aromatic water may be added.   In colica pictonum the 
so
Alumen.—Ammonia.
part i.
dose is from half a drachm to two drachms, given in solution every three or
four hours.  An elegant way of exhibiting alum,  is in the form of alum
whey, made by boiling two drachms of alum with a pint of milk, and then
straining to separate the curd.  The dose is a wine-glassful containing about
fifteen  grains of alum.  As a  collyrium the solution is  made  of  various
strengths, as four, six, or eight grains to the  fluidounce of water.   A solu-
tion containing  from half an ounce to  an ounce of alum to a  pint of water,
and sweetened with honey, forms a convenient gargle.  Solutions for gleet
and leucorrhoea, and  as  topical applications to ulcers, &c.  must vary in
strength according to the state of the parts  to which they are applied.
   Off. Prep. Alumen Exsiccatum, U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Cataplasma
Aluminis, Dub.;  Liquor Aluminis Compositus, Lond.;  Pulvis Aluminis
Compositus, Ed.                                                 B.

                           AMMONIA.

                            Ammonia.

   All  the ammoniacal compounds owe their distinctive  properties to  the
presence of a peculiar gaseous  compound of  hydrogen and nitrogen, called
ammonia.  It  is  most easily obtained by  the action of lime  on muriate of
ammonia or sal ammoniac, when the lime  unites with the muriatic acid, so
as to form chloride of calcium  and water,  and expels the  ammonia. It is
transparent and colourless, like common air, but  possesses a hot and acrid
taste, and an exceedingly pungent smell.  It has a powerful alkaline reac-
tion, and from this property and its gaseous  nature, was called  the volatile
alkali  by the earlier chemists.   Its sp. gr. is 0-59.  It  is  irrespirable,  the
glottis  closing  spasmodically when the  attempt is  made to breathe it.   It
consists of one  eq. of  nitrogen  14-15, and three of hydrogen  3=17-15; or
in volumes, of one volume of nitrogen and  three volumes of hydrogen, con-
densed into two volumes.   Its symbol is NH3.
   The salts of ammonia may  be divided  into hydracid salts,  and  oxacid
salts.  Thus when muriatic acid unites with ammonia, we have the hydracid
salt called muriate of ammonia, which is usually considered to be a compound
of muriatic acid and ammonia,  with the symbol NH3,HC1.  But Berzelius
supposes that, in the act of uniting, the hydrogen of the muriatic acid is trans-
ferred to the elements  of the ammonia, and that the compound, thus formed,
uniting with the chlorine, gives  rise to a salt, represented by NH4,C1.   To
this hypothetical compound (NIL)  Berzelius  gives the name of ammonium,
and, consequently, to muriate  of ammonia,  the appellation of chloride of
ammonium.
   Applying the same view to the oxacid salts of ammonia, Berzelius con-
ceives  that they are compounds of  oxide of ammonium (NILO) with
their several acids. It is found that the true oxacid salts of ammonia always
contain one eq. of water, which  cannot be  separated from  them without
destroying their nature; and it is supposed that the elements of this eq. of
water, united with the elements of one eq. of ammonia, form oxide of am-
monium.   To  apply the new view to  the sulphate of ammonia, this salt is
usually considered to be a protohydraled sulphate of ammonia, (NH3,S0s,
HO); but on the new view, it is the sulphate of oxide of ammonium without
water, (NH40,SO,).
   The following is a table of the principal officinal preparations containing
ammonia, in  the British  and United  States  Pharmacopoeias, with  the sy-
nonymes. 
PART I.
Ammonia.
81
 I. In Aqueous Solution.
       Liquor Ammoniae Fortior, U. S.; Ammoniac Liquor Fortior, Lond.;
             Ammoniae Aqua Fortior, Ed.—Stronger Solution of Am-
             monia.
          Linimentum Ammoniae Compositum, Ed.
          Tinctura Ammoniae Composita, Lond.
       Liquor Ammoniae, U. S., Lond.; Ammoniae Aqua, Ed.; Ammoniae*
             Causticae Aqua, Dub.—Solution of Ammonia—Water of
             Ammonia.
          Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, U. S.; Hydrargyri Ammonio-Chlo-
             ridum, Lond.; Hydrargyri Praecipitatum Album, Ed.; Hy-
             drargyri Submurias Ammoniatum, Dub.—White Precipitate.
          Linimentum Ammoniae,  U. S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.— Volatile
             Liniment.
          Linimentum Camphorae Compositum, Lond., Dub.
          Linimentum Hydrargyri Compositum, Lond.
 II. In Spirituous Solution.
       Spiritus Ammoniae,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.—Spirit of Ammonia.
          Tinctura Castorii Ammoniata, Ed.
          Tinctura Guaiaci  Ammoniata, Ed.
          Tinctura Opii Ammoniata, Ed.
          Tinctura Valerianae Ammoniata, Ed.
        Spiritus  Ammoniae  Aromaticus, U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.—Aro-
             matic Spirit of Ammonia.
          Tinctura Colchici Composita, Lond.
          Tinctura  Guaiaci Ammoniata, U. S., Dub.; Tinctura Guaiaci
             Composita, Lond.
          Tinctura  Valerianae Ammoniata,  U. S., Dub.;  Tinctura Vale-
             rianae Composita,  Lond.
       Spiritus Ammoniae  Foetidus,  Lond., Ed., Dub.—Fetid  Spirit of
             Ammonia.
III. In Saline Combination.
       Ammoniae Murias,  U. S., Ed., Dub.; Ammoniae  Hydrochloras,
             Lond.—Sal Ammoniac.
          Ferrum Ammoniatum, U.S.;  FerriAmmonio-chloridum,  Lond.
       Ammoniae Carbonas, U. S.,Ed., Dub.; Ammoniae Sesquicarbonas,
             Lond.—Mild Volatile Alkali.
          Cuprum Ammoniatum, U. S., Ed., Dub.;  Cupri Ammonio-sul-
             phas, Lond.
          Liquor  Ammoniae Sesquicarbonatis, Lond.; Ammoniae Carbona-
             tis Aqua, Ed., Dub.
            Linimentum Ammoniae Sesquicarbonatis, Lond.
            Ammoniae Bicarbonas, Dub.
          Liquor Ammoniae Acetatis, U. S., Lond.;  Ammoniae Acetatis
             Aqua, Ed., Dub.—Spirit of Mindererus.
       Ammoniae Hydrosulphuretum, Dub.
  The ammonia in the spirit of  ammonia of the U.S. and Ed. Pharmaco-
poeias is in the caustic state; in the corresponding preparations of the London
and Dublin Colleges, it is carbonated.  In the aromatic and fetid  spirits of
ammonia, the alkali is caustic in  the Edinburgh preparations, but carbonated
in those of the other Pharmacopoeias.  It is seen by the table that the am-
moniated tinctures are  made in the  Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia  with  the
simple spirit of ammonia; while the  other Pharmacopoeias prepare them
uniformly  with the aromatic spirit.                                B. 
82                   Liquor Ammoniae Fortior.             part i.
         LIQUOR AMMONITE FORTIOR.  U.S.

                 Stronger Solution of  Ammonia.
  " An aqueous solution  of Ammonia of the specific gravity 0-882."  U. S.
  Off. Syn.  AMMONITE LIQUOR  FORTIOR. Lond.; AMMONIA
AQUA FORTIOR. Ed.
  This preparation was first introduced into the London Pharmacopoeia of
1836, and has since been successively admitted into those of Edinburgh and
the United  States.   It is  too strong for internal exhibition, but forms a con-
venient ammoniacal solution for reduction with distilled water, to the strength
of ordinary officinal solution of  ammonia (Liquor Ammoniae),  or for pre-
paring strong rubefacient and vesicating lotions  and liniments.  (See Lini-
mentum  Ammoniae Compositum,  Ed.)
  The U. States and London Pharmacopoeias  include  this solution in the
list of the  Materia Medica; but in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, a for-
mula  is given for its preparation, which is as follows:
  " Take of Muriate of Ammonia,  thirteen ounces;  Quicklime, thirteen
ounces; Water, seven fluidounces and a half; Distilled Water, twelve fluid-
ounces.  Slake the Lime with the water, cover it up till it cool, triturate it
well and  quickly with the Muriate of Ammonia previously in fine powder,
and put the mixture into  a glass  retort, to which  is attached a receiver with
a safety-tube.  Connect  with the receiver  a  bottle also  provided with a
safety-tube, and containing four ounces of the  Distilled Water, but capable
of holding twice as much.  Connect this bottle with another loosely corked,
and containing the remaining eight ounces of Distilled Water.  The com-
municating tubes must descend  to the bottom of the bottles at the further
end from the retort; and the receiver and bottles must be kept cool by snow,
ice, or a  running stream of very cold water.  Apply to the retort a  gradually
increasing heat till gas ceases to  be evolved;  remove the retort, cork up the
aperture  in the receiver where it was connected  with the  retort, and apply
to the receiver a gentle and gradually increasing heat, to drive over as much
of the gas in  the liquid contained in it, but as little of the water,  as possible.
Should the liquid in the  last bottle not have the density  of 960, reduce it
with some of the Stronger Aqua Ammoniae in the  first bottle, or raise it with
Distilled  Water, so as to  form Aqua Ammoniae of the prescribed density."
  In  this process  the ammonia is disengaged in  the usual manner  from
muriate of ammonia by the action of lime, as  explained under  the head of
Liquor Ammoniae.  But it is perceived by the  details of the process that
the Edinburgh College propose  to obtain both the stronger and  ordinary
solution  of ammonia at  one operation.  This is done by connecting two
bottles with the retort, through an intervening empty receiver, and charging
them severally  with  one-third and  two-thirds of the prescribed distilled
water.   The receiver between the retort and the  bottles serves to detain
impurities.   The  water  in the  first bottle becomes nearly saturated with
ammonia, a result  which is favoured by the  application of cold.  After the
gas has  ceased to be disengaged  from the  retort, it is removed; and any
ammonia which may have condensed with  water  in the receiver is saved
by being driven over by  a gentle heat.   As the water in the first bottle will
not take  up all the ammonia disengaged, the balance is allowed  to pass into
the second bottle,  where it saturates the water to a greater or less  extent,
forming  a  weak aqueous ammonia.  The  aqueous ammonia  in the first
bottle is  the Edinburgh Ammoniae Aqua Fortior, and  that in the second is 
part I.             Liquor Ammoniae Fortior.                  83

converted into Liquor Ammoniae of the proper officinal strength, by the addi-
tion of aqueous ammonia from the first bottle, if too weak, or of distilled
water, if too strong.  The Edinburgh process has the merit of economizing
the ammonia, which is more or less wasted in the processes of the other
Pharmacopoeias, and of furnishing two preparations at one operation.
   Properties of Aqueous Ammonia of maximum strength.  It is a colour-
less liquid, of a caustic, acrid taste,  and peculiar, pungent smell.  It is
strongly alkaline, and immediately changes turmeric to reddish-brown when
held over its  fumes.   Cooled  down to 40°  below zero, it concretes into a
gelatinous mass, and at the temperature of 130° enters into ebullition, owing
to the rapid disengagement of  the gas.   Its sp. gr. is 0-875 at 50°, when it
contains  32-5 per cent, of ammonia.
   Properties of the Officinal Stronger  Solution of Ammonia.   This has
similar properties to  those mentioned above.  Its officinal sp. gr. is 0-882,
U. S., Lond.; 0-880, Ed.   When of the density 0-882, it contains about
29 per cent,  of ammonia.   The  liquor ammoniae fortior of the shops, is
usually not so strong, commonly ranging in density from 0-886  to 0*910.
Even though of  proper officinal strength at first, it in general becomes
gradually weaker by the escape of ammonia, in consequence of the  bottle
in which it  is kept being inaccurately stopped, or occasionally opened.
When pure  it is wholly volatilized  by heat.   If precipitated  by  lime-
water, it contains carbonic  acid.  After having been saturated  with nitric
acid,  a precipitate produced by carbonate of ammonia indicates  earthy im-
purity; by  nitrate of silver, either muriatic acid or a chloride.
   Liquor Ammoniae Fortior is a convenient preparation  for the apothecary,
to make  Liquor Ammoniae, by a  due dilution with distilled water; and  the
Pharmacopoeias have given  directions for this  purpose.   In the U. States
and London Pharmacopoeias the  stronger solution is directed  to be diluted
with two measures of distilled water;  in the Edinburgh, with two and a half
measures.  By dilution in these  proportions,  the stronger preparation is
brought uniformly to the strength of Liquor Ammoniae (sp. gr. 0-960.) The
larger proportional amount of water directed by the  Edinburgh College, is
rendered necessary by the greater strength of their officinal stronger solution.
   When purchasing  or  making the Stronger Solution  of Ammonia,  the
apothecary should not trust to its being of the officinal strength;  but asser-
tain the point by taking its density, either with  the specific gravity bottle
or the hydrometer.  In reducing it to make Liquor Ammoniae, the same pre-
caution should be  used;  and if the mixture should not  have the  sp. gr. of
0-960, it should  be brought to  that density by the addition either  of  the
stronger  solution or of distilled water, as the case may require.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   This solution is too  strong for employ-
ment  in its unmixed state, unless for'the purposes of a caustic.  Its medical
properties when duly reduced by admixture  with other  substances, will be
given under the head of Linimentum Ammoniae Compositum.   It is used
as a chemical agent to prepare two Edinburgh officinals, Ferrugo and Ferri
Oxidum Nigrum.
   Off. Prep. Linimentum Ammoniae Compositum, Ed.; Tinctura Ammo-
niae Composita, Lond.                                            B. 
84
Ammoniae Murias.
PART I.
          AMMONLE  MURIAS.  U.S., Ed., Dub.

                       Muriate of Ammonia.

  " Chlorohydrate of Ammonia."  U. S.
  Off. Syn. AMMONLE  HYDROCHLORAS. Lond.
  Sal ammoniac, Hydrochlorate of ammonia; Sel ammoniac, Fr.; Salmiak, Germ.; Sale
ammoniaco, Ital,; Sal ammoniaco, Span.
  This salt is  placed  in the Materia  Medica list of all the  Pharmacopoeias
mentioned in this work.  It originally came from Egypt, where it was ob-
tained by sublimation from the soot afforded by the combustion of camels'
dung, which is used in that country for fuel.
  Preparation.   At  present muriate of ammonia is derived from two prin-
cipal sources, the ammoniacal liquor, called gas liquor, found in the con-
densing vessels of coal-gas works, and the brown, fetid ammoniacal liquor,
known under  the name of  bone spirit, which is a secondary product, ob-
tained, during  the destructive distillation of bones, by the manufacturers of
animal charcoal for the use of sugar-refiners.  These two  liquors  are the
parent of all the ammoniacal  compounds;  for while they are both used to
obtain muriate of ammonia, this salt is employed, directly or indirectly, in
obtaining all the other salts of ammonia.
  The gas liquor contains carbonate,  hydrocyanate, hydrosulphate, and
sulphate of ammonia, but principally the carbonate.   The first three salts
are converted into the sulphate, by the addition of sulphuric acid, and due
evaporation, whereby brown crystals of sulphate  of ammonia are obtained.
These are then sublimed with chloride of sodium in iron pots, lined with
clay and  furnished with a leaden dome or head.  By the mutual action of
the  sulphate, chloride, and  water, there are formed muriate of ammonia
which sublimes into the head, and sulphate of soda which remains behind.
Thus NH8,S08,HO+NaCl become NH3,HCl+NaO,S03.    Sometimes,
instead of the ammonia being first converted into a sulphate, it is made at once
into muriate of ammonia by the  addition of muriatic acid or chloride  of
calcium.   When chloride of calcium is employed, the chief reaction takes
place  between carbonate of ammonia and the chloride, with the result of
forming muriate of ammonia  in solution, and a precipitate of carbonate of
lime.   The solution is duly evaporated, whereby brown crystals of muriate
of ammonia are  obtained.   These, after having been dried,  are purified by
sublimation in an iron subliming pot, coated with a composition of clay,
sand,  and charcoal, and covered with a dome of lead. These pots are some-
times  sufficiently large to hold 500  pounds.  "  A gentle  fire  is kept up
under the subliming pot for seven  or eight days, when the dome  having
cooled down, and the sal ammoniac somewhat contracted, so as to  loosen
from the sides, the dome is  thrown off from  the iron pot, and about two or
three  hundred  weight of white, semi-transparent muriate of ammonia are
knocked off in cakes." {Pereira.)
  In  the destructive  distillation of bones for making  animal charcoal, or
indeed, of any  animal substance whatever,  the distilled products  are  the
bone spirit  already mentioned, being  chiefly an aqueous solution of carbo-
nate of ammonia, and an empyreumatic oil called animal oil.   These pro-
ducts  all result from a new arrangement of the ultimate constituents of the
animal matter.   Hydrogen  and oxygen form water; carbon and oxvgen,
carbonic acid; nitrogen and hydrogen, ammonia; and hydrogen,  carbon, and
oxygen, the animal oil. 
PART I.
Ammoniae Murias.
85
  Muriate of ammonia maybe obtained from bone spirit in the manner just
described for procuring it from gas liquor.  Sometimes, however, the sul-
phate of ammonia is not made by direct  combination, but by digesting the
bone  spirit with ground  plaster of Paris (sulphate of lime).   By  double
decomposition, sulphate  of ammonia and  carbonate of lime  are formed.
The sulphate of ammonia being thus obtained as an intermediate step, it is
converted into the muriate by sublimation with common salt, in the usual
manner.
  For obtaining muriate  of ammonia, other processes, besides those given
above, have been proposed or practised; for an account of which the reader
is referred to the Chemical Essays of the late Mr. Parkes,  who has appro-
priated a separate essay to the subject.
  Commercial History.  All the  muriate of ammonia consumed  in the
United States is obtained from abroad. Its commercial varieties are  known
under the  names of the crude and  refined.  The crude is imported from
Calcutta in  chests,  containing  from 350 to 400 pounds.   This variety is
consumed almost exclusively by coppersmiths and other artisans in brass
and copper, being employed for the purpose of keeping the metallic surfaces
bright,  preparatory to brazing.   The refined  comes to  us exclusively from
England, packed in casks containing from 5 to 10 cwt.
  Properties. Muriate of ammonia is a white, translucent, tough,  fibrous
salt, occurring in commerce in large cakes, about  two inches thick, convex
on  one side and concave on the other.   It has a  pungent,  saline taste, but
no  smell.   Its sp. gr. is  1-45.  It dissolves in three parts of cold, and one
of boiling water, and cold is produced during  its solution.   It is less  soluble
in rectified spirit than in water, and sparingly so  in absolute alcohol.  A
hot concentrated aqueous  solution, as it cools, deposites the salt in feathery
crystals.  This  salt is very difficult  to powder in the ordinary way.  Its
pulverization, however, may be effected readily by making a boiling satu-
rated solution of the  salt, and stirring it as it cools.  The salt  may thus be
made to granulate, and in this state, after having been drained from the re-
maining solution and dried, may be readily powdered.  Muriate of ammonia,
at a red heat, sublimes without  decomposition, as its mode of preparation
proves.  Exposed to a damp atmosphere, it becomes slightly moist.  It
has the property of increasing the solubility of corrosive sublimate in water.
(See Liquor Hydrargyri Bichloridi, Lond.)  It is  decomposed  by the
strong mineral acids, and by the  alkalies  and alkaline earths; the  former
disengaging muriatic acid, the  latter, ammonia, both sensible to the smell.
Muriate of ammonia is  the salt usually employed for obtaining gaseous
ammonia, which is  conveniently disengaged  by means  of  lime.  Though
neutral in composition, it slightly reddens litmus.   It is incompatible with
acetate of lead and nitrate of silver, producing  a precipitate, with the former,
of chloride of lead, with the latter, of chloride of silver.
  According to the  Edinburgh College, muriate of ammonia is not liable to
adulteration.   If it be not entirely volatilized  by heat  and soluble in water,
it contains impurity.  If the salt is entirely volatilized by heat, and yet pro-
duces a precipitate with  chloride  of barium,  the presence of sulphate of
ammonia is indicated.
  Composition.  Muriate of ammonia is composed of one eq. of muriatic
acid 36-42, and one  of ammonia 17-15=53-57; or, in ultimate constituents,
of one eq. of chlorine, one of nitrogen, and four of hydrogen.  Viewed as
chloride of ammonium, it consists of one eq. of chlorine and one of ammo-
nium  (NH4,C1).  In equivalent volumes,  it  consists  of two volumes of
muriatic acid gas, and two volumes of ammonia, condensed into a solid.
        9 
86
Ammoniae Murias.—Ammoniacum.
PART I.
  Medical Properties.  Muriate of ammonia is  employed  both internally
and externally.  Internally it acts primarily on the alimentary canal, purg-
ing in large doses, but rather constipating in small  ones.   Its secondary
action is alleged to be that of a stimulating alterative on the  capillary, glan-
dular and lymphatic systems, and on the mucous, serous, and fibrous tissues,
the nutrition of which it is supposed to improve.  It has been recommended
in catarrhal and rheumatic fevers; in  pleuritis, peritonitis,  dysentery, and
other inflammations of the  serous and mucous membranes, after the first
violence of the disease has abated; in chronic inflammation and enlargement
of the thoracic and abdominal viscera; and in amenorrhoea, when dependent
on deficient action of the uterus.   Several cases of pectoral disease, simu-
lating incipient phthisis, are reported to have been cured by this remedy in
Otto's Bibliothek for 1834.  The dose is from five to  thirty grains, repeated
every two or  three hours,  either given  in powder mixed  with powdered
gum or sugar, or dissolved  in syrup or mucilage.   It is  very little used as
an internal remedy  in the  United States; but is a  good  deal employed
on the continent of Europe, especially in Germany,  where it is deemed  a
powerful alterative and resolvent.   Considering the various testimony borne
to its therapeutical powers, it is, perhaps, too little employed by our prac-
titioners.
  Externally, muriate of ammonia is  used in solution as a stimulant and
resolvent in contusions, indolent tumours, &c.  The  strength of the  solu-
tion  must  be  varied according to the intention in view.  An ounce of the
salt, dissolved  in nine fluidounces of water and  one of alcohol, forms  a
solution of convenient strength.   When the solution  is to be used as  a
wash for ulcers, or an injection in leucorrhoea, it should not contain more than
from one to four drachms of the salt to a pint of water.
   Off. Prep.  Ammoniae Aqua Fortior, Ed.; Ammoniae Carbonas, U. S.f
Lond., Ed., Dub.; Ferrum Ammoniatum, U. S., Lond.;  Liquor Ammo-
niae,  U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Liquor  Hydrargyri  Bichloridi,  Lond.;
Spiritus Ammoniae, U. S.,  Lond., Ed.;  Spiritus Ammoniae Aromaticus,
U. S., Lond.; Spiritus Ammoniae Foetidus, Lond.                   B.


              AMMONIACUM.  U.S., Lond.,  Ed.

                            Ammoniac.

   " The concrete juice of Dorema  Ammoniacum." U. S.   " Dorema Am-
moniacum.   Gummi-resina." Lond.    " Gummy-resinous exudation of
Dorema Ammoniacum." Ed.
   Off. Syn.  AMMONIACUM GUMMI. HERACLEUM GUMMIFE-
RUM. Gummi Resina. Dub.
  Gomme ammoniaque,  Fr.;  arnmoniak, Germ.;  Gomma ammoniaco,  Ital.;  Goma
amoniaco, Span.; Ushek, Arab.; Semug-h bclshereen, Persian.
   Much uncertainty long  existed  among botanists as to the plant which
yields ammoniac.   It was generally believed to be a species of Ferula, till
Willdenow raised from some seeds mixed with the gum-resin found in the
shops, a plant which he ascertained to be an  Heracleum,  and named H.
gummiferum, under the  impression that it must be the true source of the
medicine.  On this authority, the plant was adopted by the British Colleges,
and recognised in former editions of our national Pharmacopoeia.  Willdenow
expressly acknowledged that he could not procure from it any gum-resin, but
ascribed the result to the influence of the climate. The Heracleum however,
did not correspond exactly with the representations given of the ammoniac plant 
PART I.
Ammoniacum.
87
by travellers; aud Sprengel ascertained that it was a native of the Pyrenees,
and never produced gum.  Mr. Jackson, in his account of Morocco, imper-
fectly describes a plant indigenous in that country, supposed to be a species
of Ferula, from  which gum-ammoniac is procured by the natives.  This
plant is believed  by Lindley to be the Ferula tingitana,  and its  product is
thought to be the ammoniacum of the ancients, which was obtained from
Africa; but this is not the drug now used under that name, which is derived
exclusively from  Persia.  M. Fontanier, who was  sent by the French
Government into the Levant, and resided many years in  Persia, saw the
ammoniac plant growing in the province of Fars, and transmitted a drawing
of it with specimens to Paris.  From these it was inferred to be a species of
Ferula; and Merat and De Lens proposed for it the name originally applied
to it by Lemery,  of F. ammonifera.  It has subsequently, however, been
ascertained, from  specimens of the plant obtained in Persia by Colonel
Wright, and examined by Dr. David Don, that it belongs to a genus allied
to Ferula, but essentially different, and named by Mr. Don, Dorema.   A
description of it is contained in the  16th  volume of  the  Linnean Transac-
tions, under the name of D.  Ammoniacum.   This  is now acknowledged
by all the officinal authorities except the Dublin College.
   The ammoniac plant grows spontaneously in Farsistan, Irauk, Chorassan,
and  other Persian provinces.  Dr. Grant found it growing abundantly in
Syghan near Bameean, on the northwest slope of the Hindoo Coosh moun-
tains. {Christison's Dispensatory.)  It attains the height of six or seven feet,
and  in the spring and early part of summer abounds in  a milky juice, which
flows out upon the slightest puncture.  From  the accounts of travellers it
appears, that in the month  of May, the plant is pierced in  innumerable
places by an insect of the beetle kind.  The juice, exuding through  the
punctures, concretes upon the stem,  and when quite dry is collected by the
natives.   M. Fontanier states that the juice exudes spontaneously, and that
the harvest is about the middle of June.  According to Dr. Grant, the drug
is collected in Syghan, like  assafetida, from the root of the  plant.  The
gum-resin is sent to Bushire, whence it is transmitted to  India.  It reaches
this  country usually by  the  route of Calcutta.  The name of the  drug is
thought to have been derived from the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the Ly-
bian desert, where the ammoniac of the ancients is said to have been col-
lected; but Mr. Don considers it a corruption of Armeniacum, originating
in the circumstance that the  gum-resin was formerly  imported  into Europe
through Armenia.
   Properties.   Ammoniac comes either in the  state of separate tears, or in
aggregate masses, and in both forms is frequently mixed with impurities.
That of the tears, however, is preferable, as the purest may be  conveniently
picked out, and kept for use.   These are of an irregular shape, usually more
or less globular, opaque, yellowish on the outside, whitish within, compact,
homogeneous, brittle when cold, and breaking with a conchoidal shining
fracture.   The masses are of a darker colour and less uniform  structure,
appearing, when broken, as if composed of numerous white or whitish tears,
embedded  in a dirty gray or brownish substance, and frequently mingled
with foreign matters, such as seeds, fragments of vegetables,  and sand, or
other earth.
   The smell of ammoniac is peculiar, and stronger in  the mass than in the
tears.  The taste is slightly sweetish, bitter, and somewhat acrid.  The sp.
gr. is 1-207.   When heated, the gum-resin  softens and becomes adhesive,
but does not melt.  It burns with a white flame,  swelling up, and emitting
a smoke of a strong, resinous, slightly alliaceous odour.  It is partly soluble 
SS             Ammoniacum.—Amygdala Amara.        part i.

in water, alcohol, ether, vinegar, and  alkaline  solutions.   Triturated  with
water, it forms an opaque milky emulsion, which becomes clear upon stand-
ing.   The alcoholic  solution is transparent, but is rendered milky by the
addition of water.   Bucholz  obtained from  100 parts of  ammoniac,  22-4
parts of gum, 72-0 of resin, 1-6 of bassorin, and 4-0 of water including vola-
tile oil and loss.   Braconnot obtained  18-4 per cent, of gum, 70-0 of resin,
4-4 of a gluten-like substance (bassorin), and 6-0 of water, with 1-2 percent.
of loss.   Hagen succeeded in procuring the volatile oil in a separate state
by repeated distillation with water.  It has a penetrating disagreeable odour,
and a taste at first mild, but afterwards bitter and nauseous.  The resin of
ammoniac is dissolved by alcohol, and the fixed and volatile oils, but is di-
vided by ether into two resins, of which one is soluble, the other insoluble
in that menstruum.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  This gum-resin is stimulant and expecto-
rant, in large doses  cathartic, and, like many other stimulants, may be so
given as  occasionally to prove diaphoretic, diuretic, or emmenagogue.  It
has been employed in medicine from the highest antiquity, being mentioned
in the writings of Hippocrates.  The complaints in which it is most fre-
quently used are chronic  catarrh, asthma,  and other pectoral affections,
attended with deficient expectoration without acute inflammation, or with a
too copious secretion from the bronchial mucous membrane, dependent upon
debility of the vessels.  It is thought  to have been useful  in some cases of
amenorrhoea, and in those chlorotic and hysterical conditions of the system
arising out of this complaint.  It has also  been prescribed in obstructions or
chronic engorgements of the  abdominal viscera, under the vague notion of
its deobstruent power.  Any good which  it may do in these affections, is
more probably ascribable to its revulsive action upon the alimentary mucous
membrane.  Authors speak of its utility in  long and obstinate colics de-
pendent on mucous matter lodged  in the intestines; but it would be difficult
to ascertain in what cases such mucous matter  existed, and, even allowing
its presence, to decide whether it was a cause  or a result of the diseased
action.  Ammoniac  is  usually administered in combination with other ex-
pectorants, with  tonics, or emmenagogues.   It is much less  used than for-
merly.  Externally applied in the shape of a plaster, it  is  thought to be
useful as a discutient or resolvent in white swellings of the joints and other
indolent tumours.  (See Emplastrum Ammoniaci.)
  It is given in substance, in the shape of pill or emulsion.   The latter form
is preferable.  (See Mistura Ammoniaci.)   The dose is from ten to thirty
grains.
  Off. Prep. Emplastrum Ammoniaci, U. S„ Lond., Ed., Dub.; Emplas-
trum Ammoniaci cum Hydrargyro, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Emplastrum Gum-
mosum, Ed.; Mistura Ammoniaci, U.S.,  Lond. Dub.; Pilulae Ipecacuanha?
Compositae, Lond.;  Pilulae Scillae Compositae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
                                                                W.

          AMYGDALA  AMARA.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.

                          Bitter Almonds.

  " The kernels of  the fruit of Amygdalus communis—variety amara."
U.S.  "Amygdalus communis. (De Cand.) var. a. Nuclei." Lond.  "Ker-
nels of Amygdalus communis, var. a.  (DC.) Ed.
   Off. Syn.  AMYGDALiE AMARjE.  Amygdalus communis.  Nuclei.
Dub. 
part i.      Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis.            89
          AMYGDALA  DULCIS.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                          Sweet Almonds.

  " The kernels of the fruit of Amygdalus  communis—variety  dulcis."
 U.S. "Amygdalus communis.  (DeCand.) var j3. Nuclei."  Lond.  "Ker-
nels of Amygdalus communis, var. j8. and y.  (DC.)"  Ed.
  Off. Syn. AMYGDALAE DULCES.  Amygdalus communis.  Nuclei.
 Dub.
  Amande douce, Amande amere, Fr.; Susse Mandeln, bittere Mandeln, Germ.; Man-
 dorle dolci, Mandorle a ma re, Ital; Almendra dulce, Almendra nmarjr-i, Span.
  Amygdalus.  Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Amygdaleae.
  Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-cleft, inferior.  Petals  five.   Drupe with a nut
 perforated with pores.  Willd.
  Amygdalus communis.   Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 982; Woodv. Med. Bot.
 p. 507. t. 183.   The almond tree rises usually from  fifteen to twenty feet
in height, and divides into numerous spreading branches. The leaves stand
 upon short footstalks, are about three inches  long, and three quarters of an
 inch broad, elliptical, pointed at both ends, veined, minutely serrated, with
 the lower serratures and petioles glandular, and are of a bright green colour.
 The flowers are large,  of a pale red colour varying to white, with very short
 peduncles and petals longer than the calyx, and are usually placed in nume-
 rous pairs upon the branches.  The fruit is of the  peach kind, with the outer
 covering thin, tough, dry, and marked with a longitudinal furrow, where it
 opens when fully ripe.  Within this covering is  a rough shell, which con-
 tains the kernel or almond.
  There are several varieties of this  species of Amygdalus, differing chiefly
 in the size and shape of the fruit, the thickness of the shell, and the taste of
 the kernel.  The two most important  are  the  Amygdalus  {communis)
 dulcis, and the Amygdalus {communis) amara,  the former bearing sweet,
 the latter bitter almonds.   Another variety is  the fragilis of De Candolle,
 which yields the soft-shelled almonds.
  The almond  tree is a native of Persia, Syria,  and  Barbary, and  is very
 extensively cultivated in various parts of the South of Europe.   It has been
introduced into  the United States; but in the northern and middle  sections
the  fruit does not usually come to perfection.   We are supplied with sweet
almonds chiefly from Spain and the South of France. They are distinguished
into the soft-shelled and hard-shelled, the former of which come from Mar-
seilles and Bordeaux, the latter from  Malaga.   From the latter port they are
sometimes brought to us without the shell.   In British  commerce, the two
chief  varieties are the Jordan and Valentia almonds,  the former imported
from Malaga, the latter from Valentia.   The  former are longer, narrower,
more pointed, and more highly esteemed than the latter.  The bitter almonds
are  obtained chiefly from  Morocco, and are exported from Mogadore.
  Properties.   The shape and appearance of almonds are too well known
to require description.  Each kernel consists of two white cotyledons, en-
closed in a thin, yellowish  brown,  bitter  skin, which  is easily separable
after immersion in boiling water. When deprived of this covering, they are
called blanched almonds.  On exposure to the air they are  apt to become
rancid; but if thoroughly dried and kept in well closed glass vessels, they
may be  preserved unaltered for many years.  The two varieties require
each a separate notice.
                                 9* 
90           Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis.      part i.

  1. Amygdala Dulcis.  Sweet Almonds.  These,  when blanched, are
without smell, and have a sweet, very pleasant taste,  which  has  rendered
them a favourite article of diet in  almost all countries where they are readily
attainable.  They are, however,  generally considered of difficult digestion.
By the analysis of M. Boullay, it appears that they contain in 100 parts, 5
parts of pelhcle, 54 of fixed oil, 24 of albumen, 6 of uncrystallizable sugar,
3 of gum, 4 of fibrous matter, 3-5  of water, and 0-5 of acetic acid comprising
loss.  The albumen differs somewhat from ordinary vegetable albumen, and
has received the name of emulsin.  It may be obtained separate by treating
the emulsion of almonds with ether, allowing the mixture, after frequent
agitation, to stand until  a clear fluid  separates at the bottom  of the vessel,
drawing this  off by a syphon, adding alcohol to it so as to precipitate the
emulsin, then washing the precipitate with fresh alcohol, and drying it under
the receiver of an air-pump.  In  this state it  is a white powder, inodorous
and tasteless, soluble in water,  and insoluble  in ether  and  alcohol.  Its
solution coagulates at 212°.   Its distinguishing property is that of producing
certain changes hereafter to be noticed in amygdalin, which property it loses
when coagulated by heat.   {Thomson and  Richardson,  Am.  Journ. of
Pharm. x. 351, from  Athenaeum.)   It consists of carbon,  oxygen, hydro-
gen, and nitrogen, and  is  probably identical with the  principle  for which
Robiquet proposed the name of synaptase.  Thomson and Richardson sup-
pose,  from their  experiments, that it may be an amide.  (See  Althaea.)
The fixed oil, which may be obtained by expression, is colourless or slightly
tinged with yellow, sweet and bland  to the taste, and may be substituted for
olive oil in most of the economical uses to which the latter is  applied.  (See
Oleum  Amygdalae.)  Almonds,  when rubbed with water, form a milky
emulsion, the insoluble matters being suspended by the agency of the albu-
minous, mucilaginous, and saccharine principles.
  2. Amygdala Amara. Bitter  Almonds.   These  are smaller  than the
preceding variety.  They have  the  bitter  taste  of  the peach-kernel, and,
though in their natural state inodorous or nearly so, have, when  triturated
with water, the fragrance of the peach blossom.  They contain the same
ingredients as sweet almonds, and like them form  a  milky emulsion with
water.   It was formerly supposed that they also contained  hydrocyanic
acid and an essential oil, to which their peculiar taste and smell, and their
peculiar operation upon  the system were ascribed.  It has, however, been
ascertained by  MM. Robiquet and Boutron, that these  principles do not
pre-exist in the almond, but result from the reaction of water; and Wcihler
and Liebig have  proved, what was  suspected by Robiquet,  that they are
formed out of a substance of  peculiar properties,  denominated amygdalin,
which is the  characteristic constituent of  bitter almonds.  This substance,
which was discovered by Robiquet  and Boutron, is  white, crystallizable,
inodorous, of a sweetish bitter taste,  unalterable in the air, freely soluble in
water and hot alcohol, very slightly  soluble in cold  alcohol, and insoluble
in ether.  Its elementary constituents are carbon, hydrogen,  oxyo-en, and
nitrogen; and it is supposed to be an  amide; as, when  treated with an alkali,
it yields  ammonia and  a peculiar acid which has been named amygdalk
acid.   Liebig and Wcihler recommend the  following process  for procuring
it, in which the object of the fermentation is to destroy the sugar with which
it is associated.  Bitter almonds, previously  deprived of their fixed  oil by
pressure,  are to be boiled in successive portions of alcohol till they are ex-
hausted.  From the liquors thus obtained, all the alcohol is to be  drawn off
by distillation,  care being taken, near the end of the process,  not to expose
the syrupy residue to too great a heat.  This residue  is then to be  diluted 
part i.       Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis.            91

with water, mixed with good yeast, and placed in a warm situation.  After
the fermentation which ensues has ceased, the liquor is to be filtered, evapo-
rated to the consistence of syrup, and mixed with alcohol.   The amygdalin
is thus precipitated in connexion with a  portion of gum, from which it may
be  separated  by solution in boiling alcohol, which will deposite it upon
cooling.   If pure, it  will form a perfectly transparent solution with water.
Any oil which it may contain may be separated by washing it with ether.
One pound of almonds yielded at least 120 grains of amygdalin.   {Annalen
der Pharm. xxii. and xxiii. 329.)
   Amygdalin, when  mixed with an emulsion of sweet almonds, gives rise,
among other products,  to the volatile oil of bitter almonds and hydrocyanic
acid—the emulsin of the sweet almonds  acting the part of a ferment,  by
setting on foot a reaction between the amygdalin and  water; and  the same
result is obtained when pure emulsin is added to a solution of amygdalin.
It appears then that the volatile oil and hydrocyanic acid, developed in bit-
ter almonds when moistened, result from the mutual reaction of amygdalin,
water, and emulsin.  It is asserted that emulsin procured from other seeds,
as those of the poppy,  hemp, and mustard, is  capable of producing the
same reaction between water and amygdalin, though in a less degree than that
of the sweet or bitter almonds.  {Annal. der Pharm. xxviii. 290.)
   Bitter almonds yield their fixed oil by pressure;  and the essential oil,
impregnated with hydrocyanic acid, may be obtained from the residue  by
distillation with water.   This oil, usually called oil of bitter almonds, has
a bitter, acrid, burning taste, and  the peculiar odour of the kernel in a very
high degree.   It is  of a  yellowish colour, heavier than water, soluble in
alcohol and ether, slightly soluble in water, and deposites, upon standing, a
white crystalline substance,  which consists chiefly of benzoic acid.  It may
be entirely freed from hydrocyanic acid, by agitating it strongly with hydrate
of lime and a solution of chloride of iron, and submitting the mixture to dis-
tillation.  The oil comes over with the  water, from which it may be sepa-
rated in the usual manner.   Thus purified, it still retains its peculiar odour,
with a burning and aromatic  taste;  but, as proved by Dr. Giippert of Breslau,
is wholly destitute of those  poisonous properties which distinguish the  oil
in its original  state, and which depend on the presence of hydrocyanic acid.
The odour of the oil of bitter almonds has  been usually, but erroneously,
ascribed to this acid, which, on examination,  will be found to  smell very
differently.  The same remark is applicable to the essential oils of the cherry
laurel, of the bird cherry, and probably of other vegetables supposed to con-
tain hydrocyanic acid.   The benzoic  acid which the  oil of bitter almonds
deposites  upon  standing,  has been satisfactorily proved by Robiquet and
Boutron not to pre-exist in the oil, but to result from the absorption of oxy-
gen, and Wcihler and Liebig have rendered it  probable  that there exists a
radical in the oil, consistingof carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which, though
it has not yet been isolated, is a distinct substance, and constitutes the basis
of numerous compounds.   The oil is composed of this  radical, called ben-
zule, and hydrogen, with the former of which, oxygen when absorbed forms
benzoic acid, and with the latter, water.  The pure oil is therefore considered
a hydruret ofbenzv.le.
   The essential oil of bitter  almonds operates upon the system in a manner
closely analogous to that of hydrocyanic acid.  A single  drop is sufficient to
destroy a bird, and four drops have occasioned the death of a dog of  mid-
dle size.  The distilled water of bitter almonds  operates in a similar manner,
though less powerfully;  and the  almonds  themselves have proved delete-
rious when taken in  considerable  quantities.   Confectioners employ bitter 
'   $2           Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis.      part i.

   almonds for communicating flavour to the syrup of orgeat.   (See  Syrupus
   Amygdalae.) The kernel of the peach possesses similar properties, and is
   frequently used as a substitute.  The oil  of bitter almonds is  much used
   by the perfumers.
     Medical Properties and Uses.   Sweet almonds  exercise no other influ-
   ence upon the system than that of a demulcent.  The emulsion formed by
   triturating them with water is  a  pleasant vehicle for the administration of
   other medicines, and is  itself useful in cases  of catarrhal affection.  Bitter
   almonds are  more energetic, and, though not much in use, might undoubt-
   edly be employed with  advantage in cases to which the hydrocyanic acid is
   applicable.   An emulsion made with  them has been beneficially prescribed
   in pectoral affections attended with cough, and is said to have cured inter-
   mittents  when bark has failed. {Bergius, Mat. Med.)   It  probably ope-
   rates by  diminishing the excitability of the nervous  system, and moderating
   existing irritation.  Dr.  A. T. Thomson says  that he has found it extremely
   useful as a lotion in  acne rosea  and  in impetigo. Bitter almonds are said by
   Hufeland to have been successfully employed for the expulsion of the tape
   worm.   In some persons they  produce urticaria when taken in the smallest
   quantities.
     The oil of bitter almonds might probably  be substituted with advantage
   for the medicinal hydrocyanic acid; as the acid contained in the oil is much
   less  liable to decomposition, remaining for several years unaltered,  if the oil
   is preserved in  well stopped bottles.  According to Schrader, 100 parts of
   the oil contain sufficient acid for  the  production of 22-5 parts of Prussian
   blue.  From this fact it may be inferred, that the oil is about four times as
   strong as our officinal hydrocyanic  acid, and may therefore be given in the
   dose of from a quarter of a drop to a drop, to be  gradually and very cau-
   tiously increased till some effect upon the  system is observed.   It may be
   administered in emulsion with  gum Arabic, loaf sugar, and water.   It has
   been employed  externally, dissolved in  water in  the proportion of one
   drop to a fluidounce, in  prurigo senilis and other cases  of troublesome
   itching.  To facilitate  the solution  in  water, the  oil may be previously
   dissolved in spirit.
     Wcihler and Liebig propose, as  a substitute for cherry-laurel water, which
   owes its effects to the hydrocyanic acid it contains, but is objectionable from
   its unequal strength, an  extemporaneous mixture, consisting of 17 grains of
   amygdalin, and one  fluidounce  of an emulsion made with two drachms of
   sweet almonds, and a sufficient  quantity of water.   This mixture contains,
   according to the above named chemists, one grain of absolute hydrocyanic
   acid, and is equivalent to two fluidounces of fresh cherry-laurel water.   If
   it be found to answer in practice,  it will have the  great  advantage of cer-
   tainty in relation to the dose;  as amygdalin may be  kept any length of time
   unaltered.  If the calculation of Wcihler and Liebig  be  correct as  to  the
   quantity of acid it contains, not more than a  fluidrachm should be  given
   as a  commencing dose.
     Off. Prep,  of Sweet Almonds.  Confectio Amygdalae, Lond., Ed., Dub.;
   Mistura Acaciae, Ed., Dub.; Mistura Amygdalae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
   Mistura Camphorae, Ed.; Oleum Amygdalarum, Dub.: Svrunus Amv^-
   dalae, U.S.                                            syrupus aiuj3
     Off. Prep, of Bitter  Almonds.   Syrupus  Amygdalae,  U. S.      W. 
PART I.
Amygdalus Persica.
93
           AMYGDALUS PERSICA.  Folia.  Dub.

                          Peach Leaves.

  Pecher, Fr,; Pfirsichbaum, Germ.; Persico, Ital; Alberchigo, Span.
  Amygdalus.   See AMYGDALA.
  Amygdalus Persica.  Willd. Sp. Plant,  ii. 982; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
511. t. 184.—Persica vulgaris. Miller, Lamarck.   Everyone  is familiar
with the appearance of the common peach tree.  It is characterized speci-
fically by having " all the serratures of the leaves acute, and by its sessile
solitary flowers."   Though its native country is not certainly known, it is
generally supposed to  have been brought originally from Persia.  In no
country, perhaps, does it attain greater perfection,  as regards the character
of its fruit, than  in the  United States.
  Peaches  are among the most grateful and wholesome of  our summer
fruits.   They abound in  saccharine matter, which  renders their juice sus-
ceptible  of the vinous  fermentation; and a distilled liquor prepared from
them has been much used in some parts of the country under the name of
peach brandy.
  The kernels of the fruit bear a close resemblance in appearance and pro-
perties, and probably in chemical  nature, to bitter almonds, for which they
are frequently, and without inconvenience, substituted in our shops.  They
are employed by  distillers in the preparation of liqueurs, and by  cake-
bakers to give flavour to various productions  of their ovens;  and are said to
yield as much amygdalin as bitter almonds.
  The flowers, leaves,  and bark also have the peculiar odour and taste of
bitter almonds, and would  probably yield hydrocyanic acid.   The  leaves
afford a volatile oil by distillation.   These are the only part directed by the
Dublin College.
  Medical Properties,  fyc.  Peach leaves are said to be laxative; and they
probably exert, to a moderate extent, a sedative influence over the nervous
system.  They have been used as an anthelmintic  with great reported suc-
cess.  More recently their infusion has been recommended in irritability of
the bladder, in sick stomach,  and hooping-cough.   Half an ounce of the
dried leaves may be infused in a pint of boiling water, and half a fluidounce
given for a dose  three times a day, or more frequently.  Dr. Dougos gives,
in hooping-cough, a pint of the strong infusion, in small doses, in the course
of the day.  {Journ. de Pharm. xxiii. 356.)
  The flowers also are laxative; and a syrup  prepared from them  is consi-
derably used, in  infantile cases, upon the continent of Europe.   Woodville
states that a drachm of the dried  flowers, or half an ounce in their recent
state, given  in infusion, is the dose as a vermifuge.   Cases of fatal poison-
ing from their use in children are on record.
  The kernels have more of the  peculiar powers of hydrocyanic acid, and
therefore require to be used with some caution.   Blanched, and rubbed up
with hot water, they form an emulsion well adapted  to coughs depending
on or associated with nervous irritation.
  The dried fruit stewed  with sugar is an excellent laxative article of diet,
suitable to cases of convalescence attended with torpid bowels.        W. 
94
Amylum.
PART I.
                 AMYLUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Starch.

   " The fecula of the seeds of Triticum vulgare." U. S., Ed.  " Triticum
hybernum. Serninum Fsecula." Lond.
   Amidon, Fr.; Starkmehl, Germ.; Amido, Ital; Almidon, Span.
   Starch is a proximate vegetable principle contained in most plants, and
especially abundant in the various grains; such as wheat, rye, barley, oats,
rice, maize, &c; in other seeds, as peas, beans, chestnuts, acorns, &c; and
in numerous  tuberous roots, as those of the potato {Solanum tuberosum),
the sweet potato {Convolvulus Batatas), the arrow-root, the cassava plant,
and different species of Curcuma.  The  process  for obtaining it consists
essentially in reducing the substances in which it exists to a state of minute
division, agitating or washing them with cold water, straining or pouring off
the liquid, and allowing it to stand till the fine fecula which it holds in sus-
pension has  subsided.   This, when dried, is starch, more or less pure ac-
cording to the care taken in conducting the process.  The starch of com-
merce is procured chiefly from wheat, sometimes also from potatoes.   Our
space will not allow us to enter into details in relation to the particular steps
of the operation to which  these substances are subjected; and the omission
is of less consequence, as starch is never prepared by the apothecary.
   Starch is white, pulverulent, opaque, and as found in the  shops, is usually
in columnar masses, having a somewhat crystalline aspect, and producing a
peculiar sound when pressed between the fingers.  Its  specific gravity is
1-53.   When exposed to a moist air, it  absorbs  a considerable  quantity of
water, which may be driven off by a gentle heat.   It is insoluble in alcohol,
ether, and cold water; but unites with  boiling water, which, on cooling,
forms with it a soft semi-transparent paste, or a gelatinous  opaline solution,
according to the proportion of starch employed.  The paste, placed on folds
of blotting paper, renewed as  they become wet, abandons its water, con-
tracts, and assumes the appearance of horn.  If the proportion of starch be
very small, the solution after  slowly depositing a very minute  quantity of
insoluble matter, continues permanent, and upon being evaporated yields a
semi-transparent mass, which is partially soluble in cold water.   The starch
has, therefore, been modified by the  combined  agency of water and heat;
nor can it be restored to its original condition.   Exposed, in the dry state,
to a temperature somewhat above 212°, it undergoes, according to Caventou,
a similar modification; and a degree of heat sufficient to roast it slightly con-
verts it  into  a substance soluble in  cold  water, and applicable to the same
purposes as gum in the arts.   The same change in regard to solubility is, to
a certain extent, produced by mechanical means, as by trituration in a mor-
tar; and that the effect is not the result of heat evolved by friction, is evinced
by the fact that it takes place when the starch is triturated with water.   The
views now generally entertained in  relation to starch, by which the above
mentioned phenomena may be most conveniently explained, are those ori-
ginally  presented by Raspail, and subsequently  confirmed and extended by
Guibourt, Guerin, and others.   According to these views, starch consists
of organized granules, which, examined  by the microscope, appear to be of
various form and size.  These granules consist of a thin exterior pellicle or
tegument, and  of an interior  substance, the former  wholly insoluble, the
latter soluble in water.  The former  constitutes, according  to M. Pa'ven,
only 4 or 5 thousandths of the weight of starch.  In relation to the interior 
part i.                        Amy turn.                            95

portion different opinions  are entertained.  M. Guerin thinks that  it con-
sists of two distinct substances,  one soluble in cold water, the other soluble
at first in  boiling water but becoming insoluble by evaporation.   Thus,
when one part of starch is boiled for fifteen minutes in one hundred parts of
water, and the liquid is allowed to stand, a small portion, consisting of the
broken teguments, is gradually deposited.  If the solution be now filtered
and  evaporated, another portion is deposited  which cannot afterwards be
dissolved.   When wholly  deprived of  this portion and evaporated to dry-
ness, the solution yields the part soluble in cold water.   According to MM.
Payen and Persoz,  the interior portion of the globules consists  only of a
single substance, which  is  converted into  the two just  mentioned  by the
agency of water; and Thenard is inclined to the same opinion.   An  appro-
priate name for the  interior soluble portion of starch is amidin, which has
been adopted  by some chemists.  Starch, in its perfect state, is not affected
by cold water, because the  exterior insoluble tegument prevents the access
of the liquid to the interior portion; but when the  pellicle is broken  by the
agency of heat,  or by mechanical means, the fluid is admitted, and the starch
partially dissolved.*
   Iodine  forms with starch, whether in  its original state or in  solution, a
blue compound; and the tincture of iodine is the  most delicate test of its
presence  in any mixture.   The colour varies  somewhat according to the
proportions employed.   When the  two  substances are  about  equal, the
 compound is of a beautiful indigo blue; if the iodine is in excess, it is
 blackish-blue; if the starch, violet-blue.  A singular property of the iodide
 of starch is that its solution becomes  colourless if heated to about 200°, and
 afterwards recovers  its blue colour upon cooling.   By boiling, the colour is
 permanently lost.   Alkalies unite with starch, forming soluble compounds,
 which are decomposed by the  acids, the  starch being precipitated.   It is
 thrown down from its solution by lime-water and baryta water, forming in-
soluble compounds  with these  earths.   The solution of subacetate of lead
precipitates it in combination with the oxide of the metal.  Starch may be
made to unite with  tannin  by boiling their solutions together;  and  a com-
pound results, which, though retained  by the water while hot, is deposited
when it cools.  By  long boiling with diluted sulphuric or muriatic acid, it
is converted first into dextrine,} and ultimately into a saccharine  substance
similar to  the sugar  of grapes.  A similar conversion into dextrine and the
sugar of grapes is effected by means of a principle called diastase, discovered
by MM.  Payen and Persoz in the seeds of barley, oats, and wheat, after
germination.  (See Hordeum.)   Strong  muriatic and  nitric acids dissolve
it; and the latter, by the aid of heat,  converts it into oxalic and malic acids.
 Concentrated sulphuric acid decomposes it.  Mixed with hot water and ex-
posed to a temperature of 70 or 80°, it undergoes fermentation, which results
in the formation of several distinct  principles, among which are sugar, a
gummy substance (perhaps dextrine), and a modification of starch which De
 Saussure called amidine.
   The tegumentary portion of starch, for which the  name of amylin has
been  proposed, when entirely freed from the  interior soluble  matter,  is
wholly insoluble in water  even by prolonged boiling, is insoluble in alcohol,

   * See Am. Journ. of Pharm. xi. 265, for an  intere%ting paper by Wm. Procter, Jun., on
the various opinions in  relation to the nature of starch.
   t Dextrine is a substance resembling gum  in appearance  and properties, but differing
 from it in not affording mucic acid by the action of nitric acid.  It is largely dissolved by
water, hot or cold, and forms a mucilaginous solution, from which it is precipitated by
alcohol. This fluid has no action on dextrine. 
96                    Amylum.—Anethum.                 part i.

and suffers no change by the action of iodine or diastase.   The acids, how-
ever,  act upon it as they do upon starch.   It approaches nearer in properties
to lignin than any other principle.
   Starch, as obtained from different substances, is somewhat different in its
characters.   Wheat  starch, when examined by  a microscope, is found
to consist of granules of various sizes, usually rounded, but uneven upon the
surface, and  mixed with loose integuments, resulting from  the  process of
grinding.  It has also a certain  degree of hardness and adhesiveness, owing,
according to Guibourt, to the  escape of a portion of the interior substance
of the broken granules, which  attracts  some moisture from the air, and thus
becoming glutinous, acts as a bond between  those which remain unbroken.
Another opinion attributes this  peculiar consistence to. the retention of a por-
tion of the gluten of the wheat flour, which causes the granules to cohere.
Potato starch is employed in various forms, being prepared so as to imitate
more  costly  amylaceous substances, such as  arrow-root and sago.  In its
ordinary  state, it is more pulverulent than wheat starch, and may be distin-
guished,  with the aid of the microscope, by the size of its granules, which,
according to Raspail, are larger than those of any other known fecula. They
are exceedingly diversified in  size and shape, though their regular form is
thought to be ovate.   They are characterized  by concentric rings or rugae,
which are most readily distinguishable in the fresh starch, and are  said by
Raspail to disappear upon desiccation.   The characters  of other kinds of
fecula will be given under the heads  of the several officinal substances of
which they constitute the whole or a part.
   Starch consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen—its formula, from what-
ever source  it may be derived,  being, according  to the latest  opinions,
^ 12 H 10^10 •
   Medical Properties, fyc.  Starch is nutritive and demulcent, but in its
ordinary  form is  seldom  administered  internally.   Powdered and dusted
upon the skin, it is sometimes  used to absorb irritating secretions, and pre-
vent excoriation.   Dissolved in hot water and  allowed  to  cool, it is often
employed in  enemala, either as a vehicle of other substances, or as a de-
mulcent application in irritated states of the rectum.  It may be used as an
antidote to iodine taken in poisonous quantities.
   Off. Prep. Decoctum Amyli, Lond.; Enema Opii vel Anodynum, Ed;
Mucilago Amyli, Ed., Dub.; Pulvis Tragaeanthae Comp., Lond. Ed.;
Trochisci Acaciae, Ed.                                            W.

                    ANETHUM. Lond., Ed.
                             Dill Seeds.

   " Anethum graveolens. Fructus." Lond.   " Fruit of Anethum  ffraveo-
lens." Ed.                                                      B
   Aneth a. odeur forte, Fr.; Dill, Germ.; Aneto, Ital;  Eneldo, Span.
   Anethum.  Sex.  Syst. Pentandria  Digyma.—Nat. Ord. Umbellifera
or Apiaceae.
   Gen. Ch.   Fruit nearly ovate,  compressed, striated.  Petals involuted,
entire. Willd.
   Anethum graveolens.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1469; Woodv. Med. Bot.y.
125. t. 48.  Dill  is  an annual, plant,  three  or four feet high, with a long
spindleshaped root;  an erect, striated, jointed, branching stem; and bipin-
nate or tnpinnate, glaucous leaves, which stand on sheathino- footstalks, and
have linear and pointed leaflets.  The flowers are yellow, and in large flat,
terminal  umbels,  destitute of  involucre.  The plant is a native of Spain, 
PART I.
Anethum.—Angelica.
97
Portugal, and the  South of France; and is found growing wild in various
parts of  Africa and Asia.  It  is cultivated in all the countries of Europe,
and has been introduced into  our gardens.   The seeds, as the fruit is com-
monly called, are the only  part used.   They are usually rather more than
a line in  length, and less than a line in breadth, of an oval shape, thin, con-
cave on  one side, convex and striated  on the other, of a brown colour,  and
surrounded by a yellowish  membranous expansion.   Their smell is strong
and aromatic, but less agreeable than that of fennel-seed; their taste, mode-
rately warm and pungent.   These properties depend  on a volatile oil, which
may be obtained separate by distillation.  It is of a pale yellow colour, and
of the sp. gr. 0-881.   The bruised seeds impart their virtues to alcohol  and
to boiling water.
   Medical Properties.  Dill  seeds have the properties common to the  aro-
matics, but are very seldom used in this country.  They may be  given in
powder or infusion.   The dose is from fifteen grains to a drachm.
   Off. Prep.—Aqua Anethi,  Lond., Ed.; Oleum Anethi, Ed.         W.

                 ANGELICA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                              Angelica.

   " The root and herb of Angelica atropurpurea." U.  S.
   Angelica.   Sex. Syst.  Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Apiaceae or
 Umbelliferae.
   Gen. Ch.   Fruit  elliptic,  compressed,  somewhat  solid  and corticate,
ridges three,  dorsal acute, intervals grooved, margin  alated.  General invo-
lucre none. {Sprengel.)  Umbel large, many-rayed,  spreading;  umbellet
dense, subhemispheric;  involucell about eight-leaved.   Calyx five-toothed.
Petals inflected. Nuttall.
   Angelica atropurpurea.  Willd. Sp. Plant,  i. 1430.  This indigenous
species of Angelica, sometimes called masterwort, has  a perennial purplish
root, and a smooth herbaceous stem, the dark colour of which has given  rise
to the specific name of the plant.  The leaves are ternate, and supported by
very large inflated petioles.   The partitions of the leaf are nearly quinate,
with ovate, acute, deeply serrate, somewhat lobed  leaflets, of which  the
three terminal are confluent.  The flowers are greenish-white.
   The purple angelica extends throughout the United  States from Canada
to Carolina,  growing in meadows and marshy woods, and flowering in
June and July.  It is smaller  than the  A. Archangelica, with a less succu-
lent stem.  The whole  plant is officinal.   It has a strong odour, and a
warm aromatic taste.  The juice of the recent root is  acrid, and is said to
be poisonous;  but the acrimony is dissipated by drying.
  Medical Properties, fyc.  The medical virtues of the plant are similar to
those of the garden Angelica of Europe, for which it has been proposed as
a substitute.   It is, however, little employed.  An infusion is occasionally
used in flatulent colic; and we  are told that the stems are sometimes candied
by the country people.                                          W.
10 
98
Angelica Archangelica.
PART I.
      ANGELICA ARCHANGELICA. Semina. Dub.

                    Seeds of Garden Angelica.


                        ANGELICA. Ed.

                    Hoot of Garden Angelica.

   " Root of Angelica Archangelica." Ed.
   Angelique, Fr.; Engelwnrzel, Germ.; Arcangelica, Ital; Angelica, Span.
   Angelica.  See ANGELICA. U.S.
   Angelica Archangelica.   Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1428; Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 86. t.  35.—Archangelica officinalis. Hoch, De Cand. &c.  Garden an-
gelica has a long, thick, fleshy, biennial root, furnished with many fibres,
and sending up annually a hollow, jointed, round, channeled, smooth, pur-
plish stem, which rises five feet or more in height, and divides  into nume-
rous branches.   The leaves, which  stand upon  round fistulous footstalks,
are very large, doubly pinnate, with ovate lanceolate, pointed, acutely serrate
leaflets, of M'hich the terminal one is three-lobed.   The flowers are small,
greenish-white, and disposed in very large, many-rayed, terminal umbels,
composed of numerous dense, hemispherical umbellets.
   This plant is a native of the North of Europe, and is found in  the high,
mountainous regions in the southern section of  that continent,  as in Swit-
zerland and  among the  Pyrennees.  It has  become an object of culture in
various parts of Europe, and may be occasionally met with in the gardens
of this country.   It flowers  during the summer.  The whole plant has a
fragrant odour,  and possesses  aromatic properties; but the'root  and  fruit
only are officinal.
   1. The root should be dug up in the autumn of the first year, as  it is then
less liable to become mouldy and worm-eaten than when  taken  from the
ground in the spring.  It is spindle-shaped, an inch or more in thickness at
its  upper extremity, and beset with numerous  long descending  radicles.
The fresh root has a yellowish-gray epidermis, a fleshy yellow parenchyma,
and when wounded  yields a honey-coloured juice, which  has all the aro-
matic properties of the plant.   The dried root is  grayish-brown and much
wrinkled externally, whitish and  spongy within, breaking with a starchy
fracture, exhibiting shining resinous points.  It is very apt to be attacked by
worms;  and is said to keep best, in  the  state of powder, in full  and  well
closed vessels.  The smell is strong and fragrant, the  taste at first sweetish,
afterwards warm, aromatic, bitterish, and somewhat  musky.   These pro-
perties are extracted by alcohol, and less perfectly bv water.   The  con-
stituents of the  root, according to John, are an  essential oil, gum, inulin,
bitter extractive an acrid resin, lignin, and a peculiar principle soluble only
in a solution of potassa.   Five hundred parts yield  by distillation nearly
four parts of volatile oil.                                            '
   2. The seeds, as the fruit is commonly called, are two or three lines long,
oval, obtuse or somewhat notched  at the ends, flat, and  marked with a
longitudinal furrow on one side, convex with three angular ridges on the

   tr' M  vUlllt7]ret' and  huVG lhe Same Sme11  and taste as the
root.  M. ree says that they keep well.
   Medical Properties   Angelica is an elegant aromatic tonic; but is  little
employed in the United  States.   The Laplanders, in  whose  country it 
part r.        Angelica Archangelica.—Angustura.            99

flourishes, are said  to esteem it highly as a condiment and medicine.  In
Europe, the stems are frequently made into a preserve, and used in desserts
in order to excite the stomach.  The dose of the root or seeds is from thirty
grains to a drachm.
   Off. Prep.—Spiritus Anisi Compositus,  Dub.                    "W.  •

                      ANGUSTURA.  U.S.

                         Angustura Bark.

   " The bark of Galipea officinalis. Hancock." U. S.
   Off. Syn.  CUSP ARIA.   Galipea Cusparia.   Cortex.  Lond.;  CUS-
PARIA.  Bark of  Galipea officinalis, Ed.; ANGUSTURA.  BON-
PLANDIA  TRIFOLIATA. Cortex.  Dub.
   Angusture,  Fr.; Angusturarinde, Germ.; Corteccia dell' Angustura, Ital;  Corteza de
Angostura, Span.
   The subject of Angustura bark, in  its botanical  relations, has  been in-
volved in  some confusion.   The drug was at first supposed to be derived
from a species of Magnolia, and  in Europe was referred by  some to the
Magnolia glauca of this country.  Humboldt and Bonpland were the first
to enlighten the medical public as  to its true source; though the name which
it bore was  sufficient to indicate the neighbourhood of its growth.  These
gentlemen, when at Angustura,  a South American city upon the banks of the
Orinoco, received specimens of the foliage of the plant from which the bark
was obtained; and afterwards believed that they had found the same plant
in a tree growing  in the vicinity of Cumana.  This latter they had the
opportunity  of personally inspecting, and were therefore enabled to describe
accurately.   Unable to attach it to any known genus, they erected it into a
new one, with the title of Cusparia, a name of Indian origin, to which they
added  the specific  appellation  of febrifuga.   On  the authority  of these
botanists,  the Cusparia febrifuga was generally believed to  be  the true
source of the medicine, and was recognised as such by the London College.
A specimen  having in  the mean time been sent  by them to Willdenow, the
name of  Bonplandia was imposed on the new genus by that celebrated
botanist;  and was subsequently adopted by Humboldt and Bonpland  them-
selves, in their great work on equinoctial plants.   Hence the title of Bon-
plandia trifoliata, by which the  tree is described in many works of Materia
Medica.   De Candolle, however, having found in the description all the
characters of the genus Galipea of Aublet, has rejected both these titles, and
proposes to  substitute that of Galipea Cusparia, which  has been adopted
by the London College in the last edition of their Pharmacopoeia.  After all
these  commutations, however, it appears from  the researches of Dr. Han-
cock, who resided for several months in the country of the Angustura bark
tree, that the plant described  by  Humboldt and  Bonpland is not that which
yields the medicine, but probably another species of the same genus, which
these authors had mistaken for it, having been led into  error by the imper-
fect specimens which they received.*   Among other striking differences in
the two plants, is that of their size; the tree described by Humboldt and
Bonpland being of great magnitude, attaining the height of sixty or eighty
feet, while that from which the bark is obtained is never higher  than twenty
feet.  Hancock proposes for the latter the title of Galipea officinalis, which
has been adopted in the United States and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias.
  Galipea.   Sex. Syst.  Diandria Monogynia.—Nat.  Ord. Rutaceae.

  * See  a paper by John Hancock, M.D., in the Transactions of the London Medico-
Botanical Society. 
100
Angustura.
PART I.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla inferior, irregular, four or five cleft, hypocrateriform.
 Stamens  four; two sterile.  Loudon's Encyc.
   Galipea officinalis. Hancock, Trans. Lond. Medico-Bot. Soc.  This is
 a small tree, irregularly branched, rising to the medium height of twelve or
 fifteen feet, with an erect stem from three to five inches in diameter, and
 covered with a smooth gray bark.  The leaves  are  alternate, petiolate, and
 composed of three leaflets, which are oblong, pointed at each extremity, from
 six to ten inches  in length, from two to four in breadth, and supported upon
 the common petiole by short leafstalks.   They are very smooth and glossy,
 of a vivid green colour, marked occasionally with small whitish round spots,
 and, when fresh, of a strong odour resembling that of tobacco.  The flowers
 are numerous, white, arranged in axillary and terminal, peduncled racemes,
 and exhale a peculiar unpleasant odour.  The fruit consists of five bivalve
 capsules,  of which two or three are commonly abortive.   The seeds, two
 of which are contained in each capsule, one often abortive, are round, black,
 and of the size of a pea.
   This tree grows in great  abundance on the mountains of Carony, situated
between the 7th  and  8th degrees of N. latitude; and is well known in the
missions of Tumeremo, Uri, Alta Gracia, and  Cupapui, near the Orinoco,
upwards of two hundred miles from the ocean.   It  flourishes at  the height
of from six hundred  to one thousand feet above the level of the sea.  Its
elegant white blossoms, which appear in vast profusion in August and Sep-
tember, add greatly to the beauty of the scenery.
   The bark is generally brought  from  the West India ports packed in casks;
but, according to Mr. Brande, the original package, formed in Angustura or
its neighbourhood, consists of the leaves of a species of palm, surrounded
by a network made of sticks.
   Properties.  The pieces  are of various lengths, for the most part slightly
 curved, rarely quilled, sometimes nearly flat, from half a line to a line or
more in  thickness, pared  away towards  the  edges, covered  externally
with a light yellowish-gray or whitish wrinkled  epidermis, easily scraped
by the nail, and internally of a yellowish-fawn colour.  They are very
fragile, breaking with a short resinous fracture, and yield, on  being pul-
verized, a pale yellow powder;  but  when  macerated for a short time in
 water, they become soft and tenacious,  and may be cut into strips with
 scissors.   The smell of Angustura bark is peculiar and  disagreeable when
fresh, but becomes fainter with age; the taste is  bitter and slightly aromatic,
leaving a sense of pungency at the end of the tongue.  According to Fischer,
 it contains volatile oil, bitter extractive, a hard and bitter resin, a soft resin,
 a substance analogous to caoutchouc,  gum,  lignin, and various salts.    The
 volatile oil, which may be obtained by distillation with water,  is  of a light-
 yellowish colour, lighter than water,  of an  acrid taste, and of the odour of
 the bark.   The active principles are probably the volatile oil, bitter extrac-
 tive, and bitter resin.  The bark imparts its virtues to water and alcohol.*
   Dr. A.  T. Thomson states that precipitates are produced with  the infu-
 sion by the solutions of sulphate of iron, tartrate of antimony and potassa,

  * In the  Journal  de Pkarmacie, torn. xxii. p. 662, we find a notice extracted from the
 Jahresbericht for 1835, in which it is stated, that when an infusiou of Angustura bark is
 treated with absolute alcohol, at  the common temperature, and allowed to evaporate spon-
 taneously, tetrahedral crystals of peculiar substance are  deposited, which Saladin, its dis-
 coverer, proposes to call cusparin.   This principle is strictly neutral,  fusible at a gentle
 heat, by which it loses 23-09 per cent, of its weight, soluble in 200 parts of cold, and 100
 parts of boiling water, soluble in the concentrated acids and in the alkalies, and precipi-
 tated by the infusion of galls. 
PART I.
Angustura.
101
sulphate of copper, acetate and subacetate of lead, bichloride of mercury,
nitrate of silver, and pure potassa; by nitric and sulphuric acids; and by trie
infusions of galls and yellow cinchona;  but how far these substances are
medicinally incompatible with the bark, it would be difficult in the present
state of our knowledge to determine.
   False Angustura.   Under this  title, the European writers  on  Materia
Medica describe a bark which has been  introduced on the continent mixed
with the true Angustura bark, and which, possessing poisonous properties,
has in some instances produced unpleasant effects when  prescribed by mis-
take for that medicine.  It is distinguished by its greater thickness, hardness,
weight, and compactness;  by its resinous fracture;  by the appearance of its
epidermis, which  is sometimes  covered with a ferruginous  efflorescence,
sometimes is yellowish-gray, and marked with prominent white spots;  by
the brownish colour and smoothness of its internal surface,  which is not,
like that of the genuine bark, separable  into laminae; by the white slightly
yellow powder which  it yields;  by  its total want of odour, and its intense
tenacious bitterness.   When steeped in  water, it does not become soft like
the true Angustura.  Analyzed by Pelletier and Caventou, it was found to
contain a peculiar alkaline principle which they called brucia, and upon
which its poisonous operation depends.   Of this alkali we shall have occa-
sion to speak in another place. (See Nux Vomica.)  In consequence of its
presence, a drop of nitric acid upon the internal surface of the bark produces
a deep blood-red spot.   The  same acid  applied to  the  external surface
renders it emerald-green.  In the true Angustura bark, a dull red colour is
produced by the acid on both surfaces.   The false Angustura was at first
supposed to be derived from the Brucea antidysenterica;  and was afterwards
referred to some unknown species of Strychnos, in consequence of contain-
ing brucia, which is a characteristic ingredient of this genus of plants.   At
present, it is generally believed  to  be  derived from the  Strychnos Nux
vomica, the bark of which,  according to Dr. O'Shaughnessy, exactly cor-
responds with the description given  by authors of the false Angustura, and
like it contains  brucia.   Very little of the false Angustura  bark reaches the
United States.   The only specimens we have ever seen,  are some which
have been sent hither from Europe as objects of curiosity.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Angustura bark had been long used by the
natives of the country where it grows, before it became known  in Europe.
From the continent its employment extended to the West Indies, where it
acquired considerable reputation.  It was first taken to  Europe about fifty
years since, and attracted particular attention among the English physicians.
It is now ranked among the officinal  remedies throughout Europe and Ame-
rica; but has not sustained the estimation  in which it was at  first held; and in
the United States is not much prescribed.   Its operation is that of a stimu-
lant tonic.  In large doses it also evacuates the stomach  and bowels, and is
often  employed for this purpose in South America.  It was at one  time
considerably used as a  febrifuge in the place of  Peruvian bark; but has not
been found generally successful in the  intermittents of northern latitudes.
It is said to be particularly efficacious in bilious diarrhoeas  and dysenteries;
and has been recommended in  dyspepsia,  and other  diseases in which a
tonic treatment is demanded.  The testimony, however, of practitioners in
Europe and the United States,  is not strongly in its favour;  and it is pro-
bably better adapted to tropical diseases, than to those of temperate climates.
Hancock employed it very extensively in the  malignant bilious intermittent
fevers, dysenteries, and dropsies of Angustura and Demarara; and speaks in
the strongest terms of its efficacy in  these complaints.  The form in which
                                 10* 
102
Angustura.—Anisum.
PART I.
he used it was that of fermented infusion,  as recommended by the native
practitioners.  It has  this advantage over Peruvian bark, that it is less apt
to oppress the stomach.
   It may be given in  powder, infusion, tincture, or extract.  The dose in
substance is from ten  to thirty grains.  In larger quantities it is apt to pro-
duce nausea.  From five to fifteen grains is the dose of the extract, which,
however, according to Dr. Hancock, is inferior to the powder or infusion.
To obviate nausea, it is frequently combined with aromatics.
   Off. Prep.  Infusum Angusturae, U. S., Lond., Ed.;  Tinctura Angus-
turae, Dub., Ed.                                                 W-

               ANISUM. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                                Anise.

   " The fruit of Pimpinella Anisum."   U. S., Ed. " Pimpinella Anisum.
Fructus."  Lond.  "  Pimpinella Anisum. Semina."  Dub.
   Graines d'anis, Fr.; Anissame, Germ.; Semi d'aniso, Ital;  Simiente de anis, Span.;
Anison, Arab.
   Pimpinella.  Sex.  Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Apiaceae or
Umbelliferae.
   Gen. Ch.  Fruit ovate-oblong.  Petals inferior.  Stigma nearly globu-
lar.   Willd.
   Pimpinella Anisum. Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 1473; Woodv.  Med. Bot. p,
135. t. 52.  This  is  an annual plant, about a foot in  height, with an erect,
smooth, and branching stem.  The leaves are petiolate, the lower roundish-
cordate, lobed,  incised-serrate,  the middle  pinnate-lobed with  cuneate or
lanceolate lobes, the upper trifid, undivided, linear. The flowers are white,
and in terminal  compound umbels, destitute of involucres.
   The anise plant is  a native of Egypt and the Levant, but has been intro-
duced into  the  South of  Europe, and is cultivated in various parts of that
continent.   It is also cultivated  occasionally in the gardens of this country.
The fruit  is abundantly produced in  Malta and  Spain.  The  Spanish is
smaller than the German  or French, and is usually preferred.
   Anise seeds  (botanically fruit) are about a line in length, oval, striated,
somewhat downy, attached  to  their footstalks, and  of a greenish-brown
colour, with a shade of yellow.   Their odour is fragrant and increased by
friction;  their taste warm, sweet, and  aromatic.   These properties, which
depend upon a peculiar volatile  oil, are imparted sparingly to boiling water,
freely to alcohol.   The volatile  oil exists  in the envelope of the seeds, and
is  obtained separate  by distillation.  (See  Oleum Anisi.)  Their internal
substance contains a  bland fixed oil.   By expression, a greenish oil is ob-
tained, which is a mixture  of  the two.   The seeds are sometimes adul-
terated with small fragments of  argillaceous earth; and their aromatic quali-
ties are  occasionally  impaired,  in consequence  of a slight fermentation,
 which they are apt to undergo in the mass, when  collected before maturity.
   The Star aniseed, the badiane of the French writers, though analogous
 in sensible  properties to  the common aniseed, is derived from a different
 plant, being the fruit of the Illicium anisatum, an evergreen tree growing
 in China, Japan, and Tartary. The fruit consists of from five to ten brown-
 ish ligneous capsules, four or five lines long, united together in the form of
 a star, each containing a brown  shining seed.  It is much used in France to
 flavour liquors, and the volatile oil upon which its aromatic properties depend
 is imported into this  country from the East Indies, and sold as common oil
 of aniseed, to which, however, it is much superior.  {Togno and Durand.) 
PART I.
Anisum.—Anthemis.
103
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Anise is a grateful aromatic carminative;
and like several other  seeds of a similar character, is supposed to have the
property of increasing the secretion of milk.  It has been in use from the
earliest times.   In Europe it is much employed in flatulent colic, and as a
corrigent of griping or unpleasant medicines; but in this country fennel-
seed is usually preferred.  Anise may be  given bruised, or in powder, in
the dose of twenty or thirty grains or more.  The infusion is less efficient.
The volatile oil may be substituted for the seeds  in substance.  Much use
is made of this aromatic for imparting flavour to liquors.
   Off. Prep.  Oleum Anisi, U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Spiritus Anisi, Lond.
                                                               W.


                ANTHEMIS. U.S.,  Lond., Ed.

                            Chamomile.

  " The flowers of Anthemis nobilis."  U. S.   " Anthemis nobilis. Flores
simplices." Lond.  " Simple flowers of Anthemis nobilis." Ed.
   Off\ Syn. CHAMiEMELUM.  ANTHEMIS  NOBILIS.  Flores. Dub.
  Camomille Romaine, Fr.; Romische Kamille, Germ.; Camomilla Romana, Ital; Man-
zanilla Romana, Span.
  Anthemis.  Sex. Syst.  Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord. Compositae
Senecionideae. De Cand.  Asteraceae. Lindley.
   Gen. Ch. Receptacle chaffy.  Seed down none or a membranaceous mar-
gin.  Calyx hemispherical, nearly equal. Florets of the ray more than five.
Willd.   '
   Several species of Anthemis have been  employed in medicine.  The A.
nobilis, which is the  subject of the present article, is by far the most im-
portant.   The A. Cotula or May-weed is also recognised by the U. S. Phar-
macopoeia. (See Cotula.)  The A. Pyrethrum, which affords the pellitory
root, is among the officinal plants.  (See Pyrethrum.)   The A. arvensis, a
native of this country and of Europe, bear's flowers which have an acrid
bitter taste, and possess medical properties analogous though much inferior
to those of the  common chamomile, for which they are  said  to  be some-
times substituted in Germany.   They may be distinguished by their want
of smell.  The A. tinctoria is occasionally employed as a tonic and vermi-
fuge in Europe.
  Anthemis nobilis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2180; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 47.
t. 19.  This is  an herbaceous plant with a perennial root.  The stems are
from six inches to a foot long, round, slender, downy, trailing, and divided
into branches, which turn upwards at their extremities.   The leaves are bi-
pinnate, the leaflets  small, thread-like, somewhat  pubescent, acute, and
generally divided into three segments.  The flowers are solitary, with a yel-
low convex disk, and white rays.  The calyx is common to all the florets,
of a hemispherical form, and  composed of several  small imbricated hairy
scales.  The  receptacle is convex, prominent,  and furnished with rigid
bristle-like paleae.  The florets of the ray are numerous, narrow,  and termi-
nated with three small teeth.  The whole herb has  a peculiar fragrant odour,
and a bitter aromatic taste.  The flowers only are officinal.
  This plant is a native of Europe, and  grows wild in  all the temperate
parts of that continent.  It is also largely cultivated for medicinal purposes.
In France, Germany, and Italy,  it is  generally known by the name of
Roman chamomile.  The flowers become double by cultivation, and in this
state are usually preferred; though, as the sensible properties are found in 
104
Anthemis.
PART I.
 the greatest  degree in the disk, which is not fully developed in the double
 flowers, the  single are the most powerful, and are exclusively directed by
 the London and  Edinburgh Colleges.  It is rather, however, in aromatic
 flavour, than in bitterness, that  the radial florets are  surpassed by those of
 the disk.  If not well and quickly dried, the flowers lose  their beautiful
 white colour, and are less efficient as a medicine.  Those which are whitest
 should be preferred.
   Though not a native of America, chamomile grows wild in some parts of
 this country, and is occasionally cultivated in our gardens for  family use, the
 whole herb being employed.   The medicine, as found in our shops, con-
 sists chiefly  of the double flowers, and is imported from Germany and Eng-
 land.   From the  former country are  also  occasionally imported, under the
 name of chamomile, the flowers of the Matricaria Chamomilla, a plant be-
 longing to the same family with the Anthemis, and closely allied to it in sen-
 sible as well as medicinal properties.  (See Matricaria.)
   Properties.  Chamomile flowers, as usually found in the shops, are large,
 almost spherical, of  a dull-white colour, a fragrant odour, and a warmish,
 bitter, aromatic taste.  When fresh, their  smell is much stronger, and was
 fancied by the ancients to resemble that of the apple.   Hence the name cha-
 meemelum;  and it is somewhat singular that the Spanish name manzanilla
 has a similar signification.*  The flowers impart their odour and taste to
,both water and  alcohol, the former of which, at the boiling temperature, ex-
 tracts nearly one-fourth of their weight.   They have not been accurately
 analyzed, but are knowu to contain a volatile oil, a bitter extractive matter,
 resin and a small quantity of tannin.   The first two are probably their active
 ingredients.   (See Oleum Anthemidis.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Chamomile is a mild tonic, in small doses
 acceptable and corroborant to the stomach, in larger quantities capable of
 acting as an emetic.   In cold infusion it is often advantageously used in cases
 of enfeebled  digestion, whether  occurring as  an original affection, or conse-
 quent upon some acute disease.   It is especially applicable to that condition
 of general debility with languid appetite, which often  attends convalescence
 from idiopathic fevers.  As a febrifuge, it has also acquired much reputation,
 being frequently prescribed in  remittents, when  the subsidence of action
 between  the  paroxysms is so considerable as to demand the use  of tonics,
 but is not sufficiently complete to admit of a resort to Peruvian bark or its
 preparations.  Chamomile  in  substance has,  in  some  instances, proved
 effectual in the treatment of intermittents; but we have so many other reme-
 dies more efficient in these cases, that it is now seldom if ever employed.
 The  tepid infusion is very often given to promote the operation  of emetic
 medicines, or to assist the stomach in relieving itself when oppressed by its
 contents.  The flowers are  sometimes applied externally as fomentations
 in cases of irritation or inflammation of the  abdominal  viscera, and as gentle
 incitants  in  flabby, ill-conditioned ulcers.   The  dose of the powder as a
 tonic is from half a drachm to a drachm  three or four times a day, or more
 frequently, according to the end proposed.   The infusion  is  usually pre-
 ferred.   The decoction and extract cannot exert  the  full influence of the
 medicine, as  the volatile oil, upon which its virtues partly depend, is driven
 off at the boiling temperature.
   Off.  Prep.  Decoctum  Chamaemeli  Comp., Dub.;  Decoctum  Malvae
 Comp., Lond.; Extractum Anthemidis, Ed., Dub.;  Infusum Anthemidis,
 U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Oleum Anthemidis, Lond., Ed.          W.

   * Chamoemelum from xat*ai on die ground, and /adXo'v an apple.  Manzanilla signifies
 a little apple. 
PART I.
Antimonium.
105
                        ANTIMONIUM.

                            Antimony.

  Stibium, Lat.; Antimoine, Fr.; Antimon, Spiessglas, Germ.; Antimonio, Span., Ital.
  Antimony, in the metallic state sometimes  called regulus of antimony,
is not officinal in the British or United States Pharmacopoeias; but as it en-
ters into the  composition of a number of important pharmaceutical prepa-
rations, we have thought it  proper to notice it under a distinct head.
  Antimony exists in nature, 1. as metallic antimony; 2. as an oxide; 3. as
a sulphuret;  and 4. as  a sulphuretted oxide.  It  is found principally in
France and Germany.
  Extraction.   All the  antimony of commerce is extracted from the native
sulphuret, which is by far the most abundant ore of this metal.  The ore is
first  separated from its gangue by fusion.  It is then reduced to  powder,
and placed on the floor of a reverberatory furnace;  where it is subjected to
a gentle heat, being constantly stirred about with  an iron rake.   The heat
should not be sufficient to cause fusion.  This process of roasting is known
to be completed, when the  matter is reduced to the state of a  dull  grayish-
white powder, called antimony ash.  By this treatment the antimony is ses-
quioxidized, and nearly all  the sulphur dissipated in the form of sulphurous
acid gas:  a little sulphuret,  however, remains undecomposed.   The matter
is then mixed either with tartar, or with  charcoal impregnated with a con-
centrated  solution  of carbonate of soda, and the mixture heated in crucibles,
placed in  a melting furnace.  The charcoal reduces the sesquioxide of anti-
mony, while the alkali unites with the undecomposed sulphuret, and forms
with it melted scoriae, which cover the reduced metal and diminish its loss
by volatilization.  The  metal obtained is then purified by a second fusion.
  Antimony is imported into the United  States  principally from France,
packed in casks.   A portion is  also shipped from  Trieste, from Holland,
and occasionally from Cadiz.  The Spanish antimony is generally in the
form of pigs; the French, in circular cakes of about ten inches in diameter,
flat on one side and convex on the other;  and the English, in cones.  The
French is  most esteemed.
  Properties, 8fc.   The time of the discovery of antimony is not known;
but Basil Valentine was the first  to describe the method of obtaining it, in
his work  entitled Currus Triumphalis Antimonii, published towards the
end of the fifteenth century.  It is  a brittle, brilliant metal, ordinarily of a
lamellated texture, of a silver-white colour when pure, but bluish-white as
it occurs in commerce.  When rubbed between the fingers, it imparts a sen-
sible  odour.   Its sp. gr. is  6-7, and its fusing point  810°, or about a red
heat.   On cooling after fusion, it assumes a crystalline structure, and an
appearance on the  surface bearing some resemblance to a fern leaf.  When
strongly heated it burns with the emission of white vapours,  consisting of
sesquioxide, formerly called argentine flowers of antimony.   A small por-
tion  being fused, and then  thrown  from a moderate height upon a table,
divides into numerous globules, which  burn rapidly as they  move along.
It forms three combinations with oxygen;  one oxide—sesquioxide of anti-
mony, and two  acids—antimonious and antimonic acids.   Its equivalent
number is  64-6;  and the sesquioxide contains one and a half, antimonious
acid two, and antimonic acid two and a half equiv. of oxygen.  The ses-
quioxide will  be noticed under  the head of Antimonii  Oxidum.  An- 
106          Antimonium.—Antimonii Sulphuretum.      part r.

timonic acid is  a lemon-coloured powder, which may be prepared by
oxidizing the metal by digestion in nitric acid, and then driving off the
excess of nitric acid by a heat not exceeding 600°.  When exposed to a red
heat, it parts with oxygen, and is converted into antimonious acid.  This
is a white  powder, and, though medicinally inert, frequently forms a large
proportion of the preparation called antimonial powder.   (See Pulvis An-
timonialis.)
  The following table exhibits a view of the different officinal preparations
of antimony:—
   I.  Sulphuretted:—
       1.  Antimonii Sulphuretum, U.S., Ed., Dub.; Antimonii Sesqui-
           sulphuretum, Lond.
       2.  Antimonii Sulphuretum Praeparatum, Dub.
       3.  Antimonii Sulphuretum Praecipitatum, U. S.; Antimonii Oxysul-
           phuretum, Lond.; Antimonii Sulphuretum Aureum, Ed.; Sul-
           phur Antimoniatum Fuscum, Dub.
  II.  Oxidizeo:—
       1.  Sesquioxide.  Antimonii Oxidum, Ed.
       2.  Sesquioxide, combined with sesquichloride of antimony.  An-
           timonii Oxydum Nitromuriaticum,  Dub.
       3.  Sesquioxide, combined with tartaric acid and potassa.  Anti-
           monii et Potassae Tartras,  U. S., Dub.; Antimonii Potassio-
           tartras, Lond.; Antimonium Tartarizatum, Ed.  Dissolved in
           wine.  Vinum Antimonii,  U. S.; Vinum Antimonii Potassio-
           tartratis, Lond.; Vinum Antimoniale, Ed. Dissolved in diluted
           alcohol.   Liquor  Tartari  Emetici,  Dub.  Mixed  with lard.
            Unguentum Antimonii, U. S.;  Unguentum Antimonii Potassio-
           tartratis, Lond.;  Unguentum Antimoniale, Ed.;  Unguentum
            Tartari Emetici, Dub.
       4.  Sesquioxide and antimonious acid, mixed  with phosphate of
            lime.  Pulvis Antimonialis, Ed., Dub.; Pulvis Antimonii Com-
            positus, Lond.
   According  to  Serullas,  all the  antimonial  preparations,  except tartar
 emetic, and butter or sesquichloride of antimony,  contain a minute portion
 of  arsenic.  Tartar emetic is  an exception,  because,  according  to this
 chemist, it separates entirely, in the act of crystallizing, from  any minute
 portion of arsenic in the materials from which it is prepared;  the poisonous
 metal being left behind in the mother-waters of the process.
   In Pharmacy, antimony is scarcely used in  the metallic  state;  the sul-
 phuret being the source, either directly or indirectly, of all its medicinal
 preparations. (See Antimonii Sulphuretum.)                      B.


      ANTIMONII  SULPHURETUM.  U S., Ed., Dub.

                      Sulphuret of Antimony.

    "  Native Sesquisulphuret of Antimony, purified by fusion."  U. S.
    Off. Syn. ANTIMONII  SESQUISULPHURETUM.  Lond.
    Artificial sulphuret of antimony;  Antimoine sulphure, Fr.; Schwefelantimon, Schwe-
  felspiessglas, Germ.; Solfuro d'antimonio, Ital; Antimonio crudo, Span.
    Preparation, S,-c.  The officinal sulphuret of antimony of the Pharmaco-
  poeias is obtained from the  native sulphuret, technically called  antimony
  ore, by different processes of purification; the following being an outline of
  that generally pursued.   The ore is placed in melting pots with  perforated 
part i.          Apocynum Androsaemifolium.                107

bottoms, which are made to rest on others, half buried in  the earth.   The
melting pots are surrounded with wood, which is set on fire.  The sulphu-
ret is quickly melted, and  runs down into tip receiving pots, leaving the
stony and earthy impurities behind.   A  better process is to  connect the
melting pots, by means of curved earthen tubes, with the receiving pots,
placed outside the furnace.  This arrangement affords facilities for removing
the residue of the operation, and allows of the collection of the melted sul-
phuret, without interrupting the fire, and, consequently, without loss of time
or fuel.
   Properties, 8fC.   Sulphuret  of antimony is mostly prepared in France
and Germany, and comes to the United States principally  from France.  It
is called, in commerce, antimony, or crude antimony, and occurs in fused
roundish masses, denominated  loaves.  These are dark-gray externally, and
exhibit internally, when broken, a brilliant steel-gray colour, and  a striated
crystalline texture.   Their goodness depends upon  their  compactness and
weight, and the largeness and distinctness of the fibres.  The quality of the
sulphuret cannot well be judged of, except in mass; hence it ought never to
be bought in powder.   It is entirely  soluble in muriatic acid by the aid of
heat, with the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen.    The muriatic solution,
when added to water, lets fall the greater part of the antimony as a white
 powder {oxychloride of antimony).  If the muriatic acid should have dis-
 solved some lead or copper,  the filtered solution,  after  the  precipitation
 of the white powder, would give a  dark  coloured precipitate with sulphu-
 retted hydrogen; but if these metals  should be absent, it would yield, with
 the same test, an orange-coloured precipitate, derived from a small quantity
 of antimony, not thrown down by the water.  Arsenic may be detected by
 the usual  tests for that metal.   (See Acidum Arseniosum.)
    Composition.  Sulphuret of antimony  is a sesquisulphuret,  consisting of
 one equivalent of antimony 64-6, and one and a  half equiv. of sulphur
 24-15=88-75.
   Sulphuret of antimony requires to be levigated in order to fit it for  exhi-
 bition as a medicine, when it takes the  name of prepared  sulphuret of anti-
 mony.  In this form it  is now officinal only with the  Dublin College.  (See
 Antimonii Sulphuretum Praeparatum.)
    Off. Prep. Antimonii et Potassae Tartras, U. S.,  Lond., Ed.; Antimonii
 Oxidum, Ed.; Antimonii Sulphuretum Praecipitatum, U. S.,  Lond., Ed.;
 Antimonii Sulphuretum Praeparatum,  Dub.;  Pulvis  Antimonialis,  Ed.,
 Lond.                                                          B.


  APOCYNUM  ANDROSAEMIFOLIUM. U.S. Secondary.

                            Dog's-bane.

    " The root of Apocynum androsaemifolium."  U. S.
    Apocynum.   Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Apocynaceae.
    Gen. Ch.   Calyx very small, five-cleft, peristent.  Corolla  campanulate,
 half five-cleft, lobes revolute, furnished at the base  with five dentoid glands
 alternating with  the stamens.  Anthers connivent, sagittate,  cohering to
 the stigma by the middle:  Style obsolete.   Stigma thick and acute.   Fol-
 licles long and linear.   Seed comose.  Nuttall.
    Apocynum androsaemifolium. Willd.  Sp. Plant, i.  1259; Bigelow, Am.
 Med. Bot. ii. 148.  Dog's-bane is  an indigenous, perennial, herbaceous
 plant,#from three to six feet in height,  and abounding in a  milky  juice,
 which exudes when any part  of the plant is wounded.  The stem is  erect, 
108
Apocynum  Cannabinum.
PART i.
 smooth, simple below, branched above, usually red on the  side exposed to
 the sun, and covered  with a tough fibrous bark.  The leaves are opposite,
 petiolate.  ovate, acute, entire, smooth on both sides, and two or three inches
 long.   The flowers are white, tinged with red, and grow in loose, noddino-,
 terminal or axillary cymes.   The peduncles are furnished  with very small
 acute bractes.   The  tube of the corolla is longer than the calyx, and its
 border spreading.   The fruit consists of a pair of long, linear, acute follicles,
 containing numerous  imbricated seeds, attached to a central receptacle, and
 each furnished with a long seed-down.
   The  plant flourishes in  all  parts  of the United States, from Canada to
 Carolina.   It is found along fences  and the skirts of woods, and flowers in
 June and  July.  The root is the part employed.
   This is  large, and  like other parts of the plant contains  a milky juice.
 Its taste is unpleasant and  intensely bitter.  Bigelow  inferred from his ex-
 periments that it contained bitter extractive, a red colouring matter soluble
 in water and not in alcohol, caoutchouc, and volatile oil.
   Medical Properties.  The powder of the recently  dried  root acts as an
 emetic in  the dose of thirty grains;  and is said to be sometimes  employed
 by practitioners in the country for this purpose.   By Dr. Zollickoffer it is
 considered a useful tonic, in doses of from ten to twenty grains. Dr. Bigelow
 states that its activity is diminished,  and eventually destroyed by keeping.
 It is among the remedies employed by the Indians in lues venerea.   W.


      APOCYNUM  CANNABINUM.  U S.  Secondary.

                           Indian Hemp.

   " The root of Apocynum cannabinum."  U. S.
   Apocynum.  See APOCYNUM  ANDROSAEMIFOLIUM.
   Apocynum cannabinum.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 1259;  Knapp, Am. Med.
 Rev. iii. 197.  In  general appearance  and character,  this  species bears a
 close resemblance to the preceding.  The stems are  herbaceous, erect,
 branching, of a brown colour, and two or three feet in height; the leaves are
 opposite, oblong-ovate, acute at both ends, and somewhat downy beneath;
 the cymes are paniculate,  many-flowered, and pubescent; the  corolla is
 small and  greenish, with a tube not longer than the calyx, and with an erect
 border;  the internal parts of the flower are pinkish or purple.  The plant
 grows  in  similar situations  with the A.  androsaemifolium, and  flowers
about the same period.  Like that species, it abounds in a milky juice, and
has a tough  fibrous bark,  which, by maceration, affords a substitute for
hemp.   From this  circumstance the common name of the plant was de-
rived.   Its fruit is similar to that of  the former species.
   The root,  which is the officinal  part, is horizontal,  five or six feet in
length, about one-third of an inch thick, dividing near the end into branches
 which  terminate abruptly, of a yellowish-brown  colour when young, but
 dark chestnut when old, of a strong odour, and a nauseous, somewhat acrid,
 permanently  bitter taste.  The  internal or ligneous portion is  yellowish-
 white,  and less bitter than  the  exterior or cortical part.  The fresh  root,
 when wounded, emits a milky juice, which  concretes into a  substance
 closely resembling caoutchouc.   In  the dried  state, it is brittle and readily
 pulverized, affording a powder like that of ipecacuanha.  According to Dr.
 Knapp* it  contains a  bitter principle, extractive, tannin, gallic acid, resin,

  * See an Inaugural Dissertation by M. L. Knapp, M. D., in the  American Med. Review,
 Philadelphia, 182G. Vol. in. p. 197. 
part i.         Apocynum Cannabinum.—Aqua.             109

wax,  caoutchouc, fecula, lignin, and a, peculiar principle upon which  its
activity depends, and which he proposes to call apocynin.  Dr. Griscom
by a subsequent analysis obtained similar results, with the addition of gum
to the other ingredients.  The roqt yields its virtues to water and alcohol,
but, according to Dr. Griscom, most readily to the former.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Indian Hemp is powerfully emetic  and
cathartic,  sometimes diuretic, and like other  emetic substances,  promotes
diaphoresis and expectoration.  It produces much nausea, diminishes the
frequency of the pulse, and appears to induce drowsiness independently of
the exhaustion consequent upon vomiting.   The disease  in which it has
been found most beneficial is  dropsy.  An aggravated case of ascites, under
the care of the late Dr. Joseph Parrish,  was completely cured by the de-
coction of the plant, which acted as a powerful hydragogue cathartic.  Dr.
Knapp  also found it useful in  a case of dropsy.  Other instances of its
efficacy in this complaint have been published by  Dr. Griscom of New
York.  {Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, xii. 55.)
  From fifteen to thirty grains of the powdered root will generally produce
copious vomiting and purging.  The decoction  is a more  convenient form
for administration.  It may be prepared by boiling half an ounce of the dried
root in a pint and a half of water to a pint, of which from one to two fluid-
ounces  may be given two or three times a day, or more frequently if requi-
site.   The  watery  extract, in doses of three or four  grains three  times a
day,  will  generally  act on the bowels.                              W.


                        AQUA. U.S., Ed.

                                 Water.

  " Natural water in the purest attainable  state." U. S.   " Spring Water."
Ed.
   DS.f, Gr.; Eau, Fr.; Wasser, Germ; Acqua, Ital; Agua, Span.
  Water has  always been included, as an officinal, in the United  States
Pharmacopoeia, on account of its great importance as a medical and pharma-
ceutical agent.  It was not admitted into  the officinal lists of the  British
Pharmacopoeias until the year 1839, when it was first recognised by the
Edinburgh College.   It is one of the most abundant productions  in nature,
and plays an important part in the economy of the universe.  It is more or
less concerned in almost all the  changes which take place  in inorganic mat-
ter, and is  essential to the growth and  existence of living beings, whether
animal or vegetable.   In treating of a substance  of such diversified agency,
our limits  will only allow of a sketch of its properties and modifications.
We shall speak of it under the several heads of pure water, common water,
and mineral waters.
  Pure Water.  Water, in a pure state, is  a transparent liquid, without
colour,  taste, or smell.  Its sp. gr. is assumed to be unity, and forms the
term  of comparison for that  of all solids and liquids.  A cubic inch of it,
at the temp, of 60°, weighs very nearly 252-5 grains.  It is compressible
to a small extent, as was proved first by  Canton, and afterwards, in  an
incontestable manner, by Perkins.   Reduced in temp,  to  32°, it becomes
a solid or ice;  and  raised to 212°, an  elastic fluid  called steam.  In the
state of steam its  bulk is increased nearly 1700 fold, and  its sp.  gr. so far
diminished as  not to be much more than half that of atmospheric air.  At
the temp, of 39° its density is at the maximum;  and consequently, setting
out from that point, it is increased  in bulk by being either heated or cooled.
     11 
110
Aqua.
PART I.
It has the power of dissolving more or less of all the gases, including com-
mon air, the constituents of which are always present in natural water.   It
is uniformly present in the atmosphere, in the form of an invisible vapour,
even in the driest weather, and exerts, by its variable amount at different
times, an important influence on the animal economy.
  Water unites  with other bodies either in  the liquid or solid form;  in the
former case producing solutions, in the latter hydrates.  It is the most uni-
versal solvent known, and on this property mainly depends  its great influ-
ence in the operations of nature.
  Water consists of one equivalent of hydrogen 1, and one of oxygen 8=9;
or in volumes, of one volume of hydrogen  and half a volume of oxygen,
condensed into one volume of aqueous vapour or steam.  On these data, it
is easy to calculate the sp. gr. of steam; for its density will be 0*0689 (sp.
gr. of hydrogen)-!-0-5512 (half the sp. gr. of oxygen) =0-6201.
  Common Water.   From the extensive solvent powers of water, it is ob-
vious that, in  its natural  state, it must be more or less contaminated with
foreign matter.  This is  found to be the case; and, according to the nature
of the strata through which it precolates, it becomes variously impregnated.
When the foreign substances present are in  so  small amount as not very
materially to  alter its taste and other sensible qualities, it  constitutes the
different varieties of common water.
  Common water possesses almost innumerable shades of difference, as
obtained from different localities and sources, but all its varieties  may be
conveniently arranged under the two heads of soft and hard.   A soft water
is one which contains but inconsiderable impurities, and which, when used
in washing, forms a lather with soap.   By a hard water is understood a
variety of water which contains  sulphate of  lime,  and, therefore, curdles
soap, and is unfit for domestic purposes.  Tincture  of soap is  a convenient
and useful test for ascertaining the quality of water.  In distilled water it
produces no  effect; in soft water, only  a slight  opalescence; and  in hard
water, a milky appearance.   This latter appearance is due to the formation
of an insoluble compound  between the oil of the soap and the lime of the
sulphate of lime.
  The most usual foreign substances in common water, besides oxygen and
nitrogen, and matters held in a state of mechanical suspension, are carbonic
acid, sulphate  and carbonate of lime, and chloride of sodium (common salt).
Carbonic acid  is detected by lime-water, which produces a precipitate before
the water is boiled, but not afterwards,  as  ebullition drives off this acid,
The presence  of sulphate of lime is shown by precipitates being produced
by nitrate of baryta, and, after ebullition, by oxalate of ammonia. The first
test shows the presence of sulphuric acid, and the latter indicates lime not
held in solution  by carbonic acid.   Carbonate of lime can be  present only
by being held  in solution by an excess of carbonic acid, and  is detected by
boiling the water, which  causes it to precipitate.   Nitrate of silver will pro-
duce a precipitate, if any soluble chloride be  present; and in  all ordinary
cases the particular one present may be assumed to be common salt.
  It is generally supposed that the oxygen  and nitrogen present in natural
waters are in  the same proportion as in atmospheric air;  but  for the most
part the oxygen is in larger proportion.  In  atmospheric air, the  oxygen
amounts to 20 per cent, in volume, but the usual gaseous mixture expelled
from fresh water by boiling, contains about  32 per cent, of this gas.  The
cause of this difference in proportion, is that water has a greater affinity for
oxygen than  for nitrogen, and consequently takes up  proportionably more
of the former than of the latter from the atmosphere. 
PART I.
Aqua.
Ill
  Common water is also  divided into varieties according 'to its source.
Thus we have Rain, Snow, Spring, River, Well, Lake, and Marsh Water.
This  division is not so practical, however, as that into soft and hard; as
the source of the water is not always  indicative of its quality.   We shall
notice these varieties in a general manner.
  Rain and  snow waters are the purest kinds of natural water,  being, in
effect, produced by a kind of natural distillation.  Rain water, to be obtained
as pure  as  possible, must be collected in large vessels in the open fields at
a distance from houses, and some time after the rain has commenced falling;
otherwise  it  will be contaminated with the dust which floats in the atmos-
phere, and other impurities derived from roofs.  It may be obtained tolerably
pure, even in large  cities, by taking  advantage of a heavy rain, and, after
it has descended for a considerable time and washed away  every impurity,
collecting it as it falls from the roofs and spouts.
   Rain water ordinarily contains atmospheric air; and, according to Liebig,
a little nitric  acid,  if it descended during a storm.   Snow water has a pecu-
liar taste,  which was  formerly supposed  to depend on the presence of air
more oxygenous than that  of the atmosphere; but in  point of fact, when
newly melted it contains no air, and this accounts for its vapid taste.  After
exposure  to  the air,  however, for some  time, it takes up the constituent
gases of the atmosphere like other natural waters.   Both rain and snow
water are sufficiently pure  for employment in most chemical operations.
   Spring water (aqua fontana) depends entirely for its quality on  the strata
through which it flows, being purest when it passes through sand or gravel.
It almost always contains a trace of common salt, and generally other impu-
rities, which vary according to the locality of the spring.
   River water (aqua fluviatilis), generally speaking,  is less  impregnated
with saline matter than spring water, on  account of its being made up in
considerable  part of rains,  and of its volume bearing so large  a proportion
to the surface of its bed.   On the other hand,  it is much more apt to have
mechanically suspended in  it, certain insoluble matters of  a vegetable and
earthy nature, which impair its transparency.
   Well water, like that from springs, is liable  to contain various impurities.
As a general rule,  the purity of the water of a  well will be  in proportion to
its depth;  and the  constancy with which it is used.  The Artesian or over-
flowing wells, on account of their great depth, generally afford a very pure
water.
   Lake water cannot be characterized as having any invariable  qualities.
In most of the lakes  in the United States it constitutes  a  very pure  and
wholesome water.  This remark is particularly applicable to our great lakes.
  Marsh water is generally stagnant, and contains vegetable remains under-
going decomposition.   It is an unwholesome water, and ought never to be
used for medicinal  purposes.
  The term Aqua, in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, may be considered as de-
signating  any natural water of  good  quality.  In the Edinburgh Pharma-
copoeia it  means spring water, " so far at least free of saline matter as not
to possess the quality of hardness, or contain above a 6000th of solid mat-
ter."  A good water may be known by its being lively, limpid, and without
smell.   It answers well for  the cooking of vegetables, and  does not curdle
soap.  Upon the  addition  of nitrate of baryta, nitrate of silver, or oxalate
of ammonia, its transparency is but slightly affected; and upon  being evapo-
rated to dryness, it leaves but an inconsiderable residue.
  Water should  never be kept in  leaden cisterns, on account of the risk of
its dissolving a small portion of lead.   This risk is greater  in proportion to 
11.2
Aqua.
PART I.
the original purity of the water;  for it is found that the presence of a minute
portion of saline matter, as for example of a chloride or sulphate, protects
the water  from the slightest metallic  impregnation.   The protection  is
afforded by the formation of an insoluble film on the surface of the lead, as
a consequence of the decomposition of the saline matter.  (See  Christison
on Poisons.)
   The Schuylkill water, introduced into this city, possesses all the charac-
teristics of a good water, except that it is occasionally turbid after  heavy
rains.  Accordingly, it may be used pharmaceutically in all cases in which
" water"  is  directed as contra-distinguished from  " distilled water."  A
brackish or hard  water ought never to be employed.  For  some pharma-
ceutical processes, however, no natural water is deemed  sufficiently pure;
and hence the necessity of resorting to a process for its  purification.   This
is  effected  by distillation, and accordingly all the  Pharmacopoeias give  a
formula for distilled  water. (See Aqua Deslillata.)
   Mineral Waters.   When natural waters are  so far impregnated with
foreign substances as to have a decided taste and a peculiar operation on the
animal economy, they are called Mineral Waters.  These are conveniently
arranged for description under the four heads of carbonated, sulphuretted,
chalybeate, and saline, according to the qualities which may be supposed
to predominate in  each.
   1.  Carbonated  waters are characterized by containing an excess of car-
bonic acid, which gives them a  sparkling  appearance, and the power of
reddening litmus  paper.  These waters frequently contain the carbonates of
lime, magnesia, and  iron, which are held in solution by the excess of car-
bonic acid.   The  waters of Seltzer,  Spa, and Pyrmont in Europe, and of
the sweet springs  in Virginia, belong to this  class.
   2.  Sulphuretted waters are such as contain sulphuretted hydrogen, and
are distinguished by the peculiar fetid smell of that gas, and by their yield-
ing a brown precipitate with the salts of lead or silver.  Examples of this
kind of mineral water are furnished by the waters of Aix la Chapelle and
Harrowgate in Europe, and those of the white, red, and salt sulphur springs
in Virginia.
   3.  Chalybeate waters are  characterized by a  strong inky taste,  and by
striking a black colour with the infusion of galls, and a blue one with ferro-
cyanuret of potassium.   The  iron is generally in the state of carbonate of
the protoxide, held  in solution by excess of carbonic acid.   By standing,
the carbonic  acid  is  given off, and the protoxide, by absorbing oxygen, is
precipitated as a  hydrated  sesquioxide of an  ochreous  colour.  The prin-
cipal chalybeate waters are those of Tunbridge  and Brighton, in England,
and of Bedford, Pittsburg, and Brandywine, in  the United States.
   4.  Saline waters  are those, the predominant properties of which depend
upon saline impregnation.  The salts most usually present are the sulphates
and carbonates of lime, magnesia, and soda, and the chlorides of calcium,
magnesium,  and sodium.  Potassa is occasionally present, and lithia has
been detected by Berzelius in the spring of Carlsbad, in Germany. Bromine
exists in considerable quantity in the saline at Theodorshalle, in Germany,
and iodine is not unfrequently present.  The mineral  springs at Saratoga,
in the state of New York, contain a small  portion of iodine, and some of
them a trace of bromine.  The principal saline waters are those of Seidlitz
in Bohemia, Cheltenham and Bath in  England, and of Harrodsburg and
Saratoga in the United States.   To these may be added, a  most important
saline water, that of the ocean.
   We subjoin a  summary view of the composition of most of the mineral 
PART T.
Aqua.
113
 waters enumerated under the foregoing heads, with the authority for each
 analysis.
   1. Carbonated.    •
   Seltzer.  In a wine pint.  Carbonic acid  17 cubic inches.   Solid con-
 tents;—carbonate of soda 4 grs.;  carbonate  of magnesia 5; carbonate  of
 lime 3; chloride of sodium 17.   Total 29 grs. {Bergmann.)
   Spa. In  a wine pint.  Carbonic acid 13 cubic inches.   Solid contents;—
 carbonate of soda 1*5 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 4-5;  carbonate of lime
 1-5; chloride of sodium 0-2; oxide of iron 0-6.   Total 8-3 grs.  {Bergmann.)
   Pyrmont.  In a wine pint.  Carbonic  acid 26 cubic inches.   Solid con-
 tents;—carbonate of magnesia 10 grs.; carbonate of lime 4-5; sulphate  of
 magnesia 5-5;  sulphate of lime 8-5; chloride of sodium  1-5;  oxide of iron
 0-6.  Total 30-6 grs. {Bergmann.)
   2. Sulphuretted.
   Aix la  Chapelle.  In a wine  pint.  Sulphuretted hydrogen 5-5  cubic
 inches. Solid contents;—carbonate of soda  12  grs.;  carbonate of lime
 4-75; chloride of sodium 5.  Total 21*75 grs.  {Bergmann.)
   Harrowgate old well.  In a wine gallon.   Gaseous contents;—sulphu-
 retted hydrogen 14 cubic inches;  carbonic acid 4-25; nitrogen  8; carburetted
 hydrogen 4-15.  Total 30-4 cubic inches.   Solid contents;  chloride of so-
 dium 752  grs.;  chloride of calcium  65-75; chloride of  magnesium  29-2;
 bicarbonate of soda 12*8.  Total 859-75 grs. {English West. Quart. Journ.)
   White sulphur.  In a wine gallon.  Gaseous contents;—sulphuretted
 hydrogen 2-5 cubic inches; carbonic acid 2; oxygen 1-448; nitrogen 3-552.
 Total  9-5.   Solid contents  in a pint;—sulphate  of  magnesia 5-588 grs.;
 sulphate of lime 7*744; carbonate of lime 1*150; chloride of calcium 0-204;
 chloride of sodium 0-180; oxide of iron a trace; loss 0-410.   Total 15-276
 grs. {Prof. William B. Rogers.)
   3. Chalybeate.
   Tunbridge.  In a wine gallon.   Solid contents;—chloride of sodium
 2*46 grs.; chloride of calcium 0*39; chloride of magnesium 0-29; sulphate
 of lime 1-41;  carbonate of lime 0-27;  oxide of iron 2-22;  traces of manga-
 nese, vegetable fibre, silica, &c. 0-44; loss 0-13.  Total 7-61  grs. {Scuda-
 more.)
   Brighton.  In a wine pint.  Carbonic acid 2-5 cubic inches.  Solid con-
 tents:—sulphate of iron 1-80 grs.;  sulphate of lime 4-09, chloride of so-
 dium 1-53;  chloride of magnesium 0 75; silica 0-14; loss 0-19.  Total 8-5
 grs.  {Marcet.)
   Cheltenham, {chalybeate.)  In a wine pint.  Gaseous contents;—carbonic
 acid 2-5 cubic inches. Solid contents;—carbonate of soda 0-5 grs.; sulphate
 of soda  22-7; sulphate of magnesia 6; sulphate of lime  2-5;  chloride of
 sodium 41-3; oxide of iron 0-8   Total 73-8 grs. {Brande and Parkes.)
   Bedford.  Anderson's  Spring.  In a wine gallon.  Carbonic acid 74 cubic
 inches.   Solid contents;—sulphate  of magnesia 80 grs.;  sulphate of lime
 14-5; chloride  of sodium 10; chloride of calcium  3,  carbonate of iron 5;
 carbonate of lime 8.   Total 120-5 grs.  {Church.)
  4.  Saline.
   Seidlitz.  In a wine pint.   Solid  contents;—carbonate of magnesia 2*5
grs.; carbonate of lime 0-8; sulphate of magnesia 180; sulphate of lime 5;
chloride of magnesium 4-5.  Total 192-8 grs.  {Bergmann.)
  Cheltenham, {pure saline.) In a wine pint.  Solid contents;—sulphate of
soda 15  grs.;  sulphate of magnesia  11; sulphate of lime 4*5;  chloride of
sodium 50.   Total 80-5 grs. {Parkes and Brande.)
  Bath. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid 1-2 cubic inches.  Solid contents;—
                                 11* 
114
Aqua.
PART I.
carbonate of lime 0*8 grs.;  sulphate  of  soda 1-4; sulphate of lime 9-3;
chloride of sodium 3-4; silica 0-2; oxide of iron a trace.   Total 15*1 grs.
{Phillips.)                                     *
  Balston Spa. Sans Souci Spring.  In a wine gallon.  Solid contents;—
chloride of sodium 143*733 grs.; bicarbonate of soda 12*66;  bicarbonate of
magnesia 39*1; carbonate of lime 43*407; carbonate of iron 5-95; iodide of
sodium 1-3; silica 1.  Total 247*15 grs. {Steel.)
  Saratoga.  Iodine  Spring.  In  a  wine gallon.  Gaseous contents;—
carbonic aeid 336 cubic inehes;  atmospheric air 4.  Total  340 cubic inches.
Solid  contents;—chloride of sodium  187 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 75;
carbonate of lime 26; carbonate of soda 2; carbonate of iron 1; iodine 3.5.
Total 294*5 grs.  {Prof. Emmons.)
  Saratoga.  Pavilion Spring. In a wine gallon.  Gaseous contents;—
carbonic acid 359*05 cubic inches; atmospheric air 5*03.  Total 364*08 cu-
bic  inches.  Solid contents;—chloride of sodium 187*68 grs.;  carbonate of
soda 4*92;  carbonate of lime 52*84;  carbonate of magnesia 56*92; carbonate
of iron 3*51; sulphate of soda 1*48; iodide  of  sodium 2*59;  alumina 0*42;
silica 1*16;  phosphate of  lime 0*19; bromide of potassium a trace.   Total
311*71 grs. {Dr. J.  R. Chilton.)
  Saratoga.  Union Spring.  In a wine  gallon.   Gaseous contents;—car-
bonic acid 314*16 cubic inches; atmospheric air 4*62.  Total 318*78 cubic
inches.  Solid  contents;—chloride  of sodium 243620  grs.;  carbonate of
magnesia 84*265; carbonate of lime 41*600; carbonate of soda 12800; car-
bonate of iron 5*452; iodide of sodium, or iodine 3*600;  silica and alumina
1*570; bromide of  potassium a trace.  Total 392*907  grs.  {Dr.  J. B.
Chilton.)
  Saratoga.  Congress Spring.  In a wine gallon.  Gaseous contents;—
carbonic acid 311 cubic inches; atmospheric air 7.  Total  318 cubic inches.
Solid contents;—chloride of sodium 385 grs.;  iodide of sodium 3*5; bicar-
bonate of soda 8-982; bicarbonate  of  magnesia 95-788; carbonate of lime
98-098; carbonate of iron 5*075; silica 1*5; bromide of potassium a trace.
Total 597*943 grs.  {Steel.)
  Sea Water.  English  Channel.   In a thousand grains. Water 964*744
grs.; chloride of sodium 27*059; chloride of  potassium 0*765; chloride of
magnesium  3*667;   bromide of magnesium 0*029; sulphate of magnesia
2-296; sulphate of lime 1-407; carbonate of  lime 0-033.  Total 1000-000
grs. {Schvjeitzer.)  It is perceived  that bromine is present in very  minute
amount.   100 pounds of  sea water yield only 3| grains  of this element.
According to Balard, iodine exists in the water of the Mediterranean.
  Medical and Dietetic Properties of Water.—Water is a substance of the
first necessity to animals  and vegetables.  In animals there  exists an in-
stinctive desire for it, to repair  the waste of the fluids which is  constantly
taking place in the animal economy.  It constitutes the basis of nearly all
the secretions,  and nine-tenths of the weight of the blood.  In short, it  is
nature's  agent for producing the liquid state, and is the only diluent proper
in a state of health.
   Water as a remedy is highly important, though we are apt to overlook its
agency, on account of our familiarity with  its  use.  When  taken into the
stomach, it acts by  its temperature, by its  bulk,  and by being absorbed.
When of the temperature of about 60°, it gives no positive sensation either
of  heat  or cold;  between  60° and 45°, it creates a cool sensation;  and be-
low 45°, a decidedly cold one.  Between 60°  and 100°, it relaxes the fibres
of  the stomach, and is apt to produce nausea, particularly if the effect of
bulk be  added  to that of  temperature.  By its bulk and solvent powers, it 
PART I.
Aqua.
115
often  allays  irritation  by diluting the acrid contents of the  stomach and
bowels, and favouring their final expulsion;  and by  its  absorption, it pro-
motes  ihe  secretion of urine and cutaneous  transpiration.  Indeed, its in-
fluence is so great in  the latter way, that it may be safely affirmed, that
sudorifics and diuretics will not produce their proper effect unless assisted
by copious dilution.
  Water, externally applied as a bath, is also an important remedy.  It may
act by its own specific effects as a liquid, or as a means of modifying the
heat of the body.   It acts in the latter way differently, according to the par-
ticular temperature at which it  may be applied.  When this  is above 97°,
it constitutes either the vapour or hot bath; when between 97° and 85°, the
warm  bath; between 85° and 65°, the tepid bath; and between 65° and 32°,
the cold bath.
  The general action of the  vapour bath is to accelerate the circulation, and
produce  profuse sweating.   It acts locally on the skin by softening and re-
laxing its texture.   In stiffness of the joints, and various diseases of the skin,
it has often proved beneficial.   The late  Dr. Duncan had seen scaly cuta-
neous  diseases, which had resisted for years  every other treatment, become
quickly cured by its use.
  The hot bath, like the vapour bath, is decidedly stimulant. By its use, the
pulse becomes full and frequent, the veins turgid, the face flushed, the skin
red, and the respiration quickened.  If the temperature be high, and the
 constitution peculiar, its use is not without danger; as it is apt to produce a
 feeling of suffocation, violent  throbbing in  the temples, and  vertigo,  with
 tendency to  apoplexy.  When it acts  favourably, it  depletes  actively from
 the skin by producing profuse sweating.
   The warm bath, though  below the animal heat, nevertheless produces a
 sensation of warmth;  as its temperature  is above that  of the  surface.  It
 diminishes the frequency of the pulse, especially if previously accelerated,
renders the respiration slower, lessens the heat of the body, and relaxes the
skin.  The  warm bath cannot be deemed,  strictly speaking, a  stimulant.
By relieving certain diseased actions and states, accompanied by morbid irri-
tability,  it often acts as a soothing remedy, producing a disposition to sleep.
It is  proper in febrile and  exanthematous diseases, in which  the pulse is
frequent, and the  skin preternaturally hot and  dry, and  where the general
condition is characterized by restlessness.   It is  contra-indicated in diseases
of the head and chest.
   The tepid bath, from its temperature, is not calculated to have much
modifying influence on the heat of the body.   Its  peculiar effects are to
soften and cleanse the skin, and promote insensible perspiration.
   The cold bath acts differently according to its temperature and manner of
application, and the condition of the system to  which it is applied.  When
of low temperature and suddenly applied, it acts primarily as  a  stimulant,
by the sudden and rapid manner in which the caloric is abstracted, or made
to pass out of the body; next, as a tonic, by condensing the living fibre; and
finally, as a sedative.  If the cold bath were applied at a temperature just
sufficient to excite a cool sensation, and  this temperature were gradually and
imperceptibly lowered, it  is probable that it would act exclusively  as a
sedative.
  From the above explanations, it may be  easily understood  that the cold
bath will act very differently under different circumstances.   It is often
useful in diseases  of relaxation and debility, when practised by affusion or
plunging.  But it is  essential to its  efficacy and safety in these cases, that
the stock of  vitality should  be sufficient to create,  immediately after its use, 
116                Aqua.—Aralia Nudicaulis.             parti.

those general sensations of warmth and invigoration included under the term
reaction.  It has  also been used with advantage by the late Dr. Currie of
Liverpool, in  the form  of affusion, in certain  febrile diseases, especially
scarlatina.   To make it safe, however, the  heat must be steadily above the
natural standard, and  the patient must be free from all sense of chilliness,
and not in a state of profuse  perspiration.
  Cold water is frequently applied as a sedative in  local inflammations, and
as a means of restraining hemorrhage.  Its  use, however, is inadmissible in
inflammations of the chest.
  Pharm. Uses.   Water is  the most extensive pharmaceutical agent that
we  possess.  It is employed in a vast number of preparations, as a means
of promoting  chemical  action by its solvent powers.   It is more or less
present in all the liquid forms of medicines, and is the sole  menstruum in
the  medicated waters, decoctions, and infusions.
  Off. Prep. Aqua Destillata, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.              B.

         ARALIA NUDICAULIS.  U.S.  Secondary.

                        False Sarsaparilla.

  " The root of Aralia nudicaulis."  U. S.
  Aralia.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Araliaceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Flowers umbelled. Calyx five-toothed, superior.  Petals five.
Stigma sessile, subglobose.   Berry five-celled, five-seeded.   Torrey.
  Aralia nudicaulis.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1521; Rafinesque, Med. Flor. i.
53.    The false sarsaparilla, wild sarsaparilla, or small spikenard, as this
plant is variously  called, is an indigenous perennial, with one leaf and one
flower-stem  springing together from  the root or from a very short stalk, and
seldom rising two feet in height.   The leaf, which  stands upon a long foot-
stalk, is twice ternate, or once and quinate,  with  oblong-oval, acuminate
leaflets, rounded  at the  base, serrate on  the margin, and smooth on both
surfaces.  The scape or flower-stem  is naked, shorter  than the leaf, and
terminated by three small umbels, each consisting  of from twelve to thirty
small yellowish  or greenish flowers.  The fruit consists of small round
berries, about as large as those of the common elder.
  The plant grows throughout the United States, from Canada to Carolina,
inhabiting shady and rocky woods, and delighting in a rich soil.  It flowers
in May and  June.   The root is the  officinal portion.
  This is horizontal,  creeping, sometimes several  feet in length, about as
thick as the little finger, m*ore or less twisted, externally of a yellowish-
brown colour,  of a fragrant odour, and a warm, aromatic, sweetish taste. It
has  not been analyzed.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   False sarsaparilla is  a gentle stimulant
and  diaphoretic,  and  is thought  to  exert an  alterative influence over the
system  analogous to that of the root from which  it derived its common
name.  It is used in domestic practice, and by some practitioners  in the
country, as a remedy in rheumatic,  syphilitic, and  cutaneous affections, in
the  same manner and dose as the genuine  sarsaparilla.
  The root  of the Aralia racemosa or American  spikenard,  though not
officinal, is used for the same purposes as the A. nudicaulis, which itls said
to resemble  in medical properties.  Dr. Peck strongly recommends the root
of the Aralia hispida, called in Massachusetts dwarf elder, as a diuretic in
dropsy.  He uses it in the form of decoction,  and finds it pleasanter to the
taste and more acceptable to  the stomach than most other medicines of the
same class.  {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. xix. 117.)                   W. 
part i.         Aralia Spinosa.—Arctium Lappa.             117
           ARALIA  SPINOSA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                       Angelica-tree Bark.

  " The bark of Aralia spinosa."  U. S.
  Aralia.   See ARALIA NUDICAULIS.
  Aralia spinosa.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 1520.  This is an indigenous arbo-
rescent shrub, variously called angelica-tree, toothach tree, and prickly ash.
The last name, however, should be dropped, as  it belongs properly to the
Xanthoxylum fraxineum, and if  retained  might lead to confusion.  The
stem is erect, simple, from eight to twelve feet high, armed with numerous
prickles, and furnished near  the top  with very large bipinnate or tripinnate
leaves, which are also prickly, and are composed of oval, pointed, slightly
serrate leaflets.  It terminates in an ample panicle, very much branched,
and  bearing numerous small hemispherical umbels,  in  each of which are
about thirty white flowers.
  This species  of Aralia  is  found  chiefly in the Southern and Western
States, though cultivated in the gardens of the north as an ornamental plant.
It flourishes in  low, fertile woods, and flowers in August and September.
The bark, root,  and berries are  medicinal;  but the first only is directed by
the Pharmacopoeia.
   The bark is thin, grayish externally, yellowish within, of an odour some-
what aromatic, and a bitterish, pungent, acrid taste.  It yields its virtues to
boiling water.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The virtues of Aralia spinosa axe those
of a stimulant diaphoretic.  According to Elliot, an  infusion of the recent
bark of the root is  emetic  and cathartic.   The remedy is used  in  chronic
rheumatism and cutaneous eruptions.  Pursh states, that a vinous or spi-
rituous infusion of  the berries is remarkable for  relieving rheumatic pains;
and  a similar tincture is said to be employed  in Virginia with advantage in
violent colic.  The pungency of this tincture has also been found useful in
relieving toothach.
  The bark is most conveniently administered in decoction.         W.

         ARCTIUM LAPPA.  Semina.   Radix. Dub.

                   Seeds and Root of Burdock.

  Birdane, Fr ; Gemeine Klette, Germ.; Bardnna, Ital,  Span.
  Arctium.  Sex.  Syst.  Syngenesia iEqualis.—Nat.  Ord. Compositae-
Cinareae, De Cand.  Cynaraceae,  Lindley.
  Gen. Ch. Receptacle chaffy.  Calyx globular;  the scales at the apex with
inverted hooks.  Seed-down bristly, chaffy. Willd.
  Arctium Lappa. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1631; Woodv. Med.Bot. p. 32.
t. 13.—Lappa  minor. De Cand. Prodrom. vi. 661.   The  burdock is  a
biennial plant, with a simple spindle-shaped root,  a foot or more in length,
brown externally, white and spongy within, furnished with threadlike fibres,
and  having withered scales  near the summit.   The  stem is succulent,
pubescent, branching, and three or four feet in  height, bearing very large
cordate, denticulate leaves, which are green on their upper surface, whitish
and downy on the  under,  and stand on long footstalks.  The flowers are
purple, globose, and arranged in terminal panicles.  The calyx consists of
imbricated scales, with hooked extremities,  by which they adhere to clothes, 
118               Arctium Lappa.—Argentum.           parti.

and the coats of animals.   The seed-down is rough and  prickly, and the
seeds are quadrangular.
  This plant is a native of Europe, and is abundant in the United States,
where it grows  on the roadsides, among rubbish, and in cultivated grounds.
Pursh thinks that it was introduced.  The root, which should be collected
in spring, loses four-fifths of its weight by drying.
  The  odour of  the root is  weak and  unpleasant, the taste mucilaginous
and  sweetish, with  a slight degree of  bitterness and astringency.  Among
its constituents, inulin has been found  by Guibourt, and sugar by Fee.
  The seeds are aromatic, bitterish, and somewhat acrid.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.   The root is considered aperient, diapho-
retic, and sudorific, without  irritating properties; and has been recommended
in gouty, scorbutic, venereal, rheumatic, scrofulous,  leprous, and nephritic
affections.   To prove  effectual, its use must be  persevered in  for  a  long
time.  It is best administered in the form of decoction, which may be pre-
pared by boiling two ounces of the recent bruised root in three pints of water
to two, and given in the quantity of a  pint during the day.   The seeds are
diuretic, and have been used in the same complaints in the form of emulsion
or powder.  The dose is a  drachm.   The leaves have also been  employed
both externally and internally in cutaneous eruptions and ulcerations.
                                                                W.

            ARGENTUM.  U S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.

                                Silver.

  Argent, Fr.; Silber, Germ.; Argento, Ital; Plata, Span.
  Silver is occasionally found in the metallic state, sometimes pure and
crystallized or  in the  form of  vegetations, at other times  combined with
gold, antimony, arsenic, or mercury; but more usually it occurs in the state
of sulphuret, either  pure, or mixed with other sulphurets, such as those of
copper, lead, and antimony.   It is sometimes, though rarely, found  as a
chloride.
  The most productive mines of silver are found on this  continent, being
those of Mexico and Peru;  the  richest in Europe are situated at Kongsberg
in Norway, in  Hungary, and in Transylvania.  The principal  ore which
is worked is the sulphuret.  The mineral containing silver which is most
disseminated is  argentiferous galena, which is  a sulphuret of lead,  associated
with sulphuret of silver.  No mines of silver  have been found in  the  United
States;  but argentiferous galena exists in several localities.
  Extraction.   Silver is extracted from its ores by two principal  processes,
amalgamation  and  cupellation.  At  Freyberg in  Saxony, the ore, which
is principally the sulphuret, is mixed with a tenth of chloride  of sodium
(common salt), and roasted in a reverberatory furnace. The sulphur becomes
acidified, and combines with sodium and oxygen, so as to form sulphate of
soda, while the chlorine forms a chloride with  the silver.   The roasted mass
is then reduced to very fine powder, mixed with half its weight of mercury,
one-third of its weight of water, and  about a seventeenth "of iron  in flat
pieces, and subjected, for sixteen or eighteen hours, to constant agitation in
barrels turned by machinery.   The chlorine  combines with the iron, and
remains in solution  as chloride of iron, while the  silver forms an amalgam
with the mercury.  The amalgam is then subjected to pressure in leathern
bags, through the pores of which  the  excess of mercury passes,  a  solid
amalgam being left  behind.  This is then subjected to heat in a distillatory 
PART I.
Argentum.—Armor acia.
119
apparatus, by means of which the mercury is separated from the pure silver,
which remains behind in the form of a porous mass.  In Peru and Mexico
the process  is somewhat similar to  the above, common salt and mercury
being used;  but slaked lime and sulphuret of iron are also employed, with
an effect which is not very  obvious.
   When argentiferous galenas are worked for the silver they contain, they
are first reduced,  and the  argentiferous  lead obtained is fused  on a large
shallow cupel called a test,  and exposed to the blast of a bellows, whereby
the lead is oxidized, half vitrified, and driven off the test in scales, forming
the substance called litharge.  By continuing the  operation,  the whole of
the lead is  separated, and the  silver, not being oxidizable, remains  behind
as  a  brilliant fused mass.  The time  required for  the separation  is much
abridged by the process of Mr. Pattinson  of Newcastle.   This consists in
allowing the melted alloy to cool slowly,  and separating the crystals which
first form,  and which are much richer in  silver than the  original mass, by
means of a perforated ladle. The crystals are then subjected to cupellation,
for the  separation  of the small proportion of lead which they  still contain.
   Properties  Silver is  a  white metal, very brilliant, tenacious,  malleable,
and ductile.  In malleability and ductility, it is inferior only to gold.  It is
harder than gold, but softer than copper.   Its equivalent number is 108, and
its sp. gr. about 10-4.   Exposed to a full red heat, it enters into fusion, and
exhibits a brilliant appearance.  It is not oxidized in the air, but contracts
a superficial tarnish  of sulphuret of silver  by the  action of  sulphuretted
hydrogen,  which always exists in  minute quantity in the atmosphere.  It
is entirely  soluble  in diluted nitric acid.  If any gold be present, it will re-
main undissolved as a dark-coloured powder.   From the  nitric solution, the
whole of the silver may be thrown down by chloride of sodium, as a white
precipitate of chloride of silver,  characterized by being totally  soluble in
ammonia.   If the remaining solution should contain copper or lead, it will
be precipitated or discoloured by sulphuretted hydrogen.
   Pharm.  Uses.   Silver has no action on the animal economy in the  me-
tallic  state.  The only officinal preparations containing it are the nitrate and
cyanuret.   The oxide and chloride have been proposed as medicines,  and
will be  noticed in the Appendix.
   Off. Prep.  Argenti Nitras, U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.;  Argenti  Nitratis
Crystalli, Dub.                                                   B.


              ARMORACIA. U.S., Lond., Ed.

                           Horse-radish.

   " The fresh root of Cochlearia Armoracia."  U.S., Ed.   " Cochlearia
Armoracia.  Radix recens." Lond.
   Off. Syn. COCHLEARIA ARMORACIA. Radix.  Dub.
   Raifort sauvuge, Fr.; Meerrettig, Germ; Rafano rusticano, Ital.; Rabano rusticano,
Span.
   Cochlearia.  Sex. Syst:  Tetradynamia  Siliculosa.—Nat. Ord.  Bras-
sicaceae or Cruciferae.
   Gen. Ch.  Silicula emarginate, turgid, scabrous, with gibbous,  obtuse
valves.   Willd.
   Cochlearia Armoracia.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 451;  Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 400.  t. 145.   The root of this  plant is  perennial, sending up  numerous
very large leaves, from the  midst of which a round, smooth, erect, branch-
ing stem rises two or three feet in height.  The  radical leaves  are lance- 
120
Armoracia.—Arnica.
PART I.
shaped, waved,  scolloped on the  edges,  sometimes pinnatifid, and stand
upon strong footstalks.  Those of the stem are much smaller, without foot-
stalks, sometimes divided at the  edges,  sometimes almost entire.  The
flowers are numerous, white, peduncled, and form thick clusters at the ends
of the branches.   The calyx has four ovate, deciduous leaves, and the co-
rolla an equal number of obovate petals, twice as long as the calyx, and in-
serted  by narrow claws.  The pod is small, elliptical,  crowned with the
persistent stigma, and  divided into two cells, each containing  from four to
six seeds.
   The horse-radish is  a native  of western Europe, growing  wild on the
sides of ditches and in other moist situations.   It is cultivated for culinary
purposes in most civilized countries, and is said to have become naturalized
in some parts of the United States.  Its flowers appear in June.
   The root,  which is officinal in  its fresh state, is  long, tapering, whitish
externally, very  white  within, fleshy, of a strong  pungent  odour when
scraped or bruised,  and of a hot, biting, somewhat sweetish taste.   Its vir-
tues  are  imparted  to water  and alcohol.   They depend upon a volatile
oleaginous principle, which is dissipated by drying; the root  becoming  at
first  sweetish, and ultimately insipid and quite inert.   Its acrimony is also
destroyed by boiling.   The volatile oil may be obtained by distillation with
water.  It is pale  yellow, heavier than water, very volatile,  excessively
pungent, acrid, and corrosive, exciting inflammation and even vesication
when applied to  the skin.   It exists in exceedingly small proportion in the
root, constituting, according to Gutret, only 6 parts in 10,000.  Besides this
principle, the fresh root contains, according to  the same chemist, a minute
quantity  of bitter resin, sugar, extractive, gum, starch, albumen, acetic acid,
acetate and sulphate of lime,  water, and lignin.  {Geiger.)   It  may be kept
for some time without material  injury, by being buried in  sand in a cool
place.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Horse-radish is highly stimulant, excit-
ing the stomach  when swallowed,  and promoting the secretions, especially
that  of urine.  Externally applied it is a rubefacient.   Its chief use is as a
condiment to promote appetite, and invigorate digestion;  but it is also occa-
sionally employed as a medicine, particularly in dropsical complaints attended
with an  enfeebled condition  of the digestive organs, and of the system in
general.   It has, moreover, been recommended in palsy  and chronic rheu-
matism, both as an internal and external remedy; and in scorbutic affections
is highly esteemed.  Cullen found advantage in cases of hoarseness from
the use of a syrup prepared from an infusion of horse-radish  and sugar, and
slowly swallowed in the quantity  of one  or two teaspoonfuls, repeated as
occasion  demanded.  The root may be given in the dose of half a drachm
or more,  either grated or cut into small pieces.
   Off'. Prep. Cataplasma Sinapis, Dub.; Infusum Armoracia?, U. S., Lond.,
Dub.; Spiritus Armoraciae Compositus, Lond., Dub.                W.


                   ARNICA.   U.S.  Secondary.

                           Leopard's-bane.

   "  The root and herb of Arnica montana."  U. S
   Off Syn.  ARNICA MONTANA.  Flores.   Folia.   Radix. Dub.
   Arnique, Fr.; Berg-Wolvcrly,  Genieincs achtes  Fallkraut, Germ.; Arnica montana,
Jtal, Span.
   Arnica.  Sex. Syst.  Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord.  Compositae-
Senecionideae. De Cand.  Asteraceae.  Lindley. 
PART I.
Arnica.
121
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx with equal leaflets, in a double row.   Seed-down hairy,
 sessile.   Seeds both of the disk and ray furnished with seed-down.  Recep-
 tacle hairy.  Hayne.
   Arnica montana.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2106; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 41.
 t. 17.   This is a perennial, herbaceous plant, having a woody, brownish,
 horizontal root, ending abruptly, and sending forth  numerous slender fibres
 of the same colour.   The stem is  about a foot high, cylindrical, striated,
 hairy, and terminating in one, two, or three peduncles, each bearing a flower.
 The radical leaves are ovate, entire, ciliated, and obtuse;  those of the stem,
 which usually  consist of two opposite pairs, are lance-shaped.  Both are of
 a bright green colour, and somewhat pubescent on their upper surface.  The
 flowers  are  very large, and of a fine orange-yellow colour.   The calyx is
 greenish,  imbricated,  with lanceolate  scales.   The  ray consists of about
 fourteen ligulate florets,  twice as long as the calyx, striated, three-toothed,
 and hairy at the base; the disk,  of tubular florets, with a five-lobed margin.
   This plant is a native  of the mountainous districts of Europe and Siberia,
 and is found, according- to Nuttall, in the northern regions of this continent,
 west of  the Mississippi.  It has been introduced into England, and, were
 there a sufficient demand for it, might no doubt be cultivated in this country;
 but it  is very little used, and in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia has been placed
 with the  medicines not considered strictly officinal.   The flowers, leaves,
 and root have been employed in medicine; but the flowers are usually pre-
 ferred.
   Properties.  The whole plant, when fresh, has a strong disagreeable odour,
 which is  apt to excite sneezing,  and  is diminished  by desiccation.   The
 taste is acrid, bitterish, and durable.  Water extracts its virtues.  Chevallier
 and Lassaigne discovered in the flowers, gallic acid, gum, albumen, yellow
 colouring  matter, an  odorous resin, and  a bitter principle which they con-
 sidered identical with  that discovered by them in the seeds of the Cytisus
 Laburnum, and hence named cytisin.   This substance is yellow, of a bitter
 and nauseous taste, deliquescent, readily soluble in water and  diluted alcohol,
 but with difficulty in strong alcohol, and insoluble in ether.   In the dose of
 five grains it is powerfully emetic and cathartic, and is supposed to be the
 active principle of the plant.  The flowers are said also to contain a small
 proportion of a blue volatile oil.   According to Pfaff, the root contains vola-
 tile oil, an acrid resin, extractive, gum, and lignin.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Leopard's-bane is a stimulant, directed
 with peculiar energy  to the brain and whole nervous system, as manifested
 by the headach, spasmodic contractions  of the limbs, and difficulty of respi-
 ration, which result from  its use.  It acts also  as an irritant to the stomach
 and  bowels, often producing an  emetic  and cathartic  effect, and is said by
 Bergius to be diuretic, diaphoretic, and emmenagogue.   It is much used by
 the Germans, who prescribe the flowers and root with advantage  in amau-
 rosis, paralysis, and  other nervous affections.   It is said  to prove service-
 able in  that disordered condition which succeeds concussion of the brain
 from falls,  blows, &c; and from this circumstance has received  the title of
panacea  lapsorum.   It has also been recommended  in intermittent fever,
 dysentery, diarrhoea,  nephritis,  gout, rheumatism,  dropsy,  chlorosis,  and
 various other complaints, in most of which it seems to have  been empyri-
 cally prescribed.  It seems to be peculiarly useful in diseases attended with
 a debilitated or typhoid state of  the system, to  which  it is  adapted by its
 stimulant properties.   The powdered leaves are sometimes  employed as a
sternutatory;  and the inhabitants of Savoy and the Vosges are said to sub-
stitute them for tobacco.   The  French  practitioners  occasionally use the
       12 
122                Arnica.—Artemisia Santonica.          parti.

flowers of Arnica, though much less  extensively than the German.  In
England and  the  United States the medicine is  little  known.   It is best
given in substance or infusion.   The dose of the powder is from five  to ten
grains frequently repeated.   The  infusion may be prepared by digesting
an ounce in a pint of water,  of which from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce
may be given  every two or three hours.  It should  always  be strained
through linen, in order to separate the fine fibres, which  might otherwise
irritate the throat.   The poisonous properties of the plant are said to be
best  counteracted by the  free use of vinegar or other dilute vegetable acid.
                                                                W.

        ARTEMISIA  SANTONICA. Semina. Dub.

                Seeds  of Tartarian Southernwood.
   Barbotine, Semencine, Fr.; Wurmsamo, Germ.; Seme Santo,  Ital.
   Artemisia.   See ABSINTHIUM.
   The wormseed  of Europe is ascribed by the  Dublin College, without
sufficient authority,  to the Artemisia  Santonica, or Tartarian southern-
wood.  It  is of two kinds;  one called the Aleppo, Alexandria, or Levant
wormseed, the other Barbary wormseed.
   The former  is supposed  to be  the  product of the  Artemisia Contra,
which grows in Persia, Asia Minor, and other parts of the East.  It con-
sists in fact not of  the seeds, but of the small globular unexpanded flowers
of the plant, mixed with  their broken peduncles, and with minute, obtuse,
smooth  leaves.  It has  a greenish colour, a  very strong  aromatic odour
increased by friction, and a very bitter disagreeable taste.
   The Barbary wormseed is thought by some to be derived from the Arte-
misia Judaica, by others from the A. glomerata of Sieber, both of which
grow in Palestine and Arabia.  It consists of broken peduncles, having
the calyx sometimes attached to  their extremity.   The calyx is also some-
times separate, consisting of very small linear obtuse leaflets.  The flowers
are wanting, or in  the shape of minute globular buds.  All these parts are
covered with a whitish down, which serves to distinguish this variety from
the wormseed of the Levant.  It  is moreover lighter  and more coloured
than the latter.   Its smell and taste are  the same.
   These products contain a  volatile oil and a resinous extractive matter, to
which their virtues have been ascribed.   A peculiar principle has also been
discovered in them, which has received the name of santonin. It is crystal-
lizable, colourless,  tasteless, inodorous, soluble in ether and alcohol, and
nearly insoluble in water.  It may be obtained by treating wormseed with
hydrate of lime and alcohol, evaporating the tincture to one-quarter, filtering
the residue to separate the resin, and treating it while hot with concentrated
acetic acid.  The santonin is deposited in crystals as the  liquor cools. In
the dose of three or four grains  twice  a day, it is 'said  to have  been found
useful as a vermifuge; but the fact is very doubtful.  {Journ. de Pharm. xvii.
115, and xx. 44.)
   Medical Properties and Uses. The products above  described have long
been celebrated as a vermifuge,  and the  title  of semen contra, by which
they are designated in many works on pharmacy, originated in their anthel-
mintic property.  They may be given in powder or infusion.   The dose
in substance is from ten to thirty grains, which should be repeated morning
and  evening for several days, and then followed by a brisk cathartic.   They
are not used in this country, having been superseded  by the seeds of the
Chenopodium anthclminticum, which  are universally known among  us by
the name of wormseed.                                            -yy.
J 
PART I.
Arum.
123
                    ARUM.  U.S. Secondary.

                            Dragon-root.

   " The cormus of Arum triphyllum."  U. S.
   Arum.  Sex. Syst. Monoecia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord. Araceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Spathe one-leafed, cowled.  Spadix naked above, female below,
 stamineous in the middle.  Willd.
   The root,  or, as it is botanically called,  the cormus  of the Arum macu-
 latum, is  occasionally used as a medicine in Europe, and held a place in the
 Dublin Pharmacopoeia previously to the last edition.  Its medicinal proper-
 ties are so precisely those of the A. triphyllum of this country, that the
 substitution of the latter  in  our  Pharmacopoeia was  a matter  of obvious
 propriety, independently of the consideration that the root is efficient only
 in the  recent  state.
   Arum triphyllum. Willd.   Sp. Plant, iv. 480; Bigelow, Am. Med.  Bot.
 i. 52.   The  dragon-root, Indian turnip, or wake-robin, as this  plant is
 variously  called in common language, has a perennial root or cormus,  which,
 early in the spring, sends up a large, ovate, acuminate, variously coloured
 spathe, convoluted at bottom, flattened and bent over at top like a hood, and
 supported by an erect, round, green or purplish scape.   Within the spathe
 is a club-shaped spadix, green, purple, black, or  variegated, rounded at the
 end, and  contracted near the base, where  it is surrounded by the stamens
 or germs  in the dioecious plants, and by both in the monoecious, the female
 organs being below the male.   The spathe and upper portion of the  spadix
 gradually decay, while  the germs are converted into  a compact bunch of
 shining, scarlet berries.   The leaves, which are usually one or two in num-
 ber, and stand on  long sheathing footstalks, are composed of three ovate
 acuminate leaflets, paler on their under than their upper surface,  and be-
 coming glaucous as the plant  advances.   There are three varieties  of this
 species of Arum, distinguished by the colour of the spathe, which in one is
 green, in another dark purple,  and in a third white.
   The plant  is a native of North and South America, and is common in all
 parts of the  United States, growing in damp  woods,  in swamps, along
 ditches, and in other moist shady places.  All parts of it are highly acrid,
 but the root only is officinal.
   This is roundish, flattened, an  inch or  two in diameter, covered  with a
 brown, loose, wrinkled  epidermis, and internally white, fleshy, and solid.
 In the recent state, it has a peculiar odour, and is violently acrid,  producing,
 when chewed, an insupportable burning and biting sensation in the  mouth
 and throat, which continues for a long time, and  leaves an unpleasant sore-
 ness behind.   According to Dr. Bigelow, its action does not readily  extend
 through the cuticle, as the bruised root may lie upon the skin  till  it becomes
 dry, without producing pain or redness.   The acrid principle is extremely
 volatile, and  is entirely driven off by heat.   It is not  imparted to  water,
 alcohol, ether, or olive oil.  By exposing  the bruised root and  stalks to a
 boiling heat under water, Dr.  Bigelow obtained  small  quantities of an in-
 flammable gas.  The root loses nearly all  its acrimony by drying, and in a
 short time becomes quite inert.   It contains a large proportion of  starch,
 which  may be obtained from  it as white and  delicate as from  the  potato.
In Europe, the dried root of the A. maculatum is said sometimes to be em-
ployed by the country people, in times of  great scarcity, as a substitute for
bread;  and an amylaceous substance is prepared  from it in England, called 
124
Arum.—Asarum.
PART I.
 Portland arrowroot or Portland sago.  For  medicinal use, the Indian
 turnip may be preserved fresh for a year, if buried in sand. {Thacher.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Arum in  its  recent state  is a powerful
 local irritant, possessing the property of  stimulating the secretions, particu-
 larly those of the skin  and  lungs.   It has been  advantageously given in
 asthma,  pertussis, chronic catarrh, chronic rheumatism, and  various affec-
 tions connected with a cachectic state of the system.  As immediately taken
 from the ground, it  is too  acrid for  use.   The  recently dried root, which
 retains a portion of the acrimony, but not sufficient to prevent its convenient
 administration, is usually preferred.  It  may be given in the dose of ten
 grains, mixed with gum arabic, sugar, and water,  in the form of emulsion,
 repeated two or three times a day, and gradually increased to  half a drachm
 or more.   The powder made into  a  paste with honey or syrup, and placed
 in small  quantities upon the tongue,  so as to  be gradually  diffused over the
 mouth and throat, is said to have proved useful in  the aphthous sore-mouth
 of children.                                                     W.


                         ASARUM.  Lond.

                             Asarabacca.

   "Asarum europaeum. Folia." Lond.
   Off.Syn. ASARUM  EUROPIUM. FOLIA. Dub.
   Asaict, Cabaret, Fr.;  Hnselwuizel, Germ.; As;iro, Ital, Span.
   Asarum.   Sex. Syst.  Dodecandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Aristolo-
 chiaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx three or four-cleft, sitting on  the germen.  Corolla none.
 Capsule coriaceous, crowned.  Willd.
   Asarum Europaeum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 838; Woodv.  Med. Bot. p.
 170. t. 66.  The asarabacca has a perennial root or rhizoma, with a very
 short, round, simple, herbaceous, pubescent  stem, which  in  general sup-
 ports only two leaves and one flower.  The leaves, which  are opposite
 and stand on long footstalks, are kidney-shaped, entire, somewhat hairy,
 and of a shining deep green colour.  The flower is  large, of a  dusky purple
 colour, and placed upon a short terminal peduncle.  The calyx, which sup-
 plies the  place of a corolla,  is bell-shaped, greenish at the base, and divided
 at the mouth into  three  pointed purplish segments, which are  erect, and
turned inwards at their extremity. The filaments are twelve, and  prolonged
beyond the anthers into a small hook.  The style is surmounted by a six-
parted reddish stigma.  The fruit is a six-celled coriaceous capsule, crowned
with the persistent calyx.
  This species of Asarum is a native of Europe, growing between 37° and
60° N. latitude, in woods and shady places,  and flowering in May.  All
parts of the plant  are acrid.   The leaves only are  directed by the London
College, but the whole plant, including root,  stem, leaves, and flowers, is
usually kept in the shops.  The root is about as  thick as a  goose-quill, of a
grayish colour, quadrangular, knotted and twisted, and sometimes furnished
with radicles at each joint.  It has  a smell analogous to that of pepper, an
acrid taste, and affords a grayish powder.  The leaves are nearly inodorous,
with a taste slightly aromatic,  bitter, acrid,  and  nauseous.   Their  powder
is yellowish-green.   Both parts rapidly lose their activity by  keeping, and
ultimately become inert.   Geiger, however, asserts that they keep well if
perfectly  dry.   Their virtues are imparted to alcohol  and water,  but are
dissipated by decoction.  According  to MM. Feneulle  and Lassaio-ne, the
i 
PART I.
Asarum.
125
root contains a  concrete volatile oil, a very acrid fixed oil, a yellow sub-
stance analogous to cytisin, starch, albumen,  mucilage,  citric  acid, and
saline matters.   The latest analysis is by Griiger, who found in  the root a
liquid volatile oil, two concrete volatile substances called respectively asarum
camphor and asarite, a  peculiar bitter  principle called asarin, tannin, ex-
tractive, resin, starch, gluten, albumen, lignin, citric acid, and various salts;
in the leaves, asarin, tannin, extractive, chlorophylle,  albumen, citric acid,
and lignin.  The active principles appear  to be the volatile  oil, which is
lighter than water, glutinous, yellow, of an acrid and burning taste, and a
smell like that of valerian, and  the asarin, which is  soluble in alcohol and
very bitter, and is probably the same as the cytisin of Feneulle and Lassaigne.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The  root and leaves of asarabacca, either
fresh or carefully dried, are powerfully emetic and  cathartic, and were for-
merly much used in Europe with a view to these effects. The dose is from
thirty grains to a drachm.  But  as an emetic they have been entirely super-
seded by ipecacuanha, and are  now used chiefly, if not exclusively, as an
errhine.   The powdered root, snuffed up the nostrils in the quantity of one
or two grains, produces  much irritation, and a copious flow  of mucus, which
is said to continue sometimes for several days.   The leaves are milder and
generally  preferred.  They should be used in the quantity of three or four
grains, repeated  every night until the desired effect is experienced.  They
have  been  strongly recommended  in  headach, chronic ophthalmia,  and
rheumatic and paralytic affections of the  face, mouth,  and throat.
   Off. Prep. Pulvis Asari Compositus, Dub.                      W.

                   ASARUM.  U.S. Secondary.

                Canada Snakeroot.  Wild Ginger.

   "The root of Asarum Canadense."  U. S.
   Asarum.   See ASARUM.
   Asarum Canadense.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 838; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
i. 149; Barton,  Med. Bot. ii. 85.  This species of Asarum  very closely
resembles the A. Europaeum, or asarabacca, in appearance  and botanical
character.  It has a long, creeping, jointed, fleshy, yellowish  root or rhi-
zoma, furnished with radicles of a similar colour.  The stem is very short,
dividing, before  it emerges from the ground, into two long round hairy leaf-
stalks, each of which bears a broad kidney-shaped leaf, pubescent on both
surfaces, of a rich  shining light green above,  veined and pale  or bluish
beneath.   A  single  flower stands in the fork  of the stem, upon a hairy
pendulous peduncle.  The flower is often  concealed  by the  loose soil or
decayed vegetable matter; so that the leaves with their petioles are the only
parts  that  appear above the surface of the ground.   There  is no corolla.
The calyx is very woolly, and  divided into three broad concave  acuminate
segments,  with the ends reflexed, of a deep brownish-purple colour on the
inside, and of a dull  purple inclining to greenish externally.  The  filaments,
which are twelve in number, and of unequal length, stand upon  the germ,
and rise with a slender point above the  anthers attached to  them.  Near the
divisions  of the  calyx  are  three filamentous bodies,  which may be con-
sidered as  nectaries.  The  pistil consists of  a somewhat hexagonal germ,
and a conical  grooved  style, surmounted by six revolute stigmas.  The
capsule is  six-celled, coriaceous, and crowned with the adhering calyx.
  Canada  snakeroot,  or wild ginger,  is an indigenous  plant,  inhabiting
woods and shady places from Canada to Carolina.  Its flowering period is
                                 12* 
126         Asclepias lncarnata.—Asclepias Syriaca.    part i.

from April to July.   All parts of the plant have a grateful aromatic odour,
which is most powerful in the root.   This is the officinal portion.
  As we have  seen  it in  the shops, it is  in long, more  or less contorted
pieces, of a thickness from that of a straw to that of a goose-quill, brownish
and  wrinkled  externally, whitish within, hard and brittle, and frequently
furnished with short fibres.  Its  taste is  agreeably aromatic and slightly
bitter, said to be intermediate between that of ginger  and serpentaria, but in
our opinion bearing a closer resemblance  to that of cardamom.  The taste
of the petioles, which  usually accompany the root, is  more bitter and less
aromatic.
  Among its constituents, according to Dr. Bigelow,  are a light coloured,
pungent, and fragrant essential oil, a reddish bitter resinous  matter,  starch,
and gum; in addition to which Mr. Rushton found fatty matter, chlorophylle,
and  salts of potassa,  lime,  and  iron.  Mr. Procter found the resin to be
acrid as well  as bitter, and without aromatic properties.   The root imparts
its virtues to alcohol, and less perfectly to water.
  Medical Properties  and  Uses.  Wild  ginger is  an aromatic stimulant
tonic, with diaphoretic  properties, applicable to similar cases with serpenta-
ria, which it resembles  in its effects.  It is said to be  sometimes used by the
country people  as a substitute for ginger.  From the close botanical analogy
of the plant with the European Asarum, it might be  supposed, like that, to
possess emetic and cathartic  properties: but such does  not appear to be the
case, at least with the  dried root.  It would  form an elegant adjuvant to
tonic infusions and decoctions. It may be  given in powder or tincture.  The
dose in substance is twenty or thirty grains.                       W.

        ASCLEPIAS  INCARNATA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                    Flesh-coloured Asclepias.

  " The root of Asclepias  incarnata."  U.  S.
  Asclepias.   See ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA.
  Asclepias incarnata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1267.  This species  has an
erect downy stem, branched  above, two or three feet  high, and furnished
with  opposite,  nearly  sessile, lanceolate,  somewhat downy leaves.   The
flowers are  red, sweet-scented, and disposed  in numerous  crowded erect
umbels, which are generally  in pairs.  The nectary is  entire, with its horn
exserted.  In one variety the flowers are white.
  The plant grows in  all  parts of the United States, preferring a wet soil,
and flowering from June to August.  Upon being wounded it emits a milky
juice.   The root is the officinal portion.   Its properties are probably simi-
lar to those of the A. Syriaca; but they have not, so far as we knovv, been
fully tested.   Dr. Griffith states that it has been employed by several phy-
sicians, who speak of it as a useful  emetic and cathartic.   {Journ. of the
Phil. Col. of Pharm. iv. 283.)                                   W.

         ASCLEPIAS SYRIACA. U.S. Secondary.

                       Common Silk-weed.

  " The root of Asclepias Syriaca."   U. S.
  Asclepias.   See ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA.
  A. Syriaca. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1265.   The silk-weed has simple stems,
from three to  five feet high, with opposite, lanceolate-oblong,  petiolate 
part I.      Asclepias Syriaca.—Asclepias Tuberosa.          127

leaves, downy on their  under surface.  The flowers are large, of a  pale
purple colour, sweet-scented, and arranged in nodding umbels, which are
two or three in number.  The nectary is bidentate.   The pod or follicle is
covered with sharp prickles, and contains a large quantity of  silky seed-
down, which has been sometimes used as a substitute for fur in the manu-
facture of hats, and for feathers in beds and pillows.
   This species of Asclepias is very common in the United States, growing
in sandy fields, on the road sides, and on  the banks  of streams from New
England to Virginia.   It flowers in July and August.  Like the preceding
species, it gives out a white juice Avhen wounded, and has hence received
the name of milk-weed, by which it is frequently called.
   Dr. Richardson of Massachusetts  found the root possessed of anodyne
properties.   He gave it with advantage to an asthmatic  patient, and in a
case  of typhus fever attended with catarrh.  In both instances  it appeared
to promote expectoration, and to relieve pain, cough, and dyspnoea.   He
gave  a drachm of the  powdered bark of the root, in divided doses, during
the day; and employed it also in strong  infusion.                   W.

         ASCLEPIAS  TUBEROSA. US.  Secondary.

                           Butterfly-weed.

   " The root of Asclepias tuberosa." U. S.
   Arclepias.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Aselepiadaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx small, five-parted.   Corolla rotate, five-parted, mostly
 reflexed.  Staminal crown (or nectary) simple, five-leaved; leaflets oppo-
 site the anthers, with a subulate averted process at the base.  Stigmas with
 the five angles (corpuscles) opening  by  longitudinal chinks.   Pollinia five
 distinct pairs.  Torrey.
   Asclepias tuberosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1273; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
 ii. 59; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 239.  The root of the butterfly-weed or pleu-
 risy-root is perennial, and gives origin to numerous stems, which are erect,
 ascending  or procumbent,  round,  hairy, of a  green  or reddish  colour,
 branching at the top, and about three feet  in  height.   The leaves are scat-
 tered, oblong-lanceolate, very hairy, of  a  deep  rich green colour on  their
 upper surface, paler  beneath, and supported usually on short footstalks.
 They differ, however, somewhat in  shape according to  the variety of the
 plant.  In the variety with decumbent stems, they are almost linear, and in
 another  variety cordate.  The  flowers are  of a beautiful reddish-orange
 colour, and disposed in terminal or lateral corymbose umbels.  The fruit is
 an erect lanceolate follicle, with flat ovate  seeds connected to a longitudinal
receptacle by long silky hairs.
   This plant differs from other species of Asclepias in not emitting a milky
juice when wounded.  It  is indigenous,  growing throughout  the United
States from Massachusetts to Georgia, and when in full bloom in the months
of June and July, exhibiting a splendid appearance.   It is  most abundant in
 the Southern States.  The root is the only part used in medicine.
   This is large, irregularly tuberous, branching, often somewhat fusiform,
fleshy, externally brown,  internally  white and  striated,  and in the recent
state  of a sub-acrid nauseous taste.   When dried it is easily pulverized, and
has a bitter but not otherwise unpleasant taste.  It yields its virtues readily
to boiling water.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.   The root of the  Asclepias  tuberosa is
 diaphoretic and expectorant, without being stimulant.  Ih large doses it is 
128             Asclepias Tuberosa.—Assafcetida.          part i.

often also cathartic.  In the Southern States it has long been employed by
regular practitioners in catarrh,  pneumonia,  pleurisy, consumption,  and
other pectoral affections;  and appears to  be decidedly useful if applied in
the early stages, or, after sufficient depletion, when the complaint is already
formed.   Its popular name of pleurisy-root  expresses the  estimation in
which  it is held  as a remedy in this disease.   It has also been used advan-
tageously in acute rheumatism, and might  probably prove beneficial in our
autumnal remittents.  Dr.  Eberle found  it highly useful in dysentery.
{Eberle's Practice, i. 216.)  Much testimony might be advanced in proof
of its possessing very considerable diaphoretic powers.   It is said also to be
gently  tonic, and has  been popularly employed in pains of the  stomach
arising from flatulence  and indigestion.
   From  twenty grains to a drachm of  the root in powder  may be given
several times a day;  but as a diaphoretic it is best administered in decoction
or infusion, made in the proportion of an ounce to  the  quart of water, and
given in the close of a teacupful every  two or three hours till it operates.
                                                                W.


           ASSAFCETIDA.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.

                             Assafetida.

   " The concrete juice of the root of Ferula Assafcetida." U. S.  " Ferula
Assafcetida. Gummi-resina." Lond., Dub.  "Gummy-resinous exudation
of Ferula Assafcetida, and probably Ferula persica." Ed.
  Assafcetida, Fr.; Stinkasant, Teufelsdreck, Germ.; Assafetida, Ital; Asafetida, Span.;
Ungrjozeh, Persian;  Hilteet, Arab.
   Ferula.  Sex.  Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Apiaceae or Um-
belliferae.
   Gen. Ch.  Fruit oval,  compressed  plane, with  three streaks on each
side. Willd.
   Ferula Assafcetida.   Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1413; Koempfer, Amoenitat.
Exotic. 535. t. 536.   The following description of the plant which yields
assafetida is derived from that by Koempfer, who wrote from actual observa-
tion.   The root is perennial, fleshy, tapering, when of full size as large as
a man's leg, beset with many strong fibres  near the top, externally blackish,
internally white, and abounding in an excessively fetid, opaque, milky juice.
The leaves, all of which spring immediately from the root,  are six or seven
in number, nearly two feet long,  bipinnate,  with the  leaflets alternate,
smooth, variously sinuated and lobed, sometimes lanceolate, of a deep green
colour  and fetid  smell.  From the midst of the leaves rises  a luxuriant,
herbaceous stem, from six to nine feet in height, two inches in diameter at
the base,  simple, erect, round, smooth, striated, and  terminating  in large
plano-convex umbels with  numerous  radii.  The flowers are pale yellow;
the seeds oval, flat, foliaceous, and of a reddish-brown colour.  The plant
is said  to differ greatly  both in the shape of its leaves, and  the character of
its fetid product, according to the situation and soil in which it grows.
   It is  a native of Persia and  perhaps other countries of the East;  and
flourishes most abundantly  in the mountainous provinces of Laar and Cho-
rassan, where its  juice  is  collected.  Burns, in his travels  into  Bokhara,
states that the plant is eaten with relish by  the people, and  that sheep crop
it greedily.   Some suppose that  other species of  Ferula contribute to the
production of the assafetida of commerce; and the F. persica is admitted
among its probable sources by  the  Edinburgh College.  This plant grows
also in Persia, and has  a strong odour of the drug. 
PART I.
Assafcetida.
129
  The oldest plants are most productive, and those under four years old are
not considered worth cutting.  At the season when the leaves begin to fade,
the earth is removed from about the top of the root, and the leaves and stem
beincr twisted off near their base, are thrown with other vegetable matters
oveAhe root, in order to protect it from the sun.  After some time the sum-
mit of the root  is cut off transversely, and the juice which exudes having
been scraped off, another thin slice is removed, in order to present a  fresh
surface  for exudation.  This process  is repeated at  intervals till the  root
ceases to afford  juice, and perishes.   During the whole period of collection,
which occupies nearly six weeks, the  solar heat is  as much  as possible
excluded.  The juice  collected from numerous plants is put together, and
allowed to harden in the sun.
   Assafetida is  brought to this country either from India, whither it is con-
veyed from Bushire, or by the route  of Great Britain.  It sometimes comes
in mats, but more frequently in cases,  the former containing eighty or ninety,
the latter from two hundred to four hundred  pounds.   It is sometimes  also
imported in casks.
   As found  in  the shops it is in  irregular masses, of a softish  consistence
when not long exposed, of a  yellowish or reddish-brown  colour externally,
exhibiting when broken  an  irregular whitish,  somewhat shining surface,
which soon becomes red on exposure to the air, and ultimately passes into
a dull yellowish-brown.   This change of colour is characteristic of assafe-
tida;  and  is ascribed to the influence of air  and light upon its  resinous in-
gredient.   The masses appear as if composed  of distinct portions inter-
mingled and agglutinated together, sometimes of white, almost pearly tears,
embedded in a darker, softer, and more  fetid paste.  Occasionally the  tears
are found in a  separate  state, though very rarely in the  commerce of this
country.  They are roundish, oval, or irregular, and generally flattened, from
the size of a pea to that of a large almond, yellowish or brownish externally
and white within, and  not unlike  ammoniac tears, for which they might be
mistaken except for their odour,  which, however, is weaker than that of the
masses. {Pereira.)   The odour of assafetida is alliaceous, extremely fetid,
and tenacious;  the taste, bitter, acrid, and durable.  The effect of time and
exposure is to render it more hard and brittle, and to diminish the intensity
of  its smell and taste, particularly the  former.  Koempfer assures us  that
one drachm of the fresh juice  diffuses a more  powerful odour through a close
room than one  hundred pounds of the drug  as  usually kept in  the stores.
Assafetida softens by heat without melting, and is of difficult pulverization.
Its sp. gr. is 1*327.  {Berzelius.)  It is inflammable, burning with a clear,
lively flame.  It yields all its virtues to alcohol, and  forms a clear tincture,
which becomes milky  on the addition of water.   Macerated in water it pro-
duces a turbid red solution, and  triturated with that fluid  gives a white or
pink-coloured milky emulsion of considerable permanence.  In one hundred
parts, Pelletier  found  65 parts of resin, 19*44 of gum, 11*66 of bassorin,
3*60 of volatile  oil, with traces of supermalate of lime.  Brandes, the Ger-
man chemist, obtained 4*6 parts of volatile oil, 47*25 of a bitter resin soluble
in ether, 1*6 of  a tasteless  resin insoluble in ether, 1*0 of extractive, 19.4
of gum  containing traces of potassa and lime united with sulphuric, phos-
phoric,  acetic, and malic acids, 6*4 of bassorin, 6*2 of sulphate  of lime, 3*5
of carbonate of  lime, 0*4 of oxide of iron and alumina, 0-4 of malate of lime
with resin, 6*0  of water, and  4*6 of impurities consisting chiefly of sand and
woody fibre.  The odour  of the gum-resin depends on the  volatile oil,
which may be obtained separate by distillation with water or alcohol.   It is
lighter than water, colourless  when first distilled, but becoming yellow with 
130
Assafcetida.
PART I.
age, of an exceedingly offensive odour, and of a taste at first flat, but after-
wards bitter and acrid.  It is  said to contain a small portion of sulphur.
The volatile oil and the bitter resin are the active principles.
  Impurities  and Adulterations.  Assafetida is  probably  not  often pur-
posely adulterated, but it frequently comes of inferior quality, and mixed
with various impurities, such as sand and stones.   Portions which are very
soft, dark brown or blackish, with few or no tears, and indisposed to assume
a red colour when freshly broken, should be rejected.  We have been in-
formed that a case seldom comes without more or less of this inferior assa-
fetida, and of many it  forms the larger proportion.   It is  sold  chiefly for
horses.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  The effects of assafetida on the system
are those of a moderate stimulant,  powerful antispasmodic,  efficient ex-
pectorant, and feeble laxative.  Its volatile oil is undoubtedly  absorbed;  as
its peculiar odour may be detected in the breath and the secretions.   As an
antispasmodic simply, it is  employed  in the treatment of  hysteria,  hypo-
chondriasis, convulsions of various kinds, spasm of the stomach and bowels
unconnected with  inflammation, and in those numerous irregular nervous
disorders which accompany derangement of the different organs, or result
from mere debility of the nervous system.  From  the union of expectorant
with antispasmodic powers, it is highly useful in spasmodic pectoral affec-
tions, such as hooping-cough,  asthma,  and certain  infantile coughs and
catarrhs, complicated with disorder of the nervous apparatus, or  with a dis-
position  of the system to sink.   In these last cases it was employed with
great success by the late Dr. Jos. Parrish of Philadelphia.*  In catarrhus
senilis;  the secondary  stages of peripneumonia notha, croup,  measles, and
catarrh;  in  pulmonary consumption; in fact, in all cases of disease of the
chest in  which the lungs do not perform their office from want of due ner-
vous energy, and in which inflammation is absent or has been sufficiently
subdued, assafetida may occasionally be prescribed with advantage.   In the
form of enema it maybe beneficially employed in typhoid diseases attended
with inordinate accumulation of air in the  bowels,  and in other cases of
tympanitic abdomen.   The same form will be found  most convenient in the
hysteric paroxysm, and other kinds of convulsion.   In most cases its laxa-
tive tendency adds to its advantages; but in some  instances must be coun-
teracted  by the addition of laudanum.   It may often be  usefully combined
with purgative medicines in constipation of the bowels with flatulence.
   It appears to have been known in the East from very early ages, and not-
withstanding its repulsive odour, is at present much used in India and Persia
as  a condiment.   Persons soon  habituate themselves to its smell,  which
they even learn to associate pleasantly  with  the  agreeable effects experi-
enced from its internal use.  Children with hooping-cough sometimes be-
come fond of it;  and older persons may be  found, without going so far as
India, who employ it habitually.
   The medium dose is ten grains, which may be given in pill or emulsion.
(See Mistura Assafoetidse.)  The tincture is officinal,  and  is  frequently
used.   When given  by injection it should be prepared by trituration with
warm water.   From half a drachm to two drachms may be administered at
once in  this way.   As assafetida is not apt to affect the brain injuriously, it
may be given very  freely when  not contra-indicated by the existence of
inflammatory action.
    Off. Prep.  Emplastrum Assafcetidae, U.S., Ed.; Enema Foetidum, Ed.,

     * See a paper by Dr. Parrish in the N. Am. Med. and Surg. Journ. vol. i. p. 21. 
part i.          Assafcetida.—Aurantii Cortex.               131

Dub.; Mistura Assafcetidae, U. S., Lond., Dub.; Pilulae Aloe's et Assafce-
tidae,  U.S.,  Ed.; Pilulae Assafcetidae,  U.S.; Pilulae  Galbani  Compositae,
U.S., Lond., Ed.;  Spiritus Ammoniae Foetidus, Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinc-
tura Assafcetidae, U.  S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinct. Castorei Ammoniata, Ed.
                                                                W.


                AURANTII CORTEX.   U.S.

                            Orange Peel.

   " The outer rind  of the fruit of Citrus  vulgaris or  Citrus Aurantium."
 U.S.
   Off. Syn.  AURANTIUM.  Citrus Aurantium.  Fructus.  AURANTII
 CORTEX. Citrus vulgaris. Fructus Cortex exterior.   AURANTII  FLO-
 RES. Citrus Aurantium. Flores.  AURANTII OLEUM. Oleum e flori-
 bus destillatum. Lond.;  AURANTII CORTEX.  Rind  of  the  fruit of
 Citrus  vulgaris.  AURANTII  OLEUM. Volatile oil of the flowers of
 Citrus vulgaris, and sometimes of Citrus Aurantium.  Ed.;  CITRUS AU-
 RANTIUM.  Fructus succus et tunica exterior. Flores. Folia.  Dub.
   Ecorce d'orange, Fr.;  Pomeranzenschulen, Germ.; Scorze del frutto dell'arancio, Ital;
 Cortoza de naranja, Span.
   Citrus.  Sex. Syst.  Polyadelphia Icosandria.—Nat. Ord.  Aurantiaceae.
    Gen. Ch.   Calyx five-cleft.   Petals five, oblong.   Anthers twenty, the
 filaments united into different parcels.  Berry nine-celled.   Willd.
   This very interesting genus  is composed of  small  evergreen trees, with
 ovate, or oval-lanceolate, and shining leaves, odoriferous flowers, and fruits
 which usually combine beauty  of colour with a fragrant odour and grateful
 taste.  They are all natives of warm climates,  and where the winters are
 severe require  the aid of artificial heat.  Though the species are  not nume-
 rous, great diversity exists in the character of the fruit; and many varieties,
 founded upon this  circumstance, are noticed by writers.  In the splendid
 work on the natural history of the Citrus by Risso and Poiteau, 169 varie-
 ties are described under the eight following heads:—1.  sweet oranges, 2.
 bitter and sour oranges, 3. bergamots, 4. limes, 5. shaddocks,  6. Iumes, 7.
 lemons, and 8. citrons.  Of these it is difficult to decide which have just
 claims to the rank of distinct species, and which must be considered merely
 as varieties.   Those employed in medicine may be arranged in two sets, of
 which the  orange,  C. Aurantium, and the lemon, C. Medica, are respec-
 tively the types, the former characterized by a winged, the latter by a  naked
 or nearly naked petiole.  The form and character of the fruit which are not
 entirely constant, serve as the basis of the subdivisions. The C. Decumana,
 which yields  the shaddock, agrees with  the C. Aurantium in the form of
 its petiole; but its fruit is not officinal.
   Citrus Aurantium. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. 1427;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
 523. t. 188.   The  orange tree  grows to the height of  about fifteen feet. Its
 stem is round, very much branched, sometimes even from the base, and
 covered with  a smooth, shining, greenish-brown bark.  In the  wild state,
 and  before  inoculation, it is  often  furnished with axillary spines.   The
 leaves are ovate, pointed, entire, smooth, and of a shining pale green colour.
 When held between the eye and the light, they exhibit  numerous small trans-
 parent vesicles, filled with essential oil;  and when rubbed between the fin-
 gers, are highly fragrant.   Their footstalks  are about an inch long, and are
 furnished with wings or lateral  appendages.  The flowers, which have a
 delightful odour, are  large, white, and attached by short peduncles,  singly 
132
Aurantii Cortex.
PART I.
 or in clusters, to the smaller branches.   The calyx is saucer-shaped, with
 pointed teeth.  The petals  are oblong, concave, white, and beset with  nu-
 merous small glands.   The filaments are united at their  base  in three or
 more distinct portions, and support yellow anthers.   The germen is round-
 ish, and bears a cylindrical style, which is terminated by a globular stigma.
 The fruit is a spherical berry, often somewhat flattened at its base and apex,
 rouo-h, of a yellow or orange colour, and divided internally into nine vertical
 cells, in each of which are from two to four seeds, surrounded by a pulpy
 matter.  The rind of the fruit is double, consisting of a thin exterior layer
 which abounds in vesicles filled with a fragrant  essential oil, and of an inte-
 rior one which is thick, white, fungous, insipid, and inodorous.  There  are
 two varieties  of the C. Aurantium, considered  by some as  distinct species.
 They  differ chiefly in the character of the fruit, which in one is sweet, in
 the other sour and bitterish.  The first  retains the original botanical title,
 the second  is  called Citrus vulgaris by Risso and others.   The Seville
 orange is the  product of the  latter.
   This beautiful evergreen, in which the fruit is mingled, in every stage of
 its growth, with the blossoms and foliage, is one of those productions of the
 tropics which  have been  applied  to the most numerous purposes both  of
 utility and ornament.  A native of China and India, it was introduced into
 Europe at  a very early period, was transplanted to America soon after the
 first settlement of this continent, and is now found in every civilized country
 where the climate is favourable to its cultivation.  In colder countries, it is
 one of the most cherished ornaments of the hot-house, though in this  situa-
 tion its beauties are not fully developed, and its  fruit does not attain perfec-
 tion.  It flourishes  in the most  southern portion of our own country, par-
 ticularly in the neighbourhood  of St. Augustine in Florida, whence we
 annually derive a considerable supply of  very fine oranges.   The tree also
 grows  in the  gardens about  New Orleans,  but  is sometimes  destroyed by
 the frosty winters which are  incident to that climate.   The  fruit  is brought
 to us chiefly from the South of Europe and  the West Indies.  The Havana
 oranges have the sweetest and most pleasant flavour.
   Various parts of the orange-tree are used in medicine.  The leaves, which
 are bitter and aromatic, are employed in some places in the state of infusion
 as a gently stimulant diaphoretic.  The fresh flowers impart to water distilled
 from them their peculiar fragrance; and  the preparation thus obtained  is
 much esteemed in the South  of Europe for its antispasmodic virtues.  The
 distilled water of orange-flowers is recognised as officinal by all the British
 Colleges.  An oil is also obtained from the  flowers by distillation, which  is
 called neroli in France, and is much used in perfumery, and in the compo-
 sition of liqueurs.   It is an ingredient of the famous Cologne  water.  That
 obtained from  the flowers of the Seville or bitter  orange {C.  vulgaris),  is
 deemed the sweetest.  It was introduced into the London  and Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeias, with the  title of Aurantii  Oleum, to  serve for the prepa-
ration of orange-flower water.   The fruit is applied  to  several  purposes.
 Small unripe oranges, about  the size of a cherry or less,  previously dried,
 and rendered smooth by a turning lathe, are sometimes employed to main-
tain the discharge from issues.   They are  preferred to peas on account of
their agreeable odour, and by some are thought to swell less with  the mois-
ture; but this is denied by others, and it is asserted that they  require to be
renewed at the end of twenty-four hours.  These fruits are sometimes kept
in the shops under the name of orange berries.  They are of a grayish or
greenish-brown colour, a fragrant odour, and bitter taste, and are  said to be
 used for flavouring  cordials.   An essential oil is  obtained  from them by 
PART I.
Aurantii Cortex.
133
distillation, known to the French  by the name of essence de petit grain,
and employed for similar purposes  with that of the flowers.   The  oil,
however, which now goes by this name, is said to be distilled chiefly from
the leaves,  and those of the bitter orange yield the best.  The unripe fruit
is also among the Dublin officinals.   The London College recognises the
ripe  fruit,  the Dublin  the juice of  the fruit.  The  juice of  the  Seville
orange is sour and bitterish, and forms with water a refreshing and grateful
drink in febrile diseases.  It is employed for the same purposes with the
juice of the lemon, which it resembles in  containing citric acid, though in
much smaller proportion.  The sweet orange is much more pleasant to the
taste, and is very extensively used as  a light  refrigerant article of diet in
inflammatory diseases, care  being  taken to reject  the membranous portion,
and to swallow only the pulp.   The rind of the mature fruit  is the only
part directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.   The  outer portion  is that con-
sidered officinal, as the inner  is wholly destitute  of useful properties, and
by its  affinity for moisture  produces a disposition in the  peel  to become
mouldy.  The best mode of separating the outer  rind, when its desiccation
and preservation  are desired, is to  pare it  from the orange  in narrow strips
with a sharp knife, exactly as  we pare an apple.  When  the  object is to
apply  the fresh rind to certain  pharmaceutic purposes, as, for  instance, to
the preparation of  the confection of orange peel, it  is best separated by a
grater.  The dried peel, sold in  our  drug  stores,  is usually  that  of the
Seville orange, and is  chiefly brought from the Mediterranean.
   Properties.  Orange peel has a grateful aromatic odour, and a warm bitter
 taste,  which depend upon the  essential oil contained in its vesicles.  The
 rind of the Seville orange is much  more bitter than that of the other variety.
Both yield their sensible properties to water and alcohol.  The essential oil
may be obtained by simple expression from  the  fresh grated  rind, or by
distillation with water.   It  has properties closely resembling those of the
oil of  lemons, and  may be used for similar purposes.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Orange peel is  a mild tonic, carminative,
and stomachic, but is seldom used  alone. It is chiefly employed to commu-
nicate a pleasant  flavour to other medicines, to correct their nauseating pro-
perties, and to  assist their stimulant  impression upon the stomach.   It is a
frequent and very useful addition to bitter infusions and decoctions, as those
of gentian, quassia, columbo, and especially Peruvian bark.   It is obviously
improper to subject orange peel to  long boiling; as the essential oil on which
its virtues chiefly depend is thus driven off.   The dose in substance is from
half a drachm to a drachm three times a day.   Large quantities are some-
times  productive of mischief, especially in children, in whom violent colic
and  even convulsions  are sometimes induced by  it.   We have  known the
case of a child, in  which death resulted from eating the rind of an orange.
   When the object in the use of orange peel  is simply to obtain its agree-
 able flavour, the rind of the sweet orange is preferable; as a tonic,  that of
the Seville orange.
   Off. Prep.  Aqua Florum Aurantii, Lond., Ed.; Confectio Aurantii Cor-
ticis,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Infusum Aurantii Compositum,  Lond.;
Infusum Gentianae  Comp.,  U. S., Lond.,  Ed.; Spiritus Armoraciae Comp.,
 Lond.;  Syrupus Aurantii  Corticis, U.S., Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.; Tinctura
Aurantii, Lond.,  Ed.; Tinct. Cinchonae Comp., U. S., Lond., Ed.;  Tinct.
 Gentianae Comp., U. S., Lond., Ed.; Vinum Gentianae, Ed.       W.
13 
134
Avenae Farina.—Azedarach.
PART I.
                   AVENjE  FARINA. U.S.

                              Oatmeal.

  " Meal prepared from the seeds of Avena sativa." U. S.
  Off. Syn. AVENA. Avena sativa. Semina integumentis nudata. Lond.;
AVENA.  Seeds of Avena sativa.  Ed.;  AVENA SATIVA. Farina ex
seminibus.  Dub.
  Farine d'avoine, Fr.; Hafermehl,  Germ.; Farina dell'avena, Ital; Harina de avena,
Span.
  A vena.  Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Graminaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx two-valved, many flowered, with a twisted awn on the
back. Willd.
  Avena sativa.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 446.   The  common oat is so well
known  that a minute description  would be superfluous.   It is specifically
distinguished by its "loose panicle, its two-seeded glumes, and its smooth
seeds, one of which is awned."   It was known to the ancients, and is now
cultivated in all civilized  countries;  but its original locality has not been
satisfactorily ascertained.  It grows wild in Sicily, and is said to have been
seen by Anson  in the Island of Juan Fernandez, on  the coast of Chili.
  This grain, though  cultivated chiefly for horses,  is very nourishing, and
is largely consumed as  food by the inhabitants of  Scotland, the North of
Ireland, Brittany, and some other countries.   The  seeds deprived of their
husk are called groats, and are directed by the  British Colleges; but are not
officinal on this side of the Atlantic.   It is only the meal, prepared by grind-
ing the  seeds, that is kept in our shops.
  Oatmeal  contains, according to  Vogel, in 100 parts, 59 of  starch, 4-30 of
a grayish substance resembling rather coagulated albumen than gluten, 8-25
of sugar and a bitter principle, 2-50 of gum,  2 of  fixed oil, and  23-95 of
fibrous matter including loss.  It  has no smell, is very slightly but not un-
pleasantly bitter, and yields most of its nutritive matter  with facility to boil-
ing water.
  Gruel made with oatmeal affords a nutritious, bland, and easily digested
aliment, admirably adapted to inflammatory diseases; and from its somewhat
laxative tendency, preferable in certain cases to the  purely mucilaginous or
amylaceous preparations.   It is very often administered after brisk cathar-
tics, in  order to render them easier and at  the  same time more efficient in
their action.  It is sometimes also used in the form of enema, and the meal,
boiled with water into a  thick paste, forms  an excellent emollient cataplasm.
Oatmeal gruel may be prepared by boiling an ounce of the meal with three
pints of water to  a quart, straining the decoction, allowing it to stand till it
cools, and then pouring  off the clear liquor from the sediment.  Sugar and
lemon-juice may be added to improve its flavour; and raisins are not unfre-
quently boiled with  the meal and water for the  same purpose.
  Off, Prep. Pulvis pro Cataplasmate, Dub.                      W.


               AZEDARACH. U.S. Secondary.

                            Azedarach.

  " The bark of the root of Melia Azedarach." US.
  Melia.  Sex. Syst. Decandria  Monogynia.  Nat. Ord. Meliaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-toothed.  Petals five.   Nectary cylindrical, toothed,
bearing the anthers in the throat.  Drupe with a five-celled nut.  Willd. 
PART I.
Azedarach.—Barium.
135
  Melia Azedarach. Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 558; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv.
iii. 4.   This is a beautiful tree, rising thirty or forty feet in height, with a
trunk fifteen or twenty inches in diameter.   When standing alone, it attains
less elevation, and spreads itself out into a capacious summit.  Its leaves are
large, and doubly pinnate, consisting of smooth, acuminate, denticulate, dark
green leaflets, which are disposed in pairs with an odd one at the end.  The
flowers, which are of a lilac colour and delightfully fragrant, are disposed in
beautiful axillary clusters near the extremities of the branches.   The fruit is
a round drupe, which, when ripe, is about as large as a cherry, and of a yel-
lowish colour.
  This species of Melia js variously called  pride of India, pride of China,
and  common  bead tree.   It is a native of  Syria, Persia, and  the North of
India, and is cultivated for ornamental purposes in various parts of the eastern
and western continents.  It is abundant in our Southern  States, where it
lines the streets  of cities, and adorns the environs of dwellings, and in some
places has become naturalized.  North of Virginia  it does not flourish,
though small trees may sometimes be seen in sheltered situations.  Its flowers
appear early in  the spring.   The fruit is sweetish to  the taste, and, though
said by some  to be poisonous, is eaten by children at  the South  without in-
convenience, and is even reputed to be powerfully vermifuge.   But the bark
of the root is the part chiefly employed.  It is preferred in  the recent state,
and  is  therefore scarcely to be found in the shops at the North.  It has a
bitter, nauseous taste, and yields its virtues to boiling water.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  This bark is cathartic and emetic, and in
large closes is said to produce narcotic effects similar to  those of Spigelia,
especially if gathered at  the season when the sap is mounting.   It is con-
sidered in  the Southern States an efficient  anthelmintic, and appears to  en-
joy, in some places, an equal degree of confidence with the pink-root.  It is
thought also to  be useful in those infantile remittents which resemble ver-
minose fevers, without being dependent on the presence of worms.  The
form of decoction is usually preferred.  A quart of water is boiled with four
ounces of the fresh bark to a pint, of which the dose for a child is a table-
spoonful every  two  or three hours, till  it  affects the stomach or bowels.
Another plan is  to  give a dose morning  and evening for several  successive
days, and then to administer an active cathartic.                    W.


                             BARIUM.

                              Barium.

  This is  the metallic radical  of  the  earth baryta, and  is  the basis of
several officinal  compounds.  It was first obtained  in  1808, by Sir  H.
Davy, who describes it as a difficultly fusible metal, of a dark gray colour,
effervescing violently with water, and considerably heavier  than sulphuric
acid.   When exposed to the air, it  instantly becomes covered with a crust
of baryta, and,  when  gently  heated, burns  with  a deep red light.   The
only officinal  preparations  of barium are the  chloride,  and the  carbonate
and sulphate of the protoxide of barium (baryta).  The carbonate and sul-
phate are found  as mineral  substances, and are not used  as medicines, but
as the materials from which the chloride may be prepared.
  Baryta may be  obtained from the  native  carbonate by intense ignition
with  carbonaceous  matter; or from the  native sulphate by ignition  with
charcoal, which  converts it into sulphuret  of barium, subsequent solution
of the sulphuret  in nitric acid, and strong ignition of  the nitrate formed to 
136            Barytas Carbonas.—Barytas Sulphas.       part i.

dissipate the acid.  As thus obtained it is an anhydrous solid, caustic, alka-
line, difficultly fusible, and of a grayish-white colour.  Its sp. gr. is about 4.
It acts on the animal economy as a poison.  When sprinkled with water it
slakes like lime, becomes hot, and is reduced to the state of a white pulve-
rulent hydrate, containing one eq. of water.  The same hydrate is formed
in mass, when the anhydrous  earth is  made into a paste with water, and
exposed to a red heat in a platinum crucible. The excess of water is expelled,
and the hydrate, undergoing fusion, may be poured out and allowed to con-
geal.   Baryta dissolves  in water, and  forms the  test called barytic water.
A boiling saturated solution,  as it cools, yields  crystals of  baryta,  contain-
ing much water of crystallization.
  Baryta consists of one eq. of barium 68.7, and one eq. of oxygen 8=76.7.
Its symbol is BaO.                                               B.


         BARYT JK  CARBONAS.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                       Carbonate of Baryta.

  Carbonate de baryte, Fr.; Kohlensaurer Baryt, Germ.; Barilc carbonata, Ital; Car.
bonato de barilo, Span.
  The officinal carbonate of  baryta is the native  carbonate, a mineral dis-
covered in 1783,  by Dr. Withering, in honour of whom it is called With-
erite.   It is rather a  rare mineral.   It is found in  Sweden and Scotland,
but most abundantly in the lead-mines of the North of England.  It occurs
usually in grayish, or pale  yellowish-gray, fibrous masses, but sometimes
crystallized.   Its sp. gr.  varies from 4-2 to 4-4.   Generally it is strongly
translucent, but sometimes opaque.  It effervesces with acids, and, before
the  blowpipe,  melts into a white  enamel without losing its carbonic acid.
It is distinguished  from the carbonate of strontia, with which it is most liable
to be  confounded,  by its greater specific gravity, and by the absence of a
reddish flame  upon burning  alcohol impregnated with its nitric solution.
On  the animal economy, it acts as a poison.
  When pure, carbonate of baryta is entirely soluble in muriatic acid.  If
any sulphate of baryta be present,  it will be left undissolved.   If neither
ammonia nor sulphuretted hydrogen produce discoloration or a precipitate
in the  muriatic solution,  the  absence of alumina, iron, copper, and lead is
shown.  Lime may be detected by  adding to the muriatic solution an ex-
cess of sulphuric acid, which  will throw down the baryta as a sulphate, but
retain the lime in solution, discoverable by a precipitate  being produced by
carbonate of soda.
  Carbonate of baryta consists of one eq. of carbonic acid  22*12,  and one
of baryta 76 7=98*82.   Its only officinal use is  to make  the chloride of
barium. (See Barii Chloridum.)
  Off. Prep.  Barii Chloridum,  U. S., Lond., Ed.                  B.


              BARYTA SULPHAS.  Ed., Dub.

                        Sulphate  of  Baryta.

  Heavy spar, Baroselenite; Sulfate de baryte, Fr.; Schwcfelsaurer Baryt, Germ.; Barite
sol fata, Ital.
  The native sulphate of baryta is used in Pharmacy with the same view as
the  native carbonate; namely,  to obtain the chloride of barium.  The U. S.
and London Pharmacopoeias direct for this purpose the carbonate of baryta, 
part i.           Barytas Sulphas.—Belladonna.              137

and the Dublin College the sulphate; while the Edinburgh College  retains
both, giving a separate formula  for the use of each, according to the option
of the operator. (See Barii Chloridum.)
   Sulphate of baryta is a heavy lamellar, brittle mineral, varying in sp. gr.
from 4*4 to 4*6.  It is generally translucent,  but sometimes  transparent or
opaque, and its usual colour is  white or flesh-red.  When crystallized,  it
is usually in the form  of a very flat rhombic prism.  Before  the blowpipe,
it strongly decrepitates, and melts into a  white enamel, which, in the course
of ten or twelve hours, falls  to  powder.   By this treatment, it is partially
converted into sulphuret of barium, and, if applied to the tongue,  will give
a taste like that of putrid eggs,  which arises from the  formation of sulphu-
retted  hydrogen.   This  salt, on account of its great insolubility, is not
poisonous.  When ground  to  fine powder,  it is sometimes  mixed  with
white lead;  but it impairs the quality of that  pigment.   It consists  of one
equivalent of acid 40*1, and one of baryta 76*7=116 8.
   Off] Prep.  Barytae  Murias, Ed., Dub.                            B.


               BELLADONNA. U.S., Lond., Ed.

                            Belladonna.

   " The leaves of Atropa Belladonna."  U. S., Ed.  " Atropa Belladonna.
 Folia."  Lond.
   Off. Syn.   ATROPA BELLADONNA.  Folia et  radix.  Dub.
   Belladone, Fr.; Gemeine Tollkirsche, Wolfskirsche, Germ.;  Belladonna, Ilal;  Bella-
 dona, Belladama, Span.
   Atropa.  Sex.  Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Solanaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla bell-shaped.  Stamens distant.  Berry globular, two-
 celled.  Willd.
   Atropa Belladonna.  Willd.  Sp. Plant,  i.  1017; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
 230. i. 82.   The belladonna or deadly nightshade is an herbaceous pe-
 rennial plant, with a fleshy creeping root, from  which rise several erect,
round, purplish, branching stems,  to the  height of about three feet.  The
 leaves, which are attached by  short  footstalks  to the stem, are in pairs of
unequal  size,  oval, pointed, entire, of a  dusky green colour on their upper
surface,  and paler beneath.  The flowers are  large, bell-shaped, pendent, of
a dull reddish colour, and supported upon solitary peduncles, which rise
from the axils of the  leaves.    The fruit is a roundish  berry with a longitu-
dinal furrow on each side, at first green, afterwards red, ultimately  of a deep
purple colour, bearing considerable resemblance to  a  cherry,  and contain-
ing, in two distinct cells, numerous seeds, and a sweetish violet-coloured
juice.   The calyx adheres to the base of the fruit.
   The plant is a native  of Europe, where  it  grows in shady places, along
walls, and amidst rubbish, flowering in June and July, and ripening its fruit
in September. The leaves are the only part directed by the United States,
London, and  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias; the root  also is ordered by the
Dublin College.  The former should be collected  in June or July, the latter
in the  autumn or early in the spring,  and from plants three years old or
more.
   Properties.  The dried leaves are of a dull greenish colour, with a very
faint narcotic  odour, and a sweetish, subacrid, slightly nauseous taste.  The
 root is long, round, from one to several inches in thickness, branched and
fibrous, externally when dried of a reddish-brown  colour, internally whitish,
of little  odour, and a feeble sweetish taste.  Both  the  leaves and root, as
                                   13* 
138                           Belladonna.                       parti.
well as all other parts of the plant, impart their aetive properties to water
and alcohol.   By the researches  of the German  chemist  Brandes, it was
rendered probable  that  these properties resided in a peculiar alkaline prin-
ciple, which he  supposed to exist in the plant combined with an excess of
malic acid, and appropriately named atropia.  Besides the malate of atropia,
Brandes  found  in  the  dried herb  two  azotized  principles, a  green  resin
{chlorophylle), wax, gum, starch, albumen, lignin, and various saline ingre-
dients.   The alkaline principle was afterwards detected by M. Runge; and
the fact of its existence was established beyond question by the experiments
of  Geiger and  Hesse,  who obtained  it from an extract  prepared with the
stems and leaves of the plant.  It was first, however, procured in a state of
purity by Mein, a  German apothecary,  who extracted it from the root.*
Atropia crystallizes in  white, silky  prisms; is  inodorous  and  of a  bitter
taste; dissolves  easily  in absolute aleohol and ether, but  very slightly in
water, and more freely in all these liquids hot than cold;  melts at a temper-
ature above 212°, and is volatilized unchanged; restores the  colour of litmus
paper reddened  by the  acids;  forms soluble salts with the sulphuric, nitric,
muriatic, and acetic acids;  and,  in a very dilute  solution,  produces, when
applied to the eye,  a speedy and  durable dilatation of the pupil.  Like the
other vegetable alkalies, it consists of carbon, hydrogen,  oxygen, and  nitro-
gen—its  formula being  C34 H^ N06.   Liibekind has described, under the
name of belladonnin,  a volatile alkaline principle,  wholly  distinct from
atropia, whieh he obtained from  belladonna; but  it yet remains to be seen
whether this was   not the product of the process.   (See  Am. Journ.  of
Pharm. xiii. 127.)
   Medical Properties  and Uses.   The  action  of belladonna  is that of a
 powerful narcotic,  possessing also diaphoretic and  diuretic properties, and
somewhat disposed to operate upon the bowels.   Orfila infers from his ex-
periments, and from known facts,  that it has little intensity of local action,
but is absorbed, and entering the  circulation, exercises  its influence  upon
the nervous  system, especially upon the brain.   Among  the first obvious
   * Tbe following is the process employed by Mein. The roots of plants two or three
years old were selected.  Of these, reduced to an  extremely fine powder,  24 parts were
digested,  for several days,  with 60 parts of alcohol of 86 or  90 per cent.  The liquid
 having been separated by strong expression, tbe residue was treated  anew  with an equal
quantity of alcohol; and the tinctures,  poured together and filtered, were mixed with one
part of hydrate of lime, and  frequently shaken for twenty-four hours.  The copious pre-
cipitate which now formed was separated  by filtering; and diluted  sulphuric acid was
added drop by drop to the  filtered liquor, till slightly in excess.  The sulphate  of lime
 having been separated by a new filtration, the alcoholic liquid was distilled to one-half,
 then  mixed with 6 or  8 parts of pure water, and evaporated with a gentle heat till the
 whole of the  aleohol was driven off.   The residual  liquid was filtered, cautiously evapo-
 rated to one-third, and allowed to cool.  A concentrated aqueous solution of carbonate of
 potassa was then gradually added, so long as the liquid continued to be rendered turbid;
 and the mixture was  afterwards suffered to rest some hours,   A yellowish resinous sub-
 stance which opposes the crystallization of the atropia was thus precipitated.  From this
 the liquid was carefully decanted, and a  small additional quantity of the solution of the
 carbonate was dropped into it, till it no longer became turbid. A gelatinous mass now
 gradually formed, which, at the end of twelve or twenty-four hours, was agitated in order
 to separate the mother waters, then thrown  upon a  filter, and  dried by folds  of unsized
 paper.  The substance thus obtained, which  was atropia in an impure state, was dissolved
 in five times its weight of alcohol; and  the solution, having been filtered, was mixed with
 six or eight times its  bulk of water.  The liquor soon became milky, or was rendered so
 by evaporating the excess of alcohol, and, m the  course of twelve  or twenty-four hours,
 deposited the atropia in the form of light yellow crystals, which were rendered entirely
 pure and colourless by washing with a few drops of  water, drying on  blotting paper, and
 again treating with alcohol as before.  * rom twelve ounces of the root, Mein obtained by
 this process twenty grains of the pure alkali. {Journ. de Pharm. xx. 87 ) 
PART I.
Belladonna.
139
effects which it produces when taken in the usual dose, and  continued for
some time, are dryness and stricture of the fauces and neighbouring parts,
with slight uneasiness or giddiness of the head, and more or less dimness of
vision.   The practitioner  should watch for these effects  as  signs of  the
activity of the medicine, and should gradually increase the dose till  some
one of them is experienced in a slight degree, unless the object at which he
aims  should be  previously attained; but  so soon as they occur the dose
should be  diminished, or the use of the  narcotic suspended for  a  time.
When taken in too large a quantity, belladonna is capable of producing the
most deleterious effects. It is in fact a powerful poison, and many instances
are recorded in which it has been accidentally swallowed or purposely ad-
ministered with fatal consequences.   All parts of the plant are poisonous.
It is not uncommon, in  countries  where  the belladonna  grows wild, for
children to pick and eat the  berries, allured  by their fine  colour and sweet
taste.   Soon after the poison has been swallowed, its peculiar influence is
experienced in dryness of the mouth and fauces, great thirst, difficult deglu-
tition, nausea and  ineffectual retching, vertigo,  intoxication or delirium,
attended with violent gestures, and  sometimes with fits  of laughter, and fol-
lowed by a comatose state.  The pupil is dilated  and  insensible to light, the
face red and tumid, the mouth and jaws spasmodically affected, the stomach
and bowels insusceptible of impressions, in fact the whole nervous system
prostrate and  paralyzed.  A feeble pulse,  cold extremities, subsultus tendi-
num, deep coma or delirium, and sometimes convulsions, precede the fatal
 termination.  Dissection  discloses  appearances of inflammation in the  sto-
 mach and intestines; and it is said that the body soon begins to putrefy,
 swells, and becomes covered with livid spots, while  dark blood flows from
 the mouth, nose, and ears.  To obviate the poisonous effects of belladonna,
 the most effectual method is to evacuate the stomach as speedily as possible,
either by means of emetics, or the stomach-pump, and afterwards to cleanse
the bowels by purgatives and enemata.   It is not  probable that vinegar,
 which has been recommended, can be of any essential service as an antidote.
The infusion of galls might possibly be useful, and, if the experiments of M.
Runge  can be relied on, lime-water or the alkaline solutions  would render
 the poisonous matter which remained in the stomach inert.
   Notwithstanding the tremendous  energy of this narcotic when taken in
 very large doses, it has been used as a medicine, even from very early times.
 The leaves were first employed externally to discuss scirrhous tumours,
 and heal cancerous  and other ill-conditioned ulcers; and  were afterwards
 administered internally for the same purpose. Much evidence of their bene-
 ficial influence  in these  affections  is on  record, and even Dr. Cullen  has
 spoken  in their favour; but this application  of the remedy has fallen  into
 disuse.   It is at present more esteemed in nervous diseases.   The  German
 practitioners are much in the habit of using it  in  hooping-cough, in the
 advanced stages of which it is  undoubtedly sometimes  beneficial.  In neu-
 ralgia it is one of the most effectual remedies in our  possession; and we
 ourselves can bear testimony to its  usefulness in  this complaint.  Hufeland
 recommends it in the convulsions dependent on scrofulous irritation. It has
 been prescribed also in  chorea,  epilepsy, hydrophobia,  mania, paralysis,
 amaurosis, rheumatism, gout, obstinate intermittents, dropsy, and jaundice;
 and in such of these affections as have their seat chiefly in the nervous  sys-
 tem, it may sometimes do good.  It is said  to have been effectually employed
 in several cases of strangulated hernia.   In Germany it has within a  few
 years acquired great credit as a preventive  of scarlatina—an application of
the remedy first suggested by the famous author of  the homoeopathic  doc- 
140                 Belladonna.—Benzoinum.             part I.

trine,* and founded upon the idea, that, as the symptoms produced by scar-
latina in the nervous system closely resemble those which result from large
doses of belladonna, the former might be prevented, or at least moderated,
by establishing the latter, as small-pox is prevented by vaccination, or ren-
dered milder if the system has already come partially under its influence.
   Applied to the eye, belladonna has the property of dilating the pupil ex-
ceedingly, and for this purpose is sometimes employed by European oculists
previously to the operation for cataract.   In cases of partial  opacity of the
crystalline lens,  confined to the  centre of that  body, vision is temporarily
improved by a similar use of the remedy; and it may also perhaps be bene-
ficially used, when, from inflammation of the iris, there is danger of a per-
manent closure of  the pupil.  For these purposes,  a strong infusion  of the
plant, or a solution of the extract,  may  be dropped into the  eye, or  a little
of the extract itself rubbed upon  the eyelids.  The same application  of the
remedy has been  recommended  in  cases of morbid sensibility of the eye.
The decoction or extract of belladonna applied  to the neck of the uterus, is
asserted  to have hastened tedious labour dependent on rigidity of the os
tincae;  and spasmodic stricture  of the urethra, neck  of the  bladder,  and
sphincter ani, and  painful uterine affections have  been relieved by the local
use of the extract, either  smeared  upon bougies, or administered by injection.
In  the latter mode it has  sometimes relieved strangulated  hernia.   The
inhalation of the vapour from a decoction of the leaves  or extract has been
highly recommended in  spasmodic asthma.   For this purpose, two drachms
of the leaves, or fifteen  grains of the aqueous extract are employed to the
pint of water.  Relief is said to  have been obtained in phthisis by smoking
the leaves, infused when fresh  in  a strong solution of opium,  and then
dried.
   Belladonna may be given in substance, infusion, or extract. The dose of
the powdered leaves is for children from  the eighth to the fourth of a grain,
for adults one or two grains, repeated daily, or twice a day,  and  gradually
increased till the peculiar effects of the medicine are experienced.  An infu-
sion may be  prepared by adding a scruple of the dried leaves to ten fluid-
ounces of boiling water, of which from one to two fluidounces is the dose
for an adult.  The extract is more used in the United States than any other
preparation.  (See Extractum Belladonnae.)
   Off. Prep. Extractum Belladonna?, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Extract.
Belladonnae Alcoholicum, U. S.;  Tinctura Belladonnas,  U. S.        W.


               BENZOINUM.   U.S., Lond., Ed.

                             Benzoin.

  " The concrete  juice of Sty rax  Benzoin." U. S.   " Styrax Benzoin.
Balsamum." Lond.  " Concrete balsamic exudation of Styrax Benzoin."
Ed.
   Off. Syn. STYRAX  BENZOIN. Resina. Dub.
   Benjoin, Fr; Denzoe, Germ.; Belzoino,  Ital; Benjui, Span.
  The botanical  source of benzoin was long uncertain.   At one time  it was
generally supposed  in Europe to be derived from the Laurus Benzoin of
this country. This error was corrected by Linnaeus, who, however, com-
mitted another, in ascribing the drug to the Croton Benzoe, a shrub 'which
he afterwards described under the name of Terminalia Benzoin. Mr. Dry-
* Hahnemann of Leipsick. 
PART I.
Benzoinum.
141
ander was the first who ascertained the true benzoin tree to be a Styrax;
and his  description, published in the 77th vol. of the English Philosoph.
Transact., has been copied by most subsequent writers.  The specimen by
which Mr. Dryander decided the generic character, was obtained by Sir
Jos. Banks from Mr. Marsden at Sumatra.
   Styrax. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Styraceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx  inferior. Corolla funnel-shaped.  Drupe two-seeded.
Willd.
   Styrax Benzoin.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 623; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 294.
t.  102.   This is a tall tree of quick growth, sending off many strong round
branches, covered with a whitish downy bark.   Its leaves are  alternate,
entire, oblong, pointed, smooth above, and downy beneath.  The flowers are
in compound, axillary clusters, nearly as long as the leaves, and usually
hang all on the same side upon short slender pedicels.
   The benzoin, or benjamin tree as it is sometimes called,  is a native of
Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Laos, and Siam. {Ainslie.)  By wounding the bark
near the origin of the lower branches, a juice exudes, which hardens upon
exposure, and  constitutes the benzoin of commerce.   A tree is  thought of
a  proper age to be wounded at six years, when its trunk is about  seven or
eight inches in diameter.  The operation is performed annually, and the  pro-
duct on each occasion from one tree never exceeds three pounds.  The juice
which first flows is  the purest, and affords the whitest and most fragrant
benzoin. It is exported chiefly from Acheen in Sumatra, and comes  into
 the western markets  in large masses packed in  chests and casks, and  pre-
 senting  externally the impression of the reed  mats in which  they were
 originally contained.
   Two kinds of benzoin are distinguishable in  the market, one consisting
chiefly of whitish tears united by a reddish brown connecting medium, the
other of brown or blackish masses, without tears.  The first is the most
valuable, and has been called benzoe amygdaloides, from the resemblance
of the white  grains to fragments of blanched almonds; the second is some-
times called  benzoe  in  sortis—benzoin  in sorts—and  usually  contains
numerous impurities.  Between these two  kinds there is every gradation.
We have seen specimens of this balsam consisting exclusively of yellowish-
white homogeneous  fragments, which, when broken, presented a perfectly
smooth, clear,  white, shining surface.  These were no doubt identical in
constitution with the  tears of the larger masses.
   Properties.  Benzoin has an agreeable and fragrant odour, with very little
taste; but when chewed for some time, leaves a sense  of irritation in the
mouth and fauces.  It breaks with a resinous fracture,  and presents a mot-
tled surface  of white and brown or reddish-brown;  the white spots being
smooth and shining, while the remainder, though sometimes shining and
even translucent, is usually more  or less  rough and  porous, and often ex-
hibits impurities.  In the inferior kinds,  the white  spots are very few or
entirely wanting.   Benzoin is easily pulverized,  and while in the process
of being powdered is apt to excite sneezing.   Its sp. gr. is  from 1-063 to
1-092.  YVhen heated, it melts and emits thick, white, pungent fumes, which
excite cough when inhaled, and consist chiefly of benzoic acid. It is wholly
soluble, with  the exception of impurities,  in alcohol;  and is precipitated by
water from the  solution, rendering the liquor milky like the gum-resins.  It
imparts to boiling-water a notable proportion of benzoic acid.  Lime-water
and the alkaline solutions partially dissolve  it, forming benzoates, from which
the acid  may be precipitated by the addition of another,  having stronger
affinity for the base.   Its chief constituents are resin and benzoic acid;  and 
142
Benzoinum.—Bismuthum.
part r.
it  therefore belongs to  the  balsams.   The white tears,  and the brownish
connecting medium, are said by Stolze to contain very nearlj- the same pro-
portion of acid, which, according to Bucholz, is 12*5 per cent., to  Stolze
19*8 per cent.  The resin is of three different kinds, one extracted from the
balsam along with  the benzoic acid by  a  boiling solution of carbonate of
potassa in excess, another dissolved by ether from the residue, and the third
affected by neither of these solvents.  Besides benzoic acid and resin, the
balsam contains a minute proportion of extractive, and traces of volatile oil.
   Medical  Properties  and  Uses.  Benzoin, like  the  other balsams, is
stimulant and expectorant, and was  formerly employed in various pectoral
affections; but, except as an  ingredient of the compound tincture of benzoin,
it  has fallen into almost entire disuse. Trousseau and Pidoux recommended
it  strongly,  in the way of fumigation, in chronic laryngitis.  Either the air
of the chamber may be impregnated with its vapour by placing  a small
portion upon some  live  coals, or  the patient may inhale the vapour of boil-
ing water to which the balsam has  been added.  It is employed in phar-
macy for  the  preparation of benzoic acid (see  Acidum Benzoicum); and
the milky liquor resulting from the  addition of  water to its alcoholic solu-
tion, is sometimes used as a cosmetic,  under the impression that it renders
the skin soft and tender.  In the  East  Indies it is burnt by the Hindoos as
a perfume in their temples.
   Off. Prep.  Acidum  Benzoicum, U.  S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.;  Tinctura
Benzoini Composita, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.                     W.


            BISMUTHUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                              Bismuth.

   Tinglass; Etain  de glace, Bismuth, Fr.; Wissmuth, Germ.; Bismutte, Ital;  Bismuti
Span.
   Bismuth  is a peculiar metal,  occurring usually in the metallic state, occa-
sionally as a sulphuret,  and  rarely as an oxide. It is by no means generally
diffused, being principally found  in  Saxony. It occurs also in Cornwall,
and has been found at Monroe, Conn., seventeen miles west of New-Haven.
It is obtained almost entirely from the  native bismuth, which is heated by
means of wood  or charcoal,  whereby the metal is fused and separated from
its gangue.   Almost all the bismuth of commerce comes  from Saxony.
   Bismuth  was first distinguished as a metal by Agricola in 1520.   Before
that period  it was confounded with lead.   It is a brittle, pulverizable, bril-
liant metal, of a crystalline texture, and of a  white colour with a slight reddish
tint.  Its crystals are in  the form of cubes.  It undergoes but a slight  tarnish
in the air.   Its sp.  gr. is 9*8, and its melting point 476°.   At a high tem-
perature, in close vessels, it volatilizes, and  may be distilled over.   When
heated in the open air to a full  red heat, it takes  fire, and  burns  with a
faint  blue flame, forming  an oxide of a yellow  colour.   This  is the pro-
toxide, and consists of one  equivalent  of  bismuth 71, and one of oxygen
8  = 79.  Besides  this  oxide,  bismuth  forms a sesquioxide of a brown
colour, very like the deutoxide  of lead,  and consisting of two  equiv. of
metal  142, and three of oxygen 24 = 166.   Bismuth is  acted on feebly by
muriatic acid, but violently by nitric acid, which dissolves it with a copious
extrication  of red fumes.   Sulphuric acid when cold has no action on it,
but at a boiling  heat effects its solution with  the extrication of sulphurous
acid.   As it occurs in commerce, it is generally contaminated with a little
arsenic, the presence of which may be  detected by its not being completely 
PART I.
Bismuthum.—Brominum.
143
soluble in an excess of nitric acid.   It  may be purified from  all contami-
nating metals, by dissolving the bismuth  of commerce in diluted nitric acid,
precipitating  the clear solution by  adding it  to water, and reducing the
white powder thus obtained (subnitrate of bismuth) with black flux.  The
same precipitate is obtained by  adding ammonia to the nitric solution; and
if the supernatant liquor should be blue, the presence of copper is indi-
cated.   If the precipitate is yellowish, iron is present.
   Pharmaceutical Uses, §c.  Bismuth, in an uncombined state, is not used
in medicine, but is employed pharmaceutically to obtain  the subnitrate  of
bismuth, the  only medicinal preparation formed from this metal.   In the
arts, it is used to form a white paint for the  complexion, called pearl white;
and as an ingredient of the best pewter.   Its consumption is limited  by the
small quantity of the metal which is supplied to commerce, this being com-
puted not to exceed annually eleven or twelve thousand pounds.
   Off. Prep.  Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.          B.

                BROMINUM.  U.S. Secondary.

                              Bromine.

   Off. Syn.  BROMINIUM. Lond.
   Biorne, Fr.; Brom, Germ.; Bromo, Ital.
   Bromine is an elementary body, possessing many analogies with chlorine
 and iodine.  It was discovered in 1826 by Balard, a chemist of Montpellier,
 in the bittern of sea-salt works, in which it exists  as a bromide of  magne-
 sium.  Since then it has been discovered  in the waters of the  ocean,  in
 certain marine animals  and  vegetables,  in numerous salt springs, both  in
 Europe and America, and, in  two instances,  in the mineral kingdom—in
 an ore of zinc, and in the cadmium of Silesia.  In the United States it was
 first discovered by Professor Silliman,  who found it in the bittern of the
 salt works at Salina, in the state of New York, where it  exists apparently
 in considerable  quantities.   It has been detected also in the waters of the
 Saratoga Springs, and was found by the date Professor Emmet, of the Uni-
 versity of Virginia, in the Kenhawa water.
   Preparation.  Bromine  is prepared  by passing a  current of chlorine
 through bittern, and then agitating it strongly with a portion of ether. The
 chlorine decomposes the bromide of magnesium present in the bittern, form-
 ing a chloride of magnesium; and the disengaged bromine  dissolves in the
 ether, to which it communicates a hyacinth-red colour.  The ethereal solu-
 tion of bromine is next  decanted, and treated with  a concentrated solution
 of caustic potassa, whereby the bromine is converted into bromide of potas-
 sium, and bromate of potassa.   In the mean time the ether loses its colour
 and becomes pure, and may be again employed in dissolving fresh portions
 of bromine.  Having in  this way obtained  a sufficient quantity of the salts
 above mentioned, their solution is evaporated  to dryness, and  the dry mass
 calcined  at a  red heat, in order  to convert the bromate of potassa into bro-
mide of potassium.   The bromide is next decomposed by distilling it, with
sulphuric acid  and deutoxide of manganese, from a retort furnished with a
bent tube plunging into water contained in a bottle.   The acid combines
with potassium and oxygen, so as to form sulphate of potassa,  and the libe-
rated bromine distils over, and condenses under the water.
   Properties. Bromine is a volatile liquid, of a dark red colour when  viewed
in mass, but  hyacinth-red in thin layers.   Its taste is very caustic,  and  its
smell strong and disagreeable,  having some resemblance to that of chlorine. 
144
Brominum.—Calamus.
PART I.
Its density is very nearly 3.  At 4° below zero it becomes a hard, brittle,
crystalline solid, having a dark leaden colour, and a lustre nearly metallic.
It boils at about 117°, forming  a reddish vapour  resembling that of nitrous
acid,  and of the sp. gr. 5*39.   It evaporates readily,  a single drop being
sufficient to fill a large flask with its  peculiar vapour.  This  vapour ex-
tinguishes flame,  but previously communicates to it a greenish colour at its
base,  and a red one above.
  Bromine is sparingly soluble  in water to which it communicates an orange
colour, more soluble in alcohol, and  still more so in ether.   The  alcoholic
and ethereal solutions lose their colour in a few days, and become acid from
the generation of hydrobromic  acid.  It bleaches vegetable  substances like
chlorine, and decomposes organic matters, such as wood, cork, resins, vola-
tile oils, &c.   Its combination with starch has a yellow colour.  It corrodes
the skin and gives it a deep yellow stain.
  Bromine is intermediate in its affinities between chlorine and iodine; since
its combinations are decomposed  by chlorine, while, in its  turn, it decom-
poses  those of iodine.   Its equiv. number  is 78-4 and its symbol Br.  It
forms acids with both oxygen and hydrogen, called bromic and hydrobromic
acids, which are analogous both in properties  and composition  to the cor-
responding compounds  of chlorine and iodine.   In testing for bromine in
mineral or saline waters, the water is evaporated in order to crystallize most
of the salts.  The solution, after having been filtered, is placed in a narrow
tube,  and a few drops of strong liquid chlorine are added.   If this addition
produces an orange colour, bromine  is present.  The water, in order that
the test may succeed, must be  free from organic matter, and the chlorine
not added in excess.
  Medical Properties. Bromine, from its analogy to iodine, was early tried
as a remedy, and  the result has demonstrated its value as a therapeutic agent
in certain forms of disease.  It acts, like iodine, by stimulating the lymphatic
system and promoting absorption, but is generally supposed to possess more
energy.  It has been employed in bronchocele and other tumours, scrofula,
amenorrhcea, chronic diseases of the  skin, and hypertrophy of  the ventri-
clgs.   Magendie recommends its employment in cases in which iodine does
not operate with  sufficient activity, or  has lost its  effect by habit.   The
form in which it is employed is aqueous solution, the dose of which, con-
taining one part of bromine to  forty of  distilled  water, is  about six drops
taken  several times a day.  Of  its compounds, the bromides of potassium,
iron, and mercury have been chiefly tried in medicine.  The former has
been introduced as a new officinal in the last London Pharmacopoeia.  (See
Potassii Bromidum.)  The bromide of iron and the two bromides of mer-
cury will be noticed in the Appendix.
  Bromine, when given in an overdose,  acts as an irritant poison.
  Off. Prep. Potassii Bromidum, Lond.                           B.


                 CALAMUS.  U.S.  Secondary.

                            Sweet Flag.

  " The rhizoma of Acorus Calamus."   U. S.
  Off. Syn. ACORUS.  Acorus Calamus. Rhizoma. Lond.; CALAMUS
AROMATICUS. Rhizoma of Acorus Calamus, var. a, vulgaris. Ed.
  Acorus vrai, Acorus odorant, Fr.; Kalmuswurzel, Germ.; Calamo  aromatico] llal,
Span.
  Acorus.  Sex. Syst.  Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Acoraceee. 
PART I.
Calamus.
145
  Gen. Ch.  Spadix cylindrical, covered with florets.  Corolla six-petalled,
naked. Style none.  Capsule three-celled. Willd.
  Acorus Calamus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 199; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 63.
The sweet flag, or calamus, has a perennial, horizontal, jointed, somewhat
compressed  root (rhizome), from half an inch to an inch thick, sometimes
several feet in length, sending off numerous round and yellowish or whitish
fibres from its base,  and bunches of brown fibres resembling coarse hair from
its joints, internally white and spongy, externally whitish  with a  tinge of
green, variegated with triangular shades  of light brown and rose colour.
The leaves are all radical, sheathing at the base, long, sword-shaped, smooth,
green above, but of a red colour variegated with green and white near their
origin from  the root.  The scape or flower-stem resembles  the  leaves, but
is longer, and from  one side, near the middle of its length, sends out a cylin-
drical spadix, tapering at each end,  about two inches in length, and crowded
with greenish-yellow flowers.  These are without calyx, and have six small,
concave, membranous, truncated petals.   The  fruit is an oblong  capsule,
divided into three cells, and  containing numerous oval seeds.
   This is an indigenous plant, growing abundantly throughout the United
States, in low, wet,  swampy places,  and along the  sides of ditches  and
streams, and flowering in May and June.  It is also a native of Europe and
Western Asia; and a variety of the same  species is found  in India.   The
European plant differs from the American in some unimportant particulars.
 The leaves  as well as  root  have an aromatic odour;  but the latter only is
 used in medicine.   It  should  be  collected late in the autumn or  in the
 spring.   After removal from the ground, the roots are washed, freed from
 their  numerous fibres, and dried with  a moderate heat.  By  the process  of
 drying they lose nearly one-half their diameter, but are improved  in odour
 and taste.
   Properties.   The roots, as found in the shops,  are in pieces of various
lengths, somewhat  flattened, externally wrinkled and of a yellowish-brown
colour, and  presenting on their under surface numerous minute  circular spots,
indicating the  points  at  which the fibres were inserted.   Their texture is
light and spongy, their colour internally  whitish or  yellowish-white,  and
their fracture short and rough.   Sometimes  pieces  are brought  into the
 market consisting exclusively of the interior portion of the root.  They are
 usually long, slender, irregularly quadrangular, and of a grayish-white colour;
 and are prepared by paring  off the outer  coat with a knife.  The  odour of
 calamus is strong and  fragrant; its taste warm, bitterish,, pungent,  and aro-
 matic.   Its  active  principles  are  taken up by boiling water.  From one
 hundred parts of the fresh root of the European plant, Trommsdorff obtained
 0-1 part of volatile oil, 2-3 of a soft resin, 3-3 of extractive with a little chlo-
 ride of potassium, 5-5 of gum with some phosphate of potassa, l*6of starch,
 analogous to inulin, 21-5 of lignin, and 65-7 of water.   Sixteen ounces of
 the dried root afforded to Neumann about two scruples of volatile oil.  The
 oil is at first yellow, but ultimately becomes red, and has the smell and taste
 of calamus.   The  extractive matter has an acrid and sweetish taste.   The
 root is sometimes attacked by worms, and deteriorates by keeping.
   The root of the Indian variety is said to  be less thick than the European,
 and to have a stronger and more  pleasant  taste and smell.    It is  supposed
 by some to  be the true calamus of the  ancients, though the claims  of either
variety to this honour have not been certainly established.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Calamus is a stimulant tonic, possessing
 the  ordinary virtues of the  aromatics.  It may be  taken with advantage in
pain or  uneasiness of the stomach or bowels  arising from flatulence, and
        14 
146
Calamus.—Calcii Chloridum.
PART I.
forms a useful adjuvant to tonic or purgative medicines, in cases of torpor or
debility of the  alimentary canal.  It was probably known to the  ancients;
but the calamus aromaticus of Dioscorides was a different product, having
been derived, according to Dr. Royle, from a species of Andropogon.   The
medicine is at present  much neglected, though well calculated to answer as
a substitute for more  costly aromatics.   The dose in substance is from a
scruple to a drachm.   An infusion, made in  the proportion of an ounce of
the root to a  pint of boiling water, is sometimes given in the dose of a wine-
glassful or more.                                                  W.


             CALCII CHLORIDUM.  U.S.,  Lond.

                        Chloride  of Calcium.

   Off. Syn.  CALCIS MURIAS. Ed., Dub.
   Muriate of lime, Hydrochlorate of lime; Chlorure de calcium, Ilydrochlorate de  chaux,
Fr.; Chlorcalcium, Salzsaurer Kalk, Germ.
   Chloride of calcium is a compound of chlorine  and calcium, the metallic
radical of lime.   It is placed in the list of the Materia Medica in the United
States Pharmacopoeia, but processes for preparing it are given by the London,
Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges.  It may be readily formed by saturating
muriatic  acid with chalk or marble,  evaporating to dryness, and heating to
redness.   The muriatic  acid, by reacting with the lime, forms chloride of
calcium and  water, the latter of which is dissipated at a red heat.   The
London College forms the chloride  from chalk in the following manner.
" Take five ounces of chalk, and ten fluidounces, each, of hydrochloric acid
and distilled water.  Having mixed the acid and  water together, add the
chalk gradually to the mixture to perfect saturation.  After the effervescence
shall have ceased, filter  the liquor,  and evaporate it to dryness.   Put the
dry salt in a crucible, and having fused  it, pour it out  upon a clean  stone
slab.   When it  has cooled, break  it into pieces, which must be kept in
bottles well stopped."   The  Edinburgh process is substantially the  same
with the  London.  The only differences are that the Edinburgh  College
uses white marble  in  fragments, and obtains  the  chloride in crystals, by
evaporating the solution resulting from the saturation to one-half, and setting
it aside in a cold  place.
   In making chloride of calcium, the Dublin College  uses the residuum of
their process for obtaining water of ammonia. The latter preparation being
procured  by the  action of lime  on  muriate  of ammonia, the  residuum is
a  solution of chloride  of calcium; but it generally contains adhering am-
monia and an  excess  of lime.   Any quantity of this residuum is taken,
and, after being  filtered, is evaporated to dryness.  The  excess  of lime
may be saturated with muriatic acid, or converted into  an insoluble carbo-
nate by exposing the solution for some time  to the air.
   Properties.  Chloride of calcium, in the fused  or anhydrous state, as it
is directed or understood to be in the U. S., London  and Dublin Pharma-
copoeias, is a colourless, slightly translucent, hard and friable solid,  of an
acrid, bitter,  saline taste, extremely deliquescent, very soluble in water, and
readily soluble in rectified spirit.  On  account of its avidity for water, the
fused salt is used for drying gases,  and for bringing alcohol to its highest
degree of concentration.   It is employed  for the latter purpose by the Lon-
don and Dublin Colleges.  The crystallized salt, as directed by the  Edin-
burgh College, is also very deliquescent, and has the form of colourless,
transparent, striated, six-sided prisms.  The crystals, on exposure to heat, 
part i.                Calcis Hydras.—Calx.                   147

first dissolve in their water of crystallization, and, after this has evaporated,
undergo the igneous fusion.  With ice or snow they form a powerful freez-
ing mixture.  Solution of chloride of calcium, when pure,  yields no pre-
cipitate with ammonia, chloride of barium, or ferrocyanuret of potassium
dissolved in a large quantity of water.  The non-action of these tests seve-
rally shows the absence of magnesia, sulphuric acid, and iron.
   Chloride of calcium exists in solution in the water of the ocean and of
many springs.   It  is usually associated with common salt and chloride
of magnesium, from which it is separated with difficulty.
   Composition.  Chloride  of calcium consists  of  one  eq.  of  chlorine
35*42, and one  of  calcium 20*5=55*92.   When crystallized, it contains
six eqs. of water=54.
   Chloride of calcium is used medicinally in solution only.   In this state
it is officinal under  the name of Liquor Calcii  Chloridi, under which title
its medicinal properties will be given.
   Off. Prep.  Liquor Calcii Chloridi, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Morphia? Murias,
Ed.                                                             B.

                   CALCIS  HYDRAS.  Lond.

                          Hydrate of Lime.

   ■' Calx recens usta aqua resoluta."  Lond.
   Slaked lime; Hydrate  de chaux, Chaux eteinte, Fr.; GelrSschter Kalk, Germ.
   The London  College has introduced hydrate of lime as a new officinal in
 their revised Pharmacopoeia of 1836.  It is readily prepared by adding
 water to  quicklime by small  quantities at a time, until the earth falls into
powder.  During the  operation, which is called the slaking of lime, a great
deal of heat is evolved, and the water forms with the earth a solid compound,
called hydrate of lime.  It is white, pulverulent, and much less caustic than
lime.   Exposed to  the air it attracts  carbonic acid, and when subjected to
a high temperature, abandons  the  water which  it contains, and returns to
the state of lime.  When perfectly formed, the hydrate contains  nearly
one-fourth  of its weight of water, corresponding to one eq. of the earth and
one of water.   Its only officinal use is to form chlorinated lime, or bleach-
ing powder. (See Calx Chlorinata.)  The tests for hydrate of lime are  the
same  as for lime. (See Calx.)
   Off. Prep. Calx  Chlorinata, Lond.                              B.


                 CALX.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                               Lime.

   " Lime  recently prepared by calcination."  U. S.  " Calx recens usta."
Lond.
   Quicklime; Chaux, Chaux vive, Fr.; Kalk, Germ.; Calce, Ital; Calviva, Span.
   Lime, which ranks  among the alkaline earths, is a very important phar-
maceutical  agent, and  forms the principal ingredient in several standard pre-
parations.   The London and  Edinburgh  Colleges give  processes for  its
preparation; but in the United States and Dublin Pharmacopoeias, it is placed
exclusively in the list  of the Materia Medica.
   Lime is a very abundant natural  production.   It is never found pure,  but
mostly combined with acids, as with carbonic acid  in chalk,  marble, calca-
reous spar, limestone,  and shells; with sulphuric acid in the different species
of gypsum  or plaster of Paris; with phosphoric acid in the bones of animals,
and with silica in a great variety of minerals. 
14S
Calx.
part i.
  Preparation.   Lime is  prepared by calcining, with a strong heat, some
form of the native carbonate.   The carbonic acid is thus expelled, and the
lime remains behind.   When the lime is intended  for nice chemical  opera-
tions, it should be obtained from pure white marble, or from oyster  shells.
For the purposes of the arts, it is procured from common limestone, by cal-
cining it in kilns of peculiar construction.   When obtained in this way, it
is  generally impure,  being of a grayish colour, and  containing  alumina,
silica, sesquioxide of  iron,  and  occasionally a little magnesia and oxide of
manganese.
  The officinal lime of the United States and Dublin Pharmacopoeias is the
lime of commerce, and, therefore, impure.   That obtained  by the processes
of the London and Edinburgh  Colleges  is purer.   The London College
takes a pound of chalk, and exposes it, broken into small pieces, to  a very
strong fire for an hour.  The Edinburgh directions are  to heat white mar-
ble, broken into small fragments, in a covered crucible, at a full red heat for
three hours, or till the residuum, when slaked and suspended in water, no
longer effervesces with muriatic  acid.
  Properties.  Lime is a  grayish-white solid, having  a  strong, caustic,
alkaline taste, and the sp.gr. 2-3.  It is very refractory in the fire,  having
been fused only by the compound blowpipe of Dr. Hare.   Exposed to the
air, it absorbs moisture and carbonic acid, and falls  into a white powder. In
this state, it is a mixture of carbonate and hydrate.   On  account of  its lia-
bility to change by being kept, lime, intended for pharmaceutical purposes,
should be recently burnt.  It acts upon vegetable  colours  as a strong alka-
line base.  Upon the  addition of water, it cracks  and falls into powder, with
the evolution of heat.   (See Calcis Hydras, Lond.)  If it dissolve in muri-
atic acid without effervescence,  the fact shows the absence  of carbonic acid,
and that the lime  has  been well burnt.   If any silica be present, it will be
left undissolved  by the muriatic acid.  If the solution  give no precipitate
with ammonia, the absence of iron and alumina is  shown.
  Lime is but sparingly soluble in water, requiring, at the temperature of
60°, about seven hundred times its weight of that liquid for complete solution.
Contrary  to the general  law, it  is less soluble in  hot  than in cold  water.
The solution formed is called lime-water.
  Lime is the oxide of a peculiar metal, called calcium, and consists  of one
eq. of  caleium 20*5, and one of  oxygen 8=28*5.   It is distinguished from
the other  alkaline  earths by forming a very deliquescent salt with muriatic
acid {chloride of calcium),  and a sparingly soluble one with sulphuric acid.
All acids, acidulous, ammoniacal, and metallic salts, borates, alkaline  carbo-
nates, and astringent vegetable infusions, are incompatible with it.
  Medical Properties.   Lime  acts externally as  an escharotie,  and was
formerly applied  to ill-conditioned ulcers.  Mixed with caustic potassa, it
forms the Potassa cum Calce.   As an internal remedy,  it is always admi-
nistered in solution. (See Liquor Calcis.)
  Economical Uses.   The uses of lime  in the arts are numerous.  It is
employed in the fabrication of soap, to render the fixed alkalies caustic; as
a manure for fertilizing fields; and mixed with sand and  water, as the ordi-
nary cement of buildings.
  Lime is used to prepare Alcohol, Ed., not Lond.; Liquor Ammoniae, U. S„
Lond., Ed., Dub.; Liquor Potassae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Quiniae Sul-
phas, U. S.; Spiritus Ammoniae,  U. S., Ed.; Strychnia, U. S., Ed.; Sulphur
Praecipitatum, U. S.
   Off. Prep. Liquor  Calcis, U.  S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Potassa cum Calce,
Lond., Ed., Dub.                                                 B. 
PART I.
Calx Chlorinata.
149
          CALX  CHLORINATA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                          Chlorinated Lime.

   " A compound resulting from the action of chlorine on hydrate of lime."
 U.S.
   Chloride of lime, Hypochlorite of lime, Oxymuriate of lime, Bleaching powder; Chlo-
 rure de chaux, Fr; Chlorkalk, Germ.; Cloruro de calce, Ital.
   This substance was originally prepared, and brought into notice as a
 bleaching agent, in 1798, by  Mr. Tennant of Glasgow.  Subsequently it
 was  found to have valuable properties as a  medicine and disinfectant, and,
 accordingly,  it has  been successively introduced  into the London, Edin-
 burgh, and United States Pharmacopoeias.  The London College only has
 given a process for its preparation, which is as follows:   " Take of Hydrate
 of Lime a pound; Chlorine as much as may be sufficient.  Pass the chlo-
 rine  over the lime, spread in a  proper vessel, until it is saturated.   Chlorine
 is very readily evolved from Hydrochloric, [muriatic] Acid added  to Bin-
 oxide [deutoxide] of Manganese, with a gentle heat."
   This process of the London College is unnecessary; as chlorinated lime
 is made in large quantities, and of excellent quality, by  the manufacturing
 chemist, for the use of the bleacher, dyer, and paper-maker.  The following
 is the process pursued on the  large scale.  A chamber is constructed eight
 or nine feet high, built of siliceous sandstone, the joints being secured by a
 cement of pitch, rosin, and dry gypsum.   At one end it is furnished with
 an air-tight door, and  on each  side with a glass window, to enable the ope-
 rator to inspect the  process during its progress.   The slaked or hydrated
 lime is sifted and placed on wooden trays, eight or ten feet long, two broad,
 and one inch deep.   These are piled within the chamber to the height of
 five or six feet on cross-bars, which, by keeping them  about an inch asun-
 der, favour the circulation of the gas over the lime.
   The chlorine is generated in a leaden vessel nearly spherical, the lower
 portion of which is surrounded with an iron case, leaving an interstice two
 inches wide, intended  to  receive steam for  the  purpose of producing the
 requisite heat.  In the leaden vessel are five apertures.   The first is  in the
 centre of the top, and receives a tube which  descends nearly to the bottom,
 and through which a vertical stirrer passes,  intended to mix the materials,
 and furnished, at the lower end, with horizontal cross-bars of iron, or of
 wood sheathed with lead.  The second is for the introduction of the com-
 mon salt and manganese.   The third admits a syphon-shaped funnel, through
 which the sulphuric  acid is introduced; the fourth is connected with a pipe
 to lead off the gas;  and the fifth,  which is near the bottom, receives  a dis-
 charge pipe, passing through the iron case, and intended for drawing  off the
 residuum of the operation.
   The pipe passing from the leaden vessel terminates under water contained
 in a leaden chest or cylinder, where the gas is  washed from muriatic acid.
 From this intermediate vessel,  the chlorine finally passes, by means of a
 pretty large leaden pipe,  through the ceiling of  the chamber containing the
 lime.   The  process  of impregnation generally lasts four  days, in order to
 form  a good  bleaching powder.  If the  process be hastened, heat will be
 generated, which will favour the production of chloride of calcium, attended
 with a proportional diminution of chloride of lime.
  The proportions  of the materials employed for generating chlorinated
lime vary in different manufactories.  Those generally adopted are 10 cwt.
                                  14* 
150
Calx Chlorinata.
PART I.
of the salt, mixed with  from 10 to 14 cwt. of deutoxide of manganese; to
which are added, in successive portions, from 12 to 14 cwt. of strong sul-
phuric acid, diluted before being used  until its sp. gr.  is reduced to  about
1*65, which will be accomplished by adding about one-third of its weight
of water.   In manufactories in which sulphuric acid is also made, the acid
intended for this process is brought to the sp. gr. of 1*65 only, whereby the
expense of further concentration is saved.
  Properties.  Chlorinated lime is a dry or  slightly moist, grayish-white,
pulverulent substance, possessing an  acrid, hot, bitter, astringent taste, and
a feeble odour resembling that of chlorine.  It possesses powerful bleach-
ing properties.  When perfectly saturated with chlorine, it dissolves almost
entirely in water; but as ordinarily prepared, a large portion is insoluble,
consisting of hydrate of lime.   When exposed to heat, it gives off oxygen
and some  chlorine,  and  is converted  into chloride of calcium.   It is incom-
patible with the mineral acids, with carbonie acid,  and the  alkaline car-
bonates.   The acids evolve chlorine  copiously, and the alkaline carbonates
cause a precipitate of carbonate of lime.  (See Liquor Sodae Chlorinatae.)
  Composition.   Although the bleaching powder  has  been studied by a
number of able  chemists, its composition is  still involved in doubt.  Dr.
Ure believes that it  consists of hydrate  of lime and chlorine, united in vari-
able proportions, not correspondent to equivalent  quantities.  According
to Brande, Grouvelle, and Phillips, the compound obtained when  chlorine
ceases to be absorbed, consists of one eq. of ehlorine and two of hydrate of
lime, resolvable, by water, into one eq. of hydrated chloride of  lime which
dissolves, and one of hydrate of lime which is left.  Dr. Thomson, however,
asserts that the substance has been so much improved in quality of late years,
that good  samples consist of single  equivalents of chlorine and lime, and
are almost entirely soluble in water.  It thus appears that all the best autho-
rities agree in considering the bleaching powder to contain lime and water,
or their elements,  together with chlorine.  From the statement of Dr.
Thomson, it may be assumed as probable that the essential  part of the
compound is the portion soluble in water. Hence, its ultimate constituents,
exclusive of the elements of water, are  one eq. of ehlorine, one of calcium,
and one of oxygen; the  excess of lime found by Phillips and others, being
a portion of the earth imperfectly hydrated, and, therefore, in an unfit state to
be acted on by the chlorine.   Three views are taken of the manner in which
these elements are united to form the  bleaching powder.   The first makes it
a chloride of lime,  the  second hypochlorite  of lime with chloride of cal-
cium, and the third, oxychloride of ealcium.  By doubling the elements
present, it is easily  shown by symbols, that the several views taken do not
ehange the ultimate composition of the compound;  for 2CaO-f-2Cl=CaO,
C10 + CaCl=2CaOCl.
  The simplest view of the nature of the bleaching powder is that which
supposes it a compound of chlorine  and lime.   The view which makes it
a hypochlorite is that of Balard and Berzelius, and is supported by the fact
that the compound  smells of hypoehlorous acid.   On the other hand, if it
contains  chloride  of calcium, it ought to deliquesce, unless  it can be
shown that the metallic  chloride is in such a state of combination as to pre-
vent this result.  The third view, that it is an oxychloride, which assimilates
its nature  to that of the  deutoxide of calcium, is held by Millon.   Accord-
ing  to this  chemist, the quantity of chlorine taken up by a metallic pro-
toxide, is  regulated  by the nature of its peroxide.  The peroxide of calcium
is a deutoxide (Ca02); and Millon contends that, in the bleaching powder,
by the replacement of the second equivalent of oxygen in the deutoxide, we 
PART I.
Calx Chlorinata.
151
have the compound CaOCl.  Again, the peroxide of potassium is  repre-
sented by  K03,  and Millon  states  that  the bleaching compound  which
potassa (KO) makes with  chlorine,  is  K0C12.   If further  observation
should show that the number of equivalents of chlorine, necessary to con-
vert a protoxide into a bleaching compound, is always  equal to the number
of equivalents of oxygen required to convert it into a peroxide, it will go
far to prove the correctness of Millon's views.
  On the supposition that the bleaching  powder is a hypochlorite of lime,
with chloride of calcium, the mode of its formation  is thus explained.  Two
eqs. of chlorine, by uniting separately with the elements of one eq. of lime,
form one eq. of chloride  of calcium, and one of hypochlorous acid,  which
latter combines with an additional eq. of lime, to form  hypochlorite of lime.
Upon the whole, considering the uncertainty as to the real nature of the com-
pound under consideration,  the name of chlorinated  lime, adopted by the
Pharmacopoeias, is a judicious one, as involving  no  decision of its exact
composition.
  Impurities and Tests.   Chlorinated lime may  contain  a great excess of
lime, from imperfect impregnation with the gas.  This defect will be shown
by  the large  proportion insoluble in water.   If it contain much chloride of
calcium, it will be quite moist, which is always a sign of inferior quality.  If
long and insecurely kept, it deteriorates from the gradual formation of chlo-
ride of calcium and carbonate of lime.  Several methods have been proposed
for determining its bleaching and disinfecting power, which depends  solely
on the quantity of chlorine it contains.   Welter proposed  to add a solution
of the bleaching powder to a standard solution of sulphate of indigo, in order
to ascertain its decolorizing power; but the objection to this test is that the
indigo of commerce is very  variable in its amount of colouring matter.  Dr.
Ure has proposed muriatic acid to  disengage the  chlorine  over mercury;
but this  test is  liable to the fallacy that it will disengage carbonic acid as
well as chlorine;  and it  has been shown by some unpublished experiments
of Mr. Procter of this city, that the amount of disengaged gaseous matter is
not in proportion to the  decolorizing power.   Mr. Dalton has proposed as
a test, to add a solution  of the  bleaching  powder to one of the sulphate of
protoxide of iron, until the odour of chlorine is perceived.   Chlorine is not
disengaged until  the iron is sesquioxidized, and the stronger the bleaching
powder,  the sooner this will be accomplished.   Dr. Thomson and Pro-
fessor Graham consider this test the  best yet proposed.
   The Pharmacopoeias  have given no satisfactory  test of the value of chlo-
rinated lime.  The character given in the London  and United States Phar-
macopoeias of entire solubility in dilute muriatic acid, with the evolution of
chlorine, applies equally to good  and  bad samples.   Assuming the chlo-
rinated lime to  be dry, and,  therefore, free from  chloride  of calcium, it
would follow that the quantity of oxalate  of lime, thrown down by oxalic
acid from the part of the powder soluble in water, would be proportional
to the lime present, and, therefore, to the chlorine  combined with it.   This
test is given  by the Edinburgh College,  with directions for measuring the
bulk, after rest, of the precipitated oxalate of lime; but the plan is not prac-
tically convenient.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Chlorinated lime, externally applied, is
a desiccant and disinfectant, and  has been used with advantage in solution
as an application to ill-conditioned ulcers, burns, chilblains, and  cutaneous
eruptions, especially itch; as a gargle in putrid sorethroat; and as a wash for
the mouth to disinfect the breath, and  for ulcerated gums.   Internally, it is
a stimulant and astringent.  It has been  employed by Dr. Reid in the epi- 
152                       Calx Chlorinata.                  parti.

demic typhoid fever of Ireland;  by the same practitioner, in dysentery,
both by the mouth and injection, with the effect of correcting the fetor, and
improving the appearance of the stools; by Cima,  both internally and exter-
nally in scrofula;  and  by Dr. Varlez of Brussels  in  ophthalmia.   Dr. Pe-
reira has used a weak  solution very  successfully in the purulent ophthalmia
of infants.   In  the  febrile  cases  Dr. Reid found it to  render the  tongue
cleaner and moister, to check diarrhoea, and induce sleep.  The dose inter-
nally is from three to six grains, dissolved in one or two  fluidounces of
water, filtered, and sweetened with syrup.   As it occurs  of variable quality,
and must be used  in  solution more or less dilute according to the particular
purpose to which  it is  to be applied, it is impossible  to give any very pre-
cise directions for its  strength as an external remedy.   From one to four
drachms of the powder added to a pint of water, and filtered, will constitute
a solution within the limits  of strength ordinarily required.   For the cure
of itch, M. Derheims  has  recommended a  much stronger solution—three
ounces of the chloride to a pint  of  water, the solution  being  filtered, and
applied several times a day as a lotion, or constantly by wet cloths.  When
applied to ulcers, their  surface may be  covered with  lint  dipped in the
solution.   When  used as an ointment,  to  be rubbed upon  scrofulous en-
largements  of the lymphatic  glands, it may be made of a drachm of the
chloride to an ounce  of lard.   Chlorinated lime acts, without doubt, by the
chlorine which it contains; but it is not so eligible  for some purposes as the
solution of chlorinated soda.  (See Liquor Sodae Chlorinatx.)
  In consequence of its powers as a disinfectant, chlorinated lime is a very
important substance  in its application to medical police.  It possesses the
property of preventing or arresting animal and vegetable putrefaction, and,
perhaps,  of  destroying pestilential  and  infectious miasms.   It is  conse-
quently applicable to a great variety of purposes, more  or less connected
with the  health or comfort of communities.  It may be used with advantage
for preserving bodies from exhaling an unpleasant odour before interment in
the  summer season.  In juridical  exhumations its use is indispensable, as it
effectually removes the disgusting and insupportable fetor of the  corpse.
The mode in which it  is  applied in these cases, is to envelope the body with
a sheet completely wet with  a solution, made by adding about a pound of
the  chloride to a bucketful of water.  It is  employed also for disinfecting
dissecting rooms, privies, common sewers, docks, and other places which
exhale offensive  effluvia.  In destroying contagion  and infection,  it also
appears to be highly useful.  Hence hospitals, alms-houses, jails, ships, &c,
may be purified  by its  means.  In short, all places which may be deemed
infectious, from having been the receptacle of cases of virulent disease, may
be more or less disinfected by its use, after  they have undergone the ordi-
nary processes of cleansing.
  The way in which chlorinated  lime acts, is exclusively by its chlorine,
which, being loosely combined,  is  disengaged by the slightest affinities.
All  acids, even  the carbonic, disengage it; and as  this acid is  a product
of animal and vegetable decomposition, noxious effluvia furnish the means,
to a certain  extent,  of their own disinfection by this chloride.  But  the
stronger  acids disengage  the  chlorine far more readily, and among these,
sulphuric acid is the cheapest and most convenient.  Accordingly, the pow-
der may be dissolved in a very dilute solution of sulphuric acid, or a small
quantity of this acid  may be added to an aqueous solution ready formed, in
case a more copious  evolution of chlorine is desired  than that which takes
place from the mere action of the carbonic acid of the  atmosphere.
  Chloride  of lime may be advantageously applied to the purpose of puri- 
part i.                     Camphora.                         153

fying offensive water, a property which makes it invaluable on long voyages.
When used for this purpose, from one to two ounces  of the chloride may
be mixed with about sixty-five gallons of the water.  After the purification
is effected, the water must be exposed for some time to the air and allowed
to settle, before it is fit to drink.                                   B.

            CAMPHORA.  U.S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.

                            Camphor.

   " A peculiar concrete  substance derived from Laurus Camphora, and
 purified by sublimation."  U. S.   " Laurus  Camphora. Concretum  sui
 generis, sublimatione purificatum."  Lond.  " Camphor  of Camphora
 officinarum." Ed.  " Laurus Camphora. Dryobalanops Camphora. Cam-
phora." Dub.
   Camphre, Fr.; Kumpher, Germ.; Canfora, Ital; Alcanfor, Span.
   The name of camphor has been applied to various concrete, white, odor-
 ous,  volatile products, found in  different  aromatic plants,  and resulting
 probably from some chemical change in their volatile oil.  But commercial
 camphor is derived exclusively from two plants, the Camphora officinarum
 of Nees or Laurus Camphora of Linnasus, and the Dryobalanops Cam-
 phora; the former of which yields our officinal camphor, the latter, a product
 much valued in the East, but unknown in the  commerce of this country and
 of Europe.   The following observations apply to the officinal camphor.
   Camphora. Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lauraceae. '
   Gen. Ch. Flowers hermaphrodite, panicled, naked.  Calyx six-cleft, pa-
 pery, with a deciduous limb.  Fertile stamens nine, in  three rows; the inner
 with two  stalked, compressed glands at the base;  anthers four-celled; the
 outer turned inwards, the inner outwards.  Three sterile stamens shaped
 like the first, placed in a whorl alternating with the stamens  of the second
 row; three others stalked, with an ovate glandular head.  Fruit placed on
 the  obconical base of the calyx.   Leaves triple-nerved, glandular in the
 axils of the principal veins.  Leaf buds scaly.  {Lindley, Flora Medica,
 332.)
   Among the  species composing the genus Laurus of Linn., such striking
 differences have been observed in the structure of the  flower and fruit, that
 botanists have been induced to arrange them in new genera.   The camphor,
 cinnamon, and sassafras trees have been separated from the  proper laurels
 by the German botanist Nees, and made the types of distinct genera, which
 have been adopted by Lindley and most other recent writers, and  may be
 considered as well established. The United States Pharmacopoeia virtually
 recognises the new arrangement by  adopting  the genus  Cinnamomum,
 though  it still attaches the two other plants to the Laurus.
   Camphora officinarum. Nees, Laurin. 88.—Laurus Camphora. Willd.
 Sp. Plant, ii.  478; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 681. t. 236.—Persea Camphora.
 Sprengel. The camphor tree is an evergreen of considerable size, having the
 aspect of the linden, with a trunk straight below, but divided above into many
 branches, which are  covered with  a  smooth greenish bark.  Its leaves,
 which stand alternately upon long footstalks, are  ovate  lanceolate, entire,
 smooth and shining,  ribbed,  of a bright yellowish-green colour on their
 upper surface, paler on the under, and two or three inches in length.  The
 flowers are small, white, pedicelled, and collected in clusters, which  are
 supported by long axillary peduncles.   The fruit is a red berry resembling
 that of the cinnamon.  The  tree  is a native of the most eastern  parts of 
154                          Camphora.                      part i.

Asia, and is found abundantly in China and Japan.  It has been introduced
into the  botanical gardens of Europe, and is occasionally met with in the
hothouses of our own country.
  The leaves have when  bruised the odour of camphor, which is diffused
through  all parts of the plant, and  is obtained from  the root, trunk, and
branches by sublimation.   The  process is not  precisely the same in all
places.   The following is said  to be the  one pursued in Japan.  The parts
mentioned, particularly the  roots and smaller branches, are cut into chips,
which  are  placed, with a  little water, in large iron vessels, surmounted by
earthen capitals, furnished with a lining of rice-straw.   A moderate heat is
then applied, and the camphor,  volatilized by the steam of the boiling water,
rises into the capital, where it is condensed upon the straw.   In China, the
comminuted  plant is said to be  first boiled with water until the camphor
adheres to  the stick used  in stirring, when the strained liquor is allowed to
cool; and the camphor which  concretes, being  alternated with  layers of
earth, is submitted to sublimation.
   Commercial History.  Camphor, in  the crude state, is brought  to this
country chiefly from Canton.  It comes  also from Batavia, Singapore,  Cal-
cutta, and  very frequently  from London.  All of it  is  probably derived
originally  from the dominions of China and Japan.  Two commercial
varieties are found in the  market.   The  cheapest and most abundant is the
Chinese camphor,  the  greater part of which is produced in the island of
Formosa, and thence taken to Canton.   It comes in chests lined with lead,
each chest containing about 130 pounds.  It is in small grains or granular
masses,  which are of a dirty white colour, and frequently mixed with im-
purities.  The other variety is  variously called Japan, Dutch, or tub cam-
phor, the first name being derived from the place of its origin, the second
from the people through whom it is  introduced into commerce, and the
third from  the recipient in which it  is often contained.   It comes  usually
from Batavia, to which port it is brought from Japan.  Like  the former va-
riety, it  is in grains or  granular masses,  but the  grains are larger and of a
pinkish colour, and there are fewer impurities, so that it yields a larger pro-
duct when refined.
   Crude camphor, as brought from the East, is never found  in the shop of
the apothecary.  It must be refined before it can be used for medicinal pur-
poses.   The process for refining camphor was first practised in Europe by
the Venetians, who probably derived it from the Chinese.  It was afterwards
transferred to the Dutch, who long enjoyed a monopoly of this business; and
it is only within a few years, that the process has been  generally known.
It is now practised  largely in this country, and the camphor refined in our
domestic establishments is equal to any that was formerly imported.   Crude
camphor is mixed  with a small proportion of quicklime,*  and exposed,
in  a glass or earthenware vessel placed in a sand-bath,  to a gradually in-
creasing heat, by which it is melted, and ultimately converted into vapour,
which condenses in a suitable recipient.  Refined  in  this  manner,  it is
usually in  the form of large circular cakes, one or two inches  thick, convex
on one side, concave on the other, and perforated in the centre.
   Properties.   Camphor has a peculiar, strong, penetrating, fragrant odour;
and a bitter, pungent taste, attended  with a slight sense of coolness.  It is
beautifully white and pellucid, somewhat unctuous to  the  touch, friable, and
yet possessed of a degree of tenacity which renders its  reduction to a fine

   * Six drachms oflime to two pounds and a half of  camphor, French  weight, or about
 ] part to 50, is the proportion employed in the process of M. Clemandot, which enjoys
 some reputation in France. {Journ. de Pharm. ii. 321.) 
part i.                        Camphora.                          155

powder very difficult, unless the cohesion of its particles be overcome by the
addition of a minute proportion of alcohol, or other volatile liquid for which
it has an affinity.  It has a shining fracture, and a crystalline texture.   Its
sp. gr. varies from 0-9857 to 0*996.  It therefore floats upon water, on the
surface of which, if thrown in small fragments, it assumes very  singular
circulatory movements, which cease upon the addition of a drop of oil.  Its
volatility is so great, that even at ordinary temperatures it is wholly dissi-
pated if left exposed to the  air.   When it is confined in bottles, the vapour
condenses upon  the  inner  surface, and, when allowed to stand for a long
time  in large bottles, partially filled, sometimes forms large and beautiful
crystals.   It  melts  at 288° F. and boils at 400°.  {Turner?)   In close ves-
 sels it may  be sublimed  unchanged.  When allowed to  concrete slowly
 from the  state of vapour, it assumes  the form  of hexagonal plates.   It
 is not altered by air and light.   It  readily takes fire, and burns with a bril-
 liant flame, giving out much smoke, and leaving  no residue.   Water tritu-
 rated with camphor dissolves a very minute proportion, not more, according
 to  Berzelius, than the  thousandth part of its weight;  which, however, is
 sufficient to impart a decided odour and taste to the solvent.   By the inter-
 vention of sugar or magnesia, particularly of the latter, a much larger pro-
 portion  of the camphor is dissolved.  (See Aqua Camphoree.)   Carbonic
 acid also increases  the solvent power of  water.  Alcohol will take  up
 seventy-five per cent, of its weight of camphor, which is precipitated  upon
 the addition of water.  Berzelius states, that 100 parts of alcohol of the
 sp. gr.  0*806, dissolve 120 parts at  50° F.  It is  soluble also  without
 change in ether,  the volatile and fixed  oils, strong  acetic acid, and the
 diluted  mineral acids.   By means of the spirit of nitric ether, it is ren-
 dered somewhat more soluble in water.  By the action of strong sulphuric
 and nitric acids it is decomposed, the former carbonizing and converting it
 into  artificial tannin; the latter, by the aid of repeated distillation, into a
 peculiar acid called the camphoric.   The alkalies  produce very little  effect
 upon it.   The resins unite  with it, forming a soft tenacious ma«s, in which
 the odour of the camphor is sometimes almost extinguished  and frequently-
 diminished;  and a similar  softening effect results when it is triturated with
 the concrete oils.*   Exposed to a strong heat in close vessels, camphor is
 decomposed, being resolved into a volatile oil and charcoal.   It  is closely
 analogous in character to  the essential oils.  Berzelius considers it a
 stearoptene  entirely free from any mixture of eleoptene. (See  Olea  Vola-
 tilia.)  According to M. Dumas, it consists of a peculiar radical called cam-
 phene united with oxygen.  Camphene, which is represented by pure oil
 of turpentine, is composed of eight equiv. of hydrogen 8, and  ten equiv. of

   * As this property of camphor may have a strong  bearing injuriously or otherwise on
 pharmaceutical  processes, it is desirable that the operator, as well as prescriber,  should
 be aware of the degree of effect produced by  different resinous  substances which may be
 mixed with camphor.  M. Planche has found that mixtures formed by triturating pow-
 dered camphor with  powdered  dragon's blood, guaiac, assafetida, or galbanum, assume
 and preserve indefinitely the pilular consistence; with benzoin, tolv, ammoniac, and mastic,
 though at fir^t of  a pilular consistence, afterwards  become soft by exposure to the air;
 with  sagapenum and amine, assume a permanently semi-liquid form; with olibanum,
 opopanax, gamboge, euphorbium, bdellium, myrrh, and amber, remain pulverulent though
 somewhat grumous; and with tacamahac, resin of jalap, sandarac, and resinoid matter of
 cinchona, preserve  the form of powder indefinitely. The same experimenter observed, that
 camphor loses  its  odour entirely when  mixed with assafetida, galbanum, sagapenum,
 anime, and tolu; retains  a  feeble odour with  dragon's blood, olibanum, mastic, benzoin,
 opopanax, tacamahac, guaiac, and ammoniac; while, with the other resinous substances
 above mentioned, it either has its odour increased, or retains it  without material change.
 (Journ. de Pharm. xxiv. 226.) 
156                             Camphora.                         part i.

carbon 61*2=69*2.   With  one  equiv. of oxygen it  forms  camphor, with
four equiv. of the same  body hydrated camphoric acid, and with half an
equiv. of hydrochloric acid, artificial camphor.*
   Medical  Properties  and Uses.   Camphor does  not seem to have been
known to the  ancient Greeks and  Romans.   Europe  probably derived  it
from the  Arabians, by whom it  was employed as  a refrigerant.   Much
difference of opinion has  prevailed as to its mode  of action, some maintain-
ing its  immediate  sedative influence, others  considering it as a direct and
decided stimulant.  Its operation appears to be primarily and chiefly directed
to the cerebral and nervous  systems;  and the circulation, though usually
affected to  a greater or less extent, is probably involved, for  the most part,
through the agency of the brain. It acts also, to a certain extent, as a direct
irritant of the mucous membranes with which it is brought into contact, and
may thus in some measure secondarily excite the pulse.  The effects of the
medicine vary with the quantity administered.   In moderate doses it pro-
duces, in a  healthy individual, mental exhilaration, increased heat of  skin,

   * Sumatra Camphor. Borneo Camphor. Dryobalanops Camphor. It has long been known
that an excellent variety of camphor is produced in the islands  of Sumatra and Borneo,
by a forest tree which was thought by some to belong to the  genus Laurus, by oth«rs
was considered wholly distinct, but which, not having been  sern by botanists, remained
until a recent period undetermined.  It was at length, however, described by Colebrooke,
and  is now recognised in  systematic works as the  Dryobalanops Camphora, or D. aro-
matica.   It ii a very large  tree, sometimes attaining  the height of one hundred feet, with
a trunk six or seven feet in diameter, and ranking among the tallest and largest trees of
the luxuriant regions where it grows.  It is  found both in Sumatra and Borneo, and ia
abundant on the N. W. coast of the former island.  The  camphor exists in concrete
masses, which occupy longitudinal cavities or fissures in the heart of the tree, from a
foot to a foot and a half long, at certain distances apart.  The younger trees are gene-
rally less productive than the old.  The only method of ascertaining whether a tree
contains camphor is  by incision.   A  party proceeds through  the forest, wounding the
trees till they find one which will answer their purpose, and  hundreds may be examined
before  this  object is  attained.  When discovered, the tree  is felled and cut into logs,
which are then split, and the  camphor removed by means of sharp-pointed instruments.
The masses are sometimes  as thick as a man's arm;  and the product of a middling sized
tree is nearly eleven pounds; of a large one, double the quantity.  The trees which have
been wounded *nd left standing, often produce camphor seven or eight years afterwards.
The Dryobalanops yields also a fragrant  liquid, called in the East Indies oil of camphor,
and highly valued as an external application  in rheumatism  and other painful  affections.
It is said to be found in trees too young to produce  camphor, and is supposed to consti-
tute the first stage in the developement of this substance; as it occupies the same cavities in
the trunk, which are afterwards filled with the camphor.  It holds, in fact, a large portion
of this principle in solution, and may be made to yield an  inferior variety  by artificial
concretion.   The whole tree is pervaded more or less  by the camphor or the oil; as the
wood retains  a fragrant  smell, and, being on this account  less  liable to the attacks of
insects, is highly esteemed for carpenter's work. The camphor-wood trunks occasionally
brought to this country from  the East Indies, are probably made out of the wood  of the
Dryobalanops.
   It has been supposed that this  variety  of camphor is  occasionally brought into the
markets of  Europe and America.   But this  is a mistake; as the whole produce  of the
islands is engrossed by the Chinese, by whom it is so highly  valued, that it commands at
Canton, according to Mr. Crawford, seventy-eight limes, according to Mr. Reeves, one
hundred times the price of ordinary camphor.  A  specimen,  in our possession, which
was sent to this country from Canton, as a curiosity, and kindly presented to us by Dr.
Joseph Carson, is in tabular plates, of a foliaceous crystalline texture,  white, somewhat
translucent, of an odour analogous to that of common camphor, and yet decidedly dis-
tinct, and less agreeable.  It has also a camphorous taste.  It  is more compact and
brittle than ordinary camphor, but does not sink  in water, and is easily pulverized with-
out the addition of alcohol.  It is, moreover,  much less disposed to rise in vapour,  and to
condense on the  inside of the bottle containing it.  Like ordinary camphor, it is'fusible,
volalilizable, very slightly soluble in water, and freely soluble  in alcohol and in  ether. We
have never met with it in the drug stores. 
part i.                       Camphora.                          157

and occasional diaphoresis.   The pulse is usually increased in fulness, but
little, if at all, in force or frequency.  According to the experiments of cer-
tain  Italian physicians, it appears to have a tendency to  the urinary and
genital organs, producing a burning sensation along the urethra, and exciting
voluptuous dreams.*  Cullen, however, states that he has employed it fifty
times, even in large doses,  without having ever observed any effect upon
the urinary passages.   By many it is believed to allay irritations of the
urinary and genital apparatus, and to possess antaphrodisiac properties.  In
its primary operation it allays nervous irritation, quiets restlessness, and
produces a general placidity of feeling,  which  renders it highly useful in
certain forms of disease attended with derangement of the nervous  functions.
In larger doses it  displays a more decided action on the brain, producing
more or less giddiness  and mental confusion, with a  disposition to sleep;
and, in morbid states of the system, relieving pain and allaying spasmodic
action.   In immoderate doses it occasions nausea, vomiting, anxiety, faint-
ness, vertigo, delirium, insensibility, coma,  and  convulsions, which  may
end in death.   The pulse, under these circumstances,  is at first reduced in
frequency and force;t but  as the action advances, it sometimes happens that
symptoms of strong sanguineous determination to the head become evident,
in the  flushed countenance, inflamed  and fiery eyes,  and highly excited
pulse.J  There can be no doubt that it is absorbed; as its odour is observed
 in the breath and perspiration, though, as is asserted, not in the urine.
   By its moderately stimulating powers,  its diaphoretic tendency, and its
 influence over the nervous system, it is admirably adapted  to the  treatment
of all diseases of  a typhoid  character, which combine with  the  enfeebled
 condition of the system, a frequent irritated pulse, a  dry skin, and much
nervous derangement, indicated by restlessness, watchfulness, tremors,  sub-
sultus, and low muttering delirium.  Nor are its beneficial  effects confined
to typhoid diseases.  With a view to its anodyne  and narcotic influence, it
is often used in those of an inflammatory  character, as  in our ordinary re-
mittents, and the phlegmasia?, particularly rheumatism, when the  increased
vascular action is complicated with derangement  of the  nervous system.  In
such  cases, however, it should never be used until after proper depletion,
and even then should be combined with such medicines as may obviate the
slight stimulation it produces, and give it  a more  decided  tendency to the
skin;  as, for instance,  tartarized antimony, ipecacuanha, or  nitre.   In a
great number of spasmodic and nervous disorders, and  complaints of irrita-
tion,  camphor has been very extensively  employed.   The  cases of this
nature to which experience has proved  it to be best adapted, are dysmenor-
rhcea, puerperal  convulsions and other nervous  affections of  the puerperal
state, and  certain  forms of  mania,  particularly nymphomania,  and  that
arising from the abuse of spirituous liquors.  In  some of  these  cases ad-
vantage may be derived from combining it with opium.  Camphor has  also
been employed internally to allay that irritation of the urinary organs which
is apt to be produced by cantharides.
  It  is much  used externally as a local anodyne, generally  dissolved in
alcohol, oil, or acetic acid, and frequently combined  with  laudanum.   In
rheumatic and gouty affections, and various internal spasmodic and inflam-
matory complaints, it often yields relief when applied in this way.   The
ardor  urinae of gonorrhoea may be  alleviated by  injecting an oleaginous
solution of camphor into the  urethra; and the tenesmus from  ascarides and
           * N. Am. Med.and Surg. Journ. vol. ix. p. 442.
           t Alexander,  Experimental Essays, p. 2'27.—Orfila.
           t Quarin, quoted  by VVoodville, Med. Bot., 2d ed., vol. iv. p. 687. 
158
Camphora.— Canella.
part i.
dysentery, by administering the same  solution in the form of enema.   A
scruple or half a drachm of camphor in substance, added to a poultice, and
applied to the perineum, allays the chordee, which  is a painful attendant
upon gonorrhoea.
  The vapour of camphor has been inhaled into the lungs with benefit in
cases of spasmodic cough; and a lump of it held to the nose is said to relieve
that unpleasant fulness of the nostrils and coryza which attend a commenc-
ing catarrh.
  Camphor may be given in  substance in the form of bolus or pill, or dif-
fused in water by trituration with various substances.  The form of pill is
objectionable; as in this state the camphor is with difficulty dissolved in the
gastric liquors, and floating on the  top,  is apt to excite nausea, or pain and
uneasiness at the upper orifice of  the stomach.  Orfila states, that when
given in the solid form it is capable  of producing ulceration in the gastric
mucous membrane.  The emulsion  is  almost  always preferred.   This is
made by rubbing up the camphor with loaf sugar, gum Arabic, and water;
and the suspension will  be rendered more complete  and permanent by the
addition of a little myrrh.   Milk  is sometimes  used as a vehicle, but is
objectionable, as it is apt to become sour very speedily.  The aqueous solu-
tion is  often employed where only a slight impression is desired.  For this
purpose, the Aqua Camphor as of the United States  Pharmacopoeia is pre-
ferable to the solution effected  by simply pouring boiling water upon a lump
of camphor, which is sometimes prescribed under the name  of camphor tea.
  The medium dose  of camphor is from five  to ten  grains; but to meet
various indications it may be diminished to a single  grain or extended to a
scruple.   The injurious effects of an overdose  are said to be best counter-
acted, after clearing out the stomach, by the use of opium.
  Off.  Prep.  Acidum Aceticum Camphoratum,  Ed., Dub.;  Aqua Cara-
phorae, U. S., Lond., Dub.; Ceratum Hydrargyri Comp., Lond.; Ceratum
Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S., Lond.;  Linimentum Camphora, U. S., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.; Linimentum Camphora Comp., Lond.,  Dub.; Liniment. Hy-
drargyri Comp., Lond.; Liniment.  Opii, Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Liniment.
Saponis Camphoratum,  U. S.; Liniment. Terebinthinae, Lond., Ed.; Mis-
tura Camphora, Ed.; Mist. Camphora cum Magnesia, Ed., Dub.; Tinc-
tura Camphora, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinct. Opii Camphorata, U.S.,
Lond., Ed.; Tinct. Saponis Camphorata, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  W.


                CANELLA.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.

                              Canella.

  " The bark of Canella alba." U. S., Ed. " Canella alba. Cortex." Lond.
  Off.  Syn. CANELLA ALBA.  Cortex.  Dub.
  Cuuelle blanche, Fr.;  Weisser Zimmt, Canell, Germ.; Cannella bianca, Ital; Canela
blanca, Span.
  Canella. Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Meliaces.
De Cand.  Canelleae. Lindley.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx  three-lobed.  Petals five.  Anthers sixteen, adhering to
an urceolate nectary.   Berry one-celled with two or  four seeds. Willd.
  Canella was first made a distinct genus by the celebrated  Professor Mur-
ray.   It had previously been  confounded, under  the name  of Winterania,
with that to which the tree that  produces the Winter's bark belongs.  The
latter is now recognised as a  distinct genus with the title of Drymis or
Wintera. 
PART I.
Canella.—Canna.
159
  Canella alba.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 851; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 694. t.
237.  This is  the only species  of the  genus.  It is an erect tree, rising
sometimes to the height of fifty feet, branching only at the top, and covered
with a whitish bark, by which it is easily distinguished from  other trees in
the woods  where it  grows.   The leaves are alternate,  petiolate, oblong,
obtuse, entire, of  a dark green colour, thick  and shining like those of the
laurel, and  of a similar odour.  The flowers are  small, of a violet colour,
and grow in clusters  upon  divided footstalks,  at the  extremities of the
branches.   The fruit is an oblong berry, containing one, two, or three black
and shining seeds.
   The Canella alba is a native of Jamaica and other West India islands. The
bark of the branches, which is the part employed in medicine, having been
removed by an iron  instrument, is deprived of its epidermis, and dried in
the shade.   It comes  to us in pieces partially or completely quilled, occa-
sionally somewhat twisted,  of various sizes, from a few inches to two feet
in length, from half a  line to two or even three lines in thickness, and in the
quill from half an inch to an inch and a half in diameter.
   Properties.  Canella  has a pale orange-yellow colour,  usually much
lighter on the inner surface, an aromatic odour somewhat resembling that of
cloves, and a warm, bitterish, very pungent taste.  It is brittle, breaking
with  a short fracture, and yielding when pulverized a yellowish-white pow-
der.  Boiling water extracts nearly one-fourth of  its weight; but the infu-
sion, though bitter, has comparatively little of the warmth and pungency of
the bark.  It yields all its virtues  to alcohol, forming a bright yellow tinc-
ture, which is rendered milky  by the addition of water.   By distillation
with water it affords a large proportion of a yellow or reddish, fragrant, and
very acrid essential oil.  It contains, moreover, according to the analysis of
MM. Petroz and Robinet,  a saccharine substance resembling mannite, a
peculiar very bitter  extractive,  resin,  gum,  starch,  albumen, and  various
saline substances in  small proportion.  Canella has  been  sometimes con-
founded  with Winter's bark, from which,  however, it differs both in sen-
sible  properties and  composition.  It contains, for instance, no tannin or
oxide of iron, both of which are  ingredients in the latter.  (See Wintera.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Canella is possessed of the ordinary pro-
perties of the aromatics, acting as a local stimulant and gentle tonic, and
producing  upon  the  stomach a warming cordial  effect, which renders  it
useful as an addition to tonic or  purgative medicines in debilitated states of
the digestive organs.   It is scarcely ever prescribed except in combination.
In the West Indies it  is employed  by the negroes  as a condiment, and has
some reputation as an antiscorbutic.
   Off. Prep.   Pulvis Aloe's et  Canellae, U. S., Dub.; Tinctura  Gentianae
Composita, Ed.;  Vinum Aloes,  Lond., Dub.;  Vinum Gentianae,  Ed.;
Vinum Rhei,  U. S., Ed.                                          W.

                           CANNA. Ed.

                            Canna Starch.

   " Fecula of the root of an  imperfectly determined species of Canna."  Ed.
   Under the French  name of tous les mois, a variety of fecula has recently
been introduced into the markets of Europe and this country.   It is said to
be prepared, in the West India  island of St. Kitts, by a tedious and trou-
blesome process,  from the root or rhizome of the Canna coccinea, although
this botanical origin is altogether uncertain. 
160
Canna.—Cantharis.
PART I.
  Canna starch is in the form of a light, beautifully white powder, of a shin-
ing appearance, very unlike the ordinary forms of fecula.  Its granules are
said to be larger than those of any other variety of starch in use, being from
the 300th to die 200th of an inch  in length.  Under  the microscope they ap-
pear ovate or oblong, with numerous regular unequally distant rings; and the
circular hilum, which is sometimes  double, is usually situated at the smaller
extremity. {Pereira.)   This fecula has the ordinary  chemical properties
of starch, and forma, when prepared with boiling  water, a nutritious and
wholesome food for infants  and invalids.   It may be  prepared in the same
manner as Arrow-root, and is said to form even a stiffer jelly with boiling
water.  (See Maranta.)                                          W.


               CANTHARIS.  U.S.,  Lond.,  Ed.

                           Spanish Flies.

  " Cantharis vesicatoria.""  U. S., Lond., Ed.
  Off.Syn.  CANTHARIS VESICATORIA. Dub.
  Cantliaride, Fr.; Spanische Fliege, Kanlharide, Germ; CatitarcHe, Ital; "Catilbaridau,
Span.
  The term Cantharis was employed by the ancient Greek writers to de-
signate  many coleopterous  insects.   Linnaeus conferred the  title upon a
genus in which the officinal blistering fly was not included, and placed this
insect in the genus Meloe.   This  latter, however, has been divided by sub-
sequent naturalists into several genera.  Geoffroy made the Spanish fly the
prototype of a new one which he called Cantharis, substituting Cicindela
as the title of the  Linnaean genus  which he had thus deprived of its original
designation.   Fabricius  made some alteration in the arrangement of Geof-
froy, and substituted Lytta for Cantharis as the generic title.  The former
was adopted by the London College, and at one time was in extensive use;
but the latter, having been  restored by Latreille, is now recognised in the
European and American Pharmacopoeias, and is universally employed. By
this naturalist the vesicating insects were  grouped  in  a small tribe corre-
sponding very nearly with the Linnaean genus Meloe, and distinguished by
the title Cantharideae.   This tribe  he divided into eleven genera, among
which is the Cantharis.   Two others of these genera, the Meloe properly
so called, and the Mylabris,  have been  employed as  vesicatories.   The
Mylabris cichorii is thought to be one of the insects described by Pliny and
Dioscorides under the name of Cantharides; and is to this day employed in
Italy, Greece, the Levant, and Egypt: and another species, the M. pustu-
lata, is  applied to the same purpose in China.  The Meloe proscarabaeus
and M. majalis have been occasionally substituted for cantharides in Europe,
and the M. trianthemse is used to a considerable extent in  the upper pro-
vinces of Hindostan.  Several species  of Cantharis, closely analogous to
each other in medical properties,  are found in various parts  of the world;
but the  C. vesicatoria is  the only  one recognised by the Pharmacopoeias of
France  and Great Britain.   The  C. vittata has been introduced into that of
the United States, and will be noticed under a distinct head.  At present we
shall confine our observations to the C. vesicatoria, or  common Spanish fly.
  Cantharis.  Class Insecta.  Order Coleoptera. Linn.—Family Trache-
lides.   Tribe Cantharideae.  Latreille.
   Gen. Ch.  Tarsi entire;  nails bifid; head not produced into  a rostrum;
elytra flexible, covering the whole  abdomen, linear semicylindric; wings
perfect; maxillae  with two membranaceous lacinix, the external one acute 
PART r.
Cantharis.
161
within, subuncinate; antennae longer than the head and thorax, rectilinear;
first joint largest, the second transverse, very short; maxillary palpi larger
at tip. Say.
   Cantharis vesicatoria.  Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect., torn. ii. p. 220.
This insect is from six to ten lines in length,  by two or three in breadth,
and of a beautiful shining golden-green colour.  The head is large and heart-
shaped, bearing two thread-like, black, jointed feelers; the thorax short and
quadrilateral;  the wing-sheaths long and  flexible, covering brownish mem-
branous wings.   When alive, the Spanish flies have a strong,  penetrating,
fetid odour,  compared to  that of mice, by which  swarms of them may be
detected at a considerable distance.   They attach  themselves preferably to
certain trees  and shrubs, such as the white poplar, privet, ash, elder, and
lilac, upon the leaves of which they feed.  The  countries  in  which they
most abound are Spain, Italy, and the South of France; but they are found
to a greater or less extent in all  the temperate parts of Europe, and in the
West of  Asia.  In  the state of larva, they live  in the ground and gnaw
the roots  of plants.  They usually  make their  appearance in swarms upon
the  trees  in  the months of May and June, at which period they are col-
lected.  The time preferred for the purpose is in the morning at sun-rise,
when they are torpid from the cold of the night, and easily let go their hold.
Persons with their  faces  protected  by  masks  and their hands by gloves,
shake the trees, or beat them with poles; and the insects are received as
they fall upon linen cloths spread underneath.   They are then plunged into
vinegar diluted with water, or exposed  in sieves  to the  vapour of boiling
vinegar, and having been  thus deprived of life, are dried either in the sun,
or in apartments heated by stoves.   This mode of killing the  flies by the
steam of  vinegar is as ancient as the times of  Dioscorides and Pliny.  In
some places they are gathered by smoking the trees with burning brimstone.
When perfectly dry, they are  introduced into casks or boxes, lined with
paper and carefully closed, so as to exclude as  much as possible the atmo-
spheric moisture.
  Cantharides come chiefly from  Spain, Italy, and other parts of the Medi-
terranean.  Considerable quantities  are also brought from St.  Petersburg,
derived originally, in all probability, from the southern provinces of Russia,
where the insect is very abundant.   The  Russian flies are more esteemed
than those from other sources.  They may be distinguished by their greater
size, and their colour approaching to that of copper.
  Properties.  Dried Spanish flies  preserve the form and colour, and, to a
certain extent, the disagreeable odour of the living insect.   They have an
acrid, burning, and  urinous taste.   Their powder is of  a  grayish-brown
colour, interspersed with shining particles, which  are the  fragments of the
feet, head, and  wing-cases.  If kept perfectly dry,  in well-stopped  glass
bottles, they will retain their activity for a great length of time.   A portion
which had been preserved by Van Swieten for thirty years in a glass vessel,
was found still to possess vesicating properties.  But exposed to a damp air,
they quickly undergo putrefaction; and this change takes place most speedily
in the powder; hence the insects should either be kept whole, and powdered
as they are wanted for  use, or, if  kept  in powder, should be well  dried
immediately after pulverization, and preserved in air-tight vessels.  They
should never  be purchased in powder, as, independently of the considera-
tion just mentioned, they may in this state be more easily adulterated.  But,
however carefully managed, cantharides  are  apt  to be attacked by mites,
which feed on the interior soft parts of the body, reducing them to powder,
while the  harder exterior parts  are not affected.  An idea was  at one time
                                 15* 
162
Cantharis.
PART I.
prevalent, that the vesicating property of the insect was not injured by the
worm, which was supposed to  devour only the inactive portion.   But this
has been proved to be a mistake.  M. Farines, an apothecary of Perpignan,
has satisfactorily shown, that though the hard parts left by these mites pos-
sess some  vesicating power, and the powder produced by them still more,
yet the sound flies are  much stronger than either.   Camphor, which has
been recommended as a preservative, does not prevent the destructive agency
of the worm.*   It is also stated  by M. Farines, that when the flies are
destroyed by the  vapour of pyroligneous acid  instead of common vinegar,
they acquire an odour which contributes to their preservation.  Cantharides
will bear a very considerable heat without losing the brilliant colour of their
elytra; nor is this  colour extracted by  water, alcohol, ether, or the oils; so
that the powder might be deprived of all its active principles, and  yet retain
the exterior  characters  unaltered.    The  wing cases  also resist putrefaction
for a long time, and the shining particles have been detected in the  human
stomach months after interment.
   So early as 1778,  Thouvenel attempted to analyze cantharides,  and the
attempt was  repeated by Dr. Beaupoil in 1803;  but no very interesting or
yaluable result was obtained till the year 1810, when Robiquet discovered
in them a crystalline substance, which appears to be the vesicating principle
of the insect, and  to which Dr. Thomson gave  the  name of cantharidin.
The constituents,  according to Robiquet,  are,  1. a green oil,  insoluble in
water, soluble in alcohol, and inert as a vesicatory; 2. a black matter, soluble
in water, insoluble in aleohol, and inert; 3. a yellow viscid matter, soluble in
water and alcohol, and without vesicating powers; 4. cantharidin; 5. a  fatty
matter insoluble in alcohol; 6. phosphates of lime and magnesia, acetic acid,
and in the fresh insect a small quantity of  uric acid.   Orfila has since dis-
covered a volatile principle, upon which the fetid odour of the fly depends.
It is separable by distillation with water.  Cantharidin is a white  substance
in the form of crystalline scales, of a shining micaceous appearance,  insolu-
ble in water  and cold alcohol, but soluble in ether, the oils, and  in boiling
alcohol which deposites it upon cooling.  It is fusible and volatilizable by
heat without decomposition, and its vapours condense in acicular crystals.
It is obtained by submitting the watery extract of cantharides to  the action
of boiling  alcohol, which extracts  the yellow matter and the  cantharidin.
The alcoholic solution  is evaporated, and the residue treated repeatedly
with sulphuric ether, which dissolves the cantharidin with a small quantity
of the yellow matter, and deposites them when allowed to evaporate spon-
taneously.    The yellow matter is separated by cold alcohol; and the can-
tharidin, being thus  left  pure, is  dried between folds of  bibulous paper.t

  * It appears from the experiments of M. Nivet, that, though camphor does not preserve
the entire fly  from the attacks of the larvce of the Anlhrenus, it actually destroys the
mites of the Cantharis so often found in the powder, and may, therefore, be introduced
with advantage, in small lumps, into bottles containing powdered cantharides.  (Journ.
de Pharm. xix. 604.)  Pereira has found that a few drops of strong acetic acid added to
the flies are the best preservative.  Perhaps, however, a more effectual  means of preserv-
ing them, whether whole or in powder, would be the application of the process of Apert,
which consists in exposing them, for half an hour, confined in glass bottles, to the heat of
boiling water,  which destroys the eggs of the insect, without impairing  the virtues of the
flics.  (Ibid. xxii. 246.)  Of course, tlie  access of water to the flies should be carefully
avoided.
   t In the Journal de Pharmacie for January 1835, a much simpler and more productive
method of obtaining cantharidin is described by M. Thierry.  It consists in macerating
powdered flies in ether  for several days;  introducing  the mixture into an apparatus for
filtering by displacement; adding, after the liquid has ceased to flow out, fresh portions of
ether, till it comes away nearly colourless; displacing the whole of the menstruum still 
PART I.
Cantharis.
163
Notwithstanding the insolubility of this principle in water and cold alcohol,
the decoction and tincture of cantharides have the peculiar medicinal proper-
ties of the insect; and Lewis ascertained that both the aqueous and alcoholic
extracts  acted as effectually in exciting vesication  as the flies themselves,
while the residue was in each case inert.   The cantharidin  consequently
exists  in the insect so combined with the yellow matter as to be rendered
soluble in water and cold alcohol.  It has been found also in the Cantharis
vittata, and Mylabris  cichorii, and probably exists in other  vesicating in-
sects.
   Adulterations.  These are  not common.   Occasionally other  insects
are added, purposely, or through carelessness.  These may be readily dis-
tinguished by their different  shape  or colour.  An account has been  pub-
lished of considerable quantities of variously coloured  glass  beads  having
been found  in a parcel of flies; but this would be too coarse a fraud to be
extensively  practised.  Pereira states  that  powdered flies  are  sometimes
adulterated with euphorbium.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Internally administered, cantharides are a
powerful stimulant, exercising a peculiar influence over the urinary and geni-
tal organs.  In moderate doses, this  medicine sometimes acts as  a diuretic,
and  generally excites some irritation in the urinary passages, which, if its
use be persevered in, or the dose increased, often amounts to violent stran-
gury, attended with excruciating pain, and the discharge of bloody urine.
In still larger quantities, it produces, in addition to these effects, obstinate
and painful priapism, vomiting, bloody stools, severe pains in the whole
abdominal region,  excessive salivation, with  a  fetid cadaverous  breath,
hurried  respiration, a hard and frequent pulse, burning thirst,  exceeding
difficulty of deglutition, sometimes a dread of liquids, frightful convulsions,
tetanus,  delirium, and death.   Orfila has known  twenty-four grains of the
powder prove fatal.   Dissection reveals inflammation and ulceration of the
mucous coat of  the whole intestinal canal.   Notwithstanding their exceed-
ing violence, cantharides have been long and beneficially used in medicine.
Either these or other vesicating insects appear  to have been given by Hip-
pocrates in cases of dropsy and  amenorrhaea, in the  latter  of which com-
plaints, when properly prescribed, they are a highly valuable remedy.   In
dropsy they sometimes prove beneficial when  the  system  is in an'atonic
condition, and the  vessels of the kidneys  feeble.   Dr. Ferriar considers
them peculiarly useful in the anasarcous swellings which occasionally suc-
ceed scarlet fever.  They are  also useful in obstinate gleet, leucorrhoea, and
seminal weakness;  and afford one of the most certain  means of relief in
incontinence of urine  arising from debility or partial paralysis of the sphinc-
ter of the bladder.  A case of diabetes is recorded in the N. Am. Archives,
(vol. ii. p. 175,) in which a cure was effected under the use  of  tincture of
cantharides.   They are used  also in certain cutaneous eruptions, especially
those of a scaly character, and in chronic eczema.  Their unpleasant effects
upon the urinary passages are  best  obviated  by the free use  of diluent
drinks;  and, when  not consequent upon great  abuse of  the medicine, may
almost always be relieved by  an anodyne injection  composed of laudanum

remaining in the mass by pouring  water upon it; distilling the filtered liquor so as to re-
cover the ether;  then allowing the residue to cool; and  finally purifying the cantharidin
which is deposited, by treating it with boiling  alcohol and animal charcoal.  Alcohol of
34°, or a mixture of alcohol and ether, may be subslitutcd for the ether itself; but the last
mentioned fluid is preferable, as it  dissolves less of the green oil, the separation of which
from the cantharidin is the most difficult part of the process.  M. Thierry obtained from
1000 parts of powdered flies, 4 parts of pure cantharidin. 
164
Cantharis.
part r.
with a small quantity of mucilaginous fluid.  The dose of Spanish flies is
one or two grains of the powder,  which may be given twice a day in the
form of pill.   The tincture, however, is more frequently employed.
  Externally applied,  cantharides excite inflammation in  the  skin, which
terminates  in a copious secretion of serum  under the  cuticle.   Even  thus
applied, they not unfrequently give rise to strangury or tenesmus; and this
in fact is one of the most troublesome attendants upon their operation.  It
probably results from the absorption of the active principle of the fly; and is
not prevented by any  of the  various modes of combination in which the
epispastic substance has been applied.  Camphor given internally, or mixed
with the flies previously to their application, was at one time in much repute
as a preventive of strangury, but has  lost its  credit.   The most certain
method of obviating this unpleasant effect, is to allow the epispastic appli-
cation  to continue no longer than  is necessary to its full rubefacient opera-
tion; and afterwards to  favour vesication by the use of an emollient poultice.
(See Ceratum Cantharidis.)
  The blistering fly may be employed either as a rubefacient, or with a view
to the  production  of a blister.  In the former  capacity it  is seldom used,
except in low states of disease, where  external stimulation  is required to
support the  system; but as  an epispastic, it is preferred to all other  sub-
stances, and in  the extent of its employment is  surpassed by few articles of
the Materia Medica.
  Blisters are  calculated to answer  numerous indications.  Their local
effect is  attended with a general excitement of the system,  which  renders
them valuable auxiliaries to internal stimulants in low or typhoid conditions
of disease; and  they may sometimes be safely  resorted to with this view
when the latter remedies are inadmissible.   The  powerful impression they
make on the system is  sufficient in many instances to subvert morbid asso-
ciations, and thus to allow the re-establishment of  healthy action.  Hence
their application to the cure of remittent and intermittent fevers, in which
they often  prove effectual, when so employed as to be in  full operation at
the period for the recurrence of the paroxysm.   On the principle of revul-
sion, they prove useful in a vast variety of complaints.   Drawing both the
nervous energy and the circulating fluid to the seat of their own immediate
action, they relieve irritations  and  inflammations of internal parts; and are
employed for this purpose in  every disease attended with  these derange-
ments.  In  such cases,  however, arterial excitement  should always be
reduced by direct depletion before the remedy is  resorted to.  Blisters are
also capable of  substituting their action for one  of a morbid nature existing
in the  part to which they are  directly applied.   Hence their use  in tinea
capitis, obstinate herpes, and  various cutaneous  eruptions.  Their local
stimulation renders them useful in some  cases of threatened gangrene, and
in partial paralysis.  From the serous discharge they occasion, much good
results in erysipelas and various other local inflammations, in the immediate
vicinity of which their  action can be established; and the effects of an issue
may be obtained by the continued application  of irritants to the blistered
surface.  Perhaps  the  pain produced  by blisters may be useful in some
cases of nervous excitement or derangement,  in which it  is desirable to
withdraw the attention of the  patient from subjects of agitatino- reflection.
On some constitutions they produce a poisonous impression, attended with
frequent  pulse, dryness of the mouth and fauces, heat of  skin, subsultus
tendinum, and even convulsions; and some physicians  have been so much
alarmed by the  occasional occurrence of these symptoms as to induce them
to employ the remedy with great hesitation. What is the precise condition 
 parti.           Cantharis. — Cantharis  Vittata.              165

 of system in which these effects result, it is impossible to determine.  They
 probably arise from the absorption of  the active  principle of cantharides;
 and depend on idiosyncrasies  of constitution, by which the system of cer-
 tain  individuals is susceptible of impressions  different from those usually
 produced by the same cause.  In this  respect the  Spanish flies  are analo-
 gous to mercury;  and any argument drawn from this source against the use
 of the one  would equally apply to the other.  The general good which
 results from their use far overbalances any partial and uncertain evil.   For
 some rules relative to the application of blisters, the reader is referred  to the
 article  Ceratum Cantharidis.
    Off. Prep. Acetum Cantharidis, Lond., Ed.; Ceratum Cantharidis, U. S.;
 Cerat.  Cantharidis, Lond.;  Emplastrum Cantharidis, Lond., Ed., Dub.;
 Emplast. Cantharidis Comp.,  Ed.; Linimentum Cantharidis, U. S.; Tinc-
 tura  Cantharidis,  U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Unguent.  Cantharidis, U. S.,
 Lond., Ed., Dub.; Unguent.  Infusi Cantharidis,  Ed.              W.

                CANTHARIS  VITTATA. U.S.

                             Potato  Flies.

    " Cantharis vittata."  U. S.
    Within the limits of  tbe United States are several species of Cantharis,
 which have been employed as substitutes for the C. vesicatoria, and found
 to be equally efficient.   Of these, only the C. vittata has been adopted as
 officinal; but as others  may be more abundant in particular districts,  or in
 certain seasons, and  are not inferior in vesicating powers, we shall briefly
 notice  all which have been submitted to experiment.
    1. Cantharis vittata.  Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.;  Durand, Journ. of
 the Phil. Col. of Pharm.  ii. 274. fig. 4.  The potato fly is rather smaller
 than  the C. vesicatoria,  which it resembles in  shape.  Its length is about
 six lines.  The head is of a light red colour, with dark spots upon the top;
 the feelers are black;  the elytra or wing cases are black, with a yellow lon-
 gitudinal stripe in  the centre, and  with a yellow margin;  the thorax is also
 black, with three yellow lines;  and the abdomen and  legs, which have the
 same colour, are covered with a  cinereous down.  It inhabits chiefly the
 potato vine,  and makes its  appearance about the end of July or beginning of
 August, in some seasons, in  great abundance.  It is found on the plant in
 the morning and evening, but during the heat of the day descends into the
 soil.   The insects  are collected by shaking them from the plant into hot
 water;  and  are afterwards carefully dried in the sun.  They are natives of
 the Middle and Southern States.
   This species of Cantharis was first described by Fabricius in the  year
 1781; and was  introduced to  the notice of the  profession by Dr. Isaac
 Chapman of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, who found it equal if  not supe-
 rior to  the Spanish fly  as  a vesicatory.   The  testimony of Dr. Chapman
 has been corroborated by that of many other  practitioners, some of whom
 have even gone so far as to assert, that  the potato fly  is not attended in its
 action with the inconvenience  of producing strangury.   But this statement
 has been ascertained  to  be incorrect, and as the vesicating property of all
 these  insects probably depends upon the same proximate principle,  their
 operation may be considered as identical in other respects.   If the potato
 fly has been found  more speedy in its effects than the  Cantharis of Spain,
 the result is  perhaps attributable to the greater  freshness of the former.  It
may be applied to the same purposes, treated in the same manner, and given
in  the same dose as the foreign  insect. 
166
Cantharis Vittata.
PART I.
  2. Cantharis cinerea. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ.
of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. i.  274. fig. 5.   The  ash-coloured cantharia
closely resembles the preceding  species in figure and  size; but differs from
it in colour.  The  elytra and body are black, without the yellow  stripes
that characterize the C. vittata, and are entirely covered with a short and
dense ash-coloured  down, which conceals the proper colour of the insect.
The feelers are black, and the first and second joints are very large in the
male.  This species also inhabits the potato vine, and is occasionally found
on other plants, as  the English bean and wild indigo.   It is a native of the
Northern and Middle States.  All the remarks before made upon the potato
fly, as to the mode  of collection, properties, and medical use, apply equally
well to that at present under consideration.  Uliger in 1801 first discovered
its vesicating  properties; but to Dr. Gorham is due the  credit of  calling
public attention particularly to  the  subject, in a communication addressed,
in the year 1808, to the  Medical Society of Massachusetts.   This species
is often confounded with the C.  vittata.
  3. Cantharis marginata.  Latreille,  Gen. Crust, et  Insect.;  Durand,
Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm.  ii.  274. fig.  6.  This  is somewhat
larger than the C. vittata, and of a different shape.  The elytra are black,
with the suture and margin  ash-coloured.  The head, thorax, and  abdomen
are black, but nearly covered with an ash-coloured  down; and on the upper
part of the abdomen, under  the wings, are two longitudinal lines of a bright
clay colour.  This species is usually found, in the latter  part of  summer,
upon the different  plants belonging to the  genus  Clematis, and frequents
especially the  lower branches  which trail  along  the  ground. Professor
Woodhouse of Philadelphia first ascertained the  vesicating  properties of
this insect; but it had previously been  described by Fabricius as a  native of
the Cape of  Good  Hope.  Dr. Harris  of  Massachusetts found it equally
efficient as a vesicatory  with any other species of this genus.
  4. Cantharis atrata.  Latreille, Gen.  Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ.
of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. ii. 274. fig. 7.  The black cantharis is smaller
than the  indigenous species  already described; but resembles the C. margi-
nata in figure.   Its length is only four or five  lines.  It is distinguished by
its size, and by its  uniform  black colour.  It  frequents  more especially the
different  species of  Aster and Solidago, though it is found also on  the Pru-
nella vulgaris, Ambrosia trifida, and some  other plants.   Mr. Durand met
with considerable numbers of this insect in  the neighbourhood of  Philadel-
phia in  the month of  September, and  they  continued to appear till the
middle of October.   They are common in the Northern and Middle States,
but are not confined exclusively to this country, being found also in  Barbary.
Drs. Oswood  and  Harris of New-England have experimented with them,
and satisfactorily ascertained their vesicating powers.  They are  probably
identical  with  the  insect noticed  as vesicatory by Professor Woodhouse,
under the name of Meloe niger.
   Several other species have  been discovered in the United States, but not
yet practically employed. Among these are  the C. aeneas, a native  of Penn-
sylvania, discovered by  Mr. Say;  the  C. politus and C. aszelianus, which
inhabit the Southern States;  the C. Nuttalli, a large  and  beautiful insect of
Missouri, first  noticed by Mr. Nuttall, and  said to surpass the Spanish fly
in magnitude and splendour; and the C. albida, another  large species, found
by Mr. Say near the Rocky Mountains.  Of these, the  C. Nuttalli* bids
 fair, at  some  future period,  to be  an object of some importance in the
* Lytta Nuttalli, Say, Amer. Entomol. vol. i. fig. 3. 
part i.          Cantharis Vittata.— Capsicum.               167

western section of this country.   The  head is of a deep greenish  colour,
with a red spot in front; the thorax ia of a golden green;  the elytra, red or
golden purple  and somewhat rugose on  their outer surface, green  and
polished  beneath;  the feet black; the thighs, blue or purplish.  The ex-
ploring party under Major Long ascertained the vesicating powers of  this
insect.  It was found in the plains  of the Missouri, feeding on a scanty
grass,  which it sometimes covered to a considerable extent.  In one place
it was  so  numerous and troublesome, as to be swept  away by bushels, in
order that a place might be cleared for encamping.                  W.


                   CAPSICUM.  U. S., Lond.

                         Cayenne Pepper.

   " The fruit of Capsicum annunm."  U. S. " Capsicum annuum.  Baccae."
 Lond.   " Fruit of Capsicum annuum and other species." Ed.
   Off. Syn. CAPSICUM ANNUUM.  Capsulae cum seminibus. Dub.
   Puivre  de  Guinee, Poivre d'Inde, Fr ; Spanischer Pieffer, Germ.; Pcpperone, Ital;
 Pimiento, Span.
   Capsicum.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Solanaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla wheel-shaped. Berry without juice. Willd.
   Numerous species of Capsicum, inhabiting the East Indies and tropical
 America, are enumerated by botanists, the fruit of  which, differing  simply
 in the degree of  pungency, may be indiscriminately employed.  The C.
 baccatum or bird pepper, and the C.fruiescens are said to yield most of
 the Cayenne pepper brought from the West Indies and South America; and
 Ainslie informs us that the latter is chiefly employed in the East  Indies.
 The species most extensively cultivated in Europe and this country,  is  that
 recognised  as officinal by the Pharmacopoeias, namely, the  C.  annuum.
 The first two are  shrubby plants, the  last is annual and herbaceous.
   Capsicum annuum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1052;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
 226. t. 80.  The stem of the annual capsicum is thick,  roundish, smooth,
 and branching; rises two or three feet in height; and supports ovate, pointed,
 smooth, entire leaves, which are placed without regular order on long foot-
 stalks.  The flowers are solitary, white,  and stand on long peduncles at
 the axils of  the leaves.  The  calyx is persistent, tubular, and five-cleft; the
 corolla, monopetalous and  wheel-shaped,  with the limb  divided into  five
 spreading, pointed, and plaited  segments; the filaments, short, tapering,
 and furnished with oblong anthers; the germen, ovate, supporting a slender
style which  is longer than the filaments, and  terminates in a blunt stigma.   .
The fruit is a pendulous, pod-like berry, light, smooth and shining,  of a
bright, scarlet, orange, or sometimes yellow colour, with two or three cells,
containing a dry loose  pulp, and numerous flat,  kidney-shaped, whitish
seeds.
   The plant is a native of the warmer regions of Asia and America, and is
cultivated in almost all parts of the world.  It is abundantly produced in this
country,  both for culinary and medicinal purposes.   The flowers appear in
July and August, and the fruit ripens  in October.  Several varieties are cul-
tivated in our gardens, differing in the shape of the fruit. The most abundant
is probably that with a large irregularly ovate berry, depressed at the extre-
mity, which is much used in the  green state for pickling.  The medicinal
variety is that with long, conical, generally pointed, recurved fruit, usually
not thicker  than  the finger.   Sometimes we  meet with small,  spherical,
slightly compressed  berries, not greatly exceeding a large cherry in size. 
168
Capsicum.
PART I.
 When perfectly ripe and dry, the fruit is ground into powder, and brought
 into market under the name of red or Cayenne pepper.  Our markets are
 also partly supplied by importation from the West Indies.   A variety of
 capsicum, consisting of very small, conical,  exceedingly pungent berries,
 has recently been imported from Liberia.  In England the fruit of the C.
 annuum is frequently called chillies.
   Powdered capsicum is usually of a more or less bright red colour, which
 fades upon exposure to light, and  ultimately disappears.  The odour is pecu-
 liar and  somewhat aromatic, stronger in  the recent than in the dried fruit.
 The taste is bitterish, acrid, and burning, producing a fiery sensation in the
 mouth, which continues for a long time.  The pungency appears to depend
 on a peculiar principle, which was obtained, though probably not in a per-
 fectly isolated state, by Braconnot, and named capsicin.   The fruit, freed
 from  the seeds, was submitted to the action  of alcohol, and  the  resulting
 tincture evaporated.   During the evaporation a red-coloured wax separated,
 and  the  residuary liquor by further evaporation afforded an  extract, from
 which ether dissolved the capsicin.  This was obtained by evaporating the
 ether.  It resembles an oil or soft resin, is of a yellowish-brown or reddish-
 brown colour, and when tasted, though at first balsamic, soon  produces an
 insupportably hot and pungent impression over the whole interior of the
 mouth.  Exposed to heat  it melts,  and at a higher  temperature, emits
 fumes  which, even in very small quantity, excite  coughing and  sneezing.
 It is slightly soluble  in water and vinegar,  and very  soluble in alcohol,
 ether, oil of turpentine, and the caustic alkalies, which it renders reddish-
 brown.  It constitutes, according to Braconnot, 1*9 per cent, of the fruit.
 The other ingredients,  as ascertained by the same chemist, are  colouring
 matter, an azotized substance, gum, pectic acid (probably pectin), and saline
 matters.   It  is said that the red  oxide of lead is sometimes  added to the
 powdered capsicum sold in  Europe.   It may be  detected by digesting the
 suspected powder in diluted  nitric  acid, filtering, and adding a solution of
 sulphate of soda, which will throw down a white precipitate if  there be
 any oxide of lead present.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Cayenne pepper is a powerful stimulant,
 producing when swallowed a sense of heat in  the stomach, and a general
 glow over the body, without any narcotic effect.  Its influence  over the
 circulation, though considerable, is not in proportion to its local action.  It
 is much employed as a condiment, and proves highly useful  in correcting
 the flatulent tendency of certain vegetables, and bringing them within the
 digestive powers of the stomach.   Hence the advantage derived from it by
the natives of tropical climates who live  chiefly on vegetable food.   In the
 East Indies it has been used from time immemorial.   From  a passage in
the works of Pliny, it  appears to have been known to the  Romans.  As a
medicine it is useful in cases  of enfeebled and languid  stomach, and is occa-
sionally prescribed in dyspepsia and atonic gout, particularly when attended
with much flatulence, or occurring in persons of intemperate habits.  It has
 also been given as a stimulant in palsy and certain lethargic affections.  To
the sulphate of quinia it forms an excellent addition in some cases  of inter-
mittents, in which there is a great want of gastric susceptibility.  It acts by
 exciting the stomach, and rendering it sensible to the influence of the tonic.
 Upon the same principle it may prove useful in  low forms of fever as an
 adjuvant to tonic or stimulant medicines.  Its most important application,
 however, is to the treatment of malignant  sore throat and scarlet  fever, in
 which  it is used both internally and  as  a gargle.  No other  remedy has
 obtained equal credit in these complaints.   The following formula was em- 
 part I.                 Capsicum.—Carbo.                    169

 ployed in malignant searlatrna with  great advantage in the West Indies,
 where  this application  of the remedy originated.   Two  tablespoonfuls of
 the powdered pepper, with a teaspoonful of common salt, are infused for an
 hour in a pint of a boiling liquid composed of equal parts of water and vine-
 gar.   This is strained when cool through a fine linen cloth, and given in
 the dose of a tablespoon-ful every half hour.   The same preparation is also
 used as a gargle.  It is, however,  only to the' worst cases  that the remedy
 is applied  so energetically.   In milder cases of scarlatina with inflamed or
 ulcerated throat, much relief and positive advantage often follow the employ-
 ment of the pepper  in a more diluted state*.   Capsicum  has also- been ad-
 vantageously used in sea-sickness, in the dose  of a teaspoonful given in
 some convenient vehicle on  the first occurrence of nausea.
   Applied externally, capsicum is a powerful rubefacient, very useful in
 local rheumatism, ?nd in low forms of disease,  where a stimulant impres-
 sion upon the surface is demanded.  It has the advantage, under these cir-
 cumstances, of  acting speedily without  endangering vesication.   It may be
 applied in  the form  of cataplasm,  or more conveniently and efficiently as a
 lotion mixed with heated spirit.   The powder or tincture, brought into con-
 tact with a relaxed uvula, often acts very beneficially.
   The dose of  the powder  is from five to ten grains, which may be  most
 conveniently given in the form of pill.  Of  an infusion prepared  by adding
 two drachms to half a pint of boiling water, the dose is  about half a fluid-
 ounce.  A gargle may be prepared by infusing half a drachm of the powder
 in a pint of boiling water, or adding half  a fluidounce  of the tincture to
 eight fluidounces of rose-water.
    Off. Prep.  Tinctura Capsici,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub^          W„

                             CARBO.

                              Carbon.

   Pure charcoal; Carbone, Fr., Ital; KohlenstofF, Germ.; Carbon, Span.
   Carbon  is an  elementary substance  of great  importance,  and very exten-
 sively diffused in nature.  It exists in large quantity in the mineral king-
 dom, and  forms the most abundant  constituent of  animal and  vegetable
 matter.  In a state  of  perfect purity and crystallized, it constitutes the
 diamond, and  more or less pure, it forms  the substances known  under the
 names of plumbago or black  lead, anthracite, bituminous coal, coke, animal
 charcoal, and  vegetable charcoal.   Combined with  oxygen, it constitutes
 carbonic acid, which is a constituent of  the atmosphere,  and present  in
 many natural waters, especially those which have an effervescing  quality.
 United  with oxygen  and a base, it forms the  carbonates, and of course car-
 bonate  of  lime,  which is one of the  most  abundant combinations of the
 mineral kingdom.
  The diamond, or  crystallized  carbon, is found principally in  India and
 Brazil.  It is perfectly transparent, and the hardest and most brilliant  sub-
 stance in nature.   Its sp. gr.  is about 3-5.  It is perfectly fixed and unalter-
 able in the  fire, provided air  be completely excluded; but it is combustible
in air  or oxygen, the product being the  same as  when charcoal is burned,
namely  carbonic  acid.
  Next to diamond, plumbago and anthracite are the purest natural forms of
carbon.  Plumbago is the substance of which black lead crucibles and pencils
are made.   It is  found in greatest purity, perhaps, in the mine of Borrow-
dale, in  England; but it also occurs very  pure in  this country, especially 
170
Carbo.
PART I.
near Bustieton, in Pennsylvania.  It was formerly supposed to be a carburet
of iron; but in very pure specimens it is nearly free from iron, which must,
therefore, be deemed an accidental impurity.   Anthracite occurs in different
parts of the world, but particularly in the United States.  Immense beds of
it exist in  Pennsylvania.  Bituminous coal is a form of the carbonaceous
principle, in which the  carbon is associated with volatile matter  of a bitu-
minous nature.  When  this is driven off' by the process of charring, as in
the manufacture of coal gas, a kind of mineral charcoal, called coke, is ob-
tained, very useful in the arts as a fuel.
   Carbon may be obtained artificially, in a state approaching to purity, by
several processes.  One  method is to expose lampblack to a full red heat in
a close vessel. It may also be obtained in a very pure state by passing the
vapour of volatile oils through an ignited porcelain tube; whereby the hydro-
gen and oxygen of the oil will be dissipated, and the charcoal left in the
tube.  A  very pure  charcoal is procured  by exposing  sugar,  or other
vegetable  substances which leave no ashes when burnt, to  ignition in close
vessels.
  Properties.  Carbon  in its crystallized form has already been  described
as diamond.   In  its uncrystallized state it is an insoluble, infusible solid,
generally  of a black colour, and  without  taste or smell.   It burns when
sufficiently  heated, uniting with the oxygen of the air, and generating a
gaseous acid,  called carbonic acid.   Its sp. gr. in the solid state, apart from
the pores which  it contains when in  mass, is 3-5;  but with  the  pores in-
cluded, it is only  0*44.   In  a state  of vapour, its density  is 0-4215, as
obtained by  calculation.   It is a very unalterable  and indestructible sub-
stance, and has great power in resisting and correcting putrefaction in other
bodies.  When in  a state of extreme  division, it possesses the  remarkable
property of destroying the  colouring and odorous principles of most liquids.
The conditions, under which this property is most powerfully developed,
will be explained under the head of animal charcoal.  (See Carbo Animalis.)
Its other physical properties differ according to its source and peculiar state
of aggregation.  Its equivalent number is 6*12, and its symbol C.  As a
chemical element, it enjoys a very extensive range of combination. It com-
bines in five proportions with oxygen, forming carbonic oxide, and  carbonic,
oxalic, mellitic, and croconic acids.  (See Aqua Acidi Carbonici, and Oxalic
Acid.)  It unites also with chlorine, iodine, and bromine.   With hydrogen
it forms  a number of compounds, called carbo-hydrogens,  of which  the
most  interesting,  excluding  hypothetical radicals,  are light  carburetted
hydrogen, or  fire damp, olefiant gas, the light  and concrete  oils  of wine,
and certain purified volatile oils.   With  nitrogen  it constitutes cyanogen,
the compound radical of  hydrocyanic or prussic acid;  and united  with iron
in minute  proportion it forms steel.  It is thus perceived, that as a chemical
agent it performs  an important part in  the economy of nature.
  To notice  all the forms of the carbonaceous principle would  be out of
place in this work.  We shall, therefore, restrict ourselves to the  consider-
ation  of those which  are  officinal, namely,  animal charcoal, and wood
charcoal.   These will be described in the two following articles.     B. 
PART I.
Carbo Animalis.
171
           CARBO ANIMALIS.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                         Animal Charcoal.

   " Charcoal prepared from bones." U. S.  " Carbo. Ex came et ossibus
 coctus." Lond.  " Impure animal charcoal obtained commonly from bones."
 Ed.
   Charbon animal, Fr.; Thierische Kohle, Germ.; Carbone animale, Ital; Carbon ani-
 mal. Span.
   The animal charcoal employed in pharmacy and the arts, is obtained from
 bones, by subjecting them to a red heat in close vessels, and  is chiefly em-
 ployed as  a  decolorizing agent.   The residue of the ignition is  a black
 matter, which, when reduced to powder, forms the substance properly called
 bone-black, but familiarly known under the incorrect name of ivory-black.
 Ivory by carbonization will  furnish a black, which, on account of its fine-
 ness and intensely black colour,  is more  esteemed than the ordinary bone-
 black; but it is much more expensive.
   Animal charcoal, in the form of bone-black, is extensively manufactured
 for the use of sugar refiners and others;  and an ammoniacal  liquor, called
 bone spirit,  is obtained as a secondary product, and  sold to the makers
 of sal ammoniac.   The bones are subjected to destructive  distillation in
 iron retorts or cylinders, and when the bone spirit ceases to come over, the
 residuum is charred bone, or bone-black.  Bone consists of  animal matter
 with phosphate and carbonate of lime.    In consequence of a new arrange-
 ment of the elements of the animal  matter, the hydrogen and nitrogen united
 as ammonia, and a part of the charcoal as carbonic acid, distil over; while the
 remainder of the charcoal is left  in the retort, intermingled with the calca-
 reous salts.  In this form, therefore, of animal charcoal,  the carbon is mixed
 with phosphate and carbonate of lime; and the same is the case with the
 true ivory-black.
   Properties.  Animal  charcoal, in the form of bone-black, (called ivory-
 black in  the shops,) is a black powder, possessing a slightly alkaline  and
 bitterish  taste, and  having a general resemblance  to powdered vegetable
 charcoal.  It is, however, more dense and less combustible than this char-
 coal, from  which, moreover, it  maybe  distinguished by burning  a small
 portion of it on a red-hot iron, when it will leave a residuum  imperfectly
 acted on  by sulphuric acid; whereas the ashes from vegetable charcoal will
 readily dissolve in this acid,  forming a bitterish solution.
   Animal charcoal by no means necessarily possesses the decolorizing pro-
 perty; as this depends upon its peculiar state of aggregation.  If a piece of
 pure animal matter be carbonized,  it usually enters into fusion, and, from
 the gaseous matter which is extricated, becomes porous and cellular.  The
 charcoal  formed has generally a metallic lustre, and a colour resembling
 that of black lead.   It has, however, little or no decolorizing power, even
 though it may be finely  pulverized.
  Rationale of the Effects  of Charcoal  as a Decolorizing Agent.  The
decolorizing power of charcoal was first  noticed by Lowitz of St.  Peters-
burg; and the  subject was subsequently ably investigated by Bussy,  Payen,
and Desfosses.  It is generally communicated to charcoal by igniting it in
close vessels,  but not always.  The kind  of charcoal, for example, obtained
from substances which undergo fusion during carbonization, does  not pos-
sess the property, even though it  may be afterwards finely pulverized.  The
property  in question is possessed to a certain extent by wood  charcoal;  but 
172                       Carbo Animalis.                  part i.

is developed in it in a much greater degree by burning it with some chemi-
cal  substance, which may have the effect of reducing it to an extreme degree
of fineness.   The most powerful of all the charcoals for discharging colours,
are  those obtained from  certain animal matters, such  as dried blood, hair,
horns, hoofs, &c. by first carbonizing them in connexion with carbonate of
potassa, and then washing the product with water.  Charcoal thus prepared,
seems to be reduced to its finest possible particles.  The next most powerful
decolorizing charcoal is ivory or bone-black, in which the separation of the
carbonaceous particles is effected by the  phosphate of lime present  in the
bone.  Vegetable substances also may be made to yield a  good charcoal
for  destroying colour, provided, before  carbonization, they  be well com-
minuted, and mixed with pumice stone, chalk, flint, calcined bones, orother
similar substance, in a pulverized state.
  It results from the foregoing facts, that  the decolorizing power of char-
coal depends upon a peculiar mode of aggregation of its  particles, the lead-
ing character of which is that they are isolated from one another, and thus
enabled to present a greater extent of surface.   It is on  this  principle that
certain chemical substances act in developing the property in question, when
they are ignited in  a  state of intimate mixture  with  the substance to be
charred.  Thus it is pereeived that there is no necessary connexion between
animal eharcoal and the decolorizing power; as this charcoal may or may
not possess the  peculiar aggregation of  its particles on which the power
depends.  Bone-black, for instance, has  this property, not because it is an
animal charcoal; but, beeause, in consequence of the phosphate of lime pre-
sent in the bone, the favourable state of aggregation is  induced.   Of all the
substances yet tried to  separate the carbonaceous molecules, carbonate of
potassa appears  to be the best.
  The following table, abridged from one drawn up by Bussy, denotes the
decolorizing power  of different  charcoals, compared with the effeet of bone-
black taken as unity.
KINDS OF CHARCOAL.	Decolorizing Power relative to Syrup.	_ts .2 •H ° ""5 <> _2 t- tan 0,3
Bone-black, ........... Gluten ignited with carbonate of potassa, ..... Lampblack ignited with carbonate of potassa, -White of egg ignited with carbonate of potassa, .... Glue ignited with carbonate of potassa, ------Bone charcoal, formed by depriving the bone of phosphate of lime by Blood ienited with carbonate of potassn, - -	1 1-6 1-9 3-3 4-4 8-8 10 1(M) 11 15-5 15-5 20 20	1 1-87 2 4 56 106 12 12-2 18 34 36 45 50
  Comparing the extremes of this table, it is perceived that blood ignited
with carbonate of potassa is twenty times more powerful in discharging the
colour of syrup, and fifty times more powerful in decolorizing indigo, than
an equal weight of bone-black.   This is certainly a great disparity in effect,
and could hardly have been anticipated. 
parti.           Carbo Animalis.—Carbo Ligni.              173

  Bone-black consists, in the hundred parts, of eighty-eight parts of phos-
phate and carbonate of lime, ten of charcoal, and two of carburet or silicuret
of iron. {Dumas.)  The proportion of charcoal, here given, is small.  Ac-
cording to Dr. Christison, Scotch bone-black generally yields about  twenty
per cent, of charcoal,  which is a large amount to be obtained by analysis,
considering that thirty-three per cent, only of the bone is animal matter, and
that part of the  charcoal is lost in the process.
  Pharmaceutical Uses, fyc.  Animal charcoal is  used in pharmacy for
decolorizing vegetable  principles, such as quinia, morphia,  &c, and in the
arts, principally for clarifying syrups in  sugar refining, and for depriving
spirits distilled  from grain of the peculiar volatile oil, which imparts to them
an unpleasant  taste as  first distilled.   The manner in which it is used is to
mix it with the substance to be decolorized,  and to allow the mixture to
stand for some  time.   The charcoal unites chemically with the colouring
matter, and the solution by filtration is obtained white and transparent.  For
most pharmaceutical operations, animal charcoal should be purified by mu-
riatic acid  from phosphate and carbonate of lime.  (See Carbo Animalis
Purificatus.)  In  the United States formula for sulphate of quinia, however,
it is used  without purification; as  the carbonate of lime which it contains
performs a useful part in the process.  (See Quinias Sulphas.)
   Off. Prep. Carbo Animalis Purificatus,  U.S., Lond., Ed.         B.


           CARBO  LIGNI.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.

                             Charcoal.

   Charbon de bois, Fr.; Holzkohle, Germ.; Carbone di legno,  Ital; Carbon de lena,
Span.
  Preparation on the Large Scale.   Billets of wood are  piled in a conical
heap, and covered with earth and  sod to  prevent the  free access  of air;
several holes being left at the bottom, and one  at the top of the heap,  in
order to  produce a draught to commence the combustion.   The wood is
then kindled from the bottom.  In a little while, the hole at the top is closed,
and after the ignition is found to  pervade  the whole  heap, those at !he bot-
tom are stopped also.  The combustion taking place with a smothered flame
and limited access  of  air,  the volatile portions of the wood, consisting  of
hydrogen and oxygen,  are dissipated, while the carbon, in the form of char-
coal, is left behind.
  In this process  for the carbonization of wood, all the volatile products are
lost; and a portion of the charcoal itself is dissipated by combustion.  Wood,
thus carbonized, yields not more  than 17 or 18 per  cent, of  charcoal.   A
better method is to char the wood in iron cylinders, when it yields from 22
to 23 parts in the 100 of excellent charcoal; and at the same time, the  means
are afforded for collecting the volatile products, consisting of pyroligneous
acid, empyreumatic oil, and  tar.   This process for  obtaining charcoal has
been described under another head. (See Acidum Pyroligneum.)
  Preparation for Medical Use.   Common charcoal is not, perhaps, suffi-
ciently pure for medical exhibition; as all the volatile portions of the wood
are not completely expelled.  Lowitz directs its purification to be conducted
in the following manner.  Fill a crucible with ordinary charcoal reduced  to
fine powder, and lute  on a perforated cover.  Then expose the whole to a
strong red heat, and continue the ignition as long as a blue  flame issues from
the aperture in the cover.  When this ceases,  allow the  charcoal to cool,
and transfer it quickly to bottles, which must be well stopped.
                                 16* 
174                 Carbo Ligni.—Cardamine.             fart i.

  Properties.  Charcoal is a black, shining, brittle, porous substance, taste-
less and inodorous, and insoluble in water.  It is a good conductor of elec-
tricity, but a bad  one of heat.   In  masses, it  floats in water; but when
reduced to a fine powder, whereby its porosity is destroyed, it sinks in that
liquid.  It possesses the remarkable  property of absorbing many times its
own bulk of  certain gases, provided it be  perfectly dry.  When exposed to
the air after ignition, it increases rapidly  in weight, absorbing from twelve
to fourteen per cent, of moisture. As ordinarily prepared, it contains the
incombustible part of  the wood, amounting to one or two per cent., which
is left in  the form of ashes when the charcoal is burnt.   These may be
removed by digesting the charcoal in  diluted muriatic acid, and afterwards
washing it thoroughly on a filter with  boiling water.
  Medical Properties, fyc.  Powdered charcoal is antiseptic and absorbent.
It is employed with advantage in certain forms of dyspepsia, attended with
fetid breath and putrid eructations; and it  has been exhibited in dysentery
with the effect of correcting the fetor of the stools.  As a remedy in obsti-
nate constipation, Dr. Daniel, of Savannah, speaks of it in high terms, and
reports  fourteen or fifteen cases, in which it proved successful.  He also
found it useful in the nausea and confined state of the bowels which usually
attend pregnancy.   Its use as an ingredient  of poultices  is noticed under
the  title of Cataplasma Carbonis Ligni.   Several  of  its varieties  con-
stitute the best tooth powder that can be used.  Those which are  gene-
rally preferred are  the charcoals of the cocoa-nut shell and of bread.   The
dose of charcoal  varies from twenty grains to a drachm or more.  Dr.
Daniel gave it,  in his cases, in doses of a  tablespoonful repeated every half
hour.
  In consequence of the absorbent and antiseptic properties of charcoal, it is
invaluable in  domestic  economy.   Meat embedded in it in close vessels is
kept perfectly sweet for many months; and water intended for long voyages
is equally preserved by the addition of its powder. The power of some of
its varieties in destroying colours and  odours is very considerable;  and it
acts upon  the principle which has been explained under the head of animal
charcoal.  (See Carbo Animalis.)
  Charcoal is used in preparing the Edinburgh Barytas Murias, when ob-
tained from the sulphate of baryta.
  Off. Prep.  Cataplasma Carbonis Ligni, Dub.                    B.


                     CARDAMINE.  Lond.

                           Cuckoo-flower.

  " Cardamine pratensis. Flores." Lond.
  Off. Syn.  CARDAMINE PRATENSIS. Flores. Dub.
  Cresson dcs pies. Fr.; Wisenkresse, Germ.; Kardamine, Ital
  Cardamine.  Sex. Syst.  Tetradynamia Siliquosa.—Nat. Ord. Brassica-
ceae or Cruciferae.
  Gen. Ch. Pods  opening elastically, with revolute valves.  Stigma  entire.
Calyx somewhat gaping. Willd.
  Cardamine pratensis. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. 487; Woodv. Med. Bot.y.
398. t. 144.  The Cuckoo-flower is a perennial herbaceous plant, with  a
simple, smooth, erect stem, about a foot in height.  The leaves are pinnate;
the radical, composed of roundish irregularly toothed  leaflets, those of the
stem  alternate, with  leaflets which become narrower, more  entire, and
pointed as they ascend.  The flowers are purplish-white or rose-coloured,
and terminate the stem in a raceme approaching the character of a corymb. 
PART I.
Cardamine.— Cardamomum.
175
  This species of Cardamine is  a native of Europe, and  is  found in the
northern parts of our continent, about Hudson's Bay.  It is  a very hand-
some plant, abounding in moist meadows, which it adorns  with its flowers
in the months of April and May.  The leaves are bitterish and  slightly pun-
gent, resembling in  some measure those of water-cresses, and  like them
supposed to be possessed of antiscorbutic properties.  In Europe they are
sometimes  added to salads.  The flowers only are  officinal.   They have
the same taste with the leaves, and, when fresh, a somewhat pungent odour.
When dried, they become inodorous and nearly insipid.
   They formerly possessed the reputation of being diuretic, and  since the
publication of a paper by Sir George Baker, somewhat more than half a
century ago, have been occasionally used  as an antispasmodic  in various
nervous diseases, such as  chorea and spasmodic asthma, in which  they
were successfully employed by that  physician.  They produce,  however,
little obvious effect upon the system, and are not employed in  this country.
                                                                W.

             CARDAMOMUM. U. S.,  Lond.,  Ed.

                            Cardamom.

   "The fruit of Alpinia Cardamomum."  U.S. "Alpinia Cardamomum.
 Semina."  Lond.  "Fruit of Renealmia Cardamomum."  Ed.
   Off Syn. AMOMUM CARDAMOMUM. Semina.  Dub.
   Petit cardamome, Fr.; Kleine Kardamomen, Germ.; Cardaniomo minore, Ital; Carda-
 rnomo menor, Span.; Ebil, Arab.;  Kakeleh seghar, Persian; Capalaga, Malay; Gujarati
elachi, Hindoost.
   The subject of cardamom has been involved  in some confusion and un-
certainty, both  in its commercial and botanical  relations.   The  name has
been applied to the aromatic capsules of various Indian plants  belonging to
the family of the Scitamineae.  Three varieties have long been designated by
the several  titles of the lesser, middle, and larger, the cardamomum minus,
medium, and majus, of older authors; but these terms have been used dif-
ferently by  different writers, so  that their precise signification  remained
doubtful.   Pereira,  whose position in the midst of the greatest drug market
in the  world has given him excellent  opportunities,  which he has not
neglected, of investigating the commercial history of drugs, has enabled us
in great measure to clear up this confusion.   It is well  known that the
lesser cardamom, of most  writers, is the variety recognised by the Phar-
macopoeias, and generally kept in the shops.  The other varieties, though
circulating  to a greater or less  extent in European and Indian commerce,
are little known in this country.  A sketch of the non-officinal cardamoms,
condensed  from the account of Pereira, is given below in a  note.*  The
following remarks have reference exclusively  to the genuine Malabar or
officinal cardamom.

  * 1. Ceylon Cardamom.  This has been denominated variously by different authors, car-
damomum medium, cardamomum majus, and cardamomum longum, and is sometimes term-
ed in English commerce wild cardamom.  It is the large cardamom of Guibourt.  It is
probably derived from a plant cultivated in Candy, in the island of Ceylon, which belongs
to the same genus as that producing the officinal cardamom,and is specifically designated
by Sir James Edward Smith, Elettaria major.  It is a lanceolate-oblong-, acutely triangu-
lar capsule, somewhat curved, about  an inch and a half long and four lines  broad, with
flat and ribbed sides, tough and coriaceous, brownish or yellowish-ash coloured, having
frequently at  one end the long, cylindrical, three lobed calyx, and at  the  other the fruit
stalk.  It is three-celled, and contains angular, rugged, yellowish-rcd seeds, of a peculiar 
176
Cardamomum.
PART I.
   Linnaeus  confounded, under  the name of Amomum Cardamomum, two
different vegetables—the genuine plant of Malabar, and another growing in
Java.   These were separated by Willdenow, who conferred on the former
Sonnerat's title of Amomum  repens, while he retained the original name
for the latter, though not the true cardamom plant.  In the tenth vol. of the
Linn.  Transactions, A. D.  1811, Mr. White,  a British Army Surgeon in
India, published a very minute description of the Malabar plant,  which he
had enjoyed frequent opportunities of examining in its native state.  From
this description, the learned Dr. Maton inferred that the plant, according to
Roscoe's arrangement of the Scitamineae, could not be considered an Amo-
mum;  and as he was unable to attach it to any other known genus, he pro-
posed -to construct a  new one,  with  the name  of Elettaria, derived from
elettari, or ela-tari, the Malabar name of this vegetable.   Sir James Smith
afterwards suggested the propriety of naming the new genus Matonia, in
honour of Dr. Maton;  and the latter  title having been adopted by Roscoe,
obtained a place in former editions of the London and United  States Phar-
macopoeias.  After all, however, it  is doubtful whether the  new genus is
well founded; and the celebrated Dr. Roxburgh describes the Malabar car-
damom plant as an Alpinia, with the specific appellation of A. Cardamo-


fragrant odour, and spicy taste.  Its effects  are analogous to  those of the officinal car-
damom, which, however, commands three times its price.
  2. Round Cardamom.  This is probably the "a/u&y*ov of Dioscorides, and  the Amomi
uva  of Pliny, and is  believed to  be  the fruit of the Amomum Cardamomum (Willd.),
growing in  Sumatra, Java, and other East India islands.  The capsules are usually
smaller than a cherry, roundish or somewhat ovate, with three convex sides, more or less
striated longitudinally, yellowish or brownish-white, and sometimes reddish, with brown,
angular, cuneiform shrivelled seeds, which have an aromatic camphorous flavour. They
are sometimes, though very rarely, met with  connected together in their native clusters,
constituting the Amomum racemosum, or Amome en grappes of the French Codex. They
are similar in  medicinal properties to the officinal cardamom, but are seldom used except
in the southern parts of Europe.
  3. Java Cardamom.  The plant producing this variety is supposed to be the Amomum
mazhnum of Roxburgh, growing in Java and other Malay islands, and said  to be culti-
vated in the mountains of Nepaul.  The product  of the latter site is called Nepaul or
Bengal cardamoms in the East.  The capsules are oval, or oval-oblong, often somewhat
ovate, from eight to fifteen  lines long and from four to eight broad, usually flattened on
one side and convex on the other, sometimes curved, three-valved, and occasionally im-
perfectly  three-lobed, of a dirty grayish-brown colour, and  coarse fibrous appearance.
They are strongly ribbed, and, when soaked in water, exhibit from nine to thirteen ragged
membranous wings, which distinguish them from all other varieties.   The seeds have a
feebly aromatic taste  and smell. This variety of cardamom affords but a very small pro-
portion of volatile  oil, is altogether of inferior quality, and when imported into London
is usually sent to the continent.
  4. Madagascar  Cardamom.  This  is  the Cardamomum majus  of  Geiger and some
other authors, and is thought to be the fruit of the  Amomum  angustifolium of Sonnerat,
which grows in marshy grounds in Madagascar. The capsule is ovate, pointed, flattened
on one side, striated, with a broad circular sear at the bottom, surrounded by an elevated,
notched, and corrugattd margin.  The seeds have an aromatic flavour analogous to that
of the officinal cardamom.
  5. Grains of Paradise. Grana Paradisi.   Under this name, and that of Guinea grains,
are kept in the shops small seeds of a round or ovate form, often angular and somewhat
cuneiform, minutely  rough, brown  externally, white within,  of a feebly aromatic odour
when rubbed  between the  fingers, and  of a strongly hot and peppery taste.   They  are
brought from Guinea, and are of uncertain botanical origin, though differently referred to
the Amomum  Grana Paradisi, and the A. melegueta of Roscoe.  Their effects on  the
system are analogous to those of pepper; but they  are seldom used except in veterinary
practice, and to give artificial strength to spirits, wine, beer and vinegar.
  Other products of different Scitamineee, which have received the name of  cardamom,
are described by Pereira; but the above are all that arc  known in commerce, or likely to
be brought into our drug markets. 
PART I.
Cardamomum.
177  -
 mum.   He has  been followed by Sprengel, and  several other German
 authorities, and recently by  the London  College, and the framers of the
 Pharmacopoeia of the United States.   Lindley and Pereira,  however, ad-
 here to the genus Elettaria of Dr. Maton.   Finally, Roscoe has arranged the
 plant with the abandoned genus Renealmia of Linnaeus  which he has re-
 stored; and the Edinburgh College has recognised this arrangement in their
 last edition.   In this  unsettled  state of botanical opinion, we shall follow
 the authority of Roxburgh.
   Alpinia.  Sex. Syst. Monandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Scitamineae.
 Brown.   Zingiberaceae. Lindley.
    Gen. Ch.  Corolla with interior border unilabiate.  Anther double, naked,
 (uncrowned).  Capsule berried, three-celled.   Seeds a few, or numerous,
 arilled.  Roxburgh, Asiat. Research, vol. xi. p. 350.
   Alpinia Cardamomum. Roxburgh.—Elettaria Cardamomum. Maton.—
 Matonia Cardamomum.  Roscoe.—Amomum Repens. Sonnerat; Willd.
 Sp. Plant, i. 9.   Renealmia Cardamomum. Roscoe, Monandrous Plants.
 Figured in Linn. Trans, x. 248.   The  cardomom plant has a  tuberous
 horizontal root or rhizoma, furnished with numerous fibres, and sending
 up  from eight to twenty erect, simple, smooth, green  and shining, peren-
 nial stems, which rise from six.to twelve feet in height, and bear  alternate
 sheathing  leaves.   These are  from  nine inches to two  feet long,  from
 one  to five inches broad, elliptical-lanceolate, pointed, entire, smooth and
 dark-green on the upper surface,  glossy and pale sea-green beneath, with
 strong midribs, and  short footstalks.   The scape or flower-stalk proceeds
 from  the base of the stem, and lies upon  the  ground, with the flowers ar-
 ranged in  the form of a panicle.   The calyx is monophyllous, tubular, and
 toothed  at the margin; the corolla monophyllous and funnel-shaped, with
 the inferior border unilabiate, three-lobed, and spurred at the base.  The
 fruit is a three-celled capsule, containing numerous seeds.
   This valuable plant is a native  of the mountainous regions of Malabar,
 where it springs up spontaneously in the forests after the removal of the
 undergrowth.   From  time  immemorial great numbers of the natives have
 depended for a livelihood upon its cultivation.   It begins to yield fruit at the
 end of the fourth  year, and continues  to bear for several years afterwards.
 The capsules when ripe are picked from the fruit stems, dried over a gentle
 fire, and separated by rubbing with the hands from the footstalks and ad-
 hering calyx.
   Thus  prepared, they are ovate-oblong, from three  to ten lines long, from
 three to  four thick, three-sided with  rounded angles, obtusely pointed at
 both ends,  longitudinally wrinkled, and of  a yellowish-white colour.   The
 seeds which they  contain are small, angular, irregular, rough as if embossed
 upon their  surface, of a brown colour, easily reduced to powder, and thus
 separable from the capsules, which, though slightly aromatic, are much less
 so than  the seeds, and  should  be  rejected when the medicine is  given in
 substance.  The seeds constitute about 74  parts by weight in the hundred.
 According to Pereira, three varieties are distinguished in British commerce:
 —1.  the shorts,  from three to six lines long, from two  to  three broad,
 browner  and  more coarsely ribbed, and more highly esteemed than  the
 other varieties;—2. the  long-longs, from seven  lines to an inch in length
 by two or three lines in  breadth, elongated, and somewhat acuminate; and
 3.  short-longs, which  differ from  the second  variety in being somewhat
 shorter and less pointed.  The odour of  cardamom is fragrant, the taste
warm, slightly pungent, and  highly aromatic.  These properties  are  ex-
tracted by water and alcohol, but more readily by the latter.  They depend 
17S
Cardamomum.—Carota.
part i.
on a volatile oil which rises with water in distillation.  The seeds contain,
according to Trommsdorff, 4-6 per cent, of volatile oil, 10-4 of fixed oil, 2-5
of a salt of potassa mixed with a colouring principle, 3-0 of starch, 1-8 of
azotized mucilage, 0-4 of yellow colouring matter, and 77-3 of ligneous
fibre.   The volatile oil is colourless, of an agreeable and very penetrating
odour, and of  a strong, aromatic, burning, camphorous,  and  slightly bitter
taste.   Its sp. gr.  is 0*945.  It cannot be kept long without undergoing
change, and finally, even though excluded  from the  air, loses its peculiar
odour  and taste.   (Trommsdorff, Annalen  der Pharmacie, July, 1834.)
The seeds should  be  powdered only when  wanted for  immediate use,  as
they retain their aromatic properties best while enclosed within the capsules.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.  Cardamom  is a warm and grateful aro-
matic,  less heating and stimulating than some others belonging to the class,
and very useful as an adjuvant or corrective of  cordial, tonic, and purgative
medicines.  Throughout the East Indies it is largely consumed as a condi-
ment,  and is  considered almost among the necessaries of life.   It was
known to the ancients, and  derived its name  from the Greek language.   In
this country it is  employed chiefly as an ingredient in compound prepara-
tions.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Aromatica,  Lond., Dub.;  Extract. Colocynthidis
Comp., U. S., Lond.,  Dub.;  Pulvis Aromaticus, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Tinctura  Cardamomi,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinct. Cardam. Comp.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinct. Cinnam.  Comp.,  U. S., Lond.,  Ed.;  Tinct.
Conii, Lond., Dub.; Tinct. Gentian.  Comp.,  U. S., Lond., Dub.; Tinct.
Quassia? Comp., Ed.;  Tinct. Rhei, U. S., Ed.; Tinct. Rhei Comp., Dub.;
Tinct. Rhei et Aloes, U. S., Ed.;  Tinct.  Sennse Comp., Lond., Dub.;
Tinct. Sennae  et Jalapae, U. S.,  Ed.; Vinum Aloes, U. S., Ed.     W.

                  CAROTA. U.S., Secondary.

                           Carrot  Seed.
   " The fruit  of Daucus Carota."  U. S.
   Off. Syn. DAUCI FRUCTUS. Daucus Carota. Fructus. Lond.; DAU-
CUS  CAROTA.   Var. SYLVESTRIS. Semina. Dub.

                  DAUCI  RADIX. Lond.,  Ed.

                       Garden Carrot Root.
   " Daucus Carota. Radix recens."  Lond.  " Root of  Daucus Carota.
var. Sativa.*'  Ed.
   Off. Syn.  DAUCUS CAROTA. Radix. Dub.
   Garrotte, Fr.; Gemcine Mohre, Gelbo Uu.be, Germ.;  Curota, Ital;  Lanahoria, Span.
   Daucus.   Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Umbelliferae, or
Apiaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Corolla somewhat rayed.  Florets of the disk abortive.  Fruit
hispid with hairs.  Willd.
   Daucus Carota. Willd.  Sp. Plant,  i. 1389; Woodv.  Med. Bot.  p. 130.
t. 50.   The wild  carrot has a biennial spindleshaped root, and an annual,
round, furrowed,  hairy stem, which divides into long,  erect,  flower-bearing
branches, and rises two or three feet in height.  The leaves are hairy, and
stand  on footstalks nerved on their under side.  The lower  are large and
tripinnate, the upper,  smaller and less compound; in both, the  leaflets  are
divided into narrow pointed segments.   The flowers are small,  white, and 
PART I.
Carota.
179
disposed in many-rayed compound umbels, which are at first flat on the top
and spreading, but when  the seeds  are formed, contract so as to present a
concave cup-like surface.  A sterile flower of a deep purple colour is often
observable in the centre of the umbel.  The general involucrum is composed
of several leaves, divided  into long  narrow segments; the partial is  more
simple.  The petals are five, unequal  and cordate.   The fruit consists of
two plano-convex hispid portions, connected by their flat surface.
   The  Daucus Carota is exceedingly  common  in  this country, growing
alono- fences,  and in neglected fields,  which in the months  of June and
July are sometimes  white over their whole  surface with its  flowers.  It
grows wild also in Europe, from which it is supposed by some botanists to
have been introduced into  the United States. The well-known  garden carrot
is the same plant somewhat altered  by cultivation.    The officinal portions
are the fruit of the wild, and the root of the cultivated variety.
   1.  Carrot Seeds.   Strictly speaking, these should  be  called the fruit.
They  are very light, of a brownish colour, of an oval shape, flat on one
side,  convex on the other, and on their convex surface presenting four lon-
gitudinal ridges, to which stiff whitish hairs or bristles are attached.  They
have an aromatic odour, and a warm, pungent, and bitterish taste.   By dis-
tillation they yield a pale yellow volatile oil, upon which their virtues chiefly
 depend.  Boiling water extracts their active properties.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Carrot seeds are moderately excitant and
 diuretic, and are considerably employed, both in domestic practice and by
 physicians, in chronic nephritic affections, and in dropsy.   As they possess
 to a certain extent the cordial properties of the aromatics, they are especially
 adapted to cases in which the stomach is enfeebled.  They are  said to afford
 relief in the strangury from blisters.  From thirty grains to a drachm of the
bruised seeds may be given at a dose, or a pint of the infusion, containing
the virtues of half an ounce or an ounce of the seeds, may be taken during
the day..  The whole umbel is  often used instead of the seeds  alone.
   2.  Carrot Root. The root of the wild carrot is whitish, hard, coriaceous,
branched, of a strong smell, and an acrid disagreeable taste; that of the cul-
tivated variety is reddish, fleshy, thick, conical, rarely branched, of a pleasant
odour, and a peculiar, sweet, mucilaginous taste.  The constituents of the
root are crystallizable  and uncrystallizable sugar, a little starch, extractive,
gluten, albumen, volatile  oil, vegetable jelly {pectin of Braconnot),  malic
acid,  saline matters, lignin,  and a  peculiar crystallizable, ruby-red, neutral
principle, without odour  or taste, called carotin.  In relation to the nature
of vegetable jelly much uncertainty has existed.  By some it has been con-
sidered a modification of gum or mucilage combined with  a vegetable  acid.
Braconnot found it to be a peculiar principle, and gave it the name of pectin,
derived from  the  Greek word  n^xm, and expressive of the  peculiar  pro-
perty of gelatinizing, by which it is distinguished.   It  exists  more or less
in all vegetables, and  is abundant  in  certain  fruits  and roots from which
jellies are prepared.   It may be separated from  the juice of  fruits by the
addition of alcohol, which precipitates  it in the form of a jelly.  This being
washed with weak alcohol  and dried,  yields a  semitransparent substance
bearing some resemblance to fish-glue or isinglass.   Immersed in 100  parts
of cold water, it swells like bassorin, and ultimately forms a  homogeneous
jelly.   With a larger proportion of water it exhibits a mucilaginous con-
sistence.  It is less acted on by boiling than by cold water.  When per-
fectly pure it is tasteless and has no effect on vegetable blues.  A striking
peculiarity is, that by  the agency of a fixed alkali or alkaline  earthy base it
is instantly converted into pectic acid,  which unites  with the base to form a 
180
Carota.— Carthamus.
PART I.
pectate.   This may be decomposed by the addition of an acid, which unites
with the alkali and separates the pectic acid.  (Braconnot, Annates de Chi-
mie, Juillet, 1831.)  Pectic acid thus obtained is in the form of a colourless
jelly, slightly acidulous, with the property of reddening litmus paper, scarcely
soluble in cold water, more soluble in boiling water, and forming with the
latter a solution, which, though it does not become solid on cooling,  is co-
agulated by the addition of alcohol, lime-water, acids, or salts, and even of
sugar if allowed to stand  for some  time.   With the alkalies the acid forms
salts which are also capable of assuming the consistence of  a jelly.   With
the earths and metallic oxides  it  forms insoluble salts.  Braconnot thinks
that pectic acid exists in many  plants already formed, being produced by the
reaction of  alkalies  present in the plant upon  the pectin.   The views of
Braconnot have been confirmed by M. Fremy,  who also found  that pectin
results, in fruits, from  the reaction of acids upon a peculiar insoluble sub-
stance they contain when immature; and  that pectin is changed into pectic
acid not only by alkalies,  but also by vegetable albumen.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.   The wild root  possesses the  same pro-
perties with the seeds, and may be used for the same purposes.  That of the
garden plant has  acquired  much reputation as an external application to
phagedenic, sloughing, and cancerous ulcers, the fetor of which it is supposed
to correct, while it sometimes changes the character of the diseased action.
It is brought to the proper consistence by scraping.   In this state it retains
a portion of the active principles of the plant, which render it somewhat stim-
ulant.  Boiled  and mashed, as usually recommended, the root is perfectly
mild, and fit only to form  emollient cataplasms.
   Off. Prep. Cataplasma  Dauci, Dub.                            W.

               CARTHAMUS.   U.S. Secondary.

                           Dyers1 Saffron.

   '■ The flowers of Carthamus  tinctorius."  U. S.
   Fleurs de carthame, Safran  baiard, Fr.; Farber Snflor, Germ; Cartamo, Ital, Span.
   Carthamus.  Sex. Syst. Syngenesia iEqualis.—Nat. Ord. Composite
Cynareae. De Cand.   Cynaraceae.  Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.  Receptacle paleaceous, setose.  Calyx ovate, imbricated,  with
scales  ovate, leafy at  the end.  Seed-down  paleaceous, hairy, or none.
Willd.
   Carthamus tinctorius. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii.  1706.   The dyers' saffron
or safflower is an annual plant, with a smooth erect stem, somewhat branched
at top, and a foot or two in height.   The leaves are alternate, sessile, ovate,
acute, entire, and furnished with spiny teeth.  The flowers  are compound,
in large, terminal,  solitary heads.   The florets are of an orange-red colour,
with a funnel-shaped corolla, of which the tube is long, slender, and cylin-
drical,  and the border divided into five equal, lanceolate, narrow segments.
   The plant is a native of the Levant and Egypt, but is cultivated in various
parts of Europe and America.   The florets are the  part  employed. They
are brought to us chiefly from the ports of the Mediterranean. Considerable
quantities are produced in this country, and sold under the name of Ameri-
can saffron.
   Safflower in mass  is  of  a red colour, diversified by the yellowness of the
filaments contained within the  floret.   It has  a peculiar slightly aromatic
odour, and a scarcely  perceptible  bitterness.  Among its ingredients are
two colouring substances—one red, insoluble in water, slightly soluble in 
PART I.
Carthamus.—Carum.
181
 alcohol, very soluble in alkaline liquids, and called carthamite {carthamic
 acid of Dbbereiner); the other yellow and soluble in water.   It is the for-
 mer which renders safflower useful as a dye-stuff.  Carthamite mixed with
 finely powdered  talc  forms the cosmetic powder  known by the name of
 rouge.
   These flowers are  sometimes  fraudulently  mixed with saffron, which
 they resemble in  colour, but from which they may  be readily distinguished
 by their tubular form, and by the yellowish style and filaments which they
 enclose.
   Medical Properties. In large doses carthamus is said to be laxative; and
 administered in the state of warm infusion it proves somewhat diaphoretic.
 It is used in domestic practice, as a substitute for saffron, in measles, scarla-
 tina, and other exanthematous diseases, in order to promote the eruption.
 An  infusion  made in the proportion of two drachms to  a pint of boiling
 water  is usually  employed, and given without restriction as to quantity.
                                                                w/


                          CARUM. U.S.

                              Caraway.

   "The fruit of  Carum Carui."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  CARUI. Lond., Ed.;  CARUM  CARUI. Semina. Dub.
   Carvi, Fr., Ital;  Gemeioer Kfimmel, Germ.; Alcaraven, Span.
   Carum. Sex.  Syst.  Pentandria  Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Umbelliferae or
 Apiaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Fruit ovate-oblong, striated.   Involucre one-leafed.   Petals
 keeled, inflexed-emarginate. Willd.
   Carum Carui. Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 1470; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 102. t.
 41.  This plant is biennial and umbelliferous, with a spindleshaped, fleshy,
 whitish root, and an erect stem, about two feet  in height, branching above,
 and  furnished with doubly pinnate, deeply incised leaves, the  segments of
 which  are linear and pointed.  The flowers are small and white, and ter-
 minate the branches of the  stem in erect umbels, which are  accompanied
 with an involucre consisting sometimes of three or four leaflets, sometimes
 of one only, and  are destitute of partial involucre.
   The caraway plant is a native of Europe, growing wild in meadows and
 pastures, and cultivated in  many places.  It has been introduced into this
 country.  The flowers appear in May and June, and the seeds,  which are
 not perfected till  the second year, ripen in  August.   The root,  when  im-
 proved by culture, resembles the parsnip, and  is used as food by the inha-
 bitants of the North of Europe.   The seeds are the part used in medicine.
 They are collected by cutting down the plant and threshing it on a cloth.
 Our markets are supplied partly from Europe, partly from our own gardens.
 The American seeds are usually rather smaller than those brought from
 Germany.
  Caraway seeds (half-fruits) are about two lines in  length, slightly curved,
 with five longitudinal ridges which are of a light yellowish colour, while the
 intervening spaces are  dark  brown.   They have a pleasant aromatic smell,
 and a sweetish, warm, spicy taste.  These properties depend on an essential
oil, which they afford largely by  distillation.  The residue is insipid.  They
yield their virtues readily to alcohol,  and more slowly to water.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Caraway is a pleasant stomachic and
carminative, occasionally used in flatulent eolic, and as an adjuvant or cor-
       17 
185                  Carum.— Caryophyllus.              part i.

rective of other medicines.  The dose in  substance is  from a scruple to a
drachm.  An infusion may be prepared by  adding two drachms of the seeds
to a pint of boiling water.  The volatile oil, however, is most  employed.
(See Oleum  Cari.)   The seeds are sometimes baked in  cakes, to which
they communicate an agreeable flavour, while they serve to stimulate the
digestive organs.
   Off. Prep.  Aqua Carui, Lond., Dub.; Confectio  Opii,  Lond., Dub.;
Confectio Rutae,  Lond., Dub.;  Oleum Cari, U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Spiritus  Carui, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Spiritus Juniperi  Compositus, U.S.,
Lond., Dub.; Tinct. Cardamomi Comp. Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinct. Sennae
Comp., Lond., Dub.; Tinct. Sennae et Jalapae, U. S.,  Ed.        W.


         CARYOPHYLLUS.  U. S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.

                               Cloves.

   "The unexpanded flowers of Caryophyllus aromaticus."  U. S.  "Cary-
ophyllus aromaticus. Flores nondum explicati exsiccati."  Lond.  " Dried
undeveloped flowers of Caryophyllus aromaticus." Ed. "Eugenia caryo-
phyllata.  Flores nundum expliciti."  Dub.
   Girofle, Clous de Girofles, Fr.; Gewiirznelken, Germ.; Garofani, Ital; Clavos de espicia,
Span.; Cravo da India, Portuguese; Kruidmigcl, Dutch; Kerunfel, Arab.
   Caryophyllus.  Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Myr-
taceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Tube of the calyx cylindrical; limb four-parted.  Petals four,
adhering by their ends in a sort of calyptra.  Stamens distinct, arranged in
four parcels in a  quadrangular fleshy  hollow, near the  teeth of  the calyx.
Ovary two-celled, with about twenty ovules in each cell.   Berry one or two-
celled, one or two-seeded.  Seeds cylindrical, or half-ovate.  Cotyledons
thick, fleshy, convex externally, sinuous in various ways internally. Lind-
ley.  De Cand.
   Caryophyllus aromaticus. Linn. Sp. 735.  De Cand. Prodrom. iii. 262.
Eugenia  caryophyllata. Willd.  Sp. Plant,  ii. 965; Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 538. t. 193.   This small tree is one of the most elegant of those which
inhabit the sunny clime of India.  It has a pyramidal form, is always green,
and is adorned throughout  the year with a succession of beautiful rosy
flowers.   The stem is of hard wood,  and covered with a smooth grayish
bark.  The leaves are about four inches in length by two in breadth, obo-
vate-oblong, acuminate at  both ends, entire,  sinuated,  with  many parallel
veins on eaeh side of the midrib, supported upon long footstalks,  and oppo-
site to eaeh other upon the branches.  They have a firm  consistence, a shin-
ing green colour, and when bruised are highly fragrant.  The flowers are
disposed  in terminal corymbose panicles, and exhale a strong, penetrating)
and grateful odour.
   The natural geographical range of the clove-tree is extremely limited. It
was formerly confined to  the Molucca islands, in most of which it grew
abundantly before their conquest by the Dutch.  By the monopolizing policy
of this  commercial people,  the trees were extirpated in nearly all the islands
except Amboyna  and  Ternate, which  were under their immediate inspec-
tion.   Notwithstanding, however,  the  jealous vigilance of the Dutch, a
French governor of the Isle of France and  of Bourbon,  named Poivre, suc-
ceeded, in the year  1770, in obtaining  plants from the Moluccas, and intro-
ducing them into the colonies under his control.   Five years afterwards,
the clove-tree was introduced into  Cayenne  and  the West Indies, in 1803 
PART I.
Caryophyllus.
183
into the Island of Sumatra, and in 1818 into Zanzibar.  It is now cultivated
largely in these and  other places; and commerce has ceased to depend on
the Moluccas for supplies of this valuable spice.
   The unexpanded flower buds are the part of the plant employed under
the ordinary name of cloves.*   They are  first gathered when the tree is
about six  years old.   The  fruit  has similar aromatic  properties, but much
weaker.   The buds  are picked by the hand, or separated from the tree by
long reeds,  and  are then quickly dried.   In the  Moluccas they are said to
be sometimes immersed in boiling water, and afterwards exposed to smoke
and artificial heat, before being spread out in the sun.   In Cayenne and the
West Indies they are dried simply by the solar heat.
   Cloves appear to have been unknown to the ancients.  They were  first
 introduced  into Europe by the Arabians, and  were circulated through the
 medium of  Venetian commerce.  After the discovery of the southern  pas-
 sage  to India, the trade in this spice passed into the hands of the Portu-
 guese; but it was subsequently wrested from them by the Dutch, by whom
 it was long  monopolized.   Within a few years, however, the extended  cul-
 ture of the  plant has opened new sources of  supply;  and the commerce in
 cloves is no longer restricted to  a single nation.   The United States derive
 their chief  supplies  from the West Indies and the  European colonies in
 Guiana.  Of  the average  annual  import,  according  to  the  custom-house
 returns, from  1820 to 1828 inclusive, 43,240 pounds  were brought  from the
 West Indies or South America,  and 12,828 from France; while from Eng-
 land, Holland, and the East Indies  together, the amount imported was only
 11,090 pounds; and as the cloves obtained from France were probably of
 American growth, it appears that we can  receive but a very small propor-
 tion of those produced in the Moluccas.  The latter are said to be thicker,
 darker,  heavier,  more oily,  and more highly aromatic  than  those of the
 colonies to  which the clove-tree has been transplanted.  They are known
 in commerce by the name of Amboyna cloves.  Those of Bencoolen, from
 Sumatra, are deemed equal if not superior by the English druggists.
   Properties.   Cloves  resemble a  nail  in  shape, are usually rather more
 than half an inch long,  and have a  round head with four spreading points
 beneath it.   Their  colour is externally deep brown,  internally  reddish;
 their odour  strong and fragrant;  their taste hot, pungent, aromatic, and  very
 permanent.  The best  cloves are large, heavy, brittle, and  exude a small
 quantity of oil on being pressed or scraped with the nail.   When light,
 soft, wrinkled, pale, and of feeble taste and smell, they are inferior.   We
 are told that those from which the essential oil has been  distilled are some-
 times fraudulently mixed with the genuine.
   Trommsdorff obtained from 1000 parts of cloves 180 of  volatile oil, 170
 of a peculiar tannin,  130 of gum, 60 of resin, 280 of vegetable fibre, and 180
 of water.   M. Lodibert afterwards  discovered a fixed oil, aromatic and of a
 green colour, and a  white resinous  substance  which crystallizes in fasciculi
 composed of very fine diverging silky needles, without taste or-smell, solu-
 ble in ether and boiling alcohol, and exhibiting no alkaline  reaction.   This
 substance, called by M. Bonastre caryophyllin, was found in the cloves of
 the Moluccas, of Bourbon, and of Barbadoes,  but not in those of Cayenne.
 Berzelius considers it a stearoptene, and  probably identical with that de-
 posited by the  oil of cloves when long kept.  M.  Dumas  has  discovered
 another crystalline principle, which forms in  the water distilled from cloves,
   * The peduncles  of the flowers have  been  sometimes employed.   They possess the
 odour and taste of the cloves, though in a  less degree, and furnish a considerable quantity
 of essential oil.  The French call them griff 'es de girojles. 
184                Caryophyllus.—Cascarilla.             part i.

and is gradually deposited.  Like caryophyllin, it is soluble in alcohol and
ether, but differs from that substance in assuming a red colour when touched
with nitric acid.  M. Bonastre proposes for it the name of eugenin. {Journ.
de Pharm. xx.  565).  Water extracts the odour of cloves  with compara-
tively little of their taste.   AH their  sensible properties  are imparted  to
alcohol, and the tincture when evaporated leaves an excessively fiery extract,
which becomes insipid when deprived  of  the oil by distillation with water,
while the oil which comes over is mild.   Hence  it has been inferred that
the pungency of this aromatic depends on a union of the essential oil with
the resin.  For  an aceount of the  oil of eloves, see Oleum Caryophylli.
The infusion and oil of cloves are reddened by nitric acid, and rendered blue
by  tincture of chloride of iron; facts of some interest,  as morphia affords
the same results with  these reagents.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Cloves are among the most stimulant of
the aromatics, but, like others of this class, exert less effeet upon the system
at large than  on the part to  which  they  are immediately applied.   They
are sometimes administered in substanee  or infusion to  relieve  nausea and
vomiting, correet flatulence, and excite languid digestion; but their chief use
is to assist or modify the action of other medicines.   They enter as ingre-
dients into several officinal preparations.  Their dose in substance is ffom
five to ten grains.
  The Freneh Codex directs a tincture of cloves to be prepared by digest-
ing for six days, and afterwards filtering, a mixture of four ounces of pow-
dered cloves and sixteen of alcohol of 31° Cartier. Three ounces to the pint
of alcohol is  a sufficiently near approximation.
   Off. Prep.   Confectio  Aromatica, Lond., Dub.; Confectio Scammonii,
Lond., Dnb.; Infusum Aurantii Compositum, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Infusum
Caryophylli,  U.S., Loud., Ed., Dub.;  Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Dub.;
Oleum Caryophylli, Ed.;  Spiritus Ammoniae  Aromaticus,  U. S., Lond.;
Spiritus  Lavandulae Compositus, U. S., Ed.,  Dub.; Syrupus Rhei Aro-
maticus,  U. S.;  Vinum Opii, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.             W.

           CASCARILLA.  U.S., Lond^ Ed., Dub.

                             Cascarilla.

  " The bark of Croton  Eleutheria." U.  S.  " Croton  Cascarilla. {Don.)
Cortex."  Lond.   " Bark probably of Croton Eleuteria, and possibly other
species of the same genus." Ed.   " Croton Cascarilla.  Cortex," Dub.
  Cascarille, Fr.; Cascarillrindc, Germ.; Cascariglia, Ital; Ghacarila, Span.
  Croton. Sex. Syst.  Monoecia Monadelphia,—Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceae.
   Geh. Ch.  Male. Calyx cylindrical, five-toothed.  Corolla five-petalled.
Stamens ten to fifteen.  Female. Calyx many-leaved.  Corollanone.  Styles
three, bifid.  Capsule three-celled. Seed one. Willd.
  Cascarilla  has been  ascribed by different authors to  different species of
Croton.   The United States and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias  indicate the£.
Eleutheria, that of the Dublin College, the C. Cascarilla of Linnaeus.  Both
species grow  in the West Indies, and it is not impossible that  the bark of
both has been sold as cascarilla; but  there is reason to believe that  the C.
Eleutheria is  at least the most abundant source of it.   The London College
is undoubtedly wrong in ascribing  it to the C. 'Cascarilla of Don.  This
botanist mistook the Copalchi bark of Mexico, which is produced  by the
Croton Pseudo-China of Schiede, and bears someresemblanee-lo cascarilla,
for the genuine bark, and hence proposed to transfer the  specific name of 
PART I.
Cascarilla.
185
Cascarilla to the Mexican plant;—an unfortunate error, to which the London
College has given authority by its sanction.   No fact is better ascertained
than that the proper cascarilla bark is a West  India product, and is never
brought from Mexico.   The Copalchi bark  has sometimes  been mistaken
also for a variety of cinchona,  to which, however, it bears no great resem-
blance.
   Croton Eleutheria. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 545; Sloane's Jamaica, vol. ii.
t. 174.  This species of Croton is a small  tree or shrub, said by Browne to
be four or five feet in height, but as  seen by Dr. Wright in Jamaica, rising
to twenty feet, and branching thickly towards the summit.  The  leaves are
entire, ovate or cordate lanceolate, and elongated towards the apex, which is
blunt.   They are of a bright  green colour upon their upper surface, and
stand alternately upon short footstalks.  The flowers, which are of a whitish
colour, are  disposed  in axillary and terminal racemes.   This shrub grows
wild in the West  Indies, especially the Bahama islands, in one of which—
the small island of Eleutheria—it is found  so abundantly as to have received
its name from that circumstance.  It is called by Browne sea-side balsam.
   Croton Cascarilla. Willd.  Sp. Plant,  iv. 531;  Woodv. Med.  Bot.  p.
629. t. 222.  This is still smaller than the preceding species, and is called
by Browne the small sea-side  balsam.  The stem is branched and covered
with brown bark, of which the external coat is rough and whitish.  The
leaves are  long, very narrow, somewhat pointed, entire, of a bright green
colour on the upper surface, downy and of  a silvery whiteness  on the under.
They  are placed  alternately on short  foot-stalks.   The  flowers  are small,
greenish, and disposed in long terminal spikes.  This plant is a native of
the Bahamas, has been found abundantly in Hayti, and is said also to grow
in Peru and Paraguay.  Browne describes  it as hot and pungent to the taste.
The Croton lineare  of  Jacquin,  considered by Willdenow as a  variety of
the C. Cascarilla, is  made a distinct species  by Sprengel.   It is the wild
rosemary of Jamaica, and is said by Dr. Wright  to have none  of the sensible
qualities of cascarilla.
   Cascarilla is brought to this  market from the West Indies,  and  chiefly, as
we have been informed, from the Bahamas.   It comes  in  bags or casks.
We have observed it in the shops  in two forms so distinct as  almost to
deserve the title of varieties.   In  one, the  bark  is in rolled pieces of every
size from three or four inches in length and half an inch in diameter to the
smallest fragments, covered externally with a dull whitish or grayish-white
epidermis,  which in  many portions is partially,  sometimes wholly removed,
leaving a dark-brown surface, while the inner surface has a chocolate colour,
and the fracture is reddish-brown.  The small pieces are sometimes curled,
but have a  distinct abrupt edge as  if broken from the branches.  The second
variety consists entirely of very small pieces  not more than an inch or two
in length, very thin,  without the white epidermis, not regularly quilled,  but
curved more or less  in the direction of their length, often having a small
portion of woody fibre attached  to  their inner  surface, and  presenting an
appearance precisely as  if shaved by a knife  from  the stem or branches of
the shrub.   Whether these two varieties are derived  from distinct  species,
or differ only from the  mode  of  collection, or  the part of the plant from
which  they are taken, it is difficult to determine.
   Properties.  Cascarilla has  an  aromatic  odour, rendered much more dis-
tinct by friction, and a warm, spicy, bitter taste.   It is brittle, breaking with
a short fracture.   When burnt it emits a pleasant odour very closely resem-
bling that of musk, but weaker and more agreeable.   This property serves
to distinguish it from all other barks.  Trommsdorff found it  to contain  1-6
                                  17* 
186                Cascarilla.— Cassia Fistula.             part i.

of a greenish-yellow volatile oil, having a penetrating odour analogous to that
of the bark, and the sp. gr. 0*938, 15*1 of a brown, soft, slightly bitter resin,
18*7 of bitter extractive mixed with gum  and traces of chloride of potassium,
and 65*6 of lignin. (Berzelius,  Traite de Chim.)   Either alcohol or water
will partially extract its active  matters; but diluted aleohol is the proper
menstruum.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This  bark is aromatie and tonie. It was
known in Germany so  early as the year  1690, and was much used as a sub-
stitute for Peruvian bark by those who were prejudiced against this febrifuge
in the treatment of remittent and intermittent fevers.  It has, however, lost
much of its reputation, and is  now employed only where  a pleasant and
gently stimulant  tonic  is  desirable; as in dyspepsia, chronic diarrhoea and
dysentery, flatulent colic, and  other cases  of debility  of  the  stomaeh or
bowels..  It is sometimes advantageously combined with the more powerful
bitters.   It may be given in powder  or infusion.  The dose of the former
is from a scruple to half  a drachm, which may be repeated several times a
day.  In consequence of its pleasant odour when burnt, some smokers mix
it in small quantity with then- tobacco; but it is said when thus employed to
occasion vertigo and intoxication*
  Off. Prep.   Extractum  Cascarillae, Dub.; Infusum  Gascarillae,  U. S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura  Cascarillae, Lond., Ed., Dub.         W.

                  CASSIA FISTULA.  U.S.

                         Purging Cassia.

  " The fruit of Cassia Fistula."  U. S.
  Off.  Syn. CASSIA. Cassia Fistula. Leguminum Pulpa. Lond.; CASSLE
PULPA. Pulp of the pods of Cassia Fistula. Ed.; CASSIA FISTULA.
Pulpa leguminis. Dub.
  Casse, Fr.; Rohrenkassie, Germ.; Polpa di Cassia, Ital; Cana  Fistula, Span.
  Cassia.  Sex* Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Fabacea? or
Leguminosae.
  Gen. Ch.. Calyx five-leaved.  Petals five. Anthers, three upper sterile,
three lower beaked. Lomentum. Willd.
  The tree which yields the purging cassia is ranked by many botanists in
a distinct genus, separated from the Cassia and denominated Cathartocarpus,
of which the following is  given  as the essential generic character.   "Calyx
five-parted, deciduous.  Corolla regular* of five petals.  The lowers/a-
menta bowed.  Pods long, woody, many-celled.   Cells filled with pulp."
Lindley, in Loud. Encyc. of Plants.
  Cassia Fistula.  Willd. Sp. Plant,  ii. 518;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 445. t.
160.—Cathartocarpus Fistula. Persoon, Synops. i. 459.   This is a large
tree, rising to the height of forty  or  fifty feet, with a trunk of hard heavy
wood,  dividing towards  the  top  into numerous spreading branches, and
covered with a smooth ash-coloured bark.  The leaves are  commonly com-
posed of five  or six pairs of opposite  leaflets, which  are  ovate, pointed,
undulated, smooth, of a pale green colour, from three to five  inches long, and
supported upon short petioles.  The flowers  are large, of  a golden yellow
colour,  and arranged in long pendent axillary  racemes.   The  fruit consists
of long, cylindrical, woody, dark-brown, pendulous  pods, which, when
agitated  by the wind, strike against each other, and produce a sound that
may be heard at a considerable  distance.
   This species of Cassia is a native of Upper  Egypt and India, whence it is 
PART I.
Cassia Fistula.
1S7
generally supposed  to have been transplanted to other parts of the world.
It is at present very extensively diffused through the tropical regions of the
old and new continents, being  found in Insular  and Continental India,
Cochin China,  Egypt, Nubia, the West Indies, and  the warmer parts of
America.  The fruit is the officinal  portion of the plant.  It is imported
from the East and West Indies, chiefly the latter, and from South America.
  Properties.  Cassia pods are a  foot or more in length, straight  or but
slightly curved, cylindrical, less  than an inch in diameter, with a  woody
shell, externally of a dark brown colour, and marked with three longitudinal
shining bands,  extending from one end to the other, two of which are in
close  proximity, appearing  to constitute a single band, and the third is on
the opposite side of the pod.   These bands mark the  place of junction of
the valves of the legume, and are  represented as sometimes excavated in the
form of furrows.  There are also circular depressions at unequal distances.
Internally the pod is divided into numerous cells by thin transverse  plates,
which are covered with a  soft, black pulp.   Each cell contains a  single,
oval, shining seed.   The  pods brought  from the East Indies  are smaller,
smoother, have  a blacker  pulp, and are  more highly esteemed  than those
which come  from  the West Indies.   We have  seen a quantity of pods in
this market, sold as cassia pods, which were an inch and a half in diameter,
flattened on the sides, exceedingly rough on the outer  surface, and marked
by three longitudinal very elevated ridges, corresponding to the bands or
furrows of the common cassia. The pulp  was rather nauseous, but answered
all the purposes required of the medicine.  They corresponded exactly  with
a specimen  of  the fruit  of  the Cassia Brasiliana  brought from the West
Indies, and were probably derived  from that plant.
   The heaviest pods, and  those which do not make a  rattling noise when
shaken, are  to  be preferred, as they contain a larger portion  of the pulp,
which is the part employed.  This should be black and shining, and have a
sweet taste.   It is apt to become sour  if long exposed to the air, or mouldy
if  kept in a  damp place.   The  pulp is  extracted from  the pods by first
bruising them, then boiling them in water, and  afterwards evaporating the
decoction; or, when the pods are fresh, by opening them at the sutures, and
removing the pulp by a spatula.  (See Cassias Fistulas Pulpa.)
   The pulp is the  portion considered  officinal by the British Colleges; but
as it is the pod  that is usually kept  in the  shops, the United States Pharma-
copoeia designates the latter.  Cassia pulp has a slight rather sickly  odour,
and a sweet mucilaginous taste.  From the analysis of M. Henry it appears
to contain sugar, gum, a substance analogous to tannin, a colouring matter
soluble in ether, traces of a principle resembling gluten, and a small quan-
tity of water.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Cassia pulp is gently laxative, and  may
be  advantageously given in small  doses  in cases  of habitual costiveness.
In quantities  sufficient to purge, it occasions nausea, flatulence, and griping.
In this country it is very rarely  prescribed, except as an ingredient in the
confection of senna, which is a highly pleasant and useful laxative prepara-
tion.  The dose of the pulp as a laxative  is one or two drachms, as a purge
one or two ounces.
   Off Prep.  Cassiae Fistulae Pulpa, U. S.                         W. 
1S8                     Cassia Marilandica.                 part r.
               CASSIA MARILANDICA.  U.S.

                         American Senna.

   "The leaves of Cassia Marilandica." U. S.
   Cassia.  See CASSIA FISTULA.
   Cassia Marilandica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 524; Bigelow Am. Med. Bot.
ii. 116; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 137.   This is an indigenous perennial plant,
of vigorous growth, sending up annually  numerous round,  erect, nearly
smooth stems, which  are usually simple, and rise from three  to six feet in
height.  The leaves are alternate, and composed of from eight to ten pairs
of oblong lanceolate, smooth, mucronate leaflets, green on their upper surface,
pale beneath, and connected by short petioles with  the common footstalk,
which is compressed, channeled above, and furnished near its base with an
ovate, stipitate gland.   The flowers, which  are of a beautiful golden yellow
colour, grow in short axillary racemes at the upper part of the stem.  The
calyx is composed of five oval, obtuse, unequal, yellow leaves;  the corolla of
the same number of spatulate, concave petals, of which three are ascend-
ing, and two descending and larger than the  others.   The  stamens are ten,
with yellow filaments and brown anthers, which open by  a terminal pore.
The three upper stamens bear short  abortive anthers; the three lowermost
are long, curved, and tapering into a beak.  The germ, which descends with
the latter, bears an erect style terminating in a hairy stigma.  The fruit is a
pendulous legume, from two to four inches long, linear, curved, swelling at
the seeds, somewhat hairy, and of a blackish colour.
   The American  senna, or wild senna as it is sometimes called, is very
common in  all parts of the United States south of New York, and grows
naturally as far northward as the southern boundary of Massachusetts.  It
prefers a low, moist, rich soil, in the vicinity of water, and, though frequently
found in dryer and more elevated places, grows most abundantly and luxu-
riantly in the flat ground on the borders of rivers and ponds.  It is some-
times cultivated to the northward in gardens for medical use. In the months
of July or August, when it is in full bloom, it exhibits a rich  and beautiful
appearance.  The leaves should be collected in August, or the beginning of
September, and carefully dried.
  They are sometimes brought into  the market, compressed into oblong
cakes, such as those prepared by the  Shakers from most herbaceous medi-
cinal plants.  The leaflets are from an inch  and a half to two inches long,
from one quarter to half an inch in  breadth, thin,  pliable, and  of a pale
green colour.  They have a feeble odour, and a nauseous  taste somewhat
analogous to that of senna.  Water and alcohol extract their virtues. They
were analyzed by Mr. Martin of Philadelphia, and found to contain a prin-
ciple analogous to cathartin in chemical properties and effects on the sys-
tem, albumen,  mucilage, starch,  chlorophylle,  yellow colouring matter,
volatile oil,  fatty matter, resin, and lignin, besides salts of potassa and lime.
{Am. Journ. of Pharm. i. 22.)
  Medical  Properties and Uses.   American senna is an efficient and safe
cathartic, closely resembling the imported senna in its action, and capable
of being substituted for it in all cases in which the latter is employed.  It
is, however, less active; and to produce an equal effect must be  administered
in a dose about one-third larger.   It is habitually used by many practitioners
in the  country.  Like senna, it is most conveniently given in the form of
infusion, and should be similarly combined in order to obviate its tendency
to produce griping.                                              W. 
PART I.
Castanea.—Castor cum.
189
                CASTANEA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                            Chinquapin.

   " The bark of Castanea pumila." U. S.
   Castanea.  Sex. Syst. Moncecia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord. Cupuliferae.
   Gen. Ch. Male. Ament naked.  Calyx none. Corolla five-petalled. Sta-
 mens ten to twenty.  Female. Calyx five or six-leaved, muricate.  Corolla
 none.   Germs three.  Stigmas pencil-formed.   Nuts three,  included in
 the echinated calyx. Willd.
   Castanea pumila. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 461; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv.
 iii. 15. The chinquapin is an indigenous shrub or small tree, which, in the
 Middle States, rarely much exceeds  seven or eight feet in height;  but in
 Carolina,  Georgia, and Louisiana, sometimes attains an elevation of thirty
 or forty feet, with a diameter of trunk equal to twelve or fifteen inches. The
 leaves are oblong, acute, mucronately serrate, and  distinguished from those
 of the chestnut, which belongs to the  same  genus, by their  whitish and
 downy under  surface.  The barren flowers are grouped upon  axillary pe-
 duncles three  or four inches long, the fertile aments are similarly disposed
 but less conspicuous.  The  fruit is spherical, covered with sharp prickles,
 and encloses a brown nut which is sweet  and edible, but  differs from the
 chestnut in being much smaller, and convex on both sides.
   The tree extends from the banks of the Delaware, southward to the Gulf
 of Mexico, and south-westward to the Mississippi.   It is most  abundant in
 the southern portion of this  tract of country.  The bark  is the part used.
 It is astringent and tonic, and  has  been employed  in the  cure  of intermit-
 tents;  but has no peculiar virtues to recommend it, and might well be spared
 even from the Secondary Catalogue of the Pharmacopoeia.           W.

           CASTOREUM. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                              Castor.

   " A peculiar concrete substance obtained from Castor fiber." U. S.  " Cas-
 tor fiber.  Concretum in folliculis praeputii repertum."  Lond.   " A pecu-
 liar secretion in the preputial follicles of Castor fiber." Ed.
   Castoreum, Fr.; Bibergeil, Germ.; Casloro,  Ital; Castoreo, Span.
  In the beaver, Castor fiber of naturalists, between the anus and external
 genitals of both sexes, are  two pairs of  membranous follicles, of which the
 lower and larger are pear-shaped, and contain an oily, viscid, highly odorous
 substance,  secreted by glands  which lie externally to the sac.   This sub-
 stance  is called castor.  After the death  of  the animal, the follicles contain-
 ing it are removed and dried  either by smoke or in the sun; and in this state
are brought into the market.
  This drug is derived either from the northern and north-western parts of
 the American continent, or from the Russian dominions; and is distinguished,
according to its source, into the Canadian or American, and Russian castor.
Of the  latter but a very small portion reaches this country.   That which is
brought to Philadelphia is derived chiefly from Missouri.
  Castor comes to us in the form  of solid unctuous masses, contained in
sacs about two  inches in length, larger at one end than  at the other, much
flattened and wrinkled, of a brown or blackish colour externally, and united
in pairs by the excretory ducts which connect them in the living animal. 
190
Castoreum.
PART I.
In each pair, one sac is generally larger than the other.   They are divided
internally into  numerous cells containing the castor, which, when the sacs
are cut or torn  open,  is exhibited of a brown or reddish-brown colour inter-
mingled more or less with the whitish membrane forming the cells.  Those
brought from Russia are larger, fuller,  heavier, and less tenacious  than the
American; and their  contents,  which are of a rusty or liver-colour, have a
stronger taste  and smell,  and are considered more valuable as  a medicine.
A variety of Russian castor, described by Pereira under the name of chalky
Russian castor, is in smaller and rounder sacs than the American,  has a
peculiar empyreumatic odour very different from that of the other varieties,
breaks like starch under the teeth, and is characterized by effervescing with
dilute muriatic acid.   In  the castor from Missouri,  the  contents of the sac
are sometimes  almost white, and  evidently of inferior quality.  It is said
by M. Kohli,  that the Canadian  castor,  treated  with distilled water and
ammonia, affords an orange precipitate, while the matter thrown down from
the Russian under similar treatment is white.
   Properties.  Good  castor has a strong, fetid, peculiar odour; a bitter, acrid,
and nauseous  taste;  and a colour more or  less tinged with red.  It is of a
softer or harder consistence according as it is more or less thoroughly dried.
When perfectly desiccated, though still  somewhat unctuous to the touch, it
is hard, brittle, and of a resinous fracture.  Its chemical constituents, accord-
ing to Brandes, whose analysis is the most recent, are volatile oil; a resinous
matter;  albumen; a substance resembling osmazome; mucus; urate, carbo-
nate, benzoate, phosphate, and sulphate of lime; acetate and muriate of soda;
muriate, sulphate, and benzoate of potassa; carbonate of ammonia; membra-
nous matter; and a peculiar proximate  principle  previously discovered by
M. Bizio, an Italian  chemist, and called by him castorin.   This principle
crystallizes in  long,  diaphanous, fasciculated prisms, has the smell of castor,
of which it is  alleged to  be the active constituent,  and a taste like that of
copper.   It is  insoluble in cold water and in cold alcohol; but is dissolved
by one hundred parts of the latter liquid at the boiling temperature, and by
the essential oils.  It possesses neither alkaline nor acid properties. It may
be obtained by treating castor minutely divided with six times its weight of
boiling alcohol, filtering the liquor while hot, and allowing it to cool.  The
castorin is  slowly deposited,  and may be purified by the  action of cold
alcohol.   Its claim to be considered the active principle of castor is very
doubtful.
   Alcohol and sulphuric  ether extract the virtues of castor.  An infusion
made with boiling water has its sensible properties in a slight degree; but
the odorous principle of the drug is dissipated by decoction.
   The virtues  of castor are impaired by age; and the change is more rapid
in proportion to the elevation of temperature.   Moisture promotes its speedy
decomposition.  In  a dry cool place it may be kept for a long time without
material deterioration.  When quite black, with little taste  or smell, it is
unfit for  use.   A factitious preparation is  sometimes sold, consisting of a
mixture  of various  drugs,  scented  with genuine castor, intermingled with
membrane, and stuffed into the scrotum of a  goat.    The fraud may be de-
tected by the comparatively feeble odour, the absence of other characteristic
sensible properties, and the want of the  smaller follicles  containing fatty
matter, which  are always attached to the real bags of castor.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Castor is moderately stimulant and anti-
spasmodic.  The experiments  of Thouvenel prove, that  in large, doses it
quickens the pulse, increases the heat of the skin, and produces other symp-
toms of general excitement; but  its force is chiefly directed to the nervous 
PART I.
Cat aria.—Catechu.
191
system, and in small doses it scarcely disturbs the circulation.   It has also
enjoyed a high reputation as an  emmenagogue.  It was employed by the
ancients.  Pliny and Dioscorides speak of it as useful in hysteria and ame-
norrhcea.  In Europe, especially on the continent, it is  still frequently pre-
scribed in low forms of fever attended with nervous symptoms, in spasmodic
diseases, such as hysteria and epilepsy, in many anomalous  nervous affec-
tions, and in diseases dependent on or connected with suppression or reten-
tion  of the menses.  The practitioners  of this country rarely resort to it.
The dose in substance is from ten to twenty grains, which may be given in
bolus, or emulsion.   The tincture is sometimes employed.
   Off. Prep. Tinctura Castorei, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Cas-
torei Ammoniata, Ed.                                            W.

                 CATARIA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                               Catnep.

   " The leaves of Nepeta Cataria." U. S.
   Cataire, Fr.; Katzentnunze, Germ.; Cattara, Ital; Gatera, Span.
   Nepeta.  Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae
or Labiatae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx  dry, striate, five-toothed.   Corolla  with  the upper lip
undivided, the under lip three-parted, the middle division crenate.  Stamens
approximate.
   Nepeta Cataria.   The Catnep or Catmint is  a perennial,  herbaceous
plant,  with a quadrangular,  branching, somewhat hoary stem, from one to
three feet high, and furnished with opposite, petiolate, cordate, dentate, pu-
bescent leaves, which are green above and whitish  on  their under surface.
The flowers are whitish or slightly purple, are arranged in whorled spikes,
and appear in July and August.  The plant is abundant in the United States,
but is supposed to have been introduced from Europe.
   The whole herbaceous part of the plant is used; but  the leaves only are
recognised in the  United States  Pharmacopoeia.   They have a strong, pe-
culiar, rather disagreeable odour, and a pungent,  aromatic, bitterish °cam-
phorons taste.  They yield their virtues to water.   The active constituents
are volatile oil, and  tannin of the variety which produces a greenish colour
with the salts of iron.
   In its operation upon the  system, catnep is tonic and excitant, bearing
considerable resemblance to  the mints and other labiate  plants.   It has had
the reputation also  of being antispasmodic, and emmenagogue.  Cats are
said to be very fond of it, and it has been asserted to act as an  aphrodisiac
in these  animals.   It is employed as a domestic remedy, in the  form of
infusion, in amenorrhoea,  chlorosis, hysteria, the  flatulent colic of infants,
&c; but is scarcely known in regular practice.  Some of the older writers
speak favourably of its powers.   Two drachms of the dried leaves or herb
may be given as a dose in infusion.                               W.

             CATECHU.  U.S., Lond., Ed.t Dub.

                              Catechu.

  " The extract of the wood of Acacia Catechu." U. S.   « Acacia Catechu.
Ligni Extractum." Lond.  « Extract of the wood of  Acacia Catechu, of
the kernels of Areca Catechu, and of the leaves of Uncaria Gambir, proba- 
192
Catechu.
PART I.
bly too from other plants."  Ed.   " Acacia Catechu. Extractum ex ligno."
Dub.
  Cachou, Fr-; Catechu, Germ.; Catecu, Catciu, Catto, Ital; Catecu, Span.; Cutt, Hin.
doostanee.
  Acacia.  See ACACIA.
  Acacia Catechu. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 1079; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 433.
t. 157.  According to Mr.  Kerr, whose description has been followed by
most subsequent writers, the Acacia Catechu is a small tree, seldom more
than twelve feet in  height, with a trunk one foot in diameter,  dividing
towards the top into  many close  branches, and covered with a thick, rough,
brown bark. The leaves, which stand alternately upon the younger branches,
are composed of from fifteen to thirty pairs of pinnae nearly two inches long,
each of which is furnished with about forty pairs  of  linear  leaflets, beset
with short hairs.   At the base of each pair of pinnae is a small gland upon
the common foot-stalk.  Two short, recurved spines are attached to the
stem at the base of each leaf.  The flowers are in close spikes, which arise
from the axils  of the  leaves, and are  about four or five inches  long.   The
fruit is a lanceolate, compressed,  smooth, brown pod, with an undulated thin
margin, and contains six or eight roundish flattened  seeds, which when
chewed emit a nauseous odour.
  This species of Acacia is  a native of the East Indies, growing abundantly
in various provinces of Hindostan, and in the Burman empire.  Pereira
says that it is now common in  Jamaica.  Like most others of the same
genus, it abounds in astringent matter, which may be extracted by decoction.
Catechu is  an extract from  the wood of the tree.
  This drug had been long known in medicine before its  true source was
discovered.  It was at first called terra Japonica, under the erroneous im-
pression that it was an earthy substance derived from Japan.  When ascer-
tained by analysis to be of  vegetable origin, it was generally considered by
writers on the Materia Medica to be an  extract  obtained from the betel-nut,
which is the fruit of a species  of  palm, denominated by  Linnaeus Areca
Catechu.   The  true  origin of the  drug was made known by  Mr.  Kerr,
assistant-surgeon of the civil hospital in Bengal, who had an opportunity not
only of examining the tree  from  which it was obtained, but also of witness-
ing the process of its extraction.   According to Mr. Kerr, the manufacturer,
having carefully cut  off the exterior white part of the wood, reduces the
interior brown or reddish-coloured portion into chips,  which he then boils
in water in unglazed earthen vessels, till all the soluble matter is dissolved.
The decoction thus obtained is evaporated first by artificial heat, and after-
wards in the sun, till it has  assumed a thick consistence, when  it is spread
out to dry upon a mat or cloth, being, while yet soft, divided by means of a
string into  square or  quadrangular pieces.  The  account more  recently
given by Dr. Royle, of the preparation  of the extract in Northern  India, is
essentially the same.   The  process, as  he observed it, was completed by
the pouring of the extract into  quadrangular  earthen  moulds.  Our own
countryman, the Rev. Howard Malcolm, states in  his " Travels in South
Eastern Asia," that catechu is largely prepared from the wood of the Acacia
Catechu in  the vicinity of  Prome, in Burmah.  Two kinds, he observes,
are prepared from the same tree, one black, which is  preferred in China,
and the other red, which is most esteemed in Bengal.  According  to some
authors, the unripe fruit and leaves are also submitted to decoction, and Mr.
Kerr states that the areca nut may sometimes be added  to the other ingredi-
ents in places where  it is abundant.
  The name catechu in the native language signifies the juice of a tree, and 
PART I.
Catechu.
193
appears to have been applied  to astringent  extracts  obtained  from various
plants.  According to the United States, London, and Dublin  Pharmaco-
poeias, however, the term is properly restricted to the extract of the Acacia
Catechu;  as it was not  intended to recognise all the  astringent products
which are floating in Asiatic commerce;  and those from other sources than
the  Acacia, though they may  occasionally find their way into  our shops,
do so as an exception to the general rule.   A minute account of the diver-
sified forms and exterior characters, which the officinal catechu presents  as
produced in different localities, would rather tend to perplex the  reader than
to serve any good practical purpose.   These  characters are, moreover, fre-
quently changing, as the drug is  procured  from new sources, or as slight
variations may occur in the mode of its preparation.   Commerce is chiefly
supplied with catechu  from Bahar,  Northern India, and Nepaul  through
Calcutta, from Canara through Bombay, and from the Burman  dominions.
We derive it directly from  Calcutta, or by orders from  London, and  it is
sold in our markets without reference to its  origin.   It is frequently called
cutch by the English traders,  a name derived, no doubt, from the Hindoos-
tanee word cutt.*

   * In order not to embarrass the  text unnecessarily, we have thrown together into  the
 form of a note the following observations upon  the varieties of catechu,, those being first
 considered which are probably derived from the Acacia Catechu, and therefore entitled to
 an officinal rank.
                              1. Officinal Catechus.
   The following, so far as  we have been able to distinguish them> are the varieties of
 officinal catechu to be found in the markets of Philadelphia.
   1. Plano-convex Catechu. Cake  Catechu.  This  is in  the form of circular cakes,  flat
 on one side,  convex on  the other,,  and usually somewhat rounded at the edge, as if  the
 soft extract had been placed in saucers, or vessels of a similar shape, to harden. As found
 in the retail shops it is almost always in fragments, most  of which, however, exhibit some
 evidences of  the original form. The cakes are of various size, from two or three to  six
 inches  or more in  diameter, and weighing from a  few ounces to nearly two  pounds.
 Their exterior is usually smooth and dark brown, but we have seen a specimen  in which
 the  flat surface exhibited impressions as if produced by coarse matting.  The colour
 internally is  always  brown, sometimes of a light yellowish-brown  or chocolate colour,
 but  more frequently dark reddish-brown, and sometimes almost black.  The cakes  are
 almost always more or less cellular in their interior; but in this respect great  diversity
 exists.  Sometimes  they are very porous, so as  almost to present a spongy appearance,
 sometimes compact and nearly uniform; and this difference may be observed even in  the
 same piece.  The fracture is sometimes rough and dull, but ki the more compact parts is
 usually smooth and somewhat shining; and occasionally a piece split  in  one  direction
 will exhibit a spongy fracture, while in another it will be shining and resinous, indicating
 the  consolidatiou of the extract in layers.  This  variety of catechu is often  of good
quality. It is common at present in our market;  but we have been unable to  trace its
 origin accurately.  There can be little doubt, from its internal character,  that  it comes
from the East Indies, and is the product of A. Catechu; but no accounts  that we have
seen of the preparation of the drug in particular geographical sites, indicate this particu-
lar shape; and it is not impossible  that portions of it may be formed out of other varie-
ties  of catechu by a new solution and evaporation.
   2. Pegu Catechu. This is the product derived from the Burman dominions, and named
from that section of the country whence it is exported.  It enters commerce, probably in
general through Calcutta, in large masses, sometimes of  a hundred weight, consisting of
layers of flat cakes, each wrapped  in. leaves said to be those of the Nauclea  Brunonis.
In this form, however, we do not see it in the shops; but almost always in angular irre-
gular fragments, in which portions of two layers sometimes cohere  with leaves between
them, indicating their origin. It is characterized by its compactness,.its shining fracture,
and  its blackish-brown or dark Port-wine  colour, so that when  finely broken it bears no
inconsiderable resemblance  to kino.  This is an excellent variety of catechu, and is not
unfrequent in the shops.
   3. Catechu in Quadrangular Calces.  This is scarcely ever found in the shops in its
complete form, and the fragments are often su&h that it would be impossible to infer from
them the original shape of the cake.  This is  usually between two and three inches in
        18 
194
Catechu.
PART I.
   Properties.  Cateehu, as it comes to us, is  in masses of different shapes,
 some in  balls  more or less flattened, some in circular  cakes, some saucer-
 shaped, others cubical or oblong, or quite irregular, and of every  grade in
 size, from small angular pieces, which are evidently fragments of the orio-i-

 length and breadth, and somewhat less  in thickness, of a rusty-brown colour externally,
 and  dark brown or brownish-gray within, with a somewhat rough arid dull fracture, but,
 when brok-en across the layers in  which it is  sometimes disposed, exhibiting a smoother
 and  more shining surface.   Guibourt speaks of the laycrG as being  blackish externally
 and  grayish within, and bearing some resemblance to  the bark of a .tree, a resemblance,
 however, which has not struck us in the  specimens which have fallen under our notice.
 There is little doubt that  this variety comes from the provinces of Bahar and  Northern
 India, where the preparation of the drug was witnessed by Mr. Kerr and Dr. Royle, who
 both spe;ik of it as being cut, when drying, into the quadrangular form. It has been called
 Bengal Catechu, because  exported from that province.
   4. Catechu in Balls.  We have  seen this in two forms—the one consisting of globular
 balls about as large as an  orange, very hard and  heavy, of a ferruginous aspect externally,
 very rough when broken,  and so full of sand as to be gritty under the teeth;  the other in
 cakes, originally, in all probability, globular, and of about the same dimensions, but flattened
 and  otherwise pressed out of shape before being perfectly dried, sometimes adhering two
 together, as happens with  the lumps of Smyrna opium, and closely resembling in external
 and  internal colour, and in the character  of their fracture, the  quadrangular  variety last
 described-  The former kind is rare, and the  specimens we have  seen had  been twenty
 years in the shop, and had very much the appearance of a factitious product.   The latter
 is in all probability the  kind known formerly as the Bombay catechu; as Dr. Hamilton,
 and  more recently Major Mackintosh, in describing the mode of preparing cat chu on
 the Malabar  coast, of which Bombay is the entrepot, says that while the extract is soft it
 is shaped into balls about  the size of an orange.
                              2.  Non-oflicinal Catechus.
   1. Gambir.  Terra Japonica.  An astringent extract is abundantly prepared in certain
 parts of the East Indies, under the  name of gambir or gambeer, and imported into Europe
 and  America under that of terra Japonica.  The plant from which it is obtained, called
 by Mr.  Hunter, who first  minutely described it, Nauclea Gambir, but by Roxburgh, De
 Candolle and others, Uncaria Gambir, is  a climbing shrub, belonging to tho class and
 order Pentandria Monogynia, and to the natural order RubiacetB of Jussieu, Cinchonacea
 of Lindley.  It  is a native  of Malacca, Sumatra, Cochin china, and other parts of Eastern
 Asia, and is largely cultivated in the islands of Bintang, Singapore, and Prince of Wales,
 The gambir is  prepared by boiling the leaves and young shoots in water, and evaporating
 the decoction either by artificial or solar heat.  When of a proper consistence it is spread
 out into flat cakes in moulds or otherwise, and then  cut into  small cubes, which are dried
 in the sun.
   Gambir  is in the form  of cubes, with sides about an inch square,  is light and porous
 so that it floats when thrown  in water, is of a deep yellowish or reddish-brown colour
 externally, but much paler within,  presents a dull earthy surface when broken, is inodor-
 ous, and has a strongly  astringent, bitter, and subsequently sweetish taste. It soflensand
 swells up when heated,  and  leaves but a  minute proportion  of ashes when  burnt.  It is
 partially soluble in cold water, and almost wholly soluble in boiling water, which deposites
 a portion upon  cooling.   Nees von Eisenbeck found it to consist of from 3b'  to 40 per
 cent, of tannic  acid, a peculiar matter, gum or gummy  extractive, a deposit like the red
 cinchonic, and two and  a  half per cent, of lignin. (Pereira.)   The peculiar principle is
 called catechuin or catechuic acid.   This, when  perfectly pure, is snow-white, of a silky
appearance, crystallizable  in  fine needles, unalterable  if dry in the  air,  fusible by heat,
very slightly soluble in cold water  with which  it softens and swells up, soluble in boiling
water which deposits it on cooling, and soluble also in alcohol and ether.  It very slightly
reddens litmus  paper, and though  it colours the solution  of chloride of iron beautifully
green, and produces with  it a grayish-green precipitate, it differs from tannic acid in not
affecting a solution of gelatin.  It bears  considerable  analogy to  gallic acid  in its rela-
tions to the metallic salts.  To prepare it, the  precipitate which falls  upon the cooling of
the decoction of gambir, should be well washed  upon a filter with cold water, and again
dissolved in boiling water  with a little purified animal charcoal.  The solution  being fil-
tered, and allowed to stand, gradually deposites the acid, of a snow-white  colour.  To
obtain it perfectly white in the dry state, it must be dried under  an  exhausted receiver
with sulphuric  acid.  (Wackenroder, Annul der Pharm. xxxi.  72.)  The sweet taste of
 gambir  is thought to depend on this constituent.
  Several varieties of gambir are described.  Sometimes it is in oblong instead of cubical 
PART I.
Catechu.
U5
nal cakes, to lumps which weigh  one or two pounds.   The colour is ex-
ternally of a rusty  brown, more or less dark, internally varying from a pale
reddish or yellowish-brown to a dark liver colour.   In some specimens it is
almost Mack, in others somewhat like the colour of Port-wine, and in others
again,  though  rarely,  dull red  like annotta.   The extract  has been distin-
guished into the pale and dark varieties; but there does not appear to be
sufficient ground for retaining this distinction.   Catechu is inodorous, with
an astrigent and bitter taste, which is followed by a sense of sweetness.   It
is brittle,  and breaks with a fracture,  which  is rough in some specimens,  in
others uniform,  resinous,  and  shining.  That which  is  preferred  in our
market is of a dark colour, easily broken into small angular fragments, with
 a smooth glossy surface,  bearing  some resemblance to kino.   Catechu is
 often mixed with sand,  sticks,  and  other impurities.   Its chief chemical
 constituents are tannin,  extractive,  and mucilage.   Out of  200  parts  of
 Bombay catechu,  Sir H. Davy obtained 10& parts of tannin,  68 of  extrac-


 pieces, without differing in other respects from the ordinary kind;  sometimes, in small
 circular  cakes or short  cylindrical pieces, heavier  than water, of a pale  reddish-yellow
 colour, moderately astringent, gritty under the teeth, and quite  impure;, sometimes  in
 very small cubes, distinguishable by the black  colour they afford with tincture of iodine,
 indicating the admixture of sago or other amylaceous matter; and finally, in circular cakes
 of the sise of a small lozenge, flat on one side, and somewhat convex on the other, of a
 pale pinkish  yellowish-white colour, and a chalky ft el. This is most highly esteemed  by
 the natives in India.  (Pereira.)  None of these varieties occur to any extent in our com-
 merce, and we have met with none of them in the shops.
   Gambir was probably the substance first brought from the East under the name of terra
 Japonica.  It is largely consumed  in the  East by the betel-chewers.  Great quantities
 are imported into Europe, where it is used for tanning, calico printing, dyeing, &.e.  in
 this country  it is also largely consumed by the calico printers. Though a strong astringent,
 and applicable to the  same purposes as the officinal catechu, it is seldom or never medici-
 nally employed in this country.  We have often seen it in the drug stores, but never in
 an apothecary's shop.
   2.  Areca Catechu.   This is obtained from the areca nut or hetelnut, which is the seed
 of the Areca.  Catechu, a palm cultivated in all parts  of India. (See Appendix.)   It is pre-
 pared by boiling the  nuts in water and evaporating the decoction. Tliere are two varieties,/
 one of a black colour, very astringent, mixed with paddy husks and other impurities, and
 obtained by evaporating the first decoction;  the other, yellowish-brown, of an earthy frac-
 ture, and pure, resulting from the evaporation of a decoction of the nuts which  had been
 submitted  to the previous boiling.  The first is called  kassu, the  other coury. (Heyne,
 Tracts, <SfC. on India )  They are prepared in Mysore, and  Ainslie stales that both varie-
 ties are sold  in the bazars of Lower India,.and  used fir the  same purposes as the officinal
 catechu by the native and European practitioners.   They arc also much used for chewing
 by the natives.  But  they are seldom exported, and it is uncertain whether they  find their
 way  into European or American commerce.  Pereira thinks he has  identified  the kassu
 with a variety of catechu derived from Ceylon, where he has been informed that an  ex-
 tract of  the areca nut is prepared.  It is in circular flat  cukes, from two to three  inches
 in diameter,  scarcely an inch thick, covered on one  side with paddy husks, and  internally
 blackish-brown and shining, like Pegu catechu.
   Guibourt and  Pereira describe other varieties, which we  have not met with, and which
 are probably  rare.  One of these is the Siam Catechu, in  conical masses shaped  like a
 betel nut, and weighing about a pound and a  haW.  Its fracture is  shining and  liver-
 coloured, like that of hepatic aloes; in other respects it resembles Pegu catechu. (Pereira.)
 Another is the black mucilaginous catechu of Guibourt, in parallelopipcds an inch and a
 half in length, by an inch in breadth.   Internally it is black and shining, and its taste is
 mucilaginous and feebly astringent.  A third is the dull reddish  catechu of Guibourt,
 in somewhat flattened balls, weighing three or four ounces, of a dull-reddish, wavy, and
 often marbled fracture.  We saw something like  this ten years since, which  had been
 brought upon speculation by a gentleman from Calcutta, but  is not now in the market.
 Lastly, there is  a pale or whitish catechu, in sm-all  roundish or oval lumps, with an irre-
 gular surface, dark or blackish-brown externally, very pale and dull internally, and of a
 bitter astringent and sweetish taste, with a smoky  flavour. (Pereira.)  It is unknown in
 com r^sree. 
 196              Catechu.—Centaurea Benedicta.          part i.

 tive,  13 of mucilage, and 10 of insoluble residue.  The same  quantity of
 Bengal catechu yielded 97 of tannin, 73 of extractive, 16 of mucilage, and
 14 of insoluble residue.  The  portion designated  by Davy as extractive
 contains, if it do not chiefly consist of, a principle  discovered by Buchner
 and now called  catechuic acid.  (See note  page 194.)  The tannic acid is
 of the variety which precipitates the salts of iron of a greenish-black colour.
 It precipitates gelatin, but  not tartar-emetic.  {Kane.)  Catechu is almost
 entirely soluble  in large  quantities of  water, to  which it  imparts a brown
 colour.   Dr. Duncan states  that  18 ounces at 52° are required to 100 grains
 of the extract, of which about -fa of earthy matter is left undissolved.  The
 extractive is much less soluble than the astringent principle, which may be
 almost entirely separated from it by the frequent application of small quan-
 tities  of cold water.  Boiling water dissolves  the  extractive matter much
 more  readily than cold, and deposites it of a reddish-brown colour  upon
 cooling.   For the important  chemical reactions of catechu see Acidum
 Tannicum.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  Catechu is  gently tonic, and  powerfully
 astringent.  The dark coloured has the latter property in a somewhat greater
 degree than the light, and is therefore usually preferred.   The latter, being
 rather sweeter, is preferred by the Malays, Hindoos, and other Indians, who
 consume vast  quantities of  this extract by chewing  it, mixed with a small
 proportion of lime and with  aromatics,  and wrapped in the leaf of the Piper
 Betel.  Catechu may be advantageously used  in most cases  where astrin-
 gents  are indicated, and, though less employed in this country than kino, is
 not inferior to it in medicinal virtues.   The complaints to which it is best
 adapted are  diarrhoea dependent on debility or relaxation of the intestinal
 exhalents, and passive hemorrhages, particularly that from the  uterus.  A
 small  piece of it, held in the mouth and  allowed  slowly to dissolve, is an
 excellent remedy in relaxation of the uvula, and the irritation of the fauces
 and troublesome cough which depend  upon it.   Applied to spongy gums,
 in the state of powder, it sometimes proves useful;  and it has been recom-
 mended as a dentifrice in combination with powdered charcoal, Peruvian
 bark,  myrrh, &c.  Sprinkled upon the  surface  of indolent ulcers, it is occa-
 sionally beneficial, and is much used in India for the same purpose mixed
 with other ingredients in the  state of an ointment.   An infusion or decoction
 of catechu may be  used as an  injection in  obstinate gonorrhoea, gleet, and
leucorrhoea;  and we  have found it highly beneficial, when thrown up the
nostrils, in arresting epistaxis.
   The dose is from ten grains to half a drachm, which should be frequently
repeated, and is best  given with sugar, gum Arabic,  and water.
   Off. Prep.  Electuarium Catechu, Ed.,  Dub.;  Infusum Catechu Com-
positum, U. S., Lond., Ed.; Tinctura  Catechu, U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.
                                                                W.


             CENTAUREA  BENEDICTA.  Dub.

                         Blessed Thistle.

   " Centaurea benedicta. Cnicus benedictns. Folia."  Dub.
   Chardon hjnit, Fr ; Cardobcnedikten, Germ ; Cardosanta, Ital.; Cardo bendito, Span.
   Centaurea. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia  Frustranea.—Nat. Ord.  Compositae
 Cynareae. De Cand.  Cynaraceae. Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.   Receptacle bristly.   Seed-down simple.  Corollas of the ray
funnelshaped, longer, irregular. Willd.
   Centaurea benedicta. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2315; Woodv. Med. Bot.p. 
 part i.       Centaurea Benedicta,— Ceniaurium.            197

 34. t. 14.—Cnicus benediclus.  De Cand.  Prodrom. vi. 606.   The blessed
 thistle  {carduus benediclus)- is  an  annual herbaceous  plant,  the  stem  of
 which is about two feet'higb, branching towards the top, and furnished with
 long, elliptical, rough leaves, irregularly toothed, barbed with  sharp points
 at their edges, of a bright green colour on their upper surface, and whitish
 on the  under.  The lower leaves are  deeply sinuated, and stand  on foot-
 stalks, the upper are sessile, and in some measure decurrent.   The flowers
 are yellow, and surrounded by an involucre often leaves, of which the five
 exterior are largest.   The calyx is oval, woolly,  and composed of several
 imbricated scales, terminated by rigid, pinnate, spinous points.
   This plant is a native of the South of Europe, and is cultivated in gardens
 in other parts of the world.  It has become naturalized in the United States.
 The  period of  flowering is June, when its medicinal virtues are in greatest
 perfection.  The leaves are the  officinal portion.  They should be gathered
 when the plant is in  flower, quickly  dried, and kept in a dry place.
   The herb has  a feeble unpleasant odour,  and  an intensely bitter  taste,
 more  disagreeable in the fresh  than the  dried plant.   Water  and alcohol
 extract its  virtues.  The infusion formed with cold water is a grateful bitter;
 the decoction is nauseous, and offensive  to the stomach.   The bitterness
 remains in the extract. The active constituents are volatile oil and a peculiar
 bitter principle, for which the name of cnicin has been proposed.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The blessed thistle may be so adminis-
 tered  as to prove tonic, diaphoretic, or emetic.  The cold  infusion,  made
 with half an ounce of the leaves to a  pint of water, has been employed as a
 mild tonic in debilitated conditions of the stomach.   A stronger infusion,
 taken warm while the patient is confined to bed, produces copious perspira-
 tion.   A still stronger infusion, or the decoction,  taken in large draughts,
 provokes  vomiting, and has been used to assist the operation of emetics.
 The herb,  however, is at present little employed, as  all its beneficial effects
 may be obtained from chamomile.   The  dose of  the powder as a tonic is
 from  a scruple to a drachm, that of the infusion two  fluidounces.     W.


              CENTAURIUM.  Lond., Ed., Dub.

                  Common European Centaury.

   "Erythraea Centaurium."  Lond.   "The flowering heads  of Erythraea
 Centaurium." Ed.   " Erythraea Centaurium.  Folia." Dub.   „
   Petite centaure, Fr.; Tausenguidenkraut, Germ.; Centaurea  minorc, Ital; Centaura
 minor, Span.
  Erythraea. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Capsule linear.   Calyx five-cleft.   Corolla funnelshaped, with
 a short limb withering.  Anthers often  bursting, spiral.   Stigmas two.
 Loudon's Encyc.
  Erythraea Centaurium. Loudon's  Encyc. of Plants, p. 130.—Chironia
 Ceniaurium. Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 1068;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 275. t. 96.
 This is a small, annual, herbaceous plant, rising about a foot in height, with
 a branching stem, which divides  above into a diehotomous panicle, and  bears
 opposite, sessile,  ovate lanceolate, smooth, and obtusely  pointed leaves.
 The flowers are of a beautiful rose colour, standing without peduncles in the
 axils of the stems, with their calyx  about half as long  as the tube of the
corolla.  The plant grows wild in most of the countries of Europe, adorning
the woods and pastures, during the latter part of summer, with its pretty and
delicate flowers.
                                 18* 
198
Cera Alba.—-Cera Flava.
PART I.
   The herb, though without odour, has a strong bitter taste, which it imparts
 to water and alcohol.  The flowering summits are generally preferred, though
 the  Dublin College directs the leaves.  The name of centaurin has been
 proposed for its bitter principle.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The common centaury of Europe has
 tonic properties very closely resembling those of gentian, with which it is
 associated in the same natural  family.  It is employed on the other side of
 the Atlantic in dyspeptic complaints, and formerly had considerable reputa-
 tion in the treatment of  fever.   It was one of the ingredients of the Port-
 land powder.   In the United States it has been superseded by the Sabbatia
 angularis or American Centaury.  The dose of the powder is from thirty
 grains to a drachm.   Another species of Erythraea {E. Cliilensis) possesses
 similar properties, and is employed to  a considerable extent in Chili as a
 mild tonic.                                                      ^.


            CERA ALBA.  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                            White Wax.

   " Bleached yellow wax." U. S.  " Concretum  ab ape paratum, dealba-
 turn." Lond.  " Bleached Bees'wax." Ed.
   Cire blanche, Fr.;  Weisses Wachs, Germ; Cera  bianca, Ital; Cera blanca, Span.

               CERA FLAVA.  U.S.,  Ed., Dub.

                            Yellow  Wax.

   "A peculiar concrete  substance prepared  by Apis  mellifica."  U.S.
 "Waxy concretion of Apis mellifica."  Ed.
   Off. Syn. CERA.  Apis  mellifica. Concretum ab ape paratum.  Lond.
   Cire jaune, Fr.; Gelbcs Wachs, Germ.; Cera gialla, Ital; Cera amarilla. Span.
   Wax is one of the products of the  common bee, Apis mellifica of natu-
 ralists, which constructs  with it the cells of the comb in which  the honey
 and larvae are deposited,   It was at one  time a doubtful point, whether the
 insect elaborated its wax  by its own organs, or merely gathered it already
 formed from vegetables.   The  question was set at rest by Huber, who fed
 a swarm of bees exclusively on honey and  water, and found nevertheless
 that  they  formed a comb consisting of wax.   This, therefore, is a proper
 secretion of the insect.  It  is produced in the form of scales under the rings
 of the belly.   But wax also exists in plants, bearing in this,  as in other re-
 spects, a close analogy to the fixed oils, which  are found in both kingdoms,
 with almost as little discoverable difference as between animal and vegetable
 wax.   It  is,  however, the product of the  bee only that is  recognised as
 officinal by the Pharmacopoeias.  This is directed in two forms:  1  that of
yellow wax procured  immediately from the comb; and 2.  that of white wax
 prepared by depriving the  former of  its colour.   We shall  consider these
 separately, and afterwards give  a brief account of vegetable wax.
   1. Cera Flava or Fellow Wax.  This is obtained by slicing the comb
 taken from the hive, draimng and  afterwards  expressing the honey, and
 melting the residue  in boiling  water, which is  kept hot for some time in
 order to allow the impurities to  separate, and either subside or be dissolved
 by the water.   When the liquid cools the wax concretes, and, having been
 removed and again melted in boiling water, is strained and poured into pans
 or other suitable vessels.  It is usually brought to market in round flat cakes 
PART I.
Cera Jilba.— Cera Flava.
199
of considerable thickness. The druggists of Philadelphia are supplied chiefly
from the Western States and North Carolina, especially the latter, and from
Cuba.   Some of inferior quality is imported from Africa.
  In this state wax has a yellowish colour, an agreeable somewhat aromatic
odour, and a slight peculiar taste.  To the touch it is rather soft and unctuous,
thougli of a firm solid consistence  and brittle.  It has a granular fracture;
but when cut with a knife  presents  a smooth glossy surface, the  lustre of
which is so peculiar as when met with in  other  bodies to be called waxy.
It does not adhere to the fingers, nor to  the teeth when chewed, but is soft-
ened  and rendered tenacious  by a moderate heat.  Its  point of fusion is
142° F.; its  specific gravity from 0*960 to 0*965.   Its chemical properties
will be detailed under the head  of white wax.   The colour, odour, and
taste  of yellow wax depend on some principle associated with it,  but  not
constituting one of its essential ingredients.
   Various adulterations have been practised, most  of which may be readily
detected.  Meal, earth, and other insoluble substances, are at  the same time
discovered and separated by  melting and straining the  wax.  When  the
fracture  is  smooth and shining instead  of being granular, the presence of
resin may  be suspected.   This is dissolved by cold alcohol, while the wax
is left untouched.   Tallow and suet are detected by the softness they com-
 municate to  the wax, and its unpleasant odour when melted.
   Yellow wax is used in medicine chiefly as an ingredient of plasters and
 cerates.
   2.  Cera Alba or White Wax.  The colour of yellow wax is discharged
 by exposing it with an extended surface to  the combined influence of  air,
 light, and  moisture.  The process of bleaching it is  carried  on to a consi-
 derable extent in the vicinity of Philadelphia.  The wax,  previously melted
 is made to fall in  streams  upon a revolving cylinder, kept constantly wet,
upon which  it concretes, forming thin  ribband-like layers.   These, having
been removed,  are spread  upon linen cloths stretched on frames, and  ex-
posed to the air and light; care being taken to water and occasionally turn
them.  In a few days they are partially  bleached; but to deprive the wax
completely of colour it is necessary to repeat the whole process once, if not
oftener.   When sufficiently white  it is melted and cast  into small circular
cakes.  The colour may also  be discharged by chlorine; but the wax is said
 to be  somewhat altered.
   Perfectly  pure wax is white, shining, diaphanous  in thin layers, inodor-
 ous, insipid, harder and less unctuous to the touch  than the yellow, soft ami
 ductile at 95° F., and fusible at about 155°, retaining its fluidity at a lower
temperature.   According to Saussure, its  specific  gravity in  the solid state
is 0-966, at 178° F. 0-834, and at 201°  0-8247.  By a great heat it is partly
volatilized, partly decomposed;  and when flame is applied to its vapour, it
takes  fire and burns with a clear bright  light.  It is insoluble in water, and
in cold alcohol or ether, but is slightly soluble in boiling alcohol and ether,
which deposite it in great  measure upon cooling.  The essential and fixed
oils dissolve it with facility; resin readily unites with it by fusion; and soaps
are formed by the action of soda and potassa in solution.  It is not affected
by the acids at ordinary  temperatures,  but is converted into a black mass
when  boiled with concentrated sulphuric acid.   Its ultimate constituents are
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.   Dr. John ascertained that it consists of two
distinct proximate principles,  one of which he called term, the other myri-
 cxn.   According to MM.  Boudet and  Boissenot,  the former constitutes at
 least 70 per cent,  of wax, melts at about  143°,  dissolves in 16 parts of
 boding alcohol, and is saponifiable with potassa, yielding margaric  acid, a 
200
Cera Alba. — Cera Flava.
PART I.
little  oleic acid, and a fatty matter insusceptible  of  saponification called
cerain; the latter melts at 149°, is dissolved by 200 parts of boiling alcohol,
and is not saponifiable by potassa.  It is stated, however, by Hess, as the
result of his experiments, that wax  is one single  proximate principle, only '
occasionally containing some oxidized wax,  or  eerie acid as he denomi-
nates it.  {Annul, der Pharm. xxvii. 2.)
   White  wax has been adulterated with white  lead and tallow.   The former
sinks to the bottom of the vessel when the wax is melted; the latter imparts
to it  a  dull opaque  appearance, and  a disagreeable  odour during fusion.
Starch has been employed  for the same  purpose.   It may be detected by
dissolving the wax in oil of turpentine, in which starch is insoluble.  Pereira
says that  pure wax is yellowish-white; and that the white bleached wax in
circular cakes always contains spermaceti, which  is added to  improve its
colour.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Wax  has little effect upon  the system.
Under the impression, however, that it sheaths the inflamed mucous mem-
brane of the bowels, it has been  occasionally prescribed in diarrhoea  and
dysentery; and it is mentioned by Dioscorides as a remedy in the latter com-
plaint.  By Poerner it is highly recommended in excoriations of the bowels,
attended with pain and obstinate diarrhoea.  His mode of using it is to melt
the wax with oil of sweet almonds or olive oil,  and, while the mixture is still
hot, to incorporate it by means of  the  yolk of an egg with some mucilagi-
nous  fluid.   The dose is  about half  a drachm, to  be repeated three or four
times a day.  Another method is to form an emulsion by means of soap; but
it is evident that this would  be the most energetic ingredient of the mixture.
Wax is sometimes used to fill cavities in  carious teeth.  Its chief employ-
ment, however, is in  the formation of ointments, cerates, and plasters.  It is
an  ingredient in almost all  the officinal cerates, which, indeed, owe their
general title to the wax they contain.
   3.  Vegetable Wax.   Many vegetable products contain wax, or a sub-
stance closely analogous to it, as one of their constituents.   It exists in the
pollen of numerous plants; and forms the  bloom or  glaucous powder which
covers certain fruits, and the coating  of varnish with which leaves are some-
times supplied.  In some  plants it exists  so abundantly as to be profitably
extracted for use.  Such is the Ceroxylon Andicola, a lofty palm growing
on the Mountain of Quindiu in the South American Andes.  Upon the trunk
of this tree, in the rings left by the  fall of the leaves,  is a coating of wax-
like matter,  about one-sixth of an  inch  thick, which is removed by  the
natives and employed in the manufacture of tapers.   It contains, according
to Vauquelin, two-thirds of a resinous substance, and one-third of pure wax.
{Fee.)  But the form of vegetable wax in which the druggists of this country
are particularly interested, is that  derived from the Myrica cerifera, and
commonly called myrtle wax.  (See  Bigelow's  Am. Med. Bot. iii. 32.)
The wax  myrtle is an aromatic shrub, from one to twelve feet in height,  ,
found in almost all parts of the United  States from  New England to Louisi-
ana.  The fruit, which grows in clusters  closely attached to the stems and
branches,  is small, globular, and  covered with a whitish coating of wax,
which may be separated for  use.  Other parts of the plant are said to pos-
sess medical  virtues.  The  bark of the root is acrid and astringent, and in
large doses emetic, and has been popularly employed as a remedy in jaun-
dice.   (See Bigelow's Med. Bot. and Timelier's Dispens.)   The process
for collecting the wax is simple.  The berries are boiled in  water, and the
wax, melting and floating on the surface, is either skimmed off and strained,
or allowed to concrete as the liquor cools,  and removed  in the solid state. 
 part r.                Cerevisise Fermentum.                   201

 To render it pure, it is again melted and strained, and then cast into large
 cakes.  It is collected in New Jersey, but more abundantly in New Eng-
 land, particularly Rhode Island, whence it is exported to other parts of the
 country.
    Myrtle wax is of a pale grayish-green colour, somewhat diaphanous,
 more brittle  and at the same time more unctuous to the touch than beeswax,
 of a feeble odour, and a slightly bitterish taste.  It is  about as heavy as
 water, and melts at 109° F.  It is insoluble in water, scarcely soluble in
 cold alcohol,  soluble, with the exception of about  thirteen per cent., in
 twenty parts of boiling alcohol, which deposites  the greater portion upon
 cooling, soluble also in boiling ether, and slightly so in  oil of turpentine.
 In chemical relations it bears a close resemblance to beeswax, and consists,
 like that product, of cerin and  myricin, containing 87 parts of the former
 and 13 of the latter in the 100.   The green colour depends upon a distinct
 principle, which may be separated by boiling the wax with ether and allow-
 ing the liquid to cool.  The wax is deposited colourless, while the  ether
 remains green.  It is probable that the bitter taste  also depends upon a prin-
 ciple distinct from the wax  itself.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  This variety of wax has been popularly
 employed in the United States  as a remedy for dysentery; and we are told
 by Dr. Fahnestock, that he  found great advantage from its use in numerous
 cases during an epidemic prevalence of this complaint.   He gave the pow-
 dered wax in doses of a teaspoonful frequently repeated, mixed  with muci-
 lage or syrup.  {Am. Journ.  Med. Scien. ii. 313.)   It  is occasionally
 substituted by apothecaries  for beeswax in the formation  of plasters, and is
 used  in the preparation of tapers  and candles.   It is somewhat fragrant
 when burning, but emits a less brilliant light than  common lamp-oil.
                                                                 W.

         CEREVISISE  FERMENTUM.  Lond.,  Dub.

                                Yeast.

   Levure, Fr.; Bierhefen, Germ.; Fcrmento di cervogia, Ital; Espuma rle cerveza, Span.
   This is the substance which rises, in the form of froth, to the surface of
 beer, and subsides to the bottom, during the  process of fermentation.  A
 similar substance is always produced  during  the vinous fermentation of
 saccharine liquids;  but the principles of its formation are unknown.
   It is a flocculent, frothy, somewhat viscid, semi-fluid, of a dirty yellowish
 colour, a sour vinous odour, and a bitter taste.   At a temperature of 60° or
 70°, in a close vessel or damp atmosphere, it soon  undergoes putrefaction.
 Exposed to a moderate heat,  it loses its liquid portion, becomes drv, hard, and
 brittle;  and may in this state be preserved for a long time.   In France it is
 brought to the solid state by introducing it into sacs, washing it with water,
 then submitting it to pressure, and ultimately drying it.
   Yeast is insoluble in alcohol or water.   It was  analyzed by Westrumb,
 and found to  contain in 15142 parts, 13 of potassa, 15 of carbonic acid, 10
 of acetic acid, 45 of malic acid, 69 of lime, 240 of alcohol, 120 of extractive,
 240 of mucilage, 315 of saccharine matter, 480 of  gluten, 13595 of water,
 besides traces of silica and phosphoric acid.  Its bitterness is attributable to
 a principle derived from the hops.   The  property for which it  is chiefly
valued is that of exciting the vinous fermentation in saccharine liquids, and
the panary fermentation in various farinaceous  substances.   This property
it owes to the azotized principle or gluten which it contains; for if separated 
202            Cerevisiae Fermentum.— Cetaceum.         part i.

from this constituent, it loses its powers as a ferment, and re-acquires them
upon the subsequent addition of the gluten.  By boiling in water  it is de-
prived of the property of exciting fermentation.   At an elevated temperature
it is decomposed, affording products similar to  those which result from the
decomposition of animal matters.
  Examined by a microscope, yeast is found to abound in minute transpa-
rent vesicles, which appear to contain one or more granules.  These have
been supposed to be living infusory plants or  animalcules, which have the
power of propagating themselves at the expense of sugar and other organic
proximate  principles  with which  they  may be brought into contact; and
attempts have been  made to solve the mysteries of fermentation by the con-
jecture that the sugar or other  fermenting substance, while contributing to
the nourishment of these microscopic  beings, undergoes a decomposition
resulting in the formation of new products, by a different arrangement of their
elements.   This theory, however, is not generally admitted;—the doctrine
of Liebig,  that fermentation  is merely a chemical movement excited by a
movement  of decomposition going on in the ferment, being at present the
one most in vogue.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Yeast has been highly extolled as a remedy
in typhoid  fevers, and is said to have been given with advantage in hectic.
It is, however, little employed, as its somewhat tonic and stimulant effects,
ascribable to the bitter principle of hops, the alcohol, and the carbonic acid
which are  among its  constituents, may be obtained with equal certainly
from  more convenient medicines.   Dr. Hewson, of Philadelphia, informs
us, that in  a case of typhoid fever attended with great irritability of the sto-
mach, the  patient was benefitted  and sustained by taking a pint  of yeast
daily for five days,  during which  period no other remedy was  employed.
When largely taken, it generally proves laxative; and it may sometimes be
necessary to obviate this  effect by opium.  Externally applied, it is very
useful in foul and sloughing  ulcers, the fetor of  which it corrects, while it
affords a gentle  stimulus to the debilitated vessels.   It is usually employed
mixed with farinaceous substances in the form of a cataplasm.
   The dose is from half a fluidounce to two fluidounces every two or three
hours.
   Off. Prep. Cataplasma Fermenti, Lond., Dub.                  W.


             CETACEUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                             Spermaceti.

   "A peculiar concrete substance  obtained from Physeter macrocephalus."
 U. S.   " Physeter  Macrocephalus.  Concretum in propriis capitis cellis
repertum." Lond.  " Cetine of Physeter macrocephalus, nearly pure." Ed.
   Blanc de baloine, Spermaceti, Cetine, Fr; Wallrath, Germ.; Spermaceti, Ital; Es-
perma de bcllena, Span.
   The spermaceti whale is from sixty to eighty feet in length, with an enor-
mous  head, not less in its largest part than thirty feet in circumference, and
constituting one-third of the whole length of the body.  The upper part of
the head is occupied by large cavities,  separated from each other by cartila-
ginous partitions, and containing an oily liquid, which, after the death of the
animal, concretes into a  white unctuous spongy mass, consisting of the
proper spermaceti mixed with oil.  This mass is removed from the cavities,
 and the oil allowed to separate by draining.  The quantity of crude sperma-
 ceti thus obtained from a whale of the ordinary size, is more than sufficient 
PART I.
Cetaceum.—Cetraria.
203
to fill twelve large barrels.  It still, however, contains much oily matter and
other impurities, from  which it  is freed by expression, washing with hot
water, melting, straining, and lastly by repeated washing with a weak boiling
ley of potash.   The common w^ale oil, and the oil of other cetaceous ani-
mals, contain small quantities of spermaceti, which they slowly deposite on
long standing.
  Spermaceti is in  white, pearly, semitransparent masses, of a crystalline
foliaceous texture; friable, soft and somewhat unctuous to the touch; slightly
odorous; insipid;  of the sp. gr. 0*943; fusible at 112° F. {Bostock);  vola-
tilizable  at a higher temperature without change in vacuo,  but partially
decomposed if  the air is admitted; inflammable; insoluble in water; soluble
in small proportion in boiling alcohol, ether, and oil of  turpentine, but de-
posited as the liquids cool;  readily soluble in the fixed oils; forming an
imperfect soap when heated with the pure alkalies, by which it is  converted
into the margaric and oleic acids, and a peculiar substance named ethal by
Chevreul; not affected by the mineral acids, except the sulphuric, which
decomposes and dissolves it; rendered yellowish and rancid by long expo-
sure to hot air,  but capable of being again purified by washing with a warm
ley of potash.  By Fourcroy, spermaceti was supposed to be identical with
adipocire, but Chevreul proved it to be a distinct principle, and  proposed
for it the name of cetin, which has been adopted in France.   As found in
the shops it is not entirely pure, containing a fixed oil, and often  a peculiar
colouring principle.  From these it is separated by boiling in alcohol, which
on cooling deposites the  cetin in crystalline scales.   In this state it does not
 melt under 120° F., is insoluble  in 40 parts of alcohol of the  sp.  gr. 0-821
 {Thenard), and is  harder, more shining, and less  unctuous  to  the touch
 than ordinary  spermaceti.   The ultimate constituents of spermaceti are,
 according to Berard, carbon 81, oxygen 6,  hydrogen  13,  in 100 parts;
according to Saussure, carbon 75*074,  hydrogen 12-71)5, oxygen  11-377,
and nitrogen 0-354.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.  Like the fixed oils, spermaceti has been
given as a demulcent in irritations of the pulmonary and intestinal  mucous
membranes;  but it possesses no  peculiar virtues, and its internal use has
been generally abandoned.   It may be reduced to powder by the addition of
 a little alcohol or almond oil, or suspended  in water  by means of  mucilage,
 or the yolk of eggs and sugar.  Externally  it is much employed as an ingre-
 dient of ointments and cerates.
    Off.Prep.   Ceratum  Cetacei, U.S.,  Lond., Ed.;  Unguentum Aquae
 Rosae,  U. S.; Unguentum Cetacei, Lond.                         W.


                CETRARIA. U.S., Lond., Ed.

                            Iceland Moss.

   " Cetraria Islandica." U. S.,  Lond.,  Ed.
   Off. Syn.   LICHEN ISLANDICUS.   CETRARIA  ISLANDICA,
Planta.  Dub.
   Lichen dTslande, Fr.; Islandiches Moos, Germ.;  Lichene Islandico, Ital; Liquen
Islandico, Span.
   Cetraria.  Sex.  Syst. CryptogamiaLichenes.—Nat. Ord. Lichenaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Plant cartilagino-membranous, ascending or spreading, lobed,
smooth, and naked on both sides.  Apothecia shield-like, obliquely adnate
with the margin, the disk coloured, plano-concave;  border inflexed, derived
from the frond. Loudon's Encyc. 
204
Cetraria.
part r.
   The genus Lichen of Linnaeus has been divided by subsequent botanists
 into numerous genera, which have been raised to the dignity of a distinct
 order, both in the natural and artificial systems of arrangement.  The name
 Cetraria was conferred by Acharius on the genus to which the Iceland moss
 belongs.
   Cetraria Islandica.   Acharius, Lichenog. Univ. 512.—Lichen Islandi-
 cus.  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 803. t. 271.  Iceland moss is foliaceous, erect,
 from two to four inches high, with a dry,  coriaceous, smooth, shining, la-
 ciniated frond or leaf, the lobes of which are irregularly subdivided, chan-
 neled, and fringed  at their edges with rigid hairs.   Those  divisions upon
 which the fruit is borne are dilated.  The colour is olive-brown or green-
 ish-gray above, reddish at the base, and lighter on the under than the upper
 surface.   The fructification  is in flat, shield-like, reddish-brown receptacles,
 with elevated entire edges, placed upon the  surface of the frond near its
 border.
   The plant is found in the northern latitudes of the old  and new conti-
 nents, and on the elevated mountains further south.   It  received its name
 from the abundance in which it prevails in Iceland.   It is also abundant on
 the mountains and in the sandy plains of New England.
   The dried moss is of diversified colour, grayish-white, brown, and red in
 different parts, with less of the green tint  than in the recent state.  It is
 inodorous,  and  has a mucilaginous, bitter taste.   Macerated in water it
 absorbs rather more than its own  weight of the fluid, and, if the water be
 warm, renders it bitter.   Boiling  water extracts all  its  soluble principles.
 The decoction thickens upon cooling, and acquires a gelatinous consistence,
 resembling  that of starch in appearance, but without its viscidity.  After
 some time the dissolved matter separates, and when dried forms semitrans-
 parent masses, insoluble in cold water, alcohol, or ether, but soluble in boil-
 ing water, and in solution  forming a blue  compound with iodine.  This
 principle resembles starch in its general characters, but differs from it in
 some respects, and  has received  the distinctive name of lichenin.  The
 most accurate analysis of Iceland moss is that by Berzelius.  By this
 chemist 100 parts were found to afford 1*6  of chlorophylle, 3-0 of a pecu-
 liar bitter principle, 3-6 of uncrystallizable sugar, 3*7 of gum, 7*0 of  the
 apotheme of extractive, 44*6 of the peculiar starch-like principle, 1*9 of the
 bilichenates of potassa and lime mixed with phosphate of lime, and 36*2 of
 amylaceous fibrin—the excess being 1-6 parts.  {Traite de Chim. vi. 251.)
   The name of cetrarin has been  conferred on the bitter principle of Ice-
 land moss.  The following  process for obtaining it is that of Dr. Herberger,
 who is said  to have been the first to procure it in a pure state.  The moss,
 coarsely powdered, is boiled for half an  hour in four times  its  weight of
 alcohol of 0-883.  The  liquid, when cool, is  expressed and filtered, and
 treated with diluted muriatic acid  in the proportion of three drachms to
every pound of moss  employed.   Water is then added in the quantity of
 about four times the bulk of the liquid, and  the mixture left for a night in a
closed matrass.   The deposite which forms is collected on a filter, allowed
to drain as much  as possible, and submitted  to the press.  To purify it,  the
mass, while still moist, is broken into small pieces, washed with aleohol or
 ether, and treated with two hundred times its weight of boiling alcohol,
which dissolves the cetrarin, leaving the  other organic principles by which
it  has been  hitherto accompanied.  The greater part is deposited as  the
liquor cools, and the remainder may be obtained by evaporation.   By this
 process one  pound of moss yielded to Dr. Herberger 133 grains of cetrarin.
 This principle is white, not crystalline, light, unalterable in the air, inodor- 
PART I.
Cetraria.
205
ous, and exceedingly bitter, especially in alcoholic solution.  Its best sol-
vent is absolute  alcohol, of which 100 parts  dissolve 1*7 of cetrarin at the
bodino-  temperature.  Ether  also  dissolves it, and  it is  slightly soluble in
water.  Its solutions are quite neutral to test paper.  It is precipitated by
the acids, and rendered much more soluble by the alkalies.   Concentrated
muriatic acid changes its colour to a  bright blue.   It precipitates the salts
of iron, copper,  lead, and silver.   In  the dose of two grains repeated every
two hours it has been used successfully in intermittent fever. (See Journ.
de Pharm. xxiii. 505, and  Am.  Journ. of Pharm. x. 54.)
   The  gum and starch contained in the moss render it sufficiently nutritive
to serve as food for the inhabitants of Iceland and Lapland, who employ it
powdered and made into bread, or boiled with milk, having first partially
freed it from the bitter principle  by  repeated maceration in water.   The
bitterness may be entirely extracted, by macerating  the powdered moss, for
twenty-four hours, in twenty-four  times its weight of a solution formed with
 1 part of an alkaline carbonate and 375 parts  of  water,, decanting the liquid
 at the end of this time, and repeating the process with an equal quantity of
 the solution.  The  powder being now dried is perfectly sweet and highly
 nutritive.  This process was suggested by Berzelius.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Iceland moss is at the same time demul-
 cent, nutritious, and tonic,, and therefore well calculated for affections of the
 mucous membrane of  the  lungs and  bowels, in which the local disease is
 associated with a debilitated condition of the  digestive organs, or of the
 system generally.   Hence it has been found  useful in chronic catarrhs,, and
 other pulmonary affections attended with copious and debilitating expectora-
 tion, especially  when the matter discharged was of a purulent character; as
 also in dyspepsia, chronic dysentery,  and diarrhoea.  It has, moreover, been
 given in cases of debility succeeding acute disease, or dependent on copious
 purulent discharge  from external  ulcers.   But the complaint in the treat-
 ment of which it has acquired most reputation is pulmonary consumption.
 It  had long been employed  in this  disease, and  in haemoptysis,  by the
 Danish physicians, before it became known to the  profession at large.  In
 the latter half of the last century it was introduced  into extensive use; and
 numerous cases of cures supposed, to have been effected by it are on record.
 But now  that the pathology of consumption is understood, physicians have
 ceased to expect material advantage from it in the genuine tuberculous form
 of the  disease;  and there is  reason to believe  that the  cases which have
 recovered under its use, were  nothing  more  than chronic bronchitis or
 chronic inflammation of the  pulmonary tissue.  It can  act  only as a mild,
 nutritious, demulcent tonic;  and certainly exercises no specific influence
 over tuberculous disease.
   It is  usually employed in the  form  of decoction.   (See Decoctum Cctra-
 riae.)   By some writers it is recommended to deprive it of the  bitter prin-
 ciple by maceration in water, or a weak alkaline solution, before preparing
 the decoction, but we thus reduce it  to the state of a simple demulcent, or
 mild article of diet, in which respect it is not superior to the ordinary fari-
 naceous or gummy substances  used  in medicine.   The powder is some-
 times given in the dose of thirty grains or a drachm; and a preparation has
 obtained some repute, in which the ground moss is incorporated with choco-
 late, and used at the morning and evening meal  as an ordinary beverage.
    Off.Prep.  Decoctum Cetrariae, U.S., Lond.., Dub„               W.
      19 
206
Chenopodium.
PART I.
                     CHENOPODIUM.  U.S.

                            Wormseed.

   " The fruit of Chenopodium anthelminticum." U. S.
   Chenopodium.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Chenopo-
 diaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-leaved, five-cornered.   Corolla none.   Seed one,
 lenticular, superior. Willd.
   Chenopodium anthelminticum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1304; Barton, Med.
 Bot. ii. 183.  This is an indigenous perennial plant, with an herbaceous,
 erect, branching, furrowed stem, which rises from two to five feet in height.
 The leaves are  alternate or scattered, sessile, oblong lanceolate, attenuated
 at both ends, sinuated and toothed on the margin, conspicuously veined, of
 a yellowish-green  colour, and dotted on  their under surface.  The flowers
 are very numerous, small, of the same colour with the leaves, and arranged
 in long, leafless, terminal panicles, which are composed of slender, dense,
 glomerate, alternating spikes.
   This species  of Chenopodium, known commonly by the name of worm-
 seed, and Jerusalem oak, grows in almost all parts of the United States, but
 most vigorously and abundantly in the southern section.  It is usually found
 in the vicinity of rubbish, along fences, in the streets of villages, and in the
 commons about the larger towns.   It flowers from  July to September, and
 ripens  its seeds successively through the autumn.  The whole herb has a
 strong, peculiar, offensive, yet somewhat aromatic odour, which  it retains
 when dried.  All parts of the  plant are occasionally employed; but the fruit
 only is strictly officinal.  This should be collected in October.
   Wormseed, as found in the shops, is  in small grains, not larger than  the
 head of a pin, irregularly spherical, very light, of a  dull, greenish-yellow or
 brownish colour, a bitterish,  somewhat  aromatic,  pungent taste, and pos-
 sessed to a high degree of the peculiar smell of the plant.  These grains,
 when deprived, by rubbing them in the hand, of a capsular covering which in-
 vests the proper seed, exhibit a shining surface of a very dark colour. They
 abound in a volatile oil, upon which their sensible properties and medical
 virtues depend,  and which is obtained separate by distillation.  (See  Oleum
 Chenopodii.)  The same oil  impregnates to a greater or less extent  the
 whole plant.
   The fruit of the  Chenopodium ambrosioides, which is also an indigenous
 plant, and very  prevalent in the Middle States, is said to be used indiscrimi-
 nately  with that of the C. anthelminticum.   It may be  distinguished by
 its odour, which is weaker and less offensive, and  to some persons agree-
 able.   The plant itself is often confounded with the true  wormseed, from
 which  it differs in having its flowers in leafy racemes.  This species  of
 Chenopodium has been  employed in Europe as a remedy in nervous affec-
tions, particularly chorea.   Five or six  cases of  this disease, reported by
Plenk, yielded,  after having resisted the ordinary means, to the daily use
of an infusion of two drachms of the plant in ten ounces of water, taken in
the dose of a  cupful morning and evening, and associated with the employ-
ment of peppermint.  (Merat and De Lens, Diet, de Mat. Med.)
   The C. Botrys, which is also known by the vulgar  name of Jerusalem
oak, is another indigenous species,  possessing anthelmintic virtues.  The
plant is said to have  been used in France with advantage as a pectoral in
catarrh and humoral asthma. 
part i.            Chenopodium.—Chimaphila.                207

  Medical Properties and Uses.  Wormseed is one of our most efficient
indigenous anthelmintics,  and is thought to be particularly adapted to the
expulsion of lumbrici in children.  A dose  of  it is usually given before
breakfast in the morning, and at bed time in  the evening,  for three or four
days successively, and then followed by calomel or some other brisk cathar-
tic.  If the worms are not expelled,  the same plan is repeated.  The medi-
cine is most conveniently administered in powder, mixed with syrup in the
form of an electuary.  The dose for a child two  or three years old, is from
one to  two scruples.  The volatile oil is perhaps more frequently given than
the fruit in substance, though its offensive odour and taste sometimes ren-
der it of difficult administration.   The dose for a child is from five to ten
drops,  mixed with sugar,  or in the  form of emulsion.  A tablespoonful of
the expressed juice of the leaves, or a wineglassful of a decoction prepared
by boiling an ounce of the fresh plant in a pint of milk, with the addition of
orange-peel or other aromatic, is sometimes substituted in domestic practice
for the ordinary dose of the fruit and oil.
   Off. Prep. Oleum Chenopodii, U. S.                           W.


                 CHIMAPHILA.  U.S.,  Lond.

                            Pipsissewa.

   "The leaves  of  Chimaphila umbellata."  U.S.   "Chimaphila corym-
bosa.  Folia." Lond.
   Off'. Syn.  PYROLA. Herb of Chimaphila umbellata. Ed.;  PYROLA
UMBELLATA.  Herba. Dub.
   Chimaphila.  Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Pyrolaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-toothed.  Petals five. Style very short, immersed
in the germ.  Stigma annular, orbicular, with a five-lobed disk.  Filaments
stipitate;  stipe discoid, ciliate.  Capsules five-celled, opening from the sum-
mits, margins unconnected. Nuttall.
  This genus was separated from the Pyrofa by Pursh, and is now admitted
by most botanical writers.   It embraces two species, the  C. umbellata and
C. maculata, which are both indigenous, and known throughout the country
by the common title of winter green.  The generic title was founded upon
the vulgar name of the  plants.   It  is  formed of two Greek words, xet,pto.
winter, and $aoj a friend.   The C. umbellata only is officinal.
   Chimaphila umbellata.  Barton,  Med. Bot. i. 17.—Pyrola umbellata.
Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 622; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 15.  The pipsissewa
is a small  evergreen plant, with a  perennial, creeping, yellowish root (rhi-
zoma), which gives rise  to several simple, erect or semi-procumbent stems,
from four  to eight inches in height, and ligneous at their base.  The leaves
are wedge-shaped, somewhat lanceolate, serrate, coriaceous, smooth,  of a
shining sap-green colour on the upper surface, paler beneath, and supported
upon short footstalks, in irregular whorls, of which there are usually two
on the same  stem.  The flowers are disposed in a small terminal corymb,
and stand upon nodding  peduncles.  The calyx is small, and divided at its
border  into five teeth or segments. The corolla is composed of five roundish,
concave, spreading petals,  which are of a white colour tinged with red, and
exhale  an  agreeable odour.  The stamens are ten, with  filaments  shorter
than the petals, and with large, nodding, bifurcated, purple anthers.  The
germ is globular and depressed, supporting a thick and  apparently sessile
stigma, the style  being  short and immersed in the germ.  The seeds are
numerous, linear, chaffy, and enclosed in  a roundish, depressed, five-celled,
five-valved capsule, having the persistent calyx at the base. 
208
Chimaphila.
PART I.
  This humble but beautiful evergreen is a native of the northern latitudes
of America, Europe, and Asia.  It is found in all parts of the United States,
and extends even to the Pacific ocean.  It grows under the shade of woods,
and prefers a loose sandy soil, enriched by decaying leaves.   The flowers
appear in June and July.   All  parts of the plant are  endowed with active
properties.  The leaves and stems are kept in the shops.
  The  C. maculata,  or spotted winter green, probably possesses  similar
virtues  with  tire C. umbellata.   The  character of the leaves of the two
plants will serve to distinguish them. Those of the C. maculata are  lanceo-
late, rounded at the base, where they are  broader  than near  the summit,
and of a deep olive green colour, veined with  greenish white;  those of the
officinal species are broadest  near the summit, gradually narrowing to the
base, and of a  uniform  shining green.   In  drying, with exposure to light,
the colour fades very much, though it still retains a greenish hue.
  Pipsissewa, when fresh and bruised, exhales a peculiar odour. The taste
of the leaves is pleasantly bitter, astringent, and sweetish; that  of the stems
and root unites with these qualities a  considerable degree -of pungency.
Boiling water  extracts  the  active properties  of the plant,  which are also
imparted to alcohol.   The constituents, so  far as ascertained, are bitter
extractive, tannin, resin, gum, lignin, and saline matters.  The active prin-
ciple  has not yet been isolated, though  it probably exists in the substance
called bitter extractive.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.   This plant is diuretic, tonic, and astrin-
gent.  It was employed by the aborigines in various complaints, especially
scrofula, rheumatism, and nephritic affections.   From their hands it passed
into those of the European settlers, and  was long a popular remedy in cer-
tain  parts of the country, before it was adopted by the profession.  The
first regular treatise in relation to it that has come to  our knowledge, was
the thesis of Dr. Mitchell, published in the year 1803; but little was thought
of it till the appearance of the paper of  Dr. Sommerville, in the 5th vol. of
the London Medico-Chirurgical Transactions.  By this writer it was highly
recommended  as a remedy in dropsy;  and his favourable report has been
sustained by the subsequent statements of many respectable practitioners.
It i« particularly useful in  eases attended  with disordered  digestion and gene-
ral debility, irt  which its  tonic properties and general acceptability to the
stomach prove  highly useful auxiliaries  to its  diuretic powers.   Neverthe-
less, it cannot be relied on exclusively in the treatment of the complaint; for
though  it generally produces an increased flow of urine, it  has seldom
effected eures.   Other disorders, in which it is said to have proved useful,
are calculous and nephritic affections, and in general all those complaints of
the  urinary passages for which uva ursi is prescribed.   It is very highly
esteemed by some practitioners as a remedy in serofula, both before and after
the occurrence of ulceration; and it has certainly proved highly advantageous
in certain obstinate ill-conditioned ulcers and cutaneous eruptions, supposed
to be  connected with a strumous diathesis.  In these cases it is used both
internally, and  locally as a wash.
  The decoetion is the preparation  usually  preferred.   It is made by boil-
ing two ounces of the fresh bruised  leaves with three pints of water to a
quart, and given to the amount of a pint  in twdnty-four hours.  The  watery
extract  may be given in the dose of twenty  or thirty grains four  times a
day.
  Off. Prep.  Decoctum 'Chimaphilae, U. S.., Lond., Dub.           W. 
PART I.
Chiretta.
209
                        CHIRETTA.  Ed.

                               Chiretta.

   "Herb and root of Agathotes Chirayta."  Ed.
   Agathotes.  Sex. Syst.  Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Gentian-
 aceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla withering, rotate, in aestivation  twisted to the right;
 with glandular hollows protected by a fringed scale upon the segments.
 Anthers not changing.  Stigmas  sessile.  Capsules conical, one-celled,
 with spongy placentae upon the sutures.   Seeds indefinite, minute.  {Lind-
 ley.)
   Agathotes  Chirayta.  Don, Lond. Phil. Mag. 1836, p. 76.—Gentiana
 Chirayta.  Fleming, Asiat.  Research, xi. 167.  The chirayta or chiretta
 is an annual plant, about three feet high, with an erect, smooth, round stem,
 branching into an elegant leafy panicle, and furnished with opposite, em-
 bracing, lanceolate, very acute, entire, smooth, three or five-nerved  leaves.
 The flowers are numerous, peduncled, yellow, with a four-cleft calyx  having
 linear acute divisions, the limb of the corolla spreading and four-parted, four
 stamens, a  single style,  and a two-lobed stigma.  The capsules  are shorter
 than  the permanent calyx and corolla.  The plant  is a native  of Nepaul,
 and other  parts of Northern India.  The whole of it  is officinal.  It is
 gathered about the time when  the flowers begin to decay.
   The dried plant is imported into Europe in bundles.  The root is fibrous,
 and the stems contain a yellowish pith. In other respects it corresponds with
 the description above given.   All parts of it have a very bitter taste, which
 is strongest in the root.  It is  without  odour.   Water and alcohol extract
 its virtues,  which are also retained  in the extract. According to Lassaigne
 and  Boissel, the stems  contain resin, a  yellow bitter substance,  brown
 colouring matter, gum, arid various salts.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Chiretta  has long been used in  India,
 where it is  a favourite remedy with both the native and European practition-
 ers.   It has recently been introduced into Europe, where it appears to be
 highly esteemed;  but has not been employed to any considerable extent in
 this country.   Its properties are those of the pure bitters, and probably do not
 differ from those of the other members of the natural  family of Gentianaceae.
 (See Gentiana.)  Like these, in overdoses it nauseates and  oppresses the
 stomach.  Some have supposed that, in addition to its tonic properties, it
 exerts a peculiar  influence  over the liver, promoting the secretion of bile
 and correcting it when deranged, and restoring healthy evacuations in cases
 of habitual  costiveness.   But it may well  be doubted whether it produces
 any other effects of this kind than such as are incident to its tonic power,
 and might  be  expected from the other pure bitters.  It has been used in
 dyspepsia, in the debility of convalescence, and generally in cases in  which
 corroborant measures are indicated.   In India it has been successfully em-
 ployed in intermittents and remittents, combined with the seeds of the Gui-
landina Bonduc.   It may be administered in powder, infusion,  tincture, or
extract. The dose in substance is twenty grains. The infusion is officinal.
  Off. Prep.  Infusum Chirettae. Ed.
                                 19* 
210
Chondrus.
PART I.
                 CHONDRUS. U.S. Secondary.

                             Irish Moss.

  " Chondrus crispus. (Greville, Alg. Brit.)"  U. S.
  Chondrus. Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Algae.—Nat. Ord. Algaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Frond cartilaginous, dilating  upwards into a flat, nerveless,
dichotomously divided frond, of a purplish or livid-red colour.   Fructifica-
tion, subspherical capsules in the substance of the frond, rarely supported on
little stalks, and containing a  mass of minute free seeds.  {Greville from
Lindley's Flor. Med.)
  Chondrus crispus.  Greville, Alg.  Brit. 129.  t. 15.—Sphserococcus
crispus. Agardh.—Fucus  crispus. Linn.   The Irish moss, or carrageen,
as it is frequently called, consists of a flat, slender, cartilaginous frond, from
two to twelve inches in length, dilated as it ascends until it becomes two or
three lines  in width, then repeatedly and diehotomously divided, with linear,
wedge-shaped segments, and  more  or  less curled up  so as to diminish the
apparent length.  The capsules  are somewhat hemispherical, and are im-
bedded in the disk of the frond.   The plant grows  upon rocks and stones
on  the coasts  of Europe,  and is especially abundant  on the southern  and
western coasts of Ireland, where it is collected for  use.  It is said also to be
a native of the United States.
  When collected, it is washed and dried.  In the recent state it is of a
purplish colour, but, as found  in the shdps,  is yellowish or yellowish-white,
with occasionally purplish portions.  It is  translucent, of a feeble odour,
and nearly tasteless.   It swells  up in cold water, but  does not dissolve.
Boiling water dissolves a large proportion of it,  and, if the solution be suffi-
ciently concentrated, gelatinizes on cooling.  According to Feuchtwanger,
it contains  starch, and a large proportion of pectin, with compounds of sul-
phur, chlorine, and bromine, and some oxalate  of lime.  Herberger  found
79*1 per cent, of vegetable jelly, and 9-5 of mucus, with fatty matter, free
acids,  chlorides, &c, but neither  iodine nor bromine.  The pectin or vege-
table jelly, Pereira thinks entitled to the rank of a distinct proximate prin-
ciple, and  proposes  to  call carrageenin.   It is  distinguished  from gum by
affording when dissolved in water no precipitate with  alcohol, from starch
by  not becoming blue with tincture of iodine,  from pectin by yielding no
precipitate with acetate of lead, and no mucie  acid by the aetion of nitric
acid.
  Carrageen is nutritive and demulcent, and,  being easy of digestion  and
not unpleasant to the taste, forms a useful article of diet  in eases in which
the farinaceous preparations, such as tapioca, sago, barley, <fcc, are usually
employed.  It has been particularly recommended in chronic pectoral affec-
tions,  scrofulous complaints, dysentery, diarrhoea, and disorders of the kid-
neys and bladder.  It may be used in the form of decoction, made by boiling
a pint and  a half of water with half an ounce of  the  moss down to a pint.
Sugar and  lemon juice may usually be added to  improve the flavour.  Milk
may be substituted for water, when a more nutritious preparation is required.
It is recommended to macerate the moss for about ten minutes in cold water
before submitting it to decoction.   Any unpleasant flavour that it may have
acquired from the contact of foreign substances is  thus removed.     W. 
PART I.
Cimicifuga.
211
              CIMICIFUGA.  U.S. Secondary.

                         Black Snakeroot.

  " The root of Cimicifuga racemosa." £7. S.
  Cimicifuga. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Di-Pentagynia.— Nat. Ord. Ranun-
Pill J1P63B
  Gen.Ch.  Calyx four or five-leaved.   Petals  four to eight, deformed,
thickish, sometimes wanting.   Capsules one  to five, oblong, many-seeded.
Seeds squamose. Nuttall.
  Cimicifuga racemosa. Torrey, Flor. 219.—C.  serpentaria. Pursh, Flor.
Am. Sept. p. 372.—Actxa racemosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1139.—Macrotys
racemosa. Eaton's Manual, p. 288.   This is a tall, stately plant, having a
perennial root, and a simple herbaceous stem, which rises from four to eight
feet in height. The leaves are large, and ternately decomposed, having ob-
long ovate leaflets, incised and toothed at their  edges.  The flowers are
small,  white, and disposed in  along, terminal, wandlike raceme, with occa-
sionally one or two shorter racemes near its base.  The calyx is white,
four-leaved,  and deciduous; the petals are minute, and shorter than the sta-
mens;  the pistil consists of an oval germ and  a sessile stigma.  The fruit is
an ovate capsule containing numerous  flat seeds.
  The black snakeroot, or cohosh 'as  this plant  is sometimes called,  is a
native of  the United States, growing in shady and rocky woods,  from Ca-
nada to Florida, and flowering in June, and July.  The root is the part
employed.
  This, as found in the shops, consists of a  thick, irregularly bent or con-
torted body  or caudex, from one-third of an  inch  to an inch in thickness,
often several inches in length, furnished with many slender radicles, and
rendered exceedingly rough and jagged in appearance by the remains of the
stems of successive years, which  to the length of an inch or more are fre-
quently attached to the root.   The colour is externally dark brown, almost
black, internally whitish; the odour,  though not strong, is very peculiar
and rather disagreeable; the taste is bitter, herbaceous, and somewhat astrin-
gent, leaving a slight sense of acrimony.   The  root yields its virtues to
boiling water.  It  was  found by Mr. Tilghman, of Philadelphia, to contain
gum, starch, sugar, resin, wax, fatty matter, tannin and  gallic acid, a black
colouring matter, a green colouring matter, lignin, and salts of potassa, lime,
magnesia, and iron. {Journ. of Phil. Col.  of Pharm. vi. 20.)
   Medical Properties  and Uses.  The effects of  Cimicifuga in health have
not  been  very accurately investigated. It has been usually considered  a
mild tonic, with the property of stimulating the secretions, particularly those
of the skin, kidneys, and bronchial mucous membrane; and has been thought
by  some  to have an especial  affinity for  the  uterus.  It undoubtedly exer-
cises considerable  influence over the nervous system, probably of a sedative
character; but this  influence, so far  as our observation has gone, is shown
rather in  morbid  states of that system than in health.  Dr. Hildreth has
found it, in  large  doses,  to produce some vertigo, impaired vision, nausea
and vomiting, and a reduction of the circulation;  but from very large quan-
tities has  seen no  alarming narcotic effects.  Its common name was pro-
bably derived from its supposed power of curing the disease arising  from
the bite of the rattlesnake.  Till recently, it has  been employed  chiefly in
domestic practice as a remedy in rheumatism, dropsy, hysteria, and various
affections  of the lungs, particularly those resembling consumption.  Several 
212                   Cimicifuga.— Cinchona.             part i.

cases of chorea are recorded  by Dr. Jesse Young, in which it is said to
have effected cures; and the editor of the American Journal of the Medical
Sciences states, that he was informed by Dr. Physick that he had known
it, in the dose of ten grains every two hours, prove successful in the cure of
this complaint in several instances.  In the cases recorded by Dr. Young,
the powdered root was given in the quantity of a teaspoonful three times a
day. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, ix. 310.) We have administered this
medicine in chorea, with  complete success, after the failure of purgatives
and metallic tonics; and have also derived the happiest effects from it in a
case of  convulsions, occurring  periodically, and connected with uterine dis-
order.  Dr. Hildreth has found it, in combination with iodine, very advantage-
ous in the early stages of phthisis.  {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. N. S. iv. 281.)
It is usually administered in the form of decoction.  An ounce of the bruised
root may be  boiled for a  short time in a pint  of water, and one or two
fluidounces given for a dose.  From  half a pint to a pint of the decoction
may be taken without inconvenience during the day.               W.

                       CINCHONA. U.S.

                          Peruvian  Bark.

  " The bark of different species of Cinchona from the western coast of
South America." U. S.
   Varieties.  CINCHONA FLAVA.  Yellow Bark.  The variety called
in  commerce Calisaya Bark.—CINCHONA  PALLIDA.  Pale  Bark.
The variety called  in commerce  Loxa Bark.—CINCHONA  RUBRA.
Red Bark.  The variety called in commerce Red Bark.  U. S.
  Off. Syn. CINCHONA CORDIFOLIA. Cinchona cordifolia. Cortex.—
CINCHONA LANCIFOLIA. Cinchona lancifolia. Cortex.—CINCHO-
NA OBLONGIFOLIA. Cinchona oblongifolia.  Cortex.  Lond.
  CINCHONA CORONjE.  Bark of Cinchona Condaminea.  Crown
Bark.—CINCHONA  CINEREA.   Bark of Cinchona micrantha. Gray
Bark.  Silver Bark.—CINCHONA  FLAVA.  Bark  of  an unascertained
species of Cinchona. Fellow Bark.—CINCHONA RUBRA. Bark of  an
undetermined species of Cinchona. Red Bark. Ed.
  CINCHONA CORDIFOLIA.  Cortex.  Cinchona  flava.—CINCHO-
NA LANCIFOLIA.  Cortex.  Cinchona officinalis.—CINCHONA OB-
LONGIFOLIA. Cortex. Cinchona rubra. Dub.
  Quinquina, Fr.; China, Peruvianische Rinde, Germ ; China, Ital.; Quina, Span.
  When this  work was originally  written, various  points in relation to the
botanical and  pharmacological history of Peruvian Bark were unsettled, and
appeared to require discussion.   Since that period, the botanical part of the
subject has been laboriously investigated by Professor Lindley, of London,
whose conclusions are  as  satisfactory as the existing state of information
will permit; and certain opinions in relation to the sources and character of
different  varieties of the drug, which  were held by us  in common with
eminent pharmacologists of the continent of Europe, but, being wholly dif-
ferent from those of the highest British authorities, were thought to require
whatever support we could  give them, have now been adopted by the best
writers of Great Britain, and may be considered as fully established.  In
the  present edition, therefore, discussion upon these points may be spared
as no longer necessary; and we  shall content ourselves with stating the facts
as now generally admitted. 
PART I.
Cinchona.
213
                         Botanical History.

    Though the use of Peruvian bark was introduced into Europe so early as
  1640, it was not till the year 1737 that the plant which produced it was
  known to naturalists.  In  that year, La Condamine, one of the French
  Academicians who were sent to South America to make observations rela-
  tive to the figure of the earth, on his journey to Lima, through the province
  of Loxa, had an opportunity of examining the  tree, of which, upon  his
  return, he published a description in the Memoirs of the Academy.  Soon
  afterwards Linnaeus gave it the name of Cinchona officinalis, in  honour of
  the Countess of Cinchon, who is said  to have first taken the bark to Europe;
  but, in his description of the plant,  he is stated by Humboldt to have united
  the species discovered by La Condamine with the C.pubescens, a specimen
  of which had been sent him from Santa Fe de Bogota.   For a  long time
  botanists were  ignorant that more  than one species of this genus  existed;
  and the C. officinalis continued, till  a  comparatively recent date, to be re-
  cognised by the Pharmacopoeias as the only source of the Peruvian bark of
  commerce.  But numerous plants supposed to belong  to the genus were
  afterwards discovered in various parts of the world;  and the number of dis-
  tinct species for which the  honour  has been claimed, is not less than forty-
  six, exclusive of the varieties which have been mistaken for species by one
  or another botanist.  But the propriety of associating all these plants in one
  genus has always been considered doubtful;  and, according to  De  Candolle,
  there exist sufficient grounds for distributing them into at least eight genera;
  viz. Cinchona, Buena, Remijia, Exostemma, Pinckneya, Hymenodyction,
  Luculia, and Danais.   The Cinchona is confined exclusively  to the region
  of country now occupied by the republics of New Granada, Equador, Peru,
  and Bolivia. The Buena includes two Peruvian and one Brazilian species,
  the former of which, before their change of name, were  designated as  the
  Cinchona acuminata, and C. obtusifolia.  The genus Remijia was estab-
  lished by De Candolle, and embraces three shrubs of Brazil, which were
  ascribed by Aug. de St. Hilaire  to the Cinchona,  and  the bark of which is
  used as a febrifuge by the natives of the  country.   To the Exostemma  be-
  long the West India species, of which there are not less than nine, formerly
  known as the Cinchona Caribaea, C.floribunda,  &c.  To the same genus
  belong the former Cinchona Philippica  of the Philippine islands, the C.
  corymbifera of Tongataboo. four species indigenous to Peru, and two dis-
  co vefed by M. de  St. Hilaire  in Brazil.   The  Pinckneya consists of a
  single species,  inhabiting Georgia and South Carolina, discovered by Mi-
  chaux the elder, and described in some botanical works by the name of
  Cinchona Carolianiana.   The  Hymenodyction is an East India  genus, in-
i  eluding the Cinchona excelsa of Roxburgh, found  on the Coromandel coast.
  The Luculia, of which there is but one species—the Cinchona gratissima
  of Roxburgh's Flora  Indica—inhabits  the mountains of Nepaul.  The
  Danais embraces the Cinchona Afro-Inda of Willem., growing in the Isle
  of France.  Of these various genera, the Cinchona, Buena or Cosmibuena
  of Ruiz  and Pavon, and the Exostemma, have been most generally con-
  founded.   The last, however, is decidedly distinguished  by the projection
  of the stamens beyond  the corolla, a character expressed in the name of the
  genus.   The two former are still frequently combined by scientific  writers.
  The Buena was originally suggested as a distinct genus by Ruiz and Pavon,
  has been recognised by De Candolle and some other  authors, and  appears
  to be sufficiently characterised.  Its chief peculiarities are the shape of  the 
214
Cinchona.
PART I.
corolla, the separation of the calyx from the fruit at maturity, and the open-
ing of the capsule from above downwards.  We have briefly noticed these
genera, which have at various times been confounded with the true Cin-
chona, because the barks of some of them have been occasionally substituted
in pharmacy for the genuine febrifuge of Peru.  We shall now proceed to
consider the proper Cinchonas.   It  may be proper, however, first  to say,
that the botanists who have made personal observations upon these  plants,
besides La Condamine,  of  whom  we  have  before  spoken, are  chiefly
Joseph de Jussieu, who in the year 1739 explored the country about Loxa,
and gathered specimens which are still existing in the cabinets of Europe;
Mutis, who in the year 1772 discovered Cinchona trees in New Granada,
and afterwards, aided by his pupil Zea, made further investigations and dis-
coveries in the same region of country;  Ruiz and Pavon, who in the year
1777  began a course of botanical inquiries in the central portions of Lower
Peru, and discovered several new species;  Humboldt and Bonpland, who
visited several of the Peruvian bark districts,  and published the results  of
their observations after 1792;  and finally Ptippig, who travelled in Peru  as
late as 1832, and published an account of his journey about the year 1835.
   Cinchona. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Cinchonaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-toothed.  Corolla hypocrateriform, with a five-parted
limb,  valvate in  aestivation.  Anthers linear, inserted within the tube, and
not projecting, unless in a very slight degree. Capsule splitting through the
dissepiment into two cocci open at the  commissure, and crowned  by the
calyx. Seeds girted by a membranous lacerated wing. {Lindley.)
   The plants composing this  genus are trees or shrubs.  The leaves are
opposite, upon short petioles, with flat margins, and are attended with ovate
or oblong, foliaceous, free, deciduous stipules.  The flowers are terminal,  in
corymbose panicles, and of a white  or purplish rose colour. {De Candolle.)
   It has been stated that the genuine cinchona trees are confined exclusively
to the continent of South America.   Within these limits, however, they are
very widely diffused, extending from La Paz,  in the former vice-royalty  of
Buenos Ayres, to the mountainous regions of Santa Martha on the northern
coast.  Those which yield the bark  of commerce grow at various elevations
upon  the Andes, seldom less than 4000 feet above the level of  the sea; and
require a temperature considerably lower than that which usually prevails  in
tropical countries.
   There has been much difficulty in properly arranging the species of Cin-
chona; and botanists have not only differed  among themselves on this point,
but have in some instances exhibited a degree of excitement unbecoming
the dignity of science.   Ruiz and Pavon, in the Flora Peruviana, describe
thirteen new species, while Mutis reduced the number to seven, and Pro-
fessor Zea  attempted to  prove, that almost all the efficacious species of Ruiz
and Pavon are reducible to the four described by Mutis in the year 1793,  in
the Literary News  of Santa Fe de Bogota.   It appears from the best testi-
mony, that the number of the species has been unnecessarily augmented by
certain botanists; mere  fugitive  differences, depending  on peculiarities  of
situation or growth, having been exaggerated into permanent characteristics.
One source of the difficulty of a proper discrimination is stated by Humboldt
to be  the varying shape of the leaves of the same species, according to the
degree of  elevation upon the mountainous declivities,  to the severity  or
mildness of the climate, the greater or less humidity of the soil, and  to vari-
ous circumstances in the growth of  individual  plants.  Even the same tree
often  produces foliage of a diversified character; and a person  not aware  of
this fact, might be led  to imagine  that he  had discovered different  species 
PART I.
Cinchona.
215
from an examination of the leaves which have grown upon one and the same
branch.  The fructification partakes, to a certain extent, of the same varying
character; and the difficulty is thus still further augmented.
  Lambert, in his "Illustration  of the genus Cinchona," published in the
year 1821, after admitting with  Humboldt the identity of several varieties
which had received specific names  from  other botanists,  describes nineteen
species, exclusive of the  two Peruvian Buense.  De Candolle enumerates
only sixteen well ascertained species.
  In  the  present state of our knowledge, it is impossible  to decide from
which species of Cinchona the several varieties of bark are respectively de-
rived.  The former references of the yellow bark to the C. cordifolia, of the
pale to the C. lancifolia, and of the red to the C. oblongifolia, have been
very properly abandoned  in the United  States and Edinburgh Pharmaco-
poeias, though still retained in those of the London and Dublin Colleges.  It
is now almost universally admitted, that the valuable barks known in the
market by these titles, are not the product of the species to which they have
been ascribed.  It is stated by Humboldt, that the property of curing agues
belono-s to the barks of all the  cinchonas with hairy and woolly blossoms,
and to those  alone.  In Lindley's catalogue this division includes fifteen
 species.   We shall notice  the  most prominent, mentioning  also the sy-
 nonymes employed by different authors.
   l"  Cinchona Condaminea. Humb. and  Bonpl. Plant. Equin. i.  p. 33.
 t. 10; Lindley, Flor. Med. 414.   This tree, when full  grown, has a stem
 about eighteen feet high and a foot in thickness, with opposite branches, of
 which the lower are horizontal, and the higher rise  upwards at their ex-
 tremities.  The bark of  the trunk is ash-gray with clefts or  fissures, and
 yields when wounded a bitter astringent juice; that of the small branches is
 greenish, smooth, and glossy, and easily separable from the wood.  The
leaves are of variable shape, but generally ovate-lanceolate, about four inches
in length by less than two in breadth, smooth, and scrobiculate at the axils
of the veins beneath.  The flowers are in axillary, downy, corymbose pani-
cles.   The tree grows on the declivities of the mountains,  at an elevation
of from about a mile to  a mile and a half,  and  in  a mean temperature
of 67° F.  It was seen by Humboldt and Bonpland in the  neighbourhood
of Loxa, and is said also  to grow near Guancabamba and Ayavaca in Peru.
It is now generally  admitted to be  the source of the crown  bark of Loxa,
and is recognised as such by the Edinburgh College.
   2.  C. micrantha. Ruiz  and  Pavon.  Ft. Peruv. ii. 52. t. 194; Lindley,
Flor.  Med. 412.—C. scrobiculata, Humb.  and Bonpl. Plant. Equin. i.
p. 165. t. 47.   Lindley has no  hesitation in uniting the C. scrobiculata of
Humboldt and Bonpland with the C. micrantha of Ruiz and Pavon.  It is
a large tree, attaining the height of forty feet, with oblong leaves, from four
to twelve inches in  length and from two to six in breadth,  scarcely acute,
smooth, shining on the upper surface, and scrobiculate at the axils of the
veins beneath.  The flowers are in terminal, loose, leafless panicles, and
are smaller than those of any other species except the C. lancifolia. {Lind-
ley.)   The tree was seen by Humboldt and Bonpland forming large forests
in the mountains near the city of Jaen de Bracomoros.  It  grows also, ac-
cording to Ruiz and Pavon, in the mountains near Chicoplaya, Monzon,
and Puebla de San Antonio, and, according to Poppig, at Cuchero.  Large
quantities of  the bark are collected by the people of Jaen,  and sent to the
coast to be shipped to Lima; and Ruiz  states that it is  always mixed with
that sent into the market  from the provinces  of Panatahuas,  Huamilies, and
Huanuco.  The Edinburgh College ascribes to this species their Cinchona 
r
 216                          Cinchona.                       parti.

 cinerea, the gray or silver bark of British commerce, frequently called also
 Huanuco bark.  It undoubtedly contributes to furnish the officinal pale bark.
   3. C. lancifolia.  Mutis, Period, de Santa Fe,  p. 465;  Lindley, Flor.
 Med. 415.—C. angustifolia. Pavon, Quinolog. Suppl. p. 14.  This species
 has been shorn of much of its honours by Lindley, who has separated from
 it the C. nitida and C. lanceolata of Ruiz and Pavon,  the union of which
 with it by other botanists  had given it an unmerited importance.  As seen
 by Mutis, it is a very handsome tree, from thirty to forty-five feet in height,
 with a trunk from one to four feet in  diameter.  Its leaves  are oblong-lan-
 ceolate, very acute at each end, revolute at the edge, smooth above, and not
 scrobiculate.  The  flowers, which are the  smallest in the genus,  are in
 five-flowered axillary cymes. {Lindley.)  This species is a native of New
 Granada.   The  London and Dublin Colleges ascribe  to it one of the offi-
 cinal varieties of bark, under the  impression,  probably, that the species is
 identical with the C. Condaminea, and therefore affords the most esteemed
 pale bark of the  shops.   This, however, has been ascertained  to be a mis-
 take.   The product of the C. lancifolia is one of the Carthagena barks, and
 is of inferior quality.  It was named orange bark—quina naranjanda—by
 Mutis, and  a specimen  deposited by  Humboldt,  under this name,  in the
 Museum of Natural History of Paris, was found by Guibourt to be identical
 with his spongy Carthagena bark.   That the tree cannot  produce  one of
 the valuable varieties is  proved by the fact, that none of these  comes from
 Carthagena, through which the bark of the C. lancifolia must  be exported.
   4. C. cordifolia.  Mutis, in Humb. Magaz. Berlin, 1807, p. 117; Lind-
 ley, Flor. Med. 839.  This is a spreading tree, fifteen  or twenty feet high,
 rising on a  single, erect, round stem, which is covered with a smooth bark,
 of a  brownish-gray colour.  The bark  of the smaller  branches is lighter
 coloured.   The leaves vary much in form, but some of a heart-shape are to
 be found on almost every branch.   They are usually roundish-ovate, about
 nine  inches long, smooth and  shining  on the upper surface, ribbed and
 pubescent on the  under.   The flowers  are in thyrsoid, brachiate,  tomen-
 tose panicles.  This species was first discovered by Mutis in the mountains
 about Santa Fe de Bogota  in New Granada, and grows at elevations varying
 from 5800 to 9500 feet.   It is considered by the London and Dublin Col-
 leges as  the source of the yellow bark of the shops.  It has  been ascer-
 tained beyond the possibility of doubt, that it does not produce the  valuable
 or officinal  yellow bark, which never comes  from the region where it is
 known to grow.   Guibourt has found that the quina amarilla de Santa Fe
 or yellow bark of Santa Fe, which is  probably produced by the C. cordi-
 folia, is identical  with hard Carthagena bark.
   5.  C. magnifolia. Ruiz and Pavon,  Ft. Peruv. ii.  53. t. 196.—C. ob-
 longifolia, Mutis.—There has been some confusion in relation  to these two
 species.  The London and Dublin Colleges,  in recognising the C. oblongi-
folia  as the source of the officinal red bark, undoubtedly had  in view the
 plant discovered by Mutis in New  Granada, at the same  time that the former
 college gives the authority of Lambert for the name.  Now  Lindley has
 ascertained that the  C. oblongifolia of Lambert is  in fact a different plant
 from that of Mutis of the same name, and  believes with the authors of the
 Flora Peruviana,  that the latter is identical with their C. magnifolia.  We
 shall, therefore, take it for granted, that this is the plant intended by the
 London College,  the bark of the C.  oblongifolia of Lambert being wholly
 unknown.   The C.  oblongifolia of Mutis is  a stately tree with very large
 leaves,  which are oblong, strongly ribbed,  smooth and  shining on both
 surfaces, and often a foot in length exclusive of the footstalk.  The flowers 
PART I.
Cinchona.
217
are in large, terminal, leafless thyrses, and have a fragrant odour, not unlike
that of orange-blossoms, from  which circumstance, the tree has received the
name of Cascarillo de Flor de Azahar.   This species grows in New Gra-
nada, and, according to Ruiz and Pavon, is abundant also on the mountains
of Panatahuas, about  Cuchero, Chincao, Chacahuassi, &c.   Some years
since,  it was considered as indisputably the source of the best red bark of
commerce, ascribed to it by the London and  Dublin Pharmacopoeias.  A
little reflection might have convinced those acquainted with the commerce
in bark, that this reference was incorrect; for who ever hears of the officinal
red bark as coming from Carthagena? and yet this is the port from which
the product of the C. oblongifolia, growing in  New Granada, is shipped.
The tree does, undoubtedly, as  asserted by  Mutis, produce a red bark; but
it is the red  Carthagena bark, the quina  roxa de Santa Fe of Ruiz, a
comparatively valueless variety, wholly distinct from the efficient red bark
brought from  the Pacific, and  so highly esteemed  as a febrifuge.   Ruiz
speaks of it as of inferior quality and little esteemed; and Bergen and Gui-
bourt have proved it to be identical with the worthless quina nova or new
bark of European commerce.
   The foregoing species have been particularly noticed, because recognised
in some of the Pharmacopoeias as the sources of officinal varieties of  bark.
 The following, for a description  of which  we refer to Lindley's Flora
 Medica, yield barks possessing febrifuge properties.—6. C. nitida of the
 Flora Peruviana, incorrectly confounded, according to Lindley, with C. lan-
 ceolata by De Candolle, and C. Condaminea by Lambert, grows in groves,
in cold situations upon  the Andes, in the Peruvian provinces of Huanuco,
 Tarma, Huamilies, and Xauxa, and  affords  a bark which is very highly es-
teemed in those places, though unknown as a distinct variety in commerce.__
7. C. lucumaefolia of Pavon, confounded by Lambert with C. Condaminea,
grows near  Loxa, and probably contributes to the Loxa or pale barks.—
8. C. lanceolata of the Flora Peruviana, is found at Cuchero and various other
places fifteen or twenty leagues distant from Huanuco, where it forms groves
in lofty cold situations upon the Andes.  Its bark is said by Ruiz and Pavon
to be called yellow bark, from the colour of its inner surface, and to resemble
Cahsaya bark in flavour.  Ruiz, indeed, conjectures that it is the source of
that highly valued variety of bark, in which case, the tree must also grow
in Bolivia at a great distance from its known locality.—9.  C. ovalifolia of
Humboldt and Bonpland, the C. Humboldtiana of Rcem. and Schult, and
of De Cand.,  is a shrub from  six to nine feet high, inhabiting the province
of Cuenca, where it forms considerable forests.  It probably contributes to
the Loxa barks, although its product is said to be of inferior quality.—10  C
ovata of the Fl. Peruv. grows  in close groves, in warm situations; at the'foot
ot  the Andes, near Pozuzo and Panao, about ten leagues  from Huanuco
Lindley considers it quite distinct from the C.pubescens of Vahl, and C cor-
difolia of Mutis, with  both of  which  it has been confounded.  Ruiz calls its
bark cascarillo pallido  or pale bark, and states that it was not to be found in
commerce, though employed at Panao  in the preparation  of an extract of
cinchona.  Von Bergen, however, upon  comparing a specimen of the cas-
carillo pallido m the collection of Ruiz with the Jaen bark, found them iden-
tical in  character.—11. C. pubescens of Vahl,  considered by Lindley as
identical with the C. purpurea of the Fl. Peruv.,  is a tree  of considerable
magnitude, distinguished by the violet tint of its large leaves, and the purple
colour of its flowgrs. It occurs in groves on the lower mountain ridrres in the
provinces of Loxa, Jaen, Panatahuas, &c, was seen by Piippig afCuchuo,
and is said to grow also in New Granada.   The bark is of inferior quality,
       <4[) 
218
Cinchona.
PART I.
and is said to be employed for adulterating the better kinds.  A specimen
taken to Europe by Piippig, was found by Reichel to be identical with the
Huamilies bark of commerce.—12. C. hirsuta of the Fl. Peruv. grows on
wooded mountains in the province of Panatahuas near Huanuco, and is said
to yield a  good bark, called formerly quina delgadilla or delgada, but now
scarcely collected.—13. C. glandulifera of the Fl. Peruv. is a shrub of about
twelve feet, flourishing on the  high mountains of the  region N. W. of Hu-
anuco, and yielding an  excellent bark, unknown in commerce, called by the
inhabitants cascarillo negrillo from its blackish epidermis.  In its flowering
season, it  perfumes the forests by the strong scent of its blossoms.—14. C.
acutifolia of the Fl. Peruv., discovered by Tafalla in  the Peruvian Andes,
north of Huanuco, yields a very inferior bark,  said  by Ruiz and Pavon
sometimes to occur in parcels of the better kinds.—15. C. macrocarpa of
Vahl, identical,  according to  Ruiz and Pavon,  with the  C. ovalifolia of
Mutis, is a shrub of about eight feet in height, forming considerable forests
in the provinces of Loxa and Cuenca, found  by Mutis in New Granada,
and said to grow as  far  north as Santa Martha.  Its bark is called quina
blanca or  white bark, probably from the colour of the epidermis, and is not
highly esteemed.  May not this  species be the  source of the commercial
variety of Cinchona brought from Maracaybo and Santa Martha?
   Besides the above species,  Lindley enumerates, 16. C. rotundifolia of
Ruiz and Pavon, growing in the province of Loxa; 17. C. villosa of Pavon,
the C. Humboldtiana of Lambert, growing  at Jaen of Loxa;  18.  C. oblon-
gifolia of Lambert, in  the same  locality; 19. C. caduciflora of Bonpland,
growing near  Jaen de Bracomoros; 20. C. stenocarpa of Lambert, inha-
biting the  mountains of Loxa; and 21.  C.  cava  of Pavon, the C. Pavonii
of Lambert, which is found in Quito.   None of  these are  known to yield
bark to commerce.  The  C. dichotoma of the Flora Peruviana, C. macro-
calyx of De Candolle, C. crassifolia of Pavon in De Candolle's Prodromus,
C. Pelalba of the same  authority,  and C. Muzonensis of Goudot in De
Candolle's Prodromus, are considered by Lindley as uncertain species.

                       Commercial History.

   For more than a century after Peruvian bark  came into use, it was pro-
cured almost exclusively  from Loxa and the neighbouring provinces.  In a
memoir published A. D. 1738, La Condamine speaks of the bark of Rhio-
bambo, Cuenca,  Ayavaca, and Jaen de Bracomoros.   Of these places, the
first two, together with Loxa, lie within the ancient kingdom of Quito, at its
southern extremity; the others are in the same vicinity, within the borders
of Peru.   The drug was  shipped chiefly at the Port of Payta, from which
it was carried  to Spain, and thence spread over Europe.  Beyond the limits
above mentioned, the Cinchona was not supposed to  exist, till, in the year
1753, a gentleman of Loxa, familiar with the aspect of the tree, discovered
it while on a journey from the place of his residence to Santa Fe de Bogota,
in numerous situations along his route, wherever, in fact, the elevation of
the country was equal to that of Loxa, or about 6,500 feet above  the level
of the sea.  This discovery extended  quite through Quito into the kingdom
of New Granada, as far as two degrees and  a half north of the equator.  But
no practical advantage  was derived  from it; and  the information lay buried
in the archives of the vice-royalty, till subsequent events brought it to light.
To Mutis undoubtedly belongs the credit of making known the existence of
the Cinchona  in New Granada.  He first discovered it in the neighbourhood
of Bogota, in  the year  1772.   A botanical expedition was  some time after- 
PART I.
Cinchona.
219
wards organized by the Spanish government, with the view of exploring this
part of their American dominions, and the direction of it was given to Mutis.
The researches of the expedition eventuated in the discovery of several  spe-
cies of the Cinchona in  New Granada, and a commerce  in the bark soon
commenced,  which  was afterwards increased,  and carried on with great
vigour through the ports of Carthagena and Santa Martha.  The English
and North  Americans,  opening a  contraband trade with these  ports, were
enabled to undersell the Spanish  merchant, who received his  supplies by
the circuitous route of Cape Horn; and the barks of New Granada were
soon as abundant as those of Loxa in the markets of Europe.
   To these sources another was added about the  same time, A. D. 1776, by
the discovery of the Cinchona  in the centre of Peru, in the mountainous
region about the city of Huanuco,  which lies on  the eastern declivity of the
Andes, to the north-east of Lima, at least six degrees to the south of the  pro-
vince of Loxa.   To explore this new locality, another botanical expedition
was set on foot, at the head of which were Ruiz and Pavon, the distin-
guished authors of the Flora Peruviana.   These  botanists spent  several
years in this  region, during which time they discovered numerous species
that were afterwards described  in their Flora.   Lima became the entrepot
for the barks collected around Huanuco; and hence probably originated the
name of Lima bark, so often conferred, in common language, not only upon
the varieties received through that city, but also upon the medicine generally.
   Soon after the last mentioned discovery, two additional localities of the
 Cinchona were  found, one at the northern  extremity of the continent  near
 Santa Martha, the other very far to the  south, in  the provinces of La  Paz
 and Cochabamba, then  within the vice-royalty  of Buenos  Ayres,  now
 attached to the republic of Bolivia.  These latter places became the source
 of an abundant supply of excellent bark, which  received the name of Cali-
 saya bark.  It was sent partly to the ports on the Pacific, partly to Buenos
 Ayres.
   The consequence of these discoveries, following each other in such rapid
succession, was a vast  increase in the supply of bark, which  was  now
shipped from the ports of Guayaquil, Payta, Lima, Arica, Buenos Ayres,
Carthagena, and Santa Martha.  At the same time, the average quality  was
probably deteriorated; for, though many of the new varieties were possessed
of excellent properties, yet equal  care in superintending the collection and
assorting of the article could not be exercised now that the field was so ex-
 tended, as  when it was confined to a  small portion of the South of Quito
and North of Peru.   The varieties which were poured into the market soon
became so numerous as to burthen  the memory,  if not to defy the discrimi-
nation of the druggist; and the best pharmaceutists found themselves at a loss
to discover any permanent peculiarities, which might serve as the basis of a
proper and useful classification.  This perplexity has continued more or less
to the present time; though the  discovery of the new alkaline principles has
presented  a ground of distinction which was before unknown.   The restric-
tions upon the commerce with  South America,  by directing the  trade into
irregular channels, had  also a tendency to  deteriorate the character of the
drug.  In the complexity of contrivance to which it was necessary to resort,
to deceive the vigilance of the government, little  attention could be paid to a
proper assortment of the several varieties; and not only were the best barks
mixed with those of inferior species and less  careful preparation, but the
products of other  trees, bearing  no resemblance to the Cinchona,  were
sometimes added, having been artificially prepared so as to deceive a careless
observer.   The markets of this country were peculiarly ill furnished.   The 
220
Cinchona.
PART I.
supplies  being derived chiefly, by means of a contraband trade, from Car-
thagena  and other ports  on the Spanish Main, or indirectly through the
Havana, were necessarily of an inferior character;  and the little good bark
which reached us  was imported by our  druggists from London, whither it
was sent from Cadiz.  A great change, however, in this respect, has taken
place  since the ports on the Pacific  have been opened  to our commerce.
The best kinds of bark have thus been  rendered directly accessible to us;
and increased intelligence in the community has co-operated with the facility
of supply,  to exclude from our markets that kind of trash with which they
were  formerly glutted.  Our ships trading to  the  Pacific,  run along the
American coast from Valparaiso to Guayaquil, stopping at the intermediate
ports  of  Coquimbo, Copiapo, Arica, Callao, Truxillo, &c, from  all which
they probably receive supplies of  bark in exchange for the mercury, piece-
goods, flour, &c,  which constitute their outward cargo.
  The persons who collect  the bark are called in South America Cascaril-
leros.  Considerable experience and judgment are requisite to render an
individual well qualified for this  business.  He must not only be able to
distinguish the trees which produce good bark from those  less esteemed,
but must also know the proper season and the age at which a  branch should
be decorticated, and the marks by which the efficiency or inefficiency of any
particular product  is indicated.   The bark gatherers begin their operations
with the setting in of the dry season,  in May.  Sometimes they first cut
down the tree,  and afterwards strip off the bark from the branches; in other
instances, they decorticate the tree while standing.   The former plan is said
to be  the most economical; as, when the tree is cut  down, the stump pushes
up shoots which in course of time become fit for decortication, while, if de-
prived of its bark, the whole plant perishes.   The operator separates the
bark by making a  longitudinal incision with a sharp knife through its whole
thickness, and then forcing it off from the branch with the back of the instru-
ment.   Other means are resorted to when the trunk or larger limbs are
decorticated.  According to Poppig, the bark is not separated until three
or four days after the tree  is felled.   It must then be speedily dried, as
otherwise it becomes deteriorated.  For this purpose it  is taken out of the
woods into the vicinity of some inhabited place, where it is  exposed to the
sun.   In the drying process it rolls itself up, or in technical language be-
comes quilled, and  the degree to which this  effect takes place, is propor-
tionate directly to  the thinness of  the bark, and inversely to  the age of the
branch from  which it  was derived.   In packing the bark for exportation,
due care is seldom taken to  assort the varieties  according either to the spe-
cies of Cinchona  by which they  are furnished, or to their resemblance in
appearance  and character; and it often happens that  several  different kinds
are introduced  into the same case.  The packages are,  in commercial lan-
guage, called seroons.  As  found in this market they are usually covered
with a case of thick and stiff ox-hide, which is lined within by a very coarse
cloth, apparently woven  out of some kind of grass.
  The Cinchona forests, being in very thinly inhabited districts, do not, for
the most part, belong to  individuals, and are  open to the enterprise of all
who choose to engage in the collection  of the bark.   The consequence is,
that the operations are carried on without reference to the future condition
of this important  interest, and the most wasteful modes of  proceeding are
adopted if they save present trouble, or contribute to immediate profit. Some
fears  are entertained that the sources of this most valuable drug may in time
become exhausted, and the  government of Bolivia  considered  it  necessary
to enact a law, prohibiting the cutting of bark within its limits for five year? 
PART I.
Cinchona.
221
 from the commencement of 1838. The law, however, has probably not been
 very rigidly enforced; as there has been in the market no extraordinary defi-
 ciency of Calisaya bark, which is the variety collected in Bolivia.  Indeed,
 the great extent to which the Cinchona  forests  prevail, spreading, as they
 do, with some interruptions,  over more than thirty degrees of latitude, and
 prevailing  in regions which can  never be applied to agricultural purposes,
 almost precludes the idea of their even remote extinction.

                            Classification.

    To form a correct and lucid system of classification  is the most difficult
 part of the subject of bark, which is throughout full  of perplexities.  An
 arrangement founded on the botanical species,  though the  most scientific
 and satisfactory when attainable, is in the present instance utterly out of the
 question.  There are few varieties, of the precise origin of which we can
 be said to have any certain  knowledge; by far  the greater number being
 either derived  from  an unknown source, or but obscurely traceable to the
 species producing them.
    The Spanish merchants  adopted a classification dependent partly on the
 place of growth or shipment, and partly on the inherent properties, or sup-
 posed relative  value of the bark.  So long as the sources of the drug were
 very confined, and the number  of varieties  small, this  plan answered the
 purposes of trade; but at present it is  altogether inadequate; and, though
 some of the names originally conferred upon this  principle are still retained,
 they have ceased to be expressive of the truth,  and are often erroneously,
 almost always confusedly applied.   The Loxa barks  embrace, among us,
 not  only those which come  from that province, but  those also  from the
 neighbourhood  of Huanuco; while others,  which have received  different
 names, are brought from the same place.  It is said that, by the traders in
 South America, the young slender gray barks are  called by the  name of
 Loxa, from whatever source  they may be derived; while  those somewhat
 larger and  older receive their appellation from Lima.
   Perhaps the best arrangement for pharmaceutical and medicinal purposes
 is that adopted in the United States Pharmacopoeia, founded upon difference
 of colour.  It is true that dependence cannot be  placed  upon this property
 alone; as barks of a similar colour have been found to possess very  different
 virtues; and between the various  colours considered characteristic, there is
 an insensible gradation of shade,  so that it is not always possible to decide
 where one ends and the other begins.  Still it has been found that the most
 valuable barks, which are brought almost exclusively from the western or
 Pacific coast of South America,  and  are recognised only as coming from
 this source by our  Pharmacopoeia, may be arranged,  according  to their
 colour, in three divisions, which, though mingling  at  their extremes,  are
 very distinctly  characterized, in certain specimens, by peculiarity not only
 in colour, but  also in other sensible properties,  and even in chemical con-
 stitution.   The three divisions alluded to are the pale, the yellow,  and  the
 red.  These may be considered as exclusively the officinal barks; while the
 inferior varieties which approach one or other of these classes in colour, but
 differ in other properties, may be  treated  as  extra-officinal, and considered
 under a separate head.   As these  inferior kinds come chiefly if not exclu-
sively from the northern ports of New  Granada and Venezuela, they are
known in commerce  by the name of Carthagena barks, and by this  name
vyill be described in the present work.   Parcels of little value may be occa-
sionally imported from the Pacific coast of South America; but the quantity
                                 20* 
222
Cinchona.
PART I.
is small, as the  profit  they would yield would  not pay the  expense of so
long  a voyage.  In describing, therefore,  the different kinds of bark, we
shall  treat first of the officinal varieties under the three heads of pale, yellow,
and red, and secondly  of the extra-officinal under the  title of Carthagena
barks.  The commercial name will at the same time be given in all instances
in which a knowledge  of it can be useful in this country.  It is proper here
to state, that the different barks  frequently come to us mingled in the same
package, and that, in deciding upon the character of a  seroon, the druggist
is guided rather by the predominance than the exclusive existence of certain
distinctive properties.
   There is a remarkable difference in the epidermis or outer covering of the
strictly officinal barks from the western coast of South America, and that of
the extra-officinal or Cathagena barks, from the ports of the  Caribbean sea.
In the former, the epidermis is cracked, rugose, and of a brownish  colour,
and, when  apparently  whitish, is  so  in  consequence of adhering lichens,
upon  the removal of which by scraping the normal colour appears;  in  the
latter, it is comparatively destitute of fissures, smooth, whitish or yellowish-
white, and micaceous.

                            1.  Pale Bark.
   The epithet pale applied to these barks is derived from the colour of the
powder.  The  French call them quinquinas gris, or gray barks, from the
colour of the epidermis.  They come into the market in cylindrical pieces
of variable length, from a few inches to a foot and a half, sometimes singly,
sometimes doubly quilled, from two lines to an inch in diameter, and from
half a line to two or three  lines  in thickness.   The finest kinds are about
the size of  a goosequill.   Their exterior surface  is usually more or less
rough, marked with circular and sometimes with  longitudinal fissures, and
of a grayish colour, owing to the lichens which cover the epidermis. The
shade is different in different samples.   Sometimes it is a light gray, ap-
proaching to white, sometimes dull and brown, sometimes a grayish-fawn,
and frequently  diversified by the intermixture of the proper colour of the
epidermis with  that of  the  patches of  lichens attached  to it.   The interior
surface, in the finer kinds, is smooth; in the coarser it is occasionally rough
and somewhat ligneous.  Its colour is uniformly a brownish-orange, some-
times  inclining to red, sometimes to yellow, and in  some inferior  specimens
is of a dusky hue.  The fracture is usually clear, with some  short filaments
on the internal  part only.   In the coarser barks it is more fibrous.  The
colour of the powder is a pale fawn, which is of a deeper hue in the inferior
kinds.  The taste is moderately bitter and somewhat astringent, without
being disagreeable or nauseous.  Authors  speak also of an acidulous and
aromatic flavour, which is less evident.   The superior kinds have a feeble
odour, which is distinct and  agreeably aromatic in the powder and  decoc-
tion.  The pale barks  are  chemically characterized by containing a much
larger proportion of cinchonia than of quinia; and their infusion does not
yield  a precipitate with solution of sulphate of soda.  Their appearance
indicates that they were derived from the smaller branches.  They are col-
lected in the provinces  about Loxa, or in the country which surrounds the
city of Huanuco to the  north-east of Lima, and are  probably derived chiefly
from the C. Condaminea and C. micrantha.
   There are  several commercial varieties of pale  bark, obtained from dif-
ferent sources, and  differing more  or less in their properties.   The most
highly esteemed of these is the Loxa  bark, the finest specimens of which
are sometimes called crown bark of Loxa, from the impression that they
have  the same  origin and  character with the bark formerly selected with 
PART I.
Cinchona.
223
great care for the use of the king of Spain and the royal family.   The pale
bark collected about Huanuco is either named Lima bark, because taken to
that city for corrfmercial distribution, ox Huanuco bark, from its place of col-
lection.  The former name has been  more common in this country, where,
indeed, this commercial variety has not unfrequently been confounded with
the Loxa bark.   Other pale barks are  the Jaen and Huamilies barks, which
are scarcely known as distinct varieties in the United  States.*

  * Since the publication of the  first  edition  of this Dispensatory, we have had an
opportunity of examining Von Bergen's splendid work upon bark, entitled Versuch einer
Monographic der China, published  in Hamburg in the year 1826.   His descriptions are
undoubtedly among the most precise and accurate which have  been published, and we
have availed ourselves of them in drawing up the following sketch of the  varieties which
maybe arranged under the head of pale bark. We have also consulted, in relation to this
subject, the works  of the  French pharmaceutical writers, particularly that of Guibourt,
and the elaborate German work of Geiger, entitled Handbuch der Pharmacie, Sfc, and,
since the last  edition of this Dispensatory, the more recent English treatise on Materia
Medica  by Pereira.  We have thrown our remarks into the form of a note; as the infor-
mation in relation  to these different varieties can be of little practical use  to the student,
though it may possibly serve to aid the discrimination of the druggist in the purchase of
bark, by enabling him to decide on the relative value of the different parcels submitted to
his notice.
   1. Loxa  Bark.  Crown Bark.—Quinquina de  Loxa,  Fr.—Loza-China, Kron-China,
Germ.—This is in cylindrical tubes, strongly  rolled, from six to fifteen inches  long,
from two lines to  an inch in diameter, and from half a  line to two lines thick.   The
outer surface is more or less rough, seldom much wrinkled longitudinally, but marked
with numerous transverse fissures, which usually run round the bark, and divide it into
rings, the edges of which are  somewhat elevated.   In the  smallest quills these fissures
are not very obvious; in the larger, they are distant and apt to be  interrupted.  In the
largest the surface is sometimes very rough and even warty.  The proper colour  of the
epidermis is dark-gray, sometimes almost black, sometimes ash-coloured, and occasion-
ally inclining to fawn; but frequently diversified by whitish lichens, which are in some
instances so numerous as to cover almost the whole exterior of the bark, and give it a
light-gray appearance.  The inner surface  is smooth and uniform, and of the colour of
cinnamon, with occasionally a reddish tinge.  The fracture  in the smaller quills is quite
smooth, in the larger somewhat fibrous.  The bark is of a rather  firm consistence, and
when cut transversely exhibits a resinous character.  Its odour is compared by Guibourt
to that perceived in damp woods, by Von Bergen to that of tan. Its taste is acidulous,
astringent, and  bitterish.  The powder  is of a  dull cinnamon  colour.   This variety of
bark appears to contain, on an average of  several results stated by Geiger,  about  0*48
per cent, of cinchonia, and 006 of quinia.   In  the  thicker pieces, which appear to be
richest in the organic alkalies, Thiel found 1-0 per cent, of cinchonia, and  0-03 of quinia.
According  to Soubeiran,  one pound of Loxa bark yields from  a drachm and a half to
two drachms of sulphate  of cinchonia.  The strong  reaction of a solution  of gelatin
indicates the presence  of  much tannin. Guibourt, in the edition of his Histoire des
Drogues printed in 1836, describes several varieties of Loxa  bark, one answering to
the above,  under the name of Quinquina gris  brun de Loxa, a  second, under that of
quinquina de Loxa cendre, which he considers identical  with the  Jaen bark of Von
Bergen, and two others both of which he  calls  quinquina de Loxa Jibreux.   Of these
two, one is probably not  found in commerce, and the other is the variety described
in his  former edition as  the Quinquina gris de  Loxa.   This is  characterized by its
light-gray colour externally, and by its extreme thinness, which is observable even in
the pieces taken from the larger branches,  the bark being almost as thin and  as much
rolled as Ceylon cinnamon.  It is very rare. In the seroons of Loxa bark other kinds
are sometimes mixed with the  genuine.  Among them are quills of a bark supposed to
be identical with  the Huamilies,  (see Huamilies bark,) and  a variety which lias  been
called white Loxa bark, of unknown origin,  resembling the genuine except in the charac-
ter of its epidermis, which is whitish and micaceous like that of the Carthagena barks.
English druggists distinguish Loxa bark into 1. the picked crown bark, which consists of
the finest, thinnest, and longest quills; 2. the silvery crown bark, somewhat larger in
size, and characterized  by a whitish silvery appearance  of the  epidermis  derived from
adhering lichens; and 3. the leopard crown bark, named  from  its speckled appearance,
depending on whitish lichens alternating with  the dark brown epidermis.  Loxa bark
is thought to  be derived chiefly from the C. Condaminea, and  to have been the variety
first imported into Europe. 
224
Cinchona.
part r.
   In  this country, the pale bark has fallen into disuse; and the sales made by
the druggists are very small.  As it yields little quinia, it is not employed in
the manufacture of the sulphate of that alkali, which has almost superseded
the bark as a remedy in intermittents; and  the red bark is preferred by phy-

   2. Lima or Huanuco bark.   Cinchona Cinerea, Gray bark, Silver bark, Ed.—Quinquina
de Lima, Fr—China Huanuco, Graue. China, Germ.—The Lima or Huanuco bark was
introduced into notice about the year "1779, after the discovery of Cinchona trees in  the
central regions of Peru; but Poppig  says that the trade  in it began  in 1785.   The first
name originated from the circumstance that the bark entered into commerce through the
city of Lima, the second was  derived from the name of the city (Huanuco or  Guanuco),
in the  more immediate neighbourhood of which the trees were found.   The  dimensions
of this variety of bark do not  materially differ from those of the preceding, although in
the largest pieces the diameter is somewhat greater.  Many of the  smaller quills have a
more or less spiral form.  At the edge  of most of the complete quills, a sharp oblique
slit made with a knife is observable.  The epidermis is usually adherent.  The exterior
surface is marked  with longitudinal wrinkles,  which in the thick pieces are often so
deep as to amount  to  furrows, penetrating quite through the outer coating of the bark.
Transverse  fissures are also generally observable, but they never run wholly round the
quill, often not more  than a quarter or half round, and do not exhibit elevated borders.
In some pieces the outer layer of the epidermis is rubbed off either wholly or in spots,
and in a few the entire thickness of the external  layers, which  we usually denominate
the epidermis, is  here and there removed, exhibiting the proper bark in patches.  The
colour externally is very light gray, almost  milk-white, with occasionally bluish-gray
and darkish spots intermingled.   Where  the outer crust which imparts this whitish
colour is wanting, the  surface is grayish-fawn or reddish-gray, and in the thicker pieces
of a dark cinnamon colour.  The inner surface, though  in the smaller quills sometimes
tolerably uniform,  is generally more or  less uneven, fibrous,  or  splintery, especially in
the larger pieces, in which may often be observed adhering yellowish-white splinters of
wood.   The colour is usually a rusty-brown inclining somewhat to red, with occasionally
a purplish tinge.  The transverse fracture is smooth in the exterior part, fibrous or splin-
tery in the  interior.   The longitudinal  fracture is usually somewhat  uneven, without
being splintery, and exhibits here  and there minute shining spots.  The inner layers of
the bark are usually soft and friable.  The colour of the powder is  a full cinnamon-brown.
The odour of the bark is like that of clay, and in this respect different  from  that of all
other varieties.  The  taste is at first acidulous, astringent, and slightly aromatic, and
ultimately bitter and adhesive.  The proportion of cinchonia contained in Huanuco bark,
by an  average of several results stated by Geiger, is 1-72 per  cent., of  quinia 0-29 per
cent.   Von Santen got from the best specimens, as the maximum, 2-73 per cent, of cin-
chonia and no quinia.  The most productive pieces are those of middling size.   Guibourt
makes two varieties of this bark, the quinquina gris Jin de Lima, including the smaller
quills,  and the quinquina gros Lima, or Lima Mane, including the larger.  It has  been
raised  to the rank of a distinct officinal variety by the Edinburgh  College.  Little, if any
of it, is brought to this country; and, according to Poppig, the trade in it ceased in South
America in  1815.  This variety of bark is  now confidently ascribed to the C. micrantha.
(Sec C. micrantha.)
   3. Jaen bark. Ash-bark.—China Jaen, Blasse  Ten-China, Germ.—Quinquina de Loxa
cendre  of Guibourt.   This  variety  probably  derives  its name  from the province  of
Jaen de Bracomoros, in the vicinity  of Loxa, where large quantities of  bark  have been
collected.  The Jaen bark is always in quills, which do not differ much in  size from
those of the  Loxa bark, but are distinguishable by being frequently curved longitudinally,
or bent in different directions,  and  somewhat spiral.  The outer coat is often partially  or
entirely rubbed off, leaving the surface smooth and soft to the touch.  When the epidermis
is  perfect, it exhibits small irregular transverse  fissures, with occasionally faint longitu-
dinal fissures and wavy wrinkles, and here and there a few warts, but no deep furrows.
The colour varies from  light  or  ash-gray  to light yellow, diversified with blackish and
brownish spots.  When the outer  coat is rubbed  off, it  inclines still  more  to yellow.
Considered  in mass, the bark always appears somewhat yellowish or straw-coloured.  The
exterior layers are soft and rather spongy, and may be readily scraped by the nail.  The
inner surface is exceedingly diversified, sometimes  smooth, sometimes uneven and splin-
tery.   It is usually of a dull cinnamon colour.  The bark is very brittle, and the fracture
is  smooth in the smaller quills, more or less uneven, and sometimes splintery in the larger,
and in neither exhibits a resinous appearance.   The odour is somewhat sweetish, and is
compared to that of tan.   The taste is acidulous, slightly astringent, and bitter without
being disagreeable.   The colour of the powder is  cinnamon-brown.  This bark is very 
PART I.
Cinchona.
225
sicians, when it is necessary to resort to the medicine in substance.   There;
is little doubt, however, that cinchonia possesses febrifuge properties little
if at all inferior to those of quinia; and should the source of the latter begin
to fail,  the pale bark would come  into more  extensive use for the prepara-
tion of the former.

                              2. Yellow Bark.

   The  officinal term yellow bark  should  be considered  as applicable only
to the valuable variety of the drug having this colour.   This  is known in
commerce under the name of Calisaya, which has  been said, though  erro-
neously, to be derived from a district of country in  Bolivia, near the  city of
La Paz, where the bark is collected.*  Among the druggists, the Calisaya

 deficient in alkalies.  Some experimenters have found none, or only traces, while the
highest  product obtained was  80 grains of quinia  and 13  grains  of cinchonia from a
pound.   It is, therefore, without value.   Von Bergen believes it to be the product of the
C. ovata of the Fl. Peruv.  It is exported from South America chiefly in chests.
   Von Bergen describes another variety of pale  bark, under the name of dark Jaen bark
(dunkele Ten-China), or pseudo Loxa, which bears  a considerable  resemblance to the
genuine Loxa, but may be distinguished by the  oblique or bent shape of the quills, and
the uneven, fibrous, or even splintery appearance of the inner surface.  It seldom comes
in large pieces.  It contains very little of the active principles of bark.  Von Santen dis-
covered  neither quinia nor cinchonia in  two specimens which he examined.  Its  general
appearance, and strong reaction with a solution of gelatin, appear to associate it with the
Loxa bark;  and Geiger's  conjecture is not improbable, that it is the product of the same
tree growing in unfavourable situations, or altered by disease.
   4. Huamilies bark.—China Huamilies, Germ.—This bark is not generally known as a
 distinct  variety, though probably identical with the quinquina ferrugineux, or ferruginous
 bark of the French  writers.  Its commercial name  was undoubtedly derived from the
 province of Huamilies, which lies in the interior of Peru, to the northward of Huanuco,
and is a part of the country explored by the botanical  expedition under  Ruiz and Pavon.
It came into notice in Germany about the beginning of the present century, when a parcel
of it was imported  directly from Lima into Hamburg.  It is in quills and flat pieces.
The quills are from three lines to an inch and a half in diameter, from  five to  sixteen
inches long, and from half a line to three lines thick.  The flat pieces, which are usually
only fragments of the largest quills, are from one to two inches broad, and six to twelve
inches long.  In general all the layers of the bark are present, but sometimes the outer
coat, and even the whole of that  part usually called the epidermis in our descriptions of
bark, (including those outer layers which in  the tree are destitute of vitality, having been
thrown  outward  by  the annually renewed layers beneath them,) are wanting in spots,
 though very seldom  entirely absent.  The epidermis is comparatively thin, very brittle,
 soft, and spongy.  The outer surface, in the small and middling quills, is sometimes nearly
 smooth, but usually marked with wavy  longitudinal wrinkles, and beset here  and there
with  warts.  These warts are abundant upon the  thick pieces, which ihey sometimes
almost entirely cover. Transverse fissures are seldom found, and only in the thick pieces.
.The colour of the epidermis is usually grayish-fawn, here and there passing into a rusty
brown;  but in the thicker pieces, in which the warts  are abundant, it is between a liver
and chestnut colour, often mixed with a tinge of purple.  When the epidermis is wanting,
the colour is often a full ochre yellow.   The inner surface  is sometimes uniform and
almost smooth, sometimes slightly fibrous, rarely splintery.  The colour of the surface is
rusty brown, occasionally  reddish, and in the fibrous or splintery pieces of an ochre yellow.
The fracture in the smaller quills is rather even,  in the larger presents short fibres, and is
sometimes even splintery.  The odour of the bark is feeble but agreeable, the taste some-
what aromatic, bitterish, and slightly astringent.   The powder is of a full cinnamon colour.
The average product of cinchonia and quinia, as  stated by Geiger, is 0-67 per cent, of the
former,  and 0'25 of the latter; so that the bark, though dissimilar in appearance from the
other varieties of pale bark, agrees with them in  containing more  cinchonia than quinia.         i
Von Santen obtained, as a maximum, 1-2 per cent, of  cinchonia, and  little or  no quinia.
Huamilies bark is now believed to be the product of the C. purpurea  of the Flor. Peruv.
(See C.  pubescens.)  It is scarcely known in the United States.  {Note to Second  Edition,
altered in the fourth  and fifth.)
  * No such province exists in Bolivia. According to M. Liubert, the name is a cor-
ruption  of colisalla, said  to be derived  from colla, a remedy, and salla, a rocky  coyjnlry.
(Journ. de Pharm. xxii. 614.) 
226
Cinchona.
part r.
bark is arranged in two divisions, the quilled and the flat, which sometimes
come mixed together in the same seroon, sometimes separate.  The appear-
ance of both indicates that they were taken from larger and older branches
than those which yield the pale varieties.   They are  sometimes called by
the French quinquina juane royal, from their resemblance to a variety of
bark formerly collected for the Spanish king.
   The quilled Calisaya {Calisaya arrolada of the Spanish Americans) is in
pieces from three or four inches to a foot and a half long, from a quarter of
an inch to two or three inches in diameter, and  of equally variable thickness.
The epidermis is of  a brownish  colour diversified or concealed by whitish
or yellowish lichens, is marked by longitudinal wrinkles  and  transverse
fissures, and is often  partially separated, and generally easily separable from
the proper bark.   In the larger kinds it is thick, rough, deeply indented by
the transverse fissures which often surround the quills, and is composed of
several layers separated from each other by a reddish-brown  membrane like
velvet.  The epidermis yields a dark-red powder, is tasteless, and possesses
none of the virtues of the bark.  It is  desirable, therefore, to get rid of it
before the bark is powdered, as the medicine is thus procured of greater
strength.   The bark  itself, without the epidermis, is from one to two lines
in thickness, of a fibrous texture, and when broken presents shining points,
apparently the termination of small fibres running longitudinally, which,
examined by the microscope, are found, when freed  from a salmon-coloured
powder that surrounds them, to be yellow and transparent.   They readily
separate when  the  bark is powdered, in the form  of spiculae, which, like
those of the cowhage, insinuate themselves into the skin, and produce a
disagreeable  itching  and irritation.   The colour of the  bark is brownish-
yellow with a tinge of orange,  the taste less astringent than that of the pale
bark, but  much more bitter;  and  the bitterness is somewhat peculiar.  The
external part of the proper bark is  more bitter and astringent, and conse-
quently stronger in medicinal power, than  the internal; probably from the
longer exposure of the latter to the action of air and moisture.  The odour
is faint, but when the bark is boiled resembles  that  of the  pale varieties.
The small quills closely resemble some of the pale  varieties in appearance,
but may be distinguished by their very bitter taste.
   The flat Calisaya  {Calisaya plancha of the Spaniards) which appears to
have been derived from the large branches and trunk, is in pieces of various
lengths, either quite  flat, or but slightly curved,  generally destitute of the
epidermis, and therefore presenting the yellowish  colour of the bark both
within and without.  It is usually thicker than the  quilled, more fibrous in
its texture, less compact, less bitter, and possessed of less medicinal power.
Though weaker than the proper bark of the quills, it is usually,  in equal
weight, more valuable than that variety, because  free from the useless epi-
dermis.
   The valuable yellow bark is characterized by its strongly bitter taste, with
comparatively  little  astringency; by its fine  brownish-yellow  somewhat
orange colour,  which is still brighter in the powder; and by containing a
large proportion of quinia with  very little  cinchonia.  The salts of quinia
and lime are so abundant  in its composition, that its infusion instantly pre-
cipitates a solution of sulphate of soda.   {Guibourt.)*

   * The Calisaya bark is the third variety of Von Bergen, who describes it under the
name of China Regia or Konig's China.  We give a brief abstract of his description,
omitting the form and dimensions, which are given  with sufficient minuteness in the 
PART I.
Cinchona.
227
   Nothing is known with certainty as to the particular species which yields
Calisaya bark.  Some writers, influenced simply by its officinal title of yel-
low bark, have attributed it to the C. cordifolia; because Mutis gave the same
name to the product of this species. The British Colleges fell into this error,

text.  The epidermis,* which  in many of the small quills is partly wanting, in the flat
pieces usually altogether absent, is very thick and brittle, constituting from a third to one-
half of the bark, and  in some of the largest quills, or partially quilled  pieces, even  two-
thirds.   In the latter  case it may often be seen to consist of six or eight different layers.
The quills are generally marked with longitudinal wrinkles and furrows, as well as  with
transverse fissures, the last of which are never absent.  The fissures, which  often form
complete circles round the quills, have  usually an elevated border, and  sink so deeply  in
many of the larger pieces,  that they are even  observable upon the proper bark.   In the
smaller pieces,  they are often  faint, but usually crowded.   The  colour of the epidermis
varies from whitish-gray to bluish.gray, but is very much diversified by lichens, so as to
present yellowish-white, ash-gray, and  blackish spots.  When the outer layer of  the epi-
dermis is wanting, as is not unlrequently the case  to a greater or less extent, the colour
is somewhat  sooty-brown, or almost liver-brown.  The outer surface of the pieces without
epidermis, is of a colour  between cinnamon-brown and dark rusty-brown.  The inner
surface,  in the  pieces  of all dimensions, is uniform and  almost smooth, but exhibits fine
longitudinal fibres closely compressed.  Splinters of wood are never found adhering to the
inner surface, as in some other varieties.  The prevailing colour  of this surface is mostly
a rather dark or full cinnamon-brown,  passing sometimes into a rusty-brown, but seldom
 of a reddish  hue.  This bark  breaks more easily in the longitudinal direction than any
 other variety, exhibiting a chestnut-brown colour in the part answering to the epidermis, a
 more or less dark cinnamon-brown in that answering to  the proper bark.  The transverse
 fracture of the epidermis is rather even, that  of the inner part sometimes fibrous, some-
 times splintery.  A resinous layer may be observed beneath the epidermis, which usually
 remains when the latter is removed, and communicates  to the flat pieces the dark colour
 by which their external surface is distinguished.  Small sharp splinters, which in the Ion-
 gitudinal fracture appear like shining points, are  apt to insinuate themselves into the
 skin, when the bark  is broken or much handled.   The odour is  feebly  tan-like, the  taste
 slightly acidulous, strorrgly but not disagreeably bitter, somewhat aromatic, feebly astrin-
 gent, and rather durable.   The powder is of a fine cinnamon hue.
    Thiel obtained from the flat Calisaya bark 2-3 per cent, of quinia, and 008 of cinchonia;
 Michaelis from the flat 3-7 per cent, and from the quill 2-0 per cent, of quinia, but no
 cinchonia from either; Von Santen  from the flat, an average of 2-0 per cent, of quinia,
 and little or  no cinchonia; Wittstock, on an average, 3-0 per cent of sulphate of quinia,
 and 0-12 of cinchonia. (Geiger.)
    Under the name of light Calisaya, Guibourt, in the last edition of his work, describes
 a variety of  bark  which he says is brought from the same region of country that pro-
 duces the genuine.   It is identical with that  named in previous editions orange-yellow
 bark (quinquina jaune orange), and is of comparatively little value, at least for the prepa-
 ration of sulphate of quinia, though the best specimens, as they contain  much cinchonia,
 are not without medicinal activity.   Like the Calisaya, it is in quills or flat pieces, some-
 times with and sometimes without the epidermis; but it may be distinguished by its  want
 of thickness,  its  finer and more compact  texture, and by a character which  is  most
 striking in the fresh specimens, viz., that of presenting a rose colour in the part which is
 near the epidermis, while the inner portion is of a pure yellow, so that the whole bark
 has an orange  colour.  The  epidermis, moreover, when present, is thin, smoother than
 that of the genuine Calisaya, and without the numerous transverse fissures which mark
 the latter bark.
    Another bark derived from the same region of country as  the preceding, and some-
 times sold as Calisaya bark, though wholly without quinia, is described by Guibourt under
 the name of Cusco bark, and has recently attracted some attention as the source of a new
 alkali discovered by MM. Pelletier  and Coriol, and named aricina  from the port  of
 Arica,  whence the bark is said to be sent.  The smaller pieces may be distinguished
 from the genuine  Calisaya by their white, uniform epidermis, without fissures; but  when
 the epidermis is wanting, as frequently happens in the larger pieces, the two barks might
 easily be confounded.  The test of sulphate  of soda may here be found useful; as this

   t By the epidermis is here understood the whole of the external layers which are accumulated upon
 the outer surface of the bark by the annual renewal of the cortical layers, and the consequent separation
 of those of former years, which remain, but  without life, attached to the external surface. A different
 meaning is attached to the term by Von Bergen, but as we have taken pains to make the description in
 every instance correspond with our definition, we do not misrepresent his meaning. 
228
Cinchona.
part i.
without, however, being aware that the yellow bark which they adopted as
officinal, was really the Calisaya.  That it is an error has been fully demon-
strated; as no Calisaya bark is brought from those regions where the C. cor-
difolia most abounds.   In the last edition of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia,
the error has been  corrected.  Many writers ascribe this variety to the C.
lancifolia, on the authority of Mutis himself, who asserts that it is indispu-
tably derived from  that species.   But Mutis was  mistaken; for it is now
well known, that the bark of the C. lancifolia is wholly different  from the
Calisaya. (See C. lancifolia.)  Ruiz was disposed to ascribe  it to his C. lan-
ceolata;  but Von Bergen found  a  specimen of the bark of this species in
Ruiz's collection to be different from the officinal yellow bark.  According
to M. Auguste Delondre, who received specimens of  the plants producing
Calisaya bark from his correspondents in South America, no less than three
distinct trees contribute  to furnish  the bark  thrown into commerce under
that title.   One of  these specimens appeared  to Guibourt to belong to the
Cinchona micrantha, and  another to the C. Condaminea.  The third re-
sembled the latter of these  two  species,  but differed  somewhat both in its
leaves and fruit.  A fourth specimen had fruit like that of the Condaminea,
but smaller leaves,  and was considered by Guibourt as probably the C. an-
gustifolia of Ruiz, now thought to  be merely a variety of the C. lancifolia,
But this information is quite  too vague to lead to any satisfactory conclu-
sion.  It may, however, serve to explain  the fact  that barks are sometimes
imported under the name of Calisaya, and derived from the same district
of country, which differ from   the genuine bark both in appearance  and
qualities, and will not serve for the  preparation of  sulphate of quinia.*
   The genuine Calisaya bark is produced  most  abundantly, if not exclu-
sively, in Bolivia, formerly Upper Peru, in the province of La Paz and in
the country about Apolobamba on  the Rio  Paro; and, before the disturb-
ances in these countries, was shipped as well from the port of Buenos Ayres
as from those on the  Pacific.  It  is at present, however, procured exclu-
sively from the latter.   A very  fine parcel was exhibited to us, imported
directly from Coquimbo in Chili.   We have been informed by gentlemen
-who have been long personally  engaged in commercial transactions upon
the Pacific coast of South America, that the Calisaya bark of commerce is
originally obtained chiefly, if not exclusively, at the port of Arica, whither it
is brought from the interior provinces of Bolivia.   From that town  it is sent
to various other ports on the Pacific. It is generally supposed to have been
first introduced into commerce towards the end of the  last century, and it
was probably not known by its present name till that period; but  La Con-
damine states that  the Jesuits of La Paz, at a period anterior to the disco-
very of the febrifuge of Loxa, sent to Rome a very bitter bark by the name
of quinaquina, which, though supposed by that traveller to have  been de-
rived from the Peruvian balsam  tree, was very probably, as conjectured by
Guibourt, the  true cinchona.  Besides, Pomet, in his History of Drugs,
published in 1694, speaks of  a bark more bitter than that of Loxa,  obtained
from the province of Potosi, which borders upon that of La Paz; and Chomel

Bait, which so strikingly precipitates the infusion of Calisaya, does not disturb that of the
Cusco bark.   It is proper to state, that Guibourt could obtain  from this bark no other
alkali than cinchonia, and  is disposed to consider aricina as the result of  the modi-
fying influence of the process employed in its preparation.  (Note to the Second and Fourth
Editions.)
  * See Guibourt's Histoire des Drogues, 1836, and an interesting article upon the sub-
ject of the origin and collection of the Calisaya  bark, in the Journal de Pharmacie, iw
505, and in the American Journ. of Pharm., vii. 325. 
PART I.
Cinchona.
229
also  states that the cinchona tree inhabited the mountains of Potosi, and
produced a bark more esteemed than that which grew in the province of
Quito. {Guibourt, Journ. de Pharm. xvi. 235.)  It is possible that, though
known at this early period, it may have gone out of use; and its re-intro-
duction into notice towards the end of the last century, may have been mis-
taken for an original discovery   Whether it is found in the other localities
of bark in Peru and Quito, it is difficult to  determine; but we may infer from
the existence of a commercial variety known to the Spaniards by the name
of Calisaya de Quito, that either the  identical bark, or a  variety closely
analogous to it, has been found in that province.   The Calisaya de Santa
Fe,  mentioned by Laubert, has no other  claim to  the  title given it than its
colour; and it is not distinguished in the market, perhaps not distinguishable
from the ordinary yellow Carthagena bark.

                              3. Red Bark.
   The name of this variety is very appropriately applied; as the colour is
 usually distinct both in the bark and  the powder.  In South America it is
 called cascarilla roxa and colorada.   Some  Writers  have  divided  it into
 several sub-varieties; but there does not seem to be ground for such division
 in any  essential difference  of  properties.  Like  the  Calisaya, it comes in
 quills and flat pieces, which are probably derived from different parts of the
 same tree.  It is imported in chests.
   Some of  the pieces are entirely rolled, some partially so, as if they had
 been taken from half the circumference of the branch; others are nearly or
 quite flat.  They vary very greatly in size, the quill  being  sometimes less
 than half an inch in diameter, sometimes so much as  two inches, while the
 flat pieces are occasionally very large and thick, as if derived from the trunk
 of a  tree.  They are covered  with  a reddish-brown or gray, sometimes
 whitish epidermis, which is  rugged,  wrinkled  longitudinally, and  in the
 thicker  pieces marked with furrows, which in some places penetrate to the
 surface  of the proper bark.   In many specimens, numerous small roundish
 or oblong eminences, called warts, may be observed upon the outer surface.
 Beneath the epidermis is a layer, dark red, brittle,  and compact, which pos-
 sesses some bitterness and astringency, but much less than the interior parts.
 These are woody and fibrous, of a more  or less lively brownish-red colour,
 which is usually very distinct, but in some specimens passes into the orange
 and even yellowish-brown;  so that it is not always  possible to distinguish
 the variety by this property alone.   The taste is bitter and astringent, and
 the odour similar to  that of other good barks.   Red bark is chemically dis-
 tinguished by containing considerable quantities both of quinia  and of
 cinchonia.*  It yields a turbid salmon-coloured decoction with water.

   *  The red bark is given as a distinct variety by Von Bergen, and stands first on his
 list, under the name of China rubra or rothe China.  The following is an abstract of his
 description.
   The quills are from two lines to an inch and a quarter in diameter, from one-third of a
 line to two lines thick, and from two to twelve inches or more in length.  The smaller
 quills are often spiral.   The flat pieces are from one to two inches broad, from three-
 eighths to a quarter of an inch thick, and of the same length as the quills. In the smaller
 and middling-sized quills, the external surface exhibits longitudinal wavy wrinkles. In
 the thicker pieces, these wrinkles, between which are here and there longitudinal furrows,
 often elevate themselves into roundish or oblong warts, which  are of a somewhat friable
 and granular  consistence.  The longitudinal furrows sometimes  penetrate to the bark.
 Transverse fissures seldom occur.  The colour in the smaller quills varies from a fawn.
 gray to a dull reddish-brown, in the larger is reddish-brown or chestnut-brown with a
 tinge of purple.  When the wrinkles and warts  are rubbed off, the peculiar brownish-red
        21 
230
Cinchona.
PART I.
   The  species of  Cinchona which  produces  red bark is unknown—the
notion derived  from  Mutis, and formerly generally prevalent,  that  it was
obtained from the  C. oblongifolia of that botanist,  having  been demon-
strated to be  incorrect.   For  the proofs upon  this point, whieh have  now
ceased to have any  practical importance, the reader is referred to the article
Cinchona,  section  Red bark, in former editions of this work.   It has
been supposed  that red  bark may be derived from the same species with
one or more of the pale barks, but taken  from the larger branches  or  the
trunk.   This opinion receives some support  from  a statement made by
La Condamine, in his memoir upon  the subjeet of cinchona.   We are told
by this author that  three kinds of bark  were known in the neighbourhood
of Loxa—the white, the yellow,  and the red.   The  white, so named from
the  colour of the epidermis, scarcely possessed  any medicinal  virtue, and
was obtained from  a tree entirely distinct from that which yielded the two
other varieties.   The red  was  superior  to the yellow; but he was assured,
on the very best  authority, that the trees producing them grew together,
and were not distinguishable by the eye.   Of the three varieties mentioned
by La Condamine,  the white,  which  was probably one of the  inferior barks
with micaceous  epidermis, does not reach us; and that which he calls yellow
is probably identical with the pale variety of the Pharmacopoeia, as this grows
most abundantly about Loxa.   Should  it be admitted that the  red bark is
furnished by the same tree which yields the pale, we have a ready  expla-
nation of the difference in size of the  two varieties.

                            Carthagena Barks.

   Under this head may be classed all the Cinchona barks brought from the
northern Atlantic ports of South America.  In commerce, they are variously

colour of the  bark appears.  The pieces arc often in part or almost wholly covered with
a whitish-gray or yellowish-white coat, either belonging to the epidermis or consisting of
lichens.   In some of the quills the epidermis is wanting in 6pots, which exhibit a dirty
reddish-cinnamon colour.   The inner surface is delicately fibrous and almost uniform in
the small quills, but becomes more fibrous and uneven in the larger,  and in the flat
pieces is splintery and very irregular.  Its colour varies with the size of the pieces, being
a reddish-rusty brown in the least, redder in the larger, and a  full brownish-red in the
largest.  The inner surface is also sometimes yellowish, or brownish, or of a dirty  appear-
ance. It becomes darker when scraped with the nail or other hard body.  The fracture
exhibits the different colours  of the epidermis and inner bark, as also of a resinous layer
which lies between the two. It is usually smooth in the smaller quills, fibrous in tbe larger,
and at the same time fibrous  and splintery in the largest and flat pieces.  The fracture of
the epidermis, however, is in all either smooth, or only here and there somewhat granular.
The  odour is like that  of tan and earthy, the taste strongly but not disagreeably bitter,
somewhat aromatic, and not  lasting.  The powder is of a dull brownish-red colour.
  Experiments upon  many different specimens  of red bark, as stated  by Pfaff, give as an
average  result 1*7 per cent, of pure cinchonia, and 0*44 of sulphate of  quinia. The
highest product obtained was 317 per cent,  of cinchonia, and 0-15 of sulphate of quinia.
Another specimen yielded 1-21 per cent, of the  former, and 1-33 of the latter.  Ptllctier
and Cavcntou obtained 0-8 per cent, of cinchonia, and 1.7  of quinia. (Geiger.) It appears,
therefore, that the proportion of the alkalies is exceedingly different in different specimens,
The degree of bitterness is, perhaps, tbe best criterion of their efficacy.
  Guibourt divides the  red bark into two varieties, which he distinguishes by the names
of quinquina rouge verruqueux, and quinquina rouge non verruqueux, from the presence
or absence of the  warts upon the outer surface.  He describes also a  variety of bark,
under the  name of quinquina rouge de Lima, resembling the proper red bark in  appear-
ance, but  without bitterness; and two others,  distinguished severally by the  names of
quinquina rouge orange, and  quinquina rouge pale, which, however, merit little attention.
(Note to Second and Fourth Editions.)
  A  specimen of bark in  our possession, brought by Dr. Dillard, of the U. S. Navy, fro™
the Pacific, and labelled red bark of Cuenca, has a thick epidermis like that of the ordi-
nary red barks, is of a very deep dark-red colour, and possesses little bitterness. 
PART I.
Cinchona.
231
called Carthagena, Maracaybo, and Santa Martha barks, according to the
particular port at which  they may be shipped.   They are all characterized
by  a soft, whitish  or yellowish-white,  micaceous  epidermis,  which  may
easily be scraped by the nail, and  which, though often more or less com-
pletely  removed, almost always leaves behind traces sufficient to indicate its
character.  They contain both cinchonia  and quinia, though in smaller pro-
portion than the best barks from the Pacific.   It has before been stated that
similar  barks are found  on the Western coast of South America; but  they
never reach us unless accidentally;  as they would not bear  the expense of
carriage.   Such are the white barks of  the Spanish writers.   The Cartha-
gena barks are not recognised as officinal by the Pharmacopoeias.   In the
state of powder, however, they are generally kept in the shops, and  sold
for tooth powder, &c, under the name of common bark.  They are more-
over not unfrequently substituted, either fraudulently or by mistake, for the
better kinds.   Like  the proper officinal  barks  they may be arranged into
several subdivisions, according to their  diversities in colour.
   1. Yellow Carthagena Bark.   This is by far the most abundant of the
non-officinal  barks, and the only  one uniformly found in the market.  It
occurs  in quills or flat pieces, but most  commonly in the latter form, and is
distinguished,  independently of the peculiar epidermis already described,
by the brownish-yellow colour of the proper bark.  There are two varieties
 of it very  well characterized by their appearance and other properties, but
 not distinguished in commerce.*

   * Von  Bergen  considers the Carthagena barks under the two divisions of 1. China
fiava dura, or harte gelbe China, and 2. China fiava fibrosa, or holzige gelbe China. As
 these, with the varieties before noticed as described by him, complete  the nine divisions
 under which he ranks the barks of commerce, we shall give a brief abstract of his  account
 of them.
   1. China fiava dura, or hard yellow bark.—This is in quills and flat pieces. The quills
 are from three to eight lines in diameter, from half a line to a line and a half thick, and
from five to  nine inches, and sometimes, though rarely, even fifteen inches long.   The
flat pieces are considerably  thicker, from half an inch to two inches broad, and from four
to eight in length.  They are often somewhat twisted,  and so curved in the drying that
 the upper surface is rather concave.  The epidermis is in many pieces partially or almost
 wholly wanting.   The outer surface is on the whole rather smooth, though it usually ex-
 hibits a few faint longitudinal furrows and transverse fissures, and pieces are occasionally
 found with hard warts or protuberances.   In the flat  pieces, the epidermis, when  present,
 has somewhat of the  consistence of cork, and consists  of several layers.  The colour of
 the epidermis varies from yellowish-white  to ash-gray, and is sometimes diversified by
 bluish-gray  or  blackish  lichens.  When it is wanting, the colour is between a  dark
 cinnamon and brownish-yellow.  These shades,  however, are seldom  clear, and the flat
 pieces have usually a somewhat dusty aspect.  The inner surface of the quills is tolerably
 uniform, that of the flat pieces uneven or faintly furrowed and even splintery, the points
of the splinters often projecting.  Its colour, which is almost always dull, as if the surface
 were dusty, varies between  a light cinnamon and a dull ochre-yellow, and in some  pieces
 is rusty-brown or fawn-gray, or even whitish-yellow.  The bark docs not readily break in
the longitudinal direction.  The transverse fracture presents short splinters, and is  some-
times fibrous.  When cut transversely, the bark obscurely exhibits a  very small darker
coloured resinous  layer beneath the  epidermis.  The odour is feeble, the taste slightly
astringent and bitter,  but not strongly so.  The powder is of the colour of cinnamon.
 Von Bergen  attributes this  variety to the C. cordifolia.
  2. China fiava fibrosa, or woody yellow bark.—In shape and  dimensions, this variety
does not materially differ from  the preceding; but the  flatter pieces are almost always a
little rolled, or curved laterally.  The epidermis  is seldom entire, being in general cither
 in part or wholly rubbed off. When present, it resembles in consistence that of the former
variety.   Its outer surface is nearly smooth, only marked here and there with faint irre-
gular Iransverse fissures and longitudinal furrows.  Its colour varies from a dirty whitish-
 gray  to yellowish, but is  sometimes more or  less  dark.  When the  outer surface  is
 rubbed off, as is the case here and there  in the quills, and almost always in the flat  pieces,
the colour is a nearly  pure ochre-yellow.  Where the whole thickness of the epidermis is 
232
Cinchona.
PART I.
  Hard yellow  Carthagena Bark {China flava dura of Von Bergen) is
in pieces of various size and form, sometimes  wholly or partially quilled,
and  sometimes flat; and the flat pieces present the appearance of having
been warped in drying, being frequently curved longitudinally backward,
and  sometimes also in the  transverse  direction or spirally.   The dimen-
sions are sometimes those given by Von Bergen {see  note);  but, as found
in this market,  the bark  is  more  commonly in small, irregularly square
or oblong, flattish, and variously warped pieces, from  one to  three or four
inches  long and from one  to  three  lines in thickness, mixed with small
quills  or fragments of quills, the former appearing  as if chipped  from
the  trunk or large branches, the latter evidently derived  from the small
branches.  In this shape it was treated of, in former editions  of this work,
as a distinct variety, under the name of Santa Martha bark, which it at
one  time held in the  market;  but  a  closer  examination  has  convinced us
that it is the same  bark as  the hard yellow bark of Von  Bergen, though
collected in a different  manner.  The quills are generally more covered
with the micaceous epidermis  than  the flat pieces, in which it  is often
nearly or quite removed.   The inner surface of the latter, though sometimes
smooth, is often rough and splintery,  as if forcibly separated from the wood
to which it adhered. The colour of the proper bark is a pale, dull, brownish-
yellow, darker in parcels which have been long kept; and the surface often
appears as if rubbed over with powdered bark.  The texture is rather firm
and compact, and  the  fracture  abrupt, without  being smooth  or presenting
long splinters.   The taste is bitter and  nauseous.   This variety of bark is
thought  to  be obtained from the C. cordifolia; as  Guibourt found that a
specimen of the bark  of that tree,  which came originally  from Mutis, re-
sembled it precisely in all its sensible properties.
   Fibrous yellow  Carthagena Bark {China flava fibrosa  of Von Bergen)
is said  by Von  Bergen and Pereira  sometimes to occur in  quills, but we
have seen it only in flat  or slightly rolled pieces, which are  from half an
inch to two inches broad, and from four to  six or  even  nine inches long.
It differs from the former variety chiefly in a somewhat brighter colour, and
in its less compact and very fibrous texture,  which causes it to exhibit long
splinters when broken transversely, and often to hang  together by connect-
ing  fibres when  broken longitudinally.   A more precise description will be
found in the note below.

wanting, as happens here and  there in spots,  it is dark cinnamon, or dark ochre-yellow,
and  commonly dull or powdery.  The inner  surface is usually even, but is  sometimes
irregular and splintery, and always feels harsh to the fingers, leaving small splinters
sticking in the skin when drawn over it.  The colour is a nearly pure ochre-yellow, like
that of the external surface when the outer  layer is rubbed off,  though  somewhat duller
and  very powdery.  The  fracture distinguishes this variety from the preceding and from
all others.  The longitudinal  fracture is strikingly fibrous, and in  the flat  pieces the
fragments still hang together by connecting fibres.  The bark, moreover, breaks obliquely,
and  the fracture even of the epidermis, which in other varieties is almost always smooth,
is here uneven or  rough-grained.  The transverse  fracture exhibits  very long and thin
splinters or fibres, which are very flexible, and may almost be said to be soft.  No traces
of a resinous appearance are observable in the fracture.   The odour is feeble, the taste at
first woody and  flat, afterwards  slightly bitter and  astringent,  and weaker in this than
 any other variety of bark.  The  colour of the powder  is intermediate  between that of
 cinnamon and yellow-ochre.  The tree from which this variety is obtained is unknown.
   Of these two varieties of Carthagena bark, the first yielded, on  an average of two
 experiments, 0-57  per cent, of pure  cinchonia, and  0-33 per cent, of sulphate of quinia;
 the  second yielded, on an average of five trials with different specimens, 0-4 per cent, of
 pure cinchonia, and 0 36 of sulphate of quinia.  The highest product of the woody bars
 was about 0-59 per cent, of cinchonia, and  052 of sulphate of quinia.  From this state-
 ment, it appears that, so far as regards the relative proportion of their two active ingre-
 dients, they should rank with the red bark,  though greatly inferior to it in strength. 
PART I.
Cinchona.
233
  We have recently seen  specimens of a bark, of which large quantities
were said to have been brought in a cargo from Maracaybo, presenting the
general aspect, and in a striking degree  the fibrous texture of this variety,
but in rather larger pieces,  and differing also somewhat in the colour, which,
instead of being°a nearly pure  ochre-yellow, has an orange tint, especially
in the exterior portion, where it is decidedly reddish in some of the pieces.
This particular bark has a  very close resemblance to the  officinal yellow or
Calisaya, for which it might readily be mistaken by an inexperienced per-
son, and, if regarded only upon its  inner surface,  even by the  most expe-
rienced.   But the bark is rather thicker, less hard, compact, and heavy, and
much more fibrous than the Calisaya,  and,  though in general deprived of
the epidermis, yet occasionally exhibits remains of it,  having the characters
of that of the Carthagena  barks, and where it is quite  absent, appears as
though it had been removed by scraping or  cutting with a knife,  and not
spontaneously separated at the natural juncture, as in the Calisaya. Besides,
the bark is spongy under the teeth, and wants  the strong peculiar bitterness
of the officinal yellow.  Still it has a decidedly bitter taste, and its infusion,
though not  precipitated by solution of sulphate of soda, affords a copious
precipitate with infusion of galls, indicating the presence of no inconsiderable
proportion of the active alkaline principles.
   A specimen of bark labelled yellow bark of Loxa, brought from  South
America by Dr. Dillard of the U. States Navy, and said to be employed in
Loxa for making extract of bark, presents characters closely analogous to
those of the fibrous Carthagena bark, and sufficient to justify the supposi-
tion  that it  was derived from the same species  of Cinchona.
   The powder of yellow Carthagena bark has a yellowish cinnamon-colour,
with less of the reddish tint than the Calisaya, for which, however, it may
be readily mistaken, and, there is reason  to believe, is not unfrequently sold.
It may be distinguished by its comparatively feeble  bitterness;  but  much
more certainly by the  test of sulphate of soda, which  throws down no pre-
cipitate with its infusion.
  2.  Red Carthagena Bark.  This name properly belongs to a bark known
to the French Pharmaceutists by the name of quinquina  nova or new bark,
and  ascertained to be Mutis's red bark of Santa Fe,  produced by his Cin-
chona oblongifolia—the C. magnifolia of the Flora Peruviana.   It is never
found in our markets, unless sometimes, possibly,  as an adulteration  of the
officinal red bark.*   A red bark, with whitish and micaceous epidermis,
thick, spongy, and of little taste, is sometimes mixed with the packages of
the officinal red bark from  the Pacific.   May it not be the product  of the
same species of Cinchona, which grows in Peru as well as in New Granada?
  3.  Orange Carthagena Bark.   This  is the orange cinchona of  Santa

  *  As described by Guibourt, this bark is in pieces a foot or more long, rolled when
small, open, or nearly flat when larger, in general of a perfectly cylindrical form; with  a
whitish, thin,  uniform epidermis, showing scarcely any cryptogamia, and but a few trans-
verse fissures answering to those of the liber, and sometimes entirely wanting; one to
three lines thick without the epidermis; of a pale carnation colour, becoming  deeper in
the air, especially upon the outer surface, which, when destitute of epidermis, is always
reddish-brown; of a  fracture which  is foliaceous in  the outer  part, and  short-fibrous in
the inner; and exhibiting, under the microscope, between its  fibres, and especially between
the laminas, a great abundance of two granular matters, of which one is red and the
other whitish. In some pieces the fracture exhibits, nearer the  external than the  internal
Burface, a yellow, transparent, resinous or gummy exudation.   The  taste is flat and
astringent like that of tan, the odour feeble, between that of tan and the pale barks. The
powder is  fibrous and decidedly red. Examined by Pelletier  and Caventou it afforded
neither quinia nor cinchonia.
                                   21* 
234
Cinchona.
PART I.
Fe, so highly lauded by Mutis, and the spongy Carthagena bark of Gui-
bourt.   It  has occurred in  commerce in large, flat, somewhat curved, or
semicylindrical pieces,  sometimes as much as three or four inches broad,
a foot long, and nine lines in thickness, covered with a yellowish-white,
micaceous  epidermis, marked with longitudinal  and sometimes transverse
fissures.   The bark itself is of an orange colour, externally fibrous, light,
spongy under the teeth, without taste or very feebly  bitter, and destitute
of medical  virtue.  It yields a beautiful orange powder.   It scarcely occurs
at present in commerce.   The destruction at Cadiz, by the Spanish autho-
rities, of a large quantity of this bark, collected by Mutis at the expense of
the government, which was  ascribed by Humboldt to mercantile  cunning,
is now considered as an indication of a just appreciation of its virtues.  The
bark is the product of the C. lancifolia.
   4. Brown Carthagena Bark.  Under this name Guibourt has described
a bark of a white and smooth epidermis, rough, hard, compact, very heavy,
sometimes  as much as half an inch in thickness, of an orange-brown colour
when freshly cut,  and a  chocolate colour upon its inner surface, and of a
bitter astringent taste analogous to that of the pale barks, but more disagree-
able.  Some of the pieces from the smaller branches are completely quilled,
and others  somewhat larger appear as if warped or contorted by desiccation.
Pereira thinks this may be a variety of the hard  yellow Carthagena bark.
We have not met in this market with specimens answering the description
of Guibourt.

                             False Barks.
   Before dismissing the subject of the varieties of cinchona, it is proper to
observe that numerous barks have at various times been introduced into the
market, and sold as closely resembling  or  identical with the febrifuge of
Peru, which experience has  proved to  differ from it materially, both in
chemical composition and medicinal virtues.  These  barks  are generally
procured from trees which were formerly ranked  among the Cinchonse, but
are now arranged  in  other genera.  They are distinguished from the true
Peruvian bark by the absence of quinia  and cinchonia.  Among them are
1. the Caribsean  bark, from the Exostemma Caribaea; 2. the St. Lucia
bark, or  quinquina pit on of the French, derived from the Exostemma flori-
bunda; and 3. the Pitaya bark, from the mountain  of Pitaya in Columbia,
of uncertain botanical origin, known in  France by the name  of quinquina
bicolore, and in Italy by that of china bicolorata.  Of these the last only is
known in this country.   A considerable quantity  of it was some time since
imported into  New Orleans, whence a portion reached this city.   The spe-
cimen in our possession is in quills, for  the  most part singly, but in some
instances doubly rolled, from  eight or ten  inches to more  than two feet in
length, and from a quarter of an inch to an inch or more in diameter.   The
outer surface is of a dull grayish-olive colour, with numerous large oval or
irregular spots much lighter coloured, sometimes  even whitish, and slightly
depressed  beneath the general surface, as if a layer of the epidermis had
fallen off within their limits.   It is to this appearance that the bark owes its
name of bicolorata.  The colour of the internal surface is deep brown or
almost blackish;  that of the fresh  fracture, brownish-red or orange.  The
bark is hard, compact, and thin, seldom as much  as a line in thickness, and
breaks with a short but not smooth fracture.   Its taste is very bitter and of
a flavour not unlike that of some of the  inferior  kinds of cinchona.  It 's
without  odour.  Folchi and Peretti found in it a new crystallizable alkaline
principle,  which they named pitaina.   It has been considerably employed 
PART I.
Cinchona.
235
by the Italian physicians, and Brera found it to cure intermittents in the
quantity of half an ounce. (See a paper by Dr. Carson in the Am. Journ.
of Pharm. xiii. 49.)

                         Chemical History.

  In the analysis of Peruvian  bark, the attention of chemists was at first
directed exclusively to the action of water  and alcohol upon it, and to the
determination of the relative proportion of its gummy or extractive and resin-
ous matter.   The presence of tannin and of various alkaline or earthy salts
in minute quantities was afterwards demonstrated.   Fourcroy made an ela-
borate analysis, which attracted  much attention at the time, and proved the
existence of  other principles in the bark than those previously ascertained;
but the results which he obtained were not very definite. Dr. Westring was
the first who attempted the discovery of an active principle in the bark, on
which its febrifuge virtues might depend; but he was unable to carry out his
conception to any successful result.  Seguin  afterwards pursued the same
track, and endeavoured, by observing the effects of various re-agents, to dis-
cover the relative value of different varieties of the drug.   The conclusions,
however, at  which  he arrived, have not been  supported by subsequent ex-
 periment.   M. Deschamps, an apothecary of Lyons, obtained from bark a
 crystallizable salt of lime, the acid of which Vauquelin afterwards separated,
 and called kinic acid.   The latter chemist also pushed  to a much further
 extent the researches of Seguin, as to the influence of re-agents. He examined
 seventeen different  kinds of bark, which he arranged in three classes, accord-
 ing to their chemical relation with certain re-agents—the first class including
 those which afforded  precipitates with tannin and  not  with gelatin; the
 second,  those which  precipitated  gelatin and not tannin; the third, those
 which precipitated  at the same  time tannin, gelatin, and tartar emetic.  He
supposed those  to be the most efficient which gave precipitates with tannin
or  the infusion  of  galls;  but his classification has  been abandoned with
the progress of discovery.  Reuss of Moscow succeeded in isolating a pe-
culiar colouring matter from red bark, which  he designated by the name of
 cinchonic red, and  obtained a bitter substance, which probably consisted in
 part of the peculiar alkaline  principles, subsequently discovered.   The first
 step, however, towards the discovery of cinchonia and quinia appears to
 have been taken by the late Dr. Duncan of Edinburgh.   He believed the
 precipitate afforded by the infusion of cinchonia with that of galls, to be a
 peculiar vegetable  principle, and  accordingly denominated it cinchonine.
Dr. Gomez, a Portuguese physician, convinced that  the active principle of
bark  resided in  this cinchonine, but in an impure state, instituted experi-
ments upon some pale bark, which resulted in the separation of a white crys-
talline substance, considered by him to be the pure cinchonine of Dr. Duncan.
It was obtained  by the action of potassa upon an aqueous infusion of the
alcoholic  extract of the  bark, and was undoubtedly the principle now uni-
versally known by  the name of cinchonine or cinchonia.   But Dr. Gomez
was ignorant of its precise nature, considering it to  be analogous to resin.
M. Laubert afterwards  obtained the same  principle by a different process,
and described it under the name of white matter or pure white resin.  To
Pelletier and Caventou was reserved the honour of crowning all these expe-
riments, and applying the results which they obtained to important practical
purposes.   They demonstrated  the alkaline  character of the principle dis-
covered by Gomez  and Laubert, and gave it definitively the name of cincho-
 nine.  They discovered in the yellow or  Calisaya bark another alkaline 
236
Cinchona.
PART I.
principle which they denominated quinine.   Both these bases they proved
to exist naturally in the barks, combined with the kinic acid in the state of
kinate of cinchonine and of quinine.  It has moreover been established by
their labours, that the febrifuge property of bark depends upon the  presence
of these two principles.   It was in the year 1820 that these  chemists an-
nounced their discovery.  Dr. Duncan's suggestion was  made so early as
1803.   Among English and American chemists, the names of these alkaline
bodies have been changed to cinchonia and quinia, for the sake of uniformity
of nomenclature; and by these names we shall always call them.*
   It has before been stated,  on more than one occasion, that  the three offi-
cinal varieties  of bark are distinguished  by peculiarities of composition.
We give the result  of the analysis of each variety as obtained by  Pelletier
and Caventou.  {Journ. de Pharm. vii. 70. 89. 92.)
   Pale bark of Loxa contains,  1. a  fatty matter,  discovered by  Laubert;
2. a red  colouring  matter,  very slightly soluble,  identical with  the cin-
chonic red of Reuss; 3.  a yellow colouring  matter,  observed by  Laubert,
soluble in water and alcohol, and capable  of being precipitated by the
subacetate of lead;  4. tannin;  5.  gum;  6. starch;  7. lignin;  8. kinate of
lime; 9. kinate of  cinchonia, with a very minute proportion of kinate of
quinia.
   Yellow  Calisaya bark  contains  the fatty matter, the cinchonic red, the
yellow colouring'matter,  tannin,  starch, lignin, kinate of  lime, and acidu-
lous kinate of quinia, with a comparatively  small proportion of kinate of
cinchonia.i
   Red bark contains the fatty matter, a large quantity of the cinchonic red,
the yellow colouring matter,  tannin,  starch, lignin, kinate of lime,  and a
large proportion both of acidulous kinate of quinia, and of acidulous
kinate of cinchonia.
   Carthagena bark contains the same ingredients with the red bark, but in
different proportions.  It has less of the  alkaline matter, which it also yields
with much greater  difficulty  to water, in  consequence of  the abundance of
insoluble cinchonic red  which it  contains, and which either  involves the
salts of quinia and  cinchonia so as  to prevent  the full contact of water, or
retains  these alkalies in a species  of combination.   {Journ.  de  Pharm.
vii. 105.)
   By the experiments of Henry Jun.  and Plisson, it may be considered as
established, that the alkalies  of the  different varieties of bark are combined
at the same  time with kinic  acid,  and with one  or more of the colouring

  * In a previous note it has been stated that Pelletier and  Coriol had discovered an alkali
called aricina in the Arica or Cusco bark.  It was obtained  by the  same process as that
employed in the extraction of quinia from  yellow bark.  It is white, crystallizable, and
distinguishable from cinchonia, which it  in many respects resembles, by exhibiting a
green colour under the action of nitric acid, and by the property possessed by its sulphate,
of forming a tremulous jelly when a saturated  boiling  solution of the salt is  allowed to
cool. Aricina, in the present state of  our  knowledge  respecting it, is of no practical
importance.
  + Winkler is said to have discovered in Calisaya bark  a peculiar bitter principle, which
he found also in greater proportion in the new bark (kina nova), and for which he proposes
the name of kinovic bitter.  It is insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, without
alkaline or acid properties, and without nitrogen in its composition.   Winkler  obtainedit
from the new  bark by  treating this in fine powder with ether, evaporating the ether,
treating  the residue with alcohol, then  decolorizing the solution  by -means  of animal
charcoal, and precipitating the bitter principle  by ammonia.   It exists in the new bark
along with a peculiar acid discovered by Pelletier and Caventou,  and denominated by
them kinovic acid.  This acid is somewhat analogous to the stearic, being white, shioingi
light, slightly soluble in water, and readily soluble in alcohol and ether. 
PART I.
Cinchona.
237
matters, which, in relation  to these substances, appear to act the part of
acids.  This idea was originally suggested by Robiquet.  {Journ. de Pharm.
xii. 282. 369.)   It is stated that the compounds of quinia and cinchonia
with the cinchonic red are  scarcely soluble  in water, while the kinates of
these bases are  very soluble.  {Ibid. xvii. 201.)
  From the statements above made, it appears that the three officinal varie-
ties of bark differ little except in the proportion of their constituents.   All
contain both quinia and cinchonia; the yellow bark abounding in the first,
the pale in the second,  and the red in both.   Gum is the  only constituent
found in one and not in the others.  It is an ingredient in the pale bark,
but is wanting in the red and yellow.
   The odour of bark appears to depend on a volatile oil which Fabroni and
Trommsdorff obtained by distillation with  water.   The oil floated on the
surface of the water, was of a thick consistence, and had  a bitterish acrid
taste, with the odour of bark.
   The fatty matter, which was first obtained pure by M.  Laubert, is of a
greenish colour as obtained from the pale bark, orange-yellow from the yel-
low.   It is insoluble  in water, soluble in boiling alcohol, which deposits
a part of it on cooling, very soluble in  sulphuric ether even cold,  and capa-
ble of forming  soaps  with the alkalies.  The colour is probably owing to
extraneous matter connected with it.
   The cinchonic red of Reuss, the insoluble red colouring matter of Pelle-
tier and Caventou, is  reddish-brown, insipid, inodorous, largely soluble in
 alcohol, especially when hot, and almost insoluble in ether or water, though
the latter dissolves a little at the boiling temperature.  The acids promote
its solubility in  water.  It  precipitates tartar emetic, but not  gelatin;  but,
if treated with  a cold solution of potassa  or  soda, or by ammonia, lime, or
baryta with heat, and  precipitated by an acid from the solution thus formed,
it acquires the property of forming an insoluble compound with gelatin, and
seems to be converted  into a species of tannin.   It is precipitated by sub-
acetate of lead.   It is most abundant in the red bark, and least so in the
pale.  Berzelius supposes  it to consist of tannin and apotheme, and to be
formed from tannin by the action of the air.
   The yellow colouring matter has little taste, is soluble in water, alcohol,
and ether,  precipitates neither gelatin nor tartar emetic, and is itself precipi-
tated by subacetate of lead.
   The tannic acid, tannin, or soluble red colouring matter of Pelletier and
Caventou, has been considered as possessing all the properties which charac-
terize the proximate vegetable principles associated together under this name.
It has a brownish-red colour and austere taste, is soluble in water and alcohol,
combines with  metallic oxides, and produces precipitates  with the salts of
iron, which vary in colour according to  the variety of bark; being deep green
with the pale bark, blackish-brown with the yellow, and reddish-brown with
the red.   It also forms white precipitates with  tartar-emetic and  gelatin,
and readily combines with atmospheric  oxygen, becoming insoluble.   It
must,  however, differ materially from the  tannin or tannic acid of galls,
which could not exist in aqueous solutions containing  cinchonia without
forming an insoluble compound with that base.
  But the most interesting and important constituents of Peruvian bark are
the cinchonia and quinia, and the acid  with  which they are combined.   In
relation to these, therefore, we shall be more minute in our details.
  Cinchonia when pure is a white crystalline  substance, soluble in two
thousand five hundred parts of boiling water, almost insoluble in cold water, 
238
Cinchona.
part i.
very soluble in boiling alcohol,.which deposits a portion in the crystalline
state upon cooling, and slightly soluble in ether  and the fixed and volatile
oils.   Its bitter taste, at first not very obvious in consequence  of its difficult
solubility, is developed after a  short time by the solution of  a minute por-
tion in the saliva.  Its alcoholic, ethereal, and oleaginous solutions are very
bitter.   By heat it is at the same time melted and  decomposed.  Its alka-
line character is very decided, as it neutralizes the  strongest acids, forming
with them  saline compounds.  Of the  salts of cinchonia,  the sulphate,
nitrate, muriate, phosphate, and acetate are soluble  in water.   The neutral
tartrate,  oxalate, and gallate are insoluble in cold  water, but may be dis-
solved in hot water, in alcohol, or in an excess of acid.  Several processes
have been employed for the preparation of cinchonia.   One of the simplest
is the following.  Powdered pale bark is submitted to the action of sulphuric
or muriatic acid very much diluted, and the solution  thus obtained is precipi-
tated by  an  excess of lime.   The precipitate is collected on a  filter, washed
with water,  and  treated with  boiling  alcohol.   The  alcoholic solution is
filtered while hot, and deposits the cinchonia when it cools.   A further
quantity  is obtained by evaporation.  If not perfectly white, it may be freed
from colour by first converting it into a sulphate with dilute sulphuric acid,
then treating the solution with  animal charcoal, filtering, precipitating  by an
alkali,  and redissolving by alcohol  in  the manner  already  mentioned.   It
may also be obtained  from  the mother waters of sulphate of quinia, by
diluting them with water, precipitating with ammonia, collecting the precipi-
tate on a filter, washing and drying it, and then dissolving it in boiling alcohol,
which  deposits the cinchonia in a crystalline form  upon  cooling.  It may
be still further purified by a second solution and crystallization. Cinchonia
consists of 20 equivalents  of carbon, 12 of hydrogen, 1 of oxygen, and 1
of nitrogen (C^H^ON); and its combining number may be stated at 156-55,
hydrogen being considered as unity.  Exposed to the  air, it does not  suffer
decomposition, but very slowly absorbs carbonic acid, and acquires the pro-
perty of effervescing slightly with acids.  It may be distinguished,  when
dissolved in the saline state in water, from any other vegetable alkali, by a
reddish somewhat orange colour, produced by the  addition first  of  liquid
chlorine  and then of ammonia to the solution. {Journ. de Pharm. xxii. 135.)
  Sulphate of cinchonia, or more strictly disulphate of cinchonia, the only
salt of this base which has been employed to any extent in a separate state,
may be  prepared  by heating  cinchonia  with a  little  water,  adding  dilute
sulphuric acid gradually till the alkali is dissolved, then boiling with animal
charcoal previously washed with  muriatic acid,  filtering the solution  while
hot, and setting it aside to crystallize.   By alternate evaporation and crys-
tallization, the whole of the sulphate may be obtained from the solution.  It
is a white, very bitter salt, crystallizing in flexible,  somewhat  shining, four-
sided,  flattened prisms, terminated by an inclined  face, and  generally col-
lected  in fasciculi.   It is soluble in fifty-four  parts  of water at common
temperatures, and in  a smaller quantity of boiling water.   Chemists  at
present  generally consider it  as a  disulphate.  By  the addition of the
necessary quantity of acid, it passes  into the neutral sulphate,  which is
soluble in less than half its weight of water at 58°.  It consists, according
to Pelletier and  Caventou, of 100 parts  of cinchonia, and 13.021 of sul-
phuric acid. {Journ. de Pharm. vii. 57.)
   Quinia (Quina, Lond.) is  whitish, and as  usually prepared  is  rather
flocculent in its appearance, not crystalline like cinchonia.   It may, how-
ever, be crystallized, by cautious management, from its alcoholic solution, 
PART I.
Cinchona.
239
in pearly silky needles.  {Journ. de Pharm. xi. 249.)  It is fusible without
chemical change, at about 300° F., and becomes brittle on cooling.  It is
more bitter than cinchonia, is almost insoluble in  water, but is very soluble
in alcohol, and soluble also in ether, and in the fixed and volatile oils.  Its
alcoholic solution is intensely bitter.   It unites with  the acids to form salts,
which crystallize with facility.  The gallate, tartrate, and  oxalate are said
to be insoluble, or nearly so, in  cold water, but are dissolved by an  excess
of acid.  It is unalterable in the air, not even absorbing carbonic acid.  Its
salts may be distinguished from those of the other vegetable alkalies by the
beautiful emerald green  colour which results when their solution is  treated
first with solution of chlorine and then with ammonia, and which changes to
a white or violet upon  saturation with a  dilute  acid.  {Journ. de Pharm.
xxii. 135.)   Quinia consists of 20 equivalents of carbon,  12 of hydrogen,
2 of oxygen, and 1 of nitrogen (C^H^N); and its combining number is
164-55.  This number,  however, is founded on the opinion, that of the two
salts which quinia forms with sulphuric acid, the one originally considered
neutral, and  denominated simply sulphate of quinia is in fact basic,  consist-
ing of two equivalents of the base, and one of the acid, while the other, at
first supposed to be a supersalt, is strictly neutral, consisting of one equiva-
lent of each of its ingredients.   The same remark is applicable to the com-
bining number of cinchonia.   In  both  cases, were the original opinion of
the  composition of the sulphates to be admitted, the real combining num-
bers of the two alkalies would  be double those  already stated.   Quinia is
 obtained by treating its sulphate with the  solution  of an  alkali, collecting
 the  precipitate which forms, washing it till the water comes away tasteless,
 then drying it, dissolving it in  alcohol, and slowly evaporating the solution.
   The only important  artificial salt of quinia is the sulphate, the  process
for  procuring which, as well as its  properties, will be  hereafter described.
(See Quinise Sulphas,  among the Preparations.)   The muriate, phosphate,
acetate, citrate, ferrocyanate,  and tannate have also  been employed  and
recommended, but none of them has yet gained a reputation which entitles
it to rank among  standard remedies.  The first  four may be prepared by
 saturating a  solution of  the acids respectively with quinia, and evaporating
 the  solutions.  The ferrocyanate is made by boiling together two  parts of
 sulphate of quinia and  three  of ferrocyanuret of  potassium in a very small
 quantity of water, pouring off the liquors from a  greenish-yellow substance
 of an oily  consistence  which is precipitated, washing the latter with  dis-
 tilled water, then dissolving it  in strong alcohol at 100° F., filtering imme-
 diately, and afterwards evaporating the solution. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm.
 xii. 351.)   The tannate may  be prepared  by precipitating the infusion of
 bark,  or solution of sulphate of quinia, by the infusion of galls or  solution
 of tannic acid,  and then washing and drying  the  precipitate.  Either of
 these  salts may be given in the same dose as the  sulphate.
   Kinic Acid, {called also Cinchonic, or Quinic Acid), and the Kinates of
 Cinchonia and Quinia.  It may be desirable to procure the alkaline principles
in that state of saline combination in which they exist in the bark, as it is pos-
 sible that they may exert an influence over the  system in this state, some-
what different from that produced by their combinations with  the sulphuric
or other mineral acid. As it is impossible to procure the kinates immediately
from the bark in a pure state, it becomes  necessary  first to obtain the kinic
 acid separately, which  may thus become of some practical importance.  We
shall,  therefore, briefly describe the mode of procuring it, and its charac-
 teristic properties.   By evaporating  the infusion of bark to a solid  consist-
ence,  and  treating the extract  thus  obtained with alcohol, we have in the 
240
Cinchona.
PART I.
residue a viscid matter consisting chiefly of mucilage and kinate of lime.*
If an aqueous solution of this substance be formed, and allowed to evapo-
rate at a gentle heat, crystals of the  kinate  are  deposited, which  may be
purified by a second  crystallization.   The salt  thus  obtained, being dis-
solved in water, is decomposed by means of oxalic acid, which precipitates
the lime and leaves the kinic acid in  solution.   This may be procured in
the  crystalline state by spontaneous  evaporation, though as usually pre-
pared it is in the form of a thick  syrupy liquid.  The crystals are transpa-
rent and colourless, sour to  the  taste, and readily soluble in  alcohol and
water.  The  kinates of cinchonia and quinia may be  obtained either by a
direct combination of their constituents, or by the mutual decomposition of
the sulphates of those alkalies and the kinate of lime.   The kinate of cin-
chonia has a bitter and astringent taste, is very soluble in water, is soluble
also in alcohol, and is crystallized with difficulty.  The kinate of quinia is
also very soluble in water, but less so  in rectified  alcohol.   Its taste is very
bitter, resembling exactly that of yellow bark.  It crystallizes in crusts of a
mammillated form, and opaque or semitransparent.  The salt is with diffi-
culty obtained free from colour, and only by employing the ingredients in a
state of extreme purity.  {Ann. de Chim. et de Phys. Juillet, 1829.)
  Of the relations of bark with the several solvents employed in pharmacy
we  shall speak hereafter, under  the  heads of its infusion, decoction, and
tincture; where we shall  also have an opportunity of mentioning some of
the more prominent substances which afford precipitates with its liquid pre-
parations.   It is sufficient at present to state, that all the substances which
precipitate the infusion  of bark do not by any means  necessarily affect its
virtues; as it contains several inert ingredients which  form insoluble com-
pounds with bodies which do not disturb its  active principles.  As  tannic
acid forms with quinia and cinchonia a compound insoluble in water, it is
desirable that  substances  containing this acid, in  a free state, should not be
prescribed in connexion with  the infusion or decoction of bark; for, though
it is not improbable that this insoluble tannate might be found efficacious if
administered,  yet  being  precipitated from the liquid, it would be apt to be
thrown away as dregs, or at  any rate would communicate, if agitated, an
unpleasant turbidness.
  It is evident from what has  been said, that an infusion of bark, on account
of the tannin-like principle which  it contains, may precipitate gelatin, tartar
emetic, and the salts of iron, without having a particle of cinchonia or quinia
in its composition; and that consequently any inference as to its value drawn
from this chemical property, would be altogether fallacious: but, as the active
principles are  thrown down by the tannic acid of galls, no bark can be con-
sidered good which does  not  afford a precipitate with the  infusion of this
substance.
  It is impossible to determine, with accuracy, the relative proportion of the
active ingredients in the different varieties of cinchona; as the quantity is by
no means uniform in different  specimens of the same variety.   Pelletier and
Caventou state, in their first Memoir, that they had been able to obtain only
2 parts of cinchonia from 1000 of pale bark;  while from an equal quantity
of the yellow  they had succeeded in extracting 9  parts of quinia, and from
the  red, 8 parts of cinchonia and 17 parts of quinia. {Journ. de Pharm. vii.
92.) But either they employed inferior specimens of the first two varieties,
or did not completely exhaust  those upon which  they experimented.  Ac-
cording to a statement  subsequently made  by them to the French Institute,

           * The kinate of lime is soluble in water, but not in alcohol. 
PART I.
Cinchona.
241
they obtained from the best Calisaya bark 2-9 per cent, of sulphate of
quinia, from  inferior kinds 1-5 percent.; and  the average result was 2'33
per cent. {North. Am. Med. and Surg. Journ. v. 475.) Accounts generally
agree in giving less alkaline matter to the pale barks than to the yellow, and
more to the red than to either.  Mr. Viltmann  of Osnabruck obtained from
the Huanuco bark 3-5 per cent,  of cinchonia,  from  the Calisaya or royal
yellow, 5 per cent, of quinia, from the red, 6  per cent, of quinia and  cin-
chonia, and from the Carthagena, 3-3 per cent, of alkaline matter.  {Journ.
de Chim. Medicate, Nov. 1830.)   We cannot, however, avoid suspecting
some inaccuracy in the steps by which he obtained results so far exceeding
those of the experienced French  chemists before quoted.
   The following mode of estimating the value of bark by the quantity of
alkaline matter it contains, we copy from a communication of M. Tilloy of
Dijon, published in the 13th vol. of the Journ. de Pharmacie, p. 330. "Take
an ounce of the  bark coarsely powdered, introduce  it into about 12 ounces
of alcohol of 30° B. (sp. gr. 0-8748),  expose the mixture for half an hour to
a  temperature of from 105° to 120° F., draw  off the  alcohol, add a fresh
portion, and act as before; unite the liquors, and throw into them a sufficient
quantity of acetate or subacetate  of lead to precipitate the colouring matter
and  kinic acid, then allow the insoluble matter to subside, and filter.   Add
to the filtered liquor a  few drops of sulphuric acid to separate the excess of
acetate of lead, filter, and distil off the alcohol.   There remains an acetate
or sulphate of quinia, according to the quantity of sulphuric acid employed,
together with a fatty matter  which will adhere  to the vessel.  Decant the
liquor, and add ammonia, which  will instantaneously precipitate the quinia.
Too much ammonia will retain it in solution, but in  this case a few drops
of sulphuric acid will cause it to precipitate.  The quinia washed with warm
water, and  then treated with sulphuric acid, water, and  a little animal char-
coal, yields very white sulphate of quinia.  I have thus obtained in six hours
nine grains of the sulphate from an ounce of bark [57G grains French],
which is a large proportion when allowances are  made for the loss durino-
the process."  The Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia gives the following mode of
testing the value of yellow bark.   " A filtered decoction of 100 grains in  two
fluidounces of distilled water gives, with a fluidounce of concentrated solu-
tion of carbonate of soda, a precipitate, which, when heated in the fluid,
becomes a fused mass,  weighing  when  cold two grains  or more,, and  easily
soluble in solution  of oxalic acid."

                  Medical Properties and  Uses.

   This valuable remedy was unknown  to the civilized world  till about the
middle of the seventeenth century; though the natives of Peru are generally
supposed to have been long previously acquainted with its febrifuge  powers.
Humboldt,  however, is of a different opinion.   In his Memoir on the Cin-
chona forests, he states that it is entirely unknown as a remedy to the Indians
inhabiting the country where it grows; and as these people adhere with  per-
tinacity to the practices  of their ancestors, he concludes  that it  never  was
employed by  them.  They have generally the most violent prejudices against
it, considering it absolutely poisonous; and  in  the treatment of fever  pre-
fer the milder indigenous remedies.   Humboldt is disposed to ascribe the
discovery of the febrifuge powers of the bark to the Jesuits, who were sent
to  Peru as missionaries, and among whom were many familiar with the
medical knowledge of the day.  As bitters had been chiefly relied on in the
treatment of intermittent fevers, and as bitterness was observed to be a pre-
       22 
242
Cinchona.
PART I.
dominant property in the bark of certain trees which were felled in clearing
the forests, the missionaries were  naturally led to give it a trial in the same
complaint.  They accordingly administered an infusion of the bark in the
tertian ague, then  a prevalent disorder  in  Peru, and soon  ascertained its
extraordinary powers.   A tradition to this effect is said  by Humboldt to be
current at Loxa.   Ruiz and  Pavon, however, are among the writers who
ascribe the discovery to the Indians.  The Countess of Chinchon, wife of the
Viceroy of Peru, having in her own person experienced the beneficial effects
of the bark, is said, on  her return to Spain in the year 1640, to  have first
introduced the remedy into Europe. Hence the name of pulvis Commitissse,
by which it was first known.   After its  introduction, it was  distributed and
sold by the Jesuits, who are said  to have obtained for it the  enormous sum
of its weight in silver.    From this circumstance it was called Jesuits' pow-
der, a title which it long retained.   It had acquired some reputation in Eng-
land so early as the year 1658, but from its extravagant price, and from the
prejudice  excited against it, was at  first little used.   At this early period,
however,  its origin and nature do not seem to have been generally known;
for we are told that Sir John Talbot, an Englishman, having employed it
with great success in  France, in  the treatment of intermittents, under the
name of the English powder,  at length, in the year 1679, sold  the secret of
its origin and preparation to Louis XIV., by whom it was divulged.
  When taken into the stomach, bark usually excites in a short time a sense
of warmth in  the epigastrium, which often  diffuses itself over the abdomen
and even  the breast, and is sometimes attended  with considerable gastric
and intestinal irritation.   Nausea aud even vomiting are sometimes produced,
especially if the stomach was previously in an  inflamed or irritated stale.
Purging, moreover, is  not an  unfrequent attendant upon its action.  After
some time has elapsed, the circulation  often experiences its  influence, as
exhibited  in the somewhat increased frequency of pulse; and if the dose be
repeated,  the whole system becomes more or less affected, and all the func-
tions undergo  a moderate degree of excitement.  Its action upon the nervous
system is often evinced by a  sense of tension or fulness or slight pain in
the  head, ringing  in the ears, and partial deafness, which are always ex-
perienced by some individuals when brought completely  under its influence.
The effects :above  mentioned entitle bark to a place among the tonics, and
it is  usually ranked at  the very head of this class of medicines.  But be-
sides the mere excitation of the ordinary functions of health, it  produces
other effects upon the  system, which must be  considered peculiar, and
wholly independent of its mere tonic operation.  The power by which,
when administered in the intervals between the  paroxysms of intermittent
disorders, it breaks the chain of morbid association, and interrupts the pro-
gress of the disease, is something  more than what is usually  understood by
the  tonic property;  for no other substance belonging to  the class, however
powerful or permanent may be the excitement which it produces, exercises
a control over intermittents at all comparable to that of the medicine under
consideration.   As in these complaints it is  probable that, in  the intervals, a
train of morbid actions is going on out of our sight, within the recesses of
the  nervous system; so it is also probable, that  bark produces in  the same
system an action equally mysterious,  which supersedes that of the malady)
and thus accomplishes  the restoration of the patient.  From  the possession
both of the tonic,  and of the anti-intermittent property, if we may be al-
lowed  so  to designate  it, bark is  capable of being usefully applied in  the
treatment  of a  great number of diseases.
  It may  usually be employed with benefit in all morbid conditions of the 
PART I.
Cinchona.
243
system, whatever may be the peculiar modifications, in which a permanent
corroborant effect is desirable, provided the stomach be in a proper state for
its reception.  In low or typhoid forms of disease, in which either no in-
flammation exists, or that which does exist has been moderated  by proper
measures, or has passed into the suppurative or the gangrenous  stage, this
remedy is often of the greatest advantage in supporting  the system till the
morbid action ceases.   Hence its use in the latter stages of typhus gravior;
in malignant scarlatina, measles, and small pox; in carbuncle, and gangrenous
erysipelas; and in all cases in which the system  is exhausted under  large
purulent discharges, and the tendency of the affection is towards recovery. As
a tonic, bark is also advantageously employed in chronic diseases connected
with debility; as, for example,  in scrofula,  dropsy,  passive hemorrhages,
certain forms of dyspepsia, obstinate cutaneous  affections,  amenorrhcea,
chorea, hysteria; in fact, whenever a corroborant influence is desired, and
no contra-mdicating symptoms  exist.  But in all these  cases it greatly be-
hooves the physician to examine well the condition of the system, and before
resorting to the tonic,  to  ascertain  the real existence of an enfeebled con-
dition of the functions, and  the absence of such local irritations or inflam-
mations, especially of the stomach or bowels, as would be likely  to be
aggravated  by its use.  In doubtful cases, we have been in the habit of
 considering the occurrence of profuse sweating during sleep as affording an
 indication  for its use,  and,  under these circumstances, have prescribed  it
very advantageously, in the  form of sulphate of quinia, in acute rheumatism,
 and the advanced stages of  protracted fevers.
   But it is  in the cure of intermittent diseases that bark displays its most
 extraordinary powers.   It was  originally introduced into notice as a remedy
in fever and ague, and  the reputation which it acquired at an early period it
has ever since retained.  Very few  cases of this disease will be found to
resist the judicious use of bark, or  some one of its preparations.  This is
not the place to speak  of the precise  circumstances under which it is best
administered.  It will be sufficient to say, that physicians generally concur
in recommending its early employment, in divided doses, to the extent of
one or two ounces, during the intermission,  and the  repetition of this plan
till the disease  is subdued, or the remedy is found insufficient for its  cure.
Other intermittent diseases have been found to yield with almost equal cer-
tainty to the remedy, particularly those of a neuralgic character. Hemicrania
and  violent pains in the eye, face, and other parts of the body, occurring
periodically, are often almost immediately  relieved  by the  use  of  bark.
Some cases of epilepsy, in which the convulsions recurred at regular  inter-
vals, have also been cured by it; and even  the hectic  intermittent is fre-
quently arrested, though, as the cause still generally  continues  to operate,
the relief is too often only temporary.  Diarrhoea and  dysentery sometimes
put on the intermittent form, especially in miasmatic districts;   and under
these circumstances may often be cured by bark.   Nor is it necessary, that,
in the various diseases which have been mentioned, the intermission should
always be complete, in order to justify a resort to the remedy.   Remittent
fevers, in which the remission is very decided, not unfrequently yield to the
use of bark, if preceded by proper depleting measures.   But, as a general
rule, the less of  the diseased action there is in the interval,  the better is the
chance of success; and if it exceed a certain point, the bark has usually been
found to aggravate instead of relieving the  complaint.
  Some observations are requisite as to the choice  of  the barks, and the
forms of administration.  In the treatment of intermittents, either the red or
the yellow bark  is decidedly preferable to the pale, and of the first two, the 
244
Cinchona.
PART i.
red is usually considered the most  powerful.   With regard to the red, ex-
perience had pronounced in its  favour long before analysis had proved its
superiority.   It not only contains more of the active principles of the bark
than the other varieties, but has  also the advantage of uniting them both in
nearly equal proportion.  The pale bark may possibly, in its finest forms,
be superior for the purposes of a general tonic;  as it is less liable to offend
the stomach, and perhaps to irritate the  bowels.
   Where the object is to obtain the full influence of bark, it is most effec-
tually administered  in substance.  We  can by no means be absolutely cer-
tain that quinia  and cinchonia  are its  only active  ingredients; and even
supposing them to be so, we  are equally uncertain whether they may not
be somewhat modified in their properties, even by the therapeutically inert
principles with which they are associated.  In fact, bark in substance  has
been  repeatedly known  to  cure  intermittents when  the  sulphate of quinia
has failed.  It is best administered diffused in water or some aromatic infu-
sion.   Experience has proved that its efficacy in the cure of intermittents is
often  greatly promoted by admixture with other substances.  A mixture of
powdered bark, Virginia snakeroot, and carbonate of soda, was at one time
highly esteemed  in this  city;  and another, consisting of bark, confection of
opium, lemon-juice, and port wine, has, in our own experience, and that of
some of our friends, proved highly efficacious  in some obstinate cases of
fever  and ague.*
   But notwithstanding the superior efficaey of the bark in substance, it is in
the great majority of instances sufficient to resort to  some one of its prepa-
rations;  and in many cases we are compelled to this resort by the inability
of the stomach to support the powder, or the unwillingness of the patient to
encounter its disagreeable taste.   The best substitute, in cases of intermit-
tent disease, is decidedly the sulphate of quinia, or sulphate of cinchonia,
the former of which is used almost to the exclusion of the latter, though not
perhaps upon sufficient grounds.  The  advantage of these preparations is
their  great facility of administration, and  the possibility, by their employ-
ment,  of introducing a large quantity of the aetive matter, with  less risk of
offending the stomach.   The sulphate of quinia is now almost  universally
employed in the treatment of intermittents, and  bark resorted to only after
this has failed. (See  Quinise Sulphas.)
  Though quinia possesses the anti-intermittent power of bark, it is by no
means satisfactorily  ascertained that it is capable of exerting all the peculiar
influence of that  medicine as a tonic; but as bark in powder ean seldom be
supported by a delicate stomach, for a sufficient  period to insure the neces-
sary influence of the medicine in chronic  disease, it is customary to resort,
in this case, to some one of its preparations in which the quinia is extracted
in connection with the other principles;  as the infusion, decoction, tincture,
and extract.  Each of these will be particularly treated of among the prepa-
rations.  It is here only necessary to say, that their use is mostly confined to
chronic cases; or to  those of a malignant character, as typhus gravior, &c,
in which the whole virtues of bark are desired, but the stomach is unable to
bear the powder.  Should  bark or its  preparations produce purging, as
they occasionally do, they should be combined with  a small proportion of
laudanum.

  *  The following  are the formulas for these mixtures.   1. R, Cinchon.  pulv. gss; Ser-
penlarise pulv. gj; Sodas Carbonat. gss; Misce et in pulveres  qualuor divide, una tertia
vel quarta quaque liora sumenda.  2. R. Cinchon. Rub. pulv. !|ss* Confcct. Opii jj; Sue.
Limon. recenlis fgij; Vin. Oporto  f§iv;  Misce.  Tertia pars, tertid. quaque hora su-
menda.
J 
part I.             Cinchona.—Cinnamomum.                245

  It is sometimes desirable to introduce bark into the system by other sur-
faces than that of the stomach; and it has been found to exercise its peculiar
influence to whatever part it has been applied.  Injected into the rectum, in
connexion with opium to prevent purging, it has been employed success-
fully in the cure  of  intermittents; and  the use  of bark jackets, made  by
quilting the powder between two pieces  of flannel or muslin, and worn next
the  skin, and  of bark baths made by infusing the medicine in water, has
proved serviceable in cases of children.   But the best preparation of bark
for external application  is decidedly sulphate of quinia, which,  sprinkled
upon a blistered surface denuded of the cuticle, is speedily  absorbed, and
produces on the system effects not less decided than those which result from
its internal administration.
   The medium dose of  bark, as administered in intermittents, is a drachm,
 to be repeated more or less frequently according to circumstances.   When
 given as a tonic in chronic complaints, the dose  is usually smaller; from ten
 to thirty grains being sufficient to commence with.
   Off. Prep.  Decoctum Cinchona;, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Extractum
 Cinchonae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Infusum Cinchonae, U. S., Lond., Ed.,
 Dub.;  Infusum Cinchonae Comp., U. S.;  Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Dub.;
 Quiniae  Sulphas,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinctura Cinchonas,  U. S.,
 Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Cinchonae Comp., U.S., Lond. Ed., Dub.;
 Vinum Gentianae, Ed.                                          W.
                CINNAMOMUM.  U.S., Lond.

                            Cinnamon.

  "The bark of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum {Nees), and of Cinnamomum
aromaticum {Nees)."  U.S.   "Laurus Cinnamomum.  Cortex."  Lond.
  Off. Syn. CINNAMOMUM. Bark of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum; Cin-
namon.—CASSIiE. CORTEX.  Bark of Cinnamomum Cassia; Cassia
bark. Ed.; CINNAMOMUM. LAURUS CINNAMOMUM. Cortex.—
CASSIA. LAURUS CASSIA. Cortex. Dub.
  Cinnamon.—Cannelle, Fr.; Brauner Canel, Zimmt, Germ.; CanelliiiJtal.; Canela, Span.;
Kurundu, Cingalese; Kurua puttay, Tamul.
  Cassia.—Cassia lignea; Casse, Fr.; Cassienzimmt,  Germ.; Cannellina, Ital.; Casia,
Span.
  The U. S.  Pharmacopoeia embraces,  under the title of cinnamon,  not
only the bark of that name obtained from the island of Ceylon, but also the
commercial cassia, which is imported from China; and as the two products,
though very different  in price, and somewhat in  flavour, possess identical
medical properties, and are used for the same purposes, there  seems to be
no necessity for giving them distinct officinal designations.   Indeed,  the
barks of all the  species of the genus Cinnamomum, possessing  analogous
properties, are as much entitled to the common name of cinnamon,  as those
of the Cinchonas have to the  name of cinchona, and the juice of different
species of Aloe,  to that of aloes. Varieties may be sufficiently distinguished
by an appropriate epithet.  Both cinnamomum and cassia were  terms em-
ployed by the ancients, but whether exactly as now understood, it is impos-
sible to determine.  The term cassia or cassia  lignea  has been generally
used in modern  times to designate the coarser barks analogous to cinnamon.
It was probably  first applied to the barks from Malabar, and afterwards ex-
tended to those  of China and other parts of Eastern Asia.   It  has been
customary to  ascribe cassia lignea to the Laurus Cassia of Linnaeus;  but
                                 22* 
246
Cinnamomum.
part i.
the specific character given by that botanist was so indefinite, and based on
such imperfect information, that  the species has been almost unanimously
abandoned by recent botanists.   The fact appears to be, that the barks sold
as cinnamon and cassia in different  parts of  the world are derived from
various species of Cinnamomum.  Dr.  Wight, who was commissioned by
the British Indian Government to inquire into the botanical source of "the
common cassia bark of the markets of the world," expresses his belief that
the list  of plants yielding this product  extends to  nearly every species of
the genus, including not less than six plants on the Malabar coast and in
Ceylon, and  nearly twice as many more in the Eastern part of Asia, and
the islands of the Eastern  Archipelago.  {Madras Journ. of Literat. and
Sci., 1839, No. 22.)   We shall  describe only the  two species  recognised
by the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia.
   Cinnamomum. Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lauraceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Flowers hermaphrodite  or polygamous, panicled or fascicled,
naked.   Calyx six-cleft, with the limb deciduous.   Fertile stamens nine,
in three rows;  the inner three with two sessile glands at the base; anthers
four-celled, the three inner turned outwards.   Three capitate abortive sta-
mens next the centre.   Fruit seated in  a cup-like calyx.  Leaves ribbed.
Leaf buds not sealy.  {Lindley.)
   1. Cinnamomum Zeylanicum.  Nees,  Laurineae, 52; Lindley, Med.
Flor. 329; Hayne, Darstel. und  Beschreib. &c. xii. 263.—Laurus Cin-
namomum.  Linn.   This  is a tree about twenty or thirty feet high, with a
trunk from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, and covered with a thick,
scabrous bark.  The branches are numerous, strong, horizontal and declin-
ing; and the young shoots are  beautifully  speckled with dark green and
light orange colours.  The leaves  are opposite for the most part, coriaceous,
entire,  ovate, or ovate-oblong, obtusely pointed, and three-nerved,  with the
lateral  nerves vanishing as they  approach the  point.  There are also two
less obvious  nerves, one  on each side,  arising from the base, proceeding
towards the  border of the leaf, and then quickly vanishing.   The footstalks
are short and slightly channeled, and together with the extreme twigs  are
smooth and  without  the least appearance of down.  In one  variety, the
leaves are very broad, and somewhat cordate.   When mature they are of a
shining green upon  their upper surface, and lighter-coloured beneath. The
flowers are  small, white,  and arranged in  axillary and  terminal panicles.
The fruit is an oval berry, which  adheres like the  acorn to  the receptacle,
is larger than the black currant, and when ripe has a bluish-brown surface
diversified with numerous white  spots.
   The  tree  emits no smell perceptible at any distance.   The  bark of the
root has the odour of cinnamon with the pungency of camphor, and yields
this principle  upon distillation.   The   leaves have a spicy odour when
rubbed, and  a hot taste.*  The petiole has the flavour of cinnamon. It is a
singular fact, that the odour of the flowers is to people in general disagree-
able, being compared by some to the scent exhaled from newly sawn bones.
The fruit when opened has a terebinthinate odour, and a taste in some de-
gree like that of Juniper berries.   It is the prepared bark that constitutes the
spice so well known and so highly valued under the name of cinnamon.
   This species of Cinnamomum is a native of Ceylon, where it has long
been cultivated for the sake  of its bark.   It is said also to be a native of the
Malabar coast, and has at various periods been introduced into Java, the

   * Dr. Ruschenberg-cr states that the leaves have a strong odour of cloves when broken and
rnbbed, and a " clove" oil is obtained from them by distillation, which yields considerable
profit.  (Voyage round the World, p. 207.) 
PART I.
Cinnamomum.
247
Isle of France, Bourbon, the Cape de Verds, Brazil, Cayenne, several of
the West India Islands, and Egypt;  and in  some of these places is at this
time highly productive.  This  is particularly the case in Cayenne, where
the plant was flourishing so early as the year 1755.  It is exceedingly in-
fluenced, as regards the aromatic character of its bark, by the circumstances
of soil, climate, and mode of culture.   Thus we are told by Marshall that
in Ceylon, beyond the limits of Negombo and Matura, in the western and
southern aspect  of  the island, the bark is  never of good quality,  being
greatly deficient  in the spicy, aromatic  flavour of the cinnamon; and that
even within these limits it is of unequal value from the various influence of
exposure, soil, shade,  and other circumstances.
   2.  C. aromaticum.  Nees, Laurineae, 52; Lindley,  Flor. Med. 330.—
C. Cassia. Blume; Ed. Ph.; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. <y-c. xii. 23.—
Laurus Cassia.  Aiton, Hort. Kew. ii. 427.—Not Laurus Cassia of Linn.
This is a tree of about the same  magnitude as the former species, and like
it has nearly opposite, shortly petiolate, coriacious, entire leaves, of a shining
green upon the upper  surface, lighter coloured beneath,  and furnished with
three nerves, of which the two lateral vanish  towards the point.  The leaves,
however, differ in being oblong-lanceolate and pointed, and in exhibiting,
under the microscope, a very fine down  upon the under surface.   The foot-
stalks and extreme twigs are also downy.  The flowers are in narrow, silky
panicles.  The plant grows in China, Sumatra, and probably in other parts
of Eastern Asia, and is said  to be cultivated in Java.   It is believed to be
the species which furnishes, wholly or  in part, the  Chinese  cinnamon or
cassia brought from Canton, and is supposed also to be the source of the
cassia buds of commerce.
   Besides the two  species above described, others  have been  thought to
contribute to the cinnamon and cassia found in commerce.  The opinion of
Dr. Wight has been already stated.  The C. Loureirii of Nees, growing
in the mountains of  Cochin-china  towards Laos, and in Japan,  affords, ac-
cording to Loureiro, a cinnamon, of which the finest  kind is superior to that
of Ceylon.   The C. nitidum, growing in Ceylon, Java, and upon the con-
tinent of India, is said to have been the chief source of the drug, known
formerly by the name of Folia Malabathri, and consisting of the leaves of
different species of  Cinnamomum mixed together.   The leaves of the C.
Tamala of Hindostan have been sold under the same name.   The C. Cu-
lilawan of the Moluccas yields the aromatic  bark called  Culilawan, noticed
in the Appendix; and similar barks are obtained from another species of the
same region, denominated C. rubrum, and from the  C.  Sintoc of Java.
   Culture, Collection, Commerce, fyc.  Our remarks under this head will
first be directed to the cinnamon of Ceylon, in relation to which we have
more precise information than concerning the aromatic obtained from other
sources.  The bark  was originally collected  exclusively from the tree in a
wild state; but under the government of the Dutch the practice of cultivating
it was  introduced, and it  has  been continued since  the  British  have  come
into possession of the island.  The principal cinnamon gardens are in the
vicinity of Columbo.  The seeds are planted in  a  prepared soil at certain
distances, and as  four or five are placed in a spot, the plants usually grow in
clusters like the hazel  bush.  In favourable situations they attain the height
of five or six feet in  six or seven years,  and  a healthy bush will then afford
two or three shoots  fit for pealing; and every second year afterwards will
afford from four to  seven shoots  in a  good soil.   The cinnamon harvest
commences in May and continues till late in October.  The first object is
to  select shoots proper for decortication, and  those are seldom cut which are 
248
Cinnamomum.
part i.
less than half an inch, or more than two or three inches in diameter.   The
bark is divided by longitudinal incisions, of which two  are made opposite
to each other in the  smaller shoots, several  in the larger, and is  then re-
moved in strips by means  of  a suitable instrument.   The pieces are next
collected in bundles, and allowed to remain in this state  for a short time, so
as to undergo a degree of fermentation which facilitates the  separation of
the cuticle.   The  epidermis and the green matter beneath it are removed
by placing the strip of bark upon a convex piece of wood,  and scraping its
external surface with a curved knife.   The bark  now dries and contracts,
assuming the appearance of a quill.  The peeler introduces the smaller tubes
into  the  larger, thus forming  a congeries of quills into a cylindrical  pipe
which is about forty inches long.   When  sufficiently dry, these cylinders
are collected into bundles weighing about thirty pounds,  and bound together
by pieces of split bamboo.  The commerce in Ceylon cinnamon was formerly
monopolized by the East India Company; but the cultivation is now unre-
stricted, and the bark  may be freely exported upon the  payment of a duty
of three shillings sterling a pound. {Ruschenberger.)   It is assorted in the
island into three qualities, distinguished by the designations of first, second,
and third.   The inferior kinds, which are of insufficient value to pay the
duty, are used for the  preparation of oil of cinnamon.  Formerly, according
to Marshall, they were exported to the  continent of India, whence a portion
was said to reach Europe under the name of cassia.
   Immense quantities of cinnamon are exported  from China, the finest of
which  is little  inferior to that of Ceylon,  though the mass of it is much
coarser.   It passes in commerce under the  name  of cassia; and is said by
Mr. Reeves  to be brought to Canton from the province of Kwangse, where
the tree producing it grows very abundantly. {Trans. Med. Bot. Soc. 1828,
p. 26.)   It has  already been stated, that this tree is supposed to be the Cin-
namomum aromaticum; but we have no positive proof of the fact.  Tra-
vellers inform us that  cinnamon is also  collected in Cochin-china; but that
the best of it is monopolized by the sovereign of the country. It is supposed
to be obtained from the Cinnamomum Loureirii of Nees, the  Laurus Cin-
namomum of Loureiro. According to Siebold, the bark of the large branches
is of inferior quality and is rejected, as it will not bear the expense of car-
riage; that from the smallest  branches resembles the Ceylon  cinnamon in
thickness, but has  a very pungent  taste and  smell, and is  little esteemed;
while the intermediate branches  yield an excellent  bark, about a line in
thickness, which is even more highly valued than the cinnamon of Ceylon,
and yields on distillation a sweeter and less pungent oil. {Annul, der Pharm.
xx. 280.)  It is highly probable that a  portion of the  cassia exported from
Canton is derived from Cochin-china and the islands of the Indian Archi-
pelago.
   Cinnamon of good  quality is said to be  collected in Java, and consider-
able quantities of inferior quality have been thrown into commerce, as cassia
lignea, from the Malabar coast.   Manilla and the Isle  of  France are also
mentioned as sources whence this drug is supplied.  Little, however, reaches
the United States from these places.
   Cayenne, and several of the West India Islands, yield to commerce
considerable quantities of cinnamon of various qualities.   That of Cayenne
is of two kinds, one of which closely resembles, though it does not quite
equal,  the aromatic of Ceylon;  the other resembles the  Chinese.  The
former is supposed to  be derived from  plants propagated from  a Ceylonese
stock, the latter from those  which have sprung from a tree introduced from
Sumatra. 
PART I.
Cinnamomum.
249
    By far the greater proportion of cinnamon brought to this country is im-
 ported from China.  It is entered as cassia at the custom house, while the
 same article brought from other sources is almost uniformly entered as cin-
 namon.  By an examination of the  treasury  returns from the year 1820
 to 1829, we found that  the average annual import  of  this spice  was, in
 round numbers, 652,000 pounds from China, 12,000 pounds from England,
 9,000 pounds from the British East Indies,  3,000 pounds from the West
 Indies, and an insignificant quantity from all other places, with the excep-
 tion  of 12,758 pounds brought in one year from the Philippines.  There is
 no doubt that much of the amount brought from China is exported; but we
 have not been able to ascertain the proportion.
    From what source the  ancients derived their cinnamon and cassia cannot
 now be ascertained with  certainty.  Neither the plants nor  their localities,
 as described by Dioscorides, Pliny, and Theophrastus, correspond precisely
 with our present knowledge;  but  in this respect much allowance must be
 made for the inaccurate geography of the ancients.  It is not improbable
 that the Arabian or other Eastern navigators, at a  very early period,  con-
 veyed this spice within the limits of Phoenician and Grecian, and subse-
 quently of Roman  commerce.
    Properties.  Ceylon cinnamon is in long cylindrical fasciculi, composed
 of numerous quills, the larger enclosing the  smaller.  The finest is  of a
 light brownish-yellow colour, almost as thin as paper, smooth, often some-
 what shining, pliable to a considerable extent, with a splintery fracture when
 broken.  It has a pleasant fragrant odour, and a warm, aromatic, pungent,
 sweetish, slightly astringent, and highly agreeable taste.  When distilled it
 affords but  a small quantity of essential oil, which,  however, has an ex-
 ceedingly grateful flavour.  It is brought to  this country from England; but
 is  very costly, and  is not  generally kept in  the shops.   The inferior sorts
 are browner, thicker, less splintery, and of a less agreeable flavour, and are
 little  if at all superior to the best Chinese.   The finer variety of Cayenne
 cinnamon approaches in character to that above described, but is paler and
 in  thicker pieces, being usually collected from older branches.  That which
 is gathered  very young, is  scarcely distinguishable from the  cinnamon of
 Ceylon.  It is not recognised in our markets as a distinct variety.
   The Chinese cinnamon, called cassia in commercial language, is usually
 in  single tubes of various sizes, from an eighth of an inch to  half an  inch or
 even  an inch in diameter.  Sometimes the tubes are  double, but very rarely
 more than double.   In some instances the  bark is rolled very much upon
 itself, in others is not even  completely quilled, forming  segments more or
 less extensive of a hollow cylinder.  It is of a redder or darker colour than
 the finest Ceylon cinnamon, thicker, rougher, denser, and  breaks  with a
 shorter fracture.  It has a stronger, more pungent  and astringent, but less
 sweet and grateful taste;  and, though of a similar odour, is  less  agreeably
 fragrant.  It is the kind almost universally  kept in our  shops, and, while
 it is much cheaper  than the former variety,  is perhaps not inferior to it for
 the preparation of the  various  tinctures,  &c, into which cinnamon enters
 as an  ingredient.  Of a similar character is the cinnamon imported directly
 from various parts of the East Indies.  But under the name of  cassia are also
 brought to us very inferior kinds of cinnamon, collected from the trunks or
 arge branches of the trees, or injured by want of care in keeping, and per-
 haps some  derived  from inferior species.  It  is said that cinnamon from
 which the oil has  been distilled, is sometimes fraudulently mingled with the
genuine.  These inferior kinds  are detected, independently of their greater
thickness, and coarseness of fracture, by their deficiency in the peculiar sen-
sible properties of the spice. 
250
Cinnamomum.
PART i.
  From the analysis made by Vauquelin, it appears that cinnamon contains
a peculiar essential oil, tannin, mucilage, a colouring matter, an acid, and
lignin.  The oil obtained from the Cayenne cinnamon, he found to be more
biting than that from the Ceylonese, and at the same time to be somewhat
peppery.   Bucholz found  in 100 parts of cassia lignea, 0-8 of  volatile oil,
4-0 of resin, 14-6 of gummy extractive (probably including tannin), 64-3 of
lignin and bassorin, and 16*3 of water  including loss.  This aromatic yields
its virtues wholly to alcohol, and less readily to water.  At the temperature
of boiling alcohol  very little of the oil rises, and an extract prepared from
the tincture retains, therefore, the aromatic properties.  For an account of
the essential oil, see Oleum Cinnamomi.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.  Cinnamon  is among the most grateful
and efficient of the aromatics.   It is warm and cordial to the stomach, car-
minative,  astringent, and,  like  most other substances of this  class, more
powerful as a local than general stimulant.  It is  seldom,  however, pre-
scribed alone, though sometimes capable, when given in powder  or infusion,
of allaying nausea, checking vomiting,  and relieving flatulence.   It is chiefly
used as an adjuvant to other less pleasant medicines, and enters  into a great
number of officinal preparations.  It is peculiarly adapted to diarrhoea, and
is often employed in that complaint with chalk and astringents.   The dose
of the powder is from ten grains to a scruple.
  Cassia Buds.   This spice was formerly recognised as officinal by the
Edinburgh College, under the name of Flores Lauri Cassias, but has been
omitted in their last Pharmacopoeia. It consists of the calyx of  one or more
species of Cinnamomum,  surrounding the young germ, and, as stated by
Dr. Martius on the authority of the elder Nees, about one quarter of the
normal size.   It is produced in China; and Mr. Reeves  states that great
quantities of it are brought to Canton  from the province which  affords the
cassia.  The species which yields it is in all probability the same with that
which yields the bark,  though it has been ascribed  by Nees to  the Cinna-
momum Loureirii.  In favour of the former opinion is the statement of Dr.
Christison, that the C. aromaticum, cultivated in the hot houses of Europe,
bears a flower-bud which closely resembles the cassia-bud when at the same
period of advancement.  Cassia-buds have some resemblance to  cloves, and
are compared  to small nails  with round heads.  The enclosed germen is
sometimes removed, and they are then cup-shaped at  top.  They have a
brown colour, with the flavour of cinnamon, and yield an essential oil upon
distillation.  Though little known in this country, they may  be used for
the same purposes as the bark.
   Off. Prep.  Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum, U. S., Ed., Dub.; Aqua
Cassiae, Ed.;  Aqua Cinnamomi, Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Confectio Aromatica,
Lond., Dub.; Decoctum Haematoxyli, Ed., Dub.; Electuarium Catechu,
Ed.,  Dub.;  Emplastrum  Aromaticum, Dub.;  Infusum  Catechu  Comp.>
U.S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Pulvis Aromaticus, U. S., Ed., Dub.;  Pulvis
Cinnamomi Comp., Lond.;  Pulvis Cretae Comp., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Pul-
vis Kino  Comp., Lond., Dub.;  Spiritus Ammoniae Aromaticus, U. S.,
Lond., Dub.;  Spiritus Cassiae, Ed.; jSpiritus Cinnamomi, Dub., Ed.',
Spiritus Lavandulae Comp., U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.; Syrupus Rhei Aro-
maticus,  U.S.; Tinctura Cardamomi Comp., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinctura
Cassiae, Ed.-,  Tinctura Catechu, U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Cin-
namomi,  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura  Cinnamomi  Comp., U.S.,
Lond., Ed.; Tinctura  Quassiae Comp., Ed.;  Vinum Opii, U. S., Lond-,
Ed., Dub.                                                     W. 
PART I.
Cocculus.
251
                       COCCULUS.  Ed.

                        Cocculus Indicus.

  " Fruit of Anamirta Cocculus."  Ed.
  Off Syn.  COCCULUS  SUBEROSUS. Fructus. Dub.
  Cnquedu Levant, Fr.; Kokkclskorner, Fischktirner, Germ.; Galla di Lcvante, Ital.
  The plant which produces  Cocculus Indicus was embraced by Linnaeus,
with  several  others, under the common title of Menispermum Cocculus.
These were afterwards referred by De Candolle to a  new genus, which he
demominated Cocculus.  From this the particular species under considera-
tion has recently been separated by  Wight and Arnott, and  erected into a
distinct  genus with  the name of Anamirta, which has been adopted by
Lindley and other botanists.
  Anamirta. Sex. Syst. DiceciaDodecandria.—Nat. Ord. Menispermaceae.
  Gen.  Ch. Flowers dioecious. Calyx of six sepals in a double series, with
two close-pressed bractioles.   Corolla none.  Male. Stamens united into a
central column dilated at the  apex. Anthers numerous, covering the whole
globose apex of the column.  Female. Flowers unknown.   Drupes one
to three, one-celled, one-seeded.  Seed globose, deeply excavated at  the
hilum.  Albumen fleshy.  Cotyledons  very thin, diverging.  {Wight and
Arnott.)
   Anamirta Cocculus. Wight and Arnott, Flor. Penins. Ind. Orient, i. 446;
Lindley, Flor. Med. 371.—Menispermum Cocculus. Linn.—Cocculus Su-
berosus. De Cand. Prodrom. i. 97.  This is the only species. It is a climb-
ing shrub, with a suberose or  corky bark; thick, coriaceous, smooth, shining,
roundish or cordate leaves, sometimes truncate at the base;  and the female
flowers  in lateral compound racemes.  It is  a native of the Malabar coast,
and of Eastern Insular and  Continental India.   The fruit is the officinal
portion.
  This  plant was proved to be the source of Cocculus Indicus by Roxburgh,
who raised it from genuine seeds which he had received from Malabar, and
planted  in the recent state.   It is believed that other allied plants, bearing
similar fruit,  contribute to furnish the drug; and the Cocculus Plukenetii of
Malabar, and C. lacunosus of Celebes and  the  Moluccas are particularly
designated  by authors.  It was known to the Arabian physicians,  and for a
long time was imported into Europe  from the  Levant, from which circum-
stance it was called cocculus Levanticus.   It is  now brought  exclusively
from  the East Indies.
  Properties, fyc.   Cocculus Indicus, as  found in the shops, is roundish,
somewhat kidney-shaped, about as large as a pea; having a thin, dry, black-
ish, wrinkled exterior  coat,  within  which is  a ligneous  bivalvular shell,
enclosing a whitish, oily, very bitter kernel. It is without smell, but has an
intensely and permanently bitter  taste.  It bears some resemblance to the
bay berry,  but is  not quite so large, and  may be distinguished by the fact
that in the Cocculus Indicus the kernel never wholly fills the shell.  When
the fruit is kept long, the shell is sometimes almost empty.  The Edinburgh
College directs that " the kernels should fill at least two-thirds of the fruit."
M. Boullay discovered in the seeds a peculiar  bitter principle which he de-
nominated picrotoxin.  This is white, crystallizable in quadrangular prisms,
soluble in twenty-five parts of boiling and fifty of cold water, very soluble
in alcohol and ether, but insoluble in the oils.   It is poisonous, and, in the
quantity of from five to ten grains given to strong dogs, produces death pre- 
252
Cocculus.— Coccus,
PART I.
 ceded by convulsions.  To procure  it,  the watery extract of the  seeds is
 triturated with pure magnesia, and then treated  with hot alcohol, which
 dissolves the picrotoxin, and yields it upon evaporation. In this stale, how-
 ever, it is impure.  To obtain it colourless it must be again dissolved in
 alcohol, and  treated with animal charcoal.  After  filtration and due evapo-
 ration, it  is deposited in the crystalline form.   Besides picrotoxin, Cocculus
 Indicus contains a large proportion of fixed oil and some  other substances
 of less interest.   The  active principle above described is said to reside ex-
 clusively in the kernel, upon which part M. Boullay operated.  In the shell,
 MM. Pelletier and Couerbe discovered two distinct principles, one having
 alkaline properties and named  menispermin (menispermia), the other iden-
 tical with it in composition, but distinguishable by its want of alkalinity, its
 volatility, and its solubility and crystalline form, and denominated parame-
 nispcrmin.   They also found, in  the same part,  a new acid, which they
 called hypo-picrotoxic.  The picrotoxin of M.  Boullay they believed to pos-
 sess acid properties, and, under this  impression, proposed for it the name
 of picrotoxic acid. {Journ. de Pharm. xx. 122.)
   Medical  Properties, 8,-c.  Cocculus Indicus acts upon the system in the
 manner of the acrid narcotic poisons, but is never given internally. In India
 it is used  to stupify fishes in order that they may be caught; and it has been
 applied to the same purpose in Europe and this country. It is asserted that
 the fish thus taken are not poisonous.   In Europe, it  is said to be added
 to malt liquors in order to  give them bitterness and intoxicating proper-
 ties, although the practice is forbidden by the law, in England, under heavy
 penalties.   The powdered  fruit, mixed with oil, is employed in the East
 Indies as a local  application in obstinate cutaneous  affections.  An oint-
 ment made  with the powder has been used in tinea capitis and to destroy
vermin in the hair.  Picrotoxin has been successfully substituted by Dr.
Jaeger for the drug itself.  Rubbed  up with lard in the proportion  of ten
grains to the ounce, it usually effected  cures of tinea capitis in less  than a
month.
   Off. Prep.  Unguentum Cocculi, Ed.                            W.
                          COCCUS.  U.S.

                              Cochineal.

   « Coccus Cacti." U. S.
   Off. Syn. COCCI. Coccus Cacti. Lond., Ed.; COCCUS CACTI. Dub.
   Cochenille, Fr., Germ.; Coceiniglia, Ital.; Coehinilla, Span.
   The Coccus is a genus of hemipterous insects, having the snout or rostrum
in the breast, the antennae filiform, and the posterior part of the abdomen
furnished with bristles. The male has two  erect wings, the female is wing-
less.  The C. Cacti is characterized by its  depressed, downy, transversely
wrinkled body, its purplish abdomen, its short and black legs, and its subu-
late antennae, which are about one-third of the length of the body,  (Bees's
Cyclopaedia.)
   This insect is found wild in Mexico and  the adjoining countries, inhabit-
ing different species of Cactus and allied genera  of plants; and is said to
have been discovered also in some of the West India islands, and the southern
parts of  the United States.  In  Mexico, particularly in  the  provinces of
Oaxaca and Guaxaca, it is an important  object  of culture.   The Indians
form plantations of the nopal {Opuntia cochinillefera), upon which the insect 
PART i.                       Coccus.                            253

feeds and propagates.   During the rainy season, a number of the females
are preserved under cover upon the branches of the plant, and are distributed
after the cessation of the rains upon the plants without.  They perish very
speedily after having deposited  their  eggs.   These, hatched by the heat of
the sun, give origin to innumerable minute insects, which spread themselves
over the plant.   The males, of which, according  to Mr. Ellis, the propor-
tion is not greater than one to one hundred  or  two hundred females, being
provided  with  wings and very active, approach and  fecundate  the  latter.
After this period, the females, which before  moved about, attach themselves
to the leaves, and increase rapidly in size;  so  that,  in the  end, their legs,
antennae, and proboscis are scarcely discoverable, and they appear more like
excrescences on the plant than distinct  animated beings.  They are now
gathered  for use, by detaching  them  from  the  plant  by means of a blunt
knife, a few being left to continue the race.  They are destroyed either by
dipping them enclosed in a bag into boiling water, or by the heat of a stove.
In the former  case they are  subsequently dried in the sun.  The males,
which are much smaller than the full grown females, are not collected.  It is
 said that of the wild insect there  are six generations every year,  furnishing
 an equal number  of crops; but the domestic is collected only three times
 annually, the propagation being suspended  during the rainy season,  in con-
 sequence of its inability to support  the inclemency of the weather.  The
 insect has been taken from Mexico to the Canary Islands, where it has been
 successfully propagated; and considerable quantities of cochineal have been
 delivered to commerce  from  the  island of  Teneriffe.   Attempts have  also
 been made  to introduce the culture into Spain, Corsica, and Algiers. (Journ.
 de Pharm. xxv. 592.)
    As kept  in  the shops, the  finer cochineal, grana fina of Spanish com-
 merce, is in irregularly circular or oval somewhat angular grains,  about one-
 eighth  of an inch in diameter, convex on one  side, concave or flat on  the
 other, and marked with several transverse wrinkles.   Two varieties of this
 kind of cochineal are known to the druggist, distinguished ,by their external
 appearance.   One is of a reddish-gray colour, formed  by an intermixture of
 the dark colour of the insect with the whiteness of a powder by which it is
 almost covered, and with patches of a rosy tinge irregularly interspersed.
 From its diversified appearance, it  is called by  the  Spaniards cochinilla
 jaspeada.  It is the variety commonly kept in our shops.  The other, cochi-
 nilla renegrida, or grana nigra, is dark coloured, almost black, with only
 a minute quantity of the whitish powder between the wrinkles.   The two
 are distinguished in our markets  by the name of silver grains and black
 grains.  Guibourt supposes  the  difference to depend upon the effect of
 culture, or, perhaps, on  original varieties in the  insect.  According to others,
 it arises from the mode  of preparation; the  gray cochineal consisting of the
insects  destroyed by a dry heat; the black, of those destroyed by  immersion
in hot water, which removes the  external whitish powder.  There is little
or no difference in their quality.
   Another and much inferior variety is the grana sylvestra or wild cochi-
neal, consisting partly of very small separate insects,  partly of roundish or
oval masses, which  exhibit, under the microscope, minute and apparently
new born insects, enclosed in a white or reddish cotton-like substance.   It
is scarcely known in our drug market.
   Cochineal has  a faint heavy odour, and  a bitter slightly acidulous taste.
Its powder is of a purplish carmine colour, tinging the saliva intensely red.
According to  Pelletier  and Caventou,  it consists of a peculiar colouring
principle which they call carmine, a  peculiar animal matter constituting the 
254              Coccus.—Cochlearia Officinalis.           part i.

skeleton of the  insect,  a fatty matter composed of stearin  and olein, an
odorous fatty acid, and  various salts.  It was also analyzed  by John,  who
called the colouring"  principle cochinilin.  Carmine  is of a brilliant purple
red colour, unalterable in dry air, fusible at 122° F., very soluble in water,
soluble in cold, and more so in boiling alcohol, insoluble in ether, and with-
out nitrogen among its constituents.  It is obtained by macerating cochineal
in ether, and treating the residue with successive portions of boiling alcohol,
which on cooling deposit a part of the carmine, and yield the remainder by
spontaneous evaporation.  It may be freed from a small proportion of fatty
matter which adheres to it, by dissolving  it  in alcohol of  40°  Baume, and
then adding an equal quantity of sulphuric ether.  Pure carmine is deposited
in the course of a few days.  The watery infusion of cochineal is of a violet
crimson  colour, which  is  brightened  by the acids, and  deepened by the
alkalies.   The  colouring matter of cochineal is readily precipitated.  The
salts of  zinc, bismuth, and nickel produce a lilac precipitate, and those of
iron a dark purple approaching to  black.  The  salts of tin, especially the
nitrate and chloride, precipitate the colouring matter of a brilliant scarlet, and
form the basis of those  splendid scarlet and crimson  dyes, which have ren-
dered cochineal so valuable in the arts.   With alumina the colouring matter
forms the  pigment  called lake.   The  finest  lakes are obtained by mixing
the decoction of cochineal with freshly prepared  gelatinous alumina.   The
pigment called carmine is the colouring matter of cochineal  precipitated
from the decoction by  acids, the salts of tin, &c, or animal  gelatin,  and
when properly made is  of the most intense and brilliant scarlet.
   Cochineal has been adulterated by causing certain heavy substances, by
shaking in a bag or otherwise, to  adhere to the surface of the  insects, and
thus increase their weight.   The fraud may be  detected by the absence,
under the microscope, of a woolly appearance which characterizes the white
powder upon the surface of the unadulterated insect.
   Medical Properties,  Sfc.  Cochineal is supposed by some to possess
anodyne properties, and has been recommended in hooping cough and neu-
ralgic affections; but it is little used internally.  In pharmacy it is employed
to colour tinctures and ointments.
   The  dose of a tincture prepared  by macerating one part of cochineal in
eight parts of diluted alcohol, is  for an adult  from  twenty to  thirty drops
twice a day.   In neuralgic paroxysms, Sauter gave half a  tablespoonful,
with the asserted effect  of curing  the disease.
   Off. Prep. Tinctura  Cardamomi  Composita,  Lond., Ed.; Tinct. Cin-
chonae Comp., Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.; Tinct. Gentianae Comp., Ed.; Tinct.
Quassias Cqmp., Ed.;  Tinct. Serpentariae, Ed.                   W.


      COCHLEARIA  OFFICINALIS.  Herba. Dub.

                       Common Scurvy-grass.

   Cranson, Herbc aux cuillers, Fr.;  Loffelkraut, Germ.; Coclearia, Ital., Span.
   Cochlearia. See ARMORACIA.
   Cochlearia officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 448; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
393. t.  112.  The common scurvy-grass  is an  annual or biennial plant,
sending up early in the spring a tuft  of radical leaves, which are heart-
shaped, roundish, of a  deep  shining green colour, and supported on long
footstalks.  The leaves  of the stem are alternate, oblong, somewhat sinuate,
the lower petiolate, the  upper sessile. The stem is erect, branched, angular,
six or eight inches high, and bears, at the extremity of the branches, nuntf- 
parti.      Cochlearia Officinalis.—Colchici Radix.          255
rous white cruciform peduncled flowers, in thick clusters.   The fruit is a
roundish two-celled pod, containing numerous seeds.  The whole plant is
smooth  and succulent.
  It is  a native of the northern countries of Europe, where, as well as in
the United States, it is occasionally cultivated in gardens.  The whole herb
is officinal.   It has, when fresh, a pungent unpleasant odour if bruised, and
a warm, acrid, bitter taste.  These properties are lost by drying.   They
are imparted to water and alcohol by maceration, are retained by the ex-
pressed  juice, and probably depend on a peculiar volatile oil which is sepa-
rable in very small quantity by distillation with water.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Common scurvy-grass is gently stimulant,
aperient, and  diuretic.  It is highly celebrated as a remedy in sea scurvy;
and has been recommended in  chronic obstructions of the viscera, and  cer-
tain forms of chronic rheumatism.  The fresh plant maybe eaten as a salad,
or used  in the form of infusion in water or wine, or of the expressed juice.
Alcohol and water are impregnated with its virtues  by distillation, and the
distilled spirit has been found useful in paralysis in the dose of thirty drops
several times a day. The expressed juice may be used as a local application
in scorbutic affections of the gums.                              W.
                   COLCHICI RADIX.  U.S.

                         Colchicum Root.

   "The cormus of Colchicum autumnale."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  COLCHICI CORMUS.  Colchicum autumnale.  Cormus.
 Lond.; COLCHICI CORMUS.  The  cormus of Colchicum autumnale.
 Ed.; COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE.  Bulbus.  Dub.

                  COLCHICI  SEMEN. U.S.

                         Colchicum  Seed.

   "The seeds of Colchicum autumnale."  U. S.
   Off Syn.  COLCHICI SEMINA.   Colchicum  autumnale.  Semina.
 o^rT?^CHICI SEMINA.  Seeds of  Colchicum autumnale.  Ed.;
 COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE. Semina. Dub.
   Colchique, Fr.; Zeitlose, HerbstZeitlose, Germ.; Colchico. Ital, Span
   Colchici m. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Melanthacete.
   Gen. Ch.  A spathe.  Corolla six-parted, with a tube proceedino- directly
from the root.  Capsules three, connected,  inflated. Willd.
   Colchicum autumnale.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 272; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
759. t. 258.  This species of Colchicum, often called meadow-saffron, is
a perennial  bulbous plant, the leaves of which appear in spring, and the
flowers m autumn.   Its  manner of growth is peculiar,  and  deserves notice
in this place, as connected in some measure with its medicinal efficacy.  In
the latter part of summer, a new bulb, or cormus as botanists  now call the
part, begins to form at the lateral inferior portion of the old one, which re-
ceives the young offshoot in its bosom, and embraces it half round.  The
new  plant  sends  out  fibres from its base,  and is furnished with a radical
spathe, which  is cylindrical, tubular, cloven at top  on one side,  and half
under ground.   In September,  from two to six flowers,  of a lilac  or pale
purple colour,  emerge from the spathe, unaccompanied with leaves.  The
corolla consists of a tube five inches long, concealed for two-thirds  of its 
256
Colchici Radix.
part i.
length in the ground, and of a limb divided into six segments.  The flowers
perish by the end of October, and the rudiments of the fruit remain under
ground till the following spring, when they rise upon a stem above the sur-
face in the form of  a threedobed, three-celled capsule.   The leaves of the
new plant appear at the same  time, so that in fact they follow  the flower
instead of preceding it, as might be inferred from the  order of the seasons
in which they respectively show themselves.  The leaves are radical, spear-
shaped, erect, numerous, about  five  inches long, and one inch broad at the
base.  In the mean time, the new bulb has been increasing at the expense
of the old, which having performed  its appointed office perishes, while the
former, after attaining its full growth, sends  forth new  shoots from itself,
and in its turn decays.  Each parent bulb has two offsets.
   The C. autumnale is a native of the temperate parts of Europe, where it
grows wild in moist meadows.   Various  attempts have been made to intro-
duce its culture  into this  country, but with no very encouraging success;
though small quantities of the  bulb  of apparently good  quality have been
brought into the market.   The officinal  portions are the  bulb or cormus,
and the seeds.   The root, botanically speaking,  consists  of the fibres which
are attached to the base of  the bulb.   The flowers have been found to pos-
sess similar virtues with the bulb and  seeds, but have not been adopted in
the Pharmacopoeias.

                          1.  Colchici Radix.
   The medicinal virtue of the bulb depends much upon the season at which
it is collected.   Early  in the spring it is too young to have  fully developed
its peculiar properties; and late in the  fall it has become exhausted by (he
nourishment which it has afforded to the new plant.  The proper period for
its collection is  from  the early part  of June,  when  it  has usually attained
perfection, to the middle of August, when  the offset appears.  It is probably
owing, in  great measure, to this inequality in  the  colchicum  at different
seasons, that entirely opposite reports  have been given by different authors
of its powers.   Krapf ate whole bulbs without experiencing inconvenience;
Haller found it entirely void of taste and acrimony;  and  we are told that in
Carniola the peasants use it as food with impunity in the autumn.  On the
contrary, abundant  testimony might be adduced of its highly irritating and
poisonous nature, of which in fact there exists at present no doubt.  Per-
haps soil and climate  may  have some  influence in modifying its character,
   The meadow-saffron bulb is often used  in the fresh state  in the countries
where it grows, as it is apt to be injured in drying, unless the process is
very carefully conducted.   The usual  plan is to cut the bulb, as  soon after
it has been dug up as possible,  into thin transverse slices, which are spread
out separately upon paper  or  perforated trays,  and  dried with a moderate
heat.  The reason for drying it very speedily after removal from the ground,
is  that it otherwise  begins  to vegetate, and a change in its  chemical nature
takes place; and such is its retentiveness of life, that if not cut in slices, it is
liable to undergo a partial  vegetation even during the drying process. It
sustains much loss of weight by exsiccation.   Mr. Bainbridge obtained only
two pounds fifteen ounces of dried bulb from eight pounds of the fresh.
   Properties.   The recent bulb or cormus of the C. autumnale resembles
that of the tulip  in shape and size, and is covered with a brown membranous
coat.  Internally it is solid, white, and fleshy; and when cut transversely)
yields, if mature, an acrid  milky juice.  Dr. J. R. Coxe lays much stress
on a small  lateral projection from  its base, which serves in his  opinion to
distinguish it from all  other bulbs; but which appears to be merely a con- 
PART I.
Colchici Radix.
257
nectino* process between it and the new plant, and  is not  always present.
When dried and deprived of its external membranous covering, the bulb is
of an ash-brown colour, convex on one side, and somewhat flattened on the
other, where it is  marked by a deep groove extending from  the base to the
summit.  As found in our shops it is always in the dried state, sometimes
in segments made by vertical  sections of the bulb, but generally in trans-
verse circular slices, about the eighth or tenth of an inch in thickness,  with
a notch at one part of their  circumference.  The cut surface is white, and
of an amylaceous aspect. The odour of the recent bulb is said to be Mr cine;
the dried is inodorous.   The taste is bitter, hot, and acrid.   Its constituents,
according to Pelletier and Caventou, are a peculiar vegetable alkali denomi-
nated veratria* combined with an excess of gallic acid; a fatty matter com-
posed of olein,  stearin, and  a peculiar volatile acid analogous to the cevadic;
a yellow colouring matter;  gum; starch; inulin in large quantity; and lignin.
The  active  properties are ascribed to the veratria, for an account of which
see  Veratrum album.  Wine and vinegar extract all the virtues of the bulb.
Dr. A.  T.Thomson informs  us  that the milky juice of fresh  colchicum
produces a beautiful cerulean blue colour, if rubbed with the alcoholic solu-
tion of guaiac;  and that the same effect is obtained by substituting for the
juice an acetic solution of the  dried bulb.  He considers the appearance of
 this colour, when the slices are rubbed with a little distilled vinegar and
 tincture of guaiac, as a proof that  the drug is good and has been well dried.
 A very deep or large notch in the circumference of  the slices is considered
 by the same author an unfavourable sign, as it indicates that the bulb has
 been somewhat exhausted in the nourishment of the offset.   The decoction
 yields a deep blue  precipitate with solution of iodine, white precipitates
with the acetates of lead, nitrate  of protoxide of mercury,  and nitrate of
silver, and  a slight precipitate with tincture of galls.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.   Meadow-saffron  is believed to act upon
the nervous system, allaying pain  and producing other sedative effects, even
when it exerts no obvious influence over the  secretions.   Generally speak-
ing, when taken in doses sufficiently large to  affect the system, it gives rise
to more or  less  disorder of the  stomach or bowels, and sometimes occasions
active vomiting and purging, with the most distressing nausea.  When not
carried off  by the bowels, it often  produces copious diaphoresis, and occa-
sionally acts as a  diuretic and expectorant; and a case is on record of a vio-
lent salivation supposed to have resulted from its use.   (N. Am. Med. and

  * According to  Geiger and Hesse, the organic alkali of the meadow-saffron is peculiar,
and entirely distinct  from veratria, with which it has been  confounded.  They propose
for it the name of colchicine, which, in accordance  with our nomenclature, should be
changed to colchicia.   It is crystallizable, and has a very bitter  and  sharp taste, but is
destitute of the extreme acrimony of veratria, and does  not, like that principle, excite
violent sneezing when applied to the nostrils.  It differs also in being- more soluble in
water, and less poisonous in its influence on the animal system.  To a kitten eight weeks
old, one-tenth of a grain was given dissolved  in a little "dilute alcohol.   Violent purging
and vomiting  were produced, with apparently severe  pain and convulsions, and the ani,
mal died at the end of twelve hours.  The stomach and bowels were found violently in-
flamed, with effusion of blood throughout their whole extent.  A kitten somewhat younger
was destroyed in ten minutes by only the twentieth of a grain of veratria; and, on exami-
nation after death, marks of inflammation were found only in the upper part of the oeso-
phagus.  We do not  know that the conclusions of Geiger and Hesse have yet been con-
firmed by other experimentalists.  The  process for obtaining colchicia is similar to that
employed in the preparation of hyoscyamia from hyoscyamus.  (See the Article Hyos-
cyamus.)  A  simpler process is to digest the seeds of meadow-saffron in boiling alcohol,
precipitate the tincture with magnesia, treat the precipitated matter with boiling alcohol,
and finally filter and evaporate.
                                   23* 
258             Colchici Radix.—Colchici Semen.          parti.

Surg. Journ. x. 204.)  It appears in fact to have the property of stimulating
all  the secretions, while  it rather diminishes than otherwise the action of
the heart.  In an overdose, it is capable of  producing dangerous and even
fatal effects.   Excessive nausea and vomiting, abdominal  pains, purging
and tenesmus, sinking of the pulse, coldness  of the extremities, and general
prostration, with occasional symptoms of nervous derangement, are among
the results of its poisonous action.   It was well known to the ancients as a
poison, and is said to have been employed by them as a remedy in gout and
other diseases.   Storck revived its use among the  moderns.   He gave it as
a diuretic and expectorant in  dropsy and humoral asthma; and on  the con-
tinent of Europe it acquired considerable reputation in these complaints; but
the uncertainty of its operation led  to its general  abandonment, and it had
fallen into almost entire  neglect, when Dr. Want of London again brought
it into notice, by attempting to prove its identity with the active ingredient
of the eau medicinale d'Husson, so highly celebrated as a  cure for gout,
The chief employment of the meadow-saffron is at present in the treatment
of gout and  rheumatism, in  which experience has abundantly proved it to
be a highly valuable  remedy.  We have, within our own observation, found
it especially useful in these affections, when of a shifting or neuralgic char-
acter.  It sometimes produces relief without obviously affecting the system;
but is more efficient  when it evinces its influence upon  the skin  or alimen-
tary canal.   Professor Chelius states that it changes the chemical constitu-
tion of the urine in arthritic patients, producing an evident  increase of the
uric acid. (N Am. Med. and Surg. Journ. xi. 234.)   This effect, however,
is by no  means uniform.   Dr.  Elliotson  successfully treated a case of pru-
rigo with the wine of colchicum, given in the dose of half  a drachm three
times a day, and continued for three weeks.   (Medico-Chirurg. Rev. Oct.
1827.)  Dr. Smith, of Port au Prince, employed it advantageously in tetanus
both traumatic and idiopathic.  He gave it in full doses repeated every half
hour till  it produced  an emetic or cathartic effect.  (Am. Journ. of the Med.
Sci. xvii. 66.)  Mr. Ritton found the powdered bulb an effectual remedy in
numerous cases of leucorrhoea. (Ibid. vi. 527.)   Colchicum has also been
recommended in  inflammatory and febrile diseases  as  an adjuvant  to the
lancet, in diseases of the heart with excessive action, in various nervous
complaints, as chorea, hysteria, and hypochondriasis, and in chronic bron-
chial  affections.  The medicine is generally given  in  the  state of vinous
tincture.   (See  Vinum Colchici Radicis.)  In  this form it  has  been used
externally in rheumatism.  The dose of the dried  bulb is from two to eight
grains, which may be repeated every four or six hours till the effects of the
medicine are obtained.
   Off. Prep.  Acetum Colchici, U. S.,  Lond., Ed.;  Extractum  Colchici
Aceticum, Lond., Ed.;  Extractum Colchici Cormi, Lond.; Oxymel Col-
chici, Dub.;  Vinum Colchici Radicis, U.S., Lond., Ed.

                          2. Colchici Semen.
  The seeds of the meadow-saffron ripen in summer, and should be col-
lected about the end  of July or beginning of August.  They never arrive at
maturity in plants cultivated  in a dry soil, or in confined gardens.  (Wil-
liams.)  They are nearly spherical, about the eighth of an inch in diameter,
of a reddish-brown  colour externally, white within, and of a bitter acrid
taste.  Their active  properties reside in the testa or husk, and they should
not, therefore, be bruised in the preparation of the wine or tincture.* Dr'

  * The following description of the seeds is given by Mr. Gray in the Lond. Med. Re- 
part i.            Colchici Semen.— Colocynlhis.               259

Williams of Ipswich in England, who first brought them int6 notice, recom-
mends them  in the warmest terms in chronic rheumatism, and considers
them superior to the bulb, both  in the certainty of their  effects  and the
mildness of their operation.  There is no doubt that they possess virtues
analogous to those of  the bulb,  and have  this advantage,  that they are not
liable to  become  injured by drying—an advantage of peculiar  value in a
country where the  plant is  not cultivated, and where the bulb cannot  be
readily procured in the fresh state.  A wine of the seeds is directed  in the
United States Pharmacopeia.  Their dose is about the same with that of
the bulb.
   Off. Prep.  Tinctura Colchici Composita, Lond.; Tinct. Colchici  Semi-
nis, U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.;  Vinum Colchici Seminis,  U. S.      W.

             COLOCYNTHIS.  U. S., Lond., Ed.

                              Colocynth.

   " The  fruit of Cucumis Colocynthis deprived of its rind." U. S.    " Cu-
cumis Colocynthis.  Peponum Pulpa exsiccata."  Lond.   " Pulp of the
fruit of Cucumis  Colocynthis." Ed.
   Off. Syn. CUCUMIS COLOCYNTHIS. Fructus pulpa. Dub.
  Coloquintida; Coloquinte,  Fr.; Coloquinte, Coloquintenapfel, Germ.; Coloquintida, Ital.,
Span.
   Cucumis. Sex. Syst.  Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Cucurbitaceae.
   Gen.  Ch.  Male.  Calyx five-toothed.   Corolla five-parted.   Filaments
three.  Female.  Calyx five-toothed. Corolla five-parted. Pistil  three-cleft.
Seeds of the gourd with a sharp edge. Willd.
   Cucumis Colocynthis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 611; Woodv. Med.  Bot. p.
189. t. 71.  The bitter  cucumber is an annual plant, bearing considerable
resemblance in appearance to the common cucumber of our gardens.   The
stems, which  are  herbaceous and beset with rough  hairs, trail upon the
ground, or rise upon  neighbouring  bodies  to  which they attach  themselves
by their  numerous tendrils.  The leaves are  of a triangular shape, many-
cleft, variously sinuated, obtuse, hairy, of a fine green colour on the upper
surface, rough and  pale on the  under;  and stand alternately upon long pe-
tioles. The flowers are yellow, and appear singly at the axils of the leaves.
The fruit is a globular pepo, of the size of a small orange, yellow and  smooth
when ripe; and contains, within  a hard coriaceous rind,  a white  spongy
medullary matter, enclosing numerous ovate, compressed, white or brownish
seeds. '
   The plant is a native  of Turkey, and abounds in the islands of the Archi-
pelago.   It grows also in various  parts of Africa and Asia.   Burkhardt, in
his travels  across  Nubia, found  the country covered with it; Thunberg met
with it at the Cape of Good Hope;  and Ainslie says that it grows in  many
parts of Lower India, particularly in  sandy situations near the  sea.  It is
said to be cultivated in Spain.
   The fruit is gathered in autumn, when it begins to assume a yellow colour,

pository for April, 1851.  "Seeds, ovate, globose, about one-eighth of an inch in  diameter.
Integuments, simple, soft, spongy, membranaceous, thin, reddish-brown, closely adherent
to the perisperm.  Peris perm or albumen, hard, rather  cartilaginous, pellucid, pale, not in
the least divided, of the same shape as the seed.  Corculum or embryo, very small, ovate
globose, not in the least divided, whitish, placed nearly opposite to the hylum, or that part
where the seed is affixed to the parent plant, but out of the axis of the seed.  Base pointing
to the hylum, slender.  Apex very obtuse."  An acquaintance with the real characters of
the seeds is the more necessary, as the seeds of other plants have been sold  for them. 
260
Colocynthis.
part r.
 and, having been  peeled, is dried quickly either in a stove or by the sun.
 Thus prepared it  is imported from the Levant.   Pereira  states  that very
 small quantities are imported into England from Mogadore unpeeled.
   Properties.  As kept in the shops, colocynth is in the shape of whitish
 balls, about the size of  a small orange, very light and spongy, and abound-
 ing in seeds which constitute three-fourths of their whole weight. The seeds
 are somewhat bitter; but possess comparatively little activity, and, accord-
 ing to Captain Lyon, are  even used  as food  in Northern Africa.  When
 the medicine  is prepared for use, they are separated and rejected, the pulpy
 or medullary  matter only being employed.  This has a very feeble odour,
 but a nauseous and intensely bitter taste.  Water and alcohol extract its vir-
 tues.  Vauquelin obtained the bitter  principle in a separate state, and called
 it colocynthin.  According to the analysis of Meissner, 100 parts of the
 dry pulp of colocynth contain 14-4 parts of colocynthin, 10-0 of extractive,
 4-2 of fixed oil, 13-2 of a resinous substance insoluble in ether, 9-5 of gum,
 3'0 of pectic  acid (pectin),  17-6 of gummy extract  derived  from the lignin
 by means of  potassa, 2-7 of phosphate of lime, 3-0 of phosphate of mag-
 nesia, and  19-0  of lignin,  besides water.  (Berzelius,  Trait, de Chim.)
 Colocynthin is obtained  by boiling the pulp in water, evaporating the decoc-
 tion, treating  the extract thus  procured with  alcohol, evaporating  the alco-
 holic solution, and submitting  the  residue,  which consists  of the bitter
 principle and  acetate of potassa, to the action of a  little cold  water, which
 dissolves the  latter, and leaves the greater part of the former untouched.
 It is of a yellowish-brown colour, somewhat translucent, brittle and friable,
 inflammable, more soluble in alcohol than in water, but capable of impart-
 ing to the latter an intense bitterness.  The aqueous solution gives with
 the  infusion of galls an abundant white precipitate.  An infusion  of  colo-
 cynth, made with boiling water, has a golden-yellow colour, and gelatinizes
 upon cooling.  Neumann obtained from 768 parts of the pulp, treated first
 with alcohol and afterwards with water, 168  parts of alcoholic and 216 of
 aqueous extract.
   Medical  Properties and Uses.  The  pulp of colocynth is a powerful
 drastic, hydragogue cathartic, producing, when given in large doses, violent
 griping,  and sometimes bloody discharges, with dangerous inflammation of
 the bowels.  Death has  resulted from a teaspoonful and a half of the pow-
 der. (Christison.)   Even in moderate doses it sometimes acts with much
 harshness, and is therefore  seldom prescribed alone.  By some writers it
 is stated to be diuretic.   It was frequently employed by the ancient Greeks
 and the  Arabians,  though its  drastic nature was not unknown to them.
 Among the  moderns it is occasionally used, especially by the German prac-
titioners, in obstinate cases of dropsy, and various affections depending on
 disordered action in the brain.  In combination with other cathartics it loses
 much of its violence, but retains its purgative energy; and  in this state is
very  extensively employed.  The compound  extract  of  colocynth  is a
 favourite preparation with many practitioners; and combined with  calomel,
extract of jalap, and gamboge, it forms a highly efficient and safe cathartic,
 especially applicable in congestion of the portal circle and torpidity of the
liver.  (See Pilulae Catharticse  Compositae.)   The dose of  colocynth is
 from five to ten grains.  It is best administered in a state of minute  division
 effected by trituration with gum or farinaceous matter.
   Thunberg states that the fruit of the C. Colocynthis, at the Cape  of Good
 Hope, is rendered so mild by being properly pickled, that it is eaten both by
 the natives and colonists; but as it is thus employed  before attaining perfect 
PART I.
Colocynthis. — Colomba.
261
 maturity, it is possible that  the drastic principle may not have been de-
 veloped.
    Off. Prep. Extractum Colocynthidis, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Extract. Colo-
 cynthidis Comp., U. S., Lond., Dub.; Pilulae Colocynthidis Comp. Dub.,
 Ed.                                                           W.


                        COLOMBA.  U.S.

                              Columbo.

    " The root of Cocculus palmatus." U. S.
    Off. Syn.  CALUMBA. Cocculus palmatus. Radix. Lond.; CALUM-
  BA.  Root  of Cocculus palmatus. Ed.;  COLOMBA.  Radix. Dub.
    Colombo,  Fr.; Colurnbowurz^l,  Germ.; Columba, Ital.; Raiz de Columbo, Span.; Ka-
  Jumbo, Port.; Caltimb, Mozambique.
    The columbo plant has been, till a recent period, but imperfectly known
  to botanists.   Flowering  specimens  of a plant gathered by Commerson,
  about the year 1770, in the garden of M. Poivre in the Isle of France, and
  sent to Europe with that botanist's collection, were examined by Lamarck,
  and described  under the name of Menispermum palmatum.  But its origi-
  nal locality was  unknown, and it was only conjecturally supposed to be
  the source  of  columbo.  In the  year 1805,  M. Fortin, while engaged in
  purchasing the dried root as an  article of  trade in Mozambique, obtained
  possession  of a living offset, which  he  took to Madras, and which, being
  planted in  the garden of Dr. Anderson, produced a male plant.  This was
  figured and described by Dr. Berry, without any knowledge of the previous
  description of  Lamarck.  From the  drawing  thus made, the plant  was re-
  ferred to the natural family of the Menispermeae; but, as the female  flowers
  were wanting, some difficulty was experienced in fixing its precise botanical
  position.   De Candolle, who probably had the opportunity of examining
  Commerson's  specimens, did indeed give its generic and specific character;
  but confessed  that he was not  acquainted with the structure  of the female
  flower and fruit.   The desideratum, however, has been recently supplied by
  ample drawings sent to England by Mr. Telfair, of Mauritius, made from
  plants which were propagated from living roots, obtained by Captain Owen
  in 1825, while prosecuting his  survey of the Eastern coast of Africa. (See
  Curtis's Botan. Mag.  vol. 4. pi. 2970.)  The genus Cocculus of De Can-
  dolle, in which the piant is now placed, was separated by that botanist from
  the  genus  Menispermum, and  includes those  species  which have  six sta-
  mens, while the Menispermum is limited to those with twelve or more.
    Cocculus.  Sex. Syst.  Diceeia Hexandria.—Nat. Ord. Menispermaceae.
    Gen. Ch. Sepals and Petals ternate, usually in two, rarely in three rows.
  Stamens six, distinct, opposite the petals.  Drupes berried, 1-6, generally
  oblique, reniform, somewhat compressed, one-seeded.   Cotyledons distant.
  De Cand.
    Cocculus palmatus.  De  Cand. Syst. Veg. i. 523;  Woodv. Med. Bot.
  3d Ed. vol. 5. p.  21.  This is  a climbing plant, with a perennial root, con-
  sisting of several  fasciculated,  fusiform, somewhat curved, and  descending
  tubers, of the thickness of an infant's  arm.  The stems, of which one or two
 proceed from the  same root, are twining, simple in the male plant, branched
 in the female, round, hairy,  and  about as thick as the little finger.   The
'. leaves, which  stand on rounded, glandular-hairy footstalks, are alternate,
i distant, cordate, with  three,  five, or seven  entire, acuminate, wavy, some-
' what hairy lobes, and as many nerves, each of which runs into one of the 
262
Colomba.
part r.
lobes.   The flowers are small and  inconspicuous, and are arranged in soli-
tary axillary racemes,  which,  in  the  male plant, are  compound,  in the
female, simple, and in both shorter than the leaves.
  This species of Cocculus is a native of Mozambique, on the south-eastern
coast of Africa, where it grows wild in  great abundance in the thick forests
which  extend from  the sea many miles into  the interior.  The plant is
never cultivated.   The  root is  dug up  in March, when dry weather pre-
vails.   From the base of the root numerous fusiform offsets proceed, less
fibrous and woody than  the parent stock.  These offsets are separated and
cut into transverse slices',  which are dried in the shade.   The  old  root is
rejected.
  Columbo is a staple export of the Portuguese from their dominions in the
South East of Africa.   It is taken to India, and thence distributed to various
parts of the world.  It  was formerly supposed  to be a product  of Ceylon,
and to have  derived its  name  from Colombo,  a  city of that island,  from
which  it was thought to be exported.   It is possible  that, when the Portu-
guese were in possession of Ceylon, Colombo may have been the entrepot
for the drug  brought from  Africa, and  thus have  given  origin to its name.
Some, however, consider a more probable derivation to  be from the word
calumb, which is said to be the Mozambique name for the root.
  Properties.   The root, as it reaches  us, is in flat circular or oval pieces,
from the eighth of an inch to  near an  inch  in thickness, and from  one to
two inches in diameter.  Along with these are sometimes a few cylindrical
pieces  an inch  or two in length.  The  cortical portion is thick,  of a bright
yellow  slightly greenish colour internally,  but covered with a brownish
wrinkled  epidermis.  The interior or medullary  portion, which is readily
distinguishable from the cortical, is  light, spongy, yellowish, usually more
or less shrunk, so that the pieces are thinnest in the centre; and is frequently
marked with concentric  circles and radiating lines.  Those pieces are to be
preferred which have the brightest colour, are most compact and uniform in
their texture, and are most  free from  the worm-holes  by which the root
is apt to be  penetrated.   The odour of  columbo is slightly aromatic.   The
taste is very bitter, that of the cortical much more so than that of the-central
portion, which is somewhat mucilaginous.   The  root is brittle, and easily
pulverized.   The powder has  a greenish tinge,  which  becomes browner
with age and deepens when it is moistened.  As it  attracts moisture from
the air, and is apt to undergo decomposition, it  should be prepared in small
quantities at a time.
   M. Planche analyzed columbo in 1811,  and found it to contain a peculiar
azotized substance in large quantity, a  bitter yellow  substance not precipi-
tated by metallic salts, and one-third of its weight of starch.  He obtained
also a small  proportion of essential oil, salts of lime and potassa, oxide of
iron, and silica.  Mr. Wittstock of Berlin has subsequently isolated a pecu-
liar crystallizable principle, in which the bitterness resides, and for which
he  proposes  the name of colombin.  (Journ. de Pharm. Fevrier, 1831.)  It
appears to be the bitter yellow substance of Planche, deprived of a portion
of colouring matter.   Colombin crystallizes in beautiful transparent quadrila-
teral prisms, is without smell, and is extremely bitter.  It is but very slightly
soluble in water, alcohol, or ether, at ordinary temperatures, and yet imparts
to these fluids a strongly bitter taste.  It is more soluble in boiling alcohol,
which deposits  it upon cooling.  The  best solvent is  diluted  acetic acid.
It is taken up by alkaline solutions, from which it is precipitated by acids.
It has  neither acid nor alkaline properties, and its alcoholic and acetic solu-
tions are not affected by the metallic salts, or  the infusion of galls.  The 
PART I.
Colomba.
263
process for obtaining it consists in exhausting columbo by means of alcohol
of the sp. gr. 0-835, distilling off three  quarters of the alcohol, allowing
the residue to stand for some days till crystals are deposited, and lastly treat-
ing these crystals  with alcohol and animal charcoal.  The mother-waters
still contain a considerable quantity of colombin, which may be separated by
evaporating with coarsely powdered glass to dryness, exhausting the residue
with ether,  distilling off the ether,  treating the  residue with boiling acetic
acid, and evaporating the solution so that crystals may form.   Colombin is
thought to be the active principle of columbo,  but is probably  somewhat
modified in its  action on the system by the other substances with which it
is associated.   The virtues of the root are extracted by boiling water and
by alcohol.  Precipitates are produced with the infusion and tincture by the
infusion of  galls, the acetate and subacetate of lead, corrosive  chloride of
mercury, and lime-water;  but the bitter principle is not affected by these
reagents.
   Adulterations.   In  France, a spurious columbo was some years since
extensively substituted for  the genuine root, which, according to Guibourt,
had become rare in the commerce of that country.   As it may possibly be
introduced into our market, it is desirable that our druggists  should  be  put
 in possession of the characters by which it may be distinguished.   Though
 similar to columbo in appearance, it is different in properties, and is there-
 fore truly a sophistication.  It is said to be taken to France from Barbary;
 but the plant which yields it is not known.   Though in round  slices like
 the genuine root, it has  an epidermis of a gray-fawn colour,  marked with
 close and parallel circular  striae;  its transverse surfaces are irregularly de-
 pressed; the  medullary portion  is of  a yellowish-orange, with a deeper
 coloured circle; the smell is weak like that of gentian, the taste feebly bitter
 and rather saccharine; the  powder is of a yellow-fawn instead of a greenish
 colour; but the most striking difference is the total absence of starch, which
 constitutes  one-third of columbo.  Iodine therefore is an excellent test.   If
the true columbo be moistened with hot water, and touched with iodine, it
immediately assumes a blackish colour;  while the spurious root, treated in
the same way, undergoes  no change.  The latter differs also in  communi-
cating a fine yellow colour to ether, in evolving ammonia when treated with
 caustic potassa, and in reddening in infusion the tincture of litmus.
    It is said that  the root of white bryony, tinged yellow with the tincture
 of columbo, has  sometimes been fraudulently substituted;  but the adultera-
 tion is too gross to deceive those acquainted with the characters of either of
 these drugs.
    The American columbo, the root of the Frasera Waited, is  said to be
sold in some parts of Europe for the genuine.  Independently of the sensi-
ble differences between the two roots, (see Frasera,) M. Stolze of Halle
states, that while the tincture of columbo remains unaffected by the sulphate
or sesquichloride of iron, and gives a dirty gray precipitate with tincture of
galls, the tincture of frasera acquires a dark green with the former reagent,
and is not affected by the latter. (Duncan.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Columbo is among the most useful of
the mild tonics.   Without astringency, with very little stimulating power,
and generally acceptable to the stomach, it answers admirably as a remedy
in simple dyspepsia, and in those states of debility which are apt to attend
convalescence from acute disorders, especially when the alimentary canal is
left in an enfeebled condition.  Hence it is often prescribed in the declining
stages of remittent fever, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera  morbus, and cholera
infantum.   The  absence of irritating  properties renders it also an appro- 
264
Colomba.—Conii Folia.
PART i.
priate tonic in the hectic fever of phthisis, and its kindred  affections.  It
has been highly recommended in vomiting, unconnected with inflammation
of the stomach, as in the  sickness of pregnant women.  It is frequently
administered  in combination  with other tonics, with aromatics,  with mild
cathartics, and with  antacids.   The  remedy which we have found most
effectual in the permanent  cure of a disposition  to the accumulation of flatus
in the bowels, is an infusion made with half an ounce of columbo, half an
ounce of ginger, a drachm of  senna, and a pint of boiling water, and given
in the dose of a wineglassful  three times  a day.  Columbo is much used
by the  natives of Mozambique,  and  the  neighbouring  parts of Africa, in
dysentery and other diseases.  (Berry.)  It was  first introduced to the notice
of the profession in Europe by Francois Redi,  in the year 1685.
  It is most commonly prescribed in  the state  of infusion.   (See Infusum
Colombse.)  The dose of the  powder is from ten to thirty grains, and may
be repeated three or four times a day.  It is frequently combined with pow-
dered ginger,  carbonate of iron, and rhubarb.
   Off. Prep.  Infusum Colombae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Mistura Ferri
Aromatica, Dub.; Tinctura Colombae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   . W.


                  CONII FOLIA.  U.S., Lond.

                         Hemlock Leaves.

   " The leaves of Conium maculatum." U. S.   " Conium maculatum. Fo-
It fl   J OYI fi
   Off. Syn.  CONIUM. Leaves of Conium  maculatum. Ed.;  CONIUM
MACULATUM. Folia. Dub.

                     CONII  SEMEN.  U.S.

                          Hemlock Seed.

   " The seeds of Conium  maculatum." U. S.
   Off. Syn. CONII FRUCTUS. Conium maculatum. Fructus. Lond.
   Cigue ordinaire, grande cigue, Fr.; Gefleckter Schierling, Germ.; Cicuta, Ital, Span.
   Conium.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Apiaceae or Urn-
belliferae.
   Gen. Ch. Partial Involucre halved, usually  three-leaved.   Fruit nearly
globular, five-streaked, notched on both sides.  JVilld.
   Conium maculatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1395; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
i.  113;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.  104. t. 42.  This is an umbelliferous plant,
having a biennial spindle-shaped whitish root, and an herbaceous branching
stem, from three to six  feet high, round, hollow, smooth, shining, slightly
striated, and marked with brownish-purple spots.  The lower  leaves are
tripinnate, more than a foot in length, shining, and attached to the joints of
the stem by sheathing petioles; the upper are smaller, bipinnate, and inserted
at the divisions of the branches; both have channeled foot-stalks, and incised
leaflets  which are deep green on their upper surface  and  paler beneath.
The flowers  are  very small,  white,  and disposed in  compound terminal
umbels.   The general involucre consists of from three to seven lanceolate,
reflected leaflets, whitish at their edges;  the partial involucre, of  three or
four, oval, pointed, spreading,  and on one side only. The petals are cordate,
with their points inflected, five in number, and nearly equal.   The  stamens
are spreading, and about as long as the corolla;  the styles diverging.  The 
PART I.
Conii Folia.—Conii Semen.
265
fruit is roundish, ovate, a line and a half or rather less in length by a line in
breadth, striated, and composed of two plano-convex, easily separable parts,
which have on their outer surface five crenated ribs..
  The hemlock is  a native of Europe, and has been introduced into the
United States, where it is now naturalized.  It grows usually in bunches
along the road sides  or in waste grounds, and is found most abundantly in
the neighbourhood of old settlements.  Its flowers appear in June and July.
The whole plant, especially at this period, exhales a fetid odour, compared
by some to that of mice, by others  to that of the urine of cats;  and narcotic
effects are experienced by those who breathe for a long time air impregnated
with the effluvia.  The plant varies in narcotic power according to the cli-
mate and character of the weather, being most active in hot and  dry seasons,
and in warm countries.   The  hemlock of Greece, Italy, and Spain is said
to be much more energetic than that of the North of Europe.   As a general
rule, those plants are most active  which grow in a sunny exposure.   The
term cicuta, which  till recently was very often applied to this plant, belongs
to a different genus.  Both the leaves and fruit are officinal.
   The proper season for gathering the leaves is when the  plant is in flower;
and Dr. Fothergill asserts from experimental knowledge, that they are most
active about the time when the flowers begin to fade.  The footstalks should
be rejected, and the leaflets quickly dried, either in the hot sun, on tin plates
before a fire, or by a stove heat not exceeding  120° F.   They should be
kept in boxes or tin cases, excluded as much as possible from the air and
light, by exposure  to which they lose their fine  green  colour, and become
deteriorated in medical virtues.  The same end is answered by pulverizing
them, and preserving the  powder in opaque and  well stopped bottles.   But
little reliance can be placed on the  dried leaves; as, even when possessed of
a strong odour and  a fine green colour, they are  sometimes destitute of the
peculiar narcotic principle.  When rubbed with caustic potassa they should
exhale the odour of conia.  The fruit, commonly called seeds,  retains its
activity much longer than the  leaves.
   Properties.  The  dried leaves  of the  hemlock have a strong, heavy,
narcotic odour, less disagreeable than that of  the recent plant.   Their taste
is bitterish and nauseous; their colour a dark green, which is retained in the
powder.   A slight degree of acrimony possessed by the fresh leaves is said
to be dissipated by drying.  The seeds have a yellowish-gray colour, a feeble
odour, and a somewhat  bitterish taste.  Their form has already  been de-
scribed.   Water distilled  from the  fresh leaves has the odour of hemlock,
and a very nauseous taste, but does not produce narcotic effects upon the
system.   The decoction  has  little  taste, and the extract resulting from its
evaporation is nearly inert.  From these facts it  is inferrible that the active
principle, as it exists in the plant,, is. not volatile at 212°, and, if soluble in
water, is injured by a boiling heat.   Alcohol and ether take up the narcotic
properties of the leaves;  and the ethereal extract, which is of a rich dark
green colour, is stated by Dr. A. T. Thomson to have the smell and taste of
the plant in perfection, and in the dose of half a grain to  produce headache
and vertigo.  Upon destructive distillation, the leaves yield a very poisonous
empyreumatic oil.   We have no satisfactory analysis of hemlock.  Schrader
found in the juice  of the leaves, resin, extractive, gum, albumen, a green
fecula, and various saline  substances.  Brandes  obtained from the pfant a
very odorous oil, albumen, resin, colouring matter, and salts, and  believed
that he had discovered a peculiar alkaline principle; but there is good reason
to think that he was mistaken;  as the  principle which  he described is essen- 
 266                 Conii Folia.—Conii Semen.             part i.

 tially different from that which subsequent experiment has proved to exist
 in the plant.
   So long ago as 1827,  Giseke obtained an  alkaline liquid by  distilling
 hemlock leaves with water and eaustic lime;  but  he did not sueceed in iso-
 lating the substance in which this alkalinity resided.  Geiger was  undoubt-
 edly the first who obtained the active principle in a separate slate, and proved
 it to possess alkaline properties.  It appears  that  there are two volatile sub-
 stances in  hemlock, one of them an oil, which comes  over by  simple distil-
 lation, and upon which  the odour of the plant depends, and  the  other an
 alkaline principle, which, as it exists in the plant, is so combined  as not to
 be volatilizable, but which, when separated  by one of the  mineral alkalies
 from  its native state of combination, rises readily in distillation,  and may
 thus be procured separate.   This latter substance is the active principle of
 the plant, and merits the name of conia which has been conferred upon it.
 Coneine, conine, conicine,  and cicutine are synonymes, which have been
 adopted by different writers; but the  name first  mentioned is that which
 accords with the nomenclature of the vegetable alkalies generally recognised
 in England and this country.  What is the state of combination in which it
 exists in the plant is not certainly known; but it is probably united with an
 acid,  as  it may be separated by the reaction of the  alkalies.  This acid
 Peschier believed to be peculiar, and named  coniic acid.   Geiger obtained
 conia by the following process.  He distilled fresh  hemlock with caustic
 potassa and water, neutralized with sulphuric acid the alkaline liquid which
 came over, evaporated this liquid to the consistence of syrup, added anhy-
 drous alcohol so long as a precipitate of sulphate of ammonia was afforded,
 separated this salt by filtration, distilled off the alcohol, mixed the residue
 with a strong solution of caustic potassa, and distilled anew.   The conia
 passed over with the water, from which it separated, floating on the surface
 in the form of a yellowish oil.   Caustic  soda or lime  might be substituted
 for potassa in the first distillation.   According to Dr.  Christison, an easier
 process is  to distil cautiously a mixture of strong solution of potassa and the
 alcoholic extract of the unripe fruit.  The alkaloid  is  obtained floating like
 an oil upon the surface of the water in the receiver.   As  obtained by the
 above processes, conia is in the state  of a hydrate, containing one-fourth
 of its weight of water and a little  ammonia.  From the former, it may be
 freed  by chloride  of calcium, from the latter, by exposing it  under an ex-
 hausted receiver till it ceases to emit bubbles of gas.
  The fresh leaves or seeds should be employed in the preparation of conia;
 as the alkali appears to undergo decomposition by time and  exposure. The
 seeds contain most of this principle; but even  in these it exists in very small
 proportion.  From six pounds of the  fresh and  nine pounds of the dried
seeds, Geiger obtained about an ounce of conia;  while from  one  hundred
pounds of  the fresh herb he got only a drachm, and from the  dried leaves
could obtain none of the alkali.  Christison recommends the full grown fruit
 while yet green;  and states that eight pounds  will yield half an ounce of
hydrate of  conia, and contains much more.  (Dispensatory.)  Some doubts
 were at one time thrown upon the accuracy  of Geiger's conclusions as to
the nature of conia, which was supposed to owe its alkalinity to  the presence
of ammonia; but the  experiments of MM.  Boutron and Henry have satis-
factorily settled the  question  in  favour of its claims to be  considered as a
peculiar organic alkali.
  Conia is in the form of a yellowish, oily liquid, lighter than water, of a
 strong and  penetrating odour, recalling that of fresh hemlock yet not iden-
 tical with it, and of a very acrid taste.   In volatility it resembles the essen- 
TART I.
Conii Folia.— Conii Semen.
267
tial oils, readily rising with the vapour of boiling water, but when unmixed,
requiring for ebullition, according to Christison, a temperature of 370°.   It
is freely soluble in alcohol, ether, the fixed and volatile oils, and slightly so
in water.   It unites with about one-fourth of water to form a hydrate.   It
reddens turmeric, and neutralizes the acids, forming with them soluble salts,
some of which are crystallizable.  With tannic  acid it forms an insoluble
compound.  Like ammonia it emits a white cloud, when  approached by a
rod moistened with  muriatic acid.  When  exposed to the air, it speedily
becomes of a deep brown colour, and is ultimately converted into a resinous
matter, and into ammonia which escapes.   Under the influence of heat this
change takes place  with much greater rapidity.   Its  presence  may  be de-
tected in  an extract or other preparation  of hemlock by rubbing it with
potassa, which instantly developes its peculiar  odour.  In ultimate com-
position it is analogous to  the other organic alkalies, containing oxygen,
hydrogen,  carbon, and nitrogen.  In  its  effects  on the  system  it closely
resembles hemlock  itself.   Dr. Christison  found  it,  contrary to the  expe-
rience of Geiger, even more active in the saline state, than when uncom-
bined.  It  is a most energetic poison, one drop of it injected into the  eye of
a rabbit killing the animal in nine minutes, and  three drops killing a stout
cat in a minute and a half when similarly applied.   Dr.  Christison, from
whose paper these facts are derived, (Trans. Ed. Roy. Soc. 1836,) is of the
opinion that it acts upon the spinal marrow, directly prostrating the nervous
power, and thus producing paralysis of  the voluntary  muscles, which,
invading the organs of respiration, destroys life by arresting this process.
The  brain does not seem to be especially attacked, as the animal, when it
dies slowly, preserves its senses  unimpaired so long as it breathes. In cases
of sudden  death from the poison, the heart does not cease  to act till after
apparent death; and its action may be sustained after the animal has  ceased
to breathe by keeping up artificial respiration.  Experiments made upon
animals with a recently prepared extract of hemlock produced precisely the
same phenomena as those  which followed the use of conia.  Locally the
alkali appears  to act as  an irritant.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Hemlock is narcotic, without being de-
cidedly stimulant or sedative to  the circulation.   Mr. Judd,  however, has
inferred from  his experiments that it  directly diminishes  the action of the
heart, and when it produces death,  contrary to  the results  obtained by
Christison, exhausts the  contractility of that organ.  (Medico-Bot. Trans.
vol. i. pt. 4.)  These conclusions require confirmation.  When given so as
fully  to affect  the system it produces more or less vertigo, dimness of vision,
nausea, faintness, and general muscular debility.   In larger doses it occa-
sions dilated  pupils, difficulty of speech, delirium or stupor,  tremors and
paralysis,  and ultimately convulsions and even death.   Its operation usually
commences in less than half an hour, and if moderate seldom  continues
longer than twenty-four hours.   It is  supposed to be the  narcotic used by
the Athenians  to destroy the life of condemned individuals, and by  which
Socrates and Phocion died.   It was also used by the ancients as a medicine,
but fell into entire neglect; and  was not again brought into notice till the
time of Storck, by whom it was much employed and  extravagantly praised.
Since that period  it has been submitted to ample trial, and,  though  its ori-
ginal reputation has not been fully sustained, it still  retains a place   in the
catalogue of useful  medicines.   Anodyne, soporific,  antispasmodic, anta-
phrodisiac, deobstruent, and  diuretic properties  have been ascribed to  it;
though its  claims to the possession of so many virtues have not  been well
established.   It was highly recommended by Storck  as a remedy in scir- 
268                Conii Folia.— Contrayerva.             part i.

rhus and cancerous ulcers, but at present is only considered a useful pallia-
tive in this complaint.   In mammary tumours and chronic enlargements of
the liver and other abdominal  viscera;  in painful scrofulous tumours and
ulcers;  in  various diseases  of the  skin, as leprosy and elephantiasis; in
the complicated  derangement of health  attendant upon secondary syphilis;
in chronic  rheumatism  and neuralgic affections; in excessive secretion of
milk; in pertussis, asthma, chronic catarrh, and consumption; and in various
other disorders connected  with nervous derangement, or a general depraved
state of the health, it is  occasionally employed with the effect of relieving
or palliating the  symptoms, or favourably modifying the action of remedies
with which it is combined.  Dr. Gibson, professor of Surgery in the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, speaks highly of its efficacy in the cure of goitre.
(See Phil. Journ. of the Med. and Phys. Sci. i. 67.)
   The powdered leaves, and the inspissated juice (the extract of the Phar-
macopoeias), are the forms in which it is usually administered.  Either of
these may be given in the dose of three or four grains twice a day, gradually
increased till the occurrence of  slight vertigo or nausea indicates  that it has
taken effect.  To maintain a given impression, it is necessary to increase
the dose even more rapidly than is customary with most other narcotics; as
the system  becomes very speedily habituated to its influence.  In some in-
stances, the quantity administered  in one day has been augmented  to more
than two ounces.  The strength of the preparations of hemlock  is exceed-
ingly unequal;  and caution is  therefore necessary, when the medicine is
given in very large quantities, to employ the same parcel, or, if a change be
made, to commence with the new  parcel in small doses, so as  to obviate
any danger which might result from its  greater power.  Unpleasant conse-
quences have resulted from a neglect of this precaution.  There  is also an
offieinal tincture and an alcoholic extract, both of which, when properly pre-
pared, are  efficient preparations.  The fresh  juice of the  plant has been
recommended by Hufeland in the dose of from twelve to forty drops.  The
powdered seeds  may be employed in a dose somewhat smaller than that of
the leaves.   Cullen states  that an extract prepared from them is stronger
than that of the  plant.   The fresh  leaves are sometimes used externally as
an anodyne cataplasm; and the extract, and an ointment prepared from the
leaves are applied to the same purpose.
   Though  fatal to some animals, hemlock is eaten with impunity by others,
as horses, goats, and  sheep.  The best  method of relieving its poisonous
effects, is the speedy evacuation of the stomach.
   Off. Prep. Cataplasma Conii, Lond., Dub.;  Extractum  Conii, U.S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.; Extract.  Conii Alcoholicum, U. S.; Tinctura Coniij
U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Unguentum Conii, Dub.                W.

            CONTRAYERVA.   U.S. Secondary.

                            Contrayerva.

   "The root of Dorstenia Contrayerva." U. S.
   Off. Syn. CONTRAJERVA. Dorstenia Contrajerva. Radix. Lond.
   Contrayerva, Fr.; Giftwurzel, Germ.; Contrajerva, Ital.; Contrayerba, Span.
   Dorstenia.  Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Urticaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Receptacle common, one-leafed, fleshy, in which solitary seeds
are nestled. Willd.
   The root known by the name of contrayerva is believed to be derived
from  several species  of Dorstenia, among which, besides  the D. Contra- 
part i.     Contrayerva.—Convolvulus Panduratus.          269

yerva, two others are mentioned by Dr. Houston, the D. Houstonia, and D.
Drakena, the former growing near Campeachy, the latter near Vera Cruz.
It is referred by Dr. Martius also to the D. Brasiliensis, growing in Jamaica,
Trinidad, and Brazil.  The D. Contrayerva is the only one recognised  in
the Pharmacopoeias.
  Dorstenia Contrayerva. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 682; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
705. t. 240.   This plant has a perennial, fusiform, branching, rough, com-
pact root or rhizoma, which sends up several leaves of an irregular shape,
about four inches in length, lobed, serrated, pointed, and  placed upon long
radical footstalks, which are winged towards the leaves.  The scapes  or
flower-stems are also radical, rise several inches  in height, and support
irregular quadrangular receptacles, which contain male and female flowers,
the former having two stamens, the latter a single style.  The capsule, when
ripe, possesses an elastic power, by which the seeds are thrown out with
considerable force.
  The plant grows  in Mexico,  the West Indies, and Peru.   The root
(rhizoma) is the officinal portion.  According to Pereira, however, the con-
trayerva of the shops is not the product of the species above  described, but
of the D. Brasiliensis, and is brought from Brazil.   The term eontrayerba,
in the language of the Spanish Americans, signifies counterpoison or anti-
dote, and was applied to  this root under the impression that it has the pro-
perty of  counteracting all kinds of poison.
  Properties.   The root, as found in our shops, is oblong, an inch or  two
in length, of varying thickness, very hard, rough, and  solid, of a reddish-
brown colour externally, and pale within;  and has numerous long, slender,
yellowish fibres  attached to its inferior part.   The odour is  aromatic; the
taste warm,  slightly bitterish, and pungent.  The fibres have less taste and
smell than the tuberous portion.  The sensible properties are extracted by
alcohol and boiling  water.  The decoction is  of a dark,  brownish-red
colour, and highly mucilaginous.  The tincture reddens infusion of litmus,
and lets fall a precipitate  on the addition of water.  The root has not yet
been analyzed, but is known to contain starch and a volatile oil.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Contrayerva is a stimulant tonic and dia-
phoretic, and has been given in low  states of fever, malignant eruptive dis-
eases, some forms of dysentery and diarrhoea, and  other diseases requiring
gentle stimulation.   It is very seldom used in this country.   The dose  of
the powdered root is about half a drachm.                         W.


   CONVOLVULUS PANDURATUS.  U.S. Secondary.

                           Wild  Potato.

  " The root of  Convolvulus panduratus." U. S.
  Convolvulus. See SCAMMONIUM.
  Convolvulus panduratus. Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 850; Barton, Med. Bot. i.
249.  The wild potato has a perennial root, and a round, purplish, procum-
bent or climbing stem, which twines around neighbouring objects, and grows
sometimes twelve feet in length.  The  leaves, which stand  alternately on
long petioles, are broad, heart-shaped at the base, entire, or lobed on  the
sides like a guitar or violin, somewhat acuminate, deep green on the upper
surface, and  paler beneath.  The flowers are in fascicles upon long axillary
peduncles.  The calyx is smooth and awnless; the corolla, tubular campanu-
late, very large, white at the border,  but purplish-red at the base.
  The plant is indigenous, growing throughout the United States in sandy
                                24* 
270            Convolvulus Panduratus.—Copaiba.       part i.

fields, and along fences, and flowering from June to August. A variety with
double flowers is cultivated in the gardens for the sake of ornament.
   The root, which is the officinal part, is very large, two or three feet in
length, about  three inches thick, branched  at the bottom, externally of a
brownish-yellow colour and full of longitudinal fissures, internally whitish
and milky, and of a somewhat acrid taste.   Pursh says that he has seen a
root as thick as a man's thigh.
   Medical Properties.  The wild  potato is feebly cathartic, and has been
proposed as a substitute for jalap, but is scarcely used.   It is thought also
to be somewhat diuretic, and has been employed, with supposed advantage,
in  strangury and calculous complaints.   Forty grains of the dried root  are
said to purge gently.   Perhaps an extract might be found more effectual.
                                                                 W.

                  COPAIBA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                              Copaiba.

   " The juice of Copaifera officinalis and other species of Copaifera." U. S.
" Copaifera Langsdorffii. Resina liquida." Lond. " Fluid resinous exuda-
tion of various species of Copaifera. Copaiva." Ed.
   Off. Syn. COPAIFERA OFFICINALIS. Resina liquida.  Dub.
   Balsam  of Copaiva; Baume de copahu, Fr.; Copaiva-Balsam, Germ.;  Balsamo di
copaiba, Ital.; Balsamo de copayva, Span.
   Copaifera.  Sex. Syst.  Decandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Legumi-
nosae, Jussieu. Amyridaceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx none.  Petals four.  Legume ovate. Seed one, with an
ovate arillus.  Willd.
   The first notice to be found of the copaiba plant is that by Marcgrav and
Piso, in  the year 1648.  Jacquin in 1763 described a species of Copaifera,
which grew in the island of Martinique, and which he named C. officinalis,
from the fact that it afforded this resinous juice.  As  this was believed to be
the same plant with that observed  by Marcgrav  in Brazil, it was adopted
without hesitation in the Pharmacopoeias; but their identity is now denied;
and Desfontaines has proposed for  the officinal species the title of C. Jac-
quini, in honour of the botanist who originally described  it.   From recent
observation and discoveries  it appears, that  numerous species of Copaifera
exist in Brazil and other parts of South America, all of which, according to
Martins, yield copaiba.  Besides the C. officinalis or C.  Jacquini, the fol-
lowing are  described  by Hayne;—C.  Guianensis, C. Langsdorffii,  C.
coriacea, C. Beyrichii, C. Martii,  C. bijuga, C. nitida, C. laxa, C. cordi-
folia, C. Jussieui, C. Sellowii, C. oblongifolia, and C. mulfijuga.  Hayne
believes  that the C. bijuga is the plant seen by Marcgrav and Piso.
   Copaifera officinalis.  Willd. ii. 630;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 609. t. 216.
C. Jacquini.  Desfont. Mem.  du Mus. vii. 376; Hayne, Darstel. und Bes-
chreib. 8fC. x. 14.  This is an elegant tree, with a lofty stem, much branched
at the top, and crowned by a thick canopy of foliage.   The leaves are alter-
nate, large, and pinnate, composed of from two to five pairs of ovate, entire,
obtusely acuminate leaflets, two or three inches in length, rather narrower
on one side than the other, smooth, pellucidly punctate, somewhat shining,
and supported on short footstalks.   The flowers  are whitish, and disposed
in  terminal branched spikes.   The fruit is an oval, two-valved pod, contain-
ing a single seed.
   This species of Copaifera is a native of Venezuela, and  grows in the pro- 
PART I.
Copaiba.
271
vince of Carthagena,  mingled with the trees  which  afford the balsam  of
Tolu.   It grows also in some of the West India islands, particularly Trini-
dad and Martinique, where it is said to be naturalized.  Though recognised
in the United States Pharmacopoeia as the source of the officinal copaiba, it
probably yields little of that now in use.   According to Hayne, the species
from which most of the Copaiba of commerce is derived,  is the C. multi-
juga, growing in the province of Para.  It is probable  that the C. Guia-
nensis, which inhabits the neighbouring province of Guiana,  especially in
the vicinity of the Rio Negro, affords also considerable quantities;  and the
C. Langsdorffii and  C. coriacea,  which  are  natives of Santo Paulo, are
thought to yield most of the juice  collected in the last mentioned province.
But the London College is certainly  in  error  in ascribing copaiba exclu-
sively to the C. Langsdorffii; as little of that found in commerce is derived
from the region of country where that species is known to flourish.
   The juice is obtained by making deep incisions into the  stems of the
trees;  and the  operation is said to be repeated several times in the same
season.  As it flows from the wound, it is clear, colourless, and very thin,
but soon acquires a thicker consistence, and a  yellowish tinge.   It is most
largely collected  in the provinces of Para and Maranham, in Brazil, and
 until recently was brought to this country chiefly from the port of Para, in
 small  casks or barrels.  But large quantities of it are now brought from
 Maracaybo, in Venezuela, and from other ports  on the Caribbean sea,
 whence it comes in casks, demijohns,  cans,  jugs, &c.   Copaiba  is also
 exported from the French South American province of Cayenne, from Rio
 Janeiro, and  from  some of the West India islands;  but little reaches the
 United States from these sources.
   Properties. Copaiba is a clear, transparent liquid, usually of the consist-
 ence of olive oil, of a pale yellow colour, a peculiar not unpleasant odour,
 and a bitterish, hot, nauseous taste.   Its specific gravity varies from 0-950
 to 1-000.   It is insoluble in water, but^entirely soluble in absolute alcohol,
 ether, and the fixed and volatile oils.   Strong alkaline solutions dissolve it
 perfectly;  but the  resulting solution  becomes  turbid when largely diluted
 with water.  With the alkalies and alkaline  earths,  it forms saponaceous
 compounds, in which the resin of the copaiba appears to act the part of an
 acid.   It dissolves magnesia, especially with the aid of heat, and  even dis-
 engages carbonic acid from the carbonate of that earth.  If triturated with a
 sixteenth  of  its weight of magnesia  and set aside, it gradually assumes a
 solid consistence:  and a similar change is produced  with hydrate of lime.
 (See Pilulae Copaibas.)  Its  essential constituents are volatile oil and resin,
 with a minute proportion of an acid which appears to be the  acetic.  (Du-
 rand. Journ. of the Phil.  Col.  of Pharm. i. 3.)  As it contains no benzoic
 acid,  it cannot with propriety retain its former title of balsam of  copaiva.
 The substances which it most closely resembles,  both in  composition and
 properties, are the turpentines.
   The volatile oil, which has  been adopted as officinal by the Edinburgh
 College under the name of Copaiba oleum, constitutes from a third to one-
 half or more  of the copaiba.   It may be separated  by distillation, and is
 best obtained by distillation with water.   As it first comes over it is colour-
 less, but the  later  product is of a fine  greenish hue.   By redistillation it
 may be rendered wholly colourless.  It has the odour and taste of copaiba,
 is lighter  than water, boils at  about 470° (Christison), is soluble in ether
 and alcohol, absorbs muriatic acid gas and forms with it crystals of artificial
 camphor, and when  pure contains no oxygen, being isomeric with pure oil
 of turpentine. It answers even better than naphtha for preserving potassium,
 a fact first observed by Mr. Durand of Philadelphia. 
272
Copaiba.
part i.
   The resinous mass which remains is hard, brittle, translucent, of a green-
ish-brown colour, and  nearly  destitute of smell and  taste.   By mixing it
with the oil in proper proportion, we may obtain a liquid identical or nearly
so with the original juice.  When  treated  with the oil of petroleum, it is
separated into two distinct resins,  one of which is dissolved, and  may be
obtained separate by evaporation, the other is left behind.  The first is yel-
lowish, hard, and brittle, and constkutes by far the largest proportion of the
residuum of the distillation.  It appears  to  possess  acid properties;  as its
alcoholic  solution reddens  litmus,  and it forms definite compounds with
the alkalies.   It  has therefore  received the name of copaivic acid.  The
second resin is yellowish-brown, soft, unctuous, and without acid reaction;
and is supposed by Berzelius to result from the  resinification of the  volatile
oil,  as it is more abundant in the  old than in the  recent juice.   Recent
copaiba examined by Gerber  yielded 41  per cent, of volatile  oil, 51*38 of
the hard and brittle  resin, 2*18 of the soft resin, and 5*44 of water; while
an older specimen gave 31*07 per cent, of oil, 53-68 of hard resin, 11-15
of soft resin, and 4-10  of water.
   Copaiba, upon  exposure to  the air,  assumes a deeper colour,  a  thicker
consistence, and  greater density, and if spread out upon an  extended sur-
face,  ultimately becomes dry  and brittle.   This change is  owing partly to
the volatilization, partly to the  oxidation of the essential oil.   Considerable
diversities must,  therefore, exist in the drug, both in physical properties
and the proportion of its ingredients, according to its age and degree of ex-
posure.   Similar differences also exist in the copaiba procured from different
sources.  Thus, that of the West Indies, Avhen compared with the  Brazi-
lian,  which is the variety above described  and in common use,  is of a
thicker consistence, of a deeper or  darker yellow' colour, less transparent,
and  of a  less  agreeable, more  terebinthinate odour; specimens  obtained
from  the ports of Venezuela or  New Grenada were found upon examination
by M. Vigne, to differ from each other not only in physical properties, but
also in their  chemical relations (Journ. de Pharm. N S. i. 52.); and it is
not impossible that differences may exist in the juice according to  the cir-
cumstances of its collection.
   Adulterations.   Copaiba is  said  to be frequently adulterated; but the
remark is applicable rather to  the markets of Europe than to those of the
United States.  The fixed  oils are  the most frequent addition, especially
castor oil, which, in consequence of its solubility in alcohol, cannot, like
the others, be  detected by the agency of this  fluid.  Various plans have
been proposed for ascertaining  the presence of castor oil.  The simplest is
to boil one drachm of the copaiba in a pint of water, till the liquid is  wholly
evaporated.  If the copaiba contain oil, the residue will be more or less soft
according to the quantity present; otherwise it will be hard.  Another mode,
proposed  by M. Planche, consists in shaking together in a bottle one part
of solution of ammonia of the sp.gr. 0*9212 (22° Baume) with two and a half
parts  of copaiba, at a temperature of from 50° to 60°  F.   The mixture, at
first cloudy, quickly becomes transparent if the  copaiba is pure, but remains
more or less opaque if it is adulterated with castor oil.  Carbonate of mag-
nesia, caustic potassa, and sulphuric  acid  have also been proposed as tests.
In the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, it is stated that copaiba " dissolves a fourth
part of its weight of carbonate of magnesia, with the aid of a gentle heat,
and continues  translucent."  The presence of a small proportion  of any
fixed  oil renders the mixture  opaque.  Turpentine, which is said to be
sometimes added to copaiba, may be detected by its smell, especially if the
copaiba be heated. 
PART I.
Copaiba.
273
  Medical Properties  and Uses.   Copaiba is gently stimulant, diuretic,
laxative, and in very large doses often actively purgative.  It produces, when
swallowed, a sense of heat in the throat and  stomach, and extends an irri-
tant action, not only throughout the alimentary canal, but also to the urinary
passages, and  in fact, in a greater or less degree, to  all the mucous mem-
branes, for which it appears to have a strong affinity.   The urine acquires
a peculiar odour during its use, and its smell  may be detected in the breath.
It sometimes  occasions  an eruption  upon  the  skin, resembling that of
measles, and attended  with a disagreeable itching  and tingling sensation.
Nausea and vomiting, painful purgation, strangury and bloody urine, and a
general state of fever are  among the morbid results of its excessive action.
As a remedy it has been found most efficient in the diseases of  the mucous
membranes, particularly  such as  are of a chronic character.  Thus it is
given with occasional advantage in leucorrhoea,  gleet,  chronic dysentery,
painful  hemorrhoidal affections, and in chronic catarrh  and other forms of
bronchial disease.  By Dr. La Roche, of Philadelphia, it is highly recom-
mended in  catarrh of the bladder, and in chronic irritation of the same organ.
(Am. Journ.  of Med. Scien. xiv. 13.)  It has  been  given  with some
success  in  dropsy; and is said to be used as a vermifuge in Brazil.   The
complaint, however, in which it  is most  employed  is  gonorrhoea.   It is
given in all stages of the disorder; but caution is requisite when the inflam-
matory  symptoms are high.   Even in health, if taken largely, it sometimes
produces very unpleasant irritation of the  urinary passages, and, by sym-
pathy, of the  testicles.   It was formerly highly esteemed as a vulnerary,
and as an  application to  ulcers; but is  now seldom used externally.   Dr.
Ruschenberger,  of the  U. S. navy, strongly recommends it as a local appli-
cation in chilblains.  (Med. Examiner, i. 77.)
  The dose of copaiba is from twenty drops to a fluidrachm three times a
day, or a  smaller quantity repeated more frequently.  It may  be  given
dropped on sugar; but  in this form is often so exceedingly offensive, as to
render some concealment of its nauseous qualities necessary.   It is some-
times given floating on the surface of some aromatic  water, or  mixed with
an equal measure of spirit of  nitric ether.  A less disagreeable form is that
of emulsion, prepared  by rubbing  the  copaiba first with mucilage or the
yolk of an egg, and sugar, and afterwards  with  water impregnated with
some aromatic essential oil, as that of mint or cinnamon.   The volatile oil
may be used in the dose often or fifteen drops, and probably with the same
effects as the copaiba, of  which it is the active ingredient.  It  may be ad-
ministered dropped on sugar,  or in the form of emulsion. The resin, which
has been proposed as a  substitute, is nearly inert.  The pills made by means
of magnesia may sometimes be resorted  to with advantage;  and it has
recently become the fashion to administer  copaiba  enclosed in  capsules of
gelatin,  which completely cover the taste, while they are readily  dissolved
in the liquors of the stomach.  (See Glue, in the Appendix.)  Velpeau has
found the  best effects from  copaiba  in the  form of enema.  He gives  two
drachms made into an emulsion with the yolk of an egg, twenty  or  thirty
drops of laudanum, and eight fluidounces of water.
  Off. Prep.  Pilulae Copaibae, U. S. Oleum Copaibas, Ed.        W. 
274
Coptis.
PART 1.
                   COPTIS.  ,17.5.  Secondary.

                             Goldthread.

   " The root of Coptis trifolia." U. S.
   Coptis.  Sex. Syst. Polyandria»Polygynia.—Nat. Ord.  Ranunculaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals five  or  six, caducous. Nectaries five or
six, cucullate.  Capsules five to eight, stipitate, slellately diverging, and ros-
trate,  many-seeded. Nuttall.
   Coptis trifolia.   Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 60; Barton, Med. Bot. ii.
97.  This little evergreen bears considerable resemblance to the strawberry
in size and general aspect. It has a perennial creeping root,  which, from its
slenderness, and bright yellow colour, has given rise to the name of gold-
thread, by  which the plant is commonly known.  The caudex, from which
the petioles and flower-stems proceed, is invested with ovate, acuminate,
yellowish,  imbricated scales. The leaves, which stand on long slender foot-
stalks, are ternate, with firm, rounded or obovate, sessile leaflets, having an
acute  base, a lobed and acuminately crenate margin, and a smooth  veined
surface.  The  scape or flower-stem is slender, round, rather longer than the
leaves, and surmounted by one small white flower, with a minute mucronate
bracte beneath it.  The petals are oblong, concave, and of  a white colour;
the nectaries inversely conical, hollow, and yellow at the top.  The stamens
have capillary filaments and globose anthers.  The germs  are from five to
eight,  stipitate,  oblong,  compressed,  and surmounted by  short recurved
styles, with acute stigmas. The capsules, which diverge in a star-like form,
are pedicelled, compressed, beaked,  and contain numerous  black seeds
attached to the inner side.
   The  goldthread inhabits  the  northern  regions  of this continent  and of
Asia, and is found in Greenland and Iceland.  It delights in the dark shady-
swamps and cold  morasses of northern latitudes and Alpine  regions, and
abounds in Canada, and in the  hilly districts of New England.  Its blos-
soms appear in May.  All parts of the plant possess more or less bitterness;
but this property is most intense in the root,  which  is  the only  portion
directed by the Pharmacopoeia.
   Dried goldthread, as brought into the market, is in loosely matted masses,
consisting  of the  long, thread-like,  orange-yellow roots, frequently inter-
laced, and  mingled with  the leaves and  stems of the plant.  It is without
smell, and  has a purely bitter taste, unattended with  aroma or astringency.
It imparts  its  bitterness and  yellow colour to water  and alcohol, but most
perfectly to the  latter, with which  it forms  a bright yellow tincture.  Its
virtues  appear to depend on a bitter extractive matter, which is precipitated
by nitrate of silver and acetate of lead. (Bigelow.)   It affords no evidence
of containing either resin, gum, or tannin.
   Medical Properties and Uses. It is a simple tonic bitter, bearing a close
resemblance to quassia in its mode of  action, and applicable to all cases in
which that medicine is prescribed; though, from its higher  price, not likely
to come into general use as a substitute.   In New England it is much  em-
ployed as  a local application in aphthous ulcerations of the mouth; but it
probably has no other virtues in this complaint than such as are common to
all the simple  bitters.  It may be given internally in substance, infusion, or
tincture.  The dose of the powder is from ten to thirty grains, of a tincture
prepared by macerating an ounce of the  root in a pint of  diluted alcohol,
one fluidrachm. 
PART I.
Coptis.— Coriandrum.
275
  Another species of Coptis has been described by Dr. Wallich, under the
name of Coptis Teeta,  which grows in the mountainous regions bordering
on Assam, and is much used as a tonic by the people of that country and
by the Chinese.  It appears to be closely analogous in properties to the C.
trifolia. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. ix. 196.)                        W.

              CORIANDRUM.  V.S., Lond., Ed.

                             Coriander.

  "The fruit of Coriandrum sativum." U.S., Ed.  " Coriandrum sativum.
 T*TlfCf?/S  " IOYICL
   Off. Syn.  CORIANDRUM SATIVUM. Semina.  Dub.
  Coriandre, Fr.; Koriander, Germ.; Coriundro, Ital.; Cilantro, Span.
   Coriandrum.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Apiaceae  or
 Umbelliferae.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla radiate.  Petals inflex-emarginate.   Universal invo-
 lucre one-leafed.   Partial involucres halved.  Fruit spherical.  Willd.
   Coriandrum sativum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1448; Woodv. Med. Bot.
 p.  137.  t. 53.  This  is an annual  plant, with an erect, round, smooth,
 branching stem, which rises about two feet in height, and is furnished with
 compound leaves, of which the upper are thrice ternate, with linear pointed
 leaflets,  the lower pinnate, with the pinnae cut into  irregular serrated lobes,
 resembling  those of common parsley.   The  flowers  are white or  rose-
 coloured, and disposed  in compound terminal  umbels.  The fruit is globular,
 and consists of two concave hemispherical portions.
   The C. sativum is  a native of Italy, but  at present grows wild in most
 parts of  Europe, having become naturalized in consequence of its extensive
 cultivation.   The flowers appear in June, and the fruit ripens in August.   It
 is a singular fact, that all parts of the fresh plant are  extremely fetid when
 bruised,  while the fruit becomes fragrant by drying.   This is the officinal
 portion.   It is brought to us from Europe.
   The fruit of the coriander, as found in  the shops, is globular, about the
 eighth of an inch in diameter, obscurely ribbed, of  a grayish or brownish-
 yellow colour, and separable into the two  portions  (half-fruits) of which it
 consists.  It has the  persistent calyx at  its base, and is sometimes sur-
 mounted by the adhering style.  The smell and taste are gratefully aroma-
 tic, and  depend on a volatile oil, which may  be obtained separate by distil-
 lation.  They are  imparted to alcohol by maceration, and less  readily  to
 water.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.  Coriander has, in a moderate  degree, the
 ordinary medical virtues of the aromatics.  It is almost exclusively employ-
 ed in combination with other medicines, either to cover their taste, to render
 them acceptable to the stomach, or to correct  their griping qualities.  It was
 well known to the ancients.  The dose is from a scruple  to a drachm.
    Off. Prep.   Aqua Calcis Composita,  Dub.; Confectio  Sennae,  U.S.,
 Lond., Ed.; Infusum Gentianae  Compositum,  U. S., Ed.; Infusum Sennae,
 U. S.; Infusum Sennae Compositum, Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Rhei et Sennae,
 U. S.; Tinctura  Sennae et Jalapae, U. S., Ed.                     W. 
276
Cornu.—Comas  Circinata.
part i,
                      CORNU.  Lond., Ed.

                             Hartshorn.

   " Cervus Elaphus. Cornu." Lond. " Horn of Cervus Elaphus." Ed.
   Off. Syn.  CORNUA CERVINA. Ramenta. Dub.
   Corne de cerf, Fr.; Hirschhorn, Germ.;  Corno di cervo, Ital.; Cuerno de ciervo, Span,
   The stag or hart—Cervus Elaphus—the horns of which are directed by
 the British Colleges, inhabits Europe, Asia, and the North of Africa. Those
 of our own common deer—Cervus Virginianus—though employed in the
 arts, are not  officinal.  Hartshorn is usually imported into this country from
 Germany, in the state of shavings, but is very little employed.
   Hartshorn shavings are without smell and taste, pliable, and of an ivory
 yellow colour.  According to M. Merat-Guillot, they contain in 100 parts,
 27 of  gelatin, 57*5 of phosphate of lime,  1 of carbonate of lime, and 14-5
 of water including the loss.   Boiling water extracts their gelatin, forming a
 transparent, colourless jelly, which may be rendered palatable by the addi-
 tion of sugar, lemon or orange juice, and  a little wine.   In its preparation,
 two pints of water are boiled with four ounces of the shavings to a pint,
 and the residue strained while hot.   The clear liquid gelatinizes upon cool-
 ing.   By destructive distillation, the shavings yield an  impure solution of
 carbonate of  ammonia, which  formerly  received the name of spirit  of
 hartshorn;  and the same  name has been subsequently applied to similar
 ammoniacal solutions procured from other sources. When burnt, they leave
 an earthy residue consisting almost exclusively of phosphate of lime.
   Medical Properties, fyc.   The jelly prepared from  the shavings of harts-
 horn has been thought to possess medical virtues; but it is only nutritive and
 demulcent, and is probably  not superior to calfsfoot jelly.  The shavings
 themselves are used in the preparation of the Pulvis Antimonialis.
   Off. Prep.  Cornu Ustum,  Lond., Dub.;  Pulvis Antimonialis, Ed., Lond.,
 Dub.                                                           W.


          CORNUS  CIRCINATA.  U.S. Secondary.

                     Round-leaved Dogwood.

   " The bark of Cornus circinata."  U. S.
   Cornus. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Cornaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Involucre usually four-leaved.  Petals superior, four.  Drupe
with a two-celled nut. Willd.
   We  have ten indigenous species of Cornus, all of which are supposed to
possess similar medical properties; and three—the C. Florida, C. circinata,
and C. sericea—are noticed in the  Pharmacopoeia of  the United States.
The last two are placed in the secondary list, not because they are esteemed
less efficient than the first;  but because they have hitherto less attracted
the attention  of the profession.
   Cornus circinata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i.  663.   This is a shrub from six
to ten feet high,  with warty branches, large, roundish, pointed leaves, waved
on their edges and downy beneath, and white flowers disposed in depressed
cymes.  The fruit is blue.   The plant is a native of the United States, ex-
tending from Canada to Virginia, and growing on hill-sides and the banks
of rivers.   It flowers in June and July.
   The bark,  when dried, is in quills  of a whitish  or ash colour, and affords 
part i.        Cornus Circinata.— Cornus Florida.           277

a powder resembling that of ipecacuanha.   Its taste is bitter, astringent, and
aromatic.   In chemical composition, so far as this has been ascertained, it
is analogous to the Cornus Florida. It possesses also similar medical virtues,
and may be employed in the same doses.   It has been much used as a tonic
and astringent in Connecticut, and was highly extolled by the late Dr. Ives
of New York, who recommended, as the most eligible  preparation, an  in-
fusion made by pouring a pint of boiling water on an ounce of the coarsely
powdered bark.  The dose of this is from one  to two fluidounces.   W.

                  CORNUS FLORIDA.  U.S.

                             Dogwood.

   " The bark of Cornus Florida." U. S.
   Cornus.  See  CORNUS CIRCINATA.
   Cornus Florida.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 661;  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii.
73; Barton,  Med. Bot. i. 44. This is a small indigenous tree, usually about
fifteen or twenty feet in height, though sometimes  not  less than thirty or
thirty-five feet.  It is of slow growth; and the stem, which generally attains
a diameter of four  or five inches, is compact, and covered with a brownish
bark, the epidermis of which is minutely divided by numerous  superficial
cracks or fissures.   The branches are spreading, and  regularly disposed,
sometimes opposite, sometimes  in fours nearly in the form of crosses.   The
leaves are opposite, oval, about  three inches long, pointed, dark green, and
sulcated on the  upper  surface, glaucous or whitish  beneath, and marked
with strong parallel veins.  Towards the close of summer they are speckled
with black spots, and on the approach of cold weather assume a red colour.
The proper flowers are small, yellowish, and collected in heads, which  are
surrounded  by a very large conspicuous involucre, consisting of  four white
obcordate leaves, having the notch at their summit tinged with red or purple.
It is this involucre that constitutes the chief beauty of the tree  at the period
of flowering.  The calyx is four-toothed, and the corolla composed of four
obtuse reflexed petals.  The fruit is an oval  drupe  of a vivid glossy  red
colour, containing  a  two-celled and two-seeded nucleus.  The drupes  are
usually collected to the number  of three or four, and remain on the tree  till
after the early frosts.  They ripen in September.
   The dogwood is found in all  parts of the United States, from Massachu-
 setts to the  Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico; but is most abundant in  the
Middle States.  In the month of May it is clothed with a profusion of large
white blossoms, which render it one of the  most conspicuous ornaments of
the American forests.  The bark is the officinal portion, and  is derived  for
use  both from the  stem and branches, and from the root.  The bark of  the
root  is preferred.   It is brought into market in pieces of various  sizes,
usually more or less  rolled, sometimes invested with a fawn-coloured epider-
mis, sometimes partially or wholly deprived of it, of a reddish-gray colour,
very brittle, and affording, when pulverized, a grayish powder tinged with
red.  The odour of dogwood is feeble, its taste bitter, astringent, and slightly
aromatic.  Water and alcohol extract its virtues.  It has not been accurately
analyzed; but, from  the experiments of Dr. Walker and others, appears to
contain extractive  matter, gum, resin,  tannin, and gallic acid.   A peculiar
bitter principle, for which the name of cornine has been  proposed, has been
announced as  an ingredient by Mr. Carpenter; but we need more definite
information  on the subject.   The flowers of the C. Florida have the  same
        25 
278
Cornus Sericea.— Cotula.
part t
bitter taste as the bark, and, though not officinal, are sometimes employed
for the same purposes.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Cornus Florida is tonic and  astringent.
By Dr. Walker it was found, when  taken  internally, to augment the force
and frequency of the pulse, and increase the heat of the body.   It is thought
to possess remedial properties closely analogous to those of Peruvian bark,
for which it has  occasionally been successfully substituted in the treatment
of intermittent fevers;  but the introduction of sulphate  of quinia into use
has nearly banished this, as well as many other substitutes  for cinchona,
from regular practice.  The dogwood has also been employed with supposed
benefit in typhoid fevers, and other complaints for which the Peruvian tonic
is usually prescribed.
  It may be given in powder, decoction, or extract.  The dose of the powder
is from a scruple to a drachm, repeated in cases of intermittent fever, so that
from one to two ounces may be taken in the interval between the paroxysms.
The decoction is officinal.  (See Decoctum Cornus Floridae.)   The dried
bark is said to be preferable to the fresh;  as  it possesses  all the activity of
the latter, without  being equally liable to offend  the stomach  and  bowels.
An extract might probably be used with advantage in intermittents in large
doses.
  Off. Prep. Decoetum Cornus Floridae.  U. S.                    W.

           CORNUS SERICEA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                        Swamp Dogwood.

  " The bark of Cornus sericea." U. S.
  Cornus. See CORNUS  CIRCINATA.
   Cornus sericea.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 663; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 115. This
species of Cornus is usually six or eight feet in height, with numerous erect
stems, which are covered with a shining reddish bark, and send out opposite
spreading branches.   The young shoots are more or less pubescent.  The
leaves are opposite, petiolate, ovate, pointed, entire, and on the under surface
covered with soft brownish hairs.  The flowers  are small, white,  and dis-
posed in terminal cymes, which are depressed and woolly. The fruit con-
sists of globular, berry-formed drupes, of a cerulean blue colour, and collected
in bunches.
  The swamp dogwood inhabits the United States from Canada to Carolina,
and is found in moist woods, in swamps, and on the borders of streams. It
flowers in June and July. The bark was ascertained by Dr. Walker to have
the same medical properties with that  bf the Cornus Florida.   It maybe
given  in the same doses, and administered  in a similar manner.      W.

                  COTULA. U.S.  Secondary.

                             May-weed.

  " The herb of Anthemis Cotula."  U. S.
  Camomille puante,  Maroute, Fr.; Hunds-Kamille, Stinkende-Kamille, Germ.; Camo-
milla fetida, Cotula, Ital.;  Manzanilla loca, Span.
  Anthemis. See  ANTHEMIS.
  Anthemis Cotula. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2181; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 161.
The May-weed is  an annual plant, with a fibrous root, and an erect striated
stem,  very much branched even to the bottom, from one to two feet in 
part i.                 Cotula.—Creasotum.                    279

height, and supporting alternate, sessile, flat, doubly pinnated,  somewhat
hairy leaves, with pointed linear leaflets.  The flowers stand singly upon
the summits of the  branches, and  consist  of a central, convex, golden-
yellow disk, with white radial florets, which spread horizontally during the
day, but are reflexed or bent towards the stem  at night.   The calyx, which
is common  to all the florets, is hemispherical,  and composed of  imbricated
hairy scales.   The  receptacle is conical or  nearly  cylindrical, and sur-
mounted by rigid, bristle-shaped paleae, shorter than the florets.   The seeds
are naked.
   This plant grows  abundantly both in the United States and in Europe.
In this country, it is found in the vicinity of inhabited places, growing among
rubbish,  along the sides of roads, and in waste grounds.   Notwithstanding
its extensive diffusion, it is generally believed to be a naturalized, not  an
indigenous plant.  It is frequently called wild  chamomile.  It flowers from
the middle of summer  till late in autumn.
   The whole plant has a strong, disagreeable smell, and a warm, bitter taste,
and imparts these properties to water.   We are not aware that its analysis
has been attempted.
   The medical properties of this species of  Anthemis are essentially the
same as those of chamomile, for which it may be employed as a substitute;
but its disagreeable odour is an obstacle  to its general use.   On the  conti-
nent of Europe it has  been given in nervous  diseases, especially hysteria,
under the impression, probably derived  from its peculiar smell, that it pos-
sesses antispasmodic powers.  It has also been thought to be emmenagogue.   •
In this country it is scarcely employed, except  as a domestic remedy.   The
whole plant is active; but the flowers, being less disagreeable than the leaves,
are preferred for internal use.  The remedy is best administered in the state
of infusion.                                                     W.

                   CREASOTUM.  U.S., Ed.

                              Creasote.

   " A peculiar substance obtained from tar."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  CREASOTON. Oxy-hydro-carburetum, ex oleo pyroxylico
paratum."  Lond.
   This is a substance,  of the nature of the volatile oils, discovered in 1830
by Dr. Reichenbach,  of Moravia, in the products of the distillation of wood.
   In the products of the distillation of organic substances generally, whether
vegetable  or animal, Reichenbach  also discovered five other  principles,
called paraffine, eupione, picamar, capnomor, and pittacal, which, as being
associated with creasote, will be noticed here.   Paraffine is a white, crys-
talline, soft-solid, devoid  of taste and smell, and characterized by its feeble
affinity for other bodies,  as is indicated  by its name, from parum afifinis.
Eupione is an inodorous, insipid, limpid, and  colourless  liquid,  of the sp.
gr. 0-740, obtained most  abundantly from animal  tar, and Dippel's animal
oil.  Both these substances are composed exclusively of hydrogen and car-
bon.  Picamar is an oily colourless  liquid, heavier than water, of a peculiar
odour and very bitter taste.  It is present in the heaviest portion of the rec-
tified oil of tar, and constitutes the bitter principle of that substance. Capno-
mor, so called from its  being one of the ingredients of smoke, is a colourless
liquid, lighter than water, having a pleasant odour and a pungent taste, and
occurring in the heavy oil of tar. It has the property of dissolving caoutchouc,
and is an ingredient  in  coal naphtha, which derives from its  presence the 
280
Creasotum.
PART I.
 property of dissolving the same substance.  Pittacul, also obtained from the
 heavy oil of tar, is a solid of a beautiful blue colour, and differing from the
 other substances above noticed, in containing nitrogen as one of its elements.
 These five substances have no  uses.
   Preparation.   Creasote is obtained either from tar or from crude pyro-
 ligneous acid.  When  tar is  used, it is distilled until  it has attained the
 consistence of pitch.   The distilled  liquid divides  itself into three layers,
 an aqueous between two oily layers.   The inferior  oily layer, which alone
 contains the creasote,  is separated,  and  saturated with carbonate  of potassa
 to remove acetic acid.   The liquid  is allowed to rest, and the new oil which
 separates is decanted from  it.   This oil  is distilled, and  yields products
 lighter than water, and a liquid heavier.  The latter  alone is preserved, and,
 having been agitated  repeatedly with weak phosphoric acid to neutralize
 ammonia, is allowed to remain  at rest for some time.  It is next washed as
 long as acidity is removed, and  then  distilled with a fresh portion of weak
 phosphoric acid, care being taken to cohobate from time to  time.  The oily
 liquid thus rectified  is  colourless,  and  contains  much  creasote, but also a
 portion of eupione.   To separate the latter, the liquid is mixed with a solu-
 tion of caustic potassa of the density  of 1*12, which dissolves the creasote,
 but  not  the eupione.   The eupione, which swims  above  from  its  levity,
 being separated, the alkaline solution of the creasote is  exposed to the air,
 until it becomes brown  in consequence  of the decomposition of a foreign
 matter, and is  then saturated with sulphuric acid.   This sets free the crea-
 sote, which is  decanted  and again distilled.   The treatment by solution of
 potassa, sulphuric acid,  &c, is  to be  repeated until  the creasote no longer
 becomes brown by exposure to  the  air, but only slightly  reddish.  It is then
 dissolved in a stronger solution of potassa and distilled  again, and  finally
 re-distilled  for the last  time, rejecting the  first  portions which come over
 on account of containing much  water,  collecting the  next portions,  and
 avoiding to push the distillation too  far.   The product collected in this dis-
 tillation  is pure creasote.
   When creasote  is extracted  from pyroligneous acid,  the first step is to
 dissolve sulphate of soda in it to saturation.   The oil which separates  and
 swims above is decanted, and, having been  allowed  to  remain at rest for a
 few days, is saturated  by carbonate of potassa with  the  assistance of heat,
 and distilled with water.  The oleaginous liquid obtained is of a pale yellow
 colour, and is to be treated with phosphoric acid, &c. &c, as above detailed
 with respect to the treatment of the  corresponding oil obtained from tar.
   According to M. Koene, the tar of  the pine furnishes but little pure crea-
 sote; while  coal tar, by his mode of  treatment, yields nearly five drachms to
 the pint.  We  have not space for the insertion of his  process, but the details
 may be consulted in the Journal de Pharmacie, 22e Annee,  p.  89.  M.
 Cozzi has also given a process  which is stated to be economical.  (Jlmtr.
Journ. of Pharm. x. 339, from the Journ. de Chim. Med.)
   Properties.  Creasote, when pure, is a colourless oleaginous liquid, of the
consistence  of  oil of almonds, slightly greasy  to the  touch,  volatilizable by
heat, and having a caustic and burning taste, and a penetrating, disagreeable
odour like that of smoked meat.  As met with in the shops, it has frequently
a brownish  tinge.   It burns with a sooty flame.   Applied  to  the  skin in a
concentrated state, it corrugates  and  then  destroys the cuticle.   On paper it
leaves a greasy stain, which disappears in  a few hours, or in  ten minutes
when exposed  to a heat of about 212°.   Its sp. gr. is 1-037 (1-066 accord-
ing to the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia).  In favour of the  latter number Dr.
Christison adduces experimental results of his own, which are entirely satis* 
PART I.
Creasotum.
281
factory. (Christison*s Dispensatory, p. 374.)   It boils at 397°, and retains
its fluidity at —17°, and not probably at so low a temperature  as__50°, as
stated in the London  Pharmacopoeia.*   It is a non-conductor of electricity,
and  refracts light powerfully.   It is devoid of acid  or alkaline reaction.
Mixed with water, it forms two combinations—one a solution of 1 part of
creasote in about 80 of water, the other, of 1 part of water in  10 of creasote.
It unites in all  proportions with alcohol, ether, and  naphtha.   It is capable
of dissolving a large quantity of  iodine and phosphorus, and a  considerable
portion of sulphur, especially when assisted by heat.
  Creasote forms  two combinations  with potassa, one anhydrous,  of an
oleaginous consistence, the other, hydrated, and in the form of small, white
pearly scales.  It possesses  similar habitudes with soda.  It instantly dis-
solves ammonia, and retains it with great force.  Nitric and sulphuric acids,
in a concentrated state, decompose creasote; the former giving rise to abun-
dant reddish vapours, the latter  to a  red  colour, which becomes black on
the  addition of more of the acid.   Acetic acid dissolves it in all proportions
without decomposing it.   Creasote dissolves a large number of metallic
salts; and it reduces a few to the metallic state,  as, for example, nitrate and
acetate of silver.   It acts powerfully in coagulating  albumen, whether of
the  egg, or of the serum of the blood.
  Of all the properties of creasote, the most remarkable is its power of pre-
serving meat.   It is this  property which  has  suggested its  name, derived
from x^tai flesh, and  e^u / save.  Reichenbach states that fresh meat, dip-
ped  for a  quarter of an hour  in  a  solution of creasote, is  preserved  from
putrefaction, and concludes that  smoked meats owe  their power to  resist
change to the presence of this substance.
  Impurities and Adulterations.  Creasote is apt to contain  eupione, pica-
mar, and capnomor, and is sometimes  adulterated with rectified oil of tar, and
the  fixed  and volatile oils.  All  these  substances  are detected  by strong
acetic acid, which dissolves the  creasote, and leaves them  behind, floating
above the creasote solution.  Fixed oils are also  discovered by a stain on
paper, not discharged by heat.   Any trace of the matter which produces
the  brownish tinge, is detected by the  liquid becoming  discoloured by ex-
posure to sunshine.   Specific gravity  is not a good criterion  for the purity
of creasote; because it is apt to be adulterated by liquids both  heavier and
lighter than itself, and hence may have the proper density without  being
pure.  If it be very light, the presence of alcohol may be suspected.  This
adulteration may be separated by distillation, and will  first come  over, dis-
tinguishable by burning with a clear instead of a smoky flame.
  Medical  Properties, cy-c.   Creasote  is irritant,  narcotic, styptic,  anti-
septic, and moderately escharotic.   Internally it  has  been employed in
a number  of diseases;  externally, for the most part as an application  to
eruptions,  wounds, and  ulcers,  and  as an  injection  and  gargle.    The
principal  diseases in which  it has been given are diabetes  mellitus, epi-
lepsy,  hysteria,  neuralgia,  chronic catarrh,  hemoptysis,  and pulmonary
consumption.   Over the latter disease it has  no curative influence;  but it
is stated to facilitate expectoration and to give the sputa a more favourable

  *  The French authorities state that  creasote remains fluid at 27° below zero, (Cent.)
This is equivalent to 48-6° below freezing of Fahr. It is probable that the London Col-
lege has inadvertently considered this number as indicating the number of degrees below
zero of Fahr., instead of below freezing, and has taken the round number, 50° below zero,
as a sufficiently near approximation.  Mr. Phillips has not  adopted the number  of the
London Pharmacopoeia; but has committed the errror of giving the temperature at 17°
instead of 17° below zero.  (See his Trans. Lond. Pharm. Fourth Ed. 392.)
                                  25* 
282
Creasotum.
PART I,
character.  In  this disease, and in  bronchorrhoea without inflammation, it
has been recommended to be inhaled in a state of vapour, by means of the
ordinary inhaling bottle.  Dr. Elliotson, of London, considers it an impor-
tant  remedy in arresting nausea and vomiting, when not dependent on in-
flammation or  structural disease of the stomach, as in hysteria and preg-
nancy.   He also  recommends it,  as  well  as Mr. A.  B. Maddock, of
London, as a preventive of sea-sickness.  The eruptions to the treatmentof
which it has been supposed to be best suited, are those  of a scaly character.
In burns its efficacy has been insisted on, especially  in those attended with
excessive suppuration and  fungous  granulations.   In recent burns, where
the cuticle is  not broken, Dr. John Sutherland found it useful, applied in an
undiluted state.  In chilblains  also  it is stated to be a useful application.
When applied to wounds, it acts as  a styptic, stopping  the capillary hemor-
rhage, but possesses  no power to arrest the  bleeding from  large vessels.
Hence creasote water has been  applied locally to arrest uterine hemorrhage
and the  bleeding from leech-bites.   The ulcers, in the treatment of which
it  has been  found  most useful, are  those of an  indolent and gangrenous
character, in which its several properties of escharotic, stimulant, and anti-
septic are usefully brought into play.  It is also  praised  as  an application
to syphilitic,  scrofulous, and  cancerous ulcers.   In all  these  cases,  the
remedy must be used of appropriate strength,  and continued with judgment;
and in case it should  irritate, its use should be suspended, or alternated with
that of emollient and soothing applications.  In fistulous ulcers, it proves a
useful resource, used by injection, by exciting the callous surfaces and dis-
posing them  to unite.   Dr. Hildreth, of Zanesville, Ohio, found it effica-
cious, mixed with  mercurial ointment, in  the proportion of ten to thirty
drops to the ounce, in  scrofulous ophthalmia, and scrofulous ulceration of
the cornea.   A small portion of the  ointment  is introduced under the upper
eyelid,  morning and evening, and rubbed over the whole globe.   The appli-
cation should be strong  enough to produce  a  smarting pain for  about five
minutes.  The local  must of course  be  combined with constitutional treat-
ment.  (Amer.  Journ. of Med. Sci. Oct.  1842, p. 362.)  Dr. R. Dick, of
Glasgow, recommends creasote as an internal remedy in chronic gonorrhoea,
and gleet.  In  cases  of putrid  sorethroat,  in  which  the use of a stimulant
and  antiseptic  is  required, a gargle of creasote  acts  beneficially;  and in
chronic suppuration of the external  meatus of the ear, the same properties
make it valuable as an injection.  In deafness arising  from  deficient ceru-
men, Mr. Curtis has found  it useful. The meatus is first well cleansed, and
afterwards brushed over, night and  morning, with a mixture of a drachm
of creasote to four  drachms of  oil of almonds, by means of a camel's hair
brush.   Dr. Partridge, of this city,  has found the same treatment advanta-
geous in several cases of deafness.   The meatus may be cleansed by drop-
ping into the ear at  night a few drops of olive oil, and syringing it out the next
morning with a weak and warm solution of castile soap, to which a sixth of
cologne water has been added.   This may be repeated five or six  days, until
the ear  is thoroughly cleansed.  (Med. Exam. iii. 347.)  In toothache, de-
pendent on destruction  of the  tooth and  exposure  of the  nerve, creasote
often acts promptly and radically in the removal of the pain.   One  or two
drops of the pure substance must be carefully introduced into the hollow of
the tooth, on a little cotton, avoiding contact  with the tongue or cheek.
To render the remedy effectual, the  hollow of the tooth must  be well cleaned
out before it is  applied.
   Creasote is employed in the pure state, in mixture or solution, and in the
form of ointment.   (See Mistura Creasoti, and Unguentum Creasoti.)  in 
PART I.
Creasotum. — Creta.
283
the pure state, it may be brushed over indolent or ill conditioned ulcers, or
applied  by means of lint, to arouse their sensibility, or  to create a new
action.  Internally it is given in the dose of one or two drops, or more, re-
peated several times a day, diluted with weak mucilage, in the proportion
of half a fluidounce  to the drop.   When  used as  a lotion for eruptions,
ulcers, or burns, or as a gargle or injection, it is employed in solution, con-
taining two,  four, or six  drops to the fluidounce  of distilled water; the
strength being determined by the circumstances of each particular case.  In
some cases the solution of creasote is used externally, mixed with poultices.
   Three or four drops of creasote, added to a pint of ink, is said effectually
to prevent its becoming mouldy.   Dr. Christison  finds  from experiment,
that  creasote water is as good a preservative of some anatomical  prepara-
tions as  spirit, with  the  advantage of not  hardening the parts.   It is to
creasote that the antiseptic properties of  wood-smoke and of pyroligneous
acid  are probably due.
   Creasote, in an overdose, acts as a poison. It produces giddiness, obscu-
rity  of vision, depressed action of the heart, convulsions and coma.  No
antidote is  known to its poisonous effects.  The treatment consists in the
administration of ammonia and other stimulants.
   According to Ettling, taking  the mean  of two experiments, creasote con-
sists of 7-8 hydrogen, 76-2 carbon, and 16 oxygen,  proportions which coin-
cide most nearly with nine equiv. of hydrogen, fourteen of carbon, and two
of oxygen.  It  appears, however,  that the specimens analyzed  were not
entirely free from water.
   Off. Prep. Mistura Creasoti, Ed.; Unguentum Creasoti, U. S., Lond.,
Ed.                                                              B.

                    CRETA.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.

                                Chalk.

   " Native friable carbonate of lime." U. S.  " Calcis Carbonas (friabilis)."
Lond.   " Friable carbonate of  lime."  Ed.
   Off. Syn.  CALCIS  CARBONAS. CRETA ALBA.  Dub.
   Cruie, Fr.;  Kreide, Germ.; Creta, Ital; Grcda, Span., Port.
   Carbonate of lime, in the extended meaning  of  the term, is  the most
 abundant of simple  minerals, constituting, according to its state of aggrega-
 tion and other peculiarities, the different varieties of calcareous spar, com-
 mon and  shell  limestone, marble, marl,  and chalk.   It occurs also  in the
 animal  kingdom, forming the principal part of shells, and a  small propor-
 tion of the bones of the  higher orders of animals.   Though insoluble in
 pure water,  yet  it is present in minute  quantity in most natural waters,
 being dissolved in the carbonic acid which they contain.   In the waters of
 limestone  districts, it is a very usual impregnation, and causes purging in
 those not accustomed to their use.   In all such cases, boiling the water, by
 expelling the carbonic acid, causes the carbonate to be deposited.   Besides
 being officinal in the state of chalk, carbonate of lime is  also ordered as it
 exists in marble and oyster-shell, and as obtained  by precipitation.  (See
 Marmor,  Testa, and Culcis Carbonas  Prsecipilatum.)  In  the present
 article we  shall restrict our observations to chalk.
   Localities. Chalk occurs abundantly in the South of England and North
 of France.  It  has  not been discovered  in the United States.   It  occurs
 massive in beds, and very frequently contains nodules of flint, and fossil
 remains of land and marine animals. 
284
Creta.—Crocus.
part i.
   Properties.  Chalk is an insipid, inodorous, insoluble, opaque, soft-solid,
generally white, but grayish-white when impure.  It is rough to the touch,'
easily pulverized, and breaks with an  earthy fracture.   It soils the fingers,
yields a trace when drawn across an unyielding surface, and when applied
to the tongue adheres slightly.   Its sp. gr. varies from 2*3 to 2-6.  It is
seldom a perfectly  pure carbonate of lime, but contains,  besides gritty
siliceous particles, small portions of alumina and of oxide of iron.   If pure
it is entirely soluble in muriatic acid;  but usually a little silica is left.  If
the muriatic solution is not  precipitated  by ammonia, it is  free from alu-
mina and oxide  of iron.  Like all carbonates, it effervesces with acids.
Though insoluble in water, it dissolves in an excess of carbonic acid.  It
consists, like the  other varieties  of carbonate of lime, of one eq. of carbonic
acid 22*12,  and one  of lime 28*5 = 50*62.
   Pharmaceutical Uses.  Chalk, on account of the gritty particles which it
contains, is  unfit for medical use, until it has  undergone levigation, when it
is called  prepared chalk. (See  Creta Praeparata.)  It is sometimes used,
in the preparation of the alkaline bicarbonates, to  furnish a stream of car-
bonic acid,  when  decomposed by dilute sulphuric acid; as in the London
process for bicarbonate of potassa.
   Off. Prep. Ammoniae Carbonas, U. S., Lond.,  Ed.;  Calcii Chloridum
Lond.; Calx, Lond.; Creta Praeparata, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Potassae
Bicarbonas, Lond.                                               B.

                  CROCUS.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Saffron.

   " The stigmas of  Crocus sativus."  U. S., Ed.  " Crocus sativus. Stig-
mata exsiccata."  Lond.
   Off. Syn. CROCUS SATIVUS. Stigmata. Dub.
   Safran, Fr., Germ.; Zafferano, Ital.; Azafran, Span.
   Crocus.  Sex.  Syst.  Triandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Iridacea?.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla six parted,  equal.  Stigmas convoluted.  Willd.
   Crocus sativus. Willd. Sp. Plant,  i. 194; Woodv.  Med. Bot.o.tQZA.
259.   The  common cultivated saffron is a perennial plant, with a rounded
and depressed bulb or cormus, from which the flower rises a little above
the ground upon a long, slender, white, and succulent tube.   The flower is
large, of a beautiful lilac or bluish-purple colour, and makes its appearance
in September or October.   The leaves are radical, linear, slightly revolute,
dark green upon their upper surface with a white longitudinal furrow in the
centre, paler underneath with a prominent flattened midrib, and enclosed at
their  base, together with the tube of the corolla, in a membranous sheath,
from which  they  emerge soon after the appearance of the  flower. The
style hangs  out on one side between two segments of  the corolla, and ter-
minates in three long convoluted stigmas, which are of a rich orange colour,
highly odorous, rolled in at the edges,  and notched at the summit.  These
stigmas are  the officinal part of the plant.
  The C. sativus, or autumnal crocus,  is a native of Greece and Asia
Minor, where it has  been cultivated from the earliest ages of antiquity,  n
is also cultivated for medicinal use in Sicily, Spain, France, England, and
other temperate countries of Europe.   In  Great Britain it has been found
growing  wild but is not thought to be  indigenous.   Large  quantities of
saffron are  raised  in Egypt, Persia, and Cashmere, whence it is  sent to
India.  We cultivate the  plant in this country chiefly, if not solely, as a
garden flower. 
PART I.
Crocus.
285
  In England the flowers appear in October, and the leaves continue green
through the winter; but the plant does not ripen its seed, and is propagated
by offsets from the bulb.   These are planted in grounds  prepared  for the
purpose, and are arranged either in rows, or in small patches at certain dis-
tances.   The flowers are gathered soon after they show themselves, as the
period of flowering is very short. (Fee.)  The stigmas, or summits of the
pistils, together with a portion of the style, are separated from the remainder
of the flower, and carefully dried by artificial heat, or in the sun.  During
this  process they  are  sometimes made to assume the form of a cake by
pressure; but the finest saffron is that which has been dried loosely.  The
two forms are distinguished by  the name  of hay-saffron and cake-saffron.
Five pounds of the fresh stigmas yield one pound of the dried. (Duncan.)
   The English saffron, formerly most highly esteemed in this country, has
disappeared from our market.  What may be sold under that name is pro-
bably derived from  other sources.   Much  of the drug  is imported  from
Gibraltar, packed in  canisters.   Parcels of it are also, brought from Trieste
and other ports of the Mediterannean.   The Spanish saffron  is generally
considered best.  Genuine cake-saffron is at present seldom found in com-
merce.
  Properties.  Saffron has a peculiar, sweetish, aromatic odour, a warm,
pungent  bitter taste,  and a rich deep orange colour, which it imparts to the
saliva when chewed.  The stigmas of which it consists are an inch or more
in length, expanded  and notched at  the  upper extremity, and narrowing
towards  the lower, where they terminate in a slender, capillary, yellowish
portion,  forming a part  of the style.  Analyzed by Vogel  and Bouillon-
Lagrange, it afforded 6*5 per cent, of  a peculiar extractive matter,  and 7*5
of an odorous volatile oil, together with wax, gum, albumen, saline matter,
water, and  vegetable fibre.  The extractive matter was  named by them
polychro'ite, from the changes of colour which it undergoes by the action of
reagents.   It is prepared by evaporating the watery infusion to the  consist-
ence of honey, digesting the  residue in alcohol, filtering the tincture, and
evaporating it to dryness.  Thus obtained, it  is in  the  form of a reddish-
yellow mass,  of an  agreeable smell, slightly bitter, soluble in water and
alcohol, and somewhat deliquescent.  Its  solution becomes grass-green by
the action of nitric acid, blue  and then violet by that of sulphuric acid, and
loses its  colour altogether on  exposure  to light, and  by chlorine.  Accord-
ing to M. Henry, Sen., it contains about 20 per cent, of volatile oil, which
can be separated  only by the agency of an alkali.   When perfectly pure,
it is of a brilliant red  colour,  soluble with  difficulty  in  water  which it ren-
ders yellow, and readily soluble in alcohol, and the fixed  and volatile oils.
M. Henry states that this colouring matter constitutes 42 per cent, of saffron,
and the essential oil 10 per cent.  It is  to the latter that the medicine owes
its active properties.   It may be partially separated  by distillation.  It  is
yellow, of a hot, acrid, bitterish  taste, and heavier than water, in which it
is slightly soluble.
  Adulterations.  The high price of this medicine  gives rise to frequent
adulterations.   Water is said  to be very often added in order to increase its
weight.  Oil is also added for the same purpose, or to improve the  appear-
ance.   Sometimes the  flowers of other plants,  particularly the Carthamus
tinctorius or safflower, and the  Calendula  officinalis or officinal marygold,
are fraudulently mixed with the genuine stigmas.  They may be known by
their shape,  which is rendered  obvious by throwing a portion of the sus-
pected  mass into hot  water, which causes them  to  expand. (See Cartha-
mus.)  Other adulterations are the fibres of dried beef, the stamens of the 
2S6                      Crocus.—Cubeba.                  part i.

Crocus distinguishable by their  yellow colour, the stigmas previously ex-
hausted in the preparation of the infusion or tincture,  and various mineral
substances easily detected upon close examination.
   Choice of Saffron.  Saffron should not be very moist, nor very dry, nor
easily pulverized, nor should it emit an offensive smell when thrown upon
live coals.  The freshest is the best, and that which is less than a year old
should, if possible, be selected.  It  should possess in a  high degree the
characteristic properties of colour, taste,  and smell.   If it does not colour
the fingers when rubbed  between them, or has an oily feel, or  a  musty
flavour, or  a  black, yellow, or whitish  colour, it should be rejected.  In
the purchase of this medicine in cakes, those should be selected which are
close, tough, and firm in tearing; and care should be  taken  to avoid cakes
of safflower, which are probably more frequent in the  market than those of
genuine saffron.
  As its activity depends, partly at least, on a volatile ingredient, it should
be kept in well-stopped vessels.  Some  recommend  that it should  be en-
closed in a bladder, and introduced into a tin case.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Saffron was formerly considered highly
stimulant and antispasmodic.  It has  been alleged that, in small  doses, it
moderately excites the different functions, exhilarates the spirits, relieves
pain, and produces sleep; in large doses, gives rise to headache, intoxication,
delirium, stupor, and other alarming symptoms; and  Shroeder asserts that,
in the quantity of two or  three  drachms,  it proves fatal.  It was thought
also to act powerfully on the uterine system, promoting menstruation.  The
ancients employed it extensively, both as a medicine and  condiment, under
the name of crocus.   It was also highly esteemed by the Arabians, and en-
joyed considerable reputation among the physicians of modern Europe till
within a comparatively recent  period.  On the continent it is still much
used as a stimulant and emmenagogue.  But the experiments of Dr.  Alex-
ander have proved it to possess little  activity as a medicine; and in Great
Britain and the United States it  is seldom prescribed.v By old women and
nurses saffron tea is frequently used in exanthematous diseases, to promote
the eruption;  a practice introduced by the humoral pathologists, but after-
wards abandoned by the profession, and not greatly injurious only from the
inactivity of the medicine.  The chief use of saffron at present is to impart
colour and flavour to officinal tinctures.   From ten to thirty grains may be
given for a dose.
   Off.Prep.  Acetum Opii,  U.S.;  Confectio  Aromatica,  U.S., Lond.,
Dub.;  Decoctum Aloes Compositum, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Pilulae Aloes et
Myrrhae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Pilulae Styracis Compositae, Lond.,
Ed., Dub.; Syrupus Croci, Lond., Ed.; Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhae, U. S„
Lond., Ed.;  Tinct. Cinchonae  Comp., U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinct.
Croci, Ed.;  Tinct.  Opii Ammoniata, Ed.;  Tinct. Rhei Comp., Lond.,
Dub.;  Tinct. Rhei et Sennae, U. S.

                      CUBEBA.  U.S., Dub.

                                Cubebs.

   " The berries of Piper Cubeba." U. S.  " Piper Cubeba, Fructus." Bub.
   Off Syn.  PIPER CUBEBA.  Piper Cubeba. Baccss. Lond.; CUBE-
BM. Fruit of Piper Cubeba. Ed.
   Cubebe, Fr.; Kubeben, Germ.;  Cuhebe, Ital.; Cubebas, Span.; Kebabeh, Arab.
   Piper. Sex. Syst. Diandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord.  Piperaceae. 
part i.                        Cubeba.                           2S7

   Gen. Ch. Calyx none.  Corolla none. Berry one-seeded. Willd.
   Piper  Cubeba. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 159; Woodv. Med. Bot. 3d Ed. v. 95.
This is a climbing perennial plant, with a smooth, flexuous, jointed stem,
and entire, petiolate, oblong or ovate oblong, acuminate leaves, rounded or
obliquely cordate at the base, strongly nerved, coriaceous, and very smooth.
The flowers  are  dioecious and in spikes, with peduncles about as long as
the petiole.  The fruit is a globose, pedicelled berry.
   This species of Piper is  a  native of Java, Penang, and probably other
parts of the East Indies.   It grows wild in the woods, and does not appear
to be cultivated.  The dried unripe fruit is  the officinal portion.  Dr. Blume
thinks it probable that the drug is derived chiefly from another species—the
P. caninum inhabiting the same countries;  but Dr. Lindley could discover no
difference between the fruit of the P. cubeba and the cubebs sold in London.
   Properties. Cubebs are round, about the size of a small pea, of a blackish
or grayish-brown colour, and furnished with a short stock, which appears to
be continuous with raised veins that run over the surface of the berry, and
embrace  it like a network.  The  shell is hard, almost ligneous, and con-
tains within it a single loose seed, covered with a blackish coat, and inter-
nally white and oleaginous.  The odour of the berry is agreeably aromatic;
the taste warm, bitterish, and  camphorous, leaving in the mouth a peculiar
sensation of coolness, like  that produced by the oil of peppermint.  The
powder is  dark coloured and of an oily aspect.  From 1000 parts of cubebs,
M. Monheim obtained 30 parts of a ceruminous substance, 25 of a green
volatile oil, 10 of a yellow volatile oil, 45 of cubebin, 15 of a balsamic resin,
10. of chloride of sodium, 60 of extractive, and 650 of lignin, with 155 parts
lost.   According to MM. Capitaine and Soubeiran, cubebin is best obtained
by expressing cubebs from which the oil has been distilled, preparing with
it an alcoholic extract, treating this with a  solution of potassa, washing the
residue with water, and purifying it by repeated  crystallizations in alcohol.
Thus prepared, it is white,  inodorous, and insipid, not volatilizable by heat,
almost insoluble in water, slightly soluble in cold alcohol, freely so in that
liquid when hot, and soluble also  in ether, acetic acid, and the fixed and
volatile oils.   It bears a close  resemblance to piperin, but differs from it in
composition.  (Journ. de Pharm. xxv. 355.)   The volatile oil is officinal.
 (See Oleum Cubebae.) Cubebs gradually deteriorate by age; and in the state
 of powder become rapidly  weaker, in  consequence of the  escape of their
 active volatile  ingredient.   They should  always be kept whole, and pul-
 verized at the time of dispensing them.   The powder  is  said to be some-
 times  adulterated with that of pimento.
   Medical Properties and  Uses. Cubebs are gently stimulant, with a spe-
cial direction to the urinary organs.  In considerable quantities they usually
excite the  circulation, increase the heat  of the body, and sometimes occasion
headache and giddiness.   At the same time they frequently produce an aug-
mented flow of the urine, to which they impart a peculiar odour.  Nausea
and moderate purging are also occasional  attendants  upon  their  operation;
and they are said to give rise to a sense of coolness in the rectum during
the passage of the feces.   We have no evidence that they were known to
the ancients.  They were probably first brought into Europe by the Arabians;
and were formerly employed for similar purposes with the black pepper;
but they were found much less powerful and fell into disuse.  Some years
since they were again brought into notice in England as a remedy in gonor-
rhoea,  and have  been found very efficient in this complaint by numerous
practitioners, not only of Great Britain, but of the continent of Europe and 
28S
Cubeba. — Cuprum.
PART I.
of the United States.  This application of cubebs was derived from India,
where they have long been used in gonorrhoea, gleet, and as a grateful sto-
machic and carminative in disorders of the digestive organs.  They are said
to have occasionally produced swelled testicle when given in the first men-
tioned complaint;  and, though recommended in all its stages, will probably
be found most safe and  effectual in cases  where the inflammatory action is
confined to the mucous membrane of the urethra.  If not speedily useful,
they should be  discontinued.  They  have been given also in  leucorrhoea,
rystirrhoea, abscess  of the  prostate gland, piles, and  chronic bronchial in-
flammation.  They are best administered in the form of powder, of which
the dose in gonorrhoea is from one to three drachms, repeated three or four
times a day.  For  other  affections the dose is sometimes reduced to ten
grains.  The volatile oil  may  be substituted for the powder, in  the dose of
ten or twelve drops, suspended in water by the intervention of sugar.
   In Loudon's Encyclopaedia of  plants, it is stated  that  the berries of the
Uvaria Zeylanica of Ceylon are used  as a specific  for gonorrhoea, under the
name of cubebs.  They are, however, wholly different  from  the genuine
drug, and  may  be distinguished  by  containing four seeds in  each berry,
while the latter has but one.
   Off. Prep.  Oleum Cubebae, EL;  Tinctura  Cubebae,  U. S.,  Lond.
                                                                 W.


                             CUPRUM.

                               Copper.

   Cuivre, Fr; Kupfer, Germ.; Rame, Ital.; Cobre, Span.
   This metal is not officinal in the metallic state, but furnishes several im-
portant preparations.  It  is very generally diffused in  nature, and exists
principally in four states;  as native copper, as an oxide, as a sulphuret, and
as a salt.  Its principal native salts are the sulphate, carbonate, arseniate,
and phosphate.  In the United States  it has been found in various localities.
The principal  copper mines in  the world, are those of the Pyrenees in
France, Cornwall in England, and Fahlun in Sweden.
   Properties.   Copper is a brilliant, sonorous metal, of a reddish colour,
and very ductile, malleable, and tenacious. It has  a slightly nauseous taste,
and emits a disagreeable smell when rubbed.   Its texture is granular, and its
fracture hackly.  Its sp. gr. is  8-89, and its fusing point, 1996 F. according
to Daniell;  being  intermediate in  fusibility between silver and  gold.  Its
equivalent number is 31-6.   Exposed to the air it undergoes a slight tarnish.
Its combinations are numerous and important.  With oxygen it  forms two
well characterized oxides, a red suboxide  or dioxide, consisting of two  eqs.
of copper and one of oxygen;  and a  black protoxide formed of  one eq. of
metal and one of oxygen.   The latter oxide, which alone is salifiable, forms
with acids several salts, important in  medicine and the arts.   With metals
copper forms numerous alloys, of which that with zinc,  called  brass, is the
most useful.
   Characteristics.   Copper is recognised by its  colour and the effect of
tests on  its nitric solution.  This solution,  with  potassa, soda, and  am-
monia, yields a blue precipitate, soluble in excess  of the latter alkali, with
which it forms a deep blue liquid.   Ferrocyanuret of potassium occasions a
brown precipitate of ferrocyanuret of copper; and  a bright plate of iron im-
mersed in the solution, immediately becomes covered with a film of metallic 
PART I.
Cuprum.
289
copper.   The ferrocyanuret of potassium is an exceedingly delicate test for
detecting minute portions of copper in solution.  Another test, proposed by
M. Verguin, is to precipitate the copper in the metallic state on platinum
by electro-chemical  action.   For this  purpose a drop of  the  liquid  to  be
examined is placed on a slip of platinum foil, and  a  slip of bright iron is
brought in contact with the platinum and the liquid.  If copper be present,
it will be instantly precipitated on the surface of the platinum.  (Journ. de
Pharm. xxvii. 367.)
  Action on the Animal Economy.  Copper, in its pure state, is perfectly
inert, but in combination is highly deleterious.  Nevertheless a  certain small
portion of the metal, so far as researches have extended, is always present
in the  healthy body.  Its combinations, when  taken in poisonous doses,
produce a coppery taste in the mouth;  nausea  and vomiting; violent pain of
the stomach and bowels; frequent black and bloody stools; small, irregular,
sharp, and frequent pulse; faintings; burning thirst; difficulty of breathing;
cold sweats;  paucity of urine; violent headache; cramps, convulsions, and
finally death.  The  best  treatment in cases of  poisoning by  copper, is to
administer white of eggs, diffused in water, in  large  and repeated doses.  If
this remedy be not at hand, the patient must  in the mean time be gorged
with warm water, or with milk, and the throat  irritated by the  finger or a
feather, with a view to excite vomiting.   Should  vomiting not take place by
these means, the stomach-pump may be employed.   The  efficacy of the
new antidote, (bicarbonate of soda,) proposed by W. Benoist, requires con-
firmation; and his objections to the white of eggs are probably unfounded.
  In medico-legal examinations, where cupreous poisoning is  suspected,
Orfila recommends that the viscera be boiled in distilled water for an hour,
and  that the matter obtained by evaporating  the filtered decoction to dry-
ness, be  carbonized by nitric acid.  The matter thus treated will contain
the copper.   By proceeding in this way, there is no  risk of obtaining the
copper naturally existing in the animal  tissues.  This method of proceeding
is preferable to examining the contents of the  stomach and intestines, from
which copper may be absent, while yet it may have penetrated the different
organs by absorption, especially the abdominal viscera.
  Vessels of copper should be discontinued in all operations connected with
pharmacy and domestic economy;  for, although the metal uncombined is
inert, yet the risk is great that the vessel may be acted on, in which event,
whatever may be contained in it would be rendered  deleterious.
  Pharm. Prep.  The following is  a list of all the  preparations containing
copper,  in the U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias, arranged so as to exhibit
the synonymes.
     Cupri Acetas. Crystalii. Dub.
     Cupri Subacetas, U. S.  Dub.;  iErugo, Lond., Ed.; Anglice, Verdi-
                      gris.
       Cupri Subacetas Praeparatum, Dub.; Anglice, Prepared verdigris.
      Unguentum Cupri Subacetatis,  U. S., Dub.; Unguentum iEruginis,
                      Ed.
      Oxymel Cupri  Subacetatis, Dub.;  Linimentum iEruginis, Lond.
      Emplastrum  Cantharidis Compositum,  Ed.
     Cupri Sulphas, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
      Cuprum Ammoniatum, U. S.,Ed., Dub.; Cupri Ammonio-sulphas,
                      Lond.
         Cupri Ammoniati  Aqua, Dub.; Cupri Ammoniati Solutio, Ed.;
                      Liquor Cupri  Ammonio-sulphatis, Lond.
         Pilulae Cupri Ammoniati, Ed.                            B.
     26 
290
Cupri Subacetas.
PART I.
               CUPRI  SUBACETAS.  U.S., Dub.

                        Subacetate of Copper.

   "Impure subacetate of copper."  U. S.
   Off. Syn. JERUGO, Lond., Ed.
   "Verdigris; Acetate de cuivre brut, Vert-de-gris, Fr.; Griinspan, Germ.; Verde rame,
Ital.; Cardenillo, Span.
   Preparation.  Verdigris is prepared in large quantities in the South of
France, more particularly in the neighbourhood of  Montpellier.   It is also
manufactured in Great Britain and Sweden.   In France the process is con-
ducted in the following  manner.   Sheets of copper are stratified with the
refuse  of the  grape which  remains after the  expression  of  the juice in
making wine, and allowed to remain in this state for a month or six  weeks.
At the end of this  time, the plates  are  found  coated with a  considerable
quantity of verdigris.   This is scraped off, and the  plates are then replaced
as at first, to be further acted on.   The scrapings thus obtained form a paste,
which  is afterwards well beaten with wooden mallets, and packed in oblong
leathern bags, about ten  inches in  length by eight  in breadth, in which it is
dried in the sun, until the loaf of verdigris, as it is called, attains  the proper
degree of hardness.  The rationale of the  process is  easily understood. The
grape-refuse contains a considerable quantity of juice, which, by contact with
the air, undergoes the acetous fermentation.  The copper becomes oxidized,
and, by subsequent  combination with the acetic acid generated  during the
fermentation, forms  the  subacetate of copper or verdigris.   In England a
purer verdigris is prepared by alternating copper plates with pieces of wool-
len cloth steeped in  pyroligneous acid.
   Verdigris comes to this country exclusively from  France, being imported
principally from Bordeaux and Marseilles.  The leathern packages in which
it is put up, called sacks of verdigris, weigh generally from twenty-five to
thirty pounds, and arrive in casks, each containing from thirty to forty sacks.
   Properties.  Verdigris is in masses of a pale green colour, and composed
of a multitude of minute silky crystals.  Sometimes, however, it occurs of
a bright blue colour.  Its taste is  coppery.  It  is  insoluble in  alcohol, and,
by the action of water, a portion of it is resolved into the neutral acetate which
dissolves, and a triacetate which remains behind in  the form of a dark green
powder, gradually becoming black.   It is hence evident that, when verdigris
is prepared by levigation with water, it is altered in its nature.   The neu-
tral acetate is the crystallized acetate of copper of the Dublin College (see
Cupri Acetas. Crystalli); while  the triacetate may be viewed as identical
with the prepared verdigris (see Cupri Subacetas Praeparatum). When acted
on by sulphuric acid, it is decomposed, vapours of acetic acid being evolved,
easily recognised  by their vinegar odour.  It is soluble almost  entirely in
ammonia,  and dissolves in muriatic acid, with the  exception of  impurities,
which should  not exceed five per  cent.  When of good  quality, it has a
lively  green colour, is free from black or white spots, and is dry and diffi-
cult to break.   The green rust, called in popular  language verdigris, which
copper vessels are apt  to  contract  when not kept  clean, is a carbonate of
copper,  and must not be confounded with real verdigris.
   Composition.  Verdigris, apart from its impurities, is a variable mixture
 of the subacetates  of  copper; the subsesquiacetate  predominating in the
 green variety, the diacetate in the blue.  The London College defines it to
 be an impure diacetate of copper; the Edinburgh, the commercial diacetate. 
parti.           Cupri Jicetas. — Cupri Sulphas.              291

When acted on by water, the portion consisting of diacetate is converted into
soluble neutral acetate, and insoluble triacetate, as  above mentioned.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Verdigris is used externally as a detergent
and escharotic, and  is occasionally  applied to chronic eruptions, foul and
indolent ulcers, and  venereal warts.   The special applications  of it will be
mentioned under its  preparations.   For its effects as a poison, and the mode
of treatment, the reader is referred to the article Cuprum.
   Off. Prep. Cupri  Subacetas Praeparatum, Dub.;  Emplastrum  Canthari-
dis Compositum, Ed.; Linimentum iEruginis, Lond.;  Unguentum Cupri
Subacetatis, U. S., Ed.                                             B.

               CUPRI  ACETAS.  Crystalli. Dub.

                  Crystals  of Acetate of Copper.

   Distilled verdigris, Crystals of Venus, neutral acetate of copper; Cristaux de Venus,
Verdet crystallize, Fr.;  Destillirter Griinspan, Kupferkrystallen, Germ.
   Crystallized acetate of  copper is  prepared  principally at Montpellier, in
France.  The verdigris which is  made  in private houses  is collected and
carried to the manufactory.  It is there dissolved in vinegar by the assistance
of heat, and the solution,  after having been sufficiently concentrated, is trans-
ferred to suitable vessels,  where it crystallizes on cording.  The crystalliza-
tion is  facilitated by inserting sticks in the liquid, splutin four longitudinally,
the several portions  being kept apart by  small wedges" of wood.   On these
the crystals are deposited.
   This salt has a deep blue colour  and strong styptic taste, crystallizes in
rhomboidal prisms,  and effloresces slightly in the  air.  It dissolves in water,
without residue, a character which  serves to distinguish it from verdigris.
It consists of one eq. of acetic acid,  one  of protoxide of copper, and one of
water.   Its popular name of distilled verdigris is incorrect; as no distilla-
tion is  practised in its preparation.
   Medical and Pharmaceutical  Uses.   It is not very obvious for  what
reason  the Dublin College has included this among its officinal preparations.
It is sometimes employed in pharmacy for the purpose of obtaining acetic
acid, which maybe  disengaged from it by the action of sulphuric acid; and
the larger proportional quantity of acetic  acid which  it contains  makes  it
more eligible for  this purpose  than verdigris.  It enters into no  officinal
preparation.                                                       B.

          CUPRI  SULPHAS.   U S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                         Sulphate of Copper.

   Blue  vitriol, Roman vitriol, Blue stone;  Sulfate de cuivre, Vitriol bleu, Couperose bleu,
Fr.; Schwefelsaures Kupfer, Kupfervitriol, Blauervitriol, Blauer Galitzenstein, Germ;
Rame solfulo, Vitriolo di rame, Vitriolo di Cipro, Ital; Sulfato de cobre, Vitriolo azul,
Span.
   Preparation, fyc.  Sulphate  of copper occasionally exists  in nature, in
solution in the water which flows through copper mines.  In  this case the
salt is  obtained by merely evaporating the waters which naturally contain
it.  Another method for obtaining it, is to roast the native sulphuret in a re-
verberatory furnace, whereby it  is made to pass,  by  absorbing oxygen,
into the state of sulphate.  The roasted mass is lixiviated, and the solution
i obtained evaporated that  crystals  may form.   The  salt procured by either
i of these methods, contains a little sulphate of the sesquioxide  of iron, from 
292
Cupri Sulphas.
part i.
which it may be  freed by adding an excess of protoxide of copper, which
has the effect of precipitating the iron.  A third method consists in wetting,
and then sprinkling with sulphur, sheets of copper, which are next heated
to redness  for some  time, and afterwards plunged into water while yet hot.
The same operation is repeated until the  sheets are entirely corroded.  At
first a sulphuret  is formed, which by the action of heat and  air gradually
passes into the state  of sulphate.   This is dissolved in the water, and is ob-
tained in crystals by evaporation.
   Sometimes sulphate of copper is obtained as a secondary product, in pur-
suing one of the  methods for separating  silver from  gold.   The silver is
separated by boiling the alloy in  sulphuric acid.   The sulphate  of silver
formed is then decomposed by the  immersion  of copper plates, with the
effect of forming sulphate of copper, and precipitating the silver.
   Properties.  Sulphate of copper has a rich deep-blue colour, and strong
metallic styptic taste.  It reddens  vegetable blues, and crystallizes in large,
transparent, rhomboidal  prisms,  which effloresce slightly  in the  air and
become greenish, and are soluble in  four parts of cold, and two of boiling
water, but insoluble  in alcohol.  When heated, it first melts in its water of
crystallization, and then dries  and  becomes white.  If the heat be increased,
it  next undergoes the igneous fusion;  and finally, at a high temperature,
loses its acid, protoxide of copper being left.  Potassa, soda,  and ammonia
throw down from it a bluish-white precipitate of hydrated protoxide of cop-
per, which is immediately dissolved by an excess of the last mentioned alkali,
forming a rich deep-blue solution, called in early pharmacy, aqua sapphirina.
It  is  also decomposed by the  alkaline carbonates, and by a number of im-
portant salts, such as borax, acetate and subacetate of lead, acetate of iron,
nitrate  of silver,  corrosive  chloride  of mercury,  tartrate of potassa,  and
chloride of calcium; and  it is precipitated by all astringent vegetable in-
fusions.  Of course  it must not  be  associated in prescription with  any of
these substances.  If it become very green on the surface by the action of
the air, it shows the presence of sesquioxide  of iron.  This oxide may
also  be detected by ammonia, which will  throw it down along with the
oxide  of copper, without taking  it up  when added in excess.  The salt
consists of one eq. of sulphuric acid, one of protoxide of copper, and five
of water.
   Medical Properties.  Sulphate of copper, in small doses, is deemed
astringent and tonic; in large  ones, a prompt emetic.   With a view to its
tonic effect it has been given in intermittent fever, as well as in epilepsy and
some other spasmodic diseases; and as an emetic, for discharging poisons
from the stomach, especially opium.   In croup it  has  been employed as an
emetic with encouraging success.  It has of late been  highly recommended
in chronic  diarrhoea.  Externally it is employed in solution as a stimulant
to ill-conditioned  ulcers,  as an escharotic for  destroying  warts, fungous
granulations, and callous edges, and  as a styptic to bleeding surfaces.  It is
found, in not a few instances,  to promote the cicatrization of ulcers; and it
is  not unfrequently employed, with that view, as  a wash for chancres.  In
weak solution, either alone or associated with other substances, it forms a
useful collyrium in the chronic stages of some forms of ophthalmia.  Eight
grains of it, mixed with  an equal  weight of Armenian bole and two grains
of camphor, and added to half a pint of boiling water, forms, after becoming
limpid by rest, a collyrium strongly recommended by Mr. Ware, as a sub-
stitute for Bates's Aqua Camphorata, in the purulent ophthalmia of infants.
The dose, as an astringent or tonic, is  a quarter or half a grain, gradually
increased;  as an emetic, from two to five grains.   As  a stimulant wash, the 
part i.             Cupri Sulphas.—Curcuma.                293

solution may be made of the strength of two, four, or eight grains to the fluid-
ounce of water.  Orfila cautions against giving large doses of this salt as an
emetic in cases of poisoning; as it is apt, from its poisonous effects, to increase
the mischief, where it happens not to be expelled by  vomiting, by reason of
the insensibility of the stomach.   Upon the whole,  such is the activity of
the sulphate of copper, that it should be exhibited with the greatest caution.
For its effects  as a poison, see Cuprum.
   Off. Prep.  Cuprum Ammoniatum, U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.      B.


          CURCUMA.  US. Secondary, Lond., Ed.

                             Turmeric.

   " The rhizoma of Curcuma longa."  U. S., Ed.  " Curcuma longa. Rhi-
zoma." Lond.
   Off. Syn. CURCUMA LONGA. Radix.  Dub.
   Sat'ran des Indes, Fr.; Kurkuma, Gilbwurz, Germ; Curcuma, Ital., Span.; Zirsood,
Arab; Hulclie, Hindoo.
   Curcuma. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Zingiberaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Both limbs of the corolla three-partite.   Anther with two spurs
at the base.  Seeds with an arillus.  Loudon's Encyc.
   Curcuma longa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 14; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 737. t
252.  The root of this plant is perennial, tuberous, palmate, and internally
of a deep yellow or orange colour.  The leaves are radical,  large, lanceo-
late, obliquely nerved,  sheathing  at their base, and closely embrace each
other.  The scape or flower-stem, which rises from the midst of the leaves,
is short, thick, smooth, and constitutes a spike of numerous imbricated brac-
teal scales,  between which the flowers successively make their appearance.
The plant is a  native of the East Indies and Cochin-china, and is cultivated
in various parts of Southern Asia, particularly in China, Bengal, and Java,
whence the root is exported.  The best is said to come from  China.
   The dried root is in cylindrical or oblong pieces, about as thick but not as
long as the  finger, tuberculated, somewhat contorted, externally yellowish-
brown, internally deep orange-yellow, hard, compact, and breaking with a
fracture like that of wax.   Another variety, comparatively rare, is round or
oval, about the size of a pigeon's  egg, and marked  externally with nume-
rous annular wrinkles.  It is distinguished by the name of curcuma rotunda,
the former  being called  curcuma longa.  The two  varieties have a close
resemblance in sensible  properties, and are thought to be derived from  the
same plant, though formerly ascribed to different species of Curcuma. The
odour of turmeric is peculiar; the taste warm, bitterish, and feebly aromatic.
It tinges the saliva yellow, and affords an orange-yellow powder.' Analyzed
by Pelletier and Vogel, it was found to contain lignin, starch, a peculiar yel-
low colouring matter called curcumin, a brown  colouring matter, gum, an
odorous and very acrid volatile oil, and a small quantity of chloride of calcium.
Curcumin is obtained, mixed with a little  volatile oil, by digesting the alco-
holic extract of turmeric in ether, and evaporating the ethereal tincture.   It
may be procured  entirely pure by separating  it from its combination with
oxide of lead.   It is brown in mass, but yellow in the state of powder,
without odour  or taste, scarcely soluble in water, but very soluble in alco-
hol, ether, and the oils.   The alkalies rapidly change its colour to a reddish-
brown; and paper tinged with tincture  of  turmeric is employed as a test of
the presence of these bodies.   Berzelius, however, states that its colour is
changed to  red or brownish-red by the concentrated  mineral acids, by pure
                                 26* 
294
Curcuma.—Cydonia.
PART I.
boracic acid, especially when dissolved in alcohol, and by numerous metallic
salts; so that  its indications cannot be certainly relied on.  Its alcoholic
solution produces coloured precipitates with acetate of lead, nitrate of silver,
and other salts.   Turmeric is used for dyeing yellow;  but the colour is not
permanent.
  Medical Properties, fyc.  This  root is a stimulant aromatic, bearing some
resemblance to ginger in its operation, and is much used in India as a con-
diment.   It is a constant ingredient in the curries so generally employed in
the East.   In former times it had  some reputation in Europe as a remedy
in jaundice and other visceral diseases; but at present it is employed only
to impart  colour to ointments, and  other pharmaceutic  preparations.
   Turmeric paper, used as a test, is prepared  by  tinging white unsized
paper with a tincture or decoction  of turmeric.  The tincture may be made
with one  part of turmeric to six parts of proof spirit;  the decoction, with
one  part of the root to  ten or twelve parts  of water.  The access  of acid
or alkaline vapours  should be carefully avoided.                    W.


                        CYDONIA.  Lond.

                            Quince Seeds.

    Cydonia vulgaris.  Semina."  Lond.
  Semunces de  coings, Fr.; Quittenkerne, Germ.;  Semi  di cotogno, Ital.; Simiente de
membrillo, Span.
  The quince tree has been separated from the genus Pyrus  and  erected
into  a new one with the title  Cydonia, which is now generally  admitted by
botanists.   It  differs from the Pyrus in the circumstance that the cells of its
fruit contain many seeds, instead of two only as in the latter.
  Cydonia.   Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Pomeae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-parted,  with leafy divisions.  Apple closed, many-
seeded.   Testa mucilaginous. Loudon's  Encyc.
   Cydonia vulgaris. Pers. Enchir. ii. 40.—Pyrus Cydonia. Willd. Sp.
Plant, ii. 1020; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 505. t. 182.   The  common quince
tree  is characterized as  a species by its downy deciduous  leaves.   It does
not require particular description.   It is  supposed to have been originally
obtained from Crete, but grows wild in Austria, on the banks of the Danube.
It is abundantly cultivated in this country.   The  fruit is about the size of a
pear, yellow, downy, of a pleasant odour,  and a rough, astringent, acidulous
taste; and in each of its five  cells contains from eight to fourteen seeds.
Though not eaten in its raw state,  it forms a very pleasant confection; and a
syrup prepared from it may be used as a grateful  addition to drinks in sick-
ness, especially in looseness of the bowels, which it is supposed to restrain
by its astringency.   The seeds are the officinal portion.
  They are  ovate,  angled, of a  reddish-brown colour externally, white
within, inodorous,   and  nearly  insipid,  being  slightly bitter  when  long
chewed.  Their coriaceous envelope abounds in mucilage,  which is ex-
tracted by boiling water.  Two drachms of the seeds are sufficient to render
a pint of water thick and ropy.  It has been proposed by  a German phar-
maceutist to evaporate the  decoction to dryness,  and  powder  the residue.
Three grains of this powder form a sufficiently consistent mucilage with an
ounce of water.  Dr. Pereira considers  the mucilage of quince seeds as a
peculiar substance,  and proposes to call it cydonin.   It differs  from arabin
in not yielding a precipitate with silicate of potassa, and from bassorin and
cerasin, in being soluble in water both hot and cold. 
part i.              Cyminum.—Delphinium.                 295

  Medical Properties, fyc.  The mucilage of quince seeds may be used for
all the purposes to which other mucilaginous liquids are applied.  It is pre-
ferred by some practitioners as a local application in conjunctival ophthal-
mia, but in this country is  less used for this  purpose than the infusion of
sassafras pith.
  Off. Prep.  Decoctum Cydoniae, Lond.                         W.


                       CYMINUM. Lond.

                           Cumin Seed.

  " Cuminum Cyminum. Fructus." Lond.
   Off Syn. CUMINUM. Fruit of Cuminum Cyminum. Ed.
  Cumin, Fr.; Romischer Kutnmel, Germ; Comino, Ital., Span.
  Cuminum.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Apiaceae or Um-
belliferae.
   Gen. Ch.  Fruit ovate, striated. Partial umbels four.  Involucres  four-
cleft.
   Cuminum  Cyminum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1440; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
142. t. 56. This is an annual plant, about six or eight inches high, having
a round, slender, branching stem, with numerous narrow, linear, pointed,
smooth, grass-like leaves, of a deep green colour.  The flowers are white
or purple, and disposed in numerous terminal umbels, which have very few
rays, and are attended with general and partial involucres, consisting of three
or four linear leaflets.  The fruit consists of two oblong plano-convex half-
fruits, commonly called  seeds, united by their flat sides.  The plant is  a
native of  Egypt, but is  cultivated for its fruit in Sicily,  Malta, and  other
parts of Europe.
   The cumin seeds of the shops are elliptical, flat on one  side, convex,
furrowed, and rough on the other, about one-sixth of an inch in length, and
of  a light brown colour.  Each has seven longitudinal ridges.  Two  seeds
are sometimes united together as upon the plant.  Their odour is peculiar,
strong, and heavy;  their taste warm, bitterish, aromatic, and disagreeable.
They contain much essential oil, which is lighter than water, of a yellowish
 colour, and has the sensible properties of the seeds.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  In medical properties they resemble the
 other aromatic fruits  of umbelliferous  plants,  but are more  stimulating.
 They are seldom used in  the United States, and appear to have been re-
 tained by the  London College merely as an  ingredient in a stimulant and
 discutient plaster, which, however, has been discarded in the last edition of
 their Pharmacopoeia.   Their dose is from  fifteen grains to half a drachm
                                                               W.

               DELPHINIUM.  U.S.  Secondary.

                             Larkspur.

   " The root of Delphinium  Consolida." U. S.
   Pied d'allouette, Fr ; Feld-Rittersporn, Germ.
   Delphinium.  Sex. Syst.  Polyandria  Trigynia.—Nat. Ord.  Ranuncu-
laceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals five. Nectary bifid, horned behind.  Pods
 three or one.  Willd.
   Delphinium Consolida. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1226; Loudon's Encyc. of 
 296          Delphinium.—Dianthus Caryophyllus.      part i.

 Plants, p. 473. 7832.  The larkspur is a showy annual plant, with an erect,
 branched, slightly pubescent stem.  Its leaves are divided into linear  seg-
 ments, widely separated, and forked at the summit.  The flowers are usually
 of a beautiful azure  blue colour, and  disposed in loose  terminal racemes,
 with  peduncles longer than the bractes.   The nectary is one-leaved, with
 an ascending horn nearly equalling the corolla.  The seeds are contained in
 smooth, solitary capsules.
   This species of larkspur has been introduced from Europe into this coun-
 try, where it has become naturalized, growing in the woods and fields, and
 flowering in June and July.
  Various parts  of the larkspur have been employed in medicine; and the
 plant  is said  to have properties closely analogous to those of the Delphinium
 Staphisagria. (See  Staphisagriae Semina.)   The flowers are bitter  and
 acrid, and having formerly been supposed to possess the power of healing
 wounds,  gave the name of consolida to the species.  They were considered
 diuretic, emmenagogue, and vermifuge; but are not now used.  The seeds
 are very acrid, are esteemed diuretic, and in large doses produce vomiting
 and purging.   They were analyzed by Mr. Thomas C. Hopkins of  Phila-
 delphia, and  found to contain delphinia, volatile oil, fixed oil, gum, resin,
 chlorophylle, gallic acid,  and salts of potassa,  lime, and iron. (Am. Journ.
 of Pharm. xi. 8.)  A  tincture  prepared  by  macerating  an ounce of the
 seeds  in  a pint  of diluted alcohol, has been found useful in spasmodic
 asthma and dropsy.   The dose is  ten drops,  to be gradually increased till
 some  effects  upon the system  are evinced.  The remedy has been em-
 ployed both  in  America and England;  and  the  seeds  of an indigenous
 species, the D. exaltatum, have been applied to a similar purpose.   The
root probably possesses the same  properties  with other parts  of the plant;
but, though designated in the Pharmacopoeia,  is little if at all used.   W.

      DIANTHUS CARYOPHYLLUS.  Flores.  Dub.

                    Flowers of the Clove Pink.

  Dianthus. Sex. Syst.  Decandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Caryophyllaceae.
  Gen. Ch.   Calyx cylindrical, one-leafed, with four  scales  at the base.
Petals five, with claws. Capsule cylindrical, one-celled.  Willd.
  Dianthus Caryophyllus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 674; Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 579. t. 205.   The clove pink or carnation  is too well known to require
minute description.   It is a perennial,  herbaceous plant, characterized as a
species by its branching stem, its solitary flowers, the  short ovate scales of
its calyx, its very broad beardless petals, and its linear,  subulate, channeled,
glaucous  leaves.    Indigenous in Italy, it is every where  cultivated in gar-
dens for the beauty of its flowers, of which numerous varieties have been
produced by  horticulturists.  Those are selected for medicinal use which
have the  deepest red colour,  and  the most aromatic  odour.   The petals
should not be collected  till the flower is fully blown, and should be em-
ployed in the recent state.
  They have a fragrant odour  said to resemble that of the clove.  Their
taste is sweetish,  slightly bitter, and somewhat astringent.  Both water and
alcohol extract their sensible properties, and they yield a fragrant essential
oil by distillation.
  In  Europe they are  employed to impart colour and flavour to a syrup
which serves as  a vehicle for other less pleasant medicines.  According to
the  directions of  the former Ed.  Pharmacopoeia, this was prepared by 
part i.         Dianthus Caryophyllus.—Digitalis.           297

macerating one part of the flowers, without their claws, with four parts of
boiling water for twelve  hours, then filtering, and adding seven  parts of
sugar.                                                          W.


                     DIGITALIS.  U.S., Ed.

                             Foxglove.

   " The leaves of Digitalis purpurea."  U. S., Ed.
   Off. Syn. DIGITALIS FOLIA. DIGITALIS SEMINA. Digitalis pur-
purea. Folia. Semina. Lond. DIGITALIS  PURPUREA. Folia. Dub.
   Digitale pourpree, Doightier, Fr.; Purpurrother Fingerhut, Germ.; Digitale purpurea,
Ital.; Dedalera, Span.
   Digitalis. Sex. Syst.  Didynamia Angiospermia.—Nat. Ord. Scrophu-
lariaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-parted.  Corolla bell-shaped, five-cleft, ventricose.
Capsule ovate, two-celled.  Willd.
   Digitalis purpurea. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 283; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
218. t. 78.   Foxglove is a beautiful plant, with  a biennial or  perennial,
fibrous root, which in the first year sends forth large tufted leaves, and in
the following summer, a single, erect, downy, and leafy stem,  rising from
two to  five feet  in height, and terminating in an elegant spike of purple
flowers.  The lower  leaves are ovate, pointed, about eight inches in length
and three in breadth,  and stand  upon short, winged  footstalks; the upper
are alternate, sparse, and  lanceolate; both are obtusely serrated at their
edges, and have wrinkled velvety surfaces, of  which the upper is of a  fine
deep-green colour, the under paler  and more downy.   The flowers  are
numerous, and  attached to  the upper part of the stem by short peduncles,
in such a manner as  generally to hang down  upon one side.  At the base
of each peduncle is a  floral leaf, which is sessile, ovate,  and pointed.   The
calyx is divided into five segments, of which the uppermost is narrower than
the others.   The corolla  is monopetalous, bell-form, swelling on the lower
side, irregularly divided at the margin into short obtuse lobes, and in shape
and size bearing some resemblance to the end of the finger of a glove, a cir-
cumstance which has suggested most of the  names by which  the plant is
designated in different languages.   Its mouth is guarded by long soft hairs.
Externally, it is in general of a bright purple colour; internally, is sprinkled
with black spots  upon a  white ground.   There is a variety of the plant in
which the flowers are white.  The filaments  are white,  curved, and  sur-
mounted by large yellow anthers.   The style, which is simple, supports a
bifid stigma.  The seeds are very small, numerous, of  a grayish-brown
colour, and contained in  a pyramidal, two-celled capsule.
   The foxglove grows wild in most of the temperate countries of  Europe,
where it flowers  in the middle of summer.  In this country it is cultivated
both as an ornamental garden plant, and for medicinal purposes.  The leaves
are the part usually employed, although  the London College recognises the
seeds also as officinal.  Much care is requisite, in  selecting, preparing, and
preserving foxglove in order to insure its activity.  The leaves should be
gathered in the second year, immediately before or during the period of in-
florescence, and those only should be chosen which are  full grown and  per-
fectly  fresh.  (Geiger.)   It is  said that  those  plants  are  preferable which
grow spontaneously in elevated places, exposed to the sun. (Duncan.)   As
the leaf-stalk and mid-rib are comparatively inactive, they may be rejected.
Withering recommends that the leaves should be dried either in the sunshine, 
298
Digitalis.
PART I.
or by a gentle heat before the fire;  and care should be taken  to keep them
separate during the drying process.  Pereira states that a more common,
and, in his opinion, a preferable mode, is to dry them in a basket, in a dark
place,  in  a drying stove.  It is probably  owing, in part,  to the want of
proper  attention in preparing digitalis for  the market,  that it  is so often
to be found inefficient.  Much of the medicine kept in our shops is obtained
from the settlement of the Shakers  in New-York, and is in the state of ob-
long compact masses, into which the leaves are probably compressed before
they are thoroughly dried.   In some of these cakes the digitalis is of good
quality; but we have seen others in which it was quite the reverse,  and
some which were  mouldy  in the  interior; and upon  the whole  cannot
but consider this mode of preparing the drug as objectionable.  The dried
leaves  should be kept in tin canisters, well closed so as to exclude light and
moisture,  or they may be pulverized, and  the powder preserved in well-
stopped and opaque phials.   As foxglove deteriorates by time, it should be
frequently renewed, as often, if possible,  as once a year.  Its quality must
be judged of by the degree in which it possesses the characteristic proper-
ties of colour, smell, and especially of taste.
   Properties. Foxglove is without smell in the recent state, but acquires a
faint narcotic odour when dried.   Its  taste is bitter and  nauseous.   The
colour of  the dried leaf is a dull pale green, modified by the whitish down
upon the under surface; that of the powder is a fine deep green.  Digitalis
yields  it virtues  both to water and alcohol.   The dried leaves, analyzed by
Rein and  Haase, were found to contain in 100 parts, 5-5 of a green resin,
soft, viscid, soluble in alcohol,  ether,  and the volatile oils, and possessing
the properties of a mixture of resin and fixed oil; 150 of  gum  mixed with
a salt  of  potassa; 2*0 of superoxalate of potassa;  52-0 of lignin; 5-5 of
water, with 5-0  parts lost.   According to Haase, the virtues of digitalis de-
pend upon the soft resin. (Berzelius, Trait, de Chim.)   MM. Brault and
Poggiale state, as the result of their researches, that the leaves contain chlo-
rophylle,  resin,  a fatty matter, starch, vegetable fibre, gum, tannin, a volatile
oil, and salts of lime and of potassa.  They are disposed to ascribe the vir-
tues of the plant chiefly to the resin, which has a bitter, acrid, almost corro-
sive taste.  The pretended digitalin of M. Le Royer has turned out to be
nothing more than a mixture of chlorophylle, resin, fatty matter, and differ-
ent salts of lime and of potassa. (Journ. de Pharm. xxi. 130.)  The results
of analysis, in relation to the active principle of the drug, are as  yet quite
unsatisfactory.  Dr. Morries  obtained a narcotic empyreumatic oil by its
destructive distillation.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Digitalis is narcotic, sedative, and diuretic.
When  administered in quantities sufficient to bring the system decidedly
under  its  influence, it  is apt to produce a sense of tightness or weight with
dull pain  in the  head, vertigo, dimness or other disorder of vision, and more
or less confusion in the mental operations.   At the same time, it occasionally
gives rise to irritation in the pharynx and cesophagus, which extends to the
larynx and trachea, producing hoarseness; and, in more than one instance,
ptyalism  has  been observed to result from its action.  It sometimes  also
disturbs the bowels, and excites nausea, or even vomiting.  Another effect,
which, in a practical point of view,  is highly important,  is an augmented
flow of urine.   This has been ascribed by some to the increased absorption
which digitalis is  supposed to produce; and in support of this opinion it is
stated,  that its diuretic operation is observable only when dropsical effusion
exists;  but the fact seems to be, that it is capable of augmenting the quantity
of urine in health, and  it probably exerts a directly stimulating influence 
PART I.
Digitalis.
299
over the  secretory function of the  kidneys.   This influence is said some-
times to  extend to the genital organs.*  Besides the various  effects above
detailed,  digitalis exerts a remarkably sedative operation upon the heart.
This is exhibited in the reduction both of the force and frequency of the
pulse, which sometimes sinks from the ordinary standard to 50, 40, or even
30 strokes in the minute.  In some instances, however, it undergoes little
change;  in others only becomes irregular;  and we  are  told that it is even
occasionally increased in frequency.  It was observed by Dr.  Baildon, that
the  effects of digitalis upon the circulation were  very much influenced by
posture.   Thus, in  his own case, the pulse  which had been  reduced from
110 to 40 in the  recumbent position, was increased to 72 when he sat, and
to 100 when he stood.  We do not  discover anything  remarkable in this
circumstance.  It is well known  that the pulse is always more frequent in
the  erect than in the horizontal posture, and the difference is greater in a
state of debility than in health.  Digitalis  diminishes the frequency of the
pulsations of the heart by a  directly debilitating  power; and  this  very de-
bility, when any exertion is made which calls for increased  action in that
organ, causes it to attempt, by an increase in the number of its contractions,
to meet  the demand which it is wholly unable to supply by an increase in
their force.
   The various effects above detailed may result from digitalis given in doses
calculated to produce its remediate influence.  In larger quantities its opera-
tion is more violent.   Nausea and vomiting, stupor or delirium, cold sweats,
 extreme prostration of general strength, hiccough, convulsions, syncope, are
 among the alarming symptoms which indicate the poisonous character of the
 medicine. These effects are best counteracted by stimulants, such as brandy,
 the  volatile alkali, and opium.  AVhen there  is reason to believe that any of
 the  poison remains, it is obviously proper, before employing other measures,
 to evacuate the stomach by  the free use of warm  liquids.
   A peculiarity of digitalis is that, after  having been given in moderate doses
 for several days, without any apparent effect, it sometimes acts suddenly with
 an accumulated influence, endangering  even the  life of the patient.  It is,
 moreover, very permanent in its operation, which, having once commenced,
 is maintained  like that of mercury,  for a considerable  period, without any
 fresh accession of the medicine.   The practical inferences deducible from
 these properties of digitalis, are first, that after it has been administered for
 some time without effect, great caution should be observed not to increase the
 dose, nor to urge the medicine too vigorously; and  secondly, that after its
 effects have begun to  appear, it should be suspended for a time, or exhibited
 in moderate doses, lest a dangerous accumulation of its influence should be
 experienced.  In numerous instances death has resulted from its incautious
 employment.
   Digitalis has been long known  to possess medicinal powers; but it was
 never generally used, nor regarded as a standard  remedy, till  after its appli-
 cation by Withering to the treatment of dropsy, about the year 1775.  It is
 at present employed very extensively, both for its diuretic power, and for its
 sedative influence over the circulation.  The former renders it highly useful
 in dropsical diseases, though like  all other remedies it very frequently fails;
 the latter adapts it to the treatment of cases in which the action of the heart
 requires to be controlled.   The idea was at one period entertained, that it
 might serve as a substitute for the lancet in  febrile and  inflammatory com-
 plaints;  and it has been much employed for this purpose by the Italian phy-
   * See an account of experiments by Professors Jcerg and others, of Leipsic, in the N.
 Am. Med. and Surg. Journ. vol. xi. p. 235. 
300
Digitalis.—Diosma.
PART I.
sicians, who practised in accordance with the contra-stimulant doctrine;
but experience has proved that it is a very frail support in any case in which
the symptoms of inflammation are such as to call for the loss of blood.   As
an adjuvant to the lancet, and in cases in which circumstances forbid the
employment of this remedy, it is often very useful.  Though it certainly has
not the power, at one time ascribed to it by some practitioners, of curing
phthisis, it acts beneficially as a palliative in that  complaint by depressing
the excited movements of  the heart.   In the same way it proves advanta-
geous in aneurism, hypertrophy and dilatation of the heart, palpitations from
rheumatic or gouty irritation, and in various forms of hemorrhage, after action
has been sufficiently reduced by the lancet.   It has also been prescribed in
mania, epilepsy, pertussis, and  spasmodic asthma; and highly respectable
testimony can be adduced in favour of its occasional efficacy in these com-
plaints; but any good  which may be derived from it is ascribable rather to
its influence over the brain and nerves, than to that which it exercises over
the circulation.   In delirium tremens it has been recently recommended as
a specific, given in the form of infusion, in the full dose, repeated every two
hours till symptoms of narcotism are induced; but the practice is somewhat
hazardous unless the patient be carefully watched.  (Am. Journ. of Med.
Sci. xvii.  501.)  The medicine, externally applied, is said  to  act speedily
and powerfully as a diuretic, and to have been used advantageously in dropsy.
For this purpose the  fresh leaves bruised, or  the tincture  may be rubbed
over the abdomen and on the inside of the thighs.  (Revue Medicate, May,
1834.)
  Digitalis is most effectually administered in substance.  The dose of the
powder is one  grain, repeated  twice  or three times a day, and gradually
increased  till some effect is produced  upon the head, stomach, pulse,  or
kidneys, when it should be omitted or reduced.  The infusion and tincture
are officinal preparations often resorted to.   (See Infusum Digitalis, and
Tinctura Digitalis.)  The extract has also been employed; and Orfila found
it, whether prepared with water or alcohol, more powerful than the powder;
but the virtues of digitalis are  too energetic to require concentration; and the
preparation is not more certain than the powder.   The decoction has also
been used, but has nothing to  recommend it.  Enormous doses of this me-
dicine have sometimes been given with asserted impunity; and when they
occasion full vomiting, it is possible that they may sometimes prove harm-
less; but when the alarming consequences which sometimes result from com-
paratively moderate doses are considered, the practice must be condemned
as exceedingly hazardous.
  Off. Prep. Extractum Digitalis, Lond., Ed.; Infusum Digitalis,  U. S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.; Pilulae Digitalis et Scillae, Ed.; Tinctura Digitalis, U. S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.                                               W.


                     DIOSMA.  U.S., Lond.

                              Buchu.

  "The leaves of Diosma crenata." U.S.  " Diosma crenata. Folia." Lond.
  Off. Syn.  BUCKU. Leaves of various species  of Barosma. Ed.; DI-
OSMA CRENATA.  Folia.  BUCHU. Dub.
  This medicine consists of the leaves of  different plants  growing at the
Cape of Good Hope, formerly ranked in the genus Diosma, but transferred
by botanists to the genus Barosma, so  named from the strong odour of the
leaves.  (j3agvtf and o;^.)   The B. crenata, B. crenulata, and B. serrati- 
PART I.
Diosma.
301
folia are described by Lindley as medicinal species.   The leaves of these
and other Barosmas, and of some Agathosmas, are collected by the Hotten-
tots, who value them on account of their odour, and, under the name  of
bookoo or buchu, rub them, in the state of powder, upon their greasy bodies.
   Barosma.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Rutaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft or five-parted.   Disk lining the  bottom  of the
calyx  generally with a short  scarcely  prominent rim.  Petals  five, with
short claws.   Filaments ten; the five opposite the petals  sterile, petaloid;
the other five longer, subulate.  Style as long as the petals.  Stigma minute,
five-lobed. Fruit composed of five cocci covered with glandular dots at the
back.  (Condensed from Lindley.)  These plants are all small shrubs, with
opposite leaves, and  peduncled flowers.
   Barosma crenata. Lindley, Flor. Med. p.  213.—Diosma crenata. De
Cand. Prodrom. i. 714;  Woodv. Med.  Bot. 3d Ed. v.  52.   This  is a
slender shrub, with smooth,  somewhat  angular branches,  of  a purplish
colour.  The leaves  are opposite,  ovate  or  obovate, acute, serrated, and
glandular at the edge, coriaceous, and full  of small pellucid dots on the under
surface.   The flowers are white or  of a reddish  tint, and stand solitarily at
the end of short, lateral, leafy shoots.
   Properties.  The  buchu leaves of the shops are from three quarters.of  an
inch  to an inch long, from three  to five lines broad, elliptical, lanceolate
ovate  or obovate, sometimes slightly pointed,  sometimes blunt at the apex,
very finely notched and glandular at  the edges,  smooth  and of a green colour
on the upper surface, dotted and paler beneath, and of a firm consistence.
Their odour is strong, diffusive,  and somewhat aromatic; their taste bitter-
ish,  and closely analogous to that of mint.  These various  properties are
abundantly sufficient to distinguish them from senna, with which they might
be confounded upon a careless inspection.    They are sometimes  mixed
with portions of the stalks and fruit.   Analyzed  by Cadet de Gassicourt,
they were found to contain in  1000 parts, 6-65 parts of a  light,  brownish-
yellow, and highly odorous volatile oil, 211-7 of gum, 51-7 of extractive,  11
of chlorophylle, and 21-51 of  resin.  Water  and alcohol extract their vir-
tues, which probably depend on the volatile oil and extractive matter.  The
latter is precipitated  by the infusion of galls.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Buchu leaves  are gently stimulant, with
a peculiar tendency to the  urinary organs, producing diuresis, and, like  all
other similar medicines, exciting diaphoresis when circumstances favour this
mode  of action.  The  Hottentots at the Cape of Good Hope have long
used them in a variety of diseases.  From  these rude practitioners they
were borrowed  by the resident  English  and Dutch physicians, by  whose
recommendation they have  been employed to some extent in  Great Bri-
tain  and on the continent of Europe, and have  attracted attention on this
side of the Atlantic.   They are chiefly given in  complaints  of the urinary
organs, such  as gravel, chronic catarrh of the  bladder, morbid irritation  of
the bladder and urethra, disease of the prostate, and  retention  or inconti-
nence of urine from  a loss of tone in the parts concerned in its evacuation.
The remedy has also been recommended in dyspepsia, chronic rheumatism
and cutaneous affections.   From twenty to thirty grains of the powder may
be given two or three times a day.   The leaves are also used in infusion,  in
the proportion of an  ounce to a pint of boiling  water, of which the dose  is
one or two fluidounces.  A tincture has been employed as a  stimulant em-
brocation in local pains.
   Off. Prep.  Infusum Diosmae, U. S., Lond., Ed.t Dub.; Tinctura Buchu,
Dub., Ed.                                                      W.
     27 
302
Diospyros.—Dracontium.
PART I.
                 DIOSPYROS.  U.S. Secondary.

                            Persimmon.

   " The bark of Diospyros Virginiana." U. S.
   Diospyros. Sex. Syst. Dioscia Octandria.—Nat. Ord. Ebenaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx four to six-cleft.   Corolla urceolate, four to six-
 cleft.  Stamens eight  to  sixteen;  filaments often  producing two  anthers.
 Female. Flower as the male. Stigmas four or five. Berry eight to twelve-
 seeded. Nuttall.
   Diospyros Virginiana.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 1107;  Michaux,  N. Am.
 Sylv. ii. 219. The persimmon is an indigenous tree, rising in the Southern
 States in favourable situations to  the height  of sixty  feet,  with  a trunk
 eighteen or twenty inches in diameter; but seldom attaining more than half
 this size near its northern limits, and often not higher than  fifteen or twenty
 feet.  The stem is straight, and  in  the  old tree covered with a furrowed
 blackish bark.   The branches are spreading; the leaves ovate oblong, acu-
 minate, entire, smooth, reticulately veined, alternate, and supported on pubes-
 cent footstalks.   The buds are smooth.   The male and  female flowers are
 on different  trees.  They are lateral, axillary, solitary,  nearly sessile, of a
 pale orange colour, and not conspicuous.   The fruit is a globular berry, of a
 dark yellow colour externally when perfectly ripe, and containing numerous
 seeds embedded in a soft yellow  pulp.
   This tree  is very common in the Middle and Southern  States; but, accord-
 ing to Michaux, does not flourish beyond the forty-second degree of north
 latitude.   The flowers appear in May or June;  but the fruit is not ripe till
 the middle of autumn.   While in  the  green  state, the fruit is excessively
 astringent; but when perfectly mature, and after having been touched by the
 frost, it is sweet  and palatable.  We are told by Michaux, that in the
 Southern and Western States it is made into cakes  with bran, and used for
 preparing beer with the addition  of water, hops, and yeast.  A spirituous
 liquor may be obtained by the distillation of the fermented infusion.  The
 unripe fruit has been advantageously used by Dr. Mettauer, of Virginia, in
 diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, and uterine hemorrhage. He gave it in infusion,
 syrup, and vinous tincture, prepared in the proportion of about an ounce of
the bruised fresh fruit, to two fluidounces of the vehicle, and  administered
in the dose of a fluidrachm or more for infants, and  half a fluidounce or
more for adults.   (Am.  Journ. of Med. Sci. N. S. iv. 297.)   The bark is
the only part of the tree  directed by the  Pharmacopoeia.  It  is astringent
and very bitter; and is  said to have  been used advantageously in intermit-
tents, and in the form of a gargle in ulcerated sorethroat.           W.

              DRACONTIUM.  U.S.  Secondary.

                         Skunk  Cabbage.

   "The  root of Dracontium fcetidum—Ictodes foetidus  (Bigelow)—Sym-
plocarpus foetidus (Barton, Med.  Bot.)." U. S.
   Botanists have had some difficulty in properly arranging this plant.  It is
attached by Willdenow to the genus Dracontium, by Michaux and Pursh is
considered a Pothos, and by American botanists has been erected into a new
genus, which Nuttall calls Symplocarpus after Salisbury, and for which Dr.
Bigelow has proposed the name Ictodes, expressive of the odour of the plant. 
part i.                    Dracontium.                         303

The term Symplocarpus, though erroneous in its origin, was first proposed
for the new genus, and, having been adopted by several botanists, should be
retained.
   Symplocarpus.  Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Araceae.
   Gen. Ch. Spathe hooded.  Spadix covered with perfect flowers.  Calyx
with four segments.   Petals none.   Style pyramidal.  Seeds immersed in
the spadix.  Bigelow.
   Symplocarpus foetidus. Barton, Med. Bot.i. 123.-Ictodes fcetidus. Bige-
low, Am. Med. Bot.  ii. 41.  The skunk cabbage  is a very  curious  plant,
the only one of the genus to which it belongs.  The root is perennial, large,
abrupt, and furnished with numerous fleshy fibres, which penetrate to the
depth of two feet or more.  The spathe, which appears before the leaves, is
ovate,  acuminate, obliquely depressed at the apex, auriculated at the base,
folded  inwards at the  edges, and of a brownish-purple colour, varied with
spots of red, yellow, and green.  Within the spathe, the flowers which re-
semble it in colour, are placed in great numbers upon a globose,  peduncled
spadix, for which they form  a compact covering.  After the  spathe has
decayed, the spadix continues to grow, and, when the fruit is mature, has
attained a size exceeding by several  fold its original dimensions.   The dif-
ferent  parts of the flower, with the exception of the anthers, augment in like
proportion.  At the base of each style is a roundish seed, immersed in the
spadix, about the size of a pea, and speckled with purple and yellow.   The
leaves, which  rise from the  ground after  the  flowers, are numerous  and
crowded, oblong, cordate, acute, smooth, strongly  veined, and attached to
the root by long petioles,  which are  hollowed  in front, and furnished with
coloured sheathing stipules.  At the beginning of May, when the leaves are
fully developed, they are very large, being from one to two feet in length,
and from nine inches to a foot in breadth.
   This plant is indigenous, growing abundantly in meadows, swamps, and
other wet places, throughout the whole northern and middle sections  of the
Union.   Its flowers appear in  March and April, and in  the lower latitudes
often so early as February.  The fruit is usually quite ripe, and  the leaves
are decayed before the end of August.  The plant is very conspicuous from
its abundance, and from the magnitude of its leaves.  All parts of it have a
 disagreeable fetid  odour, thought to  resemble  that of the  offensive animal
 after which it is named.  This odour resides in an extremely volatile princi-
 ple, which is rapidly dissipated by heat, and diminished by desiccation. The
 root is the part usually employed in medicine.   It should be collected in
autumn, or early in spring, and dried with care.
   The dried root, as  found in the shops, consists  of two distinct portions;
the body or caudex,  either whole or in transverse  slices, and the separated
radicles.   The former, when  whole, is cylindrical, or in the  shape of a
truncated cone, two  or three  inches long by about an inch in  thickness,
externally dark brown and very rough  from the insertion of the  radicles,
internally white and amylaceous. The latter are in pieces of various lengths,
 about  as thick  as a  hen's quill, very much flattened and wrinkled, white
 within, and covered by a yellowish reddish-brown  epidermis, of a consider-
 ably lighter shade than that of the body of the root.   The fetid odour re-
mains, to a greater or less extent, for a considerable period after the comple-
 tion of the drying  process. The taste, though less decided than in  the fresh
 state, is still acrid, manifesting itself, after the  root has  been  chewed for a
 short time, by a pricking  and  smarting sensation  in the mouth and throat.
 The acrimony, however,  is dissipated by heat,  and is entirely lost in decoc-
 tion.  It is also diminished by time and exposure; and the root should not 
304
Dracontium.—Dulcamara.
part r.
be kept for use longer than a single season.   According to Mr. Turner, (see
Inaug. Essay in Am. Journ. of Pharm. viii. 2.) the radicles, even in the
recent plant, have less acrimony than the caudex. The seeds are said by Mr.
Turner to have an exceedingly acrid taste, and, though  inodorous when
whole, to give out  strongly, when bruised, the peculiar odour of the plant.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  The properties of this root are those of
a stimulant, antispasmodic, and narcotic.   In large doses it occasions nausea
and vomiting, with headache, vertigo, and dimness of vision.   Dr. Bigelow
has witnessed  these effects from thirty grains  of the recently dried root.
The medicine  was introduced into notice  by the Rev. Dr.  Cutler, who
recommended it highly as an antispasmodic in asthma; and it has  been sub-
sequently employed with apparent advantage in  chronie  catarrh, chronic
rheumatism, and hysteria.  Cures are also said to have been effected by its
use in  dropsy.
  It is best  given  in powder, of  which the dose is from ten to twenty
grains, to be repeated three or four times a day, and gradually increased till
some  evidence  of  its action is  afforded.   A strong infusion is sometimes
employed, and  the people in the country prepare a  syrup from  the fresh
root; but the latter  preparation is very unequal.  The root  itself, as kept in
the  shops, is of uncertain strength, in consequence of its deterioration by
age.                                                             W.


               DULCAMARA. U.S., Lond., Ed.

                            Bittersweet.

  " The stalks of  Solanum Dulcamara."  U. S.   " Solanum Dulcamara.
Caulis." Lond., Dub.  " Twigs of Solanum  Dulcamara." Ed.
  Douce-amere, Fr.;  Bittersiiss, Alpranken, Germ.;  Dulcamara, Ital., Span.
  Solanum.  Sex.  Syst.  Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat.  Ord.  Solanaceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Corolla wheel-shaped.  Anthers somewhat coalescing, open-
ing by two pores at the apex. Berry two-celled. Willd.
  This genus includes numerous species, of which several have been used
in medicine.  Besides the S. Dulcamara, which is the only offieinal species,
two others merit a brief  notice.   1. The Solanum nigrum,  the common
garden or black nightshade, is an annual plant from one to two feet high,
with an unarmed herbaceous stem, ovate,  angular-dentate leaves, and white
or pale violet flowers, arranged in peduncled nodding umbel-like  racemes,
and followed  by clusters of spherical black  berries, about the size of peas.
There  are numerous varieties of this species, one of which is a native of
the  United States.   The leaves are the part employed in medicine.  They
are said to produce diaphoresis, sometimes diuresis and moderate purging,
and in  large doses  nausea and giddiness.  As a medicine  they have been
used in cancerous, scrofulous, and scorbutic  diseases,  and  other painful
ulcerous affections, being given internally, and applied at the same time in
the form of poultice, ointment, or decoction to the tumours or ulcers them-
selves. A grain of the dried leaves may be given every night and  gradually
increased to ten or  twelve grains, or till some sensible effect is experienced.
The medicine, however, is scarcely used  at present.  By some persons the
poisonous properties usually ascribed to the common nightshade are doubted.
M. Dunal, of Montpellier, states as the result of numerous experiments, that
the berries are not  poisonous to man or the inferior animals; and the leaves
are said to be consumed in large  quantities in the Isles of France and Bour-
bon as  food, having been  previously boiled in water.   In the latter case, the 
PART I.
Dulcamara.
305-
active principle of the plant must have been extracted by decoction. 2. The
Solanum tuberosum, or common potato, is interesting on account of the nu-
tritive properties of its tubers, so extensively employed as food. The leaves,
stalks, and unripe berries are asserted to have narcotic properties, and an ex-
tract prepared from the leaves has been employed as a remedy in cough and
spasmodic affections, in which it is said to act like opium.  (Geiger.)  From
half a grain to two grains may be given as a dose.  Dr. Latham of London
found the extract to produce  very favourable effects in various chronic com-
plaints, such as protracted  cough, chronic rheumatism, angina pectoris, can-
cer of the uterus, &c.  The influence which it exercised upon the nervous
system was strongly  marked, and, in many instances, the dose could not be
increased above a few grains without giving rise to threatening symptoms.
It appeared to Dr. Latham to be very analogous in its operation to digitalis.
His experiments were repeated in Philadelphia by Dr. Worsham with very
different results.  The extract was found, in the quantity of nearly one hun-
dred grains, to produce no  sensible effect on the system. (Philad. Journ. of
Med. and Phys. Sciences, vi. 22.)  We can reconcile these opposite state-
ments only upon the  supposition, that the properties of the plant vary with
the season, or with  the place and circumstances of culture.  An  excellent
form of starch, called potato  arrow-root, is prepared  from potatoes for medi-
cal use; and  an imitation  of sago  is also made from them in Germany.
Dr. Julius Otto found solania in the germs of the potato.  He was induced
to make the investigation by  observing, that cattle were destroyed by feeding
on the residue of germinated potatoes, used for the manufacture of brandy.
(See Journ. of Phil. Col.  of Pharm. vi. 348.)
   Solanum Dulcamara.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1028; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
237. t. 84;  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 169.   The bittersweet or woody
nightshade is a climbing shrub, with a slender, roundish, branching, woody
stem, which,  in favourable situations, rises six or eight feet in height.  The
leaves are alternate, petiolate, ovate, pointed, veined, soft, smooth,  and of a
dull green colour.  Many  near the top of the stem are furnished with late-
ral projections at their base, giving them a hastate form.  Most of them are
quite entire, some cordate at the base. The flowers are disposed in elegant
clusters, somewhat analogous to cymes, and standing opposite to the leaves.
The calyx is very  small, purplish, and divided into five  blunt persistent
segments.  The corolla is wheel-shaped, with  five pointed reflected seg-
ments which  are of a violet-blue colour,  with a darker purple vein running
longitudinally through their centre, and two shining  greenish spots at the
base of each.  The filaments are very short, and support large erect lemon-
yellow anthers, which cohere in the form of a cone around the style.  The
berries are of an oval shape and a bright scarlet colour, and continue to hang
in beautiful bunches  after the leaves have fallen.
   This plant is common to Europe and North America.  It flourishes most
luxuriantly in damp  and sheltered  places, as on  the banks of rivulets, and
among the thickets which  border our natural meadows.  It is also  found in
higher and more exposed situations, and is frequently cultivated in  gardens.
In the United States  it extends from New England to Ohio, and is in bloom
from June to  August.  The root and stalk  are  possessed of the medicinal
properties of the plant, though the  latter only is officinal.  The berries,
which were  formerly esteemed poisonous, and thought to act with great
severity on the  stomach and  bowels, are  now said to be innoxious.   Bitter-
sweet should  be gathered  in autumn, after the fall of the leaf; and the ex-
treme twigs should be selected.  That grown in high and dry situations is
said to be the best.
                                 27* 
306
Dulcamara.
PART I.
  The dried twigs, as brought to the shops, are of various lengths, cylindri-
cal, about as thick as a goose-quill, externally wrinkled and of a grayish-ash
colour, consisting of a thin bark, an interior ligneous portion, and a central
pith.  They are inodorous, though the stalk in the recent state emits, when
bruised, a peculiar, rather nauseous smell.  Their  taste, which is at first
bitter, and afterwards  sweetish, has given origin to  the  name of the plant.
Boiling water extracts  all their virtues.  These  are  supposed to depend, at
least in part, upon a peculiar alkaline  principle called solanin  or  solania,
which was originally discovered by M. Desfosses, of Besaneon, in the ber-
ries of the Solanum nigrum, and has subsequently been found in the stalks,
leaves, and berries of the S. Dulcamara and S. tuberosum.  It. is supposed
to exist in the bittersweet combined with malic acid. It  is obtained by pre-
cipitating the decoction of bittersweet  with ammonia or  magnesia,  washing
the  precipitate with cold  water, and then treating it with boiling  alcohol,
which deposits the alkaline principle on cooling, and still further by evapo-
ration.  Solania  is in the form of a white opaque  powder, or of delicate
acicular crystals, somewhat like those of sulphate  of quinia, though finer
and shorter.  It is inodorous, of a bitter taste, fusible at  a little above 212°,
scarcely soluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and capable of neutral-
izing the acids.   Given to a cat, it was found by M. Desfosses to operate at
first as an emetic, and afterwards as a narcotic.  Dr. J. Otto observed, among
its most striking effects, a paralytic condition of the posterior limbs of the
animals to which it was administered.   One grain  of the  sulphate of solania
was sufficient in his hands to destroy a rabbit in six hours. Besides solania,
the stalks of the S. Dulcamara contain, according to Pfaff, a peculiar prin-
ciple to which he gave the name of picroglycion, indicative of the taste at
once bitter and sweet,  which it is said  to possess.    This has been  obtained
in a crystalline state by Blitz, by the  following process.  The watery ex-
tract is treated with  alcohol, the tincture evaporated, the residue dissolved
in water, the solution precipitated with subacetate  of lead, the excess of this
salt decomposed by sulphuretted  hydrogen, the liquor  then evaporated to
dryness, and the residue treated with acetic ether, which yields the princi-
ple in the form of small isolated crystals by spontaneous evaporation. Pfaff
found also  in  Dulcamara, a vegeto-animal substance,  gummy extractive,
gluten, green wax, resin,  benzoic acid, starch, lignin, and various salts of
lime.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Dulcamara possesses  feeble narcotic pro-
perties, with the power of increasing the secretions, particularly that of the
kidneys and skin. We have observed,  in several instances, when the system
was under its influence, a dark purplish colour of the face and hands, and at
the same time considerable languor of the circulation. Its narcotic effects do
not become obvious, unless when it is taken in large quantities.   In over-
doses it produces nausea, vomiting, faintness, vertigo, and convulsive mus-
cular movements. It has been recommended in various  diseases, but is now
nearly confined to the treatment of cutaneous eruptions, particularly those of
a scaly character, as lepra, psoriasis, and ptyriasis.   In  these complaints it
is often decidedly beneficial, especially in combination with minute doses of
the antimonials.  Its influence upon the secretions is insufficient to account
for its favourable effects, and we must be content with ascribing them to an
alterative action.   It is said to  have been beneficially employed in chronic
rheumatism and chronic catarrh.  Antaphrodisiac properties are ascribed to
it by some physicians.   (See Am. Cyc. of Pract. Med. ii. 23.)   We have
seen it apparently useful  in mania connected  with strong venereal  propen-
sities.   The usual form of administration is that of decoction, of which  two 
part i.              Dulcamara.—Elaterium.                  307

fluidounces may be taken four times a day, and gradually increased till some
slight disorder of the head indicates the activity of the medicine.  (See De-
coctum Dulcamarae.)  An extract may also be prepared, of which the dose
is from five to ten grains.   That of the powder would be from thirty grains
to a drachm.
  In cutaneous affections a strong decoction is often applied to the skin, at
the same time that the medicine is taken internally.
  Off. Prep.  Decoctum Dulcamarae, U.S., Lond.; Extractum Dulcamarae,
u. s.                                                           w.


                   ELATERIUM.  U.S.,Ed.

                             Elaterium.

  "A substance  deposited by the juice of the fruit of Momordica Elate-
rium." U. S.   "Feculence  of the juice of the fruit of Momordica Elate-
rium." Ed.
  Off. Syn. ELATERIUM.  Momordica Elaterium.  Pepones recentes.—
EXTRACTUM  ELATERII. Lond.;  MOMORDICA ELATERIUM.
Fructus.   Faecula.  Folia.—ELATERIUM.—EXTRACTUM ELATE-
RII. Dub.
   Elaterion, Fr; Elaterium, Germ.; Elaterio, Ital., Span.
  Momordica.    Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Cucurbi-
taceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla five-parted. Filaments three.
Female.  Calyx five-cleft.  Corolla five-parted.  Style trifid.  Gourd bursting
elastically. Willd.
  Momordica Elaterium. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 605; Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 192. t. 72.—Ecbalium Elaterium. French Codex, A. D. 1837.  The wild
or squirting cucumber is a  perennial plant, with a large fleshy root, from
which  proceed  several round, thick, rough stems, branching and  trailing
like the common cucumber, but without tendrils. The leaves are petiolate,
large, rough, irregularly cordate, and of a grayish-green colour.   The flow-
ers  are yellow, and proceed from the axils of the leaves.  The fruit has the
shape of a small oval cucumber, about an inch and a half long, an inch thick,
of a greenish or  grayish colour,  and  covered  with stiff hairs or prickles.
When fully ripe,  it  separates from the peduncle, and throws out its  juice
and seed with  considerable force through an opening at the base, where it
was attached  to the footstalk.   The name of squirting cucumber was de-
rived from this circumstance,  and the scientific  and  officinal title  is sup-
posed to  have had a similar  origin, though some authors maintain that the
term elaterium was applied to the medicine, rather from  the mode of its
operation upon the bowels, than from the projectile property of the fruit.*
  This species of Momordica is a native of the South of Europe; and is cul-
tivated  in Great Britain, where, however, it perishes in the winter.  Elate-
rium is the substance spontaneously deposited by the juice of the fruit, when
separated, and allowed to stand.  Dr. Clutterbuck of London has proved that
it is contained only in the free  juice which surrounds the seeds,  and which
is obtained without expression.  The body of  the fruit itself, the seeds, as
well as other parts of the plant, are nearly or quite inert.  When the fruit is
sliced or  placed upon a sieve, a perfectly limpid and colourless juice flows

  *  From the Greek  t\aum 1 drive, or s\ame driver.  The word elaterium  was used by
Hippocriiles to signify any active purge.  Dioscorides applied it to the medicine of which
we are treating. 
308
Elaterium.
part i.
 out, which after a short time  becomes turbid,  and in the course of a few
 hours  begins  to deposit a  sediment.   This, when collected and carefully
 dried,  is very light and pulverulent, of a yellowish-white colour, slightly
 tinged with green.  It is the genuine elaterium, and was found by Clutter-
, buck to purge violently in the dose of one-eighth of a grain.   But the quan-
 tity contained in the fruit is exceedingly small.   Clutterbuck obtained only
 six grains from forty cucumbers.   Commercial elaterium is a much weaker
 medicine, owing in part, perhaps, to adulteration, but much more  to the
 mode in which it is prepared.   In order to increase the product, the juice of
 the fruit is often expressed; and there is reason to believe that  it is some-
 times evaporated so as to form an extract, instead of being allowed to depo-
 sit the active matter.   The French elaterium is prepared by expressing the
 juice, clarifying it by rest and filtration, and then evaporating it to a suitable
 consistence.  As the liquid which remains after the deposition of the sedi-
 ment is comparatively inert, it will be readily perceived that the preparation
 of the French Codex must be very feeble.  The following are the directions
 of the  London College, with  which those  of  the Edinburgh and Dublin
 Colleges essentially correspond.   " Slice ripe wild cucumbers, express the
 juice very gently,  and pass it through a  very  fine hair sieve; then  set it
 aside for some hours  until the  thicker part has subsided.  Reject the thin-
 ner, supernatant part, and dry the thicker part with a gentle heat."  As the
 process is executed at Apothecaries'  Hall, the juice, after  expression, is
 allowed to stand for about two  hours, when the supernatant liquor is poured
 off, and the matter deposited is carefully dried,  constituting the finest elate-
 rium.  Another  portion, of a paler colour,  is deposited by the decanted
 liquor. (Pereira.)  The slight pressure  directed is necessary for the ex-
 traction of the juice from the somewhat immature fruit employed; and the
 perfectly ripe fruit cannot be employed; as, in consequence of its disposition
 to part with its contents, it cannot be carried to market.  The medicine is incor-
 rectly denominated by the London and Dublin Colleges Extractum Elaterii;
 being neither an extract, strictly speaking,  nor  an  inspissated juice.   The
 Edinburgh College calls it Elaterium in the Materia Medica list, but incon-
 sistently admits the name of Extractum Elaterii in the preparations.   In
 the Pharmacopoeia of the United States, it is named simply Elaterium. As
 the plant is not cultivated in this country  for medicinal purposes, our Phar-
 macopoeia very properly adopts  as officinal, the medicine as it is found in
 commerce.  It is brought chiefly from England; but it is probable  that a
 portion of the elaterium, of which Dr. Pereira speaks as coming from Malta,
 reaches our market also.
   Properties.   The best elaterium is in thin flat or slightly curled  cakes
 or fragments, often bearing the impression of the muslin upon which  it was
 dried, of a greenish-gray  colour becoming yellowish  by exposure, of a
 feeble odour, and a bitter somewhat acrid taste.  It is pulverulent, and in-
 flammable, and so light that it swims when thrown upon water.   When of
 inferior quality, it is  sometimes  dark-coloured, much curled, and  rather
 hard, either breaking with difficulty or presenting a resinous fracture.   The
 Maltese elaterium  is in larger pieces,  of a  pale colour sometimes without
 the least tinge of green, destitute of odour, soft, and friable;  and not  unfre-
 quently presents  evidences  of having been mixed with chalk  or starch.  It
 sinks in water.
   Dr. Clutterbuck first observed that the activity of elaterium resided in that
 portion of it which was soluble in alcohol and not in water.   This fact was
 afterwards confirmed by Dr. Paris, who  found that the alcoholic extract,
 treated with boiling distilled water, and afterwards dried, had the property 
 part i.                      Elaterium.                          S09

 of purging in very minute doses, while the remaining portion of the elate-
 rium was inactive.  Supposing the substance thus prepared to be the active
 principle, he gave it the name of elatin; but incorrectly, as it consists of at
 least two distinct ingredients.  The subsequent experiments of Mr. Hennel
 of London, and Mr. Morries of Edinburgh,  which appear to have been
 nearly simultaneous, demonstrated the  existence of a crystallizable matter
 in elaterium, which is probably the active principle of the medicine, and for
 which Mr. Morries proposed the appropriate name of elaterin.  According
 to Mr. Hennel, 100 parts of elaterium contain 44 of elaterin, 17 of a green
 resin (chlorophylle), 6 of starch, 27 of lignin, and 6 of saline matters. The
 elatin of Dr. Paris is probably a mixture of elaterin and the green resin or
 chlorophylle.*
   Elaterin, according to Mr. Morries, crystallizes when pure in colourless
 microscopic rhombic prisms, which have a silky appearance when in mass.
 It is extremely bitter and somewhat acrid to the taste, insoluble in water and
 alkaline solutions, soluble in alcohol, ether, and hot olive oil, and sparingly
 soluble in dilute acids.  At a temperature between 300° and 400° it  melts,
 and  at a higher temperature  is dissipated in thick, whitish, pungent vapour,
 having an ammoniacal odour.   It has no alkaline reaction.  It may  be
 easily procured by evaporating an alcoholic tincture of elaterium to the con-
 sistence of thin oil, and throwing the residue while yet warm into a weak
 boiling solution of potassa.   The potassa holds the green resin or chloro-
 phylle in  solution, and the  elaterin crystallizes as the liquor cools.  Mr.
 Hennel  obtained it by treating with ether the alcoholic extract procured  by
 the spontaneous evaporation of  the tincture.  This consists of elaterin and
 the green resin, the latter of which being much  more soluble in ether than
 the former, is completely extracted by this fluid, leaving the elaterin pure.
 But as elaterin is also slightly soluble in ether, a portion of this principle is
 wasted by Mr. Hennel's method.  By evaporating the ethereal solution, the
 green resin is obtained in a separate state.  Mr. Hennel states that this was
 found to possess the purgative  property of the elaterium in a concentrated
 state, as it acted powerfully in a dose less than one-third of a grain.  But
 this  effect was probably owing to the presence of a portion of elaterin which
 had  been dissolved by the ether. The late Dr.  Duncan of Edinburgh ascer-
 tained that the crystalline principle or elaterin  produced, in the quantity of
 y'^th or T-6th of a grain, all the effects of a dose  of elaterium.  The  quan-
 tity  of elaterin  varies  exceedingly in different parcels of the  drug.   Mr.
 Morries obtained 26 per eent. from the  best British elaterium, 15 per cent.
 from the worst, and only 5 or 6 per cent, from the French;  while a portion
 procured according to the directions of  the London College, yielded to Mr.
 Hennel upwards of 40 per  cent.  This great diversity in the strength  of
 elaterium renders  the substitution of its purgative principle highly desirable.
   Choice of Elaterium.  The  inequality  of  elaterium  depends probably
 more on diversities in the mode of preparation  than on positive adulteration.
 It should possess all the sensible properties above indicated, as characteriz-
 ing good  elaterium, should not  effervesce with acids, and  should yield, as
 directed by the Edinburgh College, from one-seventh to one-fourth of ela-
 terin, when treated in  the mode above recommended for procuring that
 principle.
  Medical Properties and  Uses. Elaterium is  a  powerful hydragogue
cathartic, and in a large dose generally excites nausea and vomiting.    If too
  * The substance to which Pelletier gave the name of chlorophylle, under the impression
 that it was a peculiar proximate principle, has been ascertained by that chemist to be a
 mixture of wax, and a green fixed oil.  (Journ. de Pharm. xix. 10ii.) 
310
Elaterium.—Elemi.
part i.
freely administered, it operates with great violence both upon the stomach
and bowels, producing inflammation of these organs, which  has in some
instances eventuated fatally.   It also increases the flow of urine.  The fruit
was  employed by the ancients, and  is recommended in the writings of
Dioscorides as a remedy in mania and melancholy.   Sydenham  and his
contemporaries considered elaterium highly useful in dropsy; but, in conse-
quence of some fatal results from its incautious employment, it fell into dis-
repute, and was generally neglected, till again brought into notice by Dr.
Ferriar.  It is now considered one of the most efficient hydragogue cathartics
in the treatment of dropsical diseases, in which it has  sometimes proved
successful after all other remedies  have failed.  The full dose of ordinary
commercial elaterium is from one to two grains;  but as in this quantity it ge-
nerally vomits, if of good quality, the best mode of administering it is in the
dose of a quarter or half a grain repeated every hour till it operates.   The
dose of Clutterbuck's elaterium is the eighth of a grain.  That of elaterin is
from the sixteenth to  the twelfth of a grain, and is best given in solution.
One grain may be dissolved in a fluidounce of alcohol with four drops of nitric
acid, and from 30 to 40 minims may be given diluted with water.    W.

                   ELEMI. Lond., Ed.,  Dub.

                               Elemi.

   "Amyris elemifera.  Resina." Lond., Dub.  "Concrete resinous exuda-
tion from one or more unascertained plants."  Ed.
   Resine elemi, Fr.; Oelbaumharz, Elemi, Germ.; Elemi,  Ital.; Goma de limon, Span.
   Amyris.   Sex. Syst. Octandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Terebintaceae,
Juss.; Amyrideae, R. Brown, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx four-toothed. Petals four, oblong. Stigma four-cornered.
Berry drupaceous. Willd.
   Some botanists separate from this genus the species which have their fruit
in the form of a capsule instead of a nut,  and associate them together in a
distinct genus with the name of Idea.  This is recognised by De Candolle.
   Most of the trees belonging to these two genera yield, when wounded, a
resinous juice  analogous to the turpentines, and differing little as procured
from the different species.  It is not improbable that the drug usually known
by the name of elemi, though referred by the Colleges to one tree, is in fact
derived from several.   That known to the ancients is said to have been ob-
tained from Ethiopia, and all the elemi of commerce was originally brought
from the Levant.  The tree which afforded it was not accurately known, but
was supposed to be a species of Amyris.  Geiger states that it was derived
from the A. Zeilanica, growing in  Ceylon.  At present the drug is taken to
Europe from Brazil, and is believed to be  the product of a plant mentioned
by Marcgrav under the name of icicariba, and considered by Linnaeus as
the Amyris elemifera.  It appears, however, to be properly an Icica, and
De Candolle denominates it I. Icicariba.  We can find no detailed descrip-
tion of the tree.  It has a lofty trunk, with pinnate leaves, consisting of three
or five pointed, perforated leaflets,  which are smooth on their upper surface,
and  woolly beneath.  It is erroneously stated in some works to be a native
of Carolina. The elemi is obtained by incisions into the tree, through which
the juice flows and concretes upon the bark.
   It is in  masses of various consistence, sometimes solid and  heavy like
wax, sometimes light and porous; unctuous to the  touch; diaphanous; of
diversified colours, generally greenish with intermingled points of white or 
PART I.
Elemi.—Ergota.
311
yellow, sometimes greenish-white with brown stains, sometimes yellow like
sulphur; fragile and friable when cold; softening by the heat of the hand; of
a terebinthinate somewhat aromatic odour, diminishing with age, and said,
in some varieties, to resemble that of fennel;  of a warm, slightly bitter, dis-
agreeable taste; entirely soluble, with the exception of impurities, in boiling
alcohol; and affording a volatile oil by distillation.  It consists, according to
M. Bonastre, of 60 parts  of resin, 24 of a resinous matter soluble in boilino-
alcohol, but deposited when the liquid cools, 12*5 of volatile oil, 2 of ex-
tractive, and 1*5 of acid  and  impurities.   It is sometimes  adulterated with
colophony  and turpentine.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Elemi has properties analogous to those
of the turpentines; but is exclusively applied to external use.  In the United
States  it is  rarely employed even in this way.  In the pharmacy of Europe
it enters into the composition of numerous plasters and ointments.  We are
told that it  is occasionally brought to this  country in small fragments mixed
with the coarser kinds of gum Arabic from the Levant and  India.
   Off. Prep. Unguentum Elemi, Lond.,  Dub.                     W.

                  ERGOTA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Ergot.

   " The diseased seeds of Secale cereale." U. S. " Acinula clavus." Lond.
"An undetermined fungus, with degenerated seed of Secale cereale." Ed.
   Spurred rye; Secale cornutum;  Seigle ergote, Fr.; Mutterkorn, Germ.
   In all the Graminaceae or grass tribe, and in some of the Cyperaceae, the
place of the seeds is sometimes occupied by a morbid growth, which, from
its resemblance to the spur  of a  cock, has received the  name of ergot,
adopted from the French. This product is most frequent in the rye, Secale
cereale of botanists, and  having been found, as occurring in that  plant, to
possess valuable medicinal properties, was adopted in the first edition of the
United States Pharmacopoeia under the name of Secale cornutum or spurred
rye. In the recent edition, this  name has been changed for Ergota, in  con-
formity with the nomenclature of the London and Edinburgh Colleges, by
whom the  medicine was  recognised for the first time at the last revision of
their officinal catalogues.
   Considerable difference of opinion has existed in relation to the nature of
this singular substance.   It was at one time generally thought to be merely
the seed altered by disease—the morbid condition  being ascribed by some
to the  agency  of  an insect, by  others to excess of heat and moisture.   A
second opinion considered it  a parasitic fungus, occupying the place of the
seed.   This was entertained  by De Candolle, who called  the fungus Scle-
rotium Clavus.  According to a third and  intermediate opinion, the ergot
is the seed, diseased and entirely perverted in its nature by the influence of
a parasitic  fungus, attached to it from the very beginning of its develop-
ment.   This view was put forth by M. Leveille in a memoir published in
the Annals of the Linn. Society of Paris for the year 1826.  According to
this writer, a soft viscid  tubercle may be seen at the earliest stage of the
flower, surmounting the  germ, the character of which it changes, without
preventing its  growth.   The  germ becomes of a dark colour, and increasing
in size pushes the tubercle  before it, which also expands, and exudes a
viscid matter,  which spreads over the  germ, and drying  upon  its surface,
gives it a thin yellowish  coating.   The tubercle was considered by M. Le-
veille a fungus, and named Sphacelia segetum.   The more recent observa- 
312
Ergota.
PART I.
 tions of Mr. Quekett, of London, confirm this general view of the nature of
 ergot;  but lead to a different conclusion as to the character of the parasitic
 plant.   According to Mr. Quekett, the beginning of the growth of the ergot
 is marked by the appearance, about the young grain and its appendages, of
 multitudes of minute filaments like cobwebs, which run  over  all its parts,
 cementing anthers and stigmas together, and of  a white coating upon the
 surface of the  grain, from which, upon immersion  in water, innumerable
 minute particles separate, and after a time  sink  in the fluid.   These parti-
 cles, when examined by the microscope, prove to be the reproductive agents,
 germs, or sporidia of a species of fungus, and  may be observed to  sprout
 and  propagate  in  various ways under favourable circumstances.   Their
 length, upon the average,  is about the four-thousandth  of an inch.  The
 filaments are the results of the growth of these  singular germs.   The spo-
 ridia and filaments do not increase with the increase of the ergot; and.when
 this has projected beyond the paleae and become visible, it has lost a portion
 of its white  coating  and presents a dark violet colour.   It now increases
 with great rapidity, and  attains its full  size in a few days.   When com-
 pletely developed, it  exhibits very few of the filaments or sporidia upon its
 surface.  But  Quekett believes that the  germs  of the fungus  emit their
 filaments through the tissue of the ergot when young and tender, and that,
 as this  increases, it is made up partly of the diseased structure of the grain,
 and  partly of the fungous matter.  The fungus was named by Quekett Er-
 gotaetia abortifaciens.  This view of the nature and cause of ergot is strongly
 supported by the asserted facts, that the microscopic fungus  has an exist-
 ence independent of  the morbid grain,  being found in various  other parts of
 the plant, and growing even when entirely separated from it, and that the
 sporidia or white dust upon the surface of ergot,  if applied to the seeds of
 certain  Graminaceae before germination, or sprinkled in the soil at the roots
 of the plants after they have begun to grow, will give rise to ergotized fruit.*
 That the ergot is not itself a peculiar  fungus, but  the perverted grain, is
 evinced by the frequent remains of the stigma upon its summit, by the scales
 at its base, and by the circumstance that in  some instances only a portion
 of the seed is ergotized.   How far its peculiar medical properties may de-
 pend upon the  morbid substance of the grain, and how far on the fungous
 matter  associated with it, has not been  determined.  (See Am. Journ. of
 Pharm. xi. 116 and 237—and Med. Exam. N. S. i. 62.)
   The  ergot usually  projects  out of the glume or husk beyond the ordinary
 outline  of the spike or ear.  In some spikes the place of the seeds is wholly
 occupied  by the ergot, in others only two or  three spurs  are observed.   It
 is stated that this substance is much more energetic when collected before
 than after  harvest.   Rye has generally been  thought to be most subject  to
 the disease in  poor  and wet soils, and in  rainy seasons;  and intense heat
 succeeding continued rains is  said to  favour its development, especially if
 these circumstances  occur at  the time the flower is forming.  It is  now,
 however, asserted that  moisture has little or nothing to do with its produc-
 tion.  (Pereira.)  It  should not be collected until some  days after it has

  * Wiggers observed that the white dust on  the surface of ergot occasioned the same
 disease in other plants, when sprinkled in the soil about the roots; and Quekett found that
the seeds of rye immersed in water impregnated with the sporidia from ergot, and after-
wards allowed to germinate, produced plants on everyone of which there were some ears
possessing ergotted grains. (Med.  Gazette, October, 1841.).  It is true that Dr. Wright
failed in  obtaining the same effects, though he sowed powdered ergot with rye, watered
the growing plants daily with water in which ergot  had been steeped, and applied the
powder to the growing ears. (Ed. Med. and Surg. Journ. January, 1841.) But this  failure
ought not to invalidate the positive results obtained by others. 
PART I.
Ergota.
313
begun to form; as, according to M. Bonjean, if gathered on the first day of
its formation, it does not possess the poisonous properties which it exhibits
when taken on the sixth day.  (Pharmaceutal  Transactions, Jan. 1842,
from Journ. de Chim. Med.)
  Properties.  Ergot is in solid, brittle yet somewhat flexible grains, from
a third of an inch to an inch and a half long, from half a tine to three lines
in thickness,  cylindrical or obscurely triangular,  tapering  towards each
end, obtuse at the  extremities, usually curved  like  the  spur of a cock,
marked with one or two longitudinal furrows, often irregularly cracked or
fissured, of a violet-brown colour  and often somewhat glaucous externally,
yellowish-white, or violet-white within,  of an unpleasant smell when in
mass resembling that of  putrid  fish, and of a  taste which is at  first
scarcely perceptible, but ultimately disagreeable and slightly acrid.  Under
the  microscope,  the surface appears  more or less covered with sporidia,
which occasion its glaucous aspect; and the interior structure is found to be
composed of minute  roundish cells, containing, according to Quekett,  par-
ticles of oil.   Ergot yields its  virtues to water and alcohol.  The aque-
ous  infusion or decoction is claret-coloured, and has an acid reaction.   It is
precipitated by the acetate  and subacetate  of  lead,  nitrate of silver,  and
tincture  of galls; but affords with iodine no evidence  of the presence of
 starch.
   Ergot has been  analyzed by  Vauquelin, Winkler,  a German chemist
named  Wiggers, Wright, and  several others.   The  results  obtained by
 Wiggers and Wright are most deserving of notice.   According to the for-
mer, ergot contains 35-0  per cent, of a peculiar fixed oil;  1*04 of a pecu-
liar, white, crystallizable, very soft  fatty  matter; 0-75 of cerin; 46*18  of  a
 substance analogous to fungin, or the  fleshy substance of mushrooms;  1*24
 of ergotin; 7*76 of  a  substance resembling osmazome; 1*55 of a peculiar
 saccharine  matter; 2-32 of gummy extractive  combined with an azotized
 cojouring principle; and 1-46 of albumen; besides saline and earthy matters
 in minute  proportion.  Ergotin was supposed by Wiggers to be the ac-
 tive principle.   It is reddish-brown, of a peculiar nauseous odour and  a
 bitter slightly acrid taste, soluble in alcohol, but insoluble in water or ether.
 It was obtained by digesting ergot in ether and afterwards in alcohol, evapo-
 rating the  alcoholic solution, and treating the extract thus obtained  with
 water, which  left the ergotin undissolved.   It was given with fatal effects
 to a hen; but much ampler observation is necessary to establish its claim to
 be considered as the active principle.  Dr. Christison, though following the
 process  of Wiggers, was  unable  to  obtain  ergotin,  and Dr. Wright  was
 equally unsuccessful.   According to the last mentioned chemist, ergot  con-
 tains 31*0 per cent, of oil,  114 of fungin, 26-0 of altered starch, 9-0 of muci-
 lage, 7*0 of gluten, 5*5 of vegetable osmazome, 3*5 of colouring matter, and
 3*1 of salts with free phosphoric acid.  Dr. Wright, after careful investiga-
 tion, came to the conclusion that the  activity of the medicine  resides in its
 fixed  oil, which has accordingly been introduced  into practice as a substi-
 tute for ergot.   The oil of ergot, when  obtained  from grains  recently col-
 lected,  is,  according to Dr. Wright,  often  quite  free from colour; but as
 usually prepared,  it  is reddish-brown.  It has a disagreeable, somewhat
 acrid taste, is lighter than water, and is soluble in alcohol and alkaline  solu-
 tions.  It is prepared by forming an ethereal tincture of ergot by the process
 of displacement, and evaporating the ether with a gentle heat. (Ed. Med. and
 Surg. Journ. for 1839-40.)  The conclusions of Dr. Wright in relation to
 the action of this oil upon the system have been confirmed by the experiments
 and observations of others; and there can scarcely be  a doubt that its effects
         28 
314
Ergota.
PART I.
 are  identical with those of ergot.  It may however  be said, in»all proba-
 bility, rather to contain the active principle of ergot, than itself to constitute
 that principle.   Thus, it is asserted that the oil obtained by simple expres-
 sion produces  on animals none of the effects which constantly result from
 that obtained by means of ether. (Journ. de Pharm. N. S. i. 183.)  The
 opinion of M. Bonjean, that there are two aetive principles in  ergot, the oil
 which is poisonous, and another resident in the watery extraet, and possess-
 ing anti-hemorrhagie  properties without being in the least degree  poison
 ous, requires confirmation.
   Ergot, when perfectly dry and kept in well-stopped bottles,  will retain
 its virtues for  a considerable  time;  but exposed to air  and moisture it
 speedily undergoes chemical  changes and  deteriorates.  It is, moreover,
 apt to be attacked by a minute worm, which  consumes the interior of the
 grain, leaving  merely the  exterior  shell and an excrementitious powder.
 This insect is sometimes found in the ergot before removal from the plant.
 (Muller, Am. Journ. of Pharm. x. 269.)  In the  state of powder, the medi-
 cine still more  readily deteriorates.   It is best, as a general rule, to renew
 it, if possible, every year or two.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Given in small doses, ergot produces, in
 the system of the male, no obvious  effects; but in the female, exhibits a
 strong tendency to the uterus, upon  the contractile  property of which  it
 operates with  great energy.   It is perhaps the only  medicine which spe-
 cifically promotes contraction  in this organ.  In the  quantity  of  half a
 drachm or a drachm it often occasions nausea or vomiting, and in still larger
 doses produces a sense of weight and pain  in the head, giddiness,  dilata-
 tion of the pupils, delirium, and even stupor, proving that it possesses nar-
 cotic properties.  It is said also  to excite febrile  symptoms;  but our own
 observation coincides  with that of authors  who ascribe to it the power of
 reducing the  frequency of the pulse.   We have  seen this effect produced
 by it in a remarkable  degree, even without nausea.   Its long continued and
 copious use is  highly dangerous, even when no immediate effects are per-
 ceptible.  Terrible and devastating epidemics in  different parts of the con-
 tinent of Europe, particularly  in certain provinces of France,  have long
 been ascribed  to  the  use of bread made from  rye contaminated with this
 degenerate grain.  Dry gangrene, typhus fever, and disorder of the nervous
 system attended with  convulsions, are the forms of disease which have been
 observed to follow the use of this unwholesome food.   It is true that ergot
 has been denied to be the cause;  but accurate investigations made by com-
 petent men upon the spot where the epidemics have  prevailed, together
 with the result  of experiments  made upon  inferior animals, leave no room
 for reasonable doubt upon the subject.  Very large quantities  are required
 for immediate poisonous effects.   From two to  eight drachms  have been
 given at one dose to  man without very serious results, and three ounces,
 according  to  Dr. Wright, were required to  kill a  small dog.   Death from
 single doses, in inferior animals, is preceded by symptoms indicating irrita-
 tion of stomach and bowels, great muscular prostration, loss of sensation,
 and sometimes  slight spasms.
  The most important remedial application of ergot is founded  on its power
 of promoting the  contraction of the uterus.   On the continent of Europe,
in various parts of Germany, France, and Italy,  it has long been empiri-
 cally employed by midwives  for this purpose; and  its German name of
mutterkorn implies a popular acquaintance  with its peculiar powers.  But
 the attention of the medical profession was first called to it by  a letter from
 Dr. Stearns of Saratoga county, in the  state of New York,  addressed to 
PART I.
Ergota.
315
Dr. Ackerly, A.D. 1807, and published in the eleventh volume of the New
York Medical Repository.  Since  that period the journals  have  teemed
with communications attesting its efficacy  in facilitating parturition; and,
though it has failed in the hands  of some physicians, the general opinion of
the profession is so decidedly in its favour, that it  may now be considered
among the established articles of the materia medica.  When it has proved
wholly inefficient, the  result is  ascribable  to peculiarity of constitution in
the individual, or to the inferior character of the particular parcel employed.
In its operation upon the pregnant uterus it produces a constant unremitting
contraction and rigidity, rather than that alternation of spasmodic effort and
relaxation  which is observable  in the natural process of labour.  Hence,
unless the os uteri and external parts  are sufficiently relaxed, the medicine
would be likely to produce injury to  the  child  by the incessant pressure
which it  maintains.   Such  in fact  has been the observation of numerous
practitioners, and the death of the infant is thought not unfrequently to result
from the injudicious employment of the medicine.  The cases to which it
is thought to be especially adapted are those of lingering labour, when the
os uteri is sufficiently dilated, and the  external passages sufficiently relaxed,
when no mechanical impediment is  offered to the passage of the child, and
the delay  is ascribable solely to want of energy in the uterus.  Other cases
are those  in which the death of the foetus has been ascertained,  and  when
great exhaustion or dangerous constitutional irritation imperiously calls for
speedy delivery.   The remedy may also be given to promote the expulsion
of the placenta, to restrain inordinate hemorrhage after delivery, and to
hasten the discharge of the foetus in  protracted cases of abortion.  In women
subject  to dangerous  flooding, a dose of ergot  given immediately before
delivery is said to have the happiest effects.  It has also been recommended
for the expulsion of coagula  of blood,  polypi, and hydatids from the uterine
cavity.   It has  been  accused of producing puerperal convulsions,  hour-
glass contraction of the uterus, and hydrocephalus in the new-born infant.
(Dr. Catlett,  Ed. Med. cy- Surg. Journ. Jan. 1842.)  In menorrhagia and
uterine  hemorrhage, unconnected  with pregnancy, the medicine has long
been empirically employed, and is now found highly useful in  the hands
of regular practitioners.  Its use has  even been extended  to hemorrhages
from other organs, and with reputed  good effect.   Cases  of hemorrhage
from the  lungs are recorded in  which ergot has proved highly  beneficial.
We have  seen it promptly effectual  after  all the  usual  means had failed.
May it not have the power of producing  contraction in the capillaries in
general, or of interfering in some other way with  the circulation of the blood
in these vessels, as by the exertion of a direct sedative or paralysing influence
upon them?  We  might in this way account for the dry gangrene which re-
sults from its abuse, as well as for its influence in restraining hemorrhage.
It has also been employed in amenorrhcea,  but not with encouraging suc-
cess.  Gonorrhoea, gleet, leucorrhoea, dysmenorrhcea, chronic dysentery,
paraplegia, paralysis of the bladder, and intermittent fever, are among the
complaints in which it has been recommended.
   Ergot is usually given in substance, infusion, or decoction.  The dose of
the powder to a woman in labour is fifteen  or twenty grains, to be repeated
every twenty minutes,  till its peculiar effects are  experienced,  or till  the
amount of. a drachm has been taken.   Of an infusion made in the propor-
tion  of a  drachm of the ergot to four fluidounces of water, one-third may
be given for  a dose, and repeated with the same interval.  For  other pur-
poses the  dose of the medicine is ten or fifteen grains, repeated three times
a day, and gradually increased, but  not continued for a great length of time.
In urgent cases of hemorrhage, the  dose may be repeated every two hours, 
 316               Ergota.—Erigeron Canadense,           part i.

 or oftener if necessary.  A wine of ergot is directed by the United States
 Pharmacopoeia, and should  supersede  the  tinctures formerly used, which
 are of uncertain strength.  (See Vinum Ergotae.)  The oil of ergot, pre-
 pared by means of ether, as  already described, was given by Dr. Wright in
 the dose of from twenty to fifty drops, diffused in cold water, warm tea, or
 weak spirit and water.  He employed it not only as an  aid to parturition
 and in uterine affections, but also,  with  marked advantage, in  diarrhoea, in
 the dose of ten drops every three hours, and in gastric irritability and spasm.
 It may be kept for a long time unimpaired in a well-stopped bottle, in a
 cool, dark place.   Its strength is diminished by an elevated temperature, or
 prolonged exposure to the sun.  The size of the dose  is  sufficient proof
 that the oil is not the active principle of ergot,  but only holds that principle
 in solution.
   Ergot has been  employed externally.  Dr.  Miiller found  it to check the
 bleeding from large divided  arteries; and Dr.  Wright states that either in
 powder or  infusion it has a prompt effect in arresting hemorrhage.  It is
 recommended by the latter  practitioner as an injection in uterine hemor-
 rhage.   It should be used, however, with some caution;  as the powder ap-
 plied to abraded surfaces has produced sloughing in the lower animals.
   Ergot should be powdered only  when wanted  for use.
   Off.Prep.  Vinum  Ergota;, U.S.                               W.

       ERIGERON CANADENSE.  U.S. Secondary.

                         Canada Fleabane.

   " The herb of Erigeron Canadense." U. S.
   Erigeron.   Sex. Syst.  Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord.  Compositae-
 Asteroideee, De Cand. Asteraceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx imbricated, sub-hemispherical, in  fruit often reflected.
 Florets of the ray linear, very narrow, numerous.  Receptacle naked.  Pap-
pus double, exterior minute, interior pilose, of few rays. Nuttall.
   Erigeron Canadense. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1954. This is an indigenous
 annual plant, with a stem  from two to six feet high, covered with stiff hairs,
 and divided into numerous branches.  The leaves are linear lanceolate, and
 edged with hairs; those at  the root  are dentate.  The flowers are very small,
 numerous, white, and arranged in terminal panicles.  They differ from those
 of the other species of Erigeron in having  an  oblong  calyx, the rays very
 minute and more numerous than the florets of  the disk, and the seed down
 simple.  Hence by some  botanists the plant is placed in a sub-genus with
the title  Csenotus.   Another variety of the E.  Canadense, which Mr. Nut-
 tall makes a distinct species, with the  title E. pusilum,  is not more than
-from four to six inches high, and has an erect smooth stem, less branched
 than the preceding, with ah  its leaves  entire,  and scabrous on the margin.
 The panicle is simple, and the peduncles filiform, nearly  naked, divaricate,
 each bearing  two or three  flowers.
   Canada fleabane is very  common throughout  the northern and middle
 sections  of the United States, and has become  naturalized in many parts
 of Europe.  It abounds in neglected fields, and blooms in July and August.
 The plant, all  parts of which are medicinal,  should be collected while in
 flower.  The leaves and flowers are said to possess its  peculiar virtues in
greatest perfection.
   This species of Erigeron has an agreeable odour, and  a bitterish, acrid,
 somewhat astringent  taste.   Among its constituents, according to Dr. De
 Puy, are bitter extractive,  tannin, gallic acid, and  volatile oil.   Both alcohol 
part i.   Erigeron Heterophyllum.—E. Philadelphicum.     317

and water  extract its  virtues.  Its acrimony is diminished  by decoction,
probably in consequence of the escape of the oil.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  From the observations of Dr. De Puy, it
appears to be diuretic, tonic, and  astringent;  and has been found useful in
dropsical complaints and diarrhoea.  It may be given in substance, infusion,
tincture,  or extract.  The dose  of the powder is  from thirty grains to a
drachm;  of an infusion prepared in the proportion of an ounce of the plant
to a pint of boiling water, from two to four fluidounces; of the aqueous ex-
tract from five to ten grains. In each case the dose should be repeated every
two or three hours.                                              W.


   ERIGERON HETEROPHYLLUM.  U. S. Secondary.

                     Various-leaved Fleabane.

  " The herb of Erigeron heterophyllum."  U. S.

  ERIGERON  PHILADELPHICUM.  U.S. Secondary.

                      Philadelphia Fleabane.

  " The herb of Erigeron Philadelphicum."  U. S.
  Erigeron. See ERIGERON  CANADENSE.
  1. Erigeron  heterophyllum. Willd. Sp. Plant,  iii. 1956; Barton, Am.
Med. Bot.  i. 231.   This is a biennial herbaceous  plant, belonging both to
North America  and Europe.   It has a branching root, from which  proceed
several erect, roundish, striated pubescent stems,  much  divided near the
top, and  rising  two or three feet in  height.   The lower leaves are  ovate,
acute, deeply toothed,  and supported upon long winged footstalks; the upper
are lanceolate, acute, deeply serrate  in the middle,  and sessile; the floral
leaves are lanceolate and  entire; all, except those from the root, are  ciliate
at the base.  The flowers  are in terminal corymbs.  The  florets of the
disk are yellow, those of the ray numerous, very slender, and  of  a white,
pale blue, or pale purple colour.   The flowering period is from June to
October.
  Erigeron Philadelphicum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1957; Barton,  Med.
Bot. i. 227.  The Philadelphia fleabane is perennial and herbaceous, with
a branching yellowish root, and from one to five erect stems, which rise two
or three feet in  height, and are much branched at top.  The whole plant is
pubescent.   The lower leaves are ovate lanceolate, nearly obtuse, ciliate  on
the margin, entire or marked with a few serratures, and supported on very
long footstalks;  the upper  are narrow, oblong, somewhat wedge-shaped,
obtuse, entire, sessile, and slightly embrace the stem; the floral leaves are
small and lanceolate.  The flowers are numerous, radiate, and disposed in
a panicled corymb, with long peduncles bearing from one to three  flowers.
They resemble  those of the preceding species in colour, and make their ap-
pearance about the same period.
  We include these two species under one head, because they grow together,
possess  identical medical properties, and are indiscriminately employed.
They are found in various parts of the United  States, and abound in the
fields about Philadelphia, where they are known and used under the common
though inaccurate name of scabious.  The whole herb is  used, and should
be collected while the plants are in flower.  It has an aromatic odour, and a
slightly bitterish taste,  and imparts its properties to boiling water.
                                28* 
318                Eryngium.—Erylhronium.            part i.

  Medical Properties and Uses.   Fleabane is diuretic, without being offen-
sive to the stomach.  It is a favourite remedy with some highly respectable
practitioners of Philadelphia in gravel and other nephritic diseases, and has
been employed with advantage in dropsy.   By the late Dr. Wistar it was
recommended in hydrothorax  complicated with gout.  When the obstinate
character and long continuance of certain dropsical affections are considered,
the  advantage must appear obvious, of having numerous remedies calculated
to mitigate the symptoms without exhausting the strength of the patient; so
that when one has lost its power from repetition, we may appeal to another
with  some  prospect  of  benefit.  On  this account it is  that  fleabane is
worthy of the  notice  of the profession.   It cannot be relied on for the cure
of dropsy.
  It is most conveniently administered in infusion or decoction, of which a
pint, containing the virtues of  an ounce of the herb, may be given in twenty-
four hours.                                                     W.

               ERYNGIUM.  U.S.  Secondary.

                        Button  Snakeroot.

  "The root of Eryngium aquaticum."  U. S.
  Eryngium.  Sex. Syst. PentandriaDigynia.—Nat. Ord. Apiaceae or Um-
belli ferae.
  Gen. Ch.  Flowers capitate. Involucrum many-leaved. Proper Calyx
five-parted, superior, persistent.  Corolla of five petals.  Receptacle folia-
ceous, segments acute or  cuspidate.  Fruit bipartile.  Nuttall.
  Eryngium aquaticum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1357. The button snakeroot,
or water eryngo, is an indigenous herbaceous plant, with a perennial tuberous
root, and a stem two  or three  feet high, sometimes, according to Pursh, six
feet, generally branching  by forks, but trichotomous above.  The leaves are
very  long, linear-lanceolate on the  upper part of the stem, sword-shaped
below, with bristly spines at distant intervals upon their margin.  The floral
leaves are lanceolate  and  dentate.   The flowers are white or pale, and dis-
posed in globose heads, with the leaflets of the involucrum shorter than the
head, and, like the scales  of the receptacle,  entire.   This plant is found in
low wet  places, from  Virginia to  Carolina.   Its period  of flowering is
August.
  The root, which is the medicinal  portion, has a bitter,  pungent, aromatic
taste,  provoking, when chewed, a flow of saliva.  It is diaphoretic, expecto-
rant, in large doses occasionally emetic; and is  used by some physicians in
decoction as a substitute  for  seneka. (Bigelow.)    We are told in Barton's
" Collections," that it is nearly allied to the contrayerva of the shops.
                                                                W.

             ERYTHRONIUM.  U.S.  Secondary.

                            Erylhronium.

  "The root and herb of Erythronium Americanum." U. S.
  Erythronium. Sex. Syst.  Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Liliaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Corolla inferior, six-petalled; the three inner petals
with a callous prominence on each edge near the  base. Bigelow.
  Erythronium Americanum. Muhl.  Catalogue 84;  Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot.  iii.  151.—E. lanceolatum.  Pursh, p.  230.   This is an indigenous pe- 
part i.            Erythronium.—Eupatorium.               319

rennial bulbous plant, sometimes called, after the European  species, dog's
tooth violet. The bulb (cormus), which is brown externally, white and solid
within, sends up a single naked slender flower-stem, and two  smooth lan-
ceolate nearly  equal leaves, sheathing at their base, with an  obtuse callous
point, and  of a brownish-green colour diversified  by numerous  irregular
spots.  The flower is solitary, nodding, yellow, with oblong lanceolate petals
obtuse at the point, a club-shaped undivided style, and a three-lobed stigma.
   The Erythronium grows in woods and other shady places  throughout the
Northern and  Middle States.   It flowers in the latter part of April or early
in May.   All  parts of it are active.
   In the dose  of twenty or thirty grains, the recent bulb acts as an emetic.
The leaves are said to be more powerful.   The activity of the plant is di-
minished by drying.  So far as we are at present acquainted with its virtues,
it may be considered a useless addition to the Materia Medica.  Having,
however, been adopted in the original edition of the Pharmacopoeia, it was
deemed  best, upon the revision  of that work, not  to expunge it from the
catalogue till it had undergone a longer period of trial.             W.

                     EUPATORIUM.  U.S.

                           Thoroughwort.

   " The tops  and leaves of Eupatorium perfoliatum." U. S.
   Eupatorium. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia iEqualis.—Nat. Ord. Compositae-
Eupatoriaceae,  De Cand.  Asteraceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx simple or imbricate, oblong. Style long  and semi-bifid.
Receptacle naked.  Pappus pilose, or more commonly scabrous.   Seed
smooth and glandular, quinquestriate.  Nuttall.
   Of this numerous genus, comprising not less than thirty species within
the limits of the United States, most of which probably possess analogous
medical  properties, the E. perfoliatum alone now holds a place in  our
national  Pharmacopoeia.   The E. purpureum  and E. teucrifolium were
originally in the Secondary List,  but were discarded at the  last revision of
the  Pharmacopoeia.  They merit, however, a brief notice here, if only from
their former officinal rank.
   Eupatorium purpureum or gravel root, is a perennial herbaceous  plant,
with a purple  stem, five or six feet in height, and furnished  with ovate lan-
ceolate,  serrate, rugosely veined, slightly  scabrous, petiolate leaves, placed
four or five together in the form of whorls.   The  flowers are purple, and
consist of  numerous florets contained in  an eight-leaved calyx.   It grows
in swamps and other low grounds, from Canada to  Virginia, and flowers in
August and September.   The root, which is the part  used, has, according
to Dr. Bigelow, a bitter, aromatic,  and astringent taste, and  is said to ope-
rate as  a diuretic.  Its vulgar name  of gravel  root indicates the popular
estimation of  its virtues.
   Eupatorium teucrifolium (Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii.  1753),  E. pilosum
(Walt. Flor. Car. 199), E. verbenaefolium (Mich.  Flor. Am. ii. 98), com-
monly called  wild horehound, is also an  indigenous perennial, with  an
herbaceous stem, which is about  two feet high, and  supports sessile, dis-
tinct, ovate, acute, scabrous leaves, of which  the  lower  are  coarsely ser-
rate at the base,  the  uppermost entire.   The flowers  are small, white,
composed  of  five  florets within each calyx, and arranged in the form of a
corymb.   The plant grows in  low  wet places  from  New England  to
Georgia, and is very abundant in the Southern States. It is in flower from 
320
Eupatorium.
PART I.
 August to November.  The whole herb is employed.   In sensible proper-
 ties it corresponds with the E. perfoliatum, though less bitter and disagree-
 able.  It is said to be tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, and  aperient; and in the
 South has been much employed as a domestic remedy in intermittent and re-
 mittent fevers. Dr. Jones, formerly president of the Georgia Medical Socie-
 ty, was the first to make its properties known to the profession.  It is usually
 administered infused  in water.   One quart of the infusion, containing the
 virtues of an  ounce of the plant,  may be given in separate portions during
 the day.
   The E. Cannabinum of Europe, the root of  which was  formerly used
 as a purgative; and the E. Aya-pana of Brazil, the leaves of which at one
 time enjoyed a very high reputation as a remedy in numerous diseases,
 have fallen into entire neglect.  The Aya-pana is an aromatic bitter, with
 the medical properties of  the E. perfoliatum in an inferior degree.
   Eupatorium perfoliatum.  Willd.  Sp. Plant,  iii. 1761; Bigelow, Am.
 Med. Bot. i. 33;  Barton,  Med. Bot. ii. 125.  The thoroughwort, or, as it
 is perhaps more frequently called, boneset, is an indigenous perennial plant,
 with numerous herbaceous  stems, which are erect, round, hairy, from  two
 to five feet high, simple below, and trichotomously branched near the sum-
 mit.  The character of the leaves is peculiar, and serves to distinguish the
 species at the  first glance.  They may be considered either as perforated by
 the stem, perfoliate, or as consisting each of two  leaves joined  at the base,
 connate.   Considered in the latter point of view, they are opposite and in
 pairs, which decussate each other at regular distances upon the stem; in
 other words, the direction of each pair  is  at right angles with that of the
 pair immediately above or beneath it.   They are narrow in proportion to
 their length, broadest at the base where they coalesce, gradually tapering to
 a point, serrate, much wrinkled, paler on the under than the upper surface,
 and beset with whitish hairs which give them  a grayish-green colour.  The
 uppermost pairs are sessile, not joined at the base.  The flowers are white,
 numerous, supported  on hairy peduncles, in dense corymbs, which form a
 flattened summit to the plant. The calyx, which is cylindrical and composed
 of imbricated, lanceolate, hairy scales, encloses from twelve to fifteen tubu-
 lar florets, having their border divided into  five spreading  segments. The
 anthers are five in number, black, and united into  a tube, through which the
 bifid filiform style  projects above the flower.
   This species of Eupatorium inhabits meadows,  the banks of streams, and
 other moist places, growing generally in  bunches,  and abounding in almost
 all parts of the United States.  It flowers  from the middle of summer to
 the latter end of October.   All parts of it are  active; but  the herb  only is
officinal.
   It has a faint odour, and a strongly bitter somewhat peculiar taste. The
bitterness and  probably the medical virtues  of the  plant reside in an  extrac-
tive matter, which is  readily taken up by water or alcohol.  No accurate
analysis of thoroughwort  has been made since the recent improvements in
vegetable chemistry.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Thoroughwort is tonic, diaphoretic, and
in large doses emetic and aperient.  It is said to  have been  employed by
the Indians in intermittent fever, and  has proved  successful  in the hands
of several regular  practitioners.  The general experience, however, is  not
in its favour,  in  that complaint.   We  have  seen it  effectual  in  arrest-
ing intermittents when given freely in  warm decoction, immediately  be-
fore  the  expected  recurrence of  the  paroxysm; but it operated in  this
instance by its emetic rather  than its tonic power.   The medicine has also 
part i.        Eupatorium.—Euphorbia Corollata.           321

been used as a tonic and diaphoretic in remittent and typhoid fevers, and is
said to have been productive of advantage in yellow fever.  Given in warm
infusion, so as to  produce vomiting or  copious perspiration, in the com-
mencement of catarrh, it will frequently  arrest that complaint.  It has even
been recommended as a diaphoretic in inflammatory rheumatism; and may
prove serviceable, if administered in  the absence of general arterial excite-
ment.   As a tonic it has been given with advantage in dyspepsia, general
debility, and other cases in which the simple bitters are employed.
  With a view to its tonic effect, it is best administered in substance, or in
cold infusion.   The dose of the  powder is twenty or thirty grains, that of
the infusion a fluidounce, frequently repeated.   (See Infusum Eupaforii.)
When the diaphoretic operation is required in addition  to the tonic,  the
infusion should be administered  warm, and the  patient remain covered in
bed.  As an emetic and cathartic, a  strong decoction,  prepared by boiling
an ounce with three half pints of water to a pint, may  be given in doses of
one or two gills, or more.
  Off. Prep. Infusum Eupatorii, U.S.                           W.

       EUPHORBIA  COROLLATA.   U.S.  Secondary.

                     Large-flowering Spurge.

  " The root of Euphorbia corollata."  U. S.
  Euphorbia.  Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Trigynia, Linn.; Monoecia Mona-
delphia, Michaux.—Nat. Ord.  Euphorbiaceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Involucrum caliciform, eight to ten toothed,  exterior alternate
dentures glanduloid or petaloid.  Stamina indefinite, twelve or more, rarely
less; filaments articulated.  Receptacle squainose.  Female flower solitary,
stipitate, naked.  Capsule three-grained. Nuttall.
  In the flower of the Euphorbiae, the stamina are arranged two or more to-
gether, in  distinct parcels,  which  correspond in number with the inner seg-
ments of the calyx.   These parcels were considered by Michaux as distinct
male florets; while  the  central stipitate  germ,  with its three bifid styles,
was considered  as a distinct female floret, and the calyx took the  name
of an involucre.  He  accordingly placed the genus in the class and order
Monoecia  Monadelphia, and in this respect has  been followed by most
American botanists.  The genus Euphorbia contains very numerous species,
which  have the common property of yielding  a milky juice.  They are
herbaceous  or shrubby, with or  without leaves; and the leafless  species,
which  are chiefly confined to the  African deserts, have  fleshy, naked, or
spiny stems, resembling  the  genus  Cactus.   They nearly all afford pro-
ducts  which act powerfully as  emetics  and cathartics, and  in over-doses
give rise to dangerous if not fatal prostration, with  symptoms of inflamed
gastro-intestinal  mucous membrane.  Their  milky juice,  which concretes
on exposure to the air, usually possesses these properties in a high degree,
and, in addition, that of  powerfully irritating the skin  when externally ap-
plied.   Two species only are acknowledged in our national Pharmacopoeia,
the E. corollata and E.  Ipecacuanha, which are both indigenous.   The E.
hypericifolia, which is also indigenous, has been very highly commended
as a remedy in dysentery after due depletion, diarrhoea, menorrhagia,  and
leucorrhoea,  by Dr. W. Zollickoffer of Baltimore. He infuses half an ounce
of the dried leaves in a pint of boiling- water, and gives  half a fluidounce
every hour in dysentery till the symptoms begin  to yield, the same quantity
after every evacuation in diarrhoea, and two fluidounces morning, noon,  and 
322                   Euphorbia Corollata.                 part i.

night in menorrhagia and fluor albus.  The herb, according to Dr. Zollic-
koffer, is at  first  sweetish, afterwards  harsh and astringent  to the taste,
and from his experiments appears to contain tannin.   Its  effects upon the
system are those of an astringent and feeble narcotic.   It differs, therefore,
considerably, both in sensible and  medicinal properties, from  most  of the
other species of Euphorbia.   (Am. Journ. of the Med. Sciences, xi. 22.)
In a subsequent communication by the same author, it is stated that the E.
maculata possesses similar properties  with the E. hypericifolia.   (Ibid.
N. S. iii. 125.)
  Euphorbia Corollata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 916; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
iii. 119.   The  blooming or large-flowering spurge, in common language
frequently called milk-weed, is a tall erect  plant, with a large, perennial,
branching, yellowish root, which sends up several stems from two to five feet
in height, round and generally simple. The leaves, which stand irregularly
upon the stem,  and without footstalks, are oblong, obovate, wedge-form or
linear, flat or revolute  at the  margin, smooth in some  plants,  and  hairy in
others.   The flowers  are disposed upon a large terminal umbel, with a five-
leaved involucrum, and five trifid  and  diehotomous rays, at  each  fork of
which are two oblong bractes.   The calyx is large, rotate, white, with five
obtuse segments closely resembling a corolla, from which the species has
been named.   At the base  of these divisions are five interior  smaller seg-
ments, which are described as nectaries  by many systematic writers, while
the larger are considered as belonging to a real corolla.  The  stamens are
twelve, evolving gradually, with double anthers.  Many flowers have only
stamens.  The pistil,  when  existing, is stipitate, nodding, rounded, with
three bifid styles.  The fruit is a smooth, three-celled, three-seeded capsule.
   The plant  grows in various parts of  the  United  States, from Canada to
Florida,  and abounds in Maryland  and Virginia.  It prefers a dry, barren,
and sandy soil, seldom growing  in woods or on the  borders of streams. Its
flowers appear  in July and August.  The root  is the only part used.
   This,  when full grown, is sometimes an inch in thickness, and two feet in
length.   It is without unpleasant  taste, producing  only a sense of  heat  a
short time after it has been taken.   The medical virtues are said to reside in
the cortical portion, which  is thick, and constitutes two-thirds  of the whole
root.   They are taken up  by water and alcohol, and remain in the extract
formed by the evaporation  of the decoction  or tincture.
   Medical Properties and Uses. In a full dose, the root of the E. corollata
operates actively  and  with sufficient  certainty as an emetic, producing
ordinarily several discharges from  the stomach, and not unfrequently acting
with  considerable energy  upon  the bowels.   In quantities insufficient to
vomit, it excites nausea, almost  always  followed by brisk purging.  In still
smaller doses it is diaphoretic and  expectorant.  It cannot, however, like
ipecacuanha, be given largely in cases of insensibility of  stomach, without
endangering hypercatharsis with inflammation of the  mucous coat of the
stomach  and bowels.   It is in fact greatly inferior  to  this emetic in mild-
ness, while it is no less inferior  to the tartarized antimony in certainty.  It
is objectionable as a purge, in consequence of the nausea which it occasions,
when given in  cathartic doses.   Dr. Zollickoffer of Baltimore was the first
to introduce it to the particular notice of the medical profession.   It is little
prescribed, and seldom kept in the shops.   The dose of the dried root as an
emetic is from ten to twenty grains, as a cathartic from three  to ten grains.
The recent root, bruised and applied to the skin, produces vesication.  W. 
PART I.
Euphorbia Ipecacuanha.
323
     EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. U.S. Secondary.

                       Ipecacuanha  Spurge.

   " The root of Euphorbia Ipecacuanha."  U. S.
   Euphorbia.  See EUPHORBIA  COROLLATA.
   Euphorbia Ipecacuanha. Willd. Sp. Plant,  ii. 900; Barton, Med. Bot.
 i. 211; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 108.  The ipecacuanha  spurge,  or,
 as it is sometimes called, American ipecacuanha, is a singular plant, vary-
 ing  so much in the shape and colour of its leaves, and in its whole aspect,
 that mere individual peculiarities might without care be  attributed to a real
 specific difference.  The root is perennial, of a yellowish colour, irregular,
 and very large, penetrating sometimes to the depth of six or seven feet in the
 sand, and in its thickest part measuring, when  full grown,  from three-quar-
 ters of an inch to one inch and a half in diameter. The stems are numerous,
 herbaceous, erect or procumbent, smooth, diehotomous, jointed  at  the forks,
 white under the ground, red, pale-green, or yellow above, sometimes almost
 buried in the sand, usually forming thick low bunches upon its surface. The
 leaves are opposite, sessile, entire,  smooth, generally  oval, but sometimes
 round, obovate,  or even lanceolate, or linear.   They are small  early in  the
 spring, and increase in size with the age of the plant.   Their colour varies
 from green to crimson. The flowers are solitary, and stand on long axillary
 peduncles.  The calyx is spreading, with five exterior  obtuse segments, and
 the same number of inner, smaller segments or nectaries.  The fertile flowers
 have a roundish, drooping, pedicelled germ, crowned with six revolute stig-
 mas.  The capsule is three-celled, and contains three  seeds.
   The E. Ipecacuanha is indigenous, growing in  pine  barrens and other
 sandy places in  the  Middle and Southern States, especially along the sea-
 board, and abundant in New Jersey on the bank of the  Delaware.  It blooms
 from May to August.  The root, which is the officinal  portion, is,  according
 to Dr. Barton, equally efficacious at whatever period collected.
   The dried root is light and  brittle, of a grayish colour externally, white
 within, inodorous, and of a sweetish not unpleasant taste.   Its active prin-
 ciple has not been isolated.   Dr. Bigelow inferred from his experiments,
 that it contained caoutchouc, resin, gum, and probably starch.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Ipecacuanha spurge  is an energetic, toler-
 ably certain emetic, rather milder than the E.  corollata, but, like that, dis-
 posed to act upon the bowels, and liable, if given in over doses, to produce
 excessive nausea  and  vomiting, general prostration, and  alarming hyper-
 catharsis.  It is therefore wholly unfit to supersede ipecacuanha.   In small
 doses it is diaphoretic.  The specific name of  the plant indicates that  the
 emetic property of the root has been long known.  The late professor Bar-
 ton  alludes to it  in his " Collections;" but it did not come into general notice
-till after the  publication of Dr. W. P. C. Barton's Medical Botany.  Dr.
 Hewson of Philadelphia informed us, that this  emetic was the subject of an
 inaugural essay by Dr. Royal, and that experiments conducted with it among
 the convicts in the Penitentiary proved it to be advantageously  available for
 all the purposes of an emetic;  while, in consequence of its want of nauseous
 taste, it seemed to answer even better than ipecacuanha as an  expectorant
 and diaphoretic.   The dose of the powdered root is from ten to fifteen grains. 
324                        Euphorbium.                     part i.
                  EUPHORBIUM. Lond., Ed.

                            Euphorbium.

   " Euphorbia officinarum.  Gummi-resina." Lond.  " Concrete resinous
juice of undetermined species of Euphorbia." Ed.
   Off. Syn. EUPHORBIA  CANARIENSIS. Gummi-resina. Dub.
   Euphorbe, Fr.; Euphorbium, Germ ; Enlb'bio, Ital., Span.
   Euphorbia.  See EUPHORBIA  COROLLATA.
   Euphorbium is obtained from one or more species of Euphorbia;  but its
precise source is somewhat uncertain.   It has been ascribed to the E. offi-
cinarum, which grows in the North of Africa  and at the Cape  of Good
Hope, the E.  Canariensis, a native of the Canary  Islands and  Western
Africa, and  the E. antiquorum, inhabiting Egypt, Arabia, and  the East
Indies, and supposed to be  the plant from which  the ancients  derived this
resinous  product.  These species of Euphorbia bear a considerable  resem-
blance in their general form to the Cactus,  having leafless, jointed, angular
stems, divided  into branches of a similar structure, and furnished with dou-
ble prickles  at the  angles.  When wounded, they give out  an  acrid milky
juice, which concretes upon  the surface of the plant, and  being removed,
constitutes the euphorbium of commerce.
   This occurs  in the shape of tears, or in oblong or roundish masses, about
the size  of a pea  or larger,  often  forked, and perforated with one or two
small conical holes, produced by the prickles of the plant, around which the
juice has concreted, and which sometimes remain in the holes.   The masses
are occasionally large and mixed with impurities.   The  surface is dull and
smooth,  bearing some resemblance to  that of tragacanth;  the consistence
somewhat friable;  the colour  light yellowish or reddish;  the odour scarcely
perceptible;  the taste at first slight, but afterwards excessively acrid and burn-
ing.  The colour of the powder is yellowish.  The sp. gr. of  euphorbium
is 1-124. Triturated with water it renders the liquid milky, and is partially
dissolved.  Alcohol dissolves a larger portion, forming a yellowish tincture,
which becomes milky on the  addition of water.  Its constituents, according
to Pelletier,  are resin, wax, malate  of lime, malate of potassa, lignin, bas-
sorin, volatile  oil,  and water.  Brandes found  caoutchouc.  Euphorbium
contains  no  soluble gum, and is therefore incorrectly called a gum-resin.
The proportions of the ingredients are variously stated by different che-
mists, and probably  vary in  different specimens.  The most abundant is
resin, and the remainder consists chiefly of wax and malate of lime.  The re-
sin is excessively acrid, is soluble in alcohol, and when exposed to heat, melts,
inflames, and burns with a  brilliant  flame, diffusing an agreeable odour.  It
is upon this  principle that the acrimony of euphorbium chiefly depends.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Euphorbium  taken internally is  emetic
and cathartic, often acting with great violence, and in large doses producing
severe gastric pain,  excessive heat in the  throat,  and symptoms of great
prostration.   In consequence of the severity of its action, its  internal use
has been entirely  abandoned.  Applied to "the mucous membrane  of the
nostrils,  it excites  violent irritation, attended with incessant sneezing, and
sometimes bloody  discharges.  They who powder it are under the  neces-
sity of guarding their eyes, nostrils, and mouth against the  fine dust which
rises.  Largely diluted with  wheat flour or starch, it may be used  as an
errhine in amaurosis, deafness,  and other obstinate affections  of the head.
Externally applied, it inflames the skin, often producing vesication; and on 
part i.      Euphorbium.—Extractum Glycyrrhizse.         325

the continent of Europe is sometimes  used as an ingredient of epispastic
preparations.  It is employed in veterinary practice, with a view to its vesi-
cating power.  As an  article of the materia medica, however, it may well
be dispensed with, and it has been very properly omitted in the Pharma-
copoeia of the United States.
   Off. Prep. Acetum Cartharidis, Ed.                             W.


EXTRACTUM GLYCYRRHIZA. U.S., Lond.,Ed.,Dub.

                              Liquorice.

   "The extract of the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra."  U.  S.
   Extrail de reglisse, Fr.; Sussholzsaft, Germ.; Sugo di liquirizia, Ital.; Regaliza en bol-
los, Span.
   For an account of the Glycyrrhiza glabra, see article GLYCYRRHIZA.
   The British Colleges direct this extract to be made in the same manner
as Extract of Gentian; but, as it is never prepared in this country, it very
properly occupies, in the United States Pharmacopoeia,  a place in the cata-
logue of the Materia Medica.
   Liquorice is an article of export  from the North of Spaint, particularly
Catalonia,  where it is obtained in the following manner. The roots of the
G. glabra having  been dug up, thoroughly cleansed, and half dried by ex-
posure to the air, are cut into small pieces, and boiled in water till the liquid
is saturated.  The decoction is then allowed to rest, and, after the dregs have
subsided, is decanted, and  evaporated to the proper consistence.   The ex-
tract thus prepared is formed into rolls from  five to  six inches long by an
inch in diameter, which are dried in  the air, and wrapped in laurel leaves.
   Much liquorice is also prepared in Calabria, according to M. Fee, from
the G. echinata which abounds in that country.  The process is essentially
the same with that just described, but conducted with greater care; and the
Italian liquorice is purer  and more valuable  than the Spanish.   We have
been informed that most of the extract brought to  this country comes from
the ports of Leghorn and Messina.
   Crude liquorice is  in cylindrical rolls, somewhat flattened, and often
covered with bay leaves.   When good, it is very black, dry, brittle, break-
ing with a shining fracture, of a very sweet,  peculiar, slightly acrid or bit-
terish taste, and almost entirely soluble  in water.  It is frequently, however,
very  impure,  either from  adulteration or improper preparation.   Starch,
sand, the juice of prunes, &c, are sometimes added; and carbonaceous mat-
ter, and even particles of copper are  found in it, the latter arising from the
boilers in which the decoction is  evaporated.   Four pounds of the extract
have yielded two drachms  and a half of metallic copper.  (Fee.)   It is rarely
quite soluble in water.  Neumann obtained 460 parts of  watery  extract
from 480 of Spanish liquorice.  A bitter and empyreumatic taste  are signs
of inferior quality.  Before being used internally it generally requires to be
purified.
   The refined liquorice, kept in the shops in small  cylindrical pieces not
thicker than a pipe stem, is  prepared  by dissolving  the impure extract in
water without boiling, straining the solution, and evaporating.   The object
of this process is to separate  not only the  insoluble impurities, but also the
acrid  oily substance?, which is extracted by long boiling from the liquorice
root, and is necessarily mixed with the unrefined extract.   It is customary
to add during the process a portion of sugar,  and  sometimes perhaps muci-
lage or glue; and  flour or  starch is  a frequent  adulteration.   Excellent
       29 
326            Extractum Glycyrrhizae.—Ferrum.         part i.

liquorice is prepared in some parts of England from the root cultivated in
that country.  The Pontefract cakes are small lozenges of  liquorice of a
very superior quality, made in the vicinity of Pomfret.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Liquorice is a useful demulcent, much
employed as an  addition to cough mixtures, and  frequently added to infu-
sions or  decoctions, in order to cover the taste or obtund the acrimony of
the principal medicine.   A piece of it held in the mouth and allowed slowly
to dissolve, is often found  to allay cough by sheathing the  irritated mem-
brane of the fauces.   It is  used in pharmacy to impart consistence to pills
and troches, and to modify  the taste of other medicines.
   Off. Prep.  Decoctum  Aloes Compositum, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura
Aloes, U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura  Rhei et Sennae, U. S.;  Tro-
chisci Glycyrrhizae, Ed.; Trochisci  Glycyrrhizae et Opii, U. S., Ed.
                                                                 W.

                            FERRUM.

                                 Iron.

   Fer, Fr.; Eisen, Germ.; Ferro, Ital.; Hierro, Span.
   Iron is the most abundant and  useful of the metals, and so interwoven
with the  wants of mankind, that the  extent of its consumption by a nation
may be taken  as an index of its progress in civilization.  It  is universally
diffused  throughout nature, not  only in the  mineral kingdom, but also in
vegetables and animals.  There are very few minerals  in which traces of it
may not  be found, and it is an essential constituent in many parts of ani-
mals, but particularly in  the blood.  It  is one of  the few metals which are
devoid of deleterious aetion on the animal economy.
   Iron oecurs,  1. native;  2. sulphuretted, forming  magnetic and  cubic
pyrites;  3. oxidized, embracing  the magnetic,  specular, red, brown, and
argillaceous oxides of iron; 4. in saline combination, forming the carbonate,
sulphate, phosphate,  arseniate, and  chromate of iron.   Those minerals of
iron which admit of being worked to advantage are called iron ores. These
include the different native oxides, and  the  carbonate  (sparry iron.)   The
best iron is obtained  from those varieties of the native oxide,  usually called
magnetic iron  ore and specular iron  ore.  These occur very  abundantly in
Sweden, and  furnish the superior iron of that country.  As a general rule,
those ores yield  the best iron which  occur in primitive  formations.
   Extraction.  The mode of extracting iron from its ores varies somewhat
with the nature of the ore; but the general principles  of the operation are
the same for all.  The ore, previously  roasted and coarsely pulverized, is
exposed  to the action of  a strong heat in contact with carbonaceous matter,
such as charcoal or coke, and  in connexion with some flux, capable of fusing
with the impurities of the ore.  The flux varies with the nature of the ore,
and is generally either lime or clay;  lime being employed when  the ore is
argillaceous, clay when it is calcareous.  The flux, whatever it maybe, enters
into fusion with  the impurities, and forms what is called the slag; while the
carbonaceous matter, acting on the oxide of iron, reduces it to the metallic
state.  The reduced metal, from  its  density, occupies the lower part of the
furnace,  and is protected from the action of the air by the melted slag which
floats on its surface.   When the  reduction is completed, the slag is allowed
to run out of a hole in the side of the furnace, and the melted metal, by an
aperture at its bottom; the latter being received into oblong triangular moulds,
where it solidifies in masses, known in commerce by the name  of pig or 
PART I.
Ferrum.
327
cast iron.   In this state the metal is brittle and far from being pure; as it is
contaminated with a portion of charcoal, unreduced ore, and earthy impuri-
ties.  It is purified, and thus brought to the state of malleable iron, by being
fused, and subjected to the action of a current of air on its surface.   By these
means the undecomposed ore is reduced, the earthy impurities  are made to
rise to the surface as a slag, and  the carbon is burnt out.   As the metal ap-
proaches to purity, it becomes less and less fusible, and at last consolidates,
though the temperature of  the furnace continues the same.  The metal is
then taken out, and its  particles, by means of ponderous hammers,  or rollers,
are beaten or pressed together so as to form one tenacious mass.  It is finally
drawn out  into bars of a convenient size, when it constitutes the malleable
iron of commerce.
   Iron mines occur in most countries, but more particularly in northern ones.
In Spain the principal  mines furnish  sparry iron, and  the red and brown
oxides.  The chief iron ores of France are the sparry iron, and the specular,
brown, and argillaceous oxides; and of Germany, the sparry iron and brown
oxide.  The island of Elba is celebrated for its  rich and abundant specular
oxide.  The ores which furnish the celebrated  Swedish iron have already
been indicated.
   In the United States iron is abundant. The principal ores that are worked
are the magnetic, brown, and argillaceous oxides.  They occur in the greatest
abundance in the  states of  New Hampshire, Massachusetts,  Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,  and Pennsylvania.   The ores of the
three last mentioned states rival the best Swedish in quality.
   Properties.  Iron is a hard, malleable, very ductile and tenacious metal,
of a grayish-white  colour and fibrous  texture, and having a slight styptic
taste, and  a sensible odour  when rubbed.   Its sp. gr. is about 7-7, and its
fusing point very  high.   It possesses the magnetic  and welding properties.
It is combustible, and when heated to whiteness, burns in atmospheric air,
and with brilliant scintillations in oxygen gas.   At a red heat, its  surface is
converted into black oxide,  and by the combined  agency of air and moisture
at common temperatures, it becomes  covered with a reddish matter, called
rust, which consists of the  hydrated sesquioxide.  It combines with all the
non-metallic bodies, except hydrogen  and nitrogen, and with most of the
metals, its equivalent being 28.   It forms three principal combinations with
oxygen, a protoxide and sesquioxide, which, by their union, form the  black
oxide, and  a teroxide, possessing acid  properties,  called ferric  acid.   The
protoxide is of a  dark-blue colour, attracted by  the  magnet, and  spontane-
ously combustible in the air, being converted into  sesquioxide.   It is the
base of green vitriol, and of the green salts of  iron generally.   It is  very
prone to absorb oxygen, and hence the salts which contain it are soon par-
tially converted, when in solution, into salts of the sesquioxide.  It consists
of one eq. of iron 28, and one of oxygen 8 = 36.   The sesquioxide is rea-
dily obtained pure by dissolving  iron in nitro-muriatic acid, precipitating by
ammonia,  and igniting  the  precipitate.  It is of a red colour, not attracted
by the magnet, and forms  salts, which for the most  part have  a reddish
colour.  It is composed of two eqs. of iron 56, and three of oxygen 24 = 80.
The black oxide exists in the native magnetic oxide, and in certain ferrugi-
nous salts after they have absorbed a certain definite portion of  oxygen.  It
consists of one  eq. of protoxide 36, and one of sesquioxide 80 = 116.   The
teroxide ox ferric acid has  recently been discovered by Fremy, and may be
formed, in union  with  potassa, by passing chlorine through a very concen-
trated solution of  the alkali, holding hydrated sesquioxide of iron in sus-
pension.   It has also been  obtained by Poggendorff by a galvanic combina- 
328
Ferrum.
part r.
nation of platinum in nitric acid, with cast iron in a solution of potassa. It
forms  as a ferrate of potassa, of a fine wine-red colour, becoming darker,
around the cast iron.  This acid consists of one eq. of iron 28, and three of
oxygen 24= 52.  Iron, combined with minute  portions of carbon, and,
perhaps, of the radicals of silica and alumina, forms steel, a modification of
iron formerly used in medicine, but now very properly laid aside.  It also
forms a number of important salts, several of which, as  the sesquichloride,
iodide, carbonate, subcarbonate, sulphate, phosphate, ferrocyanuret, tartrate,
and  acetate, are officinal.
  Iron is readily detected, even in minute quantities, by bringing it to the
state of sesquioxide in solution, and testing it with  ferrocyanuret of potas-
sium or  tincture of galls; the former of which will strike a deep blue, the
latter a black colour.  The object of bringing it to the state of sesquioxide is
readily effected by boiling the solution containing it with a little nitric acid.
  Medical Properties.   The preparations of  iron  are  powerfully  tonic,
raising the pulse, promoting the  secretions, and increasing the colouring
matter  of the blood.   They are useful in diseases characterized by debility
and relaxation of fibre, and a languid circulation, more especially when the
consequence of inordinate discharges.  The diseases in which they are most
usually employed are chlorosis, hysteria, fluor albus, gleet, scrofula, rickets,
chorea, and all passive hemorrhages.   Chalybeates are also proper in palsy
after the inflammatory excitement has subsided, in dyspepsia dependent upon
deficient energy of the digestive  functions, and in neuralgia.   They are
contra-indicated in all inflammatory diseases, producing, when injudiciously
prescribed, heat, thirst, headache, difficulty of breathing, and other symptoms
of an excited circulation.  The medicinal effects of iron, as modified in its
different combinations, will be noticed under the head of each preparation.
  The following table embraces all the preparations of iron to be found in
the United States and British Pharmacopoeias, together with the synonymes.
Besides these preparations some others will be noticed which are not offici-
nal; viz.  tartrate of protoxide of iron, under the head of "Ferri et Potassae
Tartras," in Part II.; and bromide, citrate,  ammonio-citrate, lactate, and
sesquinitrate of iron, in the Appendix.

     Iron is officinal,—
  I. In its metallic state.
         Ferri Filum, U. S., Ed.; Ferrum. Fila, Dub.
         Ferri Ramenta, U. S.; Ferrum. Ramenta, Lond.; Ferri Limatura,
                  Ed.; Ferrum.  Scobs, Dub.
            Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Dub.
  II. Oxidized.
         Ferrum. Oxydi Squamae, Dub.
            Ferri Oxydum Nigrum, Dub.
         Ferri Oxidum Nigrum, Ed.
         Ferri Rubigo, Dub.
         Ferri Oxydum Rubrum, Dub.
            Emplastrum Thuris, Dub.
         Ferri Oxidum Hydratum,  U. S.; Ferrugo, Ed.
 III. Sulphuretted.
         Ferri Sulphuretum, Ed., Dub.
 IV. In  saline combination.
         Ferri Iodidum, U. S., Lond., Ed.
            Ferri Iodidi Syrupus,  Ed.
            Liquor Ferri Iodidi, U. S. 
part i.     Ferrum.—Ferri Filum.—Ferri Ramenta.        329

         Ferri Ferrocyanuretum,  U. S.; Ferri Percyanidum, Lond.; Ferri
                  Cyanuretum, Dub.;  Anglice, Prussian blue.
         Ferri Acetas, Dub.
            Ferri Acetatis Tinctura, Dub.
            Tinctura Acetatis Ferri cum Alcohol.  Dub.
         Ferri Carbonas Saccharatum, Ed.
            Pilulae Ferri Carbonatis, U. S., Ed.; Anglice, Vallet's ferru-
                  ginous pills.
            Mistura Ferri Composita,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
            Pilulae Ferri Compositae, U. S., Lond., Dub.
         Ferri Subcarbonas, U. S.; Ferri Sesquioxydum, Lond.;  Ferri
                  Oxidum  Rubrum,  Ed.;  Ferri Carbonas, Dub.;  An-
                  glice, Precipitated carbonate of iron.
            Emplastrum Ferri,  U. S.,  Ed.
            Ferrum Ammoniatum, U. S.; Ferri Ammonio-chloridum, Lond.
              Tinctura  Ferri Ammonio-ehloridi, Lond.
         Ferri et Potassae Tartras, U. S.; Ferri Potassio-tartras, Lond.;
                  Ferrum Tartarizatum, Ed.; Ferri Tartarum, Dub.
         Ferri Phosphas, U. S.
         Ferri Sulphas, U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.
            Pilulae Aloes et Ferri, Ed.
            Ferri Sulphas Exsiccatum, Ed.
              Pilulae  Ferri Sulphatis,  Ed.
              Pilulae  Rhei et Ferri, Ed.
         Tinctura Ferri Chloridi,  U. S.; Tinctura Ferri Sesquichloridi,
                  Lond.; Ferri  Muriatis Tinctura, Ed.; Muriatis Ferri
                  Liquor, Dub.
   In the foregoing table, the more  complex preparations are arranged as
 sub-heads to the simpler ones from which they are derived, or with which
 they are most closely  connected.                                  B.

                  FERRI FILUM.  U.S., Ed.

                            Iron Wire.

                  FERRI RAMENTA. U.S.

                            Iron Filings.

   Off. Syn. FERRUM. Ferrum. Ramenta. Lond.; FERRI LIMATURA.
 Iron-filings. Ed.; FERRUM.  Fila. Scobs. Dub.
   Fil de fer, Fr.; Eisendraht,  Germ.; Fil di ferro, Ital.; Hilo de hierro, Span.
   Limailles  de Fer, Fr.; Eisenleilicht, Germ.; Liinatura di  ferro, Ital.; Limadura de
 hierro, Span.
   Iron, when  employed in  pharmaceutical  operations,  should  be of  the
 purest kind; and hence the different Pharmacopoeias direct it, when wanted
 in small masses, to be in the form of iron wire, which is necessarily made
 from the softest and most malleable iron, and  is readily  cut into  pieces of
 convenient size.  The metal, however, for internal exhibition and for some
 preparations, requires to be finely subdivided, and henee it is officinal also
 in the form of filings.
   Medical Properties of Iron Filings. Iron, in its uncombined state, has no
 action  on the animal  economy; and hence iron filings would prove inert,
 were  it not that they meet with acid in the stomach, or some other agent,
 whereby they become oxidized.  That this change really takes place, is
                                  29* 
330               Ferri Filum.—Ferri Ramenta.           part i.

proved by the black stools to which they invariably give rise.  During the
solution of iron in the stomach, the oxygen furnished to the metal is derived
from water, the hydrogen of which, by being disengaged, gives rise to un-
pleasant  eructations.  Iron filings  are generally obtained from the work-
shops of the blacksmith; but, as furnished from'this source, they are gene-
rally very impure, and unfit for medicinal use. Neither can they be purified
by the magnet, as they often have attached to them certain impurities, which
are carried up with them.   The  only way to obtain pure iron filings, is to
file a piece of pure iron  with  a clean file.  The French  Codex directs iron
in an impalpable powder, prepared by porphyrizing  bright and clean  iron
filings without water. A dull black powder is formed, which must be care-
fully preserved  from moisture.   The  dose  of iron filings is from five to
twenty grains, given in molasses, or made up into an  electuary with honey,
or into pills with some bitter  extract.  Upon the whole, there is reason to
believe that no medicinal effects can be expected from iron exhibited in the
metallic state, which cannot be as  well  obtained, and with less inconveni-
ence to the patient, from its different combinations.
  Iron is used to prepare Potassii Bromidum, Lond.,  and Potassii Iodidum,
U. S., Lond., Ed.
  Off. Prep.  Ferri Iodidi  Syrupus, Ed.;  Ferri Iodidum,  U. S., Lond.,
Ed.; Ferri Rubigo, Dub.;  Ferri Sulphas, U. S., Lond., Dub.;  Ferri Sul-
phuretum, Ed., Dub.; Ferri  Tartarum,  Dub.; Liquor Ferri Iodidi, U.S.;
Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Dub.                                     B.

               FERRUM.  Oxydi Squamse.  Dub.

                   Scales of the Oxide of Iron.

  Batitures de  fer, Fr.;  Eisenschlag, Germ.; Scaglia di ferro,  Ital.; Escamas de hierro,
Span.
  This form  of oxidized iron  is obtained when iron is heated to redness and
subjected to the blows of a hammer on an anvil.  The heat causes the iron
to be covered with a thin crust of oxide, which is detached in scales during
the hammering.  These are formed  abundantly in  the operations of the
blacksmith, and collect around the  anvil.
  Scales of iron consist of small, black,  brittle masses, attracted by the mag-
net, and without taste or smell.  When reduced to powder, they have a dull
grayish-white colour.  Their precise composition is not well settled; but it
is certain that they do not consist of the regular black  oxide. (See Ferrum.)
The results of Mosander  seem  to show that they consist of two distinct
layers; the inner, of uniform composition,  consisting of six equiv. of pro-
toxide to one of sesquioxide, and  the outer, of a variable  mixture of these
two oxides, the sesquioxide predominating on the  surface, and diminishing
gradually inwards.
   Medical Properties.  These scales have the general medical properties of
the ferruginous preparations,  but are not fit for medicinal use until they have
been reduced to fine powder.  The Dublin College has  given a formula for
this purpose, and designates  the powered scales by a distinct name.   (See
Ferri Oxydum  Nigrum.)   This is  the only officinal  preparation of the
scales.                                                           B. 
part i.                         Ficus.                            331
                          FICUS.  U.S.

                                Figs.

  " The dried fruit of Ficus Carica." U. S.
  Off. Syn. FICI. Ficus  Carica. Fructus siccus. Lond.;  FICI.  Dried
fruit of Ficus Carica, Ed.; FICUS CARICA. Fructus siccatus. Dub.
  Figues, Fr.; Feigen, Germ.; Fichi, Hal.; Higos, Span.
  Ficus.  Sex. Syst. Polygamia Dioecia.—Nat. Ord. Urticaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Common receptacle turbinate, fleshy, converging,  concealing
the  florets either in the same or distinct individuals.  Male.  Calyx three-
parted.  Coroltanone.  Stamens three.  Female.  Calyx five-parted. Corolla
none. Pistil one. Seed one, covered with  the closed, persistent, somewhat
fleshy calyx. Willd.
  Ficus  Carica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1131; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 714. t.
244.  The fig-tree, though  usually not more than twelve feet in height,
sometimes rises in warm climates  to twenty-five or even thirty feet.   Its
trunk, which seldom  exceeds  seven  inches in  diameter, is divided  into
numerous spreading branches, covered with a brown  or ash-coloured bark.
Its  large, palmate leaves,  usually divided  into five obtuse lobes, are deep
green and shining upon their upper surface, pale green and downy beneath,
and stand alternately on strong round footstalks.   The flowers are situated
within a common receptacle, placed solitarily upon a short peduncle  in the
axils of the upper leaves.  This receptacle, the walls of which become thick
and fleshy, constitutes what is commonly called the fruit;  though this  term
is, strictly speaking, applicable to the small seeds found in great numbers on
the internal surface of the receptacle, to which they are attached by fleshy
pedicels.   Cultivation has produced in the fig, as in the apple and peach, an
almost infinite  diversity  in  shape, size, colour,  and taste.  It  is usually,
however, turbinate or top-shaped, umbilicate at the large  extremity, of the
size of a small pear, of a whitish, yellowish, or reddish colour, and of  a
mild, mucilaginous, saccharine flavour.
  The fig-tree is supposed to have come originally from the Levant. It was
introduced at a very early period into various parts of the  South of Europe,
and is now very common  throughout the whole basin of the Mediterranean,
particularly in Italy and France.  To hasten the maturation of the fruit, it is
customary to puncture it with a sharp-pointed instrument covered with  olive
oil.   The ancient process of caprification is still practised in the Levant.
It consists in attaching branches of the wild fig-tree to the cultivated plant.
The fruit of the former contains great numbers of the eggs of an  insect of
the genus Cynips, the larvae of which, as  soon as they are hatched, spread
themselves over the cultivated fruit, and by conveying the pollen of the  male
organs over which they pass to the female florets, hasten the impregnation
of  the latter, and cause the fig to come quickly to perfection, which might
otherwise ripen very slowly, or  wither  and  drop off before maturity.
Some authors attribute the effect to the piercing  of the fruit by the young
insects.
   The  figs, when perfectly ripe, are dried by the heat of the sun  or in ovens.
Those brought to the United States come  chiefly from  Smyrna, packed in
drums or boxes.   They are more or less compressed,  and  are usually
covered in cold weather with  a  whitish saccharine efflorescence, which
melts in  the middle of summer and  renders them moist.   The best are
yellowish or brownish, somewhat translucent when  held to the light, and 
332                     Ficus.—Filix Mas.                 part i.

filled with a sweet viscid pulp, in which are lodged numerous small yellow
seeds.   They are much more saccharine than the fresh fruit.  Their chief
constituents are sugar and mucilage.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Figs are nutritious, laxative, and demul-
cent.   In the fresh state, they are considered in the countries where  they
grow a wholesome and agreeable aliment, and have been  employed from
time immemorial.  As  we obtain them, they  are apt, when eaten freely, to
produce flatulence, pain in the bowels, and diarrhoea.   Their chief medical
use is as  a laxative article of diet in cases  of constipation.   They occasion-
ally enter into demulcent decoctions;  and  when roasted or boiled, and split
open, may be applied as a suppurative cataplasm to parts  upon which  an
ordinary  poultice cannot be conveniently retained.
  Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae, U.S., Lond., Ed.; Decoctum Hordei Com-
positum,  Lond., Ed., Dub.                                      W.

                FILIX  MAS.  U.S. Secondary.

                            Male  Fern.

  "The  Rhizoma of Aspidium Filix mas."  U. S.
  Off.  Syn.  ASPIDIUM.  Aspidium Filix mas. Radix.  Lond.;  FILIX.
Rhizoma of Nephrodium Filix mas (Richard). Male Shield Fern. Ed.;
FILIX MAS.  ASPIDIUM FILIX MAS.  Radix. Dub.
  Fougere male, Fr.; Johanniswurzel, Germ.; Felce maschio, Ital.; Heleehn, Span.
  Aspidium.   Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Filices.—Nat. Ord. Filices, Jus-
sieu. Filicales, Lindley.
  Gen. Ch.  Fructification in roundish points, scattered, not marginal.  In-
volucre umbilicated, open almost on every side. Smith.
  Aspidium Filix mas. Willd.  Sp. Plant, v. 259;  Smith, Flor. Britan.—
Nephrodium Filix mas. Lindley, Flor. Med.  619.—Polypodium Filix
mas. Linn.; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 795. t. 267.  The  male fern has a pe-
rennial, horizontal root or rhizoma, from which numerous annual fronds  or
leaves arise, forming  tufts  from a foot  to  four feet in height.   The stipe
or foostalk,  and  midrib, are thickly beset with brown, tough, transparent
scales,  the frond itself is oval lanceolate, acute, pinnate, and of a bright green
colour.   The pinna? or leaflets are remote below, approach more nearly as
they ascend, and run  together at the summit of the leaf.  They are deeply
divided into lobes, which are of an oval shape, crenate at the edges, and
gradually diminish from the base of the pinna to the apex.   The fructifica-
tion is in small dots on the back of each lobe, placed in two rows near the
base, and distant from the edges.
  The male fern is indigenous, growing  in  shady pine forests from New
Jersey to Virginia. (Pursh.)  It is a native  also of Europe, Asia,  and the
North of Africa.  In the American plant, the leaflets  are said  by Pursh to
be more obtuse, and oftener doubly serrated than in the European.
  The proper period for collecting the root is during the  summer, when,
according to M. Peschier of Geneva, it abounds more in the active principle
than at any other season.   The same writer  informs us that it deteriorates
rapidly when  kept, and in  about two years  becomes  entirely inert.  The
roots of other species of fern are frequently substituted  for the officinal; and
in the dried  state it is difficult to distinguish them.
  Properties, fyc. As taken from  the  ground, the root consists of a long
cylindrical  caudex, around  which are closely arranged,  overlapping each
other like the shingles of a roof, the remains of  the  leafstalks or stipes, 
PART I.
Filix Mas.
333
which are an inch or two in length, from two to four lines thick, somewhat
curved and directed upwards, angular, brown, shining, and surrounded near
their origin from the root with thin silky scales, of a light brown colour.
From  between these remains of the footstalks emerge numerous small radi-
cal fibres.  The whole root, thus constituted, presents a somewhat flexible,
cylindrical mass, one or two inches thick, and a foot or more in length.  In
this form, however, it is not usually found  in our  shops.   The  whole is
ordinarily broken up into fragments, consisting of the separated remains  of
the leafstalks before described, with a small portion  of the substance of the
root attached to their base,  where they are surrounded by the silky scales.
These fragments ordinarily present the appearance of  having been long
kept, and are probably, as a general rule, much deteriorated  by time.  The
male fern root is  brought to us from Europe, but might perhaps  be more
advantageously collected in  this country.  The following observations are
made by Geiger in relation to  its collection and  preservation.  The  inner
parts of the fresh root and of the portions of stalk attached  to it, are fleshy
and of a light yellowish-green colour.   In  collecting them, all the  black
discoloured portions should be cut away, the fibres and scales separated,
and only the  sound green  parts preserved.   These  should  be immediately
but carefully dried, and then reduced to powder;  and the powder should be
kept in small well stopped  glass bottles.  The powder thus prepared has a
pale yellowish colour with  a greenish tinge.
   Dried fern root is externally of a brown colour, internally yellowish-white
or reddish, with a peculiar but feeble odour,  which is most obvious in the
powder and decoction, and a  sweetish, bitter, astringent,  nauseous  taste.
From the analysis of M. Morin, an apothecary of Rouen, it  appears to con-
tain a volatile oil, a fixed oil, gallic and acetic acids,  uncrystallizable sugar,
tannin, starch, a gelatinous matter insoluble in water  and alcohol, lignin,
and  various earthy and saline substances.   Geiger found  also resin and
gum.  Peschier ascertained that its active properties reside in the ethereal
extract, which is the fixed oil in an impure  state,  containing volatile oil,
resin, colouring matter, &c.  It is a thick dark liquid, having the odour of
the fern,  and a nauseous, bitterish, somewhat  acrid taste.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  Male fern is slightly tonic  and astringent;
but produces, when taken  internally, no very obvious effects upon the sys-
tem.   It was used by the ancients as a vermifuge; and is mentioned in the
works of Dioscorides, Theophrastus, Galen,  and Pliny.  Its anthelmintic
powers were  also noticed by some  of the earlier modern writers, among
whom was Hoffmann.  But it does not appear  to have been generally known
to the  profession, till attention was attracted to it, about the year 1775, by
the publication of the mode of treating taenia employed by Madame Nouffer.
This lady, who was the widow of a surgeon  in Switzerland, had acquired
great celebrity in the cure of tape-worm by a  secret  remedy.  Her success
was such as to attract the attention of the medical profession at Paris; and
some of  the most eminent physicians  of that city,  who were deputed to
examine  into the subject,  having reported favourably of the  remedy, the
secret was purchased by the king of France, and published by his  order.
The outlines of her plan were to give  a dose of the powdered root of the
male fern, and two hours afterwards a powerful cathartic, to be followed, if
it should not operate in due time, by some purging salt; and this process
was to be repeated with proper intervals, till the worm should be evacuated.
A German physician, of the name of Herrenschwand, had used the male fern
in  a manner somewhat similar before Madame Nouffer's secret was known.
The remedy became very popular for a time, and was found successful in 
334
Filix Mas.—Fceniculum.
PART I.
numerous instances; but the profession has now generally settled down in
the opinion that the good which resulted was owing more to the purgatives
than to the fern.  Instances, however, are recorded,  in which cures were
effected by the root without the use of cathartics; and amid the general scep-
ticism on  the subject,  physicians are still found who warmly advocate the
anthelmintic powers of the  medicine.   Dr. Peschier assures us that, in the
course of nine months, one hundred and fifty tape-worms had been expelled
by the ethereal extract of the male fern root.  Dr. Ebers has found the same
preparation completely successful in curing eight cases of taenia.  (Journ. de
Chimie Medicate, Fev. 1829.)   He states that the medicine acts specifically
against the worm, which it  speedily destroys, and thus favours its expulsion
from the body, without producing any severe or unpleasant symptoms.  The
testimony of Brera is  also strongly in favour of the remedy, which he has
found effectual even against the armed taenia.   Perhaps the different results
obtained by different  practitioners  may in part be ascribed to the variable
strength and character of the root, dependent upon  the season  at which it
may have  been collected, and the length of time it may have been kept.  It
is also said that the remedy proves more effectual against the tape-worm of
the Swiss (Bothriocephalus latus) than against the  Taenia solium, which
is more frequent in France and England. (Bremser.)
  The medicine  may be given in powder, or, as recommended by  Dr.
Peschier,  in ethereal extract.  The dose of the  powder is from one to three
drachms, to be  given  in the form of electuary or emulsion, and repeated
morning and evening  for one or two days successively.  The dose of the
ethereal extract (oil of fern) is  from twelve to twenty-four  grains.   The
decoction  has also been employed in the proportion of an ounce of the root
to a pint of water.  It is customary to follow the medicine by some brisk
cathartic, though Dr. Peschier does not consider this essential.  Dr. Mayor
of Geneva recommends the oil of fern, in the dose of from thirty to  fifty
drops, one half to be taken at night, the  other half in the morning, and
followed at the interval of an hour, by  an ounce and a half of castor oil.
                                                               W.


            FCENICULUM.  U. S., Lond., Ed.. Dub.

                            Fennel-seed.

  " The fruit of Fceniculum vulgare."  U. S.  " Fceniculum vulgare. Fruc-
tus." Lond. " Fruit of Fceniculum officinale." Ed.  "Anethum Fcenicu-
lum. Semina. Dub.
  Fenouil,  Fr.; Fenehel,  Germ.; Finnoechio, Ital.; Hinojn, Span.
  The plant  producing fennel-seed was attached by Linnaeus  to the genus
Anethum, but was separated  from it  by  De  Candolle, and  placed, with
three or four others, in a new genus styled Foenicidum, which has been
generally  adopted  by botanists.   The Anethum Fceniculum of Linnaeus
embraced  two varieties, the common or wild fennel,  and the sweet fennel,
the latter  being the  plant  usually  cultivated  in  the gardens  of  Europe.
These are considered by De Candolle as  distinct  species, and named re-
spectively Fceniculum vulgare and  Fceniculum dulce.  In the U. S. and
London  Pharmacopoeias the former of these is recognised as the source of the
medicine;  the Edinburgh College adopts the F. officinale of Allioni.  The
latter  De  Candolle  considers as belonging  to his F.  vulgare (see Pro-
dromus, iv. 142); while Merat treats of it as  a distinct species, differing
both from the  F. vulgare  and F. dulce of De Candolle  (Diet, de Mat. 
PART I.
Fceniculum.
335
Med.), and Dr. Christison, in his Dispensatory, is disposed to unite it with
the last mentioned plant.  In this confusion, it is impossible to arrive at any
definite and  satisfactory conclusion as to the botanical  history of the  drug
under  consideration.   One thing,  however, is certain, that there are two
kinds of fennel-seed found in the shops; and it is highly probable that these
are derived,  if not from  distinct species of fennel,  at  least  from marked
varieties of the plant.  One of them corresponds closely with the descrip-
tion given of the  fruit of the  F. vulgare, while the other is  undoubtedly
produced  by the plant cultivated under the name of sweet fennel, whether
that be the F. dulce of De  Candolle, or F. officinale of Allioni and Merat.
   Fgeniculum.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Umbelliferae
or Apiaceae.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx a tumid obsolete  rim.  Petals roundish, entire, involute,
with a squarish  blunt lobe. Fruit nearly taper.  Half-fruits with five pro-
minent bluntly keeled ridges, of which the  lateral  are on the edge,  and
rather broadest.  Vittx single in the channels, two on the commissure.  In-
volucre none. (Lindley.)
   Fceniculum vulgare.  De Cand. Prodrom.. iv. 142.—Anethum Famicu-
lum. Linn.;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 127. t. 49.  Common fennel has a  bien-
nial or perennial tapering root, and an annual, erect, round, striated, smooth,
green, and  copiously branching stem, which usually  rises  three  or four
feet in height. The leaves, which stand alternately at the joints of the stem,
upon membranous striated sheaths, are many times pinnate, with long, linear,
pointed, smooth, deep green leaflets.  The flowers are in large, flat, terminal
umbels, with from thirteen to  twenty rays, and destitute both of general and
partial involucres.   The corolla consists of five petals, which, as well as
the stamens, are of a golden yellow  colour.   The  fruit is  ovate, rather less
than two  lines in length by about a  line  in breadth, and of a dark colour,
especially in the channels.   The plant is a native of Europe, growing wild
upon sandy and chalky ground throughout the continent.
   F. officinale.   Merat  and  De Lens, Diet,  de Mat. Med. iii. 270; Ed.
Pharm.;  Allioni.  This, which is  sometimes called sweet fennel, is  also
perennial, with  shorter leaves and less  elongated leaflets than the  common
fennel, but resembling it very closely except  in the character of the  fruit.
This is twice as long as that  of the former plant, a little  curved, of a less
dark colour, with prominent ridges,  and a persistent peduncle.  It is more
aromatic  and sweeter than common  fennel-seed.  The plant is a  native of
the South of Europe; but  is cultivated elsewhere in gardens, and  is proba-
bly the source of much  of the fennel-seed of the  shops.   Whether it is  a
distinct species, or a mere variety of the F. vulgare, is not determined. Some
confound it with the following.
   F. dulce.   De Cand.  Prodrom. iv. 142.   This plant is eminently enti-
tled to the name of sweet fennel.   It bears a general  resemblance to  the
F. vulgare, but differs in having its  stem somewhat compressed at the base,
its radical leaves somewhat distichous, and the number of  rays in the umbel
only from six to eight.  It is  also a  much smaller plant, being only about  a
foot in height, its flowers  appear earlier, and  its young shoots or turiones
are sweeter and edible.  It is  a native of Portugal, Italy, and perhaps other
parts of Southern Europe; and is cultivated  largely in Italy and Sicily for
the sake  of the shoots,  which are eaten raw, or in salad, or boiled as  pot
herbs.   The fruit is described by Merat and-De Lens  as "being  globular-
ovate, twice the size of  that of common fennel,  and with prominent ridges.
This description does not  answer to the character of any of the fennel-seed
we have  seen in the shops. 
336
Fceniculum.—Frasera.
PART I.
   In all these species  or varieties, the whole plant has  an aromatic odour
 and taste, dependent on a volatile oil by which it is pervaded.  The roots
 were formerly employed in medicine,  but are greatly inferior in virtues to
 the  fruit, which is  now the only officinal portion.  Our shops are partly
 supplied from our own gardens, but much the larger portion of the medicine
 is imported from Europe, and chiefly, as we have been informed, from Ger-
 many.  The fennel-seed cultivated here is sweeter and more aromatic than
 that from abroad, probably in consequence of its greater freshness.
   Fennel seeds (half-fruits) are  oblong oval, from one to three or four lines
 in length, flat on one side, convex on the other, not unfrequently connected
 by their flat surfaces,  straight or slightly curved,  of a dark  grayish-green
 colour,  with longitudinal yellowish ridges on the  convex surface.  There
 are two varieties, one of them from one to  two lines long, dark-coloured,
 rather flat, almost always separate, and without footstalks; the other three
 or four lines, sometimes even five lines in length, lighter-coloured, with much
 more prominent ridges, often conjoined by their flat surface, and very fre-
 quently provided  with  a footstalk.  They do not  differ essentially in aro-
 matic properties.  The odour  of  fennel-seed is fragrant, its taste warm,
 sweet, and agreeably aromatic.  It imparts its virtues to hot water, but more
 abundantly to alcohol.   The  essential  oil may be  separated by distillation
 with water. (See Oleum Funiculi.)  The seeds contain also fixed oil. From
 960  parts  of them,  Neumann obtained 20 parts of the former, and 120 of
 the latter.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Fennel-seed was used by the ancients, is
 among our most grateful aromatics, and in this country  is much employed
 as a carminative, and as a corrigent of  other less pleasant medicines, parti-
 cularly senna and rhubarb.   It is recommended for these purposes by the
 absence of any very highly excitant property.  The infusion, prepared by
 introducing two or three drachms of the seeds into a pint of boiling water,
 is the form usually preferred.  The dose of the bruised  or powdered seeds
 is from a scruple  to half a drachm.  In infantile cases,  the infusion is fre-
 quently employed as an enema to produce the expulsion  of flatus.
   Off. Prep. Aqua Fceniculi, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Confectio Piperis Nigri,
 Lond., Ed., Dub.; Decoctum Chamaemeli Comp.,  Dub.; Oleum Fceniculi,
 U. S., Ed., Dub.; Spiritus Juniperi Comp.,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Sy-
rupus Sennae,  U. S., Lond.;  Tinctura Rhei et Sennae, U. S.         W.


                 FRASERA.  U.S. Secondary.

                        American Columbo.
   " The root of Frasera Walteri."  U.  S.
   Frasera. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Gentianaceaa.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx deeply four-parted.  Corolla four-parted, spreading; seg-
ments oval, with a bearded, orbicular gland in the middle of each.  Capsule
compressed, partly  marginated, one-celled.   Seeds few, imbricated, large,
elliptical, with a membranaceous margin. Nuttall.
   Frasera Walteri. Michaux, Flor. Bor. Americ. i. 96; Barton, Med. Bot.
ii. 103.—F. Carolinensis.  Walter.   This is one of our  most elegant indi-
genous plants, and the only one  of its genus hitherto discovered.   From the
root, which is triennial, long, spindleshaped, horizontal, fleshy, and of a yellow
colour, a strong, succulent, solid, smooth stem rises, from five to ten feet in
height.  The leaves are sessile,  entire, glabrous, of a deep-green colour and
 disposed in whorls, which commence at the root, and ascend to the summit 
PART I.
Frasera.
337
with successively diminishing intervals.  The radical leaves, from five  to
twelve in number, are elliptical, obtuse, a foot or  more in length by about
four inches in breadth, and lie upon the ground in the form of a star.  Those
constituting the  whorls upon the  stem are  successively smaller as they
ascend—the  lowest oblong  lanceolate, the upper lanceolate  and pointed.
The flowers are  numerous, large, of a yellowish-white colour, and disposed
in a beautiful terminal  pyramidal  panicle, from one to  five feet long, the
branches of which spring from the axils of the upper leaves. The segments
of the calyx are  lanceolate, acute, and somewhat  shorter than those of the
corolla.  The filaments are inserted into the base of the corolla, between  its
segments, which they do not equal in length.   The anthers are oblong and
notched at the base.  The germ is oblong ovate, compressed, and gradually
tapers into  the style, which  terminates  in a bifid  stigma.  The  fruit is  an
oval,  acuminate,  compressed, two-valved, one-celled, yellow  capsule, con-
taining from eight to twelve  flat, elliptical seeds.
  The Frasera flourishes in  the southern and western portions of the United
States, and in many situations is very abundant, especially in Arkansas and
Missouri.   It prefers rich woodlands and moist meadows.  The period of
flowering is from May to July;  but the stem and flowers are produced only
in the third year, the radical leaves being the only part of the plant which
previously  appears above ground.  From this manner of growth it  is  in-
ferred, that the root should be collected in the autumn of the  second or the
spring of the third year. Before being dried, it should be cut into transverse
slices.
  As formerly found in the market, Frasera was  in pieces irregularly cir-
cular, an eighth  of an inch or more in thickness, about an inch in diameter,
somewhat shrunk in  the middle, consisting  of a central medullary matter
and an exterior  cortical portion, of a yellowish colour on the cut surfaces,
with  a light  reddish-brown  epidermis.   In appearance these pieces  bore
some resemblance to columbo, but were easily distinguishable by the greater
uniformity of their internal structure, the absence of concentric and radiating
lines, and their purer yellow colour without a greenish tinge.  The taste of
Frasera is bitter and sweetish.  Water and diluted  alcohol extract its virtues,
and the tincture  throws down a precipitate upon the addition of water, but is
not disturbed by tincture of galls; thus affording additional means of distin-
guishing the  root from columbo.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Frasera is a mild tonic, calculated to meet
the same indications with the other simple bitters.  It has been thought to
resemble columbo in medical properties as well as in appearance, and hence
has received  the popular name of American columbo; but experience has
not confirmed the high estimate which was at one time formed of its virtues;
and though, perhaps, still occasionally employed in some parts of the coun-
try, it has failed  to supplant the tonic of Mozambique.  It may be given in
powder or infusion.  The  dose of  the former is from thirty grains  to a
drachm,  that  of an infusion, made  in the proportion of an  ounce  of the
bruised root  to  a pint  of boiling water,  is one or two  fluidounces,  to  be
repeated several  times a day.
  The fresh root is said to operate as  an emetic  and  cathartic, and has
sometimes been  given with a view to the latter effect.               W.
30 
338
Galbanum.
PART I.
             GALBANUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                              Galbanum.

   " The concrete juice of an unknown plant." U. S.  " Galbanum offici-
 nale. Gummi-resina."  Lond.  "Concrete gummy-resinous juice of an im-
 perfectly ascertained umbelliferous plant, probably a species of Opoidia."
 Ed.   " Bubon Galbanum. Gummi-resina."  Dub.
   Galbanum, Fr.; Mutterharz, Germ.; Galbano, Ital., Span.
   It is not certainly known from  what plant galbanum is derived.   At one
 time it was supposed to be the product of the Bubon Galbanum, an umbel-
 liferous  plant,  growing on the eastern coast of Africa from Nubia to the
 Cape of Good Hope;—and this is still recognised as the source of it by the
 Dublin College.   It has also been referred to the Ferula ferulago of Lin-
 naeus, the Ferula galbanifera of Lobel, which inhabits the coasts of the Medi-
 terranean, and is found also in Transylvania and the Caucasus.  But no part
 of either of these plants possesses  the odour of galbanum; and it is, therefore,
 scarcely probable  that they yield the drug.   Mr.  Don, having found the
 seeds taken from a parcel of  galbanum  to belong to an undescribed genus
 of umbelliferous plants, and concluding that they came from the same source
 as the  gum-resin itself, gave the  title of Galbanum to the  new genus, and
 named  the  species Galbanum officinale.   This has been rather  hastily
 adopted by the London College; as it is by no means certain, however pro-
 bable it may be, that the same plant produced the seeds and the gum-resin.
 Specimens of a plant were recently sent to England  by Sir John M'Neill,
 collected in 1838 near Durrood, in the Persian province of Chorassan.  The
 plant was supposed to yield  a variety of ammoniac, and portions of a pale
 yellow gum-resin were  adhering  to the specimens  received.   Dr. Lindley
 ascertained that the plant belonged  to an undescribed genus,  which he
 named  Opoidia, and, under the impression that the adhering concrete juice
 was identical with galbanum, designated the  particular species O. galbani-
fera.  Dr. Pereira, however, found the substance  to be  unlike galbanum
 or any other product  of the Umbelliferae.   This supposed  origin  of the
 drug, therefore, though  admitted  as probable by the Edinburgh College,
 must be considered as  more than doubtful.  In  this state of uncertainty,
 it is scarcely necessary to describe particularly any one of the plants re-
 ferred  to.
   Galbanum is said to be obtained  from the plant by making incisions into
 the stem, or  cutting it off a short distance above the root.  A cream-coloured
 juice exudes, which concretes upon exposure to the air.   A small portion
 of juice also exudes spontaneously from the joints, and hardens in the shape
 of tears.  The drug is brought from the Levant, and, according to Lindley,
 also from India.
   Properties.   The form in which  galbanum usually appears is  that of
 masses, composed of whitish, reddish, or yellowish tears, irregularly agglu-
 tinated by  a darker coloured  yellowish-brown, or greenish  substance, more
 or less translucent, and generally mixed with pieces of stalk, seeds, orother
 foreign matters.  It is also found, though very rarely, if at all, in our mar-
 kets, in the state of distinct, roundish tears, about as large as a pea,  of a
 yellowish-white or pale  brownish-yellow colour, shining externally as if
 varnished,  and often adhering together.  Galbanum has in cool weather the
 consistence of firm wax; but softens  in summer,  and by the heat of the 
PART I.
Galbanum.
339
hand is rendered ductile and adhesive.  At the temperature of boiling water
it is sufficiently liquid to admit of being strained;  and generally requires to
be strained before it can be used.   A dark brown or blackish colour, a con-
sistence always soft, the absence of whitish grains, and the intermixture of
earthy impurities, are signs of inferiority.
  The odour of galbanum  is peculiar and disagreeable, but not alliaceous
like that of sagapenum.   Its taste is bitterish, warm, and acrid.  Its specific
gravity is 1*212.   When triturated with water it forms an imperfect milky
solution, which upon standing deposits  the  greater portion of what was
taken up.  Wine and vinegar act upon it  in a similar manner.  Alcohol dis-
solves a considerable proportion, forming a yellow tincture,  which has the
smell and taste of galbanum, and  becomes milky by the addition of water,
but affords  no precipitate.   In dilute  alcohol it  is  wholly  soluble,  with
the exception  of impurities.  One hundred parts of it yielded to Pelletier
66*86  parts of resin, 19*28 of gum,  6*34 of volatile  oil  including the loss,
7*52 of wood  and  impurities, with traces of the  supermalate of lime.  A
small proportion of bassorin was  also found  by Meissner.  The medicine
is, therefore, entitled to rank with the  gum-resins.   By distillation  at the
temperature of about 250°  F., the essential oil is obtained of a fine indigo
blue colour, which it imparts to  alcohol.   Procured by distillation  with
water, it is colourless, and  becomes yellowish by age.    It is lighter than
water.
  According to Ludewig, a gum-resin, designated as Persian galbanum, is
received  in Russia by the way of Astracan and Orenburg, and is the kind
used in that country.   It comes  enclosed in skins,  and is in masses of a
reddish-brown colour with whitish  streaks, of a  disagreeable odour some-
what like that of assafetida, and of an unpleasant, bitter, resinous taste.  It
is so soft as to melt with a slight  elevation of temperature.  It differs from
common galbanum in its odour, in its  colour which is never greenish, and
in the absence of tears,  and is probably derived from a  different plant.  It
abounds in impurities.  (Journ. de Pharm. N. S. i. 117.)
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Galbanum is stimulant, expectorant, and
antispasmodic; and may be considered as intermediate  in power between
ammoniac and assafetida.   It is, however, much less employed than  either
of these gum-resins, and in the United States is seldom or never prescribed
internally.  The complaints to which  it was formerly thought applicable,
were chiefly chronic affections of the bronchial mucous membrane, amenor-
rhoea,  and chronic rheumatism.  It is occasionally applied externally  in the
shape of plaster to indolent swellings, with the view of promoting resolution
or suppuration.   Galbanum was known to the ancients.   The dose is from
ten to twenty grains, and may be given in  pill, or triturated with gum Arabic,
sugar, and water, so as  to form an emulsion.
   Off. Prep.  Emplastrum Assafcetidae, U. S., Ed.;  Emplastrum Galbani,
Dub.; Emplastrum Galbani Compositum, U. S., Lond.;  Emplastrum  Gum-
mosum, Ed.;  Pilulae Galbani Compositae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinc-
tura Galbani,  Dub.                                               W. 
340
Galla.
PART I.
                          GALLA.  U.S.

                                Galls.

   " Morbid excrescences upon Quercus infectoria."  U. S.
   Off. Syn. GALLvE. Quercus infectoria. Gemmae morbidae. Lond. GAL-
 LAE. Excrescences of Quercus infectoria, formed by Diplolepis Gallae tinc-
 torum.  Ed.; GALLVE. QUERCUS INFECTORIA. Dub.
   Noix de galle, Fr.; Gallapfel, Germ.; Galla, Ital; Agallas de  Levante, Span.
   Many vegetables when  pierced  by certain insects, particularly those of
 the genus  Cynips, are affected  at the  points of puncture with a morbid
 action, resulting in the production of excrescences, which, as they are de-
 rived from the proper juices of the plant, partake more or less of its predo-
 minant chemical character.   Most species of oak are susceptible of this  kind
 of action; and the resulting excrescences, having in a high degree the astrin-
 gency of the plant on which they grow, have  been  employed for various
 practical purposes.   They are known by the name of galls, a term which,
 as well  as their employment in medicine, has been handed down to  us from
 the ancients.  The Quercus infectoria, Q. AEgilops,  Q. excelsa, Q. Bex,
 Q. Cerris,  and Q. Robur, have all been particularized as occasionally afford-
 ing this  product; but it is  now  generally admitted, upon the authority of
 Olivier, that the officinal galls are derived chiefly, if not exclusively, from
 the Q. infectoria, and this is recognised as their source in the Pharmacopoeias
 of the United States  and Great Britain.
   Quercus. See QUERCUS ALBA.
   Quercus infectoria. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 436; Olivier, Voy. Or. t. 14 et
 15.   The dyers' oak is a small tree or shrub, with a crooked stem, seldom
 exceeding six feet in height.   The leaves are obtusely toothed, smooth, of
 a bright green colour on both sides, and stand on short footstalks.   The
 acorn is elongated, smooth, two or three times longer than the cup, which
 is sessile, somewhat  downy, and scaly.   This  species of Quercus grows,
 according to Olivier, throughout Asia Minor, from the Archipelago to the
 confines of Persia.   Captain M.  Kinneir found it also in  Armenia and
 Kurdistan; General Hardwicke observed it growing in the neighbourhood of
 Adwanie; and it probably pervades the middle latitudes of Asia.
   The gall originates from the puncture of  the Cynips quercusfolii of Lin-
 naeus, the Diplolepis Gallae tinctoriae of Geoffroy, a hymenopterous insect
 or fly,  with a fawn-coloured  body,  dark antennae, and upper part of its
 abdomen shining brown.  The insect pierces the shoots and young boughs,
 and deposits its  egg  in the wound.  This irritates the vessels of the part,
 and a small tumour very speedily rises,  which appears  to be the result  of a
 morbid  secretion, and upon examination by the microscope exhibits no signs
 of proper vegetable fibre.   The  egg grows with  the gall, and is soon con-
 verted into a larva, which feeds  upon the vegetable  matter by which it is
 surrounded, and  thus forms a cavity in the centre of the tumour.  The insect
 at length assumes the form of a fly, and escapes by eating its way out of the
 excrescence.  The galls are in perfection when they have attained their full
 size, and before the egg has been hatched, or the fly has escaped.  Collected
 at  this  period,  they  are called, from  their  dark colour, blue, or green, or
black galls, and are most highly esteemed.  Those which are gathered later,
 and which  have  been injured by the insect, are called white galls.   They
are usually larger, less heavy and compact,  and of a lighter colour than the
former;  and are considered much inferior. 
PART I.
Galla.
341
   The galls collected in Syria and Asia Minor are brought to this country
chiefly from the ports of Smyrna and Trieste.  As they are produced abun-
dantly in the vicinity of Aleppo, it has been customary to designate them by
the name of that city; though the designation, however  correct it may for-
merly have been, is  now wholly inapplicable, as  they are obtained from
many other places, and the produce of different parts of Asiatic Turkey is
not capable of being discriminated,  at least in our markets.   Great quanti-
ties of galls very closely resembling those from the Mediterranean have been
brought to the United States from Calcutta.  Whether they are the produce
of Hindostan, or taken thither from  other countries, we are unable to decide
with certainty.   Ainslie is inclined  to think that most of the galls found in
the markets of India are imported from Persia by the Arab merchants.  We
are, nevertheless, informed  that they are  among the  products of Moultan.
The galls of France and other southern countries of Europe have a smooth,
shining, reddish surface, are little esteemed, and are seldom or never brought
to the United Slates.
   Properties.   Galls are nearly round, from the size of a pea to that of a
very large cherry, with a surface usually studded with small tuberosities, in
the intervals of which it is smooth.  The best are externally of a dark bluish
or lead colour, sometimes with a greenish tinge, internally whitish or brown-
ish, hard, solid, brittle, with a flinty fracture, a striated texture, and a small
spot or cavity in the centre,  indicating the presence of  the undeveloped or
decayed insect.   Their powder  is of a light yellowish-gray.   Those of an
inferior quality are of a lighter colour, sometimes reddish or nearly white, of
a loose texture, with a large cavity in the  centre, communicating externally
by a small hole  through which  the fly has escaped.  Galls are inodorous,
and have  a bitter very astringent taste.   From 500 parts Sir H. Davy  ob-
tained 185 parts of mattersoluble in water, of which, according to his analysis,
130 were tannin, 31 gallic acid with a little extractive, 12 mucilage and mat-
ter rendered insoluble by evaporation, and 12 saline  matter and calcareous
earth.  Other chemists have found  a larger proportion of tannin and gallic
acid.  Braconnot discovered  the presence of a small quantity of another acid,
to which he gave the name ellagic, derived from galle, the French name for
galls, by reversing the order of the letters.  According to M. Pelouse, how-
ever,  neither gallic nor ellagic acid pre-exists in galls, being formed by  the
reaction of atmospheric oxygen upon their tannin.  (Journ. de Pharm. xx.
359.)  Galls also yielded to Professor  Branchi, by distillation with water,
a concrete volatile oil.   All  their soluble  matter is  taken up by forty times
their  weight of boiling water, and the residue is tasteless:  alcohol dissolves
seven parts in ten, ether five parts.  (Thomson's Dispensatory.)   A satu-
rated  decoction of galls deposits  upon cooling a copious pale-yellow pre-
cipitate.   The infusion or  tincture  affords precipitates with sulphuric and
muriatic acids, lime-water, carbonate of ammonia, and carbonate of potassa;
with solutions of acetate and subacetate of lead, the sulphates of copper and
iron, the nitrates of silver and mercury, and tartrate of antimony and potassa;
with the infusions of Peruvian bark, columbo, opium, and many other vege-
tables, especially those containing proximate alkaline principles, with most
of which tannin forms insoluble  compounds.   The  solution of gelatin also
produces a precipitate.  The infusion of galls reddens litmus paper, is ren-
dered orange by nitric acid,  milky by the corrosive chloride of mercury, and
has its own colour deepened by ammonia; but throws down no precipitate
with either of these reagents.  Sulphate of zinc is said by Dr. A. T. Thom-
son to occasion a slow precipitate, but this result was not  obtained by Dr.
Duncan.
                                  30* 
342
Galla.—Gambogia.
part i.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  As might be inferred from the quantity of
tannin they contain, galls are powerfully astringent.  They are little em-
ployed as an internal remedy, though occasionally prescribed in chronic
diarrhoea.   They have  been recommended as an antidote  to tartar emetic,
and those vegetable poisons which  depend for  their  activity upon organic
alkalies; but, though  the insoluble compounds which these principles form
with galls  are probably  less active than their soluble native compounds, they
cannot be considered  as inert.  In the form of  infusion  or decoction, galls
may be advantageously used as an  astringent  gargle, lotion, or  injection;
and, mixed with simple ointment, in the  proportion of one part of galls, in
very fine powder, to eight parts of the unguent, they are frequently applied
to the anus and  rectum  in hemorrhoidal affections.   The dose  of powdered
galls is from ten to twenty grains, to be repeated several times  a day.
  Off. Prep. Acidum Tannicum,  U. S.; Tinctura Gallae, U. S.,  Lond., Ed.,
Dub.; Unguentum Gallae, U. S., Dub.;  Unguentum Gallae Compositum,
Lond., Ed.                                                      W.

                      GAMBOGIA.  U.S.

                             Gamboge.

  " The concrete juice of an uncertain tree." U. S.
  Off. Syn.  CAMBOGIA.  Stalagmitis Cambogioides.   Gummi-resina.
Lond.; CAMBOGIA (Siamensis).  Gum-resin from  an  unascertained plant
inhabiting Siam, probably a species of Hebradendron. CAMBOGIA (Zey-
lanica). Gummy-resinous exudation of  Hebradendron cambogioides. Ed.;
GAMBOGIA.  STALAGMITIS CAMBOGIA. Dub.
  Gomme gutte, Fi.;  Gummigutt, Germ.; Gomma-gnttu, Ital.; Gutta gamba, Span.
  Several plants belonging to the natural family of the Guttiferae, growing
in the equatorial regions, yield on  incision a yellow opaque juice, which
hardens on exposure  to the air, and bears a close resemblance  to gamboge;
but it is not certainly known from which of these plants the officinal gum-
resin is procured.   Until recently,  the  United States  and all the  British
Pharmacopoeias acribed it to the Stalagmitis Cambogioides.  This  genus
and species were established by Murray of Gb'ttingen, in  1788, from dried
specimens belonging  to Konig, procured  in the island of Ceylon;  and from
information derived from the same  source, it was conjectured by Murray
that the tree yielded not only the gamboge of Ceylon, but that also collect-
ed in Siam.   It was  on this authority that the  British  Colleges made  the
reference alluded to.   But it has been ascertained by Dr. Graham, of Edin-
burgh, that  there is  no such plant as the Stalagmitis  Cambogioides;  the
description of Murray  having been  drawn up  from  accidentally conjoined
specimens of two distinct trees belonging  to different genera.   By several
botanists the gum-resin has been ascribed  to the Garcinia Cambogia, also
a tree of  Ceylon  belonging to  the family  of Guttiferae, and yielding a
yellowish, concrete  juice;  but  a  specimen of the  product  of  this tree
sent to Edinburgh was found by Dr. Christison to be different from gam-
boge both in composition and appearance, being of a pale lemon-yellow
colour.  Thus  it appears that neither of  these references is  correct; and
besides, the important  fact seems to have  been overlooked, that commer-
cial  gamboge is never obtained  from  Ceylon, but exclusively from Siam
and  Cochin-china.   It is true that  a gum-resin from Ceylon  has recently
been examined, and found similar in composition to the gamboge of com-
merce; that the tree which produced it, having been ascertained by Dr. 
PART I.
Gambogia.
343
Graham  to belong to a new genus, has been named by him Hebraden-
dron  Cambogioides, and is  one of the  two confounded by  Murray in his
Stalagmitis; and that  the Edinburgh College,  in the last edition of their
Pharmacopoeia, has adopted this Ceylon gamboge as officinal.  But, as this
variety is never found in commerce, and exists  only in the cabinets of the
curious, it scarcely seems worthy of a place in an officinal  catalogue; and
though, from its resemblance to the Siam gum-resin, the two may possibly be
derived from  the same or closely analogous plants, yet the fact is not proved;
and it would  be altogether premature at present to ascribe the latter to this
or any other species of Hebradendron.
   On the whole, therefore, it must be admitted that we are uncertain, not only
as to the precise tree  which affords the officinal gamboge, but  also whether
it is derived from any  one tree exclusively, or from several.   In this uncer-
tainty, it seems hardly necessary to crowd our pages with botanical descrip-
tions, which may possibly have no relation to the subject.
   Gamboge is collected in Siam and  Cochin-china.  Similar  products are
obtained in Ceylon; but they do not appear to be sent out of the island.
Milburn  does not  mention gamboge among the exports.   The tree  from
which it is obtained in Siam has not been examined by any botanist.  It is
said to be procured by breaking off the leaves and young shoots, from which
the juice issues in  drops, and being received in suitable vessels gradually
thickens, and at length becomes solid.  When  it has attained the requisite
consistence, it is rolled into cylinders, and wrapped in leaves.  The juice is
sometimes received into the hollow joints of the  bamboo, which  give it a
cylindrical form; and,  as it contracts during the process of solidification, the
cylinder is often hollow in the centre.  The name gummi gutta, by which
it is generally known  on the continent of Europe, probably originated from
the circumstance that the juice escapes from  the plant by drops.  The offi-
cinal title was undoubtedly derived  from the province of Cambodia, in which
the gum-resin is collected.  It was first brought to  Europe  by the Dutch
about the middle of the seventeenth century.
   We import gamboge from Canton and Calcutta, whither it is carried  by
the native or resident merchants.    There is  no difference in the appearance
or character of the drug as brought from these two ports—an evidence that it
is originally derived from the  same place.
   Varieties.   The best gamboge is in cylindrical rolls, from one to  three
inches in diameter, sometimes hollow in the centre, sometimes  flattened,
often folded double, or agglutinated in masses in which the original form is
not always readily distinguishable. The pieces sometimes appear as if rolled,
but are in general striated longitudinally from the impression made by the
inner surface  of the bamboo.  They are externally of a dull orange colour,
which is occasionally displaced by greenish stains, or concealed by the bright
yellow powder of the drug, which slightly adheres to the surface.   In this
form the drug is sometimes called pipe gamboge.  Another  variety is im-
ported under  the name of cake or lump gamboge.   It is in irregular masses
weighing two or three pounds or more, often mixed with sticks and  other
impurities,  containing many air-cells, less dense, less  uniform in texture,
and less brittle, than the former variety, and breaking with a dull and splin-
tery, instead of a shining and conchoidal fracture.   The  worst specimens
of this variety, as well as of  the cylindrical, are sometimes called by the
London druggists coarse gamboge.  They differ, however, from the pre-
ceding, only in containing a greater amount of impurities.  Indeed, it would
appear, from  the experiments of  Christison,  that  all the commercial varie-
ties of this drug have a common origin, and that cake or lump gamboge 
344
Gambogia.
PART I.
 differs from that which comes in the cylindrical form, only from the circum-
 stance that the latter is the pure concrete juice of  the  plant, while, in the
 former, farinaceous matter and other impurities have been mixed with the
 pure juice for the purpose of adulteration.   The inferior kinds of gamboge
 may be known by their greater hardness and coarser fracture; the brownish
 or grayish colour of their broken surface, which is often marked with black
 spots; by their  obvious impurities; and by the green  colour  which  their
 decoction, after having been cooled, gives  with tincture of iodine.  When
 pure, the gum-resin is completely dissolved by the successive action of ether
 and water.*
   Properties.   Gamboge, in its pure form, is brittle, with a smooth, con-
 choidal, shining fracture; and the fragments are slightly translucent at their
 edges.  The colour of the mass when broken is a  uniform reddish-orange,
 which becomes a beautiful bright yellow in the powder, or when the sur-
 face is rubbed with water.  From  the  brilliancy of its  colour, gamboge is
 highly esteemed  as a pigment.  It  has  no  smell, and little taste; but after
 remaining a  short time in the mouth produces an acrid  sensation  in  the
 fauces.  Its sp. gr. is 1*221.  Exposed to heat it burns  with a white flame,
 emitting much smoke, and leaving  a light  spongy  charcoal.  It is a gum-
 resin,  and, unlike most other substances  of  the same class,  contains no
 essential oil.   In  100 parts  of it  Braconnot found 19*5 parts of gum, 0*5
 of impurities, and 80 of a red, insipid, transparent  resinous substance, be-
 coming yellow by pulverization, and  supposed to consist of resin united
 with a yellow colouring principle.  John obtained 10-5 per cent, of gum,
 89 of resin, and 0*5 of impurities.  Christison has shown that the propor-
 tion of gum and resin varies in different specimens  even of the purest drug.
 His results approach nearly to those  of Braconnot.   In  one experiment,
 out of 100*8  parts he obtained 74*2 of resin, 21*8 of gum, and 4-8 of water.
 The gum is quite soluble in water  and of the variety denominated arabin.
 In a specimen  of cake gamboge he found 11*2 per cent,  of fecula and lig-
 nin, and in a very bad sample of coarse gamboge, no less than 41 per cent.
 of the same  impurities.  (Am. Journ. of Pharm.  ix. 133.)  Gamboge is
 readily and entirely diffusible in water, forming a yellow  opaque emulsion,
 from which the resinous matter is very slowly deposited.  It is dissolved by
 alcohol, with the exception of about 8 or 10 per cent, of gum; and a golden
 yellow tincture results, which is rendered opaque and bright yellow by the
 addition of water.  Its solution in  ammoniated alcohol  is not disturbed by
 water.  Sulphuric ether dissolves about four-fifths of it, taking up only the
 resin, which  is obtained by the evaporation of the ethereal solution.  It is
 wholly taken up  by alkaline solutions, from which it is partially precipitated
 by the acids.   The strong acids dissolve it; but the solution when diluted
 with water deposits  a yellow  precipitate.    The  colour as well as the
 acrimony and medicinal power of gamboge reside in the  resinous portion;
 but, as pure resins are usually destitute of these properties, it is not improba-
 ble that they may belong to a distinct principle not  yet  separated from  the

  * Ceylon gamboge, derived from the Hebradendron  Cambogioides of Graham (Cambo-
gia gutta, Linn., Garcinia Morella, De Cand.) is procured by incisions, or by cutting
 away a portion of the bark, and scraping off the juice which exudes. The specimens
 sent  to Dr. Christison are in flattish or round masses, eight or nine inches  in diameter,
 apparently composed of aggregated irregular tears, with cavities  which are lined with
 a grayish and brownish powdery incrustation.   Its general aspect is that of coarse gam-
 boge, but the individual tears have the characters of the best kind, and its chemical com-
 position is identical. It is used as a pigment and purgative in Ceylon, but is not an article
 of commerce.  (Christison^ Dispensatory.) 
PART I.
Gambogia.—Gaultheria.
345
resin.   So intense  is the colour of the resin that one  part of it commu-
nicated a perceptible yellowness to ten thousand parts  of water or spirit.
It has the acid property of combining with salifiable bases, and hence has
been called gambogic acid.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.  Gamboge is a powerful, drastic, hydra-
gogue cathartic, very apt to produce nausea and vomiting when given in the
full dose.  In large quantities it is capable of producing fatal effects, and
death has  resulted  from a drachm.   It is much employed in the treatment
of dropsy  attended  with torpid bowels, generally in combination with  the
bitartrate of potassa or jalap.  It is also prescribed in cases  of obstinate
constipation, and has frequently been found effectual in the expulsion of the
tapeworm.  It is often combined  with other and milder cathartics, the action
of which it promotes and accelerates, while its own  is moderated.  The
full dose is from two to six grains, which in cases of taenia has been raised
to ten or fifteen grains.  As it is  apt to occasion much sickness and griping,
the best plan, under ordinary circumstances, is to give it in small doses re-
peated at short intervals till it operates.  It may be given  in pill or emulsion,
or dissolved in an alkaline solution.  The last method of administration has
been recommended  in dropsical complaints.
   Off. Prep. Pilulae Catharticae Compositae, U. S.; Pilulae Gambogiae Com-
positae, Dub.,  Lond., Ed.                                        W.

                     GAULTHERIA.  US.

                          Partridge-berry.

   " The leaves of Gaultheria procumbens."  U.  S.
   Gaultheria. Sex. Syst.  Decandria Monogynia.—Nat.  Ord.  Ericaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft, bibracteate at the base.  Corolla ovate.  Cap-
sule five-celled, invested with the berried calyx.  Pursh.
   Gaultheria procumbens. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 616; Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. ii. 27; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 171. This is a small,  indigenous, shrub-
by, evergreen plant, with a long, creeping horizontal root, which sends up
at intervals one and sometimes  two erect, slender, round, reddish stems.
These are  naked below, leafy at the summit,  and usually less  than a span
in height.   The leaves are  ovate  or obovate, acute, revolute at the edges
with a few mucronate serratures, coriaceous, shining, bright green upon the
upper surface, paler beneath, of unequal size, and supported irregularly on
short red petioles.  The flowers, of which not more than from three to five
are usually found upon each stem, stand on curved, drooping, axillary pe-
duncles.   The calyx is white, five-toothed, and  furnished at its base with
two  concave cordate bractes, which are by some authors  described as an
outer calyx.   The  corolla is white, ovate or urceolate, contracted at its
mouth,  and divided  at its border into five small acute segments.  The sta-
mens consist  of curved,  plumose filaments,  and  oblong orange-coloured
anthers, opening on the outside.  The germ, which rests upon a ring hav-
ing ten teeth alternating with the ten stamens, is roundish, depressed, and
surmounted by an erect filiform style, terminating in an obtuse stigma. The
fruit is a small, five-celled, many-seeded capsule, enclosed in a fleshy cover-
ing, formed by the enlarged calyx, and presenting the appearance of a bright
scarlet berry.
  The  plant extends from Canada to Georgia, growing in large beds in
mountainous tracts,  or in dry barrens and sandy plains, beneath the shade of
shrubs and  trees, particularly of other evergreens, as the Kalmiae and Rho- 
346
Gaultheria.—Gentiana.
PART I.
dodendra.  It is abundant in the pine barrens of New Jersey.  In different
parts of the country, it is known by the various names of partridge-berry,
deer-berry, tea-berry, winter-green, and mountain-tea.  The flowers appear
from May to September, and  the fruit  ripens at corresponding periods.
Though the leaves only are officinal, all parts of the plant are endowed with
the  peculiar  flavour  for which  these are employed, and which is found in
several other plants, particularly in the bark of the Betula  lenta, or sweet
birch. The fruit possesses it in a high degree, and, being at the  same time
sweetish, is much relished by some persons, and forms a favourite article of
food with  partridges, deer, and  other wild animals.
  To  the very peculiar and agreeably  aromatic odour and  taste  which  be-
long to the whole plant, the leaves  add  a marked astringency, dependent on
the presence of tannin.  The aromatic properties reside in a volatile oil,
which may be separated by distillation. (See Oleum Gaultheriee.)
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Gaultheria has the usual stimulant ope-
ration  of the aromatics, united with astringency; and may, therefore, be
used with advantage in some forms of  chronic diarrhosa.   Like  other sub-
stances of the same class, it has been employed  as an emmenagogue, and
with  the view of increasing the secretion of milk;  but its  chief use is to
impart an  agreeable flavour to mixtures and other preparations.   It may be
conveniently  administered in the form of infusion, which in some parts of
the country is not unfrequently used at the table as a substitute for common
tea.   The oil,  however, is more used  in regular  practice than the leaves.
Instances of death are on record, resulting from the use of  the oil, by mis-
take, in the  quantity of about a fluidounce.   On  examination after death,
strong marks of inflammation of the stomach were discovered.  (Journ. of
Phil. Col. of Pharm, vi. 290.)
  Off. Prep.  Oleum Gaultheriae.  U. S.                           W.
                GENTIANA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                              Gentian.

  "The root of Gentiana lutea." U. S., Ed.  " Gentiana lutea. Radix"
Lond.
  Off. Syn. GENTIANA LUTEA. Radix. Dub.
  Gentiane jaune, Fr.; Rother Fnzian, Germ.; Genziana, Ital.; Genciana, Span.
  Gentiana.  Sex. Syst.  Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Corolla one-petalled. Capsule two-valved, one-celled, with two
longitudinal receptacles. Willd.
  Gentiana lutea. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1331; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 273.
t. 95.   Yellow gentian is among the most remarkable of the species which
compose this genus both for its beauty and great comparative size.   From
its thick, long, branching,  perennial root, an erect, round stem rises to the
height of three or four feet, bearing opposite, sessile, oval, acute, five-nerved
leaves, of a bright-green colour, and somewhat glaucous.  The lower leaves,
which spring from the root, are narrowed at  their base into the form of a
petiole.  The flowers are large and beautiful, of a yellow colour, peduncled,
and placed in whorls at the axils of the upper leaves.  The calyx is mono-
phyllous, membranous, yellowish, and semi-transparent, splitting when the
flower opens, and reflected when it is fully  expanded;  the  corolla is rotate,
and deeply divided into five or six lanceolate, acute segments;  the stamens
are five or six and shorter than  the corolla.  This plant grows among the 
PART I.
Gentiana.
347
Appenines, the Alps, the Pyrenees, and in other mountainous or elevated
regions of Europe.   Its root is the only part used in medicine.
  Several other species of the genus possess analogous medicinal properties,
and are used for similar purposes.   The roots of the G. purpurea and G.
punctata, growing in the same regions as the  G. lutea, and of the G. Pan-
nonica, growing in the Austrian dominions, are  said to be frequently min-
gled with the officinal gentian, from which they are scarcely distinguishable.
The G. macrophylla of Pallas is used in Siberia; and  one indigenous spe-
cies, the G. Catesbsei, has found a place in the secondary catalogue of the
U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
  Gentian is imported from Germany.
  Properties.  As found in  the shops, it is in  pieces of various dimensions
and shape, usually of considerable length, consisting sometimes of longitu-
dinal slices,  sometimes of the root cut transversely, twisted, wrinkled exter-
nally, sometimes  marked with close  transverse  rings, of a grayish-brown
colour on the outside, yellowish or reddish within,  and of a soft  spongy
texture.  The odour is feeble, but decided and peculiar.  The taste is slightly
sweetish, and intensely bitter,  without being nauseous.   The  powder is  of
a yellowish  colour.  Water  and alcohol extract the taste and medical virtues
of the root.   Examined by MM. Henry and Caventou, it was found to con-
tain, 1. a peculiar crystallizable principle which they supposed  to be the
chief active  ingredient of the root, and, therefore, named gentianin, 2. a
volatile odorous principle, 3.  a substance identical with birdlime (glu),  4.
a greenish fixed oil, 5. a free organic acid, 6. uncrystallizable sugar, 7. gum,
8. yellow colouring matter, and 9. lignin.  Mr. Denis has since detected
in the  root the existence of pectic acid; and  the gentianin of Henry and
Caventou has been proved by  Trommsdorff and  by M. Leconte to be, when
quite pure, wholly destitute  both of bitterness and of medicinal power; so
that it would appear no longer to merit the name which it bears.  M. Leconte
proposes, accordingly, to call it gentisin;  and, as it possesses the property
of neutralizing the alkalies, it has received also the name of gentisic acid.
It is obtained by treating the alcoholic extract of gentian previously ex-
hausted by water, with sulphuric ether, filtering the  ethereal  solution, and
allowing it  to evaporate spontaneously.  It  is  in needleshaped  crystals,
pale yellow, insoluble  in water and soluble in alcohol.  The same chemist
believes that he has ascertained the birdlime or glu of Henry and  Caventou
to be a mixture of wax, oil,  and caoutchouc.  When  distilled with water,
gentian yields a  minute proportion of a concrete oil,  which has a strong
odour of the root.  Professor  Dulk of Konigsberg gives the following pro-
cess for isolating  the bitter principle.   The alcoholic  extract is macerated
in water, and the solution, having been subjected to the vinous fermentation
in order to separate the sugar, is treated first with acetate of lead,  and then,
after filtration, with subacetate of lead  and a very little ammonia, in order  to
precipitate the combination of the vegetable principle with oxide of lead; care
being taken  not to use too much ammonia,  lest by its stronger basic powers
it should separate the vegetable  principle from the oxide.  The precipitate
thus obtained is washed with a little water, then  mixed with a  large propor-
tion of the same fluid, and decomposed by hydrosulphuric acid. The liquid
having been filtered, is evaporated with a gentle heat to dryness, and the resi-
due treated with alcohol of 0*820.   The alcoholic solution being evaporated
yields  the bitter principle, which ought to receive the name of gentianin.
It is a brownish-yellow, uncrystallizable substance, having in a high degree
the bitter taste of the  root.   It is almost insoluble in absolute alcohol, but
soluble in ordinary alcohol, and very soluble  in water.  It reddens litmus, 
 348               Gentiana.—Gentiana Catesbsei.           part i.

 and appears to possess  acid  properties.  (Journ. de Pharm.  xxiv. 638.)
 When gentian is macerated in cold water, it undergoes the vinous fermenta-
 tion, in consequence, probably, of the presence of its saccharine principle.
 From the fermented infusion a spirituous liquor is obtained by distillation,
 which,  though bitter and unpleasant to  the smell, is much relished by the
 Swiss and Tyrolese.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Gentian possesses, in a high degree, the
 tonic powers which characterize the simple bitters.   It excites the appetite,
 invigorates the powers of digestion, moderately increases the temperature
 of the body and the force of the circulation, and  acts in  fact as a general
 corroborant of the system.  In very large doses, however, it is apt to load
 and oppress the stomach, to irritate the bowels, and even to occasion nausea
 and vomiting.   It has been known as a medicine from the highest antiquity,
 and is said to have derived  its name from Gentius, a king of Illyria.  Many
 of the complex preparations  handed down from  the Greeks and Arabians
 contain  it among  their ingredients; and it enters into  most of the stomachic
 combinations employed in modern practice.  It may  be used in all cases of
 disease  dependent on pure debility of the digestive  organs, or requiring a
 general  tonic impression.  Dyspepsia, gout, amenorrhcea, hysteria, scrofula,
 intermittent fever, diarrhoea, and worms, are among the many forms of disease
 in which it has proved useful; but it is the condition  of the stomach and of
 the system generally, not the  name of the disease, which must be taken into
 consideration in prescribing it, and  there is scarcely a single complaint in
 which it can be advantageously administered under all circumstances.   Its
 powder has been  applied externally to malignant and sloughing ulcers.   It
 is usually given in the form of infusion or tincture. The dose of the powder
 is from  ten to  forty grains.
   Off.Prep. Extractum Gentianae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Infusum Gen-
 tianae Compositum, U.S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Tinctura  Gentianae Comp.
 U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinctura Rhei et Gentianae, U. S., Ed.; Vinum
 Gentianae Compositum, Ed.                                      W.

        GENTIANA  CATESB^I.  U.S.  Secondary.

                           Blue Gentian.

  " The root of Gentiana Catesbaei."  U. S.
  Gentiana.   See GENTIANA.
  Several indigenous species of gentian approach more or less nearly to
 the Gentiana  lutea in the  bitterness and medicinal virtues of their roots;
 but the  G. Catesbaei,  which resembles it most closely in  these respects, is
 the only one which has attracted the particular attention of the medical pro-
 fession.
  Gentiana Catesbaei. Walter, Flor. Car. 109;  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
 ii. 137;  Nuttall, Gen. of Am. Plants, i.  172.  The blue gentian has a peren-
 nial, branching,  somewhat fleshy root,  and a simple, erect, rough stem,
rising eight or ten inches in height, and  bearing opposite leaves, which are
 ovate lanceolate, acute, and rough on their margin.  The flowers, which are
 of a palish-blue colour, are crowded, nearly sessile,  axillary and terminal.
 The divisions of  the calyx are linear lanceolate, and longer than the tube.
 The corolla is large,  ventricose, plaited, and divided at its  border into ten
 segments, of which the five outer are more or less acute, the five inner bifid
 and fringed.   The number of stamens is five, and the two stigmas are seated
 on the germ.   The capsule is oblong,  acuminate, with two valves, and a
 single cell. 
 part i.      Gentiana Catesbaei.—Geoffroya Inermis.          349

   The  G. Catesbaei grows in the grassy swamps of North and South Caro-
 lina,  where  it flowers from  September to December.   It was named by
 Walter and Elliott in honour of Catesby,  by whom it was imperfectly de-
 lineated upwards of seventy years  ago.   Pursh confounds it  with the G.
 saponaria, to which it is nearly allied.
   Properties.  By Dr. Bigelow we  are told that the dried root of this plant
 has at first a mucilaginous and sweetish taste, which is soon succeeded by
 an intense bitterness, approaching  nearly to that of the officinal gentian.
 Alcohol and boiling water extract its virtues, and the tincture and decoction
 are even more bitter than the root in substance.   Blue gentian has not been
 satisfactorily analyzed.
   Medical Properties.  As  a medicine it  is little inferior to  the European
 gentian, and  may be employed  for similar purposes.  In the Northern and
 Middle  Slates it is not used;  but it is said  to be occasionally prescribed by
 the practitioners of the South in dyspepsia, and other cases of stomachic and
 general  debility.  It may be given in powder in the  dose of fifteen or thirty
 grains, and may be substituted for the foreign gentian in the  preparation of
 the officinal extract, infusion, wine, and tincture.                   W.

           GEOFFROYA INERMIS.  Cortex.  Dub.

                        Cabbage-tree Bark.

   Geoffroya de Jnmaique, Fr; Jamaicanische Wurmrinde, Germ.; GeofTrcen, Ital.
   The tree producing this bark was formerly placed in the genus Geoffroya,
 from  which, however, it  has been separated, and with a few  others erected
 into a distinct genus entitled Andira, which is now generally  admitted bv
 botanists.
   Andira   Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria.—Nat. Ord. Leguminosae or
 Fabaceae.
   Gen.  Ch. Calyx turbinate-campanulate,  five-toothed;  teeth nearly  equal,
 acute, erect.   Corolla papilionaceous; the vexillum roundish,  emarginate,
 longer than the  keel.  Stamens diadelphous.  Ovary with three ovules.
 Legume stipitate, roundish,  rather hard, one-celled, one-seeded, when ripe
 divisible into  two valves.  (De Cand.)
   Andira  inermis.  De  Cand. Prodrom. ii. 475.—Geoffroya inermis.
 Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1130;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 416. t. 151.   The stem
 of this tree, which rises to a considerable  height, is branched  towards the
 top, and covered with a smooth gray bark.  The leaves are pinnate, con-
 sisting of six or seven pairs of ovate lanceolate, pointed, veined, smooth,
 petiolate leaflets, with an odd one at the end.  The flowers are rose-coloured,
 and arranged  in terminal panicles, with very short pedicels.   The cabbage-
 tree is a native of Jamaica and other West India islands.  The bark  is the
 part used.
   On the  continent of Europe the bark of the Andira  retusa (Geoffroya
 Surinamensis),  which  grows in Surinam, has also been employed.   It is
 considered more powerfully  vermifuge, without being equally liable to pro-
 duce injurious effects.
   Cabbage-tree bark is in long pieces, thick, fibrous, externally of a brown-
 ish-ash colour, scaly and  covered with lichens,  internally yellowish, of a
resinous fracture, a disagreeable smell, a sweetish, mucilaginous, bitterish
taste,  and affording  a  powder  resembling that of jalap.  Huttenschmidt
obtained from it a crystallizable, very bitter substance, having the composi-
tion and neutralizing properties of the vegetable alkaloids, and named very
    31 
350              Geoffroya Inermis.—Geranium.          part i.

inappropriately jamaicina.   Two grains of it produced violent purging in
pigeons.
   The bark of the A. retusa has a grayish epidermis, beneath which it is
reddish-brown, laminated, compact,  very tenacious, and  when cut  trans-
versely exhibits a shining and variegated surface.   In the dried state it is
inodorous, but has an austere bitter taste.   The powder is of a pale cinna-
mon colour.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Cabbage-tree bark is cathartic, and in large
doses is apt to occasion vomiting, fever, and delirium.  It  is said that these
effects are more liable to result  if cold water is drunk during its operation,
and are relieved by the use of warm water, castor oil, or  a vegetable acid.
In the West Indies the bark  is esteemed a powerful vermifuge, and is  much
employed for expelling lumbrici; but it is dangerous if incautiously adminis-
tered, and instances of death from its use have occurred.  It is almost un-
known in this country, and does not enter into our officinal  catalogues.  The
usual form of administration is that, of decoction,  though the medicine is
also given in powder, syrup, and extract.  The dose of the powder is from
a scruple to half a drachm, of the extract three grains, of the decoction two
fluidounces.
   Off. Prep.  Decoctum Geoffroyae, Dub.                          W.

                       GERANIUM.  U.S.

                             Cranesbill.
   " The root of Geranium maculatum."  U. S.
   Geranium.   Sex. Syst.  Monadelphia Decandria.—Nat. Ord. Gerani-
aceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-leaved.  Corolla five petaled, regular. Nectary five
melliferous glands united to  the base of the longer  filaments.   Arilli five,
one-seeded, awned, at the base of a beaked receptacle; awns simple, naked,
neither spiral nor bearded. Willd.
   Geranium maculatum. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. 705; Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. i. 84; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 149.  This plant has a perennial, horizon-
tal, fleshy root, which is furnished with short fibres, and sends up annually
an herbaceous stem,  with several  radical leaves.   The stem is erect, round
dichotomously  branched, from  one  to  two feet high, of a grayish-green
colour, and thickly covered,  in common with the  petioles and peduncles,
with reflexed hairs.   The leaves are deeply divided into three, five, or seven
lobes, which are variously incised  at their extremities, hairy, and of a pale
green colour, mottled with still paler  spots.   Those which  rise immediately
from the root are supported  on footstalks eight or ten inches long; those of
the stem are opposite, the lower petiolate, the upper nearly sessile, with lan-
ceolate or linear stipules. The flowers are large, and usually of a purple
colour.   The  peduncles spring from the forks of the stem, and severally
support two flowers  upon short pedicels.   The  calyx is composed of five
oblong, ribbed, cuspidate leaves; the  petals  are five,  obovate, and entire; the
stamens ten, with oblong deciduous anthers, the five  alternate filaments
being longer than the others, and  having glands at  their base; the germ is
ovate, supporting a straight  style as long as the stamens, and surmounted
by five  stigmas.  The fruit  consists  of five aggregate, one-seeded capsules,
attached by a beak to the persistent style, curling up and scattering the seeds
when ripe.
   The  cranesbill is  indigenous, growing throughout  the United States, in 
PART I.
Geranium.— Geum.
351
moist woods, thickets and hedges, and generally in low grounds. It flowers
from May to July.  The root should be collected  in autumn.
  This, when dried, is in pieces from one to three inches long, from a quar-
ter to half an inch in thickness, somewhat flattened, contorted, wrinkled,
tuberculated,  and beset with slender fibres.   It is externally of an umber-
brown colour, internally reddish-gray, compact, inodorous, and  of an astrin-
gent taste, without bitterness or other unpleasant flavour.  Water and alcohol
extract its virtues.  Tannin is an abundant constituent.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Geranium  is  one of our most powerful
indigenous astringents, and may be employed for all the purposes to which
these medicines are applicable.   The absence of unpleasant taste and all
other offensive qualities, renders it peculiarly serviceable in the  cases of
infants,  or of persons with very delicate stomachs.  Diarrhoea,  chronic
dysentery, cholera infantum in the latter stages, and the various hemorrhages,
are the  forms  of disease in which it is  most commonly  used and with
greatest advantage;  but care should be taken,  before it is administered, that
the condition of the system and of the part affected is such as not to contra-
indicate the use of astringents.  As an application to indolent ulcers, an in-
jection in gleet and  leucorrhoea, a gargle  in  relaxation  of the uvula and
aphthous ulcerations of the throat, it answers the same purpose with kino,
catechu, and  other  foreign  remedies of similar character.   It is a popular
domestic remedy in various parts  of  the United States, and is said to be
employed by the Indians in numerous disorders.   It may be given in  sub-
stance, decoction, tincture, or extract.  The dose of the powder is twenty
or thirty grains, that of a decoction made by boiling an ounce of the root in
a pint and a  half of water to a pint, from one to  two fluidounces.   The
medicine is sometimes given to children boiled in milk.             W.

                    GEUM.  U.S.  Secondary.

                           Water Avens.

   " The root of Geum rivale."  U. S.
   Benoite uquitiqne, Fr.; Wiesen-Benediktenwurzel, Germ.
   Geum.  Sex. Syst.  Icosandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord.  Rosaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx ten-cleft. Petals five.   Seeds with a bent awn.  Willd.
   Several species belonging to this genus have been medicinally employed;
but two only are deserving of particular notice—the  Geum rivale, which
has a place in the secondary list  of the United States Pharmacopoeia, and
the G. urbanum, recognised by the Dublin College.
   Geum rivale.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1115; Engl. Bot. 106.   The water
avens has  a  perennial, horizontal, jointed, scaly, tapering  root, about six
inches long, of a reddish-brown colour externally, white internally, and fur-
nished with numerous descending yellowish fibres.  Sometimes one, some-
times several stems rise from the same root, which also sends up numerous
leaves. The stems are about a foot and a half high, simple, erect, pubescent,
and of a purplish colour.  The radical  leaves are interruptedly pinnate, with
large terminal leaflets, and stand on long, hairy footstalks;  those of the stem
are petiolate,  and divided into three serrate, pointed segments.  The flowers
are few, solitary, nodding, yellowish-purple, and  supported on  axillary and
terminal peduncles.  The colour of the stems and flowers has given rise to
the name of purple avens, by which  the plant is sometimes called.   The
calyx is inferior, with ten  lanceolate  pointed  segments, of which the  five
alternate are smaller than the others.   The petals are five, and  of the same 
352
Geum.—Geum Urbanum.
PART I.
length as the calyx. The seeds are oval, and furnished with plumose awns,
minutely uncinate, and nearly  naked at the summit.
   This species of Geum  is common to Europe and the United States;
though the  plant of this  country  has smaller flowers, with petals  more
rounded on the top, and leaves more deeply incised than the European.  It
delights in wet boggy meadows, and extends from Canada into New Eng-
land, New York, and Pennsylvania.  Its flowers  appear in June and July.
   The dried root is hard, brittle, easily pulverized, of a reddish or purplish
colour, without smell, and of an astringent, bitterish  taste.  Boiling  water
extracts its virtues.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Water avens is  tonic and  powerfully
astringent.   It  may be used with advantage in chronic or passive hemor-
rhages, leucorrhoea, and diarrhoea;  and is said  to be beneficially employed,
in the Eastern States, as a popular  remedy in the debility of phthisis pulmo-
nalis, in simple dyspepsia, and in visceral diseases consequent on disorder
of the stomach.  In Europe it is sometimes substituted for the root of the
common avens, or Geum urbanum, but is less  esteemed.   The dose of the
powdered  root is from a scruple to  a drachm, to be repeated three times a
day.  The decoction, which is usually preferred, may be  made by boiling
an ounce of  the root in a pint of water, and given in the quantity of one or
two fluidounces.  A weak decoction is sometimes  used by invalids in New
England as a substitute for tea and coffee.                         W.

              GEUM  URBANUM. Radix.  Dub.

                          Root  of Avens.

   Benoite, Fr.; Benedikfenwurzel, Germ.; Cariofillata, Ital.; Cariofilata, Span.
   Geum.  See GEUM.
   Geum urbanum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1113; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 502.
t. 181.  Avens is an herbaceous perennial plant, with slender, erect, branch-
ing, hairy stems, about two feet in height.  The leaves are petiolate, serrate,
hairy; those on the upper part  of the stem, simple, trifid, and pointed; those
nearest the root, pinnate and lyrate, with two pairs of unequal leaflets, and
a larger terminal leaflet, which  is  usually three-lobed.   The  flowers are
small, of a bright yellow colour, and solitary upon erect terminal peduncles.
The seeds, which are hairy and  collected in a  roundish head, have at their
summit a naked awn, bent like a hook at  the apex.
   This species of Geum is a native of Europe, where it  grows in woods
and shady uncultivated places.    The flowers appear in June and July. The
root, which  is the part employed, should be dug up in March, when its sen-
sible properties are in greatest  perfection, and should be dried by a moderate
heat.   The large roots are preferred to those which are very small, and the
cultivated to the wild.
   The avens root consists of a short oblong body  or caudex, from a quarter
to half an inch in thickness, externally brown, internally white towards the
circumference, and reddish at the centre,  and sending  forth numerous long
brown descending fibres.   When  quite dry it is nearly inodorous, but in
the recent state it has a smell resembling  that of cloves, whence it is some-
times called  radix caryophyllatx.   Its taste is bitterish and astringent.  It
imparts its medicinal virtues to water and alcohol, which it tinges red. Dis-
tilled with water it yields a thick, greenish-yellow volatile  oil, and gives a
pleasant flavour to the liquid.  Tannin is an abundant constituent.  It con-
tains, moreover, according to Trommsdorff, an insipid resin, gum, bassorin,
and lignin. 
PART I.
Geum Urbanum.—Gillenia.
353
   Medical Properties and Uses.   This root has been largely used on the
continent of Europe as a tonic and astringent in numerous diseases.  Among
these are chronic and passive hemorrhages, chronic dysentery and diarrhoea,
leucorrhoea, congestions of the abdominal viscera, and  intermittent fever.
The dose of  the powdered root is from  thirty grains  to a drachm three or
four times a day. and the same quantity  may be given at a dose in the form
of decoction.  The medicine is scarcely used in the United States.   W

                         GILLENIA.  U.S.

                              Gillenia.

   "The root of Gillenia trifoliata. U. S.
   Indian physic, American ipecacuanha.
   Gillenia.  Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx tubular campanulate, border five-toothed. Corolla partly
unequal. Petals five, lanceolate, attenuated at the base.  Stamens few, in-
cluded.  Styles five. Capsules five, connate at the base, opening on the in-
ner side, each two-seeded.  Torrey.
  This genus was separated by Moench from  the  Spiraea, but was not
generally acknowledged till after the publication of Barton's Medical Botany.
It is exclusively North American, and includes only two discovered spe-
cies—the G.  trifoliata and  G. stipulacea—of which the former only has
been adopted in our Pharmacopoeia, though the two are identical in medical
character.
   1.  Gillenia trifoliata.  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 10; Barton, Med.
Bot. i. 65.  This is an herbaceous plant with a perennial root, consisting of
numerous long, slender, brown branches, proceeding from a thick tuber-like
head or caudex.   The stems, several of  which usually rise  from the same
root,  are  two or three  feet  in  height, erect, slender, smooth, flexuose,
branched, and commonly of a reddish colour.  The leaves are ternate, with
very short petioles, and small linear lanceolate stipules.   The  leaflets are
ovate lanceolate, sharply serrate, and acuminate.   The flowers  grow in  a
loose terminal nodding  panicle, with long peduncles.  The calyx is tubular
campanulate,  ventricose, and  terminates in  five pointed segments.  The
corolla is  composed of five linear lanceolate, recurved  petals, the two upper
separated from the three lower, white, with a reddish  tinge on their  border,
and of three times the length of the calyx.  The stamens are twenty, the
filaments short, the anthers small and yellow.  Each flower is succeeded by
five capsules,  connate at their base,  oblong, acuminate, gibbous without,
acute within, two-valved, one-celled, opening  inward, and containing each
one or two oblong seeds.
  This species of Gillenia grows  throughout the  United States, east of the
Alleghany ridge, and in Pennsylvania may also be found abundantly west of
these  mountains.  Pursh found it in  Florida, and it extends as far north as
Canada.   It frequents light soils, in shady and moist situations, and flowers
in June and July.   The root should be gathered in September.
  2. G. stipulacea. Barton, Med. Bot. i. 71.  This  species is also herba-
ceous and perennial, though much taller, and more  bushy than the preceding.
The stems are brownish  and branched.  The upper leaves are ternate,
lanceolate, serrate; the  lower more deeply incised, becoming towards the
root pinnatifid, and of a reddish-brown colour at the margin.  The stipules
are ovate, acuminate, deeply serrate, resembling leaves, and marking the
                                 31* 
354                  Gillenia.—Glycyrrhiza.               part i.

species at the first glance.  The flowers are smaller than those of the  G.
trifoliata, and grow on long slender peduncles in a lax corymb.
  In the valley of the Mississippi  this plant occupies  the place of the  G.
trifoliata, which is not found beyond the Muskingum.  It grows as far north
as the state of New York, extends  through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Mis-
souri, and probably into the states  south of the Ohio, as it  has been found
in Western  Virginia.  Its root  is precisely similar  to that of the eastern
species, and is reputed  to possess the same  properties.
  The dried root of Gillenia is not thicker than a quill,  wrinkled longi-
tudinally, with occasional transverse fissures, and in  the  thicker pieces
presenting in some places  an irregular undulated somewhat  knotty appear-
ance, arising from indentations on one side corresponding with prominences
on the  other.   It is  externally of  a light brown  colour, and consists of a
thick, somewhat reddish,  brittle, cortical portion,  with an interior slender,
tougher,  whitish ligneous cord.  The bark, which is easily separable, has a
bitter, not disagreeable taste;  the wood is nearly insipid and comparatively
inert, and should be rejected.  The powder is of a light brownish colour,
and possesses a feeble odour which is scarcely  perceptible in the root.  The
bitterness is  extracted by boiling water, which acquires the red colour  of
wine.  The root has not been accurately analyzed.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Gillenia is  a mild and efficient emetic,
and, like most other substances belonging to the same class, occasionally acts
upon the bowels.   In very small doses it has been thought to exert a tonic
influence.  It is much  used by some practitioners in  the country, as a sub-
stitute for ipecacuanha, which it is  said to resemble in its mode of operation.
It was employed by the Indians, and  became  known as an emetic to the
colonists  at an  early period.   Linnaeus  was aware of its reputed virtues.
The dose of the powdered root is from twenty to thirty grains, repeated  at
intervals of  twenty minutes till it vomits.                           W.

                GLYCYRRHIZA.  U.S., Lond.

                          Liquorice  Root.

  " The root of Glycyrrhiza glabra." U.S. " Glycyrrhiza glabra. Radix
recens." Lond.
  Off. Syn.  GLYCYRRHIZAE  RADIX.  Root of  Glycyrrhiza glabra.
Ed.; GLYCYRRHIZA  GLABRA. Radix.  Dub.
   Bois de reglisse, Fr.; Suschnlzwurzel, Germ.; Liquirizin, Ital; Regaliza, Span.
  Glycyrrhiza.   Sex. Syst.  Diadelphia Decandria.—Nat. Ord. Legumi-
nosae or Fabaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx bilabiate; upper lip  three-cleft, lower undivided.  Le-
gume ovate,  compressed. Willd.
  Glycyrrhiza glabra. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii.  1144;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
420. t. 152.  The liquorice  plant has a perennial root, which is round, suc-
culent, tough, and pliable, furnished with sparse fibres, rapid in its growth,
and in a sandy  soil penetrates deeply into the  ground.   The stems are her-
baceous, erect,  and usually four or five feet in height; have few branches;
and are garnished with alternate, pinnate leaves, consisting of several pairs
of ovate, blunt, petiolate leaflets, with a single leaflet at the end, of a pale
green colour, and  clammy on their under surface.  The flowers are violet
or purple, formed like  those of the pea, and arranged in axillary spikes sup-
ported on long  peduncles.  The calyx is tubular and persistent.   The fruit
is a compressed, smooth, acute, one-celled  legume, containing from one  to
four small kidney-shaped seeds. 
PART I.
Glycyrrhiza.
355
  The plant is a native of the South of Europe, Barbary, Syria, and Persia;
and is cultivated in England, the North of France, and Germany.  Much of
the root imported  into this country comes  from the ports  of Messina and
Palermo in Sicily.  It is also largely produced in the northern provinces of
Spain, where it forms an important article of commerce.  It is not improba-
ble that a portion of the liquorice root from Italy and Sicily is the product of
the G. echinala, which grows wild in Apulia.   This species is also abun-
dantly produced in the South of Russia,  where, according  to Hayne, suffi-
cient extract is prepared from it to supply the whole Russian empire.
   A species of Glycyrrhiza, the G. lepidota, grows abundantly about St.
Louis, in the state of Missouri, and flourishes along the banks  of the Mis-
souri river to its source in the mountains.   It is probably the same with the
liquorice plant mentioned by Mackenzie as growing on the northern coast of
this continent.   Mr. Nuttall states that its  root possesses in no inconsider-
able degree the taste of liquorice;  and it is not improbable that it may be
found a fit substitute for that of the G. glabra.
   Properties.  The liquorice root of the shops is in long pieces, varying
in thickness from a few lines to more than  an inch, fibrous, externally gray-
ish-brown, and wrinkled by desiccation, internally yellowish, without smell,
and of a sweet mucilaginous taste, which is sometimes mingled with a slight
degree of acrimony.  It is often worm-eaten and more or less decayed.   The
best pieces are those which have  the brightest yellow colour internally, and
of which the layers are distinct.  The powder is of a grayish-yellow  colour
when the root is pulverized without  being deprived of its epidermis,  of a
pale sulphur yellow,  when the  epidermis has been removed.  Robiquet
found the following ingredients in liquorice root:—1. A peculiar transparent
yellow  substance, called glycyrrhizin or  glycion,  of a sweet saccharine
taste, scarcely soluble in  cold water, very soluble  in boiling water  with
which it gelatinizes  on cooling, thrown down from its aqueous solution by
acids, readily soluble in  cold alcohol, insusceptible  of  the vinous fermenta-
tion, yielding no oxalic acid by the action of the nitric,  and therefore wholly
distinct from sugar;  2. a crystallizable principle, named agedoite by Robi-
quet, but subsequently proved to be identical  with asparagin;  3. starch;
4. albumen;  5. a brown, acrid resin; 6. a brown, azotized extractive matter;
7. lignin;  8. salts of lime  and magnesia with  phosphoric, sulphuric, and
malic acids.   Robiquet prepared glycyrrhizin by subjecting a strong cold
infusion of the root to ebullition, in  order to separate the albumen;  then
filtering, precipitating with acetic acid,  and washing  the  precipitate  with
cold water  to  remove any adhering acid.   Berzelius  considers the  matter
thus obtained as a compound of glycyrrhizin  with  acetic acid.   He  pro-
cures the principle  in a pure state  by precipitating  with sulphuric acid an
infusion of the root previously concentrated by a gentle heat, washing the
precipitated sulphate to  remove the free  acid which adheres to  it, then dis-
solving it  in  alcohol, which leaves the albumen, and adding carbonate of
potassa to  the alcoholic solu:ion to perfect  neutralization.   The sulphate of
potassa is precipitated, and the glycyrrhizin is obtained by evaporating the
alcohol.  The sweetness  of  this principle is  retained in the compounds
which it forms both with acids and alkalies.
   An  extract of liquorice  root is brought  from  Spain  and  Italy, and much
used under the name of liquorice. (See Extractum Glycyrrhizae.)
   Medical Properties and Uses. Liquorice root is an excellent demulcent,
well adapted to catarrhal affections,  and  to irritations of the mucous mem-
brane of the bowels and urinary  passages.  It is best  given in the form of
decoction, either alone, or  combined with other demulcents. It is frequently 
 35-3                 Glycyrrhiza.—Gossypium.              part r.

 employed as an addition to the decoctions  of acrid or irritating vegetable
 substances,  such for example as seneka and mezereon, the acrimony of
 which it covers and conceals,  while it renders them more acceptable to the
 stomach.  Before being  used, it  should  be deprived of its cortical part,
 which is somewhat acrid, without possessing the peculiar virtues of the root.
 The decoction may be prepared by boiling an ounce of the bruised root for
 a few minutes in a pint of water.   By long  boiling, the acrid principle is
 extracted.
   The powder is used in the  preparation of pills, either to give them due
 consistence,  or to cover  their  surface and prevent them from adhering to-
 gether.
   Off. Prep.  Aqua  Calcis Composita, Dub.;  Confectio  Sennae,  U. S.,
 Lond., Ed.; Decoctum  Glycyrrhizae, Dub.; Decoctum  Guaiaci  Comp.,
 Dub., Ed.;  Decoctum Hordei Comp., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Decoctum Me-
 zerei, Ed., Dub.; Decoctum Sarsaparillae Comp., U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
 Electuarium  Piperis, Ed.; Extractum Glycyrrhizae,  Lond., Ed., Dub.;
 Infusum Lini, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Pilulae Ferri Sulphatis, Ed.; Pil.
 Hydrargyri,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Syrupus Sarsaparillae Comp., U. S.;
 Tinctura Rhei Comp., Lond., Dub.                               W.

                        GOSSYPIUM.  Ed.

                            Raw  Cotton.

   " Hairs attached to the seeds of Gossypium herbaceum, and other species
 of the genus." Ed.
   Colon, Fr ;  Baumwolle, Germ.; Cotone, Ital.; Algodon, Span.
   Gossypium. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord. Malvaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx cup-shaped, obtusely five-toothed, surrounded by a three-
 parted involucel,  with dentate-incised, cordate leaflets,  cohering at the base.
 Stigmas three to five.  Capsule three to five-celled, many-seeded.  Seeds
 surrounded by a tomentose wool. De Cand.
   In  consequence of changes produced in the plants of this genus by culti-
 vation, botanists  have found great difficulty in determining which are dis-
 tinct species, and which merely varieties.  De Candolle describes thirteen
 species in his Prodromus, and  mentions six  others; but considers them all
 uncertain.  Royle describes eight and admits others.   Swartz thinks they
 may all be referred to one original species.   The  plants inhabit different
 parts  of tropical Asia and Europe, and many  of them are cultivated for their
 cotton in climates adapted to their growth.  The species from which most
 of the cotton  of commerce is thought to be obtained, is  the one indicated by
 the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.
   Gossypium herbaceum. Linn.  Sp.  975;  De Cand.  Prodrom. i.  456.
 This  is a biennial or triennial  plant, with a branching stem from two to six
 feet high, and palmate hoary leaves, the lobes  of which are somewhat lance-
 olate  and acute.  The flowers are pretty,  with yellow petals, having a
purple spot near the claw.  The leaves of the involucel or outer calyx are
serrate.  The capsule opens when  ripe,  and displays a loose white tuft of
long slender filaments, which surround  the seeds, and  adhere  firmly to the
outer  coating.  The plant is a native of Asia, but is cultivated in  most tro-
pical  countries both of the old and new  continents.   It  requires a certain
duration of warm weather to perfect  its seeds, and cannot be cultivated for
practical purposes north of Virginia.
  The herbaceous part of the plant contains much mucilage, and has  been 
part i.       Gossypium.—Granati Fructus Cortex.          357

used as a demulcent.  The seeds yield by expression a fixed oil of the dry-
ing kind, which has been occasionally employed.  The root has been sup-
posed to possess medical virtues.  But the  only officinal portion, and that
for which the plant is cultivated, is the  filamentous matter  surrounding the
seeds.  This when separated constitutes the cotton of commerce.
   Cotton consists of the filaments which, under the  microscope, appear to
be flattened tubes, with occasional joints indicated by transverse lines.  It
is without  smell or taste,  insoluble in water,  alcohol, ether, the oils, and
vegetable acids, soluble in strong alkaline solutions, and decomposed by the
concentrated mineral  acids.   It has  not been  analyzed, but  bears a close
analogy to lignin.   For medical use it should be carded into thin sheets; or
the wadding of the milliners may be employed, consisting  of sheets some-
what stiffened and glazed on  the surface by starch.  In the latter case, the
sheets should be split open when applied.
   Uses.  Cotton has been  used from  time immemorial for the fabrication of
cloth; but it is only recently that it has entered the catalogue of medicines.
It is chiefly employed in the treatment of recent burns and scalds; an appli-
cation of it  which was adopted by surgeons from popular practice.   It is
said to relieve the pain, diminish the inflammation, prevent vesication, and
very much to hasten the cure.   Whatever advantages result from it are pro-
bably ascribable to the absorption of effused liquids, and the protection of
the part affected from  the air.   It is applied in  thin and  successive layers;
and benefit is said to result from the application of a bandage when the skin
is not too much inflamed.   We have, however, seen cotton do much harm
in burns, by becoming consolidated over a vesicated surface, and acting as a
mechanical  irritant.  It is said to be  beneficial also in erysipelas; and we
have found it useful, applied in a large batch over parts affected with rheu-
matism, especially in lumbago.
   The root of the cotton  plant has  been  employed by Dr. Bouchelle, of
Mississippi, who believes it to be an excellent emmenagogue, and not infe-
rior to ergot in promoting uterine contraction.  He states that it is habitually
and effectually resorted to by the slaves of the South for producing abortion;
and thinks that it acts in this way, without affecting the general health inju-
riously.  To assist labour, he  employs a  decoction  made  by boiling four
ounces of the inner bark of the  root in a quart of water to a pint, and gives
a wineglassful every twenty or thirty  minutes. (West. Journ. of Med. and
Surg. Aug. 1840.)   These statements need confirmation.          W.


         GRANATI FRUCTUS  CORTEX.  U.S.

                       Pomegranate Rind.

  " The rind of the fruit of Punica Granatum." U. S.

          GRANATI  RADICIS CORTEX.   U.S.

                   Bark of Pomegranate Root.

  " The bark of the root of Punica Granatum."  U. S.
  Off. Syn. GRANATUM.  Punica Granatum.  Fructus Cortex.  Lond.;
GRANATI  RADIX.   Root-bark of Punica  Granatum.  Ed.;  PUNICA
GRANATUM. Baccae tunica exterior.  Radicis cortex. Flores. Dub.
  Ecorce de grenade, Fr.; Graniitapfcl-Echalin, Germ.; Malicorio, Scorza  del mtlogra-
nati, Ital.; Cortcza de granada, Span. 
358  Granati Fructus Cortex.— Granati Radicis Cortex, parti.

  Punica.  Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Myrtaceac.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-cleft, superior.  Petals five.  Pome  many-celled,
many-seeded. Willd.
  Funica Granatum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 981;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
531. t. 190.  The pomegranate is a small shrubby tree, attaining in favour-
able situations the height of twenty feet, with a very unequal trunk, and nu-
merous branches, which sometimes bear thorns.   The leaves  are opposite,
entire, oblong or lance-shaped, pointed  at each end, smooth,  shining, of a
bright green colour, and placed on short footstalks. The flowers are large,
of a rich scarlet colour, and stand at the end of the young branches.   The
petals are  roundish and wrinkled, and are inserted into the upper part of the
tube of the calyx, which is red, thick, and fleshy.  The fruit  is a globular
berry, about the size of an orange, crowned with the calyx, covered with a
reddish-yellow,  thick, coriaceous  rind, and divided  internally  into many
cells, which  contain  an acidulous pulp,  and numerous  oblong, angular
seeds.
  This tree grows wild upon  both shores of the Mediterranean, in Arabia,
Persia, Bengal, China, and  Japan,  has  been introduced  into  the East and
West Indies, and is cultivated  in all civilized countries where the climate is
sufficiently warm to allow the fruit  to ripen.  In higher latitudes, where it
does not bear fruit, it is raised in gardens and hot-houses for  the beauty of
its flowers, which become double, and acquire increased splendour of colour-
ing by cultivation. Doubts have been entertained as to its original country.
The name of "Punicum malum,"  applied  by the ancients to its fruit, im-
plies that it was abundant at  an early age in the neighbourhood of Carthage.
The fruit of  the pomegranate, for which  the plant is  cultivated in tropical
climates, varies  much in size  and flavour.   It is said to  attain greater  per-
fection, in both  these respects, in the West Indies than in its native country.
The pulp is  red, succulent, pleasantly acid, and sweetish; and is used  for
the same purpose as the orange, though not officinal.   The rind of the fruit
and  the bark of the root are the parts indicated in the United States Phar-
macopoeia.  The  flowers also are  recognised by the  Dublin  College, and
the seeds  are officinal in France.
  Rind of the Fruit.  This is presented in commerce under the form of
irregular  fragments,  hard,  dry, brittle,  of a yellowish  or reddish-brown
colour externally, paler within, without smell, and of an astringent slightly
bitter taste.  It contains a large proportion of tannin, and in countries where
the tree abounds has been employed for tanning leather.
  Flowers.  The flowers, which are sometimes called balaustines, are in-
odorous, have a bitterish strongly astringent taste, and impart a violet-red
colour to the  saliva. They contain tannin and gallic acid, and were used by
the ancients in  dyeing.
  Bark of the Root.  The  roots  of the pomegranate are   hard, heavy,
knotty, ligneous, and  covered  with  a bark which is yellowish-gray, or ash-
gray on the outer surface, and yellow  on the inner.  As found  in the shops,
the bark is in quills or fragments, breaks with a short  fracture, has  little
or no smell, when chewed colours the  saliva yellow, and leaves in the
mouth an  astringent taste, without any disagreeable bitterness.   It contains,
according to M. Latour de Trie, fatty matter, tannin,  gallic acid, a saccha-
rine substance  having the  properties of mannite,  resin, wax, and chloro-
phylle, besides  insoluble  matters.  The infusion yields a deep blue  pre-
cipitate with  the  salts  of iron, and a yellowish-white precipitate, with a
solution of gelatin.  These properties  serve to distinguish this bark from
those of the  box root and barberry, with which it is said to be  sometimes 
part i.    Granati Fructus Cortex.— Guaiaci Lignum.       359

adulterated.  When used it should be entirely separated from the ligneous
portion of the root, as the latter is inert.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   The rind of the  fruit is  astringent, and
in the  form of decoction may be  given in diarrhoea from weakness of the
secreting vessels, and in  the colliquative sweats of hectic fever or simple
debility.   But the decoction is more frequently used as an injection in leu-
corrhoea, and as  a gargle  in sorethroat in the earliest stages, or after the in-
flammatory action has in  some measure subsided.  The powdered rind has
also been recommended in intermittent fever.  The flowers have the same
medical  properties,  and are used  for the  same purposes as the rind.  The
bark of the root was used  by the ancients  as a vermifuge, and is recommend-
ed in the writings of Avicenna; but it was unknown in modern practice till
brought into notice by Dr. F. Buchanan,  who obtained his knowledge of its
powers in India.  The Mahometan physicians of Hindostan consider it a
specific in  cases of tape-worm.   One of these practitioners having speedily
relieved an English gentleman in 1804, was induced to disclose his secret,
which was then made public.   Numerous cures have been  subsequently
effected in  Europe;  and there  can be no doubt of the occasional efficacy of
the remedy.  The French medical writers prefer the bark of the root of the
wild pomegranate, or that which grows on the borders of the Mediterranean,
to the product of the imperfect tree cultivated for ornamental purposes  in
the gardens of colder countries.  It may be administered in powder or de-
coction;  but the latter form  is usually preferred.   The  decoction is pre-
pared by macerating two ounces of the bruised bark in two pints of  water
for twenty-four  hours, and then  boiling down to a pint.  Of this a wine-
glassful may be given every half hour, hour, or two hours, until the whole
is taken.  It often occasions nausea and vomiting, and usually purges.  Por-
tions of  the worm often  come away a short time after the last dose.   It is
recommended to give a dose of castor oil, and to diet the patient strictly on
 the  day  preceding the administration of the remedy; and, if it should  not
 operate on the bowels, to follow  it by an enema, or a dose of castor oil.   If
 the  remedy should  not succeed  upon the first  trial, it should be repeated
 every day for  three  or  four  days, until the  worm  is  discharged.   The
 remedy  appears to  have  been used by the negroes  of St. Domingo before
 it was introduced into Europe.  Taenia is comparatively rare in this coun-
 try; and the pomegranate root has been little used.
   The dose of the rind and flowers in powder is from twenty to  thirty
 grains.  A decoction may be prepared in  the  proportion of an ounce of
 the medicine to a pint of water, and given in the dose of a fluidounce.  The
 seeds are demulcent.
    Off. Prep. Decoctum Granati, Lond.                           W.

            GUAIACI LIGNUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                          Guaiacum  Wood.

   " The wood of Guaiacum  officinale." U. S., Ed.  " Guaiacum officinale.
 Lignum." Lond.
    Off. Syn. GUAIACUM OFFICINALE. Lignum. Dub.
   Bois de gayac, Fr.; Pockenholz, Germ.; Lejrno guaiaco, Ital.; Guayaco, Span.
   Guaiacum. Sex.  Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Zygophyl-
 laceae.
    Gen.  Ch.  Calyx five-cleft, unequal. Petals five,  inserted into the calyx.
 Capsule angular, three or five-celled.  Willd. 
360
Guaiaci Lignum.
PART I.
    Guaiacum officinale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 538; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
 557. t. 200.  This is a large tree of very slow growth.   When of full size
 it is from forty to sixty feet high, with a trunk four or five feet in circum-
 ference.  The branches  are  knotted, and covered  with an ash-coloured
 striated bark.  That of the stem is of a dark gray colour, variegated with
 greenish or purplish  spots.  The leaves are opposite, and abruptly pinnate,
 consisting of two, three, and  sometimes four pairs  of leaflets, which  are
 obovate, veined,  smooth,  shining, dark green, from an inch to an inch and
 a half long, and almost  sessile.  The flowers  are of a  rich blue colour,
 stand on long peduncles, and  grow to the number of eight or ten at the axils
 of the upper leaves.   The seeds are solitary, hard, and of an oblong shape.
   The G. officinale grows in the West Indies, particularly in Hayti and
 Jamaica, and is found also in  the warmer parts  of the neighbouring conti-
 nent.   All parts  of the tree are  possessed  of medicinal properties, but  the
 wood  and the  concrete juice only are officinal.  The bark, though much
 more efficacious  than the  wood, is not kept in the shops.  It is said that
 other species of  Guaiacum contribute to  the supplies  brought  into the mar-
 ket.  The G. sanctum of Linnaeus, and the G. arboreum of De Candolle,
 are particularly specified.  The former, however, is said by Woodville not
 to be sufficiently characterized as a  distinct species from  the  G. officinale.
 Fee states that the wood  of  the  G. sanctum is paler, and less heavy and
 hard than the officinal.
   Guaiacum wood is imported from Hayti  and other West India islands, in
 the shape of logs or billets, covered with a thick gray bark, which presents
 on its inner surface, and upon its edges when  broken, numerous  shining
 crystalline points.   These are supposed by  M. Guibourt to be benzoic
 acid, by others a resinous exudation from the vessels  of the plant.  These
 billets are used by the turners for the fabrication of various instruments and
 utensils, for which the wood is well adapted by its extreme hardness and
 density.  It is kept by the druggists and apothecaries only in the  state  of
 shavings or raspings, which they obtain from the turners.    It is  commonly
 called lignum vitae, a name which obviously originated from the supposition
 that the wood was possessed of extraordinary remedial powers.
   Properties.  The colour of the alburnum or sap-wood  is yellow, that  of
 the older and central layers greenish-brown, that of the shavings a mixture
 of the two.   It is said that when the wood is brought into a state of minute
 division, the colour is rendered green by exposure to the air (Richard), and
 bluish-green  by the action  of nitric acid fumes; and the latter change may
 be considered as a test of the genuineness of the  drug. (Duncan).   Guaia-
 cum wood is almost without smell unless rubbed or heated, when it becomes
 odorous.  When burnt it emits an agreeable aromatic  odour.  It is bitterish
 and slightly pungent; but requires to be chewed for some time before the
 taste is developed.  It contains, according to Trommsdorff, 26 per cent,  of
 resin, and 0.8 of  a bitter pungent extractive, upon both of which probably,
 though chiefly on the former,  its medical virtues  depend. (See  Guaiacum.)
 It  yields its virtues but partially to water. One pound of the wood afforded
 to  Geiger two ounces of extract. In this extract M. Thierry has discovered
 a peculiar volatilizable acid, resembling benzoic and  cinnamic acids.  He
 obtained  it by treating the extract with  ether, evaporating the ethereal tinc-
 ture, and  carefully subliming  the  residue.   The acid condenses in small,
 brilliant needles.  If the heat  be pushed too  far, an  oil is also produced
which colours the crystals.  To  this acid M.  Thierry has given the name
 of  guaiacic acid  (acide gayacique).  He  procured  the  same acid more
 abundantly from the guaiac of the shops, by a somewhat  complicated pro-
 cess.   (See Journ. de Pharm. xxvii. 381.) 
part I.         Guaiaci Lignum.—Guaiaci Resina.            361

  Medical Properties and  Uses. Guaiacum wood ranks among the stimu-
lant diaphoretics.  It is said to have been introduced to the notice of Euro-
pean  practitioners by the natives of Hispaniola, soon after the  discovery
of America.   It was used in Europe so early as 1508, and attained great
celebrity as  a remedy for lues venerea, in which it was long considered a
specific.   More extended experience, however, has proved it to be wholly
inadequate to the cure of that disease; and it  is now employed  simply to
palliate the secondary symptoms, to assist the operation of other and more
efficient remedies, or to obviate the unpleasant effects sometimes  resulting
from a mercurial course in syphilitic cases.  It is thought to be useful also
in chronic rheumatism and gout, scrofulous  affections, certain cutaneous
eruptions, ozaena, and other protracted diseases dependent on a depraved or
vitiated condition of the system.  It is always exhibited in decoction, and
generally in combination  with other medicines, as in the  compound  decoc-
tion of sarsaparilla.  As but a small proportion of the guaiac which it con-
tains is soluble in water, the probability is that its virtues have been  greatly
overrated; and that the good which has in many instances followed  its em-
ployment, resulted rather from the more active medicines with which it was
associated, or from the attendant regimen, than from the wood itself.  The
simple decoction may be prepared  by boiling an  ounce in a pint  and a half
of water down to a pint, the whole of which may be administered in divided
doses during the twenty-four hours. An aqueous extract of guaiacum wood
is directed by the French Codex.
   Off. Prep. Aqua Calcis  Composita, Dub.; Decoctum  Guaiaci Compo-
situm, Dub., Ed.; Decoctum Sarsaparillae Comp., U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Syrupus Sarsaparillae Comp., US.                               W.


               GUAIACI  RESINA. U.S., Lond.

                              Guaiac.

   "The concrete juice of  Guaiacum officinale."  U. S.   " Guaiacum offi-
cinale. Resina." Lond.
   Off. Syn.  GUAIACUM.  Resin obtained  by heat  from the  wood  of
Guaiacum officinale. Ed.;  GUAIACUM  OFFICINALE.  Resina. Dub.
   Resine de gayac, Fr.; Guajakharz, Germ.; Resina de guajaco, Ital.; Resina de guayaco,
Span.
   For a description of the Guaiacum officinale, see  GUAIACI LIGNUM.
   Guaiac is the concrete  juice of this tree, obtained either by spontaneous
exudation, or by incisions made into the trunk. It is also procured by  saw-
ing the wood into billets about three feet long, boring them longitudinally
with an auger, then placing one end of the billet  on the fire, and receiving
in a calabash  the melted guaiac, which flows out  through the hole at the
opposite extremity.  Another mode, occasionally practised, is to boil the
wood in the state of chips or saw-dust, in a solution of common salt, and skim
off the matter which rises to the surface.   Guaiac is brought to this market
from the West Indies.  It is usually in large irregular pieces of various  size,
in which small fragments of bark, sand, and other earthy impurities are mixed
with the genuine guaiac, so as to give  to the mass a  diversified appear-
ance.   Sometimes we find it in small roundish portions, separate, or agglu-
tinated together, and evidently the result of exudation; sometimes in homo-
geneous masses, prepared by melting and straining the drug in its impure
state.   It is probable that the guaiac, obtained from the billets of wood  in
the manner above described, is also of uniform consistence.
       32 
362
Guaiaci Resina.
PART I.
  Properties.  The pieces are of a deep greenish-brown or dark olive colour
on their  external surface, and internally wherever the air has been able to
penetrate.   The  predominant hue  of those parts not exposed to the air is
reddish-brown or hyacinthine, diversified, however, with shades of various
colours.   The odour is feeble but fragrant, and is rendered stronger by heat.
The taste, which is at first scarcely perceptible, becomes acrid after a short
period, and  a permanent  sense  of  heat and  pungency is left in the mouth
and  fauces.   Guaiac  is brittle, and when broken  presents a shining glass-
like  surface, conchoidal or splintery, with the smaller fragments more or
less  translucent.  It is readily pulverized; and the powder, which is at first
of a  light-gray colour, becomes green on exposure to the light. Its specific
gravity varies from 1-2 to 1*23.   It softens in the mouth, and melts with a
moderate heat.   It is commonly, though erroneously, called  gum guaiac,
as it does not essentially contain gum.   According to the analysis of Mr.
Brande it consists of 91 per cent, of a peculiar substance analogous to the
resins, and 9 per cent, of extractive.  Buchner found 79-8 parts  of pure
resin, and 20-1 of bark consisting of 16-5 of lignin, 1-5 of gum, and 2-1 of
extractive; but he must have operated on the unstrained guaiac. M. Thierry
has discovered a peculiar  acid in guaiac. (See page 360.)  Water dissolves
a small proportion of guaiac,  not exceeding 9 parts in 100, forming  an infu-
sion of a greenish-brown colour and sweetish taste, which upon evaporation
yields a brown substance  soluble in hot water and alcohol, but scarcely so
in ether.  Alcohol takes  up the whole, with the exception of impurities.
The tincture is of a deep-brown colour, is decomposed by water, and affords
blue, green, and brown precipitates with the  mineral acids.   Guaiac is so-
luble also in ether, in alkaline solutions, and in sulphuric acid.  The solution
in sulphuric acid is of a rich claret colour, deposits, when diluted with water,
a lilac precipitate, and when heated evolves charcoal.   Nitric acid converts
it into oxalic acid. Exposed  to air and light it absorbs oxygen and becomes
green, and the change of colour takes place rapidly in the sunshine.  Either
in substance or tincture, it imparts  a blue colour to  gluten and substances
containing it, to mucilage of gum Arabic, to milk,  and to various freshly cut
roots, as the potato, carrot, and horseradish.   The tincture  is usually co-
loured blue by spirit of nitric ether, and a similar change of colour takes
place when  it is treated successively by dilute hydrocyanic acid and solution
of sulphate of copper.
  Guaiacin is a name which has been  given to the pure resinoid princi-
ple of guaiac.   It is insoluble in water, but is dissolved readily by alcohol,
and less readily by ether.  It has the acid property of combining with the
alkalies, forming soluble  compounds, which are decomposed by the mine-
ral  acids and by several salts. Hence it has been  called guaiacic acid,
though this name has also been appropriated to another substance. (See
page 360.)   It differs from most of the resins in being converted by nitric
acid into oxalic acid instead of artificial tannin.  It  is  also peculiar in the
changes of colour which it undergoes under the influence of various reagents,
and which  have  been already  mentioned.  By nitric acid and chlorine it
is made to  assume  successively a green, blue, and  brown colour.  These
changes are ascribed by Mr. Brande to the absorption  of oxygen, which
forms variously  coloured compounds  according  to the quantity absorbed.
Unverdorben considers guaiacin as composed of two resins, one perfectly
dissolved by solution of ammonia, the other forming with the alkali a tar-
like compound.
   It will be inferred from what has  been said, that the mineral acids are
incompatible with the solutions of guaiac. 
part i.         Guaiaci Resina.—Haematoxylon.               363

  This drug is sometimes adulterated with the resin of the pine.  The fraud
may be detected by the terebinthinate odour exhaled when the sophisticated
guaiac is thrown upon burning coals, as well as by its partial solubility in
hot oil of turpentine.  This liquid dissolves resin, but leaves pure  guaiac
untouched.  Amber is said to be another adulteration.  Nitric acid affords an
excellent test of guaiac.  If paper moistened with the tincture be exposed to
the fumes of this acid, it speedily becomes blue.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Guaiac is  stimulant and alterative, pro-
ducing,  when swallowed, a sense  of  warmth in the stomach, with dryness
of the mouth and thirst, and  promoting various secretions.  If given to a
patient when covered warm in bed, especially if accompanied with opium
and ipecacuanha or the  antimonials, and assisted by warm drinks, it often
excites profuse perspiration;  and hence has been usually ranked among the
diaphoretics.  If the patient be kept cool during its administration,  it is
sometimes directed to the kidneys, the  action of which it promotes.   In
large doses it purges; and it is thought by some practitioners to be possessed
of emmenagogue powers.  The complaint in which it has been  found most
beneficial is rheumatism.  In the declining stages of the acute form  of this
disease, after due depletion, it is very often given in combination with opium,
ipecacuanha, nitre, and the antimonials; and in the chronic form is frequently
useful without accompaniment. It is also advantageously prescribed in gouty
affections; and is occasionally used in secondary  syphilis, scrofulous diseases,
and cutaneous eruptions, though the guaiacum wood  is more  frequently re-
sorted to in these latter complaints.  It was much relied upon  by the late
Dr. Dewees in the cure of amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhcea.
   The medicine is given in substance or tincture.  The dose of the powder
is from  ten to thirty  grains, which may be exhibited  in pill or bolus, or in
the shape of an emulsion formed with gum Arabic, sugar, and water.   An
objection to  the form of powder is  that it quickly aggregates.   Guaiac is
sometimes administered in combination with alkalies, with which it  readily
unites.   Several of the  European Pharmacopoeias direct a soap of  guaiac,
under the name of sapo guaiacinus, to be  prepared  by diluting the  Liquor
Potassae with twice its weight of water, boiling lightly, then  adding guaiac
gradually, with continued agitation, so long as  it continues to be dissolved,
and finally filtering, and evaporating to  the  pilular consistence.  Of  this
preparation one scruple may be taken daily in divided doses.
   Off. Prep.  Mistura Guaiaci, Lond., Ed.;  Pilulae Hydrargyri Chloridi
 Compositas, Lond.,  Ed., Dub.; Pulvis Aloe's Comp., Lond., Dub.; Tinc-
tura Guaiaci, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Guaiaci Ammoniata, U. S.,
 Lond., Ed., Dub.                                               W.
                HAEMATOXYLON.  U.S., Ed.

                             Logwood.

  " The wood of Haematoxylon Campechianum." U. S., Ed.
  Off. Syn.  HiEMATOXYLUM. Haematoxylon campechianum.  Lig-
num. Lond.; H^EMATOXYLUM CAMPECHIANUM.  Lignum.  Dub.
  BdU de Cimpeche, Fr.;  Blutholz, Kampeschenholz, Germ.; Lcgno di Campeggio,
Ital; Piilo de C;impeche, Span.
  HjEMAtoxylon.  Sex. Syst. Decandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Faba-
ceae or Leguminosae.
  Gen.Ch.  Calyx five-parted. Petals five. Capsule lanceolate, one-celled,
two-valved, with the valves boat-form. Willd. 
364                       Haematoxylon.                    part i.

   Haematoxylon Campechianum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 547;  Woodv. Med.
Bot. p. 455. t. 163.  This is a tree of middle size, usually not more than
twenty-four feet high, though under favourable circumstances it sometimes
attains an elevation of forty or fifty feet.  The trunk, which seldom exceeds
twenty inches in diameter, is often very crooked, and is covered with a dark
rough bark.  The branches  are also crooked, with numerous smaller rami-
fications, which are beset with sharp spines.   The sap-wood is yellowish;
but the interior layers are of a deep red colour.   The leaves are alternate,
abruptly pinnate, and composed of three or four pairs of sessile, nearly ob-
cordate, obliquely nerved leaflets.  The flowers, which are in axillary spikes
or racemes near the ends of the branches, have a brownish-purple  calyx,
and lemon-yellow petals.  They exhale an agreeable odour, said to resemble
that of the jonquil.
   The tree is a native  of Campeachy, the shores of Honduras Bay, and
other parts  of tropical  America;  and has been  introduced  into Jamaica,
where  it has become naturalized.  The wood, which is the part used in
medicine,  is a valuable article of commerce, and largely employed in dyeing.
It  comes  to us in logs, deprived of the sapwood, and having a blackish-
brown  colour externally.  For medical use it is  cut into  chips, or rasped
into  coarse powder, and in these states is kept in the shops.
   Properties. Logwood is hard, compact, heavy, of a deep  red colour be-
coming dark by exposure, of a slight peculiar odour, and a sweet somewhat
astringent taste.  It imparts its colour to water and to alcohol.  The infusion
made with cold water, though red, is less so  than that with  boiling water.
It  affords precipitates with sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, and  acetic  acids, with
alum, sulphate of copper, acetate of lead, and sulphate of iron, striking a
bluish-black colour with  the last-mentioned salt. (Thomson's Dispensatory.)
Precipitates are also produced with it by lime-water and  gelatin.  Among
the constituents of logwood, according to Chevreul, are  a volatile oil, an
oleaginous or resinous matter, a brown substance the solution of which is
precipitated by gelatin (tannin),  another brown substance  soluble in alcohol
but insoluble in water or  ether,  an azotized  substance  resembling gluten,
free  acetic acid, various saline matters, and  a peculiar azotized principle,
called  hematin, on  which the colouring properties of the wood depend.
This is obtained by digesting the aqueous extract in alcohol, evaporating
the tincture till it becomes thick, then adding a little water, and  submitting
the liquid  to a new but gentle evaporation.  Upon allowing it to rest, hema-
tin is deposited in the state of crystals, which may be purified by washing
with alcohol and drying.  They are shining, of a yellowish rose colour,
bitterish, acrid, and slightly astringent to the taste, readily  soluble in boiling
water,  forming an orange-red solution which becomes  yellow on cooling,
and soluble also in alcohol and ether.  Acids added gradually to the solution
render  it at first yellow  and  afterwards red.  Alkalies render it purple-red,
but in great excess produce a violet-blue colour.  Hematin unites with various
metallic oxides, forming bluish compounds, and yields a flocculent reddish
precipitate with a strong solution of glue.  It  is sometimes found in distinct
crystals in the crevices  of the wood.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Logwood is a mild astringent, devoid of
irritating properties, and well adapted to the treatment of that relaxed condi-
tion of bowels which is  apt to succeed cholera infantum.   In  this disease it
is  much used in the United States, and is occasionally employed with advan-
tage in ordinary chronic diarrhoea, and in chronic  dysentery.   It may be
given in decoction or extract, both of which are officinal.
   Off. Prep.  Decoctum Haematoxyli, U. S., Ed.; Extractum Haematoxyli,
U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.                                         W. 
PART I.
Hedeoma.—Helleborus.
365
                        HEDEOMA. U.S.

                            Pennyroyal.

   " Hedeoma pulegioides."  U. S.
   This herb, first attached to the genus Melissa, and afterwards to Cunila,
 is at present universally considered by botanists as belonging to the Hedeoma
 of Persoon.  It has been very  erroneously confounded by some with  the
 Mentha Pulegium, or European pennyroyal.
   Hedeoma.  Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or
 Labiatae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx bilabiate, gibbous at the  base,  upper lip  three toothed,
 lower two; dentures all subulate.  Corolla ringent.  Stamens, two sterile;  the
 two fertile stamens about the length of the corolla.  Nuttall.
   Hedeoma pulegioides. Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 165.—Cunila pulegioides.
 Willd. Sp. Plant, i.  122.  This is an indigenous annual plant, from nine to
 fifteen inches high, with a small, branching,  fibrous, yellowish root, and a
 pubescent stem, which sends off numerous  slender erect  branches.  The
 leaves are opposite, oblong lanceolate or oval, nearly acute, attenuated at  the
 base, remotely  serrate, rough or pubescent, and prominently veined on  the
 under surface.   The flowers are very  small, of a pale blue colour, sup-
 ported on short peduncles, and arranged in axillary whorls, along the whole
 length of the branches.
   The plant is common in  all parts  of the United States, preferring dry
 grounds and pastures, and, where it is abundant, scenting the air for a con-
 siderable distance with its grateful odour.
   Both in the recent and dried state it has a pleasant aromatic smell, and a
 warm, pungent, mint-like taste.  It readily  imparts its virtues to boiling
 water.  The volatile oil upon which they depend may be separated by dis-
 tillation, and employed instead of the herb itself.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Pennyroyal is a gently stimulant aromatic,
 and may be given in flatulent colic and sick stomach, or to qualify the action
 of other medicines.   Like most  of the aromatic herbs, it possesses the pro-
 perty, when administered in  warm infusion, of promoting perspiration, and
 of exciting the  menstrual flux when the system is predisposed to the effort.
 Hence it is much used as an emmenagogue  in  popular practice, and fre-
 quently with success. A large draught of the  warm tea is given at bed-time,
 in recent cases of suppression of the  menses, the  feet having been previ-
 ously bathed in warm water.
   Off. Prep. Oleum Hedeomae,  U. S.                            W.


               HELLEBORUS.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                         Black Hellebore.

  "The root of  Helleborus niger."  U. S., Ed.   "Helleborus  officinalis.

   Off. Syn. HELLEBORUS NIGER. Radix. Dub.
  Elk; bore  noire, Fr.;  Schwarzc Niesswurzel, Germ.; Ellcboro  ncro, Ital.; Heleboro
negro. Span.
  Helleborus. Sex. Syst.  Polyandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord.  Ranuncu-
laceae.
                                32* 
366
Helleborus.
PART I.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx none.  Petals five or more.  Nectaries bilabiate, tubular.
Capsules many-seeded, nearly erect.  Willd.
   Helleborus niger.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1336; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 473.
t.  169.   The root or rhizoma of the black  hellebore is  perennial, knotted,
blackish on the outside, white within, and sends off numerous long, simple,
depending fibres, which are brownish-yellow when fresh, but become dark
brown upon  drying.   The leaves are  pedate, of a deep green colour, and
stand on long footstalks which  spring immediately from the root.   Each
leaf is composed of five or more leaflets, one  terminal, and two, three, or
four on each side supported  on  a single  partial petiole.  The leaflets  are
ovate lanceolate, smooth,  shining, coriaceous,  and serrated  in  their upper
portion.   The flower-stem, which  also rises from the root, is six or eight
inches high, round, tapering, reddish towards the base, and bears one  or
two large, pendent, rose-like flowers, accompanied with floral leaves, which
supply  the place of the calyx.   The  petals, five in  number,  are large,
roundish, concave, spreading, and of a white or pale rose colour, with oc-
casionally a greenish tinge.  There are two varieties  of the  plant—the
Helleborus  niger humilifolius, and Helleborus  niger  altifolius—in the
former of which the leaves are shorter than the flower stem, in the latter
longer.
   This plant is a native of the mountainous regions of southern and tem-
perate Europe.  It is found in Greece, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France,
and Spain.   It is cultivated in gardens for the beauty of its flowers, which
expand in the middle of winter, and have, from this circumstance, given rise
to the name of Christmas rose, by which the black hellebore is sometimes
called.
   Till the publication of Tournefort's travels in the Levant, this  species  of
hellebore was regarded as identical with that so well known, under the same
title, to the ancient Greeks and Romans.  But in the island of Anticyra, and
various parts of continental Greece, in which it appears  from the  testimony
of ancient writers that the  hellebore abounded, this  traveller discovered a
species entirely distinct  from those before described, and particularly from
the  H. niger.   He  called  it H.  orientalis,  and reasonably inferred  that it
was the  true hellebore of the ancients; and botanists at present generally
coincide in this opinion.   But as the H. niger is also found in some parts
of Greece, it is not impossible that the two species were indiscriminately
employed.   It is, indeed, highly probable that they possess similar proper-
ties; and a third—the H. viridis—which grows in the west of Europe, is
said to be frequently substituted for the H. niger, which it closely resembles,
if it does not equal in medicinal  power.  The London College has adopted
H. orientalis, under Salisbury's  name of H. officinalis.  The roots of vari-
ous other plants not  belonging to the same  genus  are said to be frequently
substituted for the black  hellebore.  They  may usually be readily distin-
guished by attending to the characters of the genuine root.*

  * The following minute description of the root,  which we copy from Geiger's Hand-
buch der Pharmacie, may perhaps be  useful in enabling the druggist to distinguish this
from other analogous roots mingled with or substituted for it in commerce. •' It is usually
a many-headed root, with a caudex or  body half an inch thick or less, seldom  thicker, and
several inches long, horizontal, sometimes variously contorted, uneven, knotty, with trans-
verse ridges, slightly striated  longitudinally, presenting on its upper  surface the short
remains of the leaf and flower-stalks, and thickly beset upon the sides and under surface
with fibres of the thickness of a straw, and  from six to twelve inches long.  These are
undivided above, but at  the distance  of from two  to six  inches from their origin, are
furnished with small, slender branches.  The colour of the root is dark-brown, sometimes
rather light-brown, dull, and for  the  most part exhibiting  a gray, earthy tinge.  Inter- 
PART I.
Helleborus.—Hepatica.
367
  The medicine of which we are treating is sometimes called melampodium,
in honour of Melampus, an ancient shepherd or physician, who is said  to
have cured the daughters of king Praetus by giving them the milk of goats
which had been fed on hellebore.
  Properties.   Though the whole root is kept in the shops, the fibres are
the portion usually recommended.  They are  about as thick  as  a  straw,
when not broken from four inches to a foot in length, smooth, brittle, exter-
nally black or deep brown, internally white or  yellowish-white, with little
smell, and a bitterish, nauseous, acrid taste.   In their recent state they are
extremely acrimonious, producing on the  tongue a burning and benumbing
impression like that which results from  taking hot liquids into  the mouth.
This acrimony is diminished by drying, and still further impaired by age.
MM. Feneulle and Capron obtained from black hellebore, a volatile  oil, an
acrid fixed oil, a resinous substance, wax, a volatile acid, bitter extractive,
gum, albumen, gallate of potassa, supergallate of lime,  a salt of ammonia,
and woody fibre.  Water and alcohol extract its virtues, which are impaired
by long boiling.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Black  hellebore is a  drastic  hydragogue
cathartic, possessed  also of emmenagogue  powers, which by  some are
ascribed  to a specific tendency to the  uterus, by others are supposed  to
depend solely on the  purgative property.  In overdoses it produces inflam-
mation of the gastric  and intestinal mucous membrane,  with  violent  vomit-
ing, hypercatharsis, vertigo, cramp, and convulsions, which sometimes end
in death.  The  fresh  root applied to the  skin  produces inflammation and
even vesication.   The medicine was very highly esteemed by the ancients,
who  employed  it in  mania, melancholy, amenorrhoea, dropsy, epilepsy,
various cutaneous affections, and verminose diseases. By the earlier modern
physicians it was also much used.  Backer's pills, celebrated  for the cure
of dropsy, consisted  chiefly  of black  hellebore.  It  is at present little
employed, except as  an emmenagogue,  in which capacity it is  very  highly
esteemed by some practitioners.  Dr.  Mead considered it superior to all
other medicines belonging to this class.   It may  be given in substance,
extract, decoction, or  tincture.  The dose of the powdered root is from ten
to twenty grains as a drastic  purge, two  or  three grains as an alterative.
The decoction is prepared  by boiling two drachms in  a pint  of water,  of
which a fluidounce  may be given every  four hours  till it operates.   The
extract and tincture are officinal.
   Off. Prep. Extractum Hellebori, U. S.,  Dub.; Tinctura Hellebori, U. S.,
Lond., Dub.                                                    W.


                 HEPATICA.  U.S. Secondary.

                              Liverwort.

   " The leaves  of Hepatica Americana."  U. S.
   Hepatica.  Sex. Syst.  Polyandria  Polygynia.—Nat. Ord.  Ranuncu-
laceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx three-leaved.  Petals six to nine. Seeds naked.  Nuttall.

nally it is whitish, with  a somewhat darker pith, which, when cut transversely, shows
lighter converging rays.  Sometimes it is porous.  It has a medullary or fleshy, not a
ligneous  consistence.  The  fibres, when  dried, are wrinkled, very brittle,  sometimes
grayish internally, horny, with a white point in the centre.  The odour of the dried root
is feeble, somewhat like  that of seneka, but more nauseous, especially when  the root  is
rubbed with water. The taste is at first sweetish, then nauseously acrid and biting, but
not very durable, and slightly bitterish." Band. ii. s. 1181. 
368
Hepatica.—Heracleum.
PART I.
   Hepatica Americana. De Cand.; Eaton, Man. of Bot. p. 241.—H. tri-
loba. Willd. Enum.; Figured in Rafinesque's Med. Flor, i. 238. Botanists
generally admit but one species of Hepatica, the H. triloba,  and consider
as accidental the differences of structure and colour observable in the plant.
Pursh speaks of two varieties, one with the lobes of the leaf oval and acute,
the other with the lobes rounded and obtuse.   These are considered as dis-
tinct  species by De Candolle, and  the  latter  is the one which has  been
adopted by the Pharmacopoeia, and is  popularly employed as a medicine in
this country, under the name of liverwort.   Both have a perennial  fibrous
root, with three-lobed leaves, cordate at their base, coriaceous, nearly smooth,
glaucous and purplish beneath, and supported upon hairy footstalks from
four to eight inches long, which spring directly from the root.  The scapes
or flower-stems are several in number, of the same length with the petioles,
round, hairy, and terminating  in a single white, bluish, or purplish flower.
The calyx is at a little distance  below  the corolla, and is considered by
some an  involucre, while the corolla takes the  name of the calyx.   In the
H. aculiloba the leaves are cordate, with from three to five entire, acute
lobes;  and the leaflets of the  calyx  are  acute.   In  the H. Americana the
leaves are cordate-reniform, with  three entire, roundish,  obtuse lobes; and
the leaflets of the calyx are obtuse.  Both are indigenous, growing in woods
upon the sides of hills and mountains; the former, according to Eaton, pre-
ferring the northern, the latter the southern exposure.  The leaves resist the
cold of the winter, and the flowers make their  appearance early in  spring.
The whole plant is used.
  It is without smell, and has a mucilaginous, somewhat astringent, slightly
bitterish taste.  Water extracts all its active properties.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  Liverwort is  a very mild, demulcent
tonic and astringent, supposed  by  some to possess diuretic and  deobstruent
virtues.  It  was formerly used to some extent  in  Europe in various com-
plaints, especially in chronic  hepatic  affections; but has fallen into entire
neglect.   In this country, some years  since, it  attracted much attention as a
remedy in haemoptysis  and chronic coughs, and acquired for a time great
popular confidence.  Its credit, however, has declined.   It may be used in
infusion and taken ad libitum.  The term liverwort properly belongs to the
cryptogamous genus Marchantia.                                 W.
               HERACLEUM.  U.S. Secondary.

                            Masterwort.

  " The root of Heracleum lanatum." U. S.
  Heracleum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Apiaceae or
Umbelliferae.
  Gen. Ch.  Fruit elliptical,  emarginate, compressed, striated, margined.
Corolla difform, inflexed, emarginate. Involucre caducous.  Willd.
  Heracleum lanatum.  Michaux, Flor. Boreal. Am. i. 166.   This is one
of our largest indigenous umbelliferous plants.  The root is perennial, send-
ing up annually a hollow pubescent stem, from three to five feet high, and
often more than an  inch in thickness.  The leaves are ternate, downy on
their under surface, and supported on downy footstalks; the leaflets petiolate,
roundish, cordate, and lobed.  The flowers  are white, in large umbels, and
followed by  orbicular seeds.
  Like the  European  species this is sometimes called cow-parsnip.  It 
part I.         Heracleum.—Heuchera.—Hirudo.            369

grows in meadows and along fences or hedges, from Canada to Pennsylva-
nia, and flowers in June.
  The root, which is the officinal part, bears some resemblance to that of
common parsley in appearance.  It has a strong disagreeable odour, and a
very acrid taste.  Both the leaves and root excite redness and inflammation
when applied to the skin.  Dr. Bigelow considers the plant poisonous, and
advises caution in its use, especially when it is gathered from a damp situa-
tion.
  Medical Properties, fyc.  Masterwort appears to be somewhat stimulant
and carminative, and was used successfully by Dr. Orne, of Salem, Massa-
chusetts, in cases of epilepsy, attended with flatulence and  gastric disorder.
He directed two or three drachms of the pulverized root to be taken daily,
for a long time, and a strong infusion of the leaves to be  drunk  at bed-time.
(Thacher's Dispensatory.)                                       W.

                HEUCHERA.  U.S. Secondary.

                            Alum-root.

  " The root of  Heuchera Americana."  U. S.
  Heuchera. Sex. Syst.  Pentandria  Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Saxifragaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-cleft.  Petals five, small. Capsule bi-rostrate,  bi-
iocular, many-seeded. Nuttall.
  Heuchera Americana.. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1328; Barton, Med. Bot. ii.
159.—H. cortusa.  Michaux, Flor. Boreal. Am. i. 171.—H.viscida. Pursh,
Flor. Am. Sept. p. 187.   The alum-root or American  sanicle is a peren-
nial, herbaceous  plant, the leaves of which are all radical, petiolate, cordate,
with rounded lobes, furnished with  obtuse mucronate  teeth.   There is no
proper stem;  but numerous scapes or flower-stems are sent up by the same
root, from one to three feet in height, very hairy in their upper part, and
terminating in long, loose, pyramidal, diehotomous panicles.  The calyx is
small, with obtuse  segments; the petals lanceolate, rose-coloured, and of the
same length with the calyx; the filaments much longer, yellowish, and  sur-
mounted by small,  red, globose anthers.   The whole plant is covered with
a viscid pubescence.
  It is found in shady, rocky situations, from New England to Carolina,
and flowers  in June  and July.  The root is the medicinal portion.  It is
horizontal, somewhat compressed, knotty, irregular,  yellowish, and of a
strongly  styptic taste.
  Medical Properties. Alum-root is powerfully astringent, and may be em-
ployed in similar cases with other medicines belonging  to the same class.
It has hitherto, however, been little used.  We are informed in Dr. Barton's
" Collections," that it is applied by the Indians to wounds and obstinate
ulcers, and that it  is  the basis of a powder which, when the author wrote,
enjoyed some reputation as a cure for cancer.                      W.


                        HIRUDO.  Lond.

                            The Leech.

  Off. Syn.  HIRUDO MEDICINALIS. Dub.
  Snngsue, Fr.; Blutcgel, Germ.; Mignatta, Ital.; Sauguijtiela, Span.
  Hirudo.  Class  1, Annelides. Order 3, Abranchiatae. Family 2, Aseti-
gerae. Cuvier. 
370
Hirudo.
PART I.
  The leech belongs to that class of invertebrated articulated animals called
Annelides.  This class contains the  worms with red blood, having  soft
retractile bodies composed of numerous segments or rings, breathing gene-
rally by means of branchiae, with a nervous system consisting in a double
knotted cord, destitute of feet, and supplying their place by the contractile
power of their segments or rings.   The  third order of this class—Abran-
chiatae—comprehends those worms which have no apparent external organ
of respiration.  This order is again divided into two families,  to the second
of which—the Asetigerae, or those not having setae to enable them to crawl
—the leech belongs.
  It is an aquatic worm with a flattened  body,  tapering towards each end,
and terminating in circular flattened disks, the hinder one being the larger of
the two.   It swims with a vertical undulating motion, and moves when out
of the water by means of these disks or suckers, fastening itself first by one
and then by the other, and alternately stretching out and contracting its body.
The mouth is placed in the centre of the anterior disk, and is furnished with
three cartilaginous lens-shaped jaws at the entrance of the alimentary canal.
These jaws  are lined at their edges with  fine sharp teeth, and meet so as to
make a triangular incision in the flesh.   The head is furnished with small
raised  points, supposed by some  to  be  eyes.   Respiration  is carried on
through small apertures ranged along the inferior surface.   The  nervous
system consists of a cord extending the whole length, furnished with nume-
rous ganglions.  The intestinal canal is straight and terminates in the anus,
near the posterior disk. Although hermaphrodite, leeches mutually impreg-
nate each other.   They are oviparous, and the eggs, varying from  six to
fifteen, are contained in a sort of spongy, slimy coccoon, from half an inch
to an  inch in diameter.   These are deposited  near the edge of the water,
and hatched by the heat of the sun. The leech is torpid during the winter,
and casts off from time to time a thick slimy coating from its skin.   It can
live a considerable  time in sphagnous moss, or in moistened earth, and is
frequently transported in this manner  to great distances by the dealers.
  Savigny has divided the genus Hirudo of  Linnaeus into  several genera.
The true leech is the Sanguisuga of this  author, and is characterized by its
three lenticular jaws, each armed with two rows of teeth, and by having ten
ocular points.
  Several species are used for medicinal  purposes, of which the most com-
mon are the gray and the green leech  of Europe, both of which are varieties
of the Hirudo medicinalis of Linnaeus; and the Hirudo decora  of this
country.
   1. Hirudo medicinalis, Linn. Ed. Gmel. I. 3095.—Sanguisuga offici-
nalis. Savigny, Mon.Hir.p. 112.£. 5./.  1. The green leech.—Sanguisuga
medicinalis.  Savigny, Mon. Hir. p. 114, t. 5./. 2. The gray leech.  Many
of the best zoologists regard the Sanguisuga officinalis and S. medicinalis
of Savigny as mere varieties.  They are both marked with six longitudinal
dorsal  ferruginous stripes, the four lateral ones being  interrupted or tesse-
lated with black spots.  The colour of the back varies from a blackish to a
grayish-green.   The belly in the first variety is of a yellowish-green colour,
free from spots, and bordered with longitudinal black stripes.   In the second
it is of a green colour, bordered and maculated with black. This leech varies
from two to three or four  inches in length.  It inhabits marshes and running
streams,  and is found abundantly throughout Europe.
  The great use  made of leeches  in the  modern practice  of medicine has
occasioned them  to become a considerable article of commerce.  They are
collected in Spain, France, Italy, and Germany, and carried in large numbers 
PART I.
Hirudo.
371
to London and Paris.   They are also frequently brought to this country; as
the practitioners in some of our large cities use only the foreign leech, al-
though our own waters furnish an inexhaustible supply of this useful worm.
  2. Hirudo decora. Say, Major Long's Second Expedition, ii. 268.  The
medicinal leech of America has been described by Say under the name of
Hirudo decora, in the Appendix to the Second Expedition of Major Long.
Its  back is of a deep pistachio green colour, with three longitudinal rows of
square spots.  These spots are placed on every fifth ring, and are twenty-
two in number.   The lateral rows of spots are black, and the middle range
of a light  brownish-orange colour.  The belly is of the same colour,  vari-
ously and irregularly spotted with  black.  The American leech sometimes
attains the length of four or five inches, although its usual length is from two
to three.  It does not make  so large and deep an incision as the European
leech, and draws less blood.
   The use of the indigenous leech is nearly restricted to the city of Phila-
delphia.   The practitioners  of New York and Boston depend for their sup-
plies upon foreign countries, and leeching is seldom resorted to in the south-
ern or western states.    Those which are used  in Philadelphia are generally
brought from Bucks and  Berks county in Pennsylvania,  and occasionally
from other parts of the  State.  It is estimated that from 200,000 to 250,000
are annually consumed.
   The proper preservation of leeches is an object of importance to the prac-
titioner, as they are liable to great  and sudden mortality.  They are usually
kept in jars in clear water, which should be changed twice or three times a
week.  The jar must be covered with a linen cloth, and placed in a situa-
tion not liable to  sudden changes  of temperature.  They will live a long
time, and continue active and healthy, without any other attention than that
of frequently changing  the  water  in which they are kept.   M. Derheims
has proposed the following excellent method  of preserving them.  In the
bottom of a large basin or trough  of marble he places  a bed, six or seven
 inches deep, of  a mixture  of moss, turf, and  fragments of wood.   He
 strews pebbles above,  so as to retain  them  in their  place  without  com-
 pressing them too much, or preventing the water  from  freely penetrating
 them.  At one end of the trough, and about mid-way of its height, is placed
 a  thin slab of marble or earthenware, pierced  with  numerous holes and
 covered with a bed of moss, which is compressed by a thick layer of peb-
 bles.  The reservoir being thus disposed is half filled with  water, so that
 the moss and pebbles on the shelf shall  be  kept constantly moist.  The
 basin  is protected from the  light by a linen cover stretched over it.  By
 this arrangement the natural habits of the leech are not counteracted.  One
 of these habits, essential to its health, is that of drawing itself  through the
 moss and roots to clear its body from the slimy coat which forms on its skin,
 and is a principal cause of its disease and death.
    Medical Uses.—Leeches afford the least painful, and in many instances
 the most effectual means for the local abstraction of blood.  They are often
 applicable to parts which, either from their situation, or their great tender-
 ness when inflamed, do not admit of the use of cups;  and in the cases of
 infants, are, under all circumstances, preferable  to  this instrument.  They
 are indeed a powerful therapeutic  agent, and give to the physician in many
 instances, a control over disease which he could obtain in no  other  way.
 Their use is in great measure restricted to the treatment of local inflamma-
 tions; and, as a general rule, they  should not be resorted to until the force of
 the circulation has been diminished by bleeding from the arm, or in the natu-
 ral progress of the complaint. 
372
Hirudo.—Hordeum.
part r.
   In applying leeches to the skin, care should  be taken to shave off the
 hair, if there be any, and to have the part well cleansed with soap and water,
 and afterwards with pure water.  If the leech does not bite readily, the skin
 should be moistened with a little blood, or milk and water.   Sometimes the
 leech is put into a large quill open at both ends,  and applied with the head
 to  the skin until it fastens itself, when the quill is withdrawn.  If it be de-
 sirable that the leech shall bite in a particular spot, this end may be attained
 by cutting a  small hole in a piece of blotting paper, and then applying this
 moistened to the skin, so that the hole shall be  immediately over the spot
 from which  the blood is to  be taken.  Leeches  continue  to  draw blood
 until they are gorged, when  they drop off.  The  quantity of blood which
 they draw varies  according to the part to which they are applied, and the
 degree of inflammation existing in it.  In the loose and vascular textures
 they will abstract more than in those which are firm and compact, and more
 from an inflamed than a healthy part. As a general rule, our leechers apply
 six for every fluidounce of blood.   A single European leech will draw from
 half an ounce to an ounce.   The quantity may often be much increased by
 bathing the wound with warm water.   Leeches  will continue to suck  after
 their tails are cut off, which is sometimes  done,  although it is  a barbarous
 practice.  They may be separated from the skin at any time by sprinkling
 a little salt upon them.  After they drop off the same application will make
 them disgorge  the blood they have swallowed.  Some leechers draw the
 leeches from the tail to the  head through their fingers, and thus  squeeze out
 the blood, after which all that is necessary is to put them in clean water and
 change it frequently.   Leeches which are gorged with blood should be kept
 in a  vessel by themselves, as they are more subject to  disease, and often
 occasion a great mortality among the others.  They should not be again used
 until they have recovered their activity.
  In cases where the bleeding from leech-bites continues longer than is de-
 sirable, it  may be stopped by continued pressure, with the application of
 lint, or by touching the wounds with lunar caustic*   It may sometimes be
 necessary, in the case of a deep bite, to sew the wound,  which is readily
 done with a single stitch of the needle that need not penetrate deeper than
 the cutis.                                                    D. B. S.


                 HORDEUM. U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Barley.

  " The decorticated seeds of Hordeum  distichon." U. S., Ed.  " Hor-
 deum distichon. Semina integumentis nudata." Lond.
  Off. Syn.  HORDEUM  DISTICHON. Semina decorticata. Dub.
  Orge, Fr.; Gerstengraupen, Germ.; Orzo, Ital.; Cebada. Span.
  Hordeum. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Graminaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx lateral,  two-valved, one flowered, three-fold. Willd.
  Several species of Hordeum are cultivated in different parts of the world.
The most common are the H. vulgare, and H. distichon, both of which
have been introduced into the United States.
  1.  Hordeum vulgare. Willd.  Sp. Plant,  i. 472; Loudon's  Encyc. of
Plants, p. 73.  The  culm  or stalk of common  barley is from  two to four
feet in height, fistular, and  furnished with alternate, sheathing, lanceolate,
  * A little cotton, impregnated with a saturated solution of alum, will sometimes be
found an effectual application. 
PART I.
Hordeum.
373
roughish, and pointed leaves.   The flowers are all perfect, and arranged in
a close terminal spike, the axis of which is dentate, and on each tooth sup-
ports three sessile flowers.  The calyx or outer chaff has two valves.  The
corolla or inner chaff is also composed of two valves, of which the exterior
is larger than the other, and terminates in a  long, rough, serrated awn or
beard.   The seeds are arranged in four rows.
   2.  H. distichon. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 473; Loudon's Encyc. of Plants,
p. 73.  This species is distinguished by its flat spike or ear, which on each
flat side  has a double row of imperfect or male florets  without beards, and
on each edge, a single row of bearded perfect or  hermaphrodite florets.
The seeds therefore are in two rows, as indicated by  the specific name of
the plant.
   The original  country of the cultivated barley is unknown.  The plant
has been found growing wild  in Sicily, and various  parts of the interior of
Asia; but it may have  been introduced into these places.   The H. vulgare
is said by Pursh to grow in some parts of the United States, apparently in
a wild state.   The seeds are used in various  forms.
   1.  In  their natural state they are oval, oblong, pointed at one end, obtuse
at the other, marked with a longitudinal furrow, of a yellowish  colour exter-
nally, white within, having a faint odour when in mass, and a mild sweetish
taste.  They contain, according to Proust, in 100 parts, 32 of starch, 3 of
gluten, 5 of sugar, 4 of gum, 1 of yellow resin, and  55 of hordein, a prin-
ciple  closely analogous to lignin.  Berzelius  suggests that  hordein may be
an intimate mixture of vegetable fibre with gluten and starch, which are very
difficultly separable as  they exist in this grain.  Einhoff found  in 100 parts,
67*18 of starch, 5*21 of uncrystallizable sugar, 4-62 of gum, 3-52 of gluten,
1-15 of albumen, 0*24  of phosphate of lime, and  7*29 of vegetable fibre;
the remainder being water and loss.
   2.  Malt consists of the seeds made to germinate by warmth and moisture,
and then baked so as to deprive them of vitality.  By this process the sugar,
starch, and gum are increased at the expense of the  hordein,  as shown by
the analysis of Proust,  who found in 100 parts of malt,  56 of starch, 1 of
gluten, 15 of sugar, 15 of gum,  1 of yellow resin, and only  12 of hordein.
Berzelius attributes the diminution of the hordein to the separation, during
germination, of the gluten or starch from the fibrous  matter with which he
supposes them to be associated in that substance.   It is in the  form of malt
that barley is so largely consumed in the manufacture of malt liquors.
   An interesting substance called diastase has been discovered  by MM.
Payen and  Persoz in  the  seeds of barley,  oats, and wheat, and in  the
potato.   It is found, however,  only after these have undergone  germination,
of which process it appears to  be a product.  Germinated barley seldom
contains  it in larger proportion than two parts in a thousand.  It is obtained
by bruising freshly  germinated barley, adding about half its weight of water,
expressing strongly, treating the viscid liquid thus obtained with sufficient
alcohol to destroy its viscidity, then separating the coagulated albumen, and
adding a fresh portion of alcohol, which precipitates  the diastase in an  im-
pure state.   To render it pure, it must be redissolved  as often as three times
in water, and precipitated by alcohol.   It is solid,  white, tasteless, soluble
in water  and weak alcohol, but insoluble in the latter fluid in a  concentrated
state.   Though without action upon gum and sugar, it has the extraordinary
property, when mixed, in the  proportion of only one part to 2000, with
starch suspended in water, and maintained at a temperature of about 160°,
of converting this principle  into dextrine and the  sugar  of grapes.  The
       33 
374                  Hordeum.—Humulus.                part i.

whole of the starch undergoes this change, with the exception of the tegu-
ments of the granules, amounting to about 4 parts in 1000.
  3. Hulled barley is merely the grain deprived of its husk, which, accord-
ing to Einhoff, amounts to 18*75 parts in the hundred.
  4. Barley meal is formed by grinding  the seeds  previously deprived of
their husk.  It has a grayish-white colour, and contains, according to Four-
croy and Vauquelin, an oleaginous substance, sugar, starch, azotized mat-
ter, acetic acid,  phosphate of lime and magnesia, silica, and iron.   It may
be made into a coarse, heavy, hard bread, which in  some countries is much
used for food.
  5. Pearl barley—hordeum perlatum—is the seed deprived of all its in-
vestments, and afterwards rounded and polished in a mill.  It is in small
round or oval grains, having the remains  of the longitudinal furrow of the
seeds, and of a pearly whiteness.  It is wholly destitute  of hordein, and
abounds in starch, with some gluten, sugar, and gum.  This is the proper
officinal form of barley, and is kept in the shops almost to  the exclusion of
the  others.
  Medical Properties.  Barley is one of  the mildest and least irritating of
farinaceous substances; and,  though  not  medically used in its solid state,
forms by decoction with water a drink admirably adapted to febrile and in-
flammatory complaints, and much employed from the times of Hippocrates
and Galen to the present.  Pearl barley is the form  usually  preferred for the
preparation of the decoction, though the hulled grain is sometimes used, and
malt affords  a liquor more demulcent and  nutritious, and  therefore better
adapted to cases  of disease  which require  a supporting treatment.   (See
Decoctum Hordei.)   The  decoction of malt may be prepared by boiling
from two to four ounces in a quart of water and straining the liquor. When
hops are added, the decoction takes  the name of wort, and  acquires tonic
properties, which render it  useful in debilitated conditions of the system,
especially those which attend the suppurative process.
  Off. Prep.  Decoctum Hordei,  l). S.,  Lond., Dub.; Decoctum Hordei
Compositum, Lond., Ed., Dub.                                 W.

                        HUMULUS.   U.S.

                               Hops.

  "The strobiles of Humulus Lupulus."  U. S.
  Off\ Syn.  LUPULUS. Humulus Lupulus. Strobili exsiccati. Lond.;
LUPULUS. Catkin of Humulus Lupulus. Ed.; HUMULUS LUPULUS.
Strobili siccati.  Dub.
  Huublon, Fr.; Hopfen, Germ.; Luppolo, Ital.; Lupulo, Hombrecillo, Span.
  Humulus. Sex. Syst.  Dioecia Pentandria.—Nat. Ord. Urticaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Male. Calyx five-leaved.  Corolla none.  Female. Calyx one-
leafed, obliquely spreading, entire.  Coroltanone.   Styles  two. Seed one,
within a leafy calyx.  Willd.
  Humulus Lupulus.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 769; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
iii.  163.   The root of the hop is perennial, and sends up numerous annual
angular, rough, flexible stems, which twine around neighbouring  objects in
a spiral direction, from left to right, and climb to a great height.  The leaves
are opposite, and stand upon lonp; footstalks.  The smaller are sometimes
cordate;  the larger have three or five lobes;  all are serrate, of a depp green
colour on the upper surface, and, together with the petioles, extremely rough,
with minute prickles.  At the base of the footstalks are two or four smooth, 
PART I.
Humulus.
375
ovate, reflexed stipules.  The flowers are numerous, axillary, and furnished
with bractes.  The male flowers  are  yellowish-white, and arranged in pa-<
nicies; the female, which grow on a separate plant, are pale green,  and dis-
posed in solitary, peduncled aments, composed of membranous scales, ovate,
acute, and tubular at the base.   Each scale bears near its base, on  its inner
surface, two flowers, consisting of a roundish compressed germ, and two
styles, with long filiform stigmas.  The aments are converted into ovate
membranous cones or strobiles, the scales of which contain each at their base
two small seeds, surrounded by a yellow, granular, resinous powder.
  The hop is a native of North America and Europe.   It is  occasionally
found growing wild in the Eastern States, and, according to Mr. Nuttall, is
abundant on the banks of the Mississippi and Missouri.  In New  England
it is extensively cultivated, and most  of the hops consumed in the United
States, are supplied by that district of country.  The part of the plant used,
as well in the preparation of malt liquors as in medicine, is the fruit or stro-
biles.  These when fully ripe are picked from the plant, dried by  artificial
heat, packed in bales, and sent into the  market, under the name of hops.
  They consist of numerous thin, translucent, veined, leaf-like scales, which
are of a pale greenish-yellow colour, and contain near their base two small,
round, black seeds.   Though brittle  when quite dry, they are pulverized
with great difficulty.   Their odour is strong, peculiar, somewhat  narcotic,
and fragrant; their taste very bitter, aromatic, and slightly astringent.  Their
aroma, bitterness, and astringency are imparted to water  by decoction; but
the first mentioned property is dissipated by long boiling.  The most active
part of hops is  a substance secreted  by the  scales, and  in  the dried fruit
existing upon their surface in the form of a powder composed of very small
granules.   This  substance was called lupulin by the  late Dr. A.  W. Ives,
of New  York, by whom its properties were  first investigated, and made
generally known;  though it appears to have been previously noticed  by Sir
J. E. Smith of England, and  M. Planche of France.   It enters  into the
officinal catalogue of the United  States  Pharmacopoeia.  The scales them-
selves, however, are not destitute of virtues, and contain, as shown  by MM.
Payen and Chevallier, the same active principles as the powder upon their
surface, though in smaller proportion.
   Lupulina.  Lupulin. U. S.   This is obtained separate  by rubbing or
threshing and sifting the strobiles, of which it constitutes from one-sixth to
one-tenth by weight.   It is in the state of a yellowish powder, mixed with
minute  particles of the scales, from which  it cannot be entirely freed when
procured by a mechanical process.  It has  the peculiar flavour of hops, and
appeared to MM. Lebaillif and Raspail,  when examined by the microscope,
to consist of globules filled with a yellow matter, resembling in this respect
the pollen of vegetables.  It is inflammable, and when moderately  heated
becomes somewhat adhesive.  MM. Chevallier  and Payen obtained from
200 parts, 105 of resin, and 25 of a peculiar bitter principle, besides volatile
oil, gum, traces of fixed oil, a small quantity of an azotized substance, and
various salts.  Dr. Ives  found in 120 grains, 5 of tannin, 10 of extractive,
11 of bitter principle, 12 of wax, 36 of resin, and 46 of lignin.   The virtues
of the powder probably reside in  the volatile oil and bitter principle, and are
readily imparted to alcohol.   By boiling in  water the bitterness is extracted,
but the aroma is partially driven off.   The volatile oil,  which may be ob-
tained by distillation with water, is yellowish, of the odour of hops, of an
acrid taste, and lighter than water.  It is said to have narcotic properties.
   The bitter principle, which is called lupulite or lupuline, may be  procured
by treating with  alcohol the aqueous extract of lupulin previously mixed 
376
Humulus.
PART I.
with a little lime, evaporating the tincture thus formed, treating the resulting
extract with water, evaporating the solution, and washing the residue with
ether.   In a state of purity, it is yellowish or orange-yellow, inodorous at
common temperatures, but of the smell of hops when heated, of the peculiar
bitter taste of hops, slightly soluble in water which takes up five percent, of
its weight, readily soluble in alcohol, almost insoluble  in ether, neither acid
nor alkaline in its reaction, and without  nitrogen in its composition.   It is
scarcely affected by the weak acids or alkaline solutions, or by the metallic
salts.   It is probably the tonic principle of the medicine.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Hops are tonic and moderately narcotic,
and have been highly recommended in diseases of general  or local debility,
associated with morbid vigilance, or other nervous derangement.  They have
some tendency to produce sleep and relieve pain, and may be used for these
purposes in cases where opiates, from their tendency to constipate, or other
cause, are inadmissible.  Diuretic properties have also been ascribed to them,
but are  by no means very obvious.   The complaints in which they have
been found most useful are dyspepsia, and the nervous tremors, wakefulness,
and delirium of drunkards.   Dr. Maton found the extract advantageous in
allaying the pain of articular rheumatism.
  The medicine may be given in substance, infusion, tincture, or extract.
From  three to twenty grains are mentioned as the dose of the powder;  but
the quantity is too  small to produce any  decided effect; and this mode of
administration is in  fact scarcely ever resorted to.  An infusion prepared
from half an ounce of hops and a pint of boiling water, may be given in the
dose of two fluidounces three or four times a day. The extract and tincture
are officinal.  (See Extractum Humuli Lupuli and Tinctura Humuli.)  A
pillow of hops has been found useful in allaying restlessness and producing
sleep, in cases of nervous derangement.   They should be  moistened with
some  spirituous liquor previously to  being placed under  the head of  the
patient,  in order to prevent their rustling noise.   Fomentations with hops,
and cataplasms made by mixing them with some emollient adhesive sub-
stance, are often beneficial in local pains  and tumefactions.  An ointment
of the powder with lard is recommended  by  Mr. Freake as an  application
to cancerous sores, the pain of which it has relieved when other means have
failed.
  All the  effects of the preparations of hops may be obtained with greater
certainty and  convenience by the use of lupulin.  The dose of this in sub-
stance is from six to twelve grains, given in the form of pills, which may be
made by simply rubbing  the  powder in a warm mortar till it acquires  the
consistence of a ductile mass, and  then  moulding it into the proper shape.
A tincture is directed  by the United States Pharmacopoeia.  (See Tinctura
Lupulinae.) Lupulin may be incorporated with poultices, or formed into an
ointment with lard,  and used  externally for the same purposes as the hops
themselves.
  Off. Prep.   Extractum  Humuli  Lupuli, Dub., Lond., Ed.;  Infusum
Lupuli,  U.S.,  Lond.;  Tinctura Humuli, U.S., Lond.,  Dub.; Tinctura
Lupulinae,  U. S., Ed.                                            W. 
PART I.
Hydrargyrum.
377
         HYDRARGYRUM.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.

                             Mercury.

   Quicksilver; Mercurius, hat.;  Mercure, Vif argent, Fr.; Quecksilber, Germ.; Mercu-
rio, Ital.;  Az6/ue, Span. Hnd Port.
   This metal is found pure,  combined with  sulphur, united with silver,
and in the form of protochloride (native calomel); but of all its combinations,
the most abundant is  the bisulphuret, or native cinnabar.   Its most  im-
portant mines are  found  at Almaden in Spain, at Idria in Carniola, in the
Duchy of Deux-Ponts, at Durasno in  Mexico, near Azogue  in New Gra-
nada,  and  near  Huancavelica in Peru.  It also  occurs in the Philippine
Islands and China.  The most  ancient and productive mine  is that of Al-
maden.
   Extraction.   Nearly all the mercury consumed in  medicine and the arts,
is obtained from the bisulphuret, or native cinnabar.   It is extracted by two
principal processes.  According to one process the mineral is picked, pound-
ed, and mixed with lime.  The mixture is then introduced into  cast iron
retorts, which are placed in  rows, one above the other, in an  oblong fur-
nace, and connected with earthenware receivers, one-third full of water.
Heat being applied, the lime combines with the sulphur,  so as to form sul-
phuret of calcium and sulphate of lime, while  the mercury distils over, and
is condensed in  the receivers.  The other process is practised at Almaden
in Spain.  Here a square furnace is employed, the floor of which is pierced
with many holes, for the  passage of the flame from the fireplace underneath.
At the upper and lateral part of the furnace, holes are made, which commu-
nicate  with  several rows  of  aludels,* which terminate  in a small  chamber
that serves  both as  condenser  and  receiver.  The mineral, having been
picked by hand and pulverized, is kneaded  with clay and  formed into small
masses which are placed  on the floor of the furnace.   The heat being ap-
plied, the sulphur undergoes combustion, while the mercury,  being volatil-
ized, passes through the aludels to be condensed in the chamber.  This
process economizes fuel,  but is wasteful of the mercury.
   Commercial History.  Mercury is imported into this country generally in
cylindrical wrought-iron bottles, called flasks, each containing 76!  pounds,
and comes principally from the Atlantic ports of Spain, particularly Cadiz.
A portion also is received from the Austrian port of  Trieste, from which it
generally comes tied up in whole skins of white leather, forming bags, each
containing 31 pounds, and four of  which are usually packed together with
straw in  a rough flattened keg.  In both Spain and Austria, the produce of
the quicksilver mines is  a government monopoly.  In Spain all the metal
is brought from the mines to Seville, whence,  after paying an export duty,
it is carried  by small vessels down the river Guadalquivir to Cadiz and
Gibraltar, which are  the chief places  of its depot  for foreign  commerce.
The quantity imported into the United States varies in  different years.  Its
value for the year ending in Sept.  1832, exceeded two hundred and sixty-
three thousand dollars.   The greater part received is exported again, prin-
cipally to Mexico, Chili, and China.   Its principal consumption is caused
by its employment in the extraction of silver and  gold from its ores, and in
the preparation of vermilion.  In the United States it is consumed for making
thermometers  and barometers, for silvering looking-glasses,  and  for pre-

  * Aludels are a kind of pot, open at both ends, and which admit of being adjusted to
one another, so as to form a sort of tube.
                                  33* 
378
Hydrargyrum.
PART I.
paring various pharmaceutical compounds.  Of late the home consumption
has increased, in consequence of its employment in the mining operations
of the gold region of the Southern States.
  Properties. Mercury is a very brilliant liquid, of a silver-white  colour,
and without taste or smell.  When perfectly pure it undergoes no alteration
by the action of air or water, but, in its ordinary state, suffers a slight tar-
nish.   When heated to near the boiling point, it  gradually combines with
oxygen, and  becomes  converted into deutoxide; but at the temperature of
ebullition, it parts  with the  oxygen which  it had  absorbed, and is reduced
again to the metallic state.  Its sp. gr. is 13-5,  and its equivalent number
202.   Liquid at ordinary temperatures, it  freezes at 39° below zero, and
boils at 656°.  When frozen, it forms a malleable solid resembling lead. It
is a good conductor of caloric, and its specific heat is small.  It is not attacked
by muriatic acid, nor by cold  sulphuric acid; but boiling sulphuric acid, or
cold nitric acid  dissolves  it, generating either a sulphate or nitrate of the
deutoxide,  with the extrication, in the former case, of sulphurous acid, in
the latter, of  nitric oxide  becoming nitrous acid red fumes.   Its combina-
tions are numerous, and several of them constitute important medicines.  It
forms  two  oxides, two sulphurets,  two chlorides,  three  iodides,  and one
cyanuret, all of  which, excepting  the protosulphuret and sesquiodide, are
officinal, and will be noticed elsewhere under separate  heads.   Both the
oxides are  capable of uniting with acids so as to form salts, of which the
nitrate, sulphate, bisulphate, and acetate of the deutoxide are officinal, or
enter into officinal combinations.
  Mercury,  as  it occurs in commerce, is generally sufficiently pure for
pharmaceutical purposes.   Occasionally it contains foreign metals, such as
lead, bismuth, and tin.   Mr. Brande  informs  us that in examining large
quantities of  this metal in the  London market,  he found it only in  one in-
stance intentionally adulterated.  When  impure, the metal has a dull ap-
pearance, easily tarnishes, is deficient in due fluidity and mobility, as shown
by  its not forming round globules, is not totally dissipated by heat, and
when rolled over white paper  leaves a trace.   If agitated with strong sul-
phuric acid, the adulterating metals become oxidized,  and in  this manner
the mercury  may in  part be purified.   Lead  is  detected by  shaking the
suspected  metal with equal parts of acetic  acid and water, and  then testing
the acid by sulphate of soda, or iodide of potassium.  The former will pro-
duce a white, the  latter a yellow precipitate, if  lead  be present.  Bismuth
is discovered by dropping a nitric solution of the mercury, prepared with-
out heat, into distilled  water, when the subnitrate of bismuth will  precipi-
tate.  The  solubility of the metal in nitric acid shows that tin is not present;
and if sulphuretted hydrogen does not act upon muriatic acid previously
boiled  upon the  metal, the absence of most other metals is indicated.
  Mercury may be purified, according to Berzelius, by digesting it with a
small portion of nitric acid,  or with a solution of bichloride of mercury (cor-
rosive  sublimate); whereby all  the ordinary contaminating metals will be
removed.  It is, however, usually purified by distillation; and the Dublin Col-
lege has given directions  for conducting the process.  (See Hydrargyrum
Purificatum.)
  Medical Properties.  Mercury, in its uncombined state, is deemed inert;
but in a state of combination, it acts as a peculiar and universal stimulant.
When exhibited in a state of minute division, as it exists in  several prepa-
rations, it produces its peculiar effects;  but this does not prove that  the un-
combined  metal is active, but only that  the condition of minute  division
is favourable  to its entering  into combination in the stomach.   Its combina- 
part I.                     Hydrargyrum.                       379

tions exhibit certain  general  medical  properties and effects, which belong
to the whole as a class; while each individual preparation  is characterized
by some peculiarity in its operation.  Our business, in the  present place, is
to consider generally the physiological action of mercury, and the principles
by which ils administration should  be regulated; while its effects, as modi-
fied in its different combinations, will more  properly be noticed under  the
head of each preparation individually.
   Of the modus operandi of mercury we know nothing, except that it
probably acts through the medium of the circulation, and that it possesses a
peculiar  alterative power over the vital functions, which enables it in many
cases to subvert diseased actions by substituting its own in their stead. This
alterative power is sometimes exerted, without being attended with any other
vital phenomenon than the removal of the disease, while  at other times it
is attended with certain obvious effects, indicative of the agency of a potent
stimulus.   In the latter case, its operation is marked by a quickened circu-
lation, with a frequent, jerking pulse, by an increased activity imparted to
all the secretory functions, particularly those of the salivary glands and the
liver, by an exaltation  of  nervous  sensibility, and, in short, by a general
excitement of  the organic actions of the system.   When its effects are no
otherwise obvious than in the subversion of disease, its operation, though
so slight and imperceptible as altogether to escape notice, may be presumed
to be the same as when it produces obviously stimulating effects.
   When mercury acts insensibly as an alterative, there is not  the least  ap-
parent disturbance of the circulation;  but when  it operates decidedly  and
obviously, it is very prone to let the brunt of its action fall upon the salivary
glands, causing, in many instances, an immoderate flow of  saliva, and con-
stituting  the condition denominated ptyalism or salivation.  Under these
circumstances, to the alterative effects of the  mineral are  added those of
depletion and  revulsion.   In the saliva, discharged as a consequence of its
action, mercury has been detected by chemical tests.   (Journ. de Pharm.
xxiii. 625.) Occasionally its  depletory action is exhibited in an increased se-
cretion of urine, or an immoderate flow of the bile; and where ptyalism cannot
be induced, and either of these secretions becomes considerably augmented,
the circumstance may be  held as  equally conclusive  of the constitutional
impression of the mercury, as if the mouth had been affected.
   Mercury has been used in  almost all diseases, but too often  empirically,
and  without the guidance of  any recognised therapeutic principle.  Never-
theless, its efficacy in certain classes of diseases is universally acknowledged.
In functional derangement of  the digestive organs, mercurials in minute doses
exert a salutary operation, subverting the morbid action, and that too by its
insensible alterative effect, without affecting the mouth.  In these cases no
decided disturbance of the vital functions takes place; but the alvine  dis-
charges, if clay-coloured, are generally restored to their natural hue, a certain
proof that the remedy is stimulating the liver, and promoting the secretion
of the bile.  Indeed there is  no fact better established in medicine, than  that
of the influence of  the mercurial preparations over the hepatic system;  and
whether the liver be torpid and obstructed as in jaundice, or pouring out a
redundancy of morbid bile as  in melaena, its judicious use seems equally
efficacious in unloading the  viscus, and  restoring its secretion to a healthy
state.  In  the acute and chronic hepatitis of India it is considered almost a
specific; but here its use must be generally preceded by bleeding, and  car-
ried  to the extent  of exciting ptyalism.  In chronic  inflammation of the
mucous and serous membranes, the alterative effects of mercury are some-
times  attended  with  much benefit.  In many of these cases  effusion  has 
380
Hydrargyrum.
part i.
 taken place; and under these circumstances the mercury often proves use-
 ful, by promoting the absorption of the effused fluid, as well as by removing
 the chronic inflammation on which the effusion depends.   Hence it is that
 the remedy is often given with advantage in  chronic  forms  of meningitis,
 bronchitis, pleuritis, pneumonia, dysentery, rheumatism, &c, and in hydro-
 cephalus, hydrothorax, ascites, and general  dropsy.
   Mercury may also be advantageously resorted to in certain states of febrile
 disease.  In some forms of the remittent fever of our own country, a par-
 ticular stage of its course is marked by a dry  tongue, torpor of the bowels,
 scanty urine, and an arid state of the surface.   Here depletion by the lancet
 or  leeches is often  inadmissible, and the  remedial  measure most to be
 relied on is the judicious  employment of mercury.   It acts in such cases
 by  increasing the secretions,  and  promoting the action of the exhalent capil-
 laries, and, perhaps, by producing a new impression, incompatible with the
 action of the disease.
  In syphilitic affections, mercury has been  held to be, until of late years, an
 indispensable specific.  Of its  mode of  action in these affections we know
 nothing, except that it operates by substituting its own peculiar  action for
 that of the  disease.   Without entering upon the question of the necessity or
 non-necessity of mercury in  venereal complaints, as  out  of place  in this
 work, we are free to admit that the discussion which has grown out of it has
 shown  that this remedy has  sometimes been  unnecessarily  resorted to in
 affections resembling syphilis,  though of a different character; and  that the
 disease in question ought to be treated  less empirically, and  more  on the
 general principles of combating morbid action occurring in other parts.
 Mercury also appears to exert a peculiar control over the morbid effects of
 lead; and hence in colica pictonum, it is accounted by some writers to act
 almost as a specific.
  For inducing the specific effects of mercury on the constitution, blue pill or
 calomel is generally resorted to. In order  to produce what we have  called the
 insensible alterative effects of the metal,  a grain or two of blue pill  may be
 given in the twenty-four hours,  or from a  sixth to a fourth of a grain of
 calomel; or if a gentle ptyalism be our object, from three to five grains of
 the former, or a grain of the  latter, two or three times a day.  Where the
 bowels are peculiarly irritable, it is often necessary to introduce the metal by
 means of frictions with mercurial ointment; and, where a  speedy effect is
 desired, the internal  and external  use of the  remedy may be simultaneously
 resorted to.
  The  first observable effects of mercury in inducing ptyalism are  a coppery
 taste in the mouth, a slight soreness of the  gums, and an unpleasant sensa-
 tion in the  sockets of the teeth  when the jaws are firmly closed.   Shortly
 afterwards  the gums begin to swell, a line  of whitish matter is seen along
 their edges, and the breath is infected with a peculiar and very disagreeable
 smell, called the mercurial fetor.   The saliva  at the same time  begins to
 flow; and,  if the affection proceeds, the gums, tongue, throat, and face are
 much swollen;  ulcerations  attack  the lining membrane of the mouth and
 fauces;  the jaws become  excessively painful;  the tongue  is  coated with a
 thick whitish fur; and the saliva flows in streams from the mouth.  It occa-
 sionally happens, that the affection thus induced in the mouth proceeds to a
 dangerous extent, inducing extensive ulceration, gangrene, and even hemor-
 rhage.  The best remedies are  the various astringent and detergent gargles,
 used sufficiently weak, as the parts are extremely tender. In cases attended
 with swelling and protrusion  of the tongue,  the wash is best applied by in-
jection, by  means of a large syringe.  We have found lead-water among the 
part i.                    Hydrargyrum.                       381

best local applications in these cases; and dilute solutions of chlorinated soda
or of chlorinated lime, while they correct the fetor and add to the comfort
of the patient, will be found  to exert a curative  influence on the ulcerated
surfaces.
   While the  system is under the specific action of mercury,  the blood is
more watery, less charged with albumen, fibrin, and red globules, and loaded
with a very fetid fatty matter.  (Dr. S. Wright,  as quoted by Christison.)
When drawn from a vein, it exhibits the same appearance as in inflamma-
tory diseases.
   In the foregoing observations we have described the ordinary effects of
mercury; but occasionally, in  peculiar constitutions,  its operation is quite
different, being productive of a dangerous disturbance  of the vital functions.
Mr. Pearson of London has given  a detailed account of this occasional pecu-
liarity in the operation of mercurj- in his work on the venereal disease.  The
symptoms which characterize it are a  small frequent  pulse, anxiety about
the praecordia, pale and contracted countenance, great nervous agitation, and
alarming general debility.   Their appearance is the signal for discontinuing
the mercury;  as a further perseverance with it might be attended with fatal
consequences.  Mercury is also productive of a peculiar eruption on the skin,
which will be found described by the  systematic writers under the various
names of hydrargyria, eczema mercuriale, and lepra mercurialis.
   Those who work in mercury and are, therefore, exposed to  its vapours,
such as  water-gilders, looking-glass silverers, and  quicksilver miners, are in-
jured  seriously in their health, and  not unfrequentiy affected with shaking
palsy, attended with vertigo and other cerebral  disorders.
   Mercury is sometimes given in the metallic state,  in  the quantity of a
pound or two in obstructions of the bowels, to act by its weight; but the
practice is of doubtful advantage.
   Pharmaceutical Preparations.   We shall close our account of mercury
by presenting a tabular view of all the  officinal preparations of this  metal,
to be found in the United States and British Pharmacopoeias.   Mercury is
officinal,—

      I.  In the metallic state.
           Hydrargyrum, U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.
              Hydrargyrum Purificatum, Dub.
              Emplastrum Hydrargyri, U. S., Lond., Ed.
              Emplastrum Ammoniaci cum Hydrargyro, Lond., Dub.; Em-
                  plastrum Ammoniaci et Hydrargyri, Ed.
              Hydrargyrum cum  Creta, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
              Hydrargyrum cum  Magnesia, Dub.
              Pilulae  Hydrargyri, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Anglice, Blue
                  pill.
              Unguentum Hydrargyri, U. S., Ed., Dub.; Unguentum Hy-
                  drargyri Fortius, Lond.;  Anglice, Mercurial ointment.
                Unguentum Hydrargyri Mitius,  Lond., Dub.
                Ceratum Hydrargyri Compositum, Lond.
                Linimentum Hydrargyri Compositum, Lond.
     II.  Protoxidized.
         (By the action of solution of potassa on calomel.)
           Hydrargyri Oxidum Nigrum, U. S.;  Hydrargyri Oxydum Ni-
                  grum, Dub.
         (By the action of lime-water on  calomel.)
           Hydrargyri Oxydum,  Lond. 
3S2                       Hydrargyrum.                   part i.

    III. Deutoxidized.
         (By the action of heat and air.)
           Hydrargyri Oxydum Rubrum, Dub.; Anglice, Red precipitate
                 per se.
         (By the action of nitric acid.)
           Hydrargyri Oxidum Rubrum,  U. S., Ed.; Hydrargyri Nitrico-
                 oxydum, Lond.;  Hydrargyri Oxidum  Rubrum, Ed.;
                 Hydrargyri  Oxydum  Nitricum, Dub.;  Anglice, Red
                 precipitate.
             Unguentum Hydrargyri Oxidi Rubri, U. S.; Unguentum Hy-
                 drargyri  Nitrico-oxydi, Lond.;  Unguentum Oxidi Hy-
                 drargyri, Ed.;  Unguentum Hydrargyri Oxydi  Nitrici,
                 Dub.
         (Obtained by precipitation.)
           Hydrargyri Binoxydum, Lond.
    IV. Sulphuretted.
           Hydrargyri  Sulphuretum Nigrum, U.S., Dub.; Hydrargyri
                  Sulphuretum cum Sulphure, Lond.
           Hydrargyri  Sulphuretum Rubrum, U.S., Dub.; Hydrargyri
                  Bisulphuretum, Lond.; Cinnabaris, Ed.
     V.  As a protochloride.
         (Obtained by sublimation.)
           Hydrargyri Chloridum  Mite, U.S.; Hydrargyri Chloridum,
                  Lond.; Calomelas, Ed.; Calomelas Sublimatum, Dub.;
                  Anglice, Calomel.
             Pilulae Calomelanos et Opii, Ed.
              Pilulae Catharticae Compositae, U. S.
              Pilulae Hydrargyri Chloridi Mitis,  U. S.
              Pilulae Hydrargyri Chloridi Compositae, Lond.; Pilulae  Ca-
                  lomelanos Compositae, Ed., Dub.
          (Obtained by precipitation.)
            Calomelas Praecipitatum, Dub.
     VI. As A BICHLORIDE.
            Hydrargyri Chloridum Corrosivum, U. S.; Hydrargyri Bichlo-
                  ridum, Lond.; Sublimatus Corrosivus, Ed.; Hydrargyri
                   Murias  Corrosivum, Dub.;  Anglice,  Corrosive subli-
                   mate.
              Liquor Hydrargyri Biehloridi, Lond.
              Hydrargyrum  Ammoniatum, U. S.;  Hydrargyri Ammonio-
                   chloridum, Lond.;   Hydrargyri Precipitatum  Album,
                   Ed.; Hydrargyri Submurias Ammoniatum, Dub.;  An-
                   glice, White precipitate.
                Unguentum Hydrargyri Ammoniati, U. S.;  Unguentum
                   Hydrargyri Ammonio-chloridi, Lond.; Unguentum Pre-
                   cipitati  Albi, Ed.; Unguentum  Hydrargyri Submuriatis
                   Ammoniati, Dub.
     VII.  Combined with iodine.
             Hydrargyri Iodidum,  U. S., Lond.
               Pilulae Hydrargyri Iodidi, Lond.
               Unguentum Hydrargyri Iodidi, Lond.
             Hydrargyri Iodidum  Rubrum,  U. S.;  Hydrargyri  Binio-
                   didum, Lond., Ed.
               Unguentum Hydrargyri Biniodidi, Lond. 
part i.       Hyoscyami Folia.—Hyoscyami Semen.          383

   VIII.  Combined with cyanogen.
           Hydrargyri  Cyanuretum, U.S.,  Dub.; Hydrargyri  Bicyani-
                  dum, Lond.
    IX.  Oxidized and combined with acids.
           Hydrargyri Acetas, Dub.
           Hydrargyri Persulphas, Dub.
           Hydrargyri  Sulphas Flavus, U. S.; Hydrargyri Oxydum Sul-
                  phuricum, Dub.; Anglice, Turpeth mineral.
           Unguentum  Hydrargyri Nitratis, U. S., Lond.;  Unguentum
                  Citrinum, Ed.;  Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis, vel
                  Unguentum Citrinum,  Dub.;  Anglice, Citrine oint-
                  ment.                                        B.

             HYOSCYAMI  FOLIA.  U.S., Lond.

                         Henbane Leaves.

   " The  leaves of  Ilyoscyamus  niger."  U. S.   " Hyoscyamus niger.
 Folia."  Lond..
   Off. Syn.  HYOSCYAMUS. Leaves of Hyoscyamus niger. Ed.;  HY-
 OSCYAMUS  NIGER. Folia. Dub.

                HYOSCYAMI SEMEN.  U.S.

                           Henbane  Seed.

   " The seeds of Hyoscyamus niger."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  HYOSCYAMI  SEMINA.  Hyoscyamus niger.  Semina.
 Lond.
   Jusquiame noire, Fr.; Schwarzes Bilsenkraut, Germ.; Giusquiamo nero, Ital.; Beleno,
 Span.
   Hyoscyamus.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Sola-
 naceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla  funnel-form, obtuse.   Stamens  inclined.  Capsules
 covered  with a lid, two-celled. Willd.
   Hyoscyamus niger.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1010; Woodv. Med.  Bot. p.
 204. t. 76; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 161.  Henbane is usually  a biennial
 plant, with a  long,  tapering, whitish,  fleshy, somewhat branching  root,
 bearing considerable resemblance to that of parsley, for which it has  been
 eaten by mistake.   The stem is  erect, round, branching, from one  to  three
 feet in height,  and thickly furnished with leaves.   These are large, oblong
 ovate, deeply sinuated, with pointed segments, undulated, soft to the touch,
 and at their base embrace the stem.  The upper leaves  are generally entire.
 Both the stem  and leaves are hairy, viscid, and of a sea-green colour.  The
 flowers  form long, one-sided, leafy spikes, which terminate the  branches,
 and hang downwards.   They are composed of a calyx with five pointed di-
 visions,  a funnel-shaped corolla,  with five  unequal, obtuse segments at the
 border, five stamens inserted into the tube of the corolla, and a pistil with a
 blunt, round stigma.  Their colour is an obscure yellow, beautifully varie-
 gated with purple veins. The fruit is a globular two-celled capsule,  covered
 with a lid, invested with  the persistent calyx, and containing  numerous
 small seeds, which are  discharged by the horizontal separation of  the lid.
 The whole plant has a rank offensive smell.
   The H. niger seems to be susceptible of  considerable diversity of cha-
 racter,  giving  rise to varieties which have  by some  been considered as 
384
Hyoscyami Folia.—Hyoscyami Semen.
PART I.
 distinct species.  Thus the plant is sometimes annual, the stem simple, the
 leaves more deeply incised and less hairy than in the common variety, and
 the flowers yellow without the purple streaks.  It has not been determined
 whether any difference of medical properties is connected with these diver-
 sities of character.  The plant is found in the northern and eastern sections
 of the United  States, occupying waste grounds in the vicinity of the older
 settlements,  particularly  graveyards, old gardens, and the foundations  of
 ruined houses.  We  have seen a  specimen  brought  from  the  ruins  of
 Ticonderoga.   It is rare, however, in this  country, of which it is not a
 native, having  been introduced from Europe.  In Great  Britain, France,
 Germany, and other parts of Europe, it grows abundantly along the roads,
 around villages, amidst rubbish, and  in uncultivated places.   It flowers in
 June and July.
   The H. albus,  so named from the whiteness of its flowers, is used in
 France indiscriminately with the former species, which it resembles exactly
 in medicinal properties.
   All parts  of the  Hyoscyamus niger are  possessed of activity.  The
 leaves  are the  part  usually employed, but both these and the seeds are re-
 cognised in the U. S. and London  Pharmacopoeias.   Much of the efficacy
 of henbane depends upon  the time at which it  is gathered.   The leaves
 should be collected soon after the  plant  has flowered.   In the biennial
 plant, those of the second year are asserted  by Dr. Houlton  to be greatly
 preferable  to those of the first.  The  latter, he informs us,  are less clammy
 and fetid, yield less extractive matter, and are medicinally much less efficient.
 As the plant is sometimes destroyed  by the  severe winters in England, no
 leaves  of the second year's growth are obtainable, and the market is on
 these occasions supplied  with  the medicine  of inferior quality.   This is,
 perhaps, one of the causes of its great inequality of strength, and  uncer-
 tainty  of  operation.   The  root also is said to be much more  poisonous in
 the second year than the first.
   Properties.  The recent leaves have, when bruised, a strong, disagreeable,
 narcotic odour, somewhat like that of tobacco.  Their taste  is mucilaginous,
 and very slightly acrid.  When dried, they have little smell or taste.  Thrown
 upon the fire, they burn with a crackling noise, as if they contained a nitrate,
 and  at the same time emit  a strong  odour.   Their virtues are completely
 extracted by diluted alcohol. The watery infusion is of a pale yellow colour,
 insipid, with the narcotic odour of the plant. The leaves have been analyzed
 by Lindbergsen, who obtained from them a narcotic principle.  The seeds
 are very small, roundish, compressed, somewhat kidney-shaped, a little
 wrinkled,  of a gray or  yellowish-gray colour, of the odour of the plant,
 and an oleaginous bitterish taste. Analyzed by Brandes, they  yielded 24-2
 per cent, of fixed oil, 1*4 of a solid fatty substance, traces of sugar, 1*2 of
 gum, 2*4 of  bassorin, 1*5 of starch, 3*4 of a substance soluble  in water,
 insoluble in alcohol, and  precipitated by infusion  of galls (phyteumacolla,
 Brandes),  4-5  of albumen  soluble or coagulated, 26*0 of  vegetable fibre,
 24*1  of water, and  9*7 of  saline  matters, including an alkaline  principle
 called hyoscyamin or hyoscyamia, combined with malic acid.   But  the
process  employed by  Brandes  for separating  this principle,  has not suc-
ceeded in other hands; and it was doubtful whether the substance obtained
by that experimentalist was  really what he supposed it to be.  Geiger and
Hesse were the first to demonstrate  the existence of an organic alkali in
hyoscyamus.   Its extraction from the plant is somewhat difficult,  in conse-
quence of its strong tendency to undergo a change by the contact of alkaline
solutions, which  render  it very soluble in water.   The following is  the 
part i.      Hyoscyami Folia.—Hyoscyami Semen.           3S5

process of the last mentioned chemists.  The seeds of the plant are mace-
rated in alcohol;  the tincture thus obtained is evaporated by a very gentle
heat, decolorized by repeated  additions of lime and  sulphuric acid, with
filtration after each addition, and then still further concentrated by evapora-
tion; an excess of powdered carbonate of soda is added, and the precipitate
produced  is separated, as  speedily as possible, from the alkaline carbonate
by expressing and treating it with absolute  alcohol, while the mother waters
are at the same time treated with ether; the alcoholic and ethereal liquors
are  united, again treated with lime, filtered, decolorized with animal char-
coal, and  evaporated by a very gentle heat.  If the hyoscyamia  now depo-
sited should still  be coloured, it will be necessary to combine it anew with
an acid, and  to treat as before, in order  to obtain it quite pure.   The pro-
duct is very small.
   Hyoscyamia crystallizes in colourless, transparent, silky needles, which
are without odour, of an acrid  disagreeable taste, slightly soluble in water,
very soluble in alcohol and ether, and volatilizable with little change if care-
fully distilled.  It is  quickly altered by contact with  water  and an alkali,
and  when heated with potassa or soda is completely decomposed, with the
disengagement of ammonia.   It neutralizes the acids, forming  with  them
crystallizable salts.  The infusion of galls precipitates it  from its aqueous
solution.  Both  the alkali and its salts are very poisonous; and the smallest
quantity, introduced into the eye, produces a dilatation of the  pupil, which
continues  for a long time.
   Henbane  leaves  yield, by destructive distillation, a very poisonous era-
pyreumatic oil.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Hyoscyamus ranks among the narcotics.
In moderate  quantities it gently accelerates the circulation, increases  the
general warmth, occasions a sense  of heat in the throat, and after a short
period induces sleep. This action is sometimes attended with vertigo, pain
in the head,  and dilated  pupils; and  the  medicine occasionally acts as a
diaphoretic or diuretic, and even produces a pustular eruption.   It does  not
constipate like opium,  but, on  the contrary, often proves laxative.   In over
doses it powerfully irritates the brain and alimentary canal, causing dilata-
tion of  the pupil, disordered vision, loss of speech,  delirium or stupor, con-
vulsions, paralysis, pain in the bowels, diarrhoea, great arterial prostration,
petechias,  and other alarming  symptoms,  which sometimes end in death.
Dissection exhibits marks of inflammation of the stomach and bowels. The
poisonous effects are to be counteracted in the same manner as  those of
opium.  Acid drinks, such as  lemon-juice and vinegar, are  recommended
after the evacuation of the stomach.   Numerous instances might  be adduced
from authors to prove the deleterious influence of all parts of the H. niger,
when taken in large quantities.  Upon inferior animals its effects  are  not
always the same.   While it proves fatal to birds and dogs, the  leaves  are
eaten with entire  impunity by  horses, cows, sheep,  goats, and swine.  It is
not impossible that injury has  in some cases resulted from the use of milk
derived from  cows or goats which had been feeding on henbane.
   The remedial operation of hyoscyamus is anodyne and soporific.  The
medicine was  known to the  ancients, and was  employed by some of  the
earlier modern practitioners; but had fallen into disuse, and was  almost for-
gotten, when Baron Storck again introduced it into  notice.   By this  cele-
brated physician and some of his successors it was  prescribed in numerous
diseases, and,  if we  may  credit their  testimony, with the happiest effects;
but subsequent experience of its operation has been such as  very much to
narrow the extent of its application.   It is at present used almost exclusively
       34 
3S6          Hyoscyami Folia.—Hyoscyami Semen.       part i.

to relieve pain, procure sleep, or quiet irregular nervous action;  and is not
supposed to exercise any specific curative influence over particular diseases.
Even for the purposes which it is calculated to answer, it is infinitely inferior
to opium or its preparations; and is  generally resorted to only in cases  in
which the latter remedy is from peculiar circumstances deemed inadmissible.
Hyoscyamus has one great advantage  over opium in certain cases, that it
has no tendency to produce constipation. The diseases to which it is appli-
cable it would be useless to enumerate, as there are few complaints in which
circumstances might not be such as to call  for its employment.   Neuralgic
and  spasmodic affections, rheumatism, gout, hysteria, and various pectoral
diseases, as catarrh, pertussis, asthma, phthisis, &c. are among those  in
which it is most frequently prescribed.   In Europe, where  the fresh leaves
are readily obtained, it is often applied externally in the shape of lotion,
cataplasm, or fomentation, to allay  pain and irritation, in scrofulous or can-
cerous uleers,  scirrhous, hemorrhoidal,  or other painful tumours, gouly and
rheumatic swellings, and nervous headache.  The smoke of the leaves or
seeds has also been used in toothache; but the practice is deemed hazardous.
The effect of  henbane in dilating the pupil, when applied  to the  conjunc-
tiva, has already been  noticed.  For this purpose it is used by European
oculists,  previously to the operation for cataract.  An infusion of the leaves,
or a solution of the extract, is dropped into  the  eye.  The effect is usually
greatest at the end of four  hours from the time of application, and inUwelve
hours ceases entirely.  Vision  is not impaired during its continuance. Rei-
singer recommends a solution of hyoscyamia in the proportion of one grain
to twenty-four of water, of which one drop  is to be applied  to the eye.
   Henbane  may be given in substance, extract, or tincture.  The dose of
the powdered leaves  is from five to ten grains; that of the seeds somewhat
smaller.  The  common extract, or  inspissated juice  of the fresh leaves
(Extractum Hyoscyami, U. S.), is exceedingly variable  and precarious in
its operation, being  sometimes active, sometimes almost inert.   The usual
dose is two or three grains, repeated and gradually increased till the desired
effect is  obtained.  Cullen  rarely  procured the anodyne operation of the
medicine till he had carried the dose to  eight, ten, or even fifteen or twenty
grains.  Collin pushed it to thirty-six grains;  and Professor Fouquier, who
experimented largely with hyoscyamus in  the Hopital de la Charite, gave
two hundred and fifty grains of the extract  during twenty-four hours, with-
out any specific or curative impression.  (Richard, Elem.  Hist. Nat. Med.)
The aleoholic  extract prepared from  the recently dried leaves (Extractum
Hyoscyami Alcoholicum, U. S.) is said to be more  certain and effectual.
The dose of this to begin with is one or two grains, which may be increased
gradually to twenty or even thirty  grains.   The dose of the tincture is one
or two fluidrachms.   A good plan  in administering any of the preparations
of hvoscyamus is to repeat the dose every hour or two till its influence is
felt.'
   Off. Prep.  Extractum Hyoscyami, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Extractum
Hyoscyami Alcoholicum,  U. S.; Tinetura  Hyoscyami, U. S., Lond., Ed.,
Dub. "                                                         W. 
PART I.
Ichthyocolla.
387
                    ICHTHYOCOLLA. U.S.

                              Isinglass.

   "The swimming bladder of Aeipenser Huso, and  other species of Aci-
 penser."  U. S.
   Fish-glue; lehtliyocolle, colle de poisson, Fr.;  Hausenblase, Fischleim, Germ.; Colla
 di pesce, Ilal.; Cola de pescado, Span.
   Isinglass is a gelatinous substance, prepared chiefly from the sounds or
 swimming bladders of fishes, especially those of different  species of stur-
 geon.   Though no longer retained by any of the British Colleges in their
 officinal catalogues, it still has a place  in the Pharmacopoeia of the United
 States,  and being universally kept in the shops,  requires at  least a brief
 notice in the present work.
   In most fishes there is a membranous bag, placed  in the  anterior part of
 the abdomen, communicating frequently, though not always, by means of a
 duct, with the  oesophagus or stomach, and containing usually a mixture of
 oxygen and nitrogen gases in various proportions.   From  the supposition
 that it  was intended by its expansion  or contraction to  enable the fish to
 rise or  sink in the  water, it has been denominated  swimming bladder.
 It is of different shape  in different fishes, and consists  of three coats, of
 which the  two interior are thin and delicate, the outer tough and of a silvery
 whiteness.
   The Aeipenser Huso, or beluga of the Russians, is particularly designated
 by the Pharmacopoeia as the species of sturgeon from which isinglass is pro-
 cured;  but three others, the A. Ruthenus, or sterlet, A. Sturio, or common
 sturgeon, and A. stellatus, or starred sturgeon, also furnish  large quantities
 to commerce.  All these fish inhabit the interior waters of  Russia, especially
 the Wolga, and other streams which empty into the Caspian Sea.  Immense
 quantities are annually taken and consumed as  food by the Russians.   The
 air-bags are removed from the fish, and, having been slit  open  and washed
 in water in  order to separate  the blood, fat, and adhering  extraneous mem-
 branes, are spread out, and when sufficiently  stiffened are  formed into cylin-
 drical rolls, the ends of which are brought together  and  secured by pegs.
 The shape given to the roll is that of a staple,  or more accurately that of a
 lyre, which it firmly retains when dried.  Thus  prepared  it is  known in
 commerce  by the name of staple isinglass, and  is  distinguished  into the
 long and short staple.   Sometimes the membranes are dried in a flat state,
 or simply folded, and then receive the name of leaf or book isinglass.  The
 scraps or fragments of these varieties, with  various other parts of the fish,
 are boiled in water, which dissolves  the gelatin, and upon evaporation leaves
 it in a solid state.  This is called cake isinglass, from the shape which it is
 made to assume.   It is sometimes, however, in globular masses.   Of these
 varieties the long staple is said to be the best; but the finest book isinglass
 is not  surpassed by any brought to this country.   It is  remarkable for its
 beautiful iridescence by  transmitted light.  One hundred grains of this isin-
 glass dissolve  in ten ounces of water, forming a tremulous jelly when cold,
 and yield but two grains of membranous insoluble residuum.  The price of
 it is from three dollars and a half to  four dollars a pound.  That in cakes is
brownish, of an unpleasant odour, and employed only in  the arts.  Inferior
kinds, with the same commercial titles, are said  to  be prepared from the
peritoneum and intestines of the fish.
  Isinglass little inferior to the Russian is made in Iceland from the sounds
 of the cod and ling. 
388
lchthyocolla.
PART I.
   Considerable quantities of isinglass are  manufactured in New England
from the intestines of the cod—Morrhua  Americana (Storer, Report on
Fishes of Mass. 1839)—and of  some of its allied fishes.  This sort is in
the form of thin ribbons several feet in length, and from an inch and a half
to two inches in width.  It sells at from seventy-five to ninety cents a pound.
One hundred grains dissolve almost entirely  in water, leaving but  two grains
of insoluble  membrane, and form a tremulous  jelly when cold  with eight
ounces of water.  It is, therefore, as pure and nearly as strong a gelatin as
the Russian isinglass, but retains a fishy taste  and odour,  which render it
unfit for culinary or medicinal purposes.
   We receive from Brazil the air-bladders of a large fish, prepared by dry-
ing them in their distended state.  They are oblong, tapering and pointed
at one end, bifid with the remains of their pneumatic duct at the other, and
of a firm consistence.
   Isinglass of a good quality is  also made, in New York,  from  the sounds
of the weak  fish—Otolithus regalis of Cuvier (Storer, Rep. on  Fishes of
Mass. p. 33)—and perhaps of other fishes caught in the neighbourhood. The
sounds are  dried whole,  or merely split open,  and vary much in size  and
texture, weighing from  a drachm up to an ounce.
  An  article called " refined  or  transparent isinglass," is made by  dis-
solving the New England isinglass in  hot water, and  spreading the solution
to dry on oiled muslin.    It is in  very thin transparent plates, and is an ex-
cellent glue, but retains  a strong fishy odour. It sells at about two thirds the
price of the  Russia isinglass.
  An article  called Cooper's gelatin, has been introduced as a substitute for
isinglass in the making of jellies. It appears to  be the dried froth of a solu-
tion  of pure bone glue.*
  Isinglass is sometimes  kept in  the shops  cut into fine shreds, and is thus
more easily acted on by boiling water.
   In its purest form it is  whitish, semi-transparent, of a shining, pearly ap-
pearance, and destitute of smell and taste. The  inferior kinds are yellowish
and more opaque.  In cold water it softens, swells up, and becomes opales-
cent.  Boiling water entirely dissolves  it, with the exception of a minute
proportion of impurities,  amounting, according to Mr. Hatchet, to less than
two  parts in  the hundred.  The  solution  on  cooling  assumes  the form
of a jelly, which consists of  pure gelatin and  water.  Isinglass is in fact
the purest form  of gelatin with which we are acquainted, and may be used
whenever this principle is required as a test.  It is insoluble in alcohol, but
is dissolved readily by  most of  the diluted acids, and by solutions of the
alkalies. It has a strong affinity for tannin, with which it forms an insoluble
compound.   Boiled with concentrated sulphuric acid, it is converted into a
peculiar saccharine matter.  Its aqueous solution speedily putrefies.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Isinglass  has  no peculiar medical proper-
ties.   It may be given internally, in the form of jelly, as a highly nutritious
article of diet; but it has no advantages over the jelly prepared from calves-
feet.   Three drachms impart sufficient consistency to a pint of water.  It is
employed in the arts  for  clarifying liquors,  and imparting lustre to various
woven fabrics.   Added  in small quantities to vegetable jellies, it gives them
a tremulous  appearance, which they want when unmixed.   As a  test of tan-
nin it is used in solution,  in the proportion of a drachm to ten fluidounces of
distilled water.  It forms  the basis of the English court-plaster.      W.
  * We have derived the above facts in relation to American  isinglass from Mr. D. B.
Smith.  (See also a paper by this author in the Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. iii. 17
and 92.) 
PART I.
Inula.
389
                 INULA.  U.S. Secondary, Lond.

                             Elecampane.

   " The root of Inula Helenium."  U.S. " Inula Helenium. Radix." Lond.
   Off. Syn. INULA  HELENIUM. Radix. Dub.
   Aunee, Fr.; Alantwurzel, Germ.; Knula campana, Ital., Span.
   Inula.  Sex.  Syst.  Syngenesia  Superflua.—Nat. Ord. Compositae-Aste-
 roideae, De Cand.   Asteraceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.  Receptacle naked. Seed-down simple.  Anthers ending in two
 bristles at  the base.  Willd.
   Inula Helenium.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. 2089; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 64.
 t. 26.  Elecampane has a perennial root, and an annual stem, which is round,
 furrowed, villous, leafy, from three to six feet high, and branched near the
 top.   The leaves are  large, ovate, serrate, crowded  with reticular veins,
 smooth and deep green upon  the upper surface, downy on the under, and
 furnished with a fleshy midrib.  Those which spring directly from the root
 are petiolate, those  of the stem sessile and embracing.   The flowers are
 large,  of a golden-yellow colour, and stand singly at the ends of the stem
 and branches.  The calyx exhibits several rows of imbricated ovate scales.
 The florets of the ray are numerous, spreading, linear, and tridentate at the
 apex.   The  seeds are striated, quadrangular, and furnished with a simple
 somewhat chaffy pappus.
   This large and handsome plant is a native of Europe, where it is  also
 cultivated for medical  use.   It has been introduced into our gardens, and
 has become naturalized in some parts of the country, growing in low mea-
 dows,  and on the roadsides, from New England to Pennsylvania.   It flowers
 in July and August.  The roots, which are the officinal part, should be dug
 up in autumn, and in the second year of their growth.  When older they
 are apt to be  stringy  and woody.
   The fresh  root of elecampane is very thick and branched, having whitish
 cylindrical  ramifications which are furnished with thread-like fibres.  It  is
 externally brown, internally  whitish and fleshy;  and the transverse sections
 present radiating lines.   The dried  root, as found in the shops, is usually  in
 longitudinal or transverse  slices, and of a grayish colour internally.  The
 smell  is slightly camphorous, and, especially in the dried root, agreeably
 aromatic.   The taste, at first glutinous and said  to resemble that  of rancid
 soap, becomes, upon  chewing, warm, aromatic, and bitter.   Its medical vir-
 tues are extracted by alcohol and water, the  former becoming most strongly
 impregnated with its  bitterness and pungency.  A peculiar principle resem-
 bling starch was discovered  in elecampane  by Rose, a chemist  of Berlin,
 who named it alantin; but the  title  inulin, proposed by  Dr. Thomson,
 has been generally adopted.   It differs from starch in being deposited un-
 changed from its solution in boiling water  when  the liquor cools, and in
 giving  a yellowish instead of a blue colour with  iodine.   It has been found
 in the  roots of several other plants.  Besides this  principle, elecampane
 contains, according to  John, a white, concrete substance, called  helenin,
 intermediate in its properties between the essential oils and camphor, and
 separable by  distillation  with  water; a bitter extractive, soluble in water
and alcohol; a soft, acrid, bitter resin, having an aromatic odour when heated;
gum; albumen; lignin;  traces of volatile oil; a little wax; and various saline
substances.
                                 34* 
390
Inula.—Iodinum.
PART I.
  Medical Properties and  Uses. Elecampane is tonic and gently stimulant,
and has  been supposed to  possess diaphoretic,  diuretic, expectorant, and
emmenagogue properties.   By the ancients it was much employed, espe-
cially in the complaints peculiar to females;  and it is still occasionally resort-
ed to in cases of retained or suppressed menstruation.  In this country it is
chiefly used in chronic diseases  of the  lungs, and is sometimes beneficial
when the affection of the chest is  attended with weakness of the digestive
organs, or with general debility.  From a belief in its deobstruent and diu-
retic virtues, it was formerly prescribed in chronic engorgements of the abdo-
minal viscera, and the dropsy to which they so often give rise.  It has also
been highly recommended both as an internal and external remedy in tetter,
psora, and other diseases of the skin.   The usual  modes of administration
are in powder and decoction.   The dose of the former is from a scruple to
a drachm.  The decoction may be  prepared by boiling half an ounce of the
root in a pint of water, and  given in the dose of one or two fluidounces.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Piperis Nigri, Lond., Dub.                W.

                        IODINUM.  U.S.

                               Iodine.

   Off Syn. IODINIUM. Lond., Dub.; IODINEUM. Ed.
  lode, Fr ; Iod, Germ.; Iodina, Ital., Span.
  Iodine is an elementary non-metallic body, having many analogies  to
chlorine.   It was discovered in 1812 by Courtois, a soda manufacturer  of
Paris.   Some years  after its discovery, its therapeutic powers  were tried;
and these having been  found valuable,  it has gradually come into general
use, so  that at the present day it  is universally recognised as a standard
remedy.
  Natural State and Preparation.  Iodine exists in certain marine vege-
tables, particularly the fuci or common  sea-weeds; in the animal kingdom,
in sponge, the oyster, various polypi, and cod's liver oil; and in  the mineral
kingdom, in  sea water  in minute  quantity, in certain salt springs, united
with silver in a rare  Mexican mineral, and  in a  zinc  ore from  Silesia.   It
was  first discovered  in the United States  in the water of the  Congress
Spring, at Saratoga,  by Dr. William  Usher; and afterwards in the same
water by Dr. J. H. Steel, who ascertained it to be  in the state  of iodide
of sodium.  (See p. 114.)   It  was  also detected in  small  quantity in  the
Kenhawa saline waters, by the late Professor Emmet of the University of
Virginia.  In sea-weeds, the iodine probably exists in the shape of iodide of
sodium.   In both England and  France, sea-weeds are burnt for the sake
of their  ashes;  the product being a dark-coloured fused mass, called kelp.
This  substance contains, besides carbonate of soda and iodide  of sodium,
more or less common salt, chloride of  potassium, sulphate of soda, &c.
   Preparation.  It is from kelp that iodine is obtained,  and that procured
in Great Britain is exclusively manufactured in Glasgow. The  kelp which,
on an average, contains a  224th  part of iodine, is  lixiviated in water, in
which about half dissolves.   The solution is concentrated to a pellicle,
whereby all  the salts, except the iodide of sodium, are  almost completely
separated,  either during the concentration,  or the subsequent cooling, being
less soluble than the iodide. The remaining liquor, which is dense and dark-
coloured, is rendered sour  by sulphuric acid, whereby  carbonic  acid, sul-
phuretted  hydrogen and sulphurous  acid  are evolved, and sulphur is de-
posited.  The liquor is now introduced into a leaden still, and distilled with 
PART I.
lodinum.
391
a portion of deutoxide of manganese into a series of glass receivers, inserted
into  one another, in which the  iodine is condensed.   In  this process the
iodide of sodium is decomposed, and the iodine evolved; and the sulphuric
acid, deutoxide of manganese, and sodium unite, so as to form the  sulphate
of protoxide of manganese and sulphate of soda.
  Properties.  Iodine is  a soft, friable, opaque substance, in the  form of
crystalline  scales of a bluish-black colour and metallic lustre.  It possesses
a strong and  peculiar odour, somewhat  resembling that of chlorine, and a
hot acrid taste.   Applied  to the skin,  it produces an evanescent yellow
stain.   Its  sp. gr. is  a little less  than  5.   It is a volatile substance, and
evaporates  even at common temperatures, provided it be  in a moist  state.
When heated it evaporates more rapidly, and when the temperature reaches
225°, it fuses, and sublimes in a rich purple vapour, a  property which sug-
gested  its  name.  Its  vapour  has the sp. gr. of 8*7, and  is  the  heaviest
aeriform substance known.  If inhaled  mixed  with  air,  it excites  cough
and irritates the nostrils.  When it comes in contact  with cool surfaces, it
condenses in brilliant  steel-gray crystals.  Iodine is soluble in 7000  times
its weight  of  water, and in a much smaller quantity of  alcohol or ether.
Its solution in water has no taste,  a feeble odour, and a light brown colour;
in alcohol or ether, a deep brown hue. Its solubility in water is very much
increased by the  addition of certain salts, as the chloride of sodium, nitrate
of ammonia, or iodide of potassium.  In chemical habitudes, it resembles
chlorine; but its affinities are weaker.  Its equivalent number is 126*3.   It
combines with most of the non-metallic, and nearly all the metallic bodies,
forming, when the combination is not acid, the class of compounds called
iodides. Some of these, as the iodides  of iron, mercury, lead, potassium,
and  sulphur,  are officinal.  It forms with  oxygen  one  oxide, and three
acids, the iodous, iodic, and periodic acids, and with hydrogen, a gaseous
acid, analogous in properties and constitution to the muriatic, called hydri-
odic acid.
   Iodine may, in most cases, be recognised by its  characteristic purple
vapour; but where this cannot be made evident, it is detected unerringly
by starch,  which produces with it an insoluble combination of  a deep blue
colour.  This test was discovered by Colin and Gaultier de Claubry, and,
according to  Stromeyer, is so delicate, that it will indicate the presence of
iodine in 450,000 times its weight of water.  In order  that the  test may
succeed, the iodine must be in a free state, and the solutions cold.  To ren-
der it free  where it happens to be in combination, a little nitric acid must be
added to the solution suspected to contain it.
   Adulterations.  Iodine  is said to be occasionally adulterated  with  mine-
ral coal, charcoal, plumbago, and black oxide  of manganese; but neither
Dr.  Pereira  nor Dr.  Christison  has found  any of  these substances  in
samples of iodine which they have  examined.  They are easily detected
by their  fixed  nature, while  pure iodine  is  wholly  vaporizable,  or by
their insolubility in alcohol.   An impurity which  is almost always present
in commercial iodine is  water.   Several years ago  Dr. Christison  called
attention to this  fact, and until within a recent period he  had  not  met with
any British iodine which did not contain from fifteen  to twenty per cent, of
 moisture.  This impurity is of consequence, as it interferes  with uniformity
 in  the  iodine preparations.  If considerable, it  is easily  detected  by the
iodine adhering to the inside of the bottle.  The Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia
has  given  a test which detects all  impurity beyond two per  cent.  It is
founded upon the fact that pure iodine, diffused in  water, forms a clear
solution with a certain proportion of quicklime.  Accordingly, an amount 
392
Iodinum.
PART I.
  of quicklime is directed which is not quite sufficient to form a colourless
  solution with iodine containing two per cent, of impurity; and, hence, if
  the sample contain  more impurity,  the lime is  competent to produce this
  effect.   With  this  explanation, the  Edinburgh  directions  for  applying
  the test will be understood.   " Thirty-nine grains [of iodine]  with nine
  grains  of  quicklime and  three ounces  of water,  when heated short of
  ebullition,  slowly form a perfect solution, which is yellowish or brownish
  if the iodine  be  pure, but colourless if there be above  two per cent, of
  water or other impurity."
    The  Edinburgh  College, in view of  the  almost uniform  presence of
  water in commercial iodine, and  of  its consequent unfitness "for making
  pharmaceutical preparations  of uniform strength," directs it to "be  dried
  by being placed,  in  a shallow basin of earthenware, in  a small confined
  space of air, with ten or  twelve times its weight of fresh-burnt lime, till it
  scarcely adheres to the inside of a dry bottle."
    Medical Properties and Uses.  Iodine was  first employed as a medicine
  in 1820, for the  cure of goitre,  by Dr. Coindet, Senior, of Geneva.  It
  operates as a general excitant of the living actions, but particularly of the ab-
 sorbent  and glandular systems.  Its special actions are varied by its degree of
 concentration, state of combination, dose, &c; and hence, under different cir-
 cumstances of the remedy and of the system, it is deemed  capable of acting
 as a corrosive, irritant, desiccant, tonic, diuretic, diaphoretic, and emmena-
 gogue.  It probably acts by entering into the circulation;  at least it has  been
 proved  by  Dr. A. Buchanan  of Glasgow, that it  enters a number of the
 secretions,  particularly the  urine and  saliva, not, as he  believes, in an un-
 combined state, but in that of hydriodic acid.  Cantu detected it not only in
 the urine and saliva,  but also  in the sweat, milk, and blood, and always as
 hydriodic acid or an iodide.   Its tonic operation  is evinced by its  strength-
 ening the digestive organs, and increasing  the appetite, which are the most
 constant effects of its use.   Salivation is occasionally produced  by it, and
 sometimes soreness of mouth only.  In some cases, pustular eruptions and
 coryza have been produced; effects most apt to occur when the remedy is
 given  in the form of iodide of  potassium.   When taken in an overdose it
 acts as an irritant poison.   In doses of two drachms, administered to dogs,
 it produced  irritation of the  stomach, and death in seven days; and the
 stomach on dissection was  found studded with numerous little ulcers  of a
 yellow colour.  In a  dose of from four to six grains in man, it produces a
 sense of constriction  in the  throat, sickness and pain at the stomach, and at
 length vomiting and colic.   These facts demonstrate the activity of iodine,
 and show the necessity of caution in  its exhibition.  Even when  given in
 medicinal doses, especially if these be rather large, it sometimes produces dan-
 gerous symptoms;  such as restlessness, palpitation, a sense of burning along
 the gullet, excessive thirst, acute pain  in the stomach, vomiting and  purging,
 violent cramps, rapid  and extreme emaciation, and  frequent pulse.  This
 condition of the system, in which  the poisonous effects of iodine are de-
veloped,  is called iodism.  Though it  may be produced by incautious doses
 of the medicine, too long continued,  still it must be admitted that it some-
times arises, under other  circumstances, from causes not well  explained.
 On the other hand, large doses have been given  for a long time, with per-
fect impunity.  This  variable operation of iodine may in some measure be
accounted for by the  variable condition of  the stomach, and  the  more or
less  amylaceous character of the food; starch having the power of uniting
with iodine  and rendering it mild.  Upon the appearance  of the first symp-
toms of  fever or general nervous  disturbance, indicating the  approach of 
PART I.
Iodinum.
393
iodism, the remedy should be instantly laid aside.  Dr. Lugol, of Paris,
who has used  iodine more methodically than any other  practitioner, has
never  observed these alarming effects  to arise from the remedy, given in
the small doses and in the state of dilution in  which he is  in the habit
of prescribing it.   He has not found it to  cause  emaciation, haemoptysis,
pulmonary tubercles, or other bad effects.  On the contrary, in the hospital
of St. Louis,  the theatre of his extensive trials of  the remedy in scrofulous
diseases,many of the patients gained flesh and improved in general health.
   Notwithstanding this testimony, we have indubitable evidence that rapid
emaciation is occasionally  produced by iodine; and a long  course  of  the
remedy, as when administered  for the cure of bronchocele, has in  some
instances produced absorption of the mammae. The wasting of the testicles,
under similar circumstances, is comparatively rare.  Dr. R. Coates, of this
city, reports a case in the Medical Examiner, of the complete absorption of
the female breast from iodine; but the mammae recovered their original  de-
velopment after the lapse of a year.
   Iodine has been principally employed in diseases of the absorbent and
glandular systems.  In ascites it has been used with success by Dr. Baron.
It is said not  to act efficaciously while  the abdomen is tense, and the  ab-
sorbents consequently compressed, but operates after this condition  is  re-
moved by tapping.  Dr. Bardsley recommends it in that form  of ascites
which  is connected with diseased liver.  It has been  used successfully by
some  British practitioners  in ovarian tumours, but failed in  the hands of
others.  In glandular enlargements  and morbid growths, its use has proved
more efficacious than, perhaps,  in any other class  of diseases.   Dr. Coindet
discovered its extraordinary power in promoting the absorption of the thy-
roid gland in  bronchocele; and it has been used with more or less success in
enlargements  of the liver, spleen, mammae, testes, and uterus.  When used in
bronchocele, its good effects are commonly shown  in three weeks, but often,
not until the treatment has  been continued for a longer time.  In induration
and enlargement of the liver, where mercury has failed or is inadmissible,
iodine  forms our best resource.  In chronic  diseases of the uterus, attended
with induration and enlargement, and in hard  tumours of the cervix, and
indurated puckerings of the edges of the os tincae, iodine has occasionally
effected a cure, administered  internally, and rubbed into the cervix in  the
form of ointment  for ten or  twelve minutes every night.  The emmena-
gogue  power of iodine has been noticed  by several practitioners; and Dr.
Lugol  mentions instances, among his scrofulous patients, in which it  cured
obstructed and painful  menstruation.  It has been recommended in  gleet,
and also in gonorrhoea and leucorrhoea, after the inflammatory symptoms
have subsided.   In pseudo-syphilis  and the cachexy arising from the  abuse
of mercury, it  is one of our best remedies; but to the treatment of these
cases  iodide  of potassium  is considered  to be best suited.  (See Potassii
Iodidum.)  In  chronic rheumatism it is a favourite remedy with some, par-
ticularly in the form of iodide  of potassium; and by Gendrin  it has been
employed in  the acute forms of gout, with the effect, as  he  supposed, of
cutting  short the fits.   Dr.  Manson, of Nottingham, England,  in his work
published in  1825, on the  medical effects of iodine, has recorded cases of
its efficacy in several  nervous diseases, such as chorea  and paralysis.   In
various scaly cutaneous diseases, the internal and external use of the pre-
parations of iodine is very  much relied on.
   It is in scrofulous diseases that the  most interesting results have been
obtained by the use of iodine.  Dr. Coindet first directed public attention to
its effects in  scrofula, and Dr. Manson reported a number of cases of this 
394                           Iodinum.                       part i.

disease in the form of enlarged glands, ulcers, and ophthalmia, occurring in
his practice between 1821 and 1824, in a large proportion of which the dis-
ease was either cured or meliorated, and the general health much improved.
But we are indebted to Dr. Lugol for  the most extended and valuable re-
searches in relation to  the use of iodine  in the different forms of scrofula.
This  physician began  his  trials  with  the remedy  in  the  hospital  Saint
Louis  in  1827, and made known his results in three  Memoirs  published
in 1829-30 and 31.   These  memoirs give the detail of a success which
would  stagger belief,  were not  the results  substantiated  by committees
of distinguished  physicians of the French Royal Academy  of Sciences.
The scrofulous affections in which Dr. Lugol succeeded by  the administra-
tion of iodine were glandular tubercles, especially of the neck, ophthalmia,
ozasna, noli me tangere (dartre  rongeante scrophuleuse),  and  fistulous and
carious ulcers. He also obtained favourable results in some  cases of scrofu-
lous syphilis by the use of  the iodide of mercury.   In connexion with Dr.
Lugol's results in  scrofulous affections,  it may be proper to  mention that
Dr. Manson derived benefit from the use of iodine in white swelling, hip-
joint disease, and distortions of the spine, diseases generally admitted to be
more or less dependent on the scrofulous taint.
   Iodine is employed both internally and externally.   Internally it is some-
times used in the form of tincture;  but Dr. Lugol objects to this preparation
as of  unequal strength, and as being" liable to have the iodine precipitated
by water on the surface of  the stomach,  where it is apt to produce too irri-
tating an action. (See Tinctura Iodini Composita.)  This physician prefers
a mixed solution of iodine and iodide of  potassium in distilled water.  He
employs three strengths, namely, three-fourths of a grain, one grain,  and a
grain and a quarter of iodine to  half a pint of distilled water; the quantity of
iodide of potassium being in each solution double the quantity of the iodine.*
These  solutions  are  permanent, perfectly transparent,  and  of an orange
colour. The London College has imitated this combination in a new officinal
formula. (See Liquor Potassii Iodidi  Compositus.)   The  mode of  admi-
nistration employed by Dr. Lugol for his solutions, is to give  two-thirds of
the weakest solution, or  half a grain of  iodine daily for the first fortnight;
the weakest solution entire for  the second and  third fortnight;  the medium
solution during the fourth and  fifth fortnight; and lastly, in some cases, the
strongest solution for ihe remainder of the treatment.   In  the majority of
cases, however, he had not occasion to resort to the strongest solution. He
gives half  the daily quantity in the morning fasting, and  the other half,  an
hour before dinner; each portion being slightly sweetened at the moment of
taking it.   For the convenience of making the weak iodine solution, or of
administering the  remedy  by drops, Dr. Lugol  prepares  a  concentrated
solution, consisting of a scruple of iodine, and two scruples of iodide of
potassium  dissolved in seven fluidrachms of water.t  Of this solution the
dose is six drops twice a day, (in the morning fasting,  and an hour before
dinner,) in a glass of sweetened water, gradually increased  weekly by two
drops  at a time, until the dose reaches to thirty or thirty-six drops.  For
children under seven years, the dose is two drops twice a day, gradually
increased to five.   This solution has been made officinal  in the last edition

  * In the original  Memoir of Dr.  Lugol, the  grains are French, and  the quantity of
water eight French ounces; but  to facilitate prescription we have supposed them English
grains, and have substituted half a pint for the  eight French ounces of  water; changes
which will not make the solutions materially stronger.
  t In the original it is seven ounces; but from the context of the author, this is evidently
a misprint for seven drachms. 
PART I.
lodinum.
395
of the United States Pharmacopoeia.  (See Liquor Iodini Compositus.)  It
will be observed that these doses are considerably smaller than those usually
employed by Dr. Coindet.
  The external treatment by iodine may be divided into local  and general.
By its use in this way it does not  create a mere topical effect  on  the skin;
but by its absorption produces its peculiar constitutional impression.   Dr.
Lugol has given  a number of  formulae for preparations  for the local use of
iodine, a short account of which will be  here given.   His iodine  ointment
varies in strength from six to twelve grains  of iodine, mixed with  from two
to four scruples of iodide of potassium, to the ounce of lard.  (See  Unguen-
tum  Iodini Compositum.)   It  has  a mahogany colour, and  is employed
in frictions to scrofulous  tumours,  and as a dressing to scrofulous  ulcers.
The ointment of protiodide of mercury  which  he recommends, consists of
from one to two scruples of the mercurial iodide to the ounce of lard.  (See
Unguentum Hydrargyri Iodidi.)   Its proper colour is canary yellow; but
occasionally it has a decided greenish tint, derived from the presence of
protoxide of mercury,  or an orange colour, when it contains the biniodide.
This  ointment, which has the advantage of producing very little pain, is
used by Dr. Lugol in noli me  tangere, and  in scrofulous ulcers which have
a syphilitic aspect.   The ointment of biniodide of mercury, which is much
more powerful, has also been used with apparent advantage in similar cases.
(See Unguentum Hydrargyri Biniodidi.)  Dr. Lugol's iodine lotion con-
sists of from two to four grains of iodine to a  pint of  distilled water, the
solution being rendered complete by  the  addition of double the quantity of
iodide of potassium.   This is used  by injection, principally in scrofulous
ophthalmia, ozaena, and fistulous ulcers.  His rubefacient solution is formed
by dissolving half an ounce of iodine and an ounce of iodide of potassium in
six fluidounces of distilled  water.   This is useful for exciting scrofulous
ulcers, for touching the eye-lids, and as an application to  recent scrofulous
cicatrices, to render them smooth and less prominent.   A certain quantity of
the rubefacient solution added  to warm water, makes a convenient  local bath
for the arms, legs, feet,  or hands; and mixed  with linseed meal, or  some
similar substance, it forms a cataplasm, useful in particular cases, especially
where the object is to  promote the falling off of scabs.  The  only remaining
local application  to be mentioned, is what  Dr.  Lugol calls iodine caustic.
 It consists of iodine and iodide  of potassium,  each an ounce, dissolved in
two  ounces of distilled water, and is used  to stimulate  or destroy soft and
fungous granulations.  Its employment in  this  way has been attended with
 particularly good effects in noli  me tangere.
   The external  application of iodine, when general,  consists in the use
 of iodine baths,  a mode of applying the remedy which originated  with
 Dr. Lugol.  This mode is  considered very valuable by this physician, on
 account of the great extent of the  skin, which furnishes the means of intro-
 ducing a considerable quantity of iodine into  the circulation, without de-
 ranging the digestive functions, an object  of  great importance,  where the
 medicine produces irritation of the stomach.   The iodine bath for adults,
 according to the formula  of  Dr.  Lugol, should contain  from two to four
 drachms of iodine, with double that quantity of iodide of potassium, dissolved
 in water, in a wooden bath tub, the proportion of  the  water  being about a
 gallon for every three grains of iodine employed.  The  quantity of  ingre-
 dients for the baths of children is one-third as much as for adults, but dis-
 solved in about the  same proportional quantity of water.  The quantity of
 iodine and iodide for a bath being determined on, it is best to  dissolve them
 in a  small quantity of water, (half a  pint for example,) before they are added 
396
Iodinum.
PART I.
to the water of the bath; as this mode of proceeding facilitates their thorough
diffusion.  In the composition of these baths,  the iodide of potassium is
used by Dr. Lugol merely to promote the solubility of the iodine, and not
as a medicinal agent; as, upon  trial, a bath containing the iodide  alone
proved nearly inert.
   The iodine baths,  which may be directed  three or four times a week,
usually produce a slight rubefacient effect;  but, occasionally, a stronger im-
pression, causing the epidermis to peel off, particularly of the arms and legs.
The skin at the same  time contracts a deep yellow tinge, which usually dis-
appears in the interval between the baths.
   Iodine has been used as a local application in erysipelas and chilblains.
In these cases the tincture is recommended, brushed over and a little beyond
the seat of inflammation, by means of a camel's hair pencil.   The efficacy
of the remedy in the former disease has been confirmed in two cases by Dr.
Robert Burns, of Frankford, Pa. (Med. Exam. iv. 709.)   We have tried
it in one case with the effect of apparently cutting short the disease; but its
application produced very severe pain, and we  regretted that we had used
the tincture undiluted.   In cutaneous scrofula, the tincture  has been found
beneficial by Dr. Pereira, applied in the  same way, having the effect of
drying up the discharge  and  promoting cicatrization.   The same topical
application  has been found useful in  various scaly cutaneous  diseases, such
as lepra,  psoriasis, &c.
   Sir Charles Scudamore, Sir James  Murray, and Dr. Corrigan have re-
commended the inhalation of iodine vapour in phthisis.  The plan of Sir
Charles is to inhale from a glass inhaler for ten minutes, two or three times
a day, a small portion of a solution of ioduretted  iodide of potassium, mixed
with a saturated tincture of conium.  The ioduretted solution is made by
dissolving six grains, each, of iodine and iodide of potassium, in five ounces
and three quarters of distilled water and a quarter of an ounce of alcohol.
The dose for each inhalation is from half a drachm to  a drachm of the
iodine  solution, gradually increased, with half a drachm of the tincture,
added to  a portion of water of the temperature of 120°, nearly sufficient to
half fill the inhaler.  We  have no disposition to  discourage the trial of new
methods  of treatment in  phthisis by regular practitioners;  but we cannot
conceive  of this inhaling treatment having any other than a palliative effect.
   Since the publication of Dr. Lugol's memoirs, detailing his success with
iodine in the treatment of scrofulous affections, his practice has been imitated
and extended by  several practitioners, and generally  with encouraging re-
sults.  Dr.  Bermond, of Bordeaux, has succeeded with the iodine treatment
in enlarged  testicle from  a venereal  cause, scrofulous ophthalmia of six
years'  duration, and scrofulous ulcers and abscesses of the cervical and sub-
maxillary glands.  In numerous  other cases of scrofula under his care, the
iodine  treatment proved beneficial; though, before its commencement, the
cases underwent no improvement.  The only peculiarity in Dr. Bermond's
treatment, was that, in some cases, he  associated opiate preparations with
the iodine.   In the case of ophthalmia which he treated, the  collyrium em-
ployed consisted of tincture of iodine thirty drops, laudanum thirty-six drops,
to four fluidounces of distilled water.   When the local application of the
iodine  created much pain or rubefaction, he found advantage from combining
extract of opium  with it.   A plaster which proved efficacious as an appli-
cation to  an enlarged parotid, in one of his cases, consisted of lead plaster
(diachylon)  and iodide of potassium, each, four parts; iodine and extract of
opium, each,  three parts.  In  confirmation of  Dr. Bermond's views, M.
Lemasson, one of the house pupils of the hospital St. Louis, has published 
PART I.
Iodinum.
397
a number of cases, proving the efficacy of a combination of iodine and opium
in the local treatment of scrofulous ulcerations.   He concludes  from his
experience that the union of opiate preparations with iodine imparts to the
latter, in many cases, new and valuable powers.  One of the combinations
which he employed consisted offifteen grains of iodine, a drachm of iodide
of potassium,  and two drachms of Rousseau's laudanum, made up into an
ointment with two ounces of fresh lard.
   The protiodide and biniodide of mercury, besides being used in the form
of ointment as already mentioned, are employed internally, especially in the
treatment of scrofulous syphilis.   They are both  recognised  as officinal in
the different Pharmacopoeias. (See Hydrargyri Iodidum, and Hydrargyri
Iodidum Rubrum.)   For the iodides of iron, lead, potassium, and sulphur,
see Ferri Iodidum, Plumbi Iodidum,  Potassii Iodidum, and Sulphuris
Iodidum.
   The results obtained by Dr. Lugol and others in the treatment of scrofu-
lous diseases  by the  iodine preparations  are  so diversified,  as  to  leave
no doubt of their superiority over all other remedies in the  same class of
affections.   A considerable number of practitioners in  the  United  States
have employed them in the same diseases with encouraging success; but at
the same time,  there  has  been a number  of  failures.   To judge  fairly,
however, of Dr.  Lugol's results, it is not sufficient for our practitioners to
give iodine; but they should  use it  in the peculiar  manner,  and with the
observance of all the rules, which are so fully laid  down in  the published
memoirs of that  physician.  Reasoning on the subject, we can readily con-
ceive that a dilute aqueous solution of iodine may act differently from the
tincture; and  that a therapeutical agent may be  introduced  gradually and
imperceptibly into the current of the circulation in one form of administra-
tion, and thus be capable of producing important alterative effects;  while in
another, it may create irritation and even ulceration of the stomach without
being absorbed,  and thus prove  mischievous.   A case in point is furnished
by mineral waters, which, though generally containing a minute portion of
saline matter, often produce  remedial effects which  cannot be obtained by
their constituents given in larger doses.
   The views here presented are supported  and  extended by the observa-
tions and experiments of Dr. A. Buchanan, of Glasgow, who contends that
 iodine is divested of its irritant qualities in certain states  of combination, in
 which it may be given in large  doses without risk, and with the effect of
 pervading nearly all  the secretions, and, under certain circumstances, even
 the blood.  The combinations which he prefers, enumerated in the order of
 their relative efficacy, are iodide of starch, hydriodic acid,  and iodide of
 potassium, the first and last of which he supposes to act as hydriodic acid,
 the iodine in them being, agreeably to his view, converted into that acid in
 the stomach and bowels. (See Potassii Iodidum in  Part II.,  and hydriodic
 acid and iodide of starch in the Appendix.*)
   The following is a list of all the officinal  preparations of iodine, contained
 in the United States and British Pharmacopoeias.
   Iodine is officinal,—
       I. In solution in alcohol.
            Tinctura Iodini, U. S.; Tinctura Iodinei, Ed.; Iodinii Tinctura,
                   Dub.
   * For further details the reader is  referred to the work of Dr. Lugol, '* Sur l'Emploi
 de Node dans les Maladies Scrofuleuses," or its Translation,  with valuable additions, by
 Dr. O'Sliaughnessy, formerly of London, now of Calcutta.  For notices  of the iodides of
 ammonium and zinc, and of the iodohydrargyrate of potassium, sec Appends.
      35 
398                 lodinum.—Ipecacuanha,              part i.
    II. In solution in alcohol with iodide of potassium.
          Tinctura Iodini Composita, U. S.; Tinctura Iodinii Composita,
                Lond.
   III. In the form of ointment.
          Unguentum Iodini,  U. S.; Unguentum Iodinii, Dub.
    IV. In the form of ointment with iodide of potassium.
          Unguentum Iodini  Compositum, U.S.; Unguentum Iodinii
                Compositum, Lond.; Unguentum Iodinei, Ed.
    V. In solution in water with iodide of potassium.
          Liquor Iodini Compositus, U. S.; Iodinei Liquor Compositus,
                Ed.
          Liquor Potassii Iodidi Compositus, Lond.
   VI. Combined with sulphur.
          Sulphuris Iodidum, U. S.
   VII. In saline combination.
          Ferri Iodidum, U. S., Lond., Ed.
            Ferri Iodidi  Syrupus, Ed.
            Liquor Ferri Iodidi, U. S.
          Hydrargyri Iodidum, U. S., Lond.
            Pilulae Hydrargyri Iodidi, Lond.
            Unguentum  Hydrargyri Iodidi, Lond.
          Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum, U. S.; Hydrargyri Biniodidum,
                 Lond., Ed.
            Unguentum  Hydrargyri Biniodidi, Lond.
          Plumbi Iodidum, Lond., Ed.
            Unguentum  Plumbi Iodidi, Lond.
          Potassii  Iodidum,  U. S.,  Lond.,  Ed.;  Potassae Hydriodas,
                 Dub.
            Unguentum Potassae Hydriodatis, Dub.              B.

            IPECACUANHA.  U.S., Lond.,  Ed.

                          Ipecacuanha.

  "The  root of Cephaelis Ipecacuanha."  U.S., Ed.   "Cephaelis Ipe-
cacuanha. Radix."  Lond.
  Off. Syn.  CEPHAELIS IPECACUANHA. Radix. Dub.
  Ipecacuanha, Fr.; Brechwurzel, Ipecacuanha, Germ ;  Ipecacuana, Ital., Span.
  The term ipecacuanha, derived  from the language of the aborigines of
Brazil, has been applied to various emetic roots of South American origin.
The British Colleges and our national Pharmacopoeia recognise only that
of the Cephaelis Ipecacuanha; and no other is known by the name in the
shops of  this country.  Our chief attention will, therefore, be confined to
this root, and the plant which yields it; but  as others are employed in
South America, are occasionally exported,  and may  possibly reach our
markets mingled with the  genuine drug, we shall, in a note, give a succinct
account of those which have attracted most notice.
   The botanical  character of the plant which  yields genuine ipecacuanha
was long unknown.  Pison and  Marcgrav, who were the first  to treat of
this medicine, in their work on the natural history of Brazil, published at
Amsterdam, A.D. 1648, describe in general  terms two plants; one producing
a whitish root, distinguished by the name of white ipecacuanha, the other a
brown root which answers in their description precisely to the officinal drug.
But their account was not sufficiently definite to enable botanists to decide 
PART I.
Ipecacuanha.
399
upon the character of the plants; and much uncertainty existed on the sub-
ject.  The medicine was generally thought to be derived from a species of
 Viola, which Linnaeus  designated by the title of V. Ipecacuanha.  Opinion
afterwards turned in favour  of a  plant sent to Linnaeus by the celebrated
Mutis from New Granada, as affording the ipecacuanha of that country and
of Peru.   This was described in the Supplementum of the younger Lin-
naeus, A.D. 1781, under the name of Psychotria emetica, and was long
erroneously considered as the source of the true ipecacuanha.  Dr. Gomez,
of Lisbon, was  the first who accurately described and figured the genuine
 plant, which he had seen  in Brazil, and specimens of which he took with
him to Portugal; but Brotero, professor of botany at Coimbra, with whom he
 had left specimens, having drawn up a description, and had it inserted with
a figure in the Linnean Transactions, without acknowledgment, enjoyed for
 a time the credit due to his fellow courrtryman.   In the paper of Brotero
 the plant  is named Callicocca Ipecacuanha; but the term Callicocca having
 been applied by Schreber, without sufficient reason,  to a genus previously
 established and named, has been universally abandoned by botanists for the
 Cephaelis of Swartz; though this also, it appears, is  a usurpation upon the
 previous rights of Aublet.
   Cephaelis.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Rubiaceae,
 Juss. Cinchonaceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch. Flowers in an involucredhead.  Corolla tubular.  Stigma two-
 parted.  Berry two-seeded. Receptacle chaffy. Willd.
   Cephaelis Ipecacuanha. Richard, Hist. Ipecac, p. 21. t. i.; Martius, Spec.
 Mat. Med. Brazil, p. 4. t. i.—Callicocca  Ipecacuanha. Brotero, Linn.
 Trans, vi. 137.  This is a small shrubby plant, with a root from four to six
 inches long, about as  thick as a goose-quill, marked with annular rugae,
 simple or somewhat branched, descending obliquely into the ground, and
 here and  there sending forth slender fibrils.  The stem is two or three feet
 long; but being partly  under ground, and  often procumbent at the base,
 usually rises less than  a foot in height.  It is slender; in the lower portion
 leafless, smooth, brown or ash-coloured,  and knotted, with radicles fre-
 quently proceeding from the knots; near the summit,  pubescent, green, and
 furnished with leaves seldom exceeding six in number.  These are opposite,
 petiolate, oblong obovate, acute, entire, from three to four inches long, from
 one to two broad, obscurely green and somewhat rough on their upper sur-
 face, pale, downy, and veined on the under.   At the base of each pair of
 leaves are deciduous stipules,  embracing the stem,  membranous at their
 base, and separated above into numerous bristle-like divisions. The flowers
 are  very small, white, and collected to the number of eight, twelve, or more,
 each accompanied with a green bracte, into a semi-globular head, supported
 upon a round, solitary, axillary footstalk, and embraced by a monophyllous
 involucre deeply divided into four, sometimes five or six obovate, pointed
 segments.  The fruit  is an ovate, obtuse berry, which is at first purple,
 but becomes almost black when ripe, and contains two small plano-convex
 seeds.
   The  plant  is a native  of Brazil, flourishing in moist, thick, and shady
 woods, and abounding most within  the limits of the eighth and twentieth
 degrees of south latitude.   According to Humboldt,  it grows also in New
 Granada.  It flowers in January and February, and ripens its fruit in May.
 The root is usually collected during the period of flowering, though equally
 good at other seasons.  By this practice the plant is speedily extirpated in
 places where  it is most eagerly sought.   Were the seeds allowed to ripen,
 it would propagate itself rapidly, and thus maintain a constant supply.  The 
400
Ipecacuanha.
PART I.
root is collected chiefly by the Indians, who prepare it by separating it from
the stem, cleaning it, and hanging it up in bundles to dry in the sun.  The
Brazilian merchants carry on a very brisk trade in this drug.   The  chief
places of export are Rio Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco.  It is brought to
the United States in large bags or bales.
   Genuine ipecacuanha is in pieces two or three lines in thickness, variously
bent and contorted, simple or branched,  consisting of an interior slender,
light straw-coloured, ligneous cord, with  a thick  cortical covering, which
presents on its surface  a succession of circular, unequal, prominent rings or
rugae, separated by very narrow  fissures frequently extending nearly down
to the central fibre.  This  appearance of  the surface  has  given rise to the
term annele or  annulated,  by which the  true ipecacuanha is designated in
the French  works on  pharmacy.   The  cortical part is hard,  horny, and
semitransparent, breaks with a resinous fracture, and easily separates  from
the tougher ligneous fibre, which possesses the medicinal virtues of the root
in a much inferior degree.  Attached to the root is frequently  a smoother
and more slender portion, which is the base of the stem, and should be sepa-
rated  before pulverization.   Pereira  has  met, in the English market, with
distinct bales composed of these  fragments of stems, with occasionally por-
tions of the root attached.   Much stress has been  laid in works  on the
materia medica upon the colour of the external  surface of the ipecacuanha
root, and diversity in this respect has even led to the formation of distinct
varieties.  Thus the epidermis is sometimes  deep brown or even blackish,
sometimes reddish-brown or reddish-gray, and sometimes light gray or ash-
coloured.  Hence the  distinction into brown, red, and  gray ipecacuanha.
But these are all  derived from the same  plant,  are essentially the same in
properties and composition, and  probably differ only in consequence of dif-
ference in age, or place of growth, or mode of desiccation.   The colours in
fact are often so intermingled, that it would be impossible to decide in which
variety a particular specimen  should  be  placed.   The  brown  is the most
abundant in the packages which reach our market.   The red,  besides the
colour of its epidermis, presents a rosy tint when broken,  and is said to be
somewhat more bitter than  the preceding variety.  The gray is much lighter
coloured externally, usually  rather larger, with  less prominent rings and
wider  fissures,  and is  still more decidedly bitter.  We have seen, in this
market, bales of a gray ipecacuanha,  with very imperfectly developed rings,
which were said to have come from Caracas.   At present, however, this is
very rare, if to be found at  all.   When the bark in either variety is opaque,
with a dull amylaceous aspect, the root is  less active as a medicine.  As the
woody part  is nearly inert, and much more  difficult of pulverization than
the cortical, it  often happens, that when  a particular parcel of the root is
powdered, the portion  which remains last in the mortar possesses scarcely
any emetic power; and care  should be taken to provide against any defect
from this cause.  The colour of the powder is a light grayish-fawn.
   Ipecacuanha has little  smell in the aggregate  state, but when powdered
has a peculiar nauseous odour, which in some persons excites violent sneez-
ing, in others dyspnoea resembling an attack of asthma.  The taste is bitter,
acrid, and very nauseous.  Water and alcohol extract its virtues, which are
injured by decoction.   Its emetic property resides in  a peculiar alkaline
principle called emetin, or more  properly emetia, discovered by Pelletier in
the year 1817.   The  cortical portion of  the brown ipecacuanha, analyzed
by this chemist under  the erroneous name of Psychotria  emetica, yielded
in the hundred parts, 16 of an impure salt of emetia, which was  at first con-
sidered the pure emetic principle, 2  of an odorous fatty matter, 6 of wax, 
 part r.                     Ipecacuanha.                         401

 10 of gum, 42 of starch, 20 of lignin, with 4 parts loss.   The woody fibre
 was  found to contain only  1*15  per cent, of the impure emetia.  M. A.
 Richard obtained, from the cortical part,  the same proportion of emetia as
 found by Pelletier, but detected some principles not noticed by that chemist,
 among which were traces of gallic acid.   The bark of the red ipecacuanha
 was found by Pelletier to contain but fourteen  per cent, of the impure emetia.
 The  gray variety has not been analyzed.  One  hundred parts of good ipeca-
 cuanha contain about 80 of cortical and 20 of ligneous matter.
   Emetia when perfectly pure is whitish, inodorous, slightly bitter, pulveru-
 lent,  unalterable in the air, very fusible, sparingly soluble in cold water and
 ether, more soluble in hot water, and very soluble  in alcohol; is not reddened
 by nitric acid; forms crystallizable  salts with the mineral acids and acetic
 acid; is precipitated  by gallic and tannic acids from its solutions;  and con-
 tains nitrogen among its ingredients.  It is,  however, very difficult to pro-
 cure  it in  this state of purity, and the proportion afforded by the root is
 exceedingly  small.   As originally obtained it  was very  impure, probably
 in the condition of a salt, and in this state  is directed by the French Codex.
 Impure emetia is in transparent scales of a brownish-red colour, almost
 inodorous, of a bitterish acrid taste,  deliquescent, very soluble  in water and
 alcohol, insoluble in ether, precipitated from its solutions  by gallic  acid and
 the acetates of lead, but not by tartar emetic or the salts of  iron.  The Co-
 dex directs it to be prepared by evaporating a filtered aqueous solution of
 an alcoholic  extract of ipecacuanha.   According  to  the original method, it
 was obtained by treating powdered  ipecacuanha  with either to remove the
 fatty  matter, exhausting the residue with alcohol, evaporating  the alcoholic
 solution to dryness,  and subjecting  the  extract to the action of cold water,
 which dissolves the emetia  with some free  acid, and  leaves the  wax and
 other matters.   To  separate the  acid, the watery solution is treated with
 carbonate of  magnesia, filtered,  and then evaporated.   If pure emetia is
 required, magnesia is  used instead of the carbonate.   The salt is thus de-
 composed, and  the organic alkali, being insoluble, is precipitated  with the
 excess of the earth.   The  precipitate is  washed  with  cold water, and di-
 gested in alcohol, which dissolves the emetia; the alcoholic solution is  then
 evaporated, the residue redissolved in a dilute acid,  and the alkali again
 precipitated by  a salifiable  base.   To deprive it of colour it is necessary to
 employ  animal charcoal.  Berzelius has  obtained emetia  by treating the
 powdered root with very dilute sulphuric acid, precipitating with magnesia,
 and treating the precipitate in the  manner above directed.   Pure emetia has
 at least three  times the strength of the impure.*

  * Non-officinal Ipecacuanhas.—When ipecacuanha began  to be popular in Europe,
 the roots of several other  plants were  imported and  confounded with  the genuine, and
 the name came  at length to be applied to almost all emetic roots derived  from America.
 Several of these are still occasionally met with, and rctiin the name originally  applied to
 them.   The two most worthy of notice arc the ipecacuanha of New Granada  and  Peru,
 and the white ipecacuanha of Brazil.   On each of these we shall offer a few remarks.
  1. Peruvian Ipecacuanha. Striated  Ipecacuanha.   Black Ipecacuanha.—This  is the
 root of the Psychotria emetica, formerly supposed to  produce the genuine Brazilian ipe-
 cacuanha.  The plant, like the Cephaelis, belongs to the class and order Pentandria Mo-
 nogynia, and to  the natural order Rubiaceae of Jussieu.  A  description of it sent by Mutis
 was published by Linnaeus the younger in his supplement. It has since been  described
 in the Plant. JEauin. of Humb. and Bonpl.; and has  been figured by A. Richard  in his
 History of the Ipecacuanhas, and  by Hayne in the eighth  volume of his Medical Botany
 published at Berlin.  It is a small shrub, with a stem twelve  or eighteen inches  high,
Bimple, erect, round, slightly pubescent, and furnished with opposite, oblong lanceolate,
pointed leaves, narrowed at their base into  a short petiole,  and accompanied with pointed
stipules.  The flowers are small, white, and supported in  small clusters towards the end
                                   35* 
402
Ipecacuanha.
PART I.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Ipecacuanha is in large doses emetic, in
smaller, diaphoretic  and expectorant, and in still smaller,  stimulant  to the
stomach, exciting appetite and facilitating digestion.   In quantities insuffi-
cient to vomit, it produces nausea and frequently acts upon the bowels.  As


of an axillary peduncle.  The plant flourishes in Peru and New Granada,  and was seen
by Humboldt and Bonpland growing in abundance near the river Magdalena.  The dried
root  is said to be exported from Carthagena.
  It is cylindrical, somewhat thicker  than the root of the Cephaelis, usually simple, but
sometimes branched, not much contorted, wrinkled longitudinally, presenting here  and
there deep circular intersections, but without  the annular rugae of the true ipecacuanha.
The  longitudinal direction of the wrinkles has given origin  to the name of striated ipe.
cacuanha, by which it is known in French Pharmacy.  It consists of an internal woody
cord  and  an  external cortical portion; hut the former is usually larger in proportion to
the latter than in the root of the Cephaelis.  The bark is soft  and easily cut with a knife,
and when broken exhibits a brown slightly resinous fracture.  The epidermis is of a dull
reddish-gray  colour,  which  darkens with age  and  exposure, and ultimately becomes
almost black.  Hence the root has sometimes been called black ipecacuanha.  The ligne-
ous portion is yellowish, and  perforated with numerous small holes visible  by  the micro-
scope.  The Peruvian ipecacuanha is nearly inodorous, and has a flat taste, neither bitter
nor acrid.  Out of 100 parts Pelletier obtained 9 of impure emetia,  12 of fatty matter,
with  an abundance of starch, besides  gum and lignin.   The dose, as an emetic, is from
two scruples to a drachm.
  2.  While  Ipecacuanha.  Amylaceous  Ipecacuanha.   Undulated Ipecacuanha.—This
variety was noticed in the work of Pison, but the vegetable which produced it was  not
satisfactorily  ascertained till  a recent dale.  Gomez, indeed, in the  memoir which he
published  at  Lisbon, A.D. 1801, gave a figure  and description of the  plant; but  the
memoir was not generally known, and botanists  remained  uncertain  upon the subject.
By the travels of M. Saint-Hilaire and Dr. Martius in  Brazil, more precise information
has been  obtained; and the while ipecacuanha is now  confidently referred to different
species of Richardsonia, the Richardia of Linnaeus.  The  R. scabra, or R. Braziliensis
of Gomez, and the R.emetica are particularly indicated  by Martius. For the root usually
called white ipecacuanha, Guibourt has proposed the name of undulated ipecacuanha,
derived  from the peculiar character of the surface,  which presents indentations or con-
cavities on one side, corresponding with prominences or convexities on the other, so as to
give  a wavy appearance  to the root.  It differs little in size from the genuine; is of a
whitish-gray colour externally; and when broken presents a  dull white farinaceous frac-
ture, offering, by the light of the sun, shining points, which  are nothing more  than small
grains of fecula.  Like the other varieties it has a woody centre.  It is inodorous and
insipid, and contains, according to Pelletier, a very large proportion of starch, with only
six per cent, of impure emetia, and two of fatty  matter.  Richard found only 3*5 parts of
emetia in  the hundred.  It is said to be sometimes mixed with the genuine ipecacuanha;
but we have discovered none in the bales which we  have examined.
  According to Martius, different species of lonidium (Viola, Linn.) produce also what is
called white ipecacuanha.  The  roots  of all the species of lonidium  possess  emetic or
purgative properties, and some of them  have  been  reported  to  be equal to the genuine
ipecacuanha   The root  of the I Ipecacuanha is described  by Guibourt as being  six or
seven inches long, as thick as a quill,  somewhat tortuous, and exhibiting at the points of
flexion semicircular fissures, which give it some resemblance to the root of the Cephaelis.
It is often bifurcated at both extremities, and terminates at top in a great number of small
ligneous stalks.  It is wrinkled longitudinally, and of a  light  yellowish-gray colour.  The
bark is thin, and the interior ligneous portion very thick.   The root has  little taste or
smell.  According to Pelletier, it contains in 100 parts 5 of an  emetic substance, 35 of gum,
1 of azotized matter, and 37 of lignin.  (Hist. Abreg.  des Drogues Simples, i. 514.)
  The root of a  species of lonidium growing in  Quito  has attracted some attention as a
remedy in elephantiasis,  under the  South American name of cuichunchulli.   The plant,
being considered an undescribed species by Dr. Bancroft, was named by him /. Marcucci;
but Sir VV. Hooker found the specimen, received from Dr. Bancroft, to be  identical with
the /. parviflorum of Ventenat.   Lindley thinks a specimen he received under the same
name from Quito, to be the I. microphyllum of Humboldt.  If useful in elephantiasis, it
is so probably by its emeto-purgative action. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. vii. 186.)*

  * See a paper on ipecacuanha by R. E. Griffith, M. D., in the  Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. Vol.
3. p. 181, for a more extended account of the roots which have been used under the name of ipecacuanha. 
PART I.
Ipecacuanha.
403
an emetic it is mild but tolerably certain in its operation, and, being usually
thrown from the stomach by one or two efforts, is less apt to produce dan-
gerous effects when taken in an overdose than some other substances of the
same class.   It is also recommended by the absence of corrosive and narco-
tic properties.
  It was employed as an emetic by the natives of Brazil, when that country
was  first settled by the Portuguese; but, though described in the work of         \
Pison, it was  not  known in Europe till the year 1672, and did not come
into  use  till some  years afterwards.  John Helvetius,  grandfather of the
celebrated author of that name, having been  associated with a merchant who
had imported a large quantity of ipecacuanha into Paris, employed it as a
secret remedy, and with  so  much success in dysentery and other bowel
affections, that general attention was attracted to it; and the fortunate physi-
cian received from Louis XIV. a large  sum of money, and public honours,
on the sole condition  that he should make  the remedy  public.   From this
period it has maintained its standing among the most useful articles of the
materia medica.
  As an emetic it is peculiarly adapted by its  mildness and efficiency to all
cases in which the object is merely to evacuate the  stomach,  or a gentle
impression only is desired; and in most other cases in which emetics are in-
dicated, it  may be advantageously combined with the more energetic medi-
cines, the action of which it renders safer by insuring their discharge.  It is
especially  useful where narcotic poisons have been swallowed, as under
these circumstances it may be given in almost  indefinite doses, with little
comparative  risk of injury to the patient.  In dysentery it has  been sup-
posed to exercise peculiar powers; but  is at present less used than formerly
in doses sufficient to  excite vomiting.   As a nauseating remedy it is used
in asthma, hooping cough, and the hemorrhages; as a diaphoretic, combined
with opium, in a  wide circle of diseases. (See Pulvis  Ipecacuanhas  et
 Opii.)   Its expectorant properties render it beneficial in catarrhal and other
pulmonary affections.   It has  been given also, with  supposed advantage, in
very minute doses, in dyspeptic cases,  and  in chronic disease of the gastro-
intestinal mucous membrane.
   Ipecacuanha is most conveniently administered as an emetic in the form
of powder suspended in water. The dose is about twenty grains,  repeated if
necessary at intervals of twenty minutes till it operates.  In some individuals
 much smaller quantities prove emetic, and we know one person who is gene-
 rally vomited by the fraction of a grain.  The operation of the medicine may
 be facilitated, and rendered milder, by copious  draughts of warm water, or
 warm chamomile tea.  An infusion in boiling water, in the proportion of
 two drachms of the powder to six fluidounces of menstruum, may be given
 in the dose of a fluidounce repeated as in the former case.  With a view to
 the  production of nausea, the  dose in  substance may be two grains, given
 more or less frequently according to  circumstances.  As a diaphoretic  it
 may be given in the quantity of a grain; as an alterative, in diseases of the
 stomach and bowels,  of a quarter or half a grain two or three times a day.
   Emetia  has been used on the continent of Europe  as a substitute, but
 with no great advantage.  Its operation on the stomach is apt to be more
 violent and continued than that of ipecacuanha itself; and, if given in over-
 doses, it may produce  dangerous and even fatal consequences.  From the
 experiments of Magendie, it appears to have a peculiar direction to the mu-
 cous  membranes  of  the  alimentary canal  and the  bronchial  tubes.  Ten
 grains of the impure alkali, administered to  dogs, were generally found to
 destroy life in  twenty-four hours, and the mucous  membranes  mentioned
 were observed to be  inflamed throughout  their whole extent.   The same 
404
Ipecacuanha. —Iris Florentina.
PART I.
 result took place when emetia was injected into the veins, or absorbed from
 any part of the body.  The dose of impure emetia is about a grain and a
 half, of the pure not more than half a grain, repeated at proper intervals till
 it vomits.   In proportional doses, it may be applied to the other purposes
 for which  ipecacuanha is used.   It will excite vomiting when applied  to a
 blistered surface after the  removal  of the  cuticle.  Magendie found  that
 dogs slept much after being vomited with emetia,  and  concluded that the
 medicine was narcotic; but other emetic medicines produce the same effect, ,
 which is to be ascribed rather to exhaustion than to any direct operation on
 the brain.
   Dr. Turnbull recommends the external use of ipecacuanha as a counter-
 irritant. An ointment made with one part of the powder, one of olive oil,
 and two of lard, rubbed once or twice a day, for a few minutes, upon the
 skin, produces a copious eruption,  which  continues out for many days,
 without pain or ulceration. (London Lancet, May, 1842.)
   Off. Prep.  Pilulae  Conii  Compositae,  Lond.;  Pulvis Ipecacuanha et
 Opii, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Syrupus Ipecacuanhas, U. S., Ed.; Tro-
 chisci Ipecacuanhas,  U. S.;  Trochisci  Morphiae  et Ipecacuanha?, Ed.;
 Vinum Ipecacuanha?,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.                    W.


           IRIS  FLORENTINA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                         Florentine Orris.

   " The rhizoma of Iris Florentina." U. S.
   Iris do Florence, Fr.; Florentinische Violenwurzel, Germ ; Ireos, Ital.; Lirio Floren-
 tina, Span.
   Iris. Sex. Syst.  Triandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Iridaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla six-parted; the alternate segment reflected.  Stigmas
 petal-shaped.  Willd.
   In all the species belonging to this genus, so far as examined,  the roots
 are more or less acrid, and possessed of cathartic and emetic properties. In
 Europe, the I. fcetidissima, I. Florentina, I. Gerrnanica, I. pseudo-acorus,
 and  /. tuberosa have at various times been admitted  into  use.   Of  these  the
 /. Florentina is the only one officinal in this country.
   Iris Florentina.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 226; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 776. t.
 262.   The root (rhizoma) of the Florentine Iris is perennial, horizontal,
 fleshy, fibrous, and covered with a brown epidermis. '  The leaves spring
 directly from the root,  are sword-shaped,  pointed, nerved, and shorter than
 the stem, which rises from the midst of  them more than a  foot in height,
 round, smooth, jointed, and bearing commonly two large white or bluish-
 white terminal  flowers. The calyx is a spathe with two valves.  The corolla
 divides  into six segments or petals, of  which three stand  erect, and the
 remaining three are bent backward,  and  bearded within at their base with
 yellow-tipped white hairs.   The fruit is  a three-celled capsule, containing
 numerous seeds.
   This plant is a native of Italy, and other  parts of the South of Europe.
 The root, which is the officinal  portion,  is dug up in spring, and  prepared
 for the market  by the removal of its  cuticle and fibres.  It is brought from
 Leghorn in large casks.
  Properties.  Florentine orris is in pieces  of various form and size, often
branched, usually about as thick as the  thumb, knotty, flattened,  white,
heavy, of a rough though not fibrous fracture, a pleasant odour resembling
that  of the violet, and a bitterish acrid taste.  The  acrimony is greater in
the recent than in the  dried root;  but the  peculiar smell is more decidedly 
part i.              Iris Versicolor.—Jalapa.                  405

developed in the latter.  The pieces are brittle and easily powdered, and
the powder is of a dirty white colour.  Vogel obtained from Florentine orris,
gum, a brown extractive, fecula, a bitter and aerid fixed oil or soft resin, a
volatile crystallizable oil, and vegetable fibre.
   Medical Properties. This medicine is cathartic, and in large doses emetic,
and was  formerly employed to  a considerable extent on  the continent of
Europe.   It is said also to be diuretic, and to have proved useful in dropsies.
At present it is highly valued for its pleasant  odour.  It is occasionally
chewed to conceal an  offensive breath, and  enters into the composition of
numerous tooth-powders.  In the form of small round balls, about the size
of a pea, it is much  used by the French for maintaining the discharge from
issues, a purpose to which it is adapted not only by its odour, but also by
the slight degree of  acrimony which it retains in its dried state, and by the
property of swelling very much by the absorption of moisture.      W.


           IRIS VERSICOLOR.  U.S. Secondary.

                            Blue Flas..

   " The rhizoma of Iris versicolor."  U. S.
   Iris. See IRIS FLORENTINA.
   Iris versicolor. Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 233; Bigelow, Am. Med.  Bot. i.
155.   This indigenous  species  of Iris has a perennial, fleshy, horizontal,
fibrous root or rhizoma, and a stem two or three feet high, round on one side,
acute on the other, and frequently branching.  The leaves are sheathing at
the base, sword-shaped, and striated.  The flowers are from two to six in
number, and are usually blue or purple, though varying  much  in  colour.
The capsule has three valves, is divided into three cells, and when mature
is oblong, three-sided, with obtuse angles, and contains numerous flat seeds.
   The blue flag is found in all parts of the United States, flourishing in low
 wet places, in meadows, and on the borders of swamps, which it serves to
adorn with its large and beautiful flowers.  These make their appearance in
June.  The root is the  medicinal portion.   The flowers  afford  a fine blue
infusion, which serves as a test of acids and alkalies.
   The recent  root  is without odour, and has a nauseous, extremely acrid
taste, which is imparted to water  by decoction,  and still more perfectly to
alcohol.   The acrimony as well as medicinal activity is impaired by age.
   The blue  flag possesses the  cathartic, emetic,  and diuretic  properties
common to most of the  species of this genus. It is said by Mr. Bartram to
be held in much esteem by the Southern Indians; and Dr. Bigelow informs
us that he has  found it efficacious as a purgative, though inconvenient from
 the distressing nausea  and  prostration which it is apt to occasion.   Dr.
 Macbride of Carolina found it useful in dropsy.  It is, however, very little
 employed by the profession at large, and is seldom if ever kept in the shops.
 It may be given in  substance, decoction, or tincture. The dose of the dried
 root is from ten to twenty grains.                                 W.


               JALAPA. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                                Jalap.

   " The  root of Ipomaea Jalapa, (Coxe, Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences)."
 U. S. " Ipomaea Jalapa. Radix."  Lond.  " Root of Ipomaea Purga, (Nees
von Esenbeck)." Ed.  " Convolvulus Jalapa.  Radix." Dub. 
406
Jalapa.
PART I.
  Jalap, Fr.; Jalappen-Wurzel, Germ ; Sciarappa, Ital; Jalapa, Span.
  It is only within a few years that the precise botanical origin of jalap has
been known.  It was at first ascribed by Linnaeus to a Mirabilis, but after-
wards to a new species of Convolvulus, to which he gave the name of C.
Jalapa.   The correctness  of  the latter reference was  generally admitted;
and, as  the  Ipomaea macrorhiza  of Michaux, growing in Florida and
Georgia, was believed to be  identical with  the  C.  Jalapa of Linn., it was
thought that this valuable  drug, which had been  obtained exclusively from
Mexico, might be collected within the limits of the  United States.   But the
error of this opinion was soon demonstrated; and botanists now universally
concur in the belief, that jalap is the product of a plant first made known to
the scientific world  by Dr. John R. Coxe of Philadelphia, and described by
Mr. Nuttall under the name of Ipomaea Jalapa.  When this Dispensatory
was first published, opinion in relation to the botanical history of the drug
was unsettled, and  it was  deemed proper to enter  at some length  into the
consideration of the subject;  but the subsequent general admission of the
views then advocated renders  an equal degree of minuteness now unneces-
sary.  It is sufficient to state, that Dr. Coxe received  living roots  of jalap
from Mexico in  the year 1827, and succeeded  in producing a perfect flower-
ing plant, of which a description, by Mr. Nuttall, was published in the Am.
Journ.  of Medical  Sciences  for January,  1830; that the same plant was
afterwards cultivated in France and Germany from roots transmitted  to those
countries from the jalap region of Mexico; and that one of the authors of
this work has produced, from roots obtained in  the vicinity of Xalapa, and
sent to him by Dr. Marmaduke Burrough, then United States consul at Vera
Cruz, luxuriant  plants, which he was enabled to compare with others de-
scended from the plant of  Dr. Coxe, and found to  be identical with them.*
In the United States, London, and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, this origin
of jalap is now admitted;  but the London College  has quoted as authority
for their Ipomaea Jalapa an unpublished  manuscript by  Don, and the Edin-
burgh College has  adopted Hayne's and Wenderoth's name of /.  Purga,
thus overlooking the prior claims of the American  authorities.
   Ipomaea. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Convolvulaceae.
   Gen.  Ch.  Sepals five.   Corolla campanulate.  Stamens included.  Style
one.  Stigma two-lobed;  the  lobes capitate.  Ovary two-celled; cells  two-
seeded.  Capsule two-celled.  Lindley.
   Ipomaea Jalapa.  Nuttall,  Am. Journ. Med. Sciences, v. 300.  Ipomsea
Purga.  Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. &c. xii. 33  and 34; Lindley,
Flor. Med. 396.   The root  of this plant is a roundish somewhat pear-
shaped  tuber, externally  blackish,  internally white, with long fibres pro-
ceeding from its lower part as well as from the  upper root-stalks.   A tuber
produced by Dr. Coxe was, in its third year, between two and three inches
in diameter.  The stem is round, smooth, much disposed to twist, and rises
to a considerable height upon neighbouring objects, about which it twines.
The leaves are heart-shaped, entire, smooth, pointed, deeply sinuated at the
base, prominently veined on  their under surface, and supported upon long
footstalks.  The lower leaves are nearly hastate, or with diverging angular
points.   The flowers, which are  large and of a lilac-purple colour, stand
upon peduncles about as long as the petioles.  Each peduncle supports two,

   * They who may wish to investigate more fully the botanical history of jalap are re-
ferred to  former editions of this  Dispensatory, to a  paper  by Dr.  John Redman Coxe
in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences (vol. v. p. 300), to another paper by Mr.
Daniel B. Smith, in the Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (vol. ii. p. 22),
and to Dr. Christison's Dispensatory. 
part. I.                        Jalapa.                           407

or more rarely three flowers.   The calyx is without bractes,  five-leaved,
obtuse, with two of the divisions  external.   The corolla is funnel-form.
The stamens are five in number,  with oblong,  white, somewhat exserted
anthers.   The stigma is simple  and capitate.   The above  description  is
taken  from that drawn up by Mr. Nuttall, and published in Dr. Coxe's
paper in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences.
   The jalap plant is a native of Mexico, and derived its name from the city
of Xalapa, in the state of Vera  Cruz, in  the neighbourhood  of which  it
grows, at a height of about  6000 feet above the ocean.   It might probably
be cultivated in the  southern  section of the United States.   The  drug  is
brought from the port of Vera Cruz in bags containing usually between one
hundred and two hundred pounds.
   Properties.  The tuber comes either whole, or divided longitudinally into
two parts, or in transverse circular slices.  The entire tubers  are irregularly
roundish, or ovate and pointed, or  pear-shaped,  usually much smaller than
the  fist,  and marked with circular or  vertical incisions, made to  facilitate
their drying.   In this state, the root is preferred, as it is less apt to be de-
fective, and  is more easily distinguished from the adulterations than when
 sliced.  A much larger proportion comes in this shape than formerly, indi-
 cating a greater scarcity of the older roots, which it is necessary to slice in
 order to  dry them properly.   The tuber  is  heavy, compact, hard,  brittle,
 with a shining undulated fracture, exhibiting numerous resinous points, dis-
 tinctly visible with  the microscope.  It is externally brown  and wrinkled,
 internally of a grayish colour, diversified  by concentric darker circles, in
 which the matter is denser and harder than in the intervening spaces.  Jalap
 is always kept in the shops in the state of powder, which is of a yellowish-
 gray colour, and when inhaled irritates the nostrils and throat, and provokes
 sneezing and coughing.  The odour of the  root, when cut or broken, is
 heavy, sweetish, and rather nauseous; the taste is sweetish, somewhat acrid,
 and  disagreeable.   It yields  its  active properties partly to water, partly to
 alcohol, and completely to diluted alcohol.  M. Cadet de Gassicourt obtained
 from 500  parts of jalap, 24 of water, 50  of resin, 220  of gummy extract,
 12*5 of  fecula, 12-5 of albumen, 145 of lignin, 16-3 of  saline matters, 2-7
 of silica, with a loss of 17 parts.  The resin of jalap consists of two por-
 tions, one of which, amounting to seven parts out of ten,  is hard and
 insoluble in ether, the  other  is soft and soluble in that  menstruum.  The
 proportion of resin to the other ingredients of the root varies  considerably
 in different specimens.  According to  Gerber, the  root contains 7*8 per
 cent, of hard  resin, 3*2 of soft  resin, 17*9  of extractive, 14*5 of gummy
 extract, 8*2 of a colouring substance which becomes red under the influence
 of the alkaline carbonates, 1-9 of uncrystallizable sugar,  15*6 of gum mixed
 with some  saline  matters,  3*2 of  bassorin, 3*9 of albumen, 6*0 of starch,
 8*2 of lignin,  with  some water, and various salts.  For the method of ob-
 taining the resin of jalap pure, see Extractum sive Resina Jalapae.
    Jalap is apt to be attacked  by worms, which, however, are said to devour
 the amylaceous or softer parts, and to leave the resin, so that the worm-eaten
 drug is more powerfully purgative than that which is sound.   Thus, out of
 397 parts of the former, M.  Henry obtained  72 parts of resin, while from
 an equal quantity of the latter he procured only 48 parts.  Hence  worm-
 eaten jalap should be  employed  for obtaining the resin, but should not be
 pulverized, as it would afford a powder of more than  the proper strength.
 The drug is also liable to various adulterations, or fraudulent  substitutions,
 which, however, can usually be detected without difficulty.   Those which 
408
Jalapa.
PART I.
have attracted  particular attention are mentioned in a note below.*  Jalap
should be rejected when it is light, of a whitish colour internally, of a dull
fracture, spongy, or friable.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.   Jalap is an  active cathartic, operating


  *  Adulterations, Sfc.   Jalap is said to be  sometimes adulterated with bryony root;  but
no instance of the kind has come under our notice; and the two drugs  are so widely  dif-
ferent that the fraud  would be instantly detected.  (See Briony in  the  Appendix.)  It is
probable, however, that the adulteration which has been considered as bryony root, is the
mechoacan, which in  Europe is  sometimes  called American  bryony, and was formerly
erroneously supposed to be  derived from a species of Bryonia.  The mechoacan is a pro-
duct of Mexico, which was taken to  Europe even before the introduction of jalap.  The
plant which produces it has  been conjectured to be the Ipomaa macrorhiza of Michaux,
which is  believed to grow in Mexico near  Vera Cruz, as well as in our Southern States,
and the root of which, when of full size, is said to weigh from fifty to sixty pounds, and,
according to Dr. Baldwin, has little or no purgative power. But this origin is altogether
uncertain.  Mechoacan  is in circular slices, or  fragments of various  shape, white and
farinaceous within,  and, as found  in European markets, generally destitute of bark, of
which, however, portions of a yellowish colour sometimes continue  to adhere.  The larger
pieces are sometimes  marked with faint concentric striae; and, upon the exterior surface,
when any portion of this remains, are brown spots and ligneous points left by the radicles
which have been removed. (Guibourt.) Though tasteless when first taken into the mouth,
it becomes after a time  slightly  acrid.  It is very feebly purgative. We have seen  flat
circular pieces of root,  mixed with  jalap, altogether  answering this description, except
that the cortical portion still remained, between which and the amylaceous parenchyma
there was a very evident line of division.
  A drug formerly known  in  our markets as spurious jalap, sometimes comes mingled
with the genuine, and has  been  imported  unmixed,  in mistake  for that root.  It is pro-
bably the same with that referred to  by French writers as the product of a plant denomi-
nated male jalap in Mexico, and named by M. Ledanois Convolvulus Orizabensis, from
the city of Orizaba, in the neighbourhood of "which it grows abundantly.  In the shops of
Paris the drug is called light jalap, and, in the last edition of Guibourt's Hisioire  dts
Drogues, is described under the  title of fusiform jalap.  A description of it was first pub-
lished in this country by Mr. D. B. Smith,  in a valuable paper  upon the Ipomaea Jalapa,
in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. vol. ii. p. 22.  For an account of the plant, the reader is
referred  to  the same Journal, vol. x. p. 224.   The  recent root is large, spindleshaped,
sometimes as much as twenty inches in length, branched  at its lower extremity, of a yel-
low colour on  its outer surface, and white  and milky within.   The drug, as described by
Guibourt, is in circular pieces, two or three inches in diameter, or in  longer and more
slender sections.  As we have seen it, the shape of the pieces is often such as to indicate
that the root was sliced transversely, and each circular slice  divided into quarters.  The
horizontal cut surface is  dark  from exposure, unequal from the  greater shrinking in  the
drying process of some parts than others, and presents the extremities of numerous fibres,
which are often concentrically arranged, and run in the longitudinal direction of the root,
Internally the colour is whitish, and  the texture, though much less compact than that of
jalap, is sometimes almost ligneous.   The taste is at first  slight, but after a time becomes
somewhat acrid and nauseous.  The dried  root of the Convolvulus Orizabensis or male
jalap, analyzed by M. Ledanois,  yielded in 1000 parts, 80  of resin,  256 of gummy extract,
32 of fecula, 24 of albumen, and 580 of lignin.   From experiments made with  it in Paris,
it appears to have cathartic properties similar to those of the true jalap, but  to be con-
siderably more feeble, requiring to be given in a dose of from thirty  to sixty grains in
order to  operate effectively.  The  proportion  of resin, which in both  is the most active
purgative principle, is considerably less in the male jalap, while that of lignin, which is
wholly inert, is about double.  (Journ. de Pharm.  xxiv. 166;  also Am.  Journ.  of Pharm.
x. 223.)
   A false jalap  has recently been  brought into the United States, different from  any
thing hitherto seen in our market.   It is said to have been  imported from Mexico into
New York in considerable quantities, and offered for sale under the name of overgrown
jalap.   A specimen  brought to Philadelphia, and examined by a Committee of the College
of Pharmacy, presents the following characters.   It is in  light, entire or vertically sliced
 tubers, of different form and magnitude, spindleshaped, ovate, and kidney-form, some as
 much as six  inches long  and three thick,  others much  smaller, externally somewhat
 wrinkled, with broad flattish  light-brown  ridges and shallow darker furrows, internally
 grayish-white, with distant darker concentric circles,  sometimes uniformly amylaceous, of 
PART I.
Jalapa.
409
briskly and sometimes painfully upon the bowels, and producing copious
watery stools.   The  aqueous  extract  purges moderately,  without  much
griping, and is said to increase the flow of urine.  The portion not taken up
by water  gripes severely.  The watery extract  obtained from jalap pre-
viously exhausted  by rectified spirit, is said to have no cathartic effect, but
to operate powerfully by urine.  (Duncan.)  The alcoholic extract, usually
called resin of jalap, purges actively, and often  produces severe griping.
From these facts it appears, that the virtues of this cathartic  do not depend
exclusively upon any one principle.   Jalap was introduced into Europe in
the latter part of the sixteenth, or beginning of the seventeenth century, and
now  ranks among  the purgative medicines most extensively  employed.  It
is applicable to most cases in which an active cathartic is required, and from
its hydragogue powers is especially adapted to the treatment of dropsy. It
is generafly°given in connection with other medicines which assist  or qualify
its operation.  In dropsical complaints it is usually combined with the bitar-
trate of potassa; and the same mixture is much employed in the  treatment
of the hip disease, and scrofulous affections of other joints.  With calomel
it forms a cathartic compound,  which  has long been highly popular in the
United States in bilious fever, and other complaints attended with congestion
 of the liver or portal circle.  In overdoses it may produce dangerous hyper-
 catharsis.  It is said to purge when applied to a wound.
   The dose of jalap in powder is from  fifteen to  thirty grains; of the resin
 or alcoholic extract, which is much used on the continent of  Europe, and is
 now directed by the  Edinburgh College, from four to eight grains.   The
 latter is  usually given  rubbed  up with sugar, or in emulsion,  by which its
 tendency to irritate painfully the mucous membrane of the bowels is thought
 to be in some measure obviated.   The extract  of the United States and
 London Pharmacopoeias is preferable to the alcoholic, as it more completely
 represents the  jalap itself.   The dose of calomel and jalap  is ten grains of
 each, that of the  bitartrate of  potassa and jalap,  two drachms  of the former
 and  ten or fifteen  grains of the  latter.
    Off. Prep. Extractum Jalapae, U. S., Lond., Dub.; Extractum sive Resina
 Jalapae, Ed.; Pulvis Jalapae Compositus, U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Tinc-
 tura Jalapae, U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Tinctura  Senna; et Jalapae, U. S.
 Ed.                                                               W-

 a dull rough fracture, a loose texture, a slight, peculiar, and sweetish odour, and a  feeble
 jalap-like taste.  The powder is of a light-gray colour, and does not irritate the noslrils or
 throat during pulverization. The root differs from Mechoacan by the absence of the marks
 of radical fibres, and from male jalap by the  want of a fibrous structure.  It yielded by
 analysis, in 100 parts, 3 of a soil and 4 of a hard and  brittle resin,  17 of gummy ex-
 tractive, 28 of starch and inulin, 10 of gum and albumen, 23-2 of lignin, and 14 8 of
 saccharine matter and salts of lime, including loss.  In  doses of from fifteen to twenty
 grains it produced no effect on the system, and cannot,  therefore, be used  as jalap.  A
 similar root has recently been described by Guibourt in the Journal de Chimie Medicate,
 by the name of rose-scented jalap.  It was taken to  France from Mexico mixed with
 genuine jalap.  It proved equally inefficacious as a purgative, and probably had the same
 origin.  This spurious drug is probably the product of a  Convolvulus or Ipomsea.  See a
 report by Messrs. Duhamel, Ellis, and Eeky in the American Journal of Pharmacy, xiv.
 289.
36 
410
Jug tans.
PART I.
                        JUGLANS.  U.S.

                             Butternut.

   " The inner bark of the root of Juglans cinerea."  U. S.
   Juglans. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord. Juglandaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Male. Amentum imbricated.   Calyx a scale.  Corolla six-
parted.   Filaments four to eighteen.  Female. Calyx four-cleft, superior.
Corolla four-cleft.   Styles two.  Drupe coriaceous, with a furrowed  nut.
Willd.
   Several products of the Juglans regia, or common European walnut, are
used medicinally in Europe.   The hull of the fruit has been employed  as a
vermifuge from the times of Hippocrates, and has been recommended in
syphilis and old ulcers.   The expressed oil of the fruit is deemed by some
practitioners efficacious against the tape-worm, and is also used as a laxative
injection. The leaves, long occasionally employed for various purposes both in
regular and domestic practice, have recently been found, by professor Negrier,
of Angers, in the highest degree efficacious in scrofula. He gave to children
a tea-cupful of a pretty strong infusion, or six grains of the aqueous extract,
or an equivalent dose of a syrup prepared from the extract, two, three, or
four times  a day; and at the same  time  applied a strong decoction to the
ulcers, and as  a  collyrium when the eyes were diseased.   No injury  was
ever experienced from a long-continued use of the remedy.  It appears to
act as a moderately aromatic bitter and astringent. (Archives Gen. 3e Serie,
x. 399 and xi. 41.)   The leaves of our /. nigra or common black walnut,
or those  of the J. cinerea, which is the only officinal species, would pro-
bably answer as good a purpose.
   Juglans cinerea.   Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 456;  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
ii. 115.—J. cathartica. Michaux, N Am. Sylva. i. 160.   This is an in-
digenous forest tree,  known in  different sections of the country by  the
various names of butternut, oilnut,  and white walnut.   In favourable situ-
ations it  attains a great size, rising sometimes fifty feet in height, with a
trunk three or four feet  in diameter at the distance  of five feet from  the
ground.  The stem divides, at a small distance from the ground, into nu-
merous nearly horizontal branches, which spread widely, and  form a large
tufted head, giving to the tree a peculiar aspect.   The young branches are
smooth and of a grayish colour, which has given origin to the specific name
of the plant.   The leaves are very long, and consist of seven or eight pairs
of sessile leaflets, and a single petiolate leaflet at the extremity.   These are
two or three inches in length, oblong-lanceolate, rounded at the base, acu-
minate, finely serrate, and somewhat downy.   The male and female flowers
are distinct upon the same tree.   The former are in  large aments, four or
five inches long, hanging down from the sides of the shoots of the preceding
year's  growth near their extremity.  The fertile flowers are at  the  end
of the shoots of  the same spring.  The germ is surmounted by two large,
feathery, rose-coloured stigmas.  The fruit is sometimes single, suspended
by a thin pliable peduncle; sometimes several are attached to the sides  and
extremity of the same peduncle.  The drupe is oblong-oval, with a terminal
projection, hairy, viscid, green in the immature state, but brown when ripe.
It contains a hard, dark-coloured, oblong, pointed nut, with a rough deeply
and irregularly furrowed surface.   The kernel is thick, oily, and  pleasant
to the taste.
   The butternut grows in Upper and Lower Canada, and throughout  the 
PART I.
Jugla?is.—Juniperus.
411
whole northern, eastern, and western sections of the United States.  In the
Middle States, the flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens in September.
The tree, if pierced immediately before  the leaves unfold, yields a richly
saccharine juice,  from which  sugar  may be obtained nearly if not quite
equal to that from the sugar-maple.   The wood, though neither strong nor
compact, is  useful for some purposes on  account of its durability, and ex-
emption from the attacks of worms.   The fruit, when half grown, is some-
times made into pickles, and when  ripe, affords, in its  kernel,  a grateful
article  of food.  The bark is  used for dyeing wool a dark-brown  colour,
though inferior for this purpose to that of the black walnut.  It is said, when
applied to the skin, to have a rubefacient effect. The inner bark is the medi-
cinal portion, and that of the root, being considered most efficient, is directed
by the national Pharmacopoeia.  It should be collected in May or June.
  On the living tree, the inner  bark when first uncovered is of a pure white,
which becomes immediately on exposure  a beautiful lemon  colour, and ulti-
mately changes to deep brown.   It has a fibrous texture, a feeble odour, and
a peculiar, bitter, somewhat acrid taste.  Its medical virtues are entirely ex-
tracted by boiling water.  Dr. Bigelow could  detect  no resin among its con-
stituents; and the  presence of tannin  was  not evinced by the test of gelatin,
though a brownish-black colour was produced by the sulphate of iron.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  Butternut is a mild cathartic, operating
without pain or irritation, and resembling rhubarb in the property of eva-
cuating without debilitating the alimentary canal.   It was  much employed
during our revolutionary war by Dr. Rush and other physicians attached to
the army, and was highly esteemed.  It is especially applicable to cases of
habitual costiveness  and other bowel affections,  particularly dysentery, in
which it has acquired considerable reputation.  In  connexion with calomel
it becomes more active, and is sometimes used in our intermittent and remit-
tent fevers, and other complaints attended with congestion of the abdominal
viscera.  It is given  in the form of decoction  or extract, never in substance.
The  extract  is officinal, and is almost always preferred.   The dose of it is
from twenty to thirty grains as  a purge, from five to  ten grains as a laxative.
   Off. Prep. Extractum Juglandis, U. S.                         W.


                      JUNIPERUS.  U.S.

                              Juniper.

   " The fruit of Juniperus communis,"  U. S.
   Off. Syn. JUNIPERI CACUMINA.  JUNIPERI FRUCTUS. Juni-
perus communis.  Cacumina.  Fructus.  Lond.; JUNIPERI CACUMI-
NA. Tops of Juniperus communis.  JUNIPERI FRUCTUS.  Berries of
Juniperus communis. Ed.; JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS. Baccae. Cacu-
mina. Dub.
  Genevrier commun, Baies de Genievre, Fr.; Gemeincr  Wachholder, Wachholder-
beeren, Germ.; Ginepro, Ital.; Enebro, Bayas de enebro, Span.
  Juniperus.  Sex.  Syst.  Dioecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Pinaceae or
Conifera?.
   Gen. Ch.  Male.  Amentum ovate. Calyx a scale.  Corolla none.  Sta-
mens three.   Female.  Calyx three-parted.  Petals three.  Styles three.
Berry three-seeded, irregular, with the three  tubercles of the calyx.  Willd.
  Juniperus communis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 853; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
13. t. 6.  This is an erect  evergreen shrub, usually small, but sometimes
attaining  a height of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet, with numerous very close 
412
Juniperus.
PART I.
branches.  The leaves  are narrow, longer than the fruit, entire, sharply
pointed,  channeled, of a deep green colour,  somewhat glaucous on their
upper surface, spreading, and attached to the stem or branches in threes, in
a verticillate manner.  The flowers are dioecious and disposed in small, ovate,
axillary, sessile, solitary aments.  The fruit is formed of the fleshy coalescing
scales of the ament, and contains three  angular seeds.
  The common juniper is a native of Europe;  but has been introduced into
this country,  in some parts of which it has become  naturalized.   It is not
uncommon in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia.   The plant described in
Bigelow's American Medical  Botany under the title of J. communis, and
very common in some parts of New England, deserves,  perhaps, to be con-
sidered a distinct species.   It is a  trailing shrub, seldom more than two or
three feet in height, spreading in all directions, throwing out roots from its
branches, and forming beds which are often many rods in circumference.
The name of /. depressa has  been proposed for it.   The common juniper
flowers  in May; but does not ripen its fruit till late in  the following year.
All parts of the plant contain  a volatile oil, which imparts to them a pecu-
liar flavour.   The wood has a slight aromatic odour, and was formerly used
for fumigation.   A terebinthinate juice exudes from the tree and hardens on
the bark. This has been erroneously considered as identical with sandarach,
which is in fact the product of the Thuya articulata.   The  fruit and tops
of juniper are the only officinal parts.
  The berries, as the fruit is commonly called,  are sometimes collected in
this country, and parcels are occasionally brought to the Philadelphia mar-
ket from New Jersey.  But, though equal to  the European in appearance,
they nre  inferior in strength, and are not much used.  The best come from
the South of  Europe,  particularly from Trieste and the Italian ports.  They
are globular;  more or less shrivelled; about as large as a pea;  marked with
three furrows at the summit, and  with tubercles from the persistent calyx
at the base;  covered with a glaucous bloom,  beneath which they are of a
shining blackish-purple colour; and containing a brownish-yellow pulp and
three angular seeds.  They have  an agreeable  somewhat aromatic  odour,
and a sweetish, warm,  bitterish, slightly terebinthinate  taste.   These pro-
perties, as well as their medical virtues, they owe chiefly to an essential oil
which may be separated by distillation. (See Oleum Juniperi.)   The other
ingredients, according to Trommsdorff, are resin, sugar, gum, wax,  lignin,
water, and various saline substances.  The proportion of these ingredients
varies according to the greater or less maturity of the berries.   The volatile
oil is most abundant in those which have attained their  full growth and are
still green, or in  those which are on the point  of ripening.   In the latter,
Trommsdorff found one per cent,  of the oil.   In those which are perfectly
ripe it has been partly changed  into resin, and in  those quite black, com-
pletely so.   The berries impart their virtues to water and alcohol.  They
are very largely consumed in the preparation of  gin.
   The tops  of juniper are directed by the London and Dublin Colleges.
Their odour  is balsamic, their taste resinous and bitterish; and they possess
similar virtues with the berries.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Juniper berries are gently stimulant and
diuretic,  imparting to  the urine the smell of violets, and producing occasion-
ally, when very largely taken, disagreeable irritation in the urinary passages.
They are chiefly used as an adjuvant to more powerful diuretics in dropsical
complaints; but have been recommended also in  scorbutic and cutaneous dis-
eases, catarrh of the bladder,  and  atonic conditions of the alimentary canal
and uterus.   They may be given  in substance triturated with sugar, in the 
part i.        Juniperus.—Juniperus Virginiana.            413

dose of one or two drachms repeated three or four times  a day.  But the
infusion is a more convenient form.  It is prepared by macerating an ounce
of the bruised berries in a pint of boiling water, the whole of which may be
taken in the course of twenty-four hours.   Extracts are prepared  from the
berries, both bruised and unbruised, and given in  the  dose of one or two
drachms; but in consequence of the evaporation of the essential oil, they are
probably not stronger than the berries in substance.
   Off. Prep.  Decoctum Scoparii  Compositum, Lond., Ed.;  Oleum Juni-
peri, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Spiritus Juniperi Compositus, U. S., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.                                                      W.

       JUNIPERUS  VIRGINIANA. U.S. Secondary.

                            Red Cedar.

   " The  tops of Juniperus Virginiana."  U. S.
   Juniperus. See JUNIPERUS.
   Juniperus Virginiana.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 853; Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. iii.  49; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 221.   This species of juniper,
known commonly by the name  of red cedar, is an evergreen tree of slow
growth, seldom  attaining a very large size, though sometimes rising forty or
fifty feet in height, with a stem  twelve or thirteen inches  in diameter.  It
has numerous  very close branches,  which, in the young tree, spread out
horizontally near the ground; but, as the  tree advances, the lower  branches
slowly decay, leaving the trunk irregular  with knots and crevices.   The
leaves  are very small, fleshy, ovate,  concave, pointed, glandular on their
outer surface, either ternate or in  pairs, and closely imbricated.  Those of
the young shoots are often much longer, and spreading.  The leaves closely
invest the extreme twigs, increasing with  their growth, till ultimately lost in
the encroachments of the bark.   "  The barren flowers are in oblong aments,
formed by peltate scales  with the anthers concealed within  them.  The
fertile flowers have a proper perianth, which coalesces with the germ, and
forms a small, roundish berry, with two or three seeds,  covered on its outer
surface with a bright blue powder."  (Bigelow.)
   The red cedar grows  in  all latitudes  of the United  States,  from  that of
Burlington in Vermont, to the Gulf of Mexico; but it is most abundant and
of most vigorous growth in the southern section, and within a short distance
of the ocean.  The interior wood is of a reddish colour, and highly valuable
on account of its great durability.  Small excrescences which are sometimes
found  on the branches of the tree, are popularly used as an anthelmintic
under the name of cedar apples.   The tops or leaves only are officinal.
   They have a  peculiar not unpleasant odour, and a strong, bitterish, some-
what pungent taste.   These properties reside chiefly in  an essential oil, and
are readily imparted to alcohol.  The  leaves, analyzed by Mr. Wm. J.
Jenks  were found to contain volatile oil, gum, tannic acid, albumen, bitter
extractive, resin,  chlorophylle,  fixed oil, lime, and lignin. (Am. Journ. of
Pharm. xiv. 235.)
   The leaves of the J.  Virginiana bear a close resemblance to those of the
J. Sabina, from which they can be certainly distinguished only by the dif-
ference of odour.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   The resemblance of red cedar to savine is
said also to extend to their medical properties; the former being considered,
like the latter,  stimulant,  emmenagogue, diuretic,  and, under certain cir-
cumstances, diaphoretic.   It is,  however, much less energetic; and though
                                36* 
414               Juniperus Virginiana.—Kino.           part i.

advantage may, as has been asserted, have accrued from  its use in amenor-
rhoea, chronic rheumatism, and dropsy, it has not acquired the confidence of
the profession generally.  Externally applied it acts as  an irritant; and an
ointment prepared by boiling the fresh leaves for a short time in twice their
weight of lard, with the addition of a little wax, is employed as a substitute
for savine cerate in maintaining a purulent discharge from blistered surfaces.
Sometimes the dried leaves in powder are mixed with six times their weight
of resin cerate, and used for a similar purpose.   But neither of these prepa-
rations is as effectual as the analogous  preparations of savine.        W.

                 KINO.  U.S.,  Lond.,  Ed., Dub.

                                Kino.

   " An extract obtained from an uncertain plant."  U. S.  " Pterocarpus eri-
naceus. Extractum." Lond. " Concrete exudation of  Pterocarpus erina-
ceus, and of other undetermined genera and species."  Ed.
   Kino, Fr., Germ., Ital.; Qnino, Span.
   The term kino was originally applied to a vegetable extract or inspissated
juice taken to London from  the western coast  of Africa, and introduced to
the notice of the profession by Dr. Fothergill.   Vegetable products obtained
from various other parts of  the world, resembling kino  in  their appearance
and properties, afterwards  received the  same name; and  much  confusion
and uncertainty have existed, and  to  a considerable degree still exist, in
relation to the botanical and commercial history of the drug.   We shall
first give an account of the general properties which at present entitle a
medicine to the name of kino, and shall then treat of the several varieties.
   General Properties.  Kino, as found in the shops, is usually in small, irre-
gular, angular, shining fragments, seldom so large as a pea, of a dark reddish-
brown or blackish colour, very brittle, easily pulverizable, and affording a
reddish powder, much lighter coloured than the drug in its aggregate slate. If
in larger masses, it may be reduced without difficulty into these minute frag-
ments.   It is without odour, and  has a bitterish, highly astringent  taste,
with a somewhat sweetish after-taste.   It burns with little flame, and does
not soften with heat.   It imparts its virtues and a deep-red colour to water
and alcohol.  Cold  water forms with it a  clear infusion.   Boiling water
dissolves it more largely; and  the  saturated decoction becomes  turbid on
cooling, and deposits a reddish sediment.  The tincture is not disturbed by
water.  When long  kept it  often gelatinizes, and loses its astringency.
(See  Tinctura Kino.)   Kino  consists chiefly of a modification of tannic
acid or tannin, with extractive, gum, and sometimes probably a little resin;
but we need a careful analysis of the different well-ascertained varieties.
The aqueous solution of kino is precipitated by gelatin, the soluble salts of
iron,  silver, lead, and antimony, the bichloride of mercury, and the sulphu-
ric, nitric, and muriatic acids.   The precipitate with iron is of an olive or
greenish-black colour.  The alkalies favour the solubility of kino in water,
but essentially change its nature,  and  destroy its astringency.
   1.  East India or Amboyna Kino.   This  is the variety at present pro-
bably most used, and  most highly esteemed.   It  is apparently an  extract;
but its origin is altogether unknown.  It has been ascribed by some to the
Nauclea  Gambir of  Mr.  Hunter (Uncaria  Gambir of Roxburgh);  but
the reference is altogether incorrect;  as  the product of this tree,  now  well
known under the name of gambir, bears no  resemblance to kino, and is
generally ranked among the varieties of catechu.   (See Catechu, page 194.) 
PART I.
Kino.
415
The name of Amboyna kino would seem to imply that it comes in part at
least from that island.  But Pereira states that all the importations he could
trace were from Bombay and Tellicherry; and he therefore conjectures that
it is collected upon the Malabar coast.  Roxburgh  suggests that  it may be
derived from the Pterocarpus Marsupium, an East India tree, the juice  of
which is strongly and simply astringent, and hardens into a dark red very
brittle  mass, which assumes a lighter colour  when powdered.   (Lindley,
Flor. Med.  p. 256.)  It is sometimes imported into this country directly
from the East Indies, but  more commonly from  London.   It comes from
the East in  boxes.
  East India kino  is in small, angular, glistening  fragments,  of a uniform
consistence, appearing as if formed by the breaking down of larger masses.
The larger fragments are opaque and nearly black;  but minute splinters are
sometimes translucent, and of a deep garnet redness when viewed by trans-
mitted light.  This variety of kino is very brittle, readily breaking between
the fingers, and easily pulverized, affording a dark reddish powder, a portion
of  which, resulting from the mutual attrition  of  the  fragments, is  often
found interspersed among them.  When  chewed,  it softens in the mouth,
adheres somewhat to the teeth, and tinges the saliva of a blood-red colour.
In odour, taste, and chemical relations,  it corresponds with  the account
already given of kino in general. It was analyzed by Vauquelin,  and found
to contain 75 per cent, of tannin and peculiar extractive, 24  of red  gum,
and 1 of insoluble matter.  Pereira states that it has been shown by A. W.
Buchner to  contain catechuin, or catechuic acid. (See  Catechu,  p. 194.)
   2.  West  India or Jamaica  Kino.  This is believed to be the product of
the Coccoloba uvifera, or sea-side grape, a  tree  twenty  feet or more in
height, bearing beautiful broad shining leaves, and  large bunches of purple
berries, to which it owes  its vernacular name.   It grows in  the West In-
dies and neighbouring parts of the continent.  The kino is said to be ob-
tained by evaporating a decoction  of the wood and bark,  which are very
astringent.   Many  years since, a thick reddish-brown liquid was imported
into Philadelphia from the West  Indies,  which, when  dried by exposure
to the air in shallow vessels or by  heat, afforded an extract having all the
properties of kino, for which it was sold  by the druggists.  This has  been
long exhausted; but, within a few  years, a considerable quantity of West
India kino has been brought into this market, and now enters into the con-
sumption of the country.  It is contained in large gourds, into which it
has evidently been  poured while in a liquid or semi-liquid state, and  then
allowed to harden.
    When taken from the gourd, it  breaks  into fragments of various  sizes,
upon an average  about as large as  a hazel-nut, and having some tendency
 to  the rectangular form.  The consistence of these fragments is uniform,
 their surface smooth and shining,  and their colour a dark reddish-brown,
 approaching to black. They are, however, not so glistening, nor so black as
 the East India kino.   In  mass they are quite opaque, but in  thin splinters
 are translucent  and of a ruby redness.   They are readily broken by the
 fingers into smaller fragments, are easily pulverized, and yield  a dull red-
 dish powder, considerably lighter-coloured than that of the former variety.
 The West India kino  is without odour, and has a  very astringent bitterish
 taste, with a scarcely observable sweetish after-taste. It  adheres to the teeth
 when chewed, though rather less  than the East India variety, and colours
 the saliva  red.   The solubility of Jamaica  kino  was  very carefully exa-
 mined, at our request, by Dr. Robert Bridges of this city, who  found that
 cold water  dissolved 89 per cent., and ordinary officinal alcohol 94 per cent.
 The portion dissolved by alcohol  and not by water was  probably of a  resin- 
416
Kino.
PART I.
 ous nature; as it appeared to be viscid, and very much impeded  the filtra-
 tion of the watery solution.  Guibourt, who states that Jamaica  kino  is
 but slightly dissolved by cold water, must have operated on a different pro-
 duct.  According to Bostock, it contains 41 per cent, of tannin.
   3. South  American Kino.—Caracas Kino.   In  1839, when the last
 edition of this Dispensatory was published, an astringent extract had re-
 cently been introduced into our market, derived, as we were informed, from
 Caracas, and  known by that name to the druggists.   Since that period  it
 has come much more into use, and now constitutes a considerable  portion
 of the consumption of the country.   It  is probably the same as  that de-
 scribed by Guibourt in the last edition of his History of Drugs as the kino
 of Columbia.
   As imported, this variety of kino is in large masses, some weighing seve-
 ral pounds, covered  with thin leaves, or exhibiting marks of leaves upon
 their unbroken surface, externally very dark, and internally of a deep red-
 dish-brown or dark port-wine colour.  It is opaque in  the  mass, but trans-
 lucent in thin splinters, very brittle,  and of a fracture always shining, but
 in  some masses  wholly rough and irregular, in  others  rough only in the
 interior, while the outer portion, for an inch or two in depth, breaks with  a
 rather smooth and uniform surface like that of the West India kino. This
 outer portion is easily broken into fine angular fragments, while the interior
 crumbles quite irregularly.  Some of the masses are very impure, contain-
 ing pieces  of bark, wood, leaves, &c; others are more homogeneous, and
 almost free from impurities.   The  masses are broken  up by means of  a
 mill so as  to resemble East India kino, from which, however, this  variety
 differs in being more irregular, less  sharply angular, more powdery, and
 less black.  On  comparing the finer and more angular  portions  of the
 masses with the West India kino,  we were  strongly  struck with their
 resemblance; and in  fact could discover no difference  between the two
 varieties either in colour, lustre, taste, the colour of the powder, or other
 sensible  property.   South American  kino was  found by  Dr. Bridges to
 yield 93*5 per cent, to cold water,  and 93 per  cent, to alcohol;  so that,
 while it has  almost  the same solubility  as Jamaica kino in alcohol, it is
 somewhat more soluble in cold water.  The aqueous solution, in this case,
 was not embarrassed by the adhesive  matter which impeded  the filtration
 in the former variety; and  the want of a minute proportion  of resinous
 matter in the South  American kino is  the  only difference we have dis-
 covered between  the two drugs.  It is not improbable that they are derived
 from the same plant;  and there is  no difficulty in supposing that this may
 be the Coccoloba uvifera,  as that tree grows  as well upon  the continent as
 in the islands.
   4. African Kino.  The  original kino employed by Dr. Fothergill was
 known to be the produce of a tree growing in Senegal, and upon the banks
 of the Gambia, on the western coast of Africa;  but the precise character of
 the tree was not ascertained, until  a  specimen, sent home by Mungo Park
 during his last journey, enabled the English botanists to decide that it was
 the Pterocarpus erinaceus of Lamarck and Poiret.  The London College
 accordingly refers kino  to this plant;  but in so doing has  overlooked the
 fact, that not  one of the varieties now used is brought from Africa.   The
 importation of African kino has long ceased, and the  most  experienced
 pharmacologist cannot speak  with certainty of having  seen a specimen.
 That described by Guibourt has turned out to be the Butea gum;* and the

  * Butea gum is the concrete juice of the Butea frondosa or Dhak-tree of Hindostan.
The juice flows from natural fissures, and from wounds made in the bark of the tree, and 
PART I.
Kino.
417
description in Christison's  Dispensatory evidently applies to the  common
East  India  kino.   A  specimen  given to Dr. A. T. Thomson  as African
kino, and described in  his Dispensatory, is certainly not the drug spoken
of by Fothergill, but rather resembles the Butea gum.
   As described by Fothergill, the African kino,  for which he proposed the
name of gummi rubrum astringens  Gambinense, was  in lumps of about
the size of those of gum Senegal or dragon's blood, and so similar in ap-
pearance to the latter that a good judge might easily be  deceived.  These
lumps were hard, brittle, opaque, and  almost black;  but minute fragments
were reddish and  transparent like garnet.  The drug was inodorous, of a
strongly astringent and sweetish  taste, and soluble in water, to the  extent of
about five or six parts  out of seven, forming a deep red astringent infusion.
There can be little doubt that this variety of kino is a concrete juice, which
exudes either spontaneously or  from  wounds in the bark, and hardens in
the air. (See Med.  Obs. and Inq. i. 358.)
   5.  Botany Bay Kino.  This is the concrete juice of the Eucalyptus re-
sinifera, or brown gum tree of New Holland, a lofty tree, belonging to the
class  and  order Icosandria Monogynia, and the natural order Myrtaceae.
When the bark is wounded the juice flows very freely, and  hardens in the
air.   According to  Mr. White, a single tree is capable of furnishing  five
hundred pounds of kino in one  year.  (White's Voyage.)  Duncan states
that specimens of the juice have reached Great Britain in the fluid form,
and that when he  first examined kino  in 1802, it was common, and was the
finest kind in commerce. According to information received by Dr. Thom-
son, its importation into Great  Britain must have  ceased soon after  that
period (Thomson's Dispensatory,  1826, p.  506); but Dr. Pereira speaks
of it as imported  in boxes, and  has himself met with a parcel  of it from
Van Diemen's  Land.   Ainslie informs  us that  he has met with  it in  the
markets of Hindostan.  Parcels  may occasionally reach this country;  but
by such complicated routes that their origin is unknown.
   The specimen examined by Pereira was  in  irregular masses,  many of
them in the form of tears as large as those of Senegal gum.   " The purer
pieces were vitreous, almost black  in the mass, but transparent  and  of a
beautiful ruby-red in small and thin fragments.  Some of the pieces, how-
ever, were opaque and dull, from the  intermixture of wood and other  im-
purities."  This variety of kino  is brittle, with a resinous unequal fracture,
and yields a  reddish-brown powder.  It is infusible, without odour, of an
astringent taste followed by sweetness,  and when  long chewed  adheres to
the teeth.  (Duncan.)  It swells up and becomes gelatinous with cold water,
yielding a red solution,  which gives precipitates with lime-water, gelatin,
and sesquichloride of  iron, but  not with alcohol  or tartar-emetic.   With

quickly hardens.  It  is in snTall elongated  tears, or irregular angular masses, less in size
than a grain of barley, apparently black and opaque, but translucent and of  a ruby-red
colour when examined in small fragments by transmitted light. Many  of the tears have
small portions of bark adhering to them. They are very brittle, and readily  pnlverizable,
yielding a reddish powder.   They are very astrinjjent to the taste, do not adhere to the
teeth when chewed, and tinge the saliva  red.  The relations of this product to water,
alcohol and chemical  reagents are nearly the same as those of ordinary kino.  When freed
from impurities, consisting of from 15 to  25 per cent, of wood, hark, sand, &c, it  con-
tains, according to Mr. E. Solly, 73-2G per cent, of tannin, 505 of soluble extractive, and
21 67 of gum and other soluble substances.  It is used in the arts in India, and might
undoubtedly be employed  as kino in  medicine.  It is, however, very seldom imported
into England, and never, at  present, into this country.  Dr. Pereira found a quantity in
an old drug store in London, and sent a portion to Guibourt, from which that writer drew
up his description of African kino.  It is possible that the kino which formerly reached
us, full of small pieces of wood, bark, &c., may have  been the  Butea gum. 
418
Kino.—Krameria.
PART I.
rectified spirit it also becomes gelatinous, and forms a red tincture which is
not precipitated by water. (Pereira.)   White states that only one-sixth of
this kino is soluble in water; Guibourt found it wholly soluble with the  ex-
ception of foreign matters; and Dr. Thomson informs us that water at 60°
dissolves more  than one-half.  These gentlemen must  have experimented
with different substances.  According to Dr. Duncan, alcohol dissolves  the
whole except impurities; and the tincture, with a certain proportion of water,
lets fall a copious red precipitate, but with a large proportion only becomes
slightly turbid.
  It is said that catechu, broken into small fragments, has  sometimes been
sold as kino.   Fortunately little injury can  result from  the substitution, as
the medical virtues of the two extracts are very nearly the  same.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Kino is  powerfully astringent, and in
this country is  much used for the suppression of  morbid discharges.  In
diarrhoea not attended with febrile excitement or inflammation, it is often an
excellent adjunct to opium and the absorbent medicines, and is a favourite
addition to the  chalk mixture.  It is also used in chronic  dysentery when
astringents are admissible; in leucorrhoea and diabetes; and in passive hemor-
rhages, particularly that from the uterus.  It was formerly used in intermit-
tent fever, but has given way to more efficient remedies.
  It may be given in powder, infusion, or dissolved in diluted alcohol. The
dose of the powder is from ten to thirty grains.  The infusion, which is a
very  convenient form of administration, may be  made by pouring eight
fluidounces of boiling water on two drachms of the  extract, and straining
when cool.  Aromatics may be added if deemed advisable.  The dose is a
fluidounce.  The proportion  of alcohol in a dose of the tincture, renders it
frequently an unsuitable preparation.
   Locally applied, kino is often productive of benefit.  Its infusion is useful
as an injection  in leucorrhoea and obstinate gonorrhoea, and thrown up  the
nostrils we have found it very efficacious in suppressing hemorrhage from
the Schneiderian membrane.  A case of obstinate hemorrhage from a wound
in the palate,  after resisting  various means, yielded to the application of
powdered kino, which was spread thickly on lint, and pressed against  the
wound by the tongue. The powder is also a very useful application to
indolent and flabby ulcers.
   Off] Prep. Electuarium Catechu, Ed., Dub.; Pulvis Aluminis Composi-
tus, Ed.; Pulvis Kino Comp., Lond., Dub.; Tinctura Kino, Lond., Ed.,
Dub.                                                           W.

                KRAMERIA. U.S., Lond., Ed.

                              Rhatany.

   " The root of Krameria triandra."  U. S., Ed.  " Krameria triandra. Ra-
dix." Lond.
   Off. Syn.  RHATANIA.  KRAMERIA  TRIANDRA. Radix et extrac-
tum.  Dub.
   Ratanhie, Fr.; Ratanhiawurzel, Germ.; Ralania, Ital.; Span.
   Krameria.  Sex.  Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.—Nat.  Ord.  Polygaleae,
De Cand. Krameriaceac. Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx none. Corolla four-petalled; the superior nectary three-
parted, and inferior two leaved.  Berry dry, echinated, one-seeded.  Willd.
   Krameria triandra.  Ruiz and Pavon, Flor. Peruv. i. 61.  The rhatany 
PART I.
Krameria.
419
plant is a  shrub having a long, much branched, and  spreading root,  of a
blackish-red colour;  with a  round,  procumbent, very dark-coloured stem,
divided into numerous branches, of which the younger are leafy and thickly
covered with soft hairs, giving them a white, silky appearance. The leaves
are few, sessile, oblong-ovate, pointed, entire, presenting on  both surfaces
the same  silky whiteness with the young branches, on the sides of which
they are placed.  The flowers are lake-coloured, and  stand singly on short
peduncles at the axils of the upper leaves.   There are only three stamens.
The nectary consists of four leaflets, of which the two upper  are spatulate,
the lower roundish and much shorter: it does not correspond with the gene-
ric character of Willdenow, which was  drawn  from the Krameria  Ixina.
The fruit  is globular, of the size of a pea, surrounded by stiff reddish-brown
prickles, and furnished with one or two seeds.
   This species of Krameria is a native of Peru, growing in dry argillaceous
and sandy places, and  abundant about the city of Huanuco.  It flowers at
all seasons, but is in  the height of its bloom in October and November.  The
root is dug up after the rains.
   The K. Ixina, growing in Hayti, and in Cumana on the South American
continent, is said to afford a root closely analogous in appearance and pro-
perties to  that of the Peruvian species; but the latter only is officinal.
   The name rhatany is said to express, in the language of  the Peruvian
Indians, the creeping character of the plant.
   We receive rhatany in pieces  of various shapes and dimensions, some
being simple,  some  more or less branched, the largest as much as an inch
in thickness, being derived from the main body of the root,  the smallest not
thicker than a small quill, consisting of the minute ramifications.  The pieces
are often  nearly cylindrical, and  as  much as  two or three feet in length.
Sometimes  many of the  radicles are united in a common head, which is
short,  and from half an inch to two inches or more in diameter.   The roots
are  composed  of a  dark  reddish-brown, slightly fibrous,  easily separable
bark, and a central woody portion, less  coloured, but still  reddish, or red-
dish-yellow.  The root is without smell, but has a bitter,  very astringent,
slightly sweetish taste, which is  connected with its medical virtues, and is
much stronger in the cortical than the ligneous part.   The  smallest pieces
 are therefore preferable, as  they contain the largest proportion of the bark.
 The powder is of a  reddish colour.  The virtues of the root are extracted
 by water and alcohol, to which  it imparts a deep reddish-brown  colour.
 From the researches  of Vogel,  Gmelin, Peschier,  and  Trommsdorff, it
 appears to  contain  tannin,  lignin,  and minute quantities  of gum, starch,
 saccharine  matter, and an acid which Peschier considered  as peculiar, and
 named krameric acid.  The tannin is in three states;  1st, in that of purity,
 in which  it is without colour; 2d, that of apotheme, in which it has lost
 its astringency and  been rendered insoluble by the  action of the air, and
 3d, that of extractive, which is a soluble  combination of tannin  and its
 apotheme, and is the  substance which imparts their characteristic reddish-
 brown colour to the infusion and tincture of rhatany.  (Soubeiran, Journ.
 de Pharm. xix. 596.)  The proportion of red astringent  matter obtained
 by Vogel was 40 per cent.  The mineral acids  and most of the metallic
 salts throw down precipitates with the infusion,  decoction, and tincture of
 rhatany, and are incompatible in  prescription.
   Cold water,  by means of displacement or percolation,  extracts all  the
 astringency of rhatany,  forming a  clear deep-red  infusion,  which,  upon
 careful evaporation, yields  an almost perfectly soluble  extract.   The  root
 yields its virtues also to boiling water by maceration; but the  resulting infu- 
420
Krameria.—Lacmus.
PART I.
sion becomes turbid upon cooling, in consequence of the deposition of apo-
theme taken up by the water when heated.  By boiling with water a still
larger proportion of the apotheme is dissolved, and a considerable quantity
of the pure tannin becomes insoluble in cold water, and medicinally inert,
either by combining with the starch  which is  also  dissolved,  or by  con-
version  into apotheme through the agency of the atmosphere.  The decoc-
tion is, therefore, an ineligible preparation, and the extract resulting from
its evaporation, though greater in absolute weight than  that from the  cold
infusion, contains much less soluble and active  matter.   Alcohol dissolves
a larger proportion of the root than water, but this excess is owing to  the
solution of apotheme;  and the alcoholic extract contains little if any more of
the astringent principle than that prepared by cold water, while it is encum-
bered with much inert matter. (See  Extractum Kramerise.)
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  Rhatany is gently tonic and  powerfully
astringent; and may be advantageously given in chronic diarrhoea, passive
hemorrhages, especially menorrhagia, some forms of leucorrhoea, and in all
those cases in which kino  and  catechu  are  beneficial.   It  has  long been
used in Peru as a remedy in bowel complaints, as a corroborant in cases of
enfeebled  stomach, and  as a local application to spongy gums.   Ruiz, one
of the authors of the Peruvian  Flora, first made it known in Europe.  It
was not till  after the year 1816 that it began to come into general use.   In
this country it is now  extensively employed.  It has the advantage over the
astringent extracts imported, that, being brought in the state of the root,  it is
free  from adulteration, and may be prescribed with confidence.
  The dose of the powder  is from twenty to thirty grains; but in this form
the root is little used.   The infusion or decoction is more convenient, and
is usually preferred.   The  proportions are an ounce of the bruised or pow-
dered root to a pint of water, and the dose one  or two  fluidounces.  The
extract,  tincture, and  syrup are  officinal preparations;  and may be  given,
the first in the dose of fifteen  or twenty grains, the second in that of two or
three fluidrachms, and the third in that of half a fluidounce for an adult.  In
the form of infusion, tincture, and extract, rhatany has been highly recom-
mended as a local remedy in fissure of the anus,  prolapsus ani, and leucor-
rhoea.   (See a paper by Drs. Johnston and Biddle, in the Medical Exa-
miner, iv. 293.)
  Off. Prep. Extractum Krameriae,  U. S., Ed.; Infusum Krameriae, U. S.,
Lond.;  Tinctura Krameriae, U. S.                                 W.


                      LACMUS.  Lond., Ed.

                               Litmus.

  " Roccella tinctoria. Thallus praeparatus." Lond.  "A peculiar colour-
ing matter from Roccella tinctoria." Ed.
  Off. Syn. LITMUS.  Roccella tinctoria. Dub.
  Turnsol, Orchil); Tourncsol, Fr.; Lakmus, Germ.; Oricello, Ital.; Orchilla, Span.
  Various species of lichens  afford, when macerated with alkaline liquors,
a purple colouring matter much esteemed  in dyeing.  That most used at
present  is the cudbear,  prepared from the Lichen tartareus, which grows
on limestone rocks  in the  North of Europe.   The orchill or litmus is a
similar dye-stuff, prepared from the Roccella tinctoria of Acharius, a lichen
which grows on maritime rocks, and is  especially abundant in the Canary
and Cape Verd Islands. 
part i.       Lactuca Elongata.—Lactuca  Virosa.           421

  Litmus is prepared by coarsely powdering the lichen, and  macerating
and fermenting it in close wooden vessels, for  several weeks, with urine
and either potash or soda.  The  colouring matter is thus evolved, and the
prepared mass is taken out, dried, and  cut into small squares for use.
  Litmus,  as thus prepared, is in friable, violet-coloured, finely granular
pieces, from a quarter of an inch to an inch in diameter, scattered over with
white saline points.  It has  an alkaline smell, tinges the saliva of a deep
blue, and is somewhat pungent and saline to the taste.   It is much used as
one of the most delicate tests of uncombined acids, which change  its blue
colour to red; and of alkalies, which restore the original hue.   The most
convenient mode of preparing litmus for use as a test, is to stain paper with
it.  For this purpose the watery infusion made with one part of powdered
litmus and four of water, is applied by means of a brush to white unsized
paper.  The sheets when dried must be kept in close vessels in the dark.
                                                           D. B. S.

         LACTUCA ELONGATA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                           Wild Lettuce.

  " The herb of Lactuca elongata." U. S.
  Lactuca. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia iEqualis.—Nat. Ord. Compositae-Ci-
choraceae, De Cand.  Cichoraceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Calyx  imbricated, cylindrical, with a mem-
branous margin.  Pappus simple, stipitate.  Seed smooth.  Willd.
  Lactuca elongata. Willd.  Sp.  Plant, iii. 1525.   This indigenous spe-
cies of lettuce is  biennial, with a  stem  from three to six feet in  height, and
leaves of which  the lower are runcinate, entire, and clasping, the lowest
toothed, and the highest lanceolate.   They are all  smooth on  their under
surface.  The flowers are in corymbose panicles, small, and of a pale yel-
low colour.  The stem  and leaves yield, when  wounded, a milky juice in
which the virtues of the plant reside.
  The wild lettuce grows in all latitudes of the United States, from Canada
to the Carolinas.  It is found in woods, along roads, and in fertile soils, and
flowers  in June and July.
   It was introduced into the secondary list of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia as a
substitute for the Lactuca virosa of Europe, which it is said to  resemble
somewhat in medical properties.   Dr. Bigelow was informed by physicians
who had employed it, that it acts as an anodyne, and  promotes the secretion
from the skin and kidneys.  It is seldom used in regular practice.
  An extract prepared by expressing and inspissating the juice of the fresh
plant may be given in doses of from five to fifteen grains.  (Bigeloiv's Se-
quel.)                                                           W.

             LACTUCA VIROSA. Folia. Dub.

                      Strong-scented Lettuce.

  Laitue vireuse, Fr.; Gift-Lattig, Germ.; Lattujra salvatica, Ital.
  Lactuca. See LACTUCA ELONGATA.
  Lactuca virosa.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1526; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 75.
t. 31.  The strong-scented lettuce  is biennial, with a  stem from  two to four
feet high, erect,  prickly near the base, above  smooth and  divided  into
branches.  The lower leaves are large, oblong obovate, undivided, toothed,
       37 
 422        Lactuca Virosa.—Lactucarium.—Lactuca.     part i.

 commonly prickly on the under side of the midrib, sessile, and horizontal;
 the upper are smaller, clasping, and often lobed; the bractes are cordate and
 pointed.  The flowers  are numerous, of a sulphur-yellow colour, and dis-
 posed in a panicle.   The plant is lactescent, and has a strong disagreeable
 smell like that of  opium,  and a bitterish  acrid  taste.   The  inspissated
 expressed juice is the  part usually employed in medicine.  It  should  be
 prepared  while the plant is in flower; as the milky fluid, upon which  its
 virtues depend, is then most  abundant.   Mr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, has
 prepared lactucarium  from this species, which  is said to  yield it in greater
 quantity,  and of better quality  than  the garden lettuce.   Mr. Schutz,  of
 Germany, obtained  only 17 grains of lactucarium, on the average, from  a
 single plant of the garden lettuee, while a plant of  the L. virosa yielded 56
 grains.  The strong-scented lettuce is a native of Europe.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The extract or inspissated juice is a seda-
 tive narcotic, said also to be gently laxative,  powerfully diuretic, and some-
 what diaphoretic.  It is employed in Europe, particularly in Germany,  in
 the treatment of dropsy, and is  especially recommended in  cases attended
 with visceral obstruction.  Dr. Collin of Vienna was very successful  with
 it in the cure of that disease.  It is usually, however, combined with squill,
 digitalis, or some other diuretic; and it is  not easy to decide how much  of
 the effect obtained  is justly ascribable to the lettuce.   The medicine  is
 never used in this country.  The dose is eight or ten grains, which maybe
 gradually  increased to a scruple or more.  The Lactuca Scariola, another
 European species, possesses similar properties, and is  used for the same
 purposes.                                                       W.


             LACTUCARIUM.  U. S., Lond., Ed.

                            Lactucarium.

   " The  inspissated  juice of Lactuca  sativa." U. S.   " Lactuca  sativa.
 Succus spissatus."  Lond.  " Inspissated juice of Lactuca virosa and sativa;
 Lettuce-ojjium."  Ed.

                        LACTUCA, Lond.

                               Lettuce.
   " Lactuea sativa."  Lond.
   Off. Syn.  LACTUCA SATIVA. Herba. Dub.
   Laitue, Fr.;  Garten-Latlig-, Germ.; Lattuga, Ital; Lechuga, Span.
   Lactuca.  See LACTUCA ELONGATA.
   Lactuca sativa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1523.  The garden lettuce is an
 annual plant.  The stem, which rises above two  feet  in  height, is erect
 round, simple below,  and branching in its upper part.   The lower leaves
 are obovate, rounded  at  the end, and undulating; the upper are smaller, ses-
 sile,  cordate,  and toothed; both are shining, and of a yellowish-green colour.
 The flowers  are pale  yellow, small, and disposed  in an irregular terminal
 corymb.   Before the flower-stem begins to shoot, the plant contains a bland,
 pellucid juice, has little taste or smell, and is much used as a salad  for the
 table; but during the period of inflorescence it abounds in a peculiar milky
juice, which readily escapes from incisions in the stem, and has been found
 to possess decided medicinal as well as sensible properties.  A similar juice
 is produced by all the other species of lettuce, and has in fact served as the 
PART I.
Lactucarium.—Lactuca.
423
origin of the title by which the  genus is designated.   This juice is more
abundant in the wild than in the cultivated plants.  That of the L. sativa,
inspissated by exposure to the air, has been adopted as officinal in the U. S.,
London, and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, under the name of Lactucarium.
The Edinburgh College admits also the L. virosa  as one of the sources of
this medicine.  In the  edition of the London Pharmacopoeia of 1836, let-
tuce has been omitted  from the  Materia Medica;  but we have retained it
here; as an extract of lettuce  is  directed in the same edition, among the
Preparations.
  The original native country of the garden lettuce is unknown.  The plant
has been cultivated  from time immemorial, and is now  employed  in  all
parts of the civilized world. It flourishes equally well in hot and temperate
latitudes.   Some  botanists  suppose that the L. virosa of the old continent
is the parent of all the  varieties of the cultivated plant.
  The milky juice undergoes little alteration, if confined in closely stopped
bottles from which  the air is excluded.  But when exposed to  the  air, it
concretes and assumes a brownish  colour somewhat like that of opium.
Mr. Young, of Edinburgh, recommended the following mode of collecting
it.  When the stem is about a foot high, the top is cut off, and the juice
which  exudes, being absorbed by cotton or a piece of sponge, is pressed
out into a cup or other small vessel,  and exposed till it concretes.  In order
to obtain all the juice which the plant is capable of affording, it is necessary
to cut off five or six successive slices of the stem at short intervals, and to
repeat the  process two or  three  times a day.  The juice may also be  col-
lected by the finger as  it flows from  the incisions.
  A plan proposed by  Mr. Probart of London, is to eollect the milky juice
on pieces of woven  cotton about half a yard square, to throw these when
fully charged  into a  vessel containing a small quantity of water, and allow
the water thus impregnated to evaporate in shallow dishes at the ordinary
temperature of the atmosphere.   The  lactucarium is left in the form of an
extract, differing from the concrete juice chiefly in being destitute of caout-
chouc.
  Another method of extracting  the virtues of the lettuce has been recom-
mended by Mr. Probart.   When the plant begins to assume  a yellow hue,
the white juice concretes in the  bark of the  stem, and in  the  old leaves,
which become very  bitter.   These parts being separated, are macerated for
twenty-four hours in water, then  boiled for two hours;  and  the clear decoc-
tion, after having  been  allowed to drain off through a sieve without pressure,
is evaporated in shallow vessels by simple exposure.  The resulting extract,
according to Mr.  Probart, has  half the strength of lactucarium, and may be
obtained at one-sixth of the cost.
  The  London College  directs  an extract to be prepared by inspissating
the expressed juice of the leaves; but this must be exceedingly uncertain,
from the variable quantity of the milky juiee contained in the plant; and as
the young leaves, which contain little or none of it, are often employed,
the preparation  is liable  to be   quite  inert.   The proper  lactucarium is
greatly preferable.
  It has been asserted  that the thridace of Dr. Francois is the inspissated
milky juice of lettuce,  and  therefore identical with lactucarium; and a state-
ment to this effect was made  in  some former  editions of this work, upon
what was deemed sufficient authority.  In an article, however, in the Jour-
nal  de Pharmacie for December  1836,  it is asserted that thridace strongly
attracts  moisture from the air, is without narcotic odour, and instead of being
bitter, like  lactucarium, has a saline and extractive taste.   It is, therefore, 
424
Lactucarium.—Lactuca.
PART I.
in all probability, the inspissated expressed juice, and, indeed, is directed as
such in the last French  Codex, the leaves  being  rejected,  and the stalks
alone, near the flowering  period, being subjected to pressure.
   Lactucarium is in small irregular lumps, of a reddish-brown colour exter-
nally, and of a narcotic odour and bitter taste.  As prepared near Edinburgh
it is  commonly in  roundish, compact, and  rather hard masses,  weighing
several ounces.  (Christison.)  In colour, taste, and smell,  it bears consider-
able resemblance to opium, and has sometimes  been called  lettuce  opium.
It does not attract moisture from the air.   It  yields nearly half its weight to
water,  with which it forms a deep-brown  infusion.  From  experiments
made by Dr. Klink, assisted by Professor Pfaff  of  Kiel, the undissolved
portion appears  to consist of wax, resin, and caoutchouc.   From its resem-
blance in sensible properties and therapeutical effects to opium, it was con-
jectured to  contain morphia, or some analogous principle;  but none  such
has been discovered.  Analyzed by M.  Aubergier, an  apothecary of Cler-
mont, it yielded 1. a bitter crystallizable  principle, soluble  in alcohol and
boiling  water, slightly soluble in cold water, insoluble in ether, without alka-
line reaction, and supposed to be the active principle;  2. mannite; 3.  aspara-
mide; 4. a free acid; 5. a brown colouring substance; 6. resin, cerin, myricin,
albumen, and gum; 7. nitrate of potassa, chloride  of potassium, and phos-
phates of lime and magnesia. (Journ. de Pharm. N. S. i. 78.) Dr. Walz,
in an inaugural thesis published at Heidelberg in 1839, gives the following
constituents of lactucarium  from the L. virosa;—viz., a peculiar  principle
denominated lactucin, volatile  oil, a fatty matter easily dissolved  by ether,
and another of difficult solubility in that fluid, a reddish-yellow tasteless resin,
a greenish-yellow acrid resin, common sugar, uncrystallizable sugar, gum,
pectic acid, a brown humus-like acid, a brown basic substance, albumen, oxa-
lic, citric, malic, and nitric acids, potassa, lime, and magnesia.  Lactucin is
obtained by exhausting lactucarium with alcohol acidulated with a  fiftieth of
acetic acid,  diluting the tincture with an  equal bulk of water, adding acetate
of lead so long as a precipitate is produced, washing the precipitate with weak
alcohol acidulated with vinegar, filtering  the liquors, freeing them from lead
by hydrosulphuric  acid, evaporating to  dryness at a heat of from 135° to
145° F., exhausting the extract  thus obtained with absolute alcohol, evapo-
rating to dryness,  treating the residue again with ether, and allowing the
ether to evaporate spontaneously.   Lactucin  is thus obtained in  yellow
crystalline needles,  without smell, of a strong and durable bitter taste, easily
fusible, soluble in from 60 to  80 parts of cold water, freely soluble in alcohol,
less  so in ether, soluble in very dilute acids, and possessing neither alkaline
nor acid reaction.  The substance called by  Buchner lactucin, contains be-
sides the proper lactucin numerous  other  principles.  (Annul, der Pharm.
xxxii. 97.)
  Medical Properties and  Uses.   That lettuce possesses  soporific proper-
ties, is  a fact which was known to the ancients; but Professor  Coxe, of
Philadelphia, enjoys the credit of having first proposed the employment of
its inspissated milky  juice as a medicine.  From experiments with  a tinc-
ture prepared from lactucarium, Dr. Coxe obtained  the same results  as
usually follow  the  administration of common laudanum.   Dr.  Duncan,
senior,  of Edinburgh, afterwards paid particular attention  to the subject,
and, in  his  treatise on pulmonary consumption, recommended lactucarium
as a substitute  for  opium, the  anodyne  properties of which it possesses,
without being followed by the  same  injurious effects.  In consequence of
this  recommendation the medicine came into extensive use, and was adopted
as officinal in several of the Pharmacopoeias.  Dr. Francois, a French phy- 
PART I.
Lauri Baccse. —Lauri Folia.
425
sician, also investigated, with great  care, the medicinal properties of the
inspissated juice of lettuce.  According to this author,  it is sedative in its
action, diminishing the rapidity of the circulation, and consequently  the
temperature of the body, without producing that disturbance  of the functions
which often follows  the use  of  opium.  In this  country the  medicine is
habitually employed by some  practitioners to allay cough, and quiet nervous
irritation.  It  may be  given  in  all cases  in which opium  is indicated in
reference to its anodyne or soothing  influence, but cannot be administered
from  idiosyncrasy of the patient.  It is,  however, a very uncertain medi-
cine.
  The dose of lactucarium has usually been stated at two grains  to be re-
peated if necessary, but this is too small.   From five to twenty grains may
be given.
  Water distilled from lettuce (eau de laitue) is used in France as a mild
sedative,  in the  quantity of from two  to  four ounces.  The fresh leaves
boiled in  water are sometimes employed in the shape of cataplasms.  It is
said that  in Egypt a mild oil is derived  from the seeds, fit for culinary use.
(Fee.)
  Off. Prep.  Of Lactucarium.   Tinctura Lactucarii,  Ed.;  Trochisci Lac-
tucarii, Ed.—Of Lactuca. Extractum Lactucee. Lond.             W.

        LAURI BACCAE.  LAURI  FOLIA. Lond.

              Berries and Leaves  of the Bay Tree.

  " Laurus nobilis. Baccae. Folia."  Lond.
  Off. Syn. LAURUS NOBILIS. Folia.  Baccae. Dub.
  Luurier, Fr.; Lorbeer, Germ.; Allorgr, Ital.; Laurel,  Span.
  Laurus.   Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lauraceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Flowers dioecious or hermaphrodite, involucrated.  Calyx four-
parted; segments equal, deciduous. Fertile stamens twelve in three rows;
the  outer alternate with the segments of  the calyx; all with two glands in
the  middle or  above it.  Anthers oblong,  two-celled, all looking inwards.
Fertile flowers  with two  to  four castrated  males surrounding the ovary.
Stigma capitate. Fruit succulent, seated  in the irregular base of the calyx.
Umbels axillary, stalked. (Lindley, Flor. Med. 340.)
  Laurus nobilis. Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 479;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 678.
t. 235.   This species of laurel is an  evergreen tree, attaining in its native
climate the height of twenty or thirty feet. Its leaves are alternate, on short
petioles,  oval lanceolate, entire, sometimes wavy, veined, of a firm texture,
smooth, shining, deep green upon their upper surface,  paler  beneath.  The
flowers are dioecious, of a yellowish-white colour, and placed in small clus-
ters of three or four together  upon a  common  peduncle  in the axils of the
leaves.  The corolla is divided into four oval segments.   The fruit is an oval
berry, of the size of a small cherry, and when ripe of a dark purple, nearly
black colour.
  The bay tree, so famous among the ancients, is a native of the countries
bordering on the Mediterranean.   Its leaves and fruit, and an oil expressed
from the  latter, are the officinal parts.
  The leaves have a fragrant  odour, especially when bruised, and a bitter,
aromatic, somewhat astringent taste.  They yield by distillation a greenish-
yellow volatile oil, upon which their properties chiefly depend.  Water dis-
tilled  from them has their peculiar odour.
  The berries when dried are black and wrinkled, and contain two oval,
                                 37* 
426       Lauri Baccae.—Lauri Folia.—Lauro-cerasus.  part i.

fatty seeds within  a thin,  friable envelope; or they may be considered as
drupes, with a kernel divisible into two lobes.  They have the same aroma-
tic odour and taste as the leaves, but are  more pungent.   Besides an essen-
tial oil, they contain also a fixed oil, which may be separated by expression
or decoction.
  The expressed oil, which is obtained from the fresh fruit, is concrete, of a
greenish colour, and retains a portion of the volatile  oil, which renders it
agreeably aromatic.  Lard impregnated with the odorous principle of the
berries, and coloured green, is  said to be  often substituted  for the genuine
expressed oil.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.  The leaves, berries, and oil of the bay
tree possess excitant and narcotic properties, but at present are never used
internally as medicines, and in this country are  scarcely employed in any
manner.  Their chief use is to communicate a  pleasant odour to external
stimulant remedies.  Dr. A. T.  Thomson says that he has found an infusion
of the berries useful in impetigo.
  Off. Prep. Confectio Rutae, Lond.                              W.

                   LAURO-CERASUS.  Ed.

                            Cherry-laurel.

  " Leaves of Prunus lauro-cerasus." Ed.
  Off. Syn. PRUNUS LAURO-CERASUS. Folia.  Dub.
  Laurier cerise, Fr.; Kirschlorbeer, Germ.; Lauro-ceraso, Ital.
  Cerasus. Sex. Syst.  Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Amygdaleae.
   Gen. Ch. Differing from Prunus only in its fruit being destitute of bloom,
with the stone round instead of acute, and the leaves when in bud  folded
flat, not rolled up.  (Lindley, Flor. Med.  232.)
  Cerasus Lauro-cerasus. De  Cand.  Prodrom. ii. 540.—Prunus Lauro-
cerasus. Willd. Sp.  Plant, ii.  988; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 513. t. 185.—
This  is a small evergreen tree, rising fifteen  or twenty feet in height,
with long spreading branches, which, as well  as the trunk,  are covered
with a smooth blackish  bark.  The leaves, which  stand alternately on
short strong footstalks, are oval oblong, from five to seven inches in length,
acute,  finely toothed, firm, coriaceous, smooth, beautifully green and shin-
ing, with oblique nerves, and yellowish  glands at the base.   The flowers
are small, white, strongly odorous, and disposed  in simple axillary racemes.
The fruit consists of oval  drupes, very similar to small black cherries, both
in their shape and internal structure.
  The cherry-laurel is a native of Asia Minor, but has been introduced into
Europe, throughout which it is cultivated, both for medical use and for the
beauty of its shining evergreen  foliage.  Almost all parts of it are more or
less impregnated with the odour supposed  to indicate the presence of hydro-
cyanic acid.  The leaves only  are officinal.
  In their recent  and  entire state they have scarcely any smell, but when
bruised they emit the characteristic odour of the plant in  a high degree.
Their taste is  somewhat astringent and strongly bitter, with  the peculiar
flavour of the peach kernel.   By drying  they lose their odour, but retain
their  bitterness.   They yield  a  peculiar  volatile  oil  and  hydrocyanic
acid by distillation with water,  which  they strongly impregnate with their
flavour.   The  oil resembles that  of bitter almonds, for which it  is said to
be sometimes sold in the shops in Europe, where it is employed to flavour
liquors and various  culinary preparations; but,  as it  is highly poisonous, 
PART I.
Lauro-cerasus.—Lavandula.
427
dangerous consequences may result from its  careless use.   It has not  yet
been determined how far the mode of production of this oil resembles that
of bitter almonds (see Amygdala Amara);  but  chemists have not suc-
ceeded  in obtaining amygdalin from  the  leaves; and that the oil exists
already formed, to a certain extent, in the fresh leaves, is rendered probable
by the fact,  stated by Winkler, that they yield it in considerable quantity
when distilled without water.  (Journ. de Pharm. xxv.  195.)   The fresh
leaves are occasionally used to flavour milk, cream, &c; and more safely
than the oil; though they also are poisonous when too largely employed.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  The leaves of the cherry-laurel possess
properties similar to those of hydrocyanic acid; and the water distilled from
them is much employed in  various parts of Europe for the same purposes
as that active medicine.  But it is deteriorated by age; and therefore, as kept
in the shops, must be of variable strength.   Hence, while Hufeland directs
only twenty drops for a dose every two hours, to be gradually increased to
sixty drops, M. Fouquier has administered several ounces without effect.
Another source of inequality of strength must be the variable quality of the
leaves, according to the time they have been kept after separation from  the
tree, and probably also to their age and degree of development.  It is not,
therefore, to be regretted, that  the want of the plant in this country has pre-
vented the introduction of the distilled water into our shops.        W.
   Off. Prep. Aqua  Lauro-cerasi, Ed., Dub.

              LAVANDULA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                             Lavender.

   " The flowers of Lavandula vera." U. S.   " Lavandula Spica. Flores."
Lond. " The flowering heads of Lavandula vera."  Ed.
   Off. Syn.  LAVANDULA SPICA.  Flores. Dub.
   Lavande, Fr.; Lavandelblumen, Germ.; Lavandola, Ital.; Espliego alhucema, Span.
   Lavandula. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.—Nat. Ord. Lamia-
ceae or Labiatae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx  ovate, somewhat toothed, supported by a bracte.  Co-
rolla resupine.   Stamens within the tube. Willd.
   Lavandula vera.  De  Cand. Flor. Fr.  Sup. p.  398.—L. Spica. Willd.
Sp. Plant, iii. 60;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 321. t.  114.—The  Lavandula
Spica of Linnaeus includes  two distinct species, which were considered by
him merely as varieties of the same plant, but have been separated by sub-
sequent botanists.   Of these, the  officinal  plant, the narrow-leaved variety
of Linnaeus,  has been denominated  by De  Candolle L. vera, while  the
broad-leaved variety still retains the title of L. Spica. The latter is scarcely
cultivated in Great Britain or the United States.
   The common lavender is a small shrub,  usually rising not more than  two
or three feet, but sometimes attaining an elevation of six feet.  The stem is
woody below, and covered  with  a brown bark;  above, is divided  into  nu-
merous slender, straight, herbaceous, pubescent, quadrangular branches, fur-
nished with opposite, sessile,  narrow,  nearly linear, entire, and green or
glaucous leaves.   The flowers are small, blue, and disposed in interrupted
whorls around the young shoots, forming terminal cylindrical spikes.  Each
whorl is accompanied with two bractes.   The corolla is tubular and labiate,
with  the  lower lip  divided into three segments, the upper larger and bifid.
The filaments are within the tube.
  The plant is a native  of  Southern Europe, and covers vast tracts of dry
and barren land in Spain, Italy, and the South of France.  It is cultivated 
428
Lavandula.—Limon.—Limonis Cortex.      part i.
 abundantly in our gardens, and in this country flowers in August.  All parts
 of it are endowed with properties similar to those for which the flowers are
 used; but these only are officinal.   The spikes should be cut when they be-
 gin to bloom.
   Lavender flowers have  a strong fragrant odour, and an aromatic, warm,
 bitterish taste.   They retain their fragrance a longtime after drying. Alco-
 hol extracts their virtues; and a volatile oil upon which their odour depends
 rises with that liquid in distillation.   The oil may be procured separate by
 distilling the flowers with water. (See Oleum Lavandulae.)  Hagen obtained
 from a pound of the fresh flowers  sometimes two drachms, sometimes only
 half a drachm of the oil.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Lavender  is an aromatic stimulant and
 tonic, esteemed useful in certain conditions of nervous debility, but very sel-
 dom given in its crude state.   The products obtained by its distillation are
 much used in perfumery, and as grateful additions to other medicines, which
 they render at the same time more acceptable to the palate and cordial to
 the stomach.
   Off. Prep. Oleum Lavandulae,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Pulvis Asari
 Compositus, Dub.; Spiritus Lavandulae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  W.

                          LIMON.  U.S.

                             Lemons.

   " The fruit of Citrus Limonum  (De Candolle)."  U. S.
   Off. Syn. LIMONES.  Citrus Limonum.  Fructus.  LIMONUM SUC-
 CUS. Succus. Lond.; LIMONES.  Fruit  of  Citrus medica and  Citrus
 Limonum;  Lemons and Limes. Ed.; LIMONES. CITRUS MEDICA.
 Fructus succus.  Dub.

                  LIMONIS  CORTEX.  U.S.

                           Lemon Peel.

   " The outer rind of the fruit  of Citrus Limonum." U. S.
   Off. Syn.  LIMONUM  CORTEX. Fructits cortex  exterior. Lond.;
 Rind of the fruit  of Citrus medica. Ed.; CITRUS MEDICA. Fructus
 tunica exterior.  Dub.
   Limons, Citrons, Fr ; Limonen, Citronen, Germ.; Limoni, Ital.; Limones, Span.
   For some general remarks on the genus Citrus, see the article Aurantii
 Cortex.
   Citrus medica.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1426; Woodv. Med.  Bot. p. 582.
 1.189.  This tree closely resembles in its general aspect the C. Aurantium
 before described.  The  leaves,  however, are larger, slightly indented at the
 edges, and  stand upon footstalks which are destitute of the winged appen-
 dages that characterize the  other  species.  The flowers,  moreover, have a
 purplish tinge on their outer surface, and  the fruit is  entirely different in
 appearance from the orange.  There are several varieties  of the Citrus me-
 dica, which some  botanists consider entitled to the rank  of species, but
 which are  scarcely distinguishable, except by the character of  their fruit.
 Those which are particularly deserving of notice are the citron, lemon, and
lime.  1.  In the citron, C. medica of Risso, the fruit is very large, some-
 times six  inches in length, ovoidal with a double rind, of which the outer
layer is yellowish, thin, unequal,  rugged, with innumerable vesicles filled
with essential oil; the inner is white, very thick, and spongy.  It is divided 
 part i.               Limon.—Limonis Cortex.                 429

 in the interior into  nine  or  ten  cells, filled with oblong vesicles,  which
 contain an acid juice precisely  like that of the  lemon, and  used for the
 same purposes.  The rind is applied to the preparation of conserves,  to
 which it is adapted by its great  thickness.  This fruit is called cedrat by
 the French.   2.  The  lemon—C. medica, variety limon of Linnaeus—the
 Citrus Limonium of Risso—is  smaller than the  preceding variety,  with a
 smoother  and thinner  rind, a pointed nipple-shaped summit, and a very
 juicy and  acid pulp.   In  other respects  it bears a close resemblance to the
 citron, to  which, however, it is usually preferred in consequence  of the
 greater abundance of its juice. 3. The lime is still smaller than the lemon,
 with a smoother and thinner rind, of an oval shape, rounded at the extremi-
 ties, of a  pale-yellow or  greenish-yellow colour, and  abounding in  a very
 acid juice, which renders  it highly useful for all the  purposes  to which the
 lemon is applied.  It is the product of the variety C. acris of Miller.
   The Citrus medica, like the  orange-tree,  is a  native of Asia.  It  was
 introduced into Europe from Persia or Media, was first cultivated in Greece,
 afterwards in Italy, so early as the second century, and has now spread over
 the whole civilized world, being raised by artificial heat, where the climate
 is too cold to admit of its exposure with safety during winter to  the open air.
   We are supplied with lemons  and limes chiefly from the West Indies and
 the Mediterranean.   Though the former  of these fruits only is directed by
 the United States Pharmacopoeia, both kinds are employed indiscriminately
 for most medicinal purposes; and the lime affords a juice at least equal  in
 proportional quantity, and in  acidity, to that obtained from the lemon.
   Properties.  The exterior rind of the  lemon has a fragrant  odour, and a
 warm, aromatic, bitter taste, somewhat similar to that of the orange, though
 less agreeable.   It contains a bitter principle, and yields, by expression  or
 distillation, an essential oil which is much used for its flavour.  Both  this
 and the rind itself are recognised as officinal in all the  Pharmacopoeias. (See
 Oleum Limonis.) Lemon-peel yields its virtues to water, wine, and alcohol.
   But the  juice is the part for which this  fruit is most esteemed.  It is very
 sharply acid,  with a peculiar grateful flavour, and consists chiefly of citric
 acid, mucilage, and extractive, dissolved in water.   As  lemons cannot always
 be obtained, the juice is often kept in a separate state; but from its liability
 to spontaneous decomposition, it speedily becomes unfit for medical use;
 and, though various means have  been resorted to for its preservation, it can
 never be made to retain for any length of  time its original flavour unaltered.
 The best medicinal substitute for lemon-juice, when  the fresh fruit is  not
 attainable,  is a solution of crystallized citric acid in  water, in  the proportion
 of about an ounce to the pint, with the  addition of a  little oil  of lemons.*
 One of the most effectual  methods of preserving the  juice is to allow it to
 stand for a short time after expression till a coagulable matter separates, then
 to filter, and introduce it into glass bottles, with a stratum of almond oil or
 other sweet oil upon  its surface.  It may also be preserved by concentrating
 it either by means of evaporation with a gentle heat, or by exposure to  a
 freezing temperature, which congeals the watery portion, and leaves the acid
 much stronger than before.  When wanted for use it  may be diluted to  the
 former strength;  but  though the acid properties are retained, the flavour of
 the juice is found to have been deteriorated.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   The rind of the lemon is sometimes used

  * Nine drachms and a half dissolved  in a pint of water, forms a solution  of the average
strength of lime-juice; but where precision is not requisite, the proportion mentioned  in
the text is most convenient. 
430            Limon.—Limonis Cortex.—Linum.        part i.

to qualify the taste and increase the power of stomachic infusions and tinc-
tures.   The juice is refrigerant, and properly diluted forms a refreshing and
very agreeable beverage in febrile and inflammatory affections.  It may be
given with sweetened water in the shape  of lemonade, or may be added to
the mildly nutritive drinks, such as gum-water, barley-water, &c, which
are usually administered in fevers.  It is also much employed in the forma-
tion of those diaphoretic preparations  known generally by the names of
neutral mixture, and effervescing draught. (See Liquor Potassae Citrutis,
in the second part of this work.)  One of the most beneficial applications
of lemon-juice is to the prevention and cure of scurvy, for which it may be
considered almost  a specific.   For this  purpose, ships destined for long
voyages should always be provided with a supply of the concentrated juice,
or of crystallized citric acid with the oil of lemons.  Lemon-juice is  some-
times prescribed in connexion with opium and Peruvian bark,  the effects of
which it is thought in some instances to modify favourably,  by substituting
the citrate of their respective alkalies for the native salts.  It has been used
with advantage as a local application in pruritus of the scrotum, and in ute-
rine hemorrhage after delivery.
   Off. Prep.  Of the rind, Infusum Aurantii Compositum,  Lond.,  Ed.,
Dub.; Infusum Gentianae Comp., Lond., Dub.;  Spiritus Ammoniae Aro-
maticus, U. S., Lond.:—-.Of the juice, Acidum Citricum, Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Liquor Potassae Citratis, U. S.;  Syrupus Limonis, U. S., Lond., Ed., Bub.
                                                                W.


                          LINUM.  U.S.

                              Flaxseed.

   " The seeds of Linum usitatissimum."   U. S.
   Off. Syn. LINI SEMINA. Linum usitatissimum. Semina. Lond.; LINI
SEMINA. Seeds of Linum usitatissimum. LINI  FARINA.  Meal of the
seeds deprived of their fixed oil by expression. Ed. LINUM USITATIS-
SIMUM. Semina. Dub.
   Linseed; Grains de lin, Fr.; Leinsame, Germ.; Semi di lino, Ital.; Linaza, Span.
   Linum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Pentagynia.—Nat.  Ord. Linaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved. Petals five. Capsule five-valved, ten-celled.
Seeds solitary.  Willd.
   Linum usitatissimum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1533; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
565. t. 202.  Common flax is an annual plant with an erect, slender, round
stem, about two feet in height, branching  at top, and, like all other parts of
the plant, entirely smooth.  The leaves are small, lanceolate, acute, entire,
of a pale-green colour, sessile, and  scattered alternately over the stem and
branches.   The flowers are terminal and  of a delicate blue colour.   The
calyx is persistent, and composed of five ovate, sharp-pointed,  three-nerved
leaflets, which are membranous on their border.  The petals are five, obo-
vate, striated, minutely scolloped at their extremities, and spread into funnel-
shaped blossoms.  The filaments are also five, united at the base; and the
germ, whieh is ovate, supports five slender styles, terminating in obtuse
stigmas.   The fruit is  a  globular capsule, about the  size of  a small pea,
having the persistent calyx at the base, crowned with  a sharp spine, and
containing ten seeds  in distinct cells.
   This highly valuable plant, now almost every where cultivated, is said by
some to have been originally derived from Egypt, by others  from the  great
elevated plain of central Asia.   It flowers in June and July, and ripens its 
PART I.
Linum.
431
seeds in August.  Both the seeds, and an oil expressed from them, are offi-
cinal.
  The seeds are oval, oblong, flattened on the sides with acute edges, some-
what pointed at one end, about a line in length, smooth, glossy, of a brown
colour externally, and yellowish-white within.   They are  without  smell,
and  have an oily mucilaginous  taste.   Meyer found them to contain fixed
oil, wax, resin, extractive, tannin, gum, azotized mucilage, starch, albumen,
gluten, and various salts.  Their investing coat or husk abounds in a pecu-
liar gummy matter or mucilage, which is readily imparted to hot water, form-
ing a thick viscid fluid,  which lets fall  white flakes upon the addition  of
alcohol,  and  affords  a copious  dense precipitate  with subacetate of lead.
By  Berzelius  the term  mucilage is applied to  a  proximate  vegetable
principle, distinguished  from gum by being insoluble  in cold, and but
slightly soluble in boiling water, in which it swells up and forms a  muci-
laginous, viscid body, which loses its water when  placed upon filtering
paper, or other porous substance,  and contracts like starch in the gelatinous
state.  The name, however, is unfortunate, as it is generally applied to the
solution of gum, and must  inevitably lead to confusion.  Nor is it strictly
a distinct proximate principle; as  it embraces a number of different bodies,
such as bassorin, cerasin, &c.  According to Guerin,  the mucilage of flax-
seed, obtained at a temperature of from 120° to 140°, and evaporated to dry-
ness, by means of a salt  water bath, contains in 100 parts, 52*70 of a prin-
ciple soluble in cold water, 29*89 of a principle insoluble in that liquid, and
10*30 of water, and yields 7*11 per cent, of ashes.   The soluble part he
believes  to be arabin or pure gum; the insoluble he found not to afford mucic
acid  with the nitric, and therefore to differ from both bassorin and cerasin.
There was also a small proportion  of azotized matter which he did not suc-
ceed in isolating.  (An. de Chim. et de Phys. xlix. 263.)  Vauquelin  found
among its constituents free acetic  acid, silica, and  various salts of potassa
and lime.
   The interior part of the seed  or nucleus is rich in  a peculiar oil, which
is separated  by expression,  and  very extensively employed in the  arts.
(See  Oleum Lini.) The  ground seeds are kept in  the shops under the name
of flaxseed  meal.   This is of a dark gray colour, highly oleaginous, and
when mixed  with hot water  forms a soft  adhesive mass, which is  much
employed for luting by practical chemists.   The cake which remains after
the expression of the oil, usually  called oil-cake, still  retains the mucilagi-
nous matter of the envelope,  and affords  a highly  nutritious food for cattle.
This is  the Lini Farina, of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Flaxseed is demulcent and emollient. The
mucilage obtained by infusing the  entire  seeds in boiling water, in the pro-
portion  of half an ounce  to the pint, is much and  very advantageously em-
ployed in catarrh, dysentery, nephritic and calculous complaints, strangury,
and other inflammatory affections  of the mucous  membranes of  the lungs,
intestines, and urinary passages.   By decoction water extracts also  a por-
tion of the oleaginous matter, which renders the mucilage less fit for admin-
istration by  the mouth, but superior as a  laxative enema.  The meal mixed
with hot water forms an  excellent  emollient poultice.
   Off. Prep. Cataplasma Conii,  Lond.; Cataplasma Lini,  Lond.; Cata-
plasma  Sinapis, Lond.,  Dub.; Infusum Lini, U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.;
Oleum Lini,  Dub., Ed.; Pulvis pro Cataplasmate, Dub.            W. 
432            Linum Catharlicum.—Liriodendron.       part i.



               LINUM CATHARTICUM.  Ed.

                          Purging Flax.

   " Herb of Linum catharticum."  Ed.
   Lin cathartique, Fr.; Purgirflacks, Germ.; Lino purgativo, Ital.; Cantilagua, Span.
   Linum. See LINUM.
   Linum catharticum. Willd. Sp. Plant,  i. 1541;  Smith,  Flor.  Brit.
344.  This is an annual plant, about six or eight inches high, having erect,
slender stems, diehotomous near the summit, furnished with opposite, obo-
vate lanceolate, entire leaves, and bearing minute white flowers, the petals
of which are obovate and acute.  It is a native of Europe, and not found
in the United States, where it is never employed as a medicine.
   The whole plant is very bitter and somewhat acrid, and imparts its vir-
tues to water, which acquires a yellow colour.  It formerly enjoyed  some
reputation in Europe as a gentle cathartic, but has fallen into  disuse. A
drachm  of the  powder, or an infusion containing the virtues of two or
three drachms of the herb, may be taken for a dose.               W.

            LIRIODENDRON. U.S.  Secondary.

                          Tulip-tree Bark.

   " The bark of Liriodendron tulipifera."  U. S.
   Liriodendron. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Magno-
liaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved.  Petals six.  Samarae sublanceolate, one or
two-seeded, imbricated in a cone.  Nuttall.
   Liriodendron tulipifera.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1254; Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. ii.  107; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 92.  This noble  tree is both from its
magnitude and beauty the pride and boast of  American landscape.  Rising
on an erect, straight, cylindrical stem,  which is often of nearly equal thick-
ness for the distance of forty feet, it attains, in favourable situations, an ele-
vation seldom less than fifty and  sometimes more  than one hundred  feet,
with a diameter of trunk varying from  eighteen inches to  three feet; and
individuals are  occasionally met  with  which greatly exceed these dimen-
sions.  The branches, though not very numerous, are thrown out in a some-
what regular order, and give the tree a symmetrical aspect.  The bark is
of a brown or  grayish-brown colour, except in  the  young branches, on
which it is bluish or of a reddish tinge.  The leaves, which stand on  long
footstalks, are alternate, somewhat fleshy,  smooth, of a beautiful  shining
green colour, and divided into three lobes, of which the upper one  is trun-
cated and horizontally notched at its summit, so as  to  present a two-lobed
appearance, and the two lower are  rounded at the base and usually pointed.
In the larger leaves,  the lateral lobes  have each a  tooth-like projection at
some distance below their apex.   This peculiar form of the leaf serves to
distinguish the  tree from  all others inhabiting the  American forests.  On
isolated trees the flowers are very numerous.   They are large, beautifully
variegated with different colours, among which the yellow predominates,
and in their general appearance bear no inconsiderable resemblance to the
tulip,  which has given a name to  the species.  Each flower stands on a
distinct terminal peduncle.  The calyx is double, the  outer  being  two-
leaved and deciduous,  the  inner consisting  of three  large, oval, concave 
PART I.
Liriodendron.
433
leaves, of a pale green colour.  The corolla is composed of six, seven, or
more,  obtuse, concave petals.  The stamens are  numerous,  with short
filaments, and long linear anthers.   The pistils are'collected  into the form
of a cone, the upper part of which is covered with minute stigmas.  The
fruit consists of numerous long, narrow scales, attached to a common axis,
imbricated in a conical form, and containing each two seeds, one or both of
which are often abortive.
   The tulip-tree extends from New England to the borders of Florida, but
is most abundant  and attains  the  greatest magnitude  in the Middle and
Western States.   It delights in a rich strong soil, and luxuriates in the ex-
haustless fertility of the banks of the Ohio and its tributary streams. Through-
out the United States it is known by the inappropriate  name of poplar, for
which  that  of tulip-tree is beginning to  be substituted.   When  in full
bloom, about the middle of  May, it presents in its profusion of flowers, its
rich, shining, luxuriant foliage, its elevated stature,  and elegant outline, one
of the  most magnificent objects which  the  vegetable kingdom  affords.
The interior or heart  wood, which is yellowish, of a fine grain, and compact
without being heavy, is much employed in the making of furniture, car-
riages, door-pannels,  and for other useful  purposes.   It is recommended by
its property of resisting the influence of  atmospheric moisture  and  the
attacks of worms. The bark is the officinal portion.   It is taken for use
indiscriminately from the  root, trunk,  and branches, though that derived
from the root is thought to be most active.
   Deprived of the epidermis, it is of a yellowish-white colour, the bark of
the  root being somewhat  darker  than  that of the stem  or branches.  It is
very light and brittle,  of a feeble, but heavy and  rather disagreeable odour,
which is  stronger in the fresh bark, and  of a bitter, pungent, and aromatic
 taste.  These properties are weakened by age,  and we have found speci-
mens of the bark  which have been  long  kept in  the shops, almost insipid.
 The peculiar properties of liriodendron appear to reside in a volatile prin-
 ciple, which partially escapes during decoction.  The late Professor Emmet,
 of the University of  Virginia, believed that he had isolated  this principle,
 and gave it the name of liriodendrin.   As described by Professor Emmet,
 it is, in the pure state, solid, white, crystallizable, brittle, insoluble in water,
 soluble in alcohol and ether, fusible at 180*, volatilizable and partly decom-
 posed at 270°, of a slightly aromatic odour, and a  bitter warm pungent taste.
It is incapable of  uniting with alkalies, which precipitate it from the infusion
 or decoction of the bark, by combining with the matter which renders  it
 soluble in the water.   Neither does it unite with acids.  Water  precipitates
 it from its alcoholic solution.   It is obtained by macerating the root in alco-
 hol, boiling the tincture with magnesia  till it assumes an olive-green colour,
 then filtering, concentrating by distillation till the  liquid  becomes turbid, and
 finally precipitating the liriodendrin by the addition of  cold water. (Journ.
 of the Phil.  Col. of Pharm. iii. 5.)  The virtues of the bark are extracted
 by water and alcohol, but are injured by  long boiling.
   Medical Properties.  Liriodendron is  a stimulant tonic, with diaphoretic
 properties.  It has been used as a substitute for  Peruvian bark  in intermit-
 tent fevers, and has proved  serviceable in chronic rheumatism, dyspepsia,
 and other complaints, in which a gently stimulant and tonic impression is
 desirable.  The  dose of the bark in powder is from half a drachm to two
 drachms.   The infusion and decoction are also used, but are less efficient.
 They may be prepared  in the proportion of an ounce  of the bark to a pint
 of water, and given in the quantity of one or two fluidounces.   The dose
 of the saturated tincture is a fluidrachm.                            W.
      38 
434
Lobelia.
PART I.
                  LOBELIA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Lobelia.

   " Lobelia inflata."  U. S., Lond.   " Herb of Lobelia inflata." Ed.
   Lobelia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lobeliaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-cleft.   Corolla irregular, five-parted,  cleft on the
upper side  nearly to  the base.  Anthers united into a tube.  Stigma two-
lobed.   Capsule inferior or semi-superior, two or three-celled, two-valved
at the apex. Torrey.
   Lobelia inflata. Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 946;  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.  i.
177; Barton, Med. Bot. i.  181.   This species of Lobelia, commonly called
Indian tobacco, is an annual or biennial indigenous plant, usually a foot or
more in height, with a fibrous root, and  a solitary, erect, angular, very hairy
stem, much branched about midway, but rising considerably above the sum-
mits of the highest branches. The leaves are scattered, sessile, oval, acute,
serrate,  and hairy.   The flowers are numerous, small,  disposed in leafy
terminal  racemes, and  supported on short axillary  footstalks.  The seg-
ments of the calyx are linear and pointed.  The corolla, which is of a deli-
cate blue colour, has a labiate border, with the upper lip divided into two,
the lower into three  acute segments.  The  united anthers are  curved, and
enclose the stigma.   The fruit is an oval, striated, inflated capsule, crowned
with the  persistent calyx, and containing, in two cells, numerous very small,
brown seeds.
   The Lobelia inflata is a very common weed,  growing  on the road-sides,
and in neglected fields, throughout the United States.  Its flowers begin to
appear towards the end of July, and continue to expand in succession till
the occurrence of frost.  The  plant when wounded or broken  exudes  a
milky juice.  All parts of it are possessed of medicinal activity;  but, accord-
ing to Dr. Eberle, the root and inflated capsules  are most powerful.  The
plant should be  collected in  August or September, when  the  capsules are
numerous, and should be carefully dried.  It may be kept whole, or in the
state of powder.   As found in the shops, it is often in oblong  compressed
cakes, prepared by the Shakers.
   Dried  lobelia has a slight irritating odour, and  when chewed, though at
first without much taste, soon produces a burning acrid impression upon the
posterior parts of the tongue and palate, very closely resembling that occa-
sioned by tobacco, and attended, in like manner,  with a flow of saliva and a
nauseating effect upon the  stomach.  The powder is of  a greenish colour.
The plant yields  its active properties readily to water and alcohol.  Water
distilled  from it, according to Mr. Procter, has the odour of the plant, with-
out its acrimony.  Mr. Procter found the plant to contajn an odorous vola-
tile principle, probably volatile  oil; a  peculiar  alkaline principle named
lobelina; a peculiar  acid first noticed as distinct by Pereira, called lobelic
acid; besides gum, resin, chlorophylle,  fixed oil, lignin, salts  of lime and
potassa,  and oxide of iron.  The seeds contain at least twice as much of lobe-
lina, in proportion, as the whole plant, which yielded only one part in five hun-
dred. They contain also thirty per cent, of a nearly colourless fixed oil, having
the drying property in an extraordinary  degree.   Lobelina was obtained by
Mr. Procter from the seeds by the following process. The seeds were treated
with  alcohol acidulated with acetic acid, until deprived of their acrimony, and
the tincture was evaporated; the resulting extract was  triturated with mag-
nesia and  water, and, after repeated agitation for several  hours, the liquor, 
PART I.
Lobelia.
435
holding lobelina in solution, was filtered;  this was then shaken repeatedly
with ether until deprived of acrimony; and the ethereal solution, having been
decanted, was allowed to evaporate spontaneously.  The residue, which had
a  reddish-brown colour, and  the  consistence  of honey, was deprived of
colouring matter by dissolving it in water, adding a slight excess of sulphuric
acid, boiling with animal charcoal, saturating with magnesia, filtering, agi-
tating with ether until this  fluid had deprived the  water of acrimony, and
finally decanting, and allowing the ether to evaporate.   Thus  obtained,
lobelina is a yellowish liquid,  lighter than  water, of a somewhat aromatic
odour, and a very acrid durable taste.  It is soluble  in water, but much
more copiously in alcohol and ether, and the latter fluid readily removes it
from its aqueous solution.  It has   a  decided alkaline reaction,  and forms
soluble and crystallizable salts with sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids,
and a very soluble but not crystallizable salt with acetic acid.   It forms an
insoluble compound with tannic acid, which instantly precipitates  it from
its solution.  By a boiling heat it is entirely decomposed, losing all  its acri-
mony; but, when  combined with  acids, it may be subjected to  ebullition
with water  without  change.   M.  Procter introduced a grain of it diluted
with water into  the stomach of a cat, which became immediately prostrate,
remained for an hour nearly motionless, with dilated pupils, and  had  not
recovered wholly from the prostrating influence of the poison at the end of
fifteen hours.   It did not  occasion vomiting or purging.   There can be
little  doubt that it is the  narcotic principle of lobelia.   (Am.  Journ. of
Pharm. ix. 105, and xiii. 1.)  The late Dr. S. Colhoun, of Philadelphia, was
the first to announce the existence of a peculiar active principle in lobelia,
capable of forming salts with the acids;  but he did not obtain it in an iso-
lated state.  An important inference  from  the effects of heat upon lobelina is
that, in any of the preparations of lobelia,  the plant should never be heated
in connexion with a salifiable  base.
   Medical Properties and Uses.    Lobelia is emetic, and like other medi-
cines of the same class is occasionally cathartic, and in small dc>ses  diapho-
retic and  expectorant.  It  is  also  possessed of narcotic properties.  The
leaves or  capsules, chewed for a short time, occasion  giddiness, headache,
general tremors, and ultimately nausea and vomiting.   When swallowed in
the full dose, the medicine  produces speedy and severe vomiting, attended
with continued and distressing nausea, copious sweating, and great general
relaxation.   Its effects in  doses  too large or  too frequently repeated, are
extreme prostration, great  anxiety  and distress, and  ultimately death pre-
ceded by convulsions.  Fatal results have been experienced from its empi-
rical use.  These are more apt  to  occur when the  poison, as sometimes
happens, is not  rejected  by vomiting.  In its  operation upon the  system,
therefore, as well as  in its sensible properties, lobelia bears a close resem-
blance to tobacco.  It is among the medicines which were  employed by the
aborigines of this country; and was long in the hands of empirics before it
was introduced into regular practice. The Rev. Dr. Cutler of Massachusetts
first attracted to it the attention of the profession.
   As an emetic it is too  powerful, and too distressing as well as hazardous
in its operation  for ordinary use.    The disease in which it has proved most
useful is spasmodic asthma, the paroxysms of which it often greatly miti-
gates, and sometimes wholly relieves, even when not given in doses suffi-
ciently large to produce active vomiting.   It was  from the relief obtained
from an attack  of this complaint in  his own  person, that Dr. Cutler was
induced  to  recommend  the medicine.   It has also been used  in  catarrh,
croup, pertussis, and other laryngeal and pectoral affections; and we have 
436
Lobelia.—Lupulina.—Lycopus.
PART I.
seen it apparently advantageous in some of these complaints, especially in
severe croup; but it should  always be used with caution.  Administered
by injection it produces the same distressing sickness of stomach, profuse
perspiration, and universal relaxation, as result from a similar use of tobacco.
Dr. Eberle administered a strong decoction of it successfully by the rectum,
as a substitute for this narcotic in  a case of strangulated  hernia.  It has
been employed effectually, in small doses repeated so as  to sustain a slight
nausea, for producing relaxation of the os uteri.   (Am. Journ. of Med.
Sci. xvii. 248.)
  It may be given in substance, tincture, or infusion.  The dose of the
powder as an emetic is from five to twenty grains, to be repeated if neces-
sary.   The tincture is most frequently administered.   The full dose of this
preparation for an adult is half a fluidounce, though in asthmatic cases it is
better administered in the quantity of one or two fluidrachms, repeated every
two or three hours till its effects are experienced.
  Two other species of Lobelia have attracted some attention from medical
writers. The L. cardinalis or cardinal flower, distinguished for its showy
red flowers, is supposed to possess anthelmintic properties; but is seldom or
never used.   The L.  syphilitica is said to have been used by the Indians
in the cure  of  the venereal disease, but has upon trial been found wholly
inefficacious in that  complaint.  It is emetic and cathartic, and  appears also
to possess diuretic properties, whence it has been conjectured  that it might
have proved serviceable  in  gonorrhoea.  Dr. Chapman states that it has
been employed, as  he has  been informed, by  some practitioners  of the
western country in dropsy, and not  without success.  The  root is the
part used.   Both these species  of Lobelia are indigenous.   For a more
detailed account of them  the reader is referred to  Dr. W. P.  C. Barton's
Medical Botany.
  Off. Prep. Tinctura Lobeliae, U. S., Ed.; Tinct. Lobeliae iEtherea, Ed.
                                                               W.
           •

                        LUPULINA.  U.S.

                             Lupulin.

  " The powder attached to the strobiles  of Humulus Lupulus." U. S.
  See  HUMULUS.

                 LYCOPUS.  U.S.  Secondary.

                            Bugle-weed.

  " The herb of Lycopus Virginicus." U. S.
  Lycopus. Sex. Syst.  Diandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or
Labiatae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx tubular, five-cleft or five-toothed. Corolla tubular,  four-
lobed,  nearly equal; the upper segment, broader, and emarginate.  Stamens
distant. Seeds four,  naked, retuse.  Nuttall.
  Lycopus  Virginicus.   Michaux, Flor. Boreal. Americ.  i. 14;  Rafi-
nesque, Med.  Flor.  vol. ii.  The bugle-weed ism  indigenous  herb, with a
perennial creeping root, which sends  up an erect,  nearly simple, obtusely
quadrangular stem, from twelve to eighteen inches high, and furnished with
opposite, sessile leaves.  These are broad lanceolate, attenuated  and entire
at both extremities, remotely serrate in the  middle, somewhat rough, pur- 
part i.            Lycopus.—Lythrum Salicaria.              437

plish, and beset with glandular  dots on their under surface.   The flowers
are minute, in small axillary whorls, with  two small subulate bractes to each
flower, and a white corolla.  The seeds are longer than the calyx, which is
spineless.
   This plant grows in shady and wet places throughout the greater part of
the United States.  Its flowering period  is August.   The whole  herb is
used.  It has a peculiar odour, and a nauseous slightly bitter taste,  and im-
parts these properties, as well as its medical virtues, to boiling water.
   The L. Europaeus is said  to be frequently collected and sold for the L.
Virginicus.   The former may be distinguished by its acutely quadrangular
stem, its narrow-lanceolate leaves of which the lower are somewhat pinna-
tifid, its more crowded flowers, and the acute segments of its calyx, armed
with short spines.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  According to Dr. A. W.Ives, the bugle-
weed is a very mild narcotic.  It was  introduced into notice  by Drs.  Pen-
dleton and Rogers, of New York, who obtained favourable effects  from its
use in insipient phthisis and  hemorrhage from the lungs.  (N. Y. Med. and
Phys. Journ.  i. 179.)  In these complaints it is useful by diminishing the
frequency of  the pulse, quieting irritation, and  allaying cough.  It is  most
conveniently  taken in the form of infusion, which may be  prepared by
macerating an ounce of the herb in a  pint of boiling water, and drunk ad
libitum.                                                        W.


          LYTHRUM  SALICARIA. Herba.  Dub.

                Loosestrife.   Purple Willow-herb.

   Salioaire, Fr.; Kother Weiderich, Germ.; Salicaria, Ital.
   Lythrum.  Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Monogynia.—Nat.  Ord. Lythraceae.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx twelve-toothed.   Petals  six, inserted into the calyx.
Capsule two-celled, many-seeded. Willd.
   Lythrum Salicaria. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 865.  Loosestrife is an elegant
perennial  plant,  two or three feet high,  with an  erect,  quadrangular or
hexagonal, downy, herbaceous stem, bearing opposite, ternate, sessile, lan-
ceolate leaves, cordate at  the base, and downy on the under surface and at
the  margin.   The flowers are axillary, forming  a  leafy verticillate spike.
The calyx is red,  with unequal  segments, the petals  purple  and undulate,
the fruit a small  elliptical capsule.
   The plant  grows wild in all parts of Europe, and is found in New  Eng-
land and  Canada.  It prefers meadows, swamps, and the banks of streams,
which it adorns  in July and August with its  showy purple flowers.   The
whole herbaceous part is medicinal, and is dried for use.
   In this state it is inodorous, and has an herbaceous  somewhat astringent
taste.  It  renders  boiling water very mucilaginous,  and its decoction is
blackened by the sulphate of iron.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Loosestrife is demulcent and astringent;
and  may be advantageously  given in diarrhoea and chronic dysentery after
due  preparation by evacuating treatment.   It has long been used in Ireland
in these complaints, and is said to be a popular remedy in Sweden.   The
dose of the powdered herb is about a drachm two or three times a day.  A
decoction of the  root prepared by boiling  an ounce  in  a pint of water may
be given in the dose of two fluidounces.                            W.
                                 38* 
438
Magnesise  Carbonas.
PART I.
    iMAGNESLE CARBONAS. U.S., Lond.,  Ed, Dub.

                     Carbonate of Magnesia.

   Magnesia alba, Lat; Carbonate de magnesin, Fr.;  Kohlensaure Magnesia, Germ.;
Carbonato di magnesia, Ital.; Carbonato de magnesia, Span.
   Carbonate of magnesia sometimes though  rarely occurs as a native mine-
ral.   That which  is sold in the shops is prepared on  a large scale by the
manufacturer, and  the article is, therefore, very properly placed in the list
of Materia Medica of the United States Pharmacopoeia.  The British Col-
leges  still retain it  among the preparations, and  the London and Edinburgh
Colleges direct it to be prepared by decomposing the sulphate of magnesia
with carbonate of soda;  and the Dublin College, by decomposing the same
salt with carbonate of potassa.  The London College, dissolves four pounds
eight  ounces of carbonate of soda, and four pounds of sulphate of magnesia,
separately, in  two gallons (Imp. Meas.) of distilled water; then mixes the
solutions,  boils for fifteen minutes, constantly  stirring with a spatula; and
lastly, pours off the liquor,  washes the precipitated powder with boiling
distilled water, and dries it.   The Edinburgh  formula is  substantially the
same.   The directions differ only in using water, instead of distilled water,
and in collecting the precipitate on a filter of calico or linen.   The Dublin
College dissolves twenty-five parts of sulphate of magnesia and  fourteen
parts  of carbonate of potassa, each in  two hundred parts  of  boiling water,
mixes the  solutions, boils, filters,  and washes the precipitate well with
boiling water.
   The carbonate of potassa  is not as advantageously used as the carbonate
of soda for the preparation of carbonate of magnesia.  It is difficult to sepa-
rate the last portions of sulphate of potassa from the precipitate, and the
carbonate  of potassa usually contains silica, which is thrown down  with the
magnesia.  The consequence is, that when prepared with that salt, the car-
bonate of  magnesia is  liable to be gritty to  the touch  and to have a saline
taste.  The following is said to be the method  pursued by some of the best
manufacturers.  To a saturated solution of one  hundred parts of sulphate of
magnesia, a solution of one  hundred  and twenty-five  parts of crystallized
carbonate  of soda  is gradually added, the solutions being constantly stirred.
The mixture is then heated to ebullition, to complete the precipitation of the
magnesia, which is  then  washed with tepid and finally  with cold  water,
until  the washings no longer give a precipitate with thebarytic salts.  When
it is sufficiently  washed, the carbonate is allowed to drain  for one or two
days  on large  linen  filters,  and is  then placed in wooden moulds  with a
porous bottom of  brick or gypsum, and subjected to  pressure in  order to
give it the  square and compact form into which it  is usually wrought.
   The density of carbonate of magnesia is saiil  to depend upon the strength
of the solutions  from which it is first precipitated, and its  fineness  and soft-
ness to the touch, upon the use of carbonate of soda in its preparation.
   The principal  part of the carbonate of magnesia used in this country  is
imported from Scotland.   In the New England  States it is  prepared from
the bittern of salt works, which consists chiefly of sulphate of magnesia and
chloride of magnesium; and it is manufactured in Baltimore  from the sul-
phate of magnesia prepared in that city. The Scotch magnesia is generally
put up in  cases  of one hundred and twenty pounds each, the American in
boxes containing fifty pounds.
   We have spoken  of the impurities which carbonate of magnesia  prepared 
PART I.
Magnesias Carbonas.
439
by the officinal process is apt to contain.   When made from the bittern of
salt works, it is contaminated with carbonate of lime, salts of that earth being
contained in sea-water;  and when  it is  prepared from magnesite, or  from
magnesian schist, iron is almost always present.   The only way in which
these impurities can be avoided, is to prepare pure sulphate of magnesia by
repeated crystallization, and to  use a pure carbonate  of soda.  It is also
necessary that  the  water with which  the  precipitate is washed should be
free  from earthy salts, which would be decomposed  and contaminate the
magnesia.
  Properties. Carbonate of magnesia is inodorous, nearly insipid, perfectly
white, smooth  to the touch, and nearly insoluble in water, requiring 2493
parts of cold, and 9000 parts of hot water for solution.   It is decomposed by
a strong  heat, by all the acids, by  potassa, soda, lime,  baryta, and  strontia,
and  by acidulous and metallic salts.
  Two kinds of carbonate of magnesia are distinguished, the light and the
heavy.   The light carbonate is the kind  manufactured in Scotland.   The
heavy, according to Dr. Pereira, may be manufactured as follows:—"Add
one  volume of a cold saturated solution  of carbonate  of soda  to a boiling
mixture of one  volume of a saturated solution of sulphate of magnesia, and
three volumes  of  water.   Boil  until  effervescence has ceased, constantly
stirring with a spatula.   Then dilute with  boiling water, set aside, pour off
the  supernatant liquor, and wash  the  precipitate with  hot water on a linen
cloth: afterwards dry it by heat  in an  iron pot."
  A solution in carbonic acid water, prepared by passing carbonic acid gas
into a reservoir containing  the carbonate  of magnesia  suspended in water,
has been introduced into use as a cathartic and antacid; but is in no respect
preferable to the undissolved carbonate,  while it is more unpleasant to the
taste.  Dinneford's magnesia is a  solution of this nature. According to Dr.
Chrislison's analysis, it contains only nine grains of carbonate in the fluid-
ounce, though it is alleged to contain twice that quantity.
  Adulterations and Tests.  Carbonate of magnesia may  contain an  alka-
line carbonate, or an alkaline sulphate, or both,  from  insufficient washing;
also chloride of sodium, alumina,  and carbonate of lime.   If water boiled
on it changes turmeric, an  alkaline carbonate  is indicated.   If chloride of
barium produces a  precipitate in the water, the presence of a  sulphate or
carbonate, or both, is shown, and if nitrate  of silver produces the  same effect,
a chloride is indicated.  When  dissolved  in an excess  of muriatic acid, an
excess of ammonia will throw down alumina, which is scarcely ever absent
in minute quantity; and oxalate of ammonia, afterwards added to the filtered
muriatic solution, will throw down lime as oxalate of lime, if that earth be
present.
   Composition.   According to  Berzelius, the carbonate of magnesia of the
shops (magnesia alba) is  a combination  of three  equivalents of carbonate
of magnesia with one of hydrate of magnesia.   Each eq. of carbonate con-
tains an eq. of water, and the composition of the salt may be thus stated:—
three  equivalents  of carbonate  (acid  66*36, magnesia 62*1, water 27) =
 155*46 -f- one equivalent  of hydrate (magnesia 20-7, water 9)  = 29-7 =■
 185*16.   This  theoretic  composition agrees very nearly with  the analysis
 of  Berzelius, who fixes it at 44*75 magnesia, 35*77 acid, and 19-48 water.
   The composition of this salt varies  with the mode of preparation.  Thus
Buchholz, by decomposing the  sulphate of magnesia  with  170 per cent, of
carbonate  of soda, and using only cold water  throughout, obtained a very
light, spongy,  somewhat coherent magnesia, containing 32  acid,  33 base,
and 35 water.   By using 120 per cent, of the carbonate,  and boiling the 
 440         Magnesias Carbonas.—Magnesias Sulphas.     part i.

 water for fifteen minutes, he obtained a heavy granular precipitate containing
 35 acid, 42 base, and 23 water.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Carbonate of magnesia  is antacid, and
 by combining with acid in the stomach, becomes generally cathartic.  When
 it undergoes no change in the  alimentary canal, it produces  no purgative
 effect.   Under these circumstances, it may usually be made to operate by
 following  it with draughts of lemonade.  It is useful in all cases which
 require a laxative  antacid; and,  though apt  to produce flatulence in conse-
 quence of the extrication of its carbonic acid in  the stomach and  bowels,
 and therefore in ordinary cases  inferior to calcined magnesia, it sometimes
 operates favourably, in consequence of this very property, in  sick stomach
 attended with acidity.  Carbonate of magnesia is also an excellent antilithic
 in those cases in which uric acid is secreted in too great abundance.
   The dose is from half a drachm to  two drachms, which may be given
 suspended in water or milk.  In order that it  may be  accurately diffused
 through  water, it should be previously rubbed down with simple syrup or
 ginger syrup.*
   Carbonate of magnesia is a useful agent for diffusing camphor and the
 volatile oils through water, in preparing several of the medicated waters.
 (See Aquae Medicatae.)
   Off. Prep.  Hydrargyrum cum Magnesia, Dub.; Magnesia, U. S., Lond.,
 Ed., Dub.; Magnesias Sulphas Purum, Dub.; Mistura Camphorae cum
 Magnesia, Ed.; Trochisci Magnesias, Ed.                    D. B. S.

      MAGNESLE SULPHAS.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                       Sulphate of Magnesia.

   Epsom salt; Sulfate de magnesia,  Fr.; Schwcfelsaure Magnesia, Germ.; Solfato di
 magnesia, Ital; Sulfato de magnesia,  Span.
   Sulphate of magnesia is one of the constituents of sea-water, and of some
 saline springs.  It also occurs native, either crystallized in long, slender,
 prismatic, adhering crystals, or as an efflorescence on certain rocks and soils,
 which contain magnesia and a sulphate or sulphuret.   In the United States
 it is found  abundantly in the great caverns,  so numerous to the west of the
 Alleghany  mountains.   In one of those  caves, near Corydon in Indiana, it
 forms a stratum on the bottom several inches deep;  or appears in  masses
 sometimes weighing ten pounds;  or is disseminated in the earth of the cavern,
 one bushel of which yields from four to twenty-five pounds of this sulphate.
 It also appears on the walls  of the  cavern,  and, if it  be removed, acicular
 crystals again appear in a few  weeks. (Cleaveland.)
  Sulphate of magnesia was originally procured by evaporating the waters
 of some  saline springs at Epsom in England.  Dr.  Grew prepared it in
 this manner in 1675.   It was afterwards discovered that the brine remain-
 ing after the crystallization of common salt from sea-water, furnished by
 careful evaporation precisely the same salt; and as this was a much cheaper
 product it superseded the former.  This residual brine or bittern consists of
 sulphate  of magnesia and  the chlorides of magnesium and calcium.  As the
 sulphate  of magnesia crystallizes first, it may with proper care be obtained
 nearly pure, although most frequently the salt prepared in this way is deli-
quescent from being contaminated with the chloride of magnesium.  It may

  * Dolby's Carminative consists of carbonate of magnesia 9ij, oil of peppermint Tf[.j, oil
 of nutmcjr TT[i|, oil of aniseed 1T[iij, tincture of castor TT[k\x, tincture of assafetida Tt[xv,
 tincture of opium TT|_v, spirit of pcuny royal fl|_xv, compound tincture of cardamom TT[xxx,
peppermint water fgij. 
PART I.
Magnesias Sulphas.
441
be purified from this mixture by washing the crystals with its own saturated
solution.  It was from this source that the greater part of the Epsom salt of
commerce was long obtained in Europe.   The salt works of New England
supplied our own markets with an impure and deliquescent sulphate.  With
the improvements of chemistry, other and better processes have latterly been
adopted.  In the neighbourhood of Genoa and of Nice, in Italy, sulphate of
magnesia is prepared in large quantities from a schistose rock,  which con-
tains magnesia and sulphuret of iron.   The mineral is roasted and exposed
in heaps for some months to the combined action  of  air and water.  It is
then lixiviated, the sulphate of iron decomposed by lime-water, and the salt
is obtained pure by repeated solution and crystallization.
   William Henry of Manchester, whose calcined  magnesia has  become
famous throughout  the world,  took  out a patent  for  a mode of preparing
magnesia and its salts from the  double carbonate of magnesia and lime—the
dolomite of mineralogists.  His process was to drive  off the carbonic acid
by heat, and to convert  the remaining earths into hydrates.   He  treated
these with a sufficient quantity of muriatic acid to dissolve out the lime, and
then converted  the magnesia into a sulphate either by sulphuric acid or
sulphate of iron.
   This salt  is extensively manufactured  at  Baltimore  from the siliceous
hydrate of magnesia, or magnesite.   This mineral occurs in veins in the
serpentine and other magnesian rocks which abound in  the neighbourhood
of that city, and in the southern counties of Pennsylvania.  The advantage
which it possesses over  the dolomite, in the preparation of this salt, is the
almost entire absence of lime, owing to which circumstance there is little or
no waste of acid, and the operation  is much simplified.  The mineral is
reduced to a fine powder, and saturated with  sulphuric acid.  The mass is
then dried and calcined at a red heat, in order to convert the sulphate of iron
which may be present into red oxide.  It is then  dissolved in water,  and
sulphuret of  lime added  to separate  any remaining portion of  iron.  The
salt is  crystallized and dissolved a third time, in  order  to purify it.  The
sulphate prepared at the Baltimore works by this process is generally very
pure and clean, although it sometimes contains sulphate  of iron.
   Properties, fyc.   Sulphate of magnesia is a colourless  transparent salt,
without smell, and  of a bitter,  nauseous, saline  taste.   It  crystallizes in
quadrangular  prisms, terminating in a four-sided pyramid or in a dihedral
summit.  It  usually occurs in small acicular crystals.  It slowly effloresces
in the air.   At 32° of Fahrenheit, 100 parts of water dissolve  25-76 parts
of the anhydrous salt, and for every increased degree of heat 0-8597 parts
additional are taken  up.   The crystals contain 51-22  per cent,  of water of
crystallization, and  dissolve  in  their own weight of  water  at  60°, and in
three-fourths of their weight of boiling water. They melt in their water of
crystallization, and  at a high temperature fuse into an enamel. (Berzelius.)
This salt consists of one equivalent of acid = 40-1, one of base = 20-7, and
seven of water = 63; and its combining number is 123-8.
   Sulphate  of magnesia is completely decomposed by  potassa, soda,  and
their carbonates; by lime, baryta and strontia, and their  soluble  salts.  Am-
monia partially decomposes it,  and forms  with  the remaining salt a double
sulphate.  The bicarbonates of potassa and soda do not  decompose the sul-
phate of magnesia, except by the aid of heat.
   Sulphate of magnesia is liable to contain iron and chloride of magnesium,
the former of which  may be detected by ferrocyanuret of potassium,  and the
latter by its  rendering the salt moist.    If the addition of sulphuric acid pro-
duce no extrication of muriatic acid gas, the fact proves the absence of all 
442               Magnesias Sulphas.—Magnolia.          part i.

chlorides.  One hundred grains  of an aqueous solution of the salt,  should
yield, when completely decomposed by a boiling solution of carbonate of
soda, thirty-four grains of dry carbonate of magnesia.  If the dry precipitate
be less, the specimen  tested is not all sulphate of magnesia, and probably
contains sulphate of soda.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  Sulphate of magnesia is a  mild and safe
cathartic, operating with little pain or nausea, and producing watery stools.
It is more  acceptable to the stomach than most medicines of its class, and
will often be retained when others  are  rejected.   Like many of the other
neutral salts it is refrigerant, and may be made to act as a diuretic, by keep-
ing the skin  cool  and  walking about after it has  been taken.   It  is well
adapted to  the treatment of fevers and inflammatory  affections,  especially
after a previous thorough  evacuation of the bowels by a more  energetic
cathartic.   It is also useful in colic and obstinate  constipation, and may be
employed in most cases which require the use of a cathartic, without being
attended  with debility  or  relaxation of the stomach and bowels.  The
medium dose is an ounce; but advantage often results from its administration
in divided  doses frequently repeated.  It is  often  given in combination
with other  medicines, especially with senna, the griping effect of which it
tends to obviate.   The pleasantest form for administering  the salt, and that
in which it usually agrees  best with the stomach, is a solution  in carbonic
acid water  with lemon syrup.   By Dr. Henry of Dublin it is highly recom-
mended in  connexion with sulphuric acid.   To seven ounces of the saturated
aqueous solution  of the salt he adds an ounce of the diluted sulphuric acid
of the Pharmacopoeias, and gives a tablespoonful of the mixture for  a dose,
in a wineglassful of water.
   Off. Prep. Enema Catharticum, Ed., Dub.; Magnesia? Carbonas, Lond.,
Ed., Dub.; Pulvis Salinus Compositus, Ed., Dub.            D. B. S.

                 MAGNOLIA.   U.S. Secondary.

                             Magnolia.

   " The bark of Magnolia glauca, Magnolia acuminata, and Magnolia tri-
petala."   U. S.
  Magnolia. Sex. Syst. PolyandriaPolygynia.—Nat. Ord. Magnoliaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Petals six or more.  Capsules two-valved,
one-seeded, imbricated in a cone. Seeds berried, pendulous.  Bigelow.
   The medicinal properties which have rendered the  bark of the Magnolia
officinal, are common to most, if not  all of the species composing this splen-
did genus.  Among the numerous trees which adorn the American landscape,
these are most conspicuous for the  beautiful richness of  their foliage, and
the  magnificence as well as delicious odour of their  flowers; and  the M.
grandiflora of the Southern States rivals in magnitude the largest inhabit-
ants of our forests.   The Pharmacopoeia designates  the M. glauca,  M.
acuminata, and M. tripetafa, each of which we shall briefly  describe.
   1. Magnolia glauca. Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 1256; Bigelow,  Am. Med.
Bot. ii. 67; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 77; Michaux, N  Am. Sylv. ii. 8. This
species of  Magnolia, which in the  Northern States is often  nothing more
than a shrub, sometimes attains in the South the height of forty feet.  The
leaves are scattered, petiolate, oval, obtuse, entire, glabrous, thick, opaque,
yellowish-green on their  upper surface,  and of  a beautiful  pale glaucous
colour beneath.   The flowers are large, terminal, solitary, cream-coloured,
strongly and gratefully odorous, often scenting the air to a considerable dis- 
part I.                      Magnolia.                         443

tance.   The calyx is composed of three  leaves; the petals,  from eight to
fourteen in number, are obovate, obtuse, concave, and contracted at the base;
the stamens are very numerous, and inserted on a conical receptacle; the
germs are collected into a cone, and each is surmounted by a linear recurved
style.  The fruit is conical, about an inch  in length, consisting of numerous
imbricated cells, each containing a single scarlet seed.  This escapes through
a longitudinal opening in the cell, but remains for some time suspended from
the cone by a slender thread to which it is attached.
   The  M. glauca extends  along  the  seaboard  of the United States, from
Cape Ann in Massachusetts to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.  It is abun-
dant in the Middle  and Southern  States, usually growing in swamps and
morasses; and is seldom met with in the interior of the country west of the
mountains.  It begins to flower in May, June, or July, according  to the
latitude.   It is known by the name of magnolia simply in the Northern and
Middle  States, by that of white bay or sweet bay in the South, and is occa-
sionally called swamp sassafras,  beaver tree, fyc.
   2. M. acuminata. Willd. *Sjp. Plant, ii. 1257; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv.
ii. 12.   This species is much larger  than the preceding, often growing to
the height of seventy or eighty feet.  The  leaves  are six or seven  inches
long, by three or four in breadth, oval, acuminate, and pubescent on their
under surface.   The flowers are  five or  six inches in diameter, bluish or
cream-coloured, slightly odorous, with obovate rather obtuse petals from six
to nine in number.  Mingled with the splendid foliage, they give a magni-
ficent aspect to the  tree  when  large and in full bloom.   The tree grows in
the mountainous regions in the interior  of  the United States, extending
along the Alleghanies from the state of New York to their  termination in
Georgia,  and seldom  existing in the  low country far either to  the east or
the west of this range.  Wherever it is found, it is called cucumber tree,
from the resemblance  of its fruit in shape and size  to this product  of the
gardens.
   3. M. tripetala. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1258; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii.
18.  This is a  small tree, sometimes though rarely reaching an elevation of
thirty feet, and  almost always having an inclined trunk.  It is remarkable
for the size of its leaves and flowers.  The former are eighteen or twenty
inches long by seven  or eight in breadth, thin,  obovate, somewhat wedge-
shaped, entire,  acute at both extremities, pubescent when young, and often
disposed in rays at the extremity  of the shoots, displaying a surface thirty
inches in diameter. Hence has arisen the name of umbrella  tree, by which
this species is distinguished.   The flowers are terminal, seven or eight
inches in  diameter, white, with from five to twelve  oval acute petals, of
which the three outer are reflexed.  This species extends from the northern
parts of New York to the southern limits of the United States.  It is found
only in situations which are shady, with  a strong, deep,  and  fertile soil.  It
is common in some of  the islands of the Susquehanna, and still more so
in the Southern and South Western States. (Michaux.)
   The bark and fruit of all the species of Magnolia are possessed of similar
medicinal properties;  but the  bnrk only is officinal; and that of the root is
thought to be  most efficient.  It has an aromatic odour, and a bitter, pun-
gent, spicy taste.  The aromatic  property, which resides  in  a  volatile
principle, is diminished by desiccation, and  entirely lost when  the bark is
long kept.  The bitterness,  however, remains.  The bark is  destitute of
astringency.   The bark of  the  Magnolia  grandiflora,  examined  by Dr.
Stephen Procter, was found to contain volatile oil, resin, and  a principle
analogous to the liriodendrin of Professor Emmet. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
444
Magnolia. —Malva.
PART I.
xiv. 95.) % It is probable that the bark of the other species contains similar
ingredients.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Magnolia is a gently stimulant  aromatic
tonic and diaphoretic, useful in chronic rheumatism, and capable, if freely
given,  of arresting the paroxysms of intermittent fever.   It has been used
advantageously in these complaints,  and  in  remittents,  especially of a ty-
phoid  character.  The dose of the recently dried bark  in powder is from
half a drachm to a drachm, frequently repeated.  The infusion may also be
used, but is less efficient.   Diluted  alcohol extracts all the virtues of the
medicine; and a tincture, made by macerating the fresh bark or  cones in
brandy, is a popular remedy in chronic rheumatism.                W.

                      MALVA.  Lond., Ed.

                         Common Mallow.

  " Malva sylvestris." Lond.   " Herb of Malva sylvestris."  Ed.
  Mauve sauvage, Fr.;  Waldmalve, Germ.; Malva, Ital., Span.
  Malva.   Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord. Malvaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx double,  the exterior three-leaved.  Capsules very many,
one-seeded. Willd.
  Malva sylvestris.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. 787; Woodv.  Med. Bot. p. 554.
t. 197.   This is a perennial, herbaceous plant, with a round, hairy, branch-
ing, usually erect stem, from one to three feet high, bearing alternate, petio-
late, cordate, roughish leaves,  which are divided into five or seven crenate
lobes, and on the upper part of the stem are almost palmate.  The flowers
are large, purplish, and placed  from three to  five together at the axils of the
leaves,  upon long slender peduncles, which,  as well as the  petioles, are
pubescent.   The petals are five, inversely cordate, and three  times as long
as the calyx.  The capsules are disposed compactly in a circular form.
  This species of mallow is  a native of Europe, where it  grows abun-
dantly  on  waste grounds  and by the way-sides,  flowering from May to
August.  It is sometimes cultivated in our gardens.  Other species, indige-
nous or naturalized in this country,  are  possessed of the same properties,
which  are  in fact common to  the whole genus.   The  M. rotundifolia is
one of the most common, and may be substituted for the M. sylvestris.
  The herb and flowers, which are the officinal parts,  have  a weak,  her-
baceous, slimy taste, without odour.  They  abound in mucilage, which
they readily impart to water; and the  solution  is precipitated  by acetate of
lead.   The infusion and tincture of the flowers are blue,  and serve as a test
of acids and alkalies, being reddened by the former, and rendered green by
the latter.  The roots and seeds are also mucilaginous.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  Common mallow  is emollient and de-
mulcent.  The infusion and decoction are sometimes employed in catarrhal,
dysenteric, and nephritic complaints; and are  applicable to all other cases
which  call  for the use of mucilaginous liquids.   They are also  used as an
emollient injection; and the fresh plant forms a good suppurative or relaxing
cataplasm in external inflammation.   It was formerly among the culinary
herbs.
  Off.  Prep. Decoctum Malvae Compositum, Lond.                W. 
part i.                 Manganesii Oxidum.                   445
                MANGANESII  OXIDUM.  Ed.

                       Oxide of Manganese.

   Off. Syn; MANGANESII  BINOXYDUM.  Lond.;  MANGANESII
 OXYDUM. Dub.
   Manganese, Peroxide of manganese, Deutoxide  of manganese, Black oxide of man-
 ganese; Oxide noir de manganese, Fr.; Braunstein, Germ ; Manganese, Ital., Span.
   Black oxide of manganese is the  deutoxide or binoxide  of  a  peculiar
 metal properly called manganese; though this name  is commonly applied
 to the oxide, itself.   Metallic manganese was discovered by Scheele  and
 Gahn in 1774, and is obtained from the native black oxide by intense i-mi-
 tion with charcoal.  It is hard, brittle, granular, of a grayish-white colour,
 and emits a disagreeable odour in a moist atmosphere.   It oxidizes readily
 by the action of the air, first tarnishing, then assuming a yellowish or  vio-
 let colour, and finally becoming converted into a black powder.  Its sp. gr.
 is 8, melting point 160°  of Wedgwood, and  equivalent number 27*7.
 With oxygen it forms five combinations, three regular oxides and  two acids.
 The protoxide is of a light  green colour, and is  the oxide present  in the
 salts of manganese.  The sesquioxide is black or dark brown, and the deu-
 toxide black.   The two acids are formed by the  action  of potassa on the
 deutoxide, and are called manganic and hypermanganic acid.  Assuming
 one equiv.  of manganese in  each of  these combinations, the protoxide is
 found to contain  one, the sesquioxide one and a  half,* the deutoxide two,
 manganic acid three, and hypermanganic acid three and  a half equivalents
 of oxygen.  (Berzelius.)   Besides these, there  exist a double oxide, of a
 brownish-red colour, called the red oxide, consisting  of one  equiv. of  pro-
 toxide and one  of  sesquioxide, and invariably formed when any one  of the
 other oxides of manganese is exposed to a white heat;  and a native  oxide,
 called Varvicite, composed of two equiv. of deutoxide, and one  of sesqui-
 oxide.  Metallic manganese is  an occasional constituent of organic matter.
 It was detected in  minute quantity in  bones by Fourcroy and Vauquelin,
 and is often present in the ashes of plants. In the mineral kingdom, it occurs
 sometimes  as  a sulphuret, rarely as a phosphate, but very abundantly as
 the black or deutoxide.  It is this latter  mineral which constitutes  the offi-
 cinal oxide.
   Properties. Deutoxide of manganese, as it occurs in nature, is very vari-
 able in  its  appearance.   It  is found sometimes  in brilliant needle-shaped
 crystals, often in compact masses having the metallic lustre,  but far more
 frequently in the form of a dull earthy looking substance of a black or brown
 colour.   It  is purest when  crystallized.  As it  occurs  in commerce it is
 usually  in the  form of powder, of a  black colour, insoluble  in water,  and
 containing as impurities more or  less oxidized iron, carbonate of lime,  sul-
 phate of baryta, and earthy matter. Iron, which is rarely absent, is detected
 by the production of a greenish or blue tint on the addition of ferrocyanuret of
 potassium.   When exposed to a red heat it yields a considerable quantity of
 oxygen,  and is  reduced to the state of sesquioxide. Hence its use in obtain-
 ing that gas.  When dried, and afterwards heated to  whiteness,  good sam-
 ples lose twelve per cent, of oxygen.  (Lond. Pharm.)   It is  distinguished
 from the sulphuret of antimony by its infusibility, and  by its causing  the

  * In order to avoid fractional equivalents, the sesquioxide is generally slated to consist
of two equiv. of metal, and three of oxygen,  which is the same proportion as that given
in the text.
       39 
446               Manganesii Oxidum.—Manna.          part i.

evolution  of chlorine on being heated with muriatic acid.   When  of a
brown colour, it is not of good quality. Its composition has been given above.
  But few mines of deutoxide of manganese exist, though the metal itself is
very generally diffused throughout the mineral  kingdom.   It  occurs most
abundantly in Bohemia, Saxony, the Hartz, France, and Great Britain.  In
the United  States no mines  have been opened, except in Vermont, from
which state an inferior brown  ferruginous manganese is supplied through
Boston.  Besides this source of supply, the mineral is received from Nova
Scotia, France, Germany, England,  and  occasionally Scotland.  It  comes
packed in casks or barrels, generally in lumps and coarse powder, just as it
is dug out of the mines; though occasionally it is  received  from England
ready pulverized.   It is a good rule to buy it unpowdered, as its quality
can be better judged of in that state.  A dark shining crystalline appearance
may be taken as an indication of good quality.  The  Nova  Scotia man-
ganese is better than the Vermont; but that received from Germany and
England is  the best, and commands the highest price in the  market.   The
Scotch manganese is  also of good quality.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  The physiological effects of the prepa-
rations of manganese are but imperfectly known.   Manganic acid, given to
a rabbit, seemed to increase the urine.  C. G. Gmelin found the sulphate of
the protoxide to produce an extraordinary secretion of bile when exhibited
to animals.   According to Dr. Thomson, of Glasgow, it acts  on man  as a
purgative, resembling sulphate of soda both in taste  and effect.   The black
oxide is deemed a tonic by some experimenters.  When slowly introduced
into  the system, as happens to those engaged in grinding the mineral, it
acts, according to  Dr. Coupar, of Glasgow, as a cumulative poison, inducing
a disease which first shows itself by a staggering gait, and ends in paraple-
gia.   It has been  used  in syphilis, chlorosis, scurvy, and various skin dis-
eases, especially itch and porrigo. The dose is from three to twenty grains,
three times a day, given in the form  of pill. For external use, the ointment
is made of one or two  drachms  of the oxide to an ounce of lard.
  Black oxide of  manganese is used in the arts for obtaining chlorine for the
purpose of bleaching, to give a black glazing to pottery, and for freeing glass
from tbe colour which  it derives from the sesquioxide of iron.  According to
Berzelius, a few pounds of it added  to each cask of water intended for sea-
voyages, will preserve  it sweet.   In the laboratory, it is employed to obtain
oxygen and chlorine, and to form the salts of manganese.  Pharmaceutically
it is used,  in conjunction with sulphuric  acid, for liberating chlorine from
common salt, in the  processes for preparing Aqua  Chlorinii, Dub., Calx
Chlorinata, Lond., and Liquor Sodae Chlorinata?, Lond.            B.
               MANNA.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                              Manna.

  " The concrete juice of Ornus Europaea."  U. S.   " Ornus Europaea.
Succus  concretus."  Lond.   '■ Sweet concrete exudation probably from
several species of Fraxinus and Ornus."  Ed.
  Marine, Fr.; Manna, Germ., Ital.; Mana. Span.
  Manna is not the product of one plant exclusively.   Besides the Ornus
Europaea indicated by the Pharmacopoeias, it is said to be obtained also from
several other species  of  Ornus and Fraxinus, among which the 0. rotun-
difolia,  F.  excelsior, and F. parviflora  have been particularly designated. 
PART I.
Manna.
447
Burkhardt states that a species of manna, which exudes from the tamarisk
of the North of Africa, is used by the Bedouin Arabs of the neighbourhood
of Mount Sanai with their food.  It is, however, chemically different from
common manna, as, according to Mitscherlich, it contains no mannite, but
consists wholly of  mucilaginous  sugar.   Dr.  Ehrenberg  found the tree
which produces it to be a variety of the Tamarix Gallica. The manna used
in India is said to be the  product of the  Hedysarum Alhagi of Linn., the
Alhagi Maurorum of De Candolle, a thorny shrub which grows abundantly
in the deserts  of Persia and Arabia.  It is, however, much inferior to that
obtained from the Ornus or  Fraxinus.  We are told by Dr. Richardson
that a substance, exactly  resembling manna, is procured by exudation from
a species of Eucalyptus called the  E. mannifera, growing  in New  South
Wales. The substance known in France by the name of Briancon Manna,
is an  exudation upon the surface of the  common European larch—Larix
Europaea or Pinus  Larix—and differs chemically from ordinary manna, in
containing no mannite.
  Ornus. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat.  Ord. Oleaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx very small, four-cleft.  Corolla  divided to the base into
linear segments. Pericarp a winged key not dehiscing. Lindley.
   This genus was separated by Persoon from the Fraxinus of Linnaeus, and
is now admitted by the best botanists.
   Ornus Europaea. Persoon, Synops. i.  9; Lindley, Flor. Med. 547.—
Fraxinus Ornus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1104; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 589.
t. 209.  The flowering ash is a tree  of moderate  height, usually from
twenty to twenty-five feet, very branching, with opposite, petiolate, pinnate
leaves, composed of three or four pairs of leaflets,  and an odd one  at the
extremity.  The leaflets are oval, acuminate, obtusely serrate, about an inch
and a half in  length, smooth, of a bright green colour, and  stand on short
footstalks.   The flowers are white, and usually expand at the  same time
with  the leaves. They grow in close panicles at the extremity of the young
branches, and have a very short calyx with four teeth, and a corolla composed
of four linear lanceolate petals.
   Both this species of Ornus and the O. rotundifolia, are natives of Sicily,
 Calabria, and Apulia; and both contribute to supply the manna of commerce.
 During the hot months, the juice exudes spontaneously from the bark, and
 concretes upon its surface; but  as the exudation is slow, it is customary to
 facilitate the  process by making deep longitudinal incisions on one side of
 the trunk.  In the following season these are repeated on the other side, and
 thus  alternately for  thirty or forty years, during which the trees  are said to
 yield manna.   Straws or clean chips are frequently placed so  as to receive
 the juice, which concretes upon them.   The manna varies much in its cha-
racter, according to the mode of collection and  nature of the season, and the
period of the year in which the exudation takes place.  That procured in
 Sicily is said to be the best. Three varieties are distinguishable in  commerce.
   1.  The purest is that usually known by the name of flake manna, called
 also manna cannulata.  It exudes spontaneously, or by incisions,  during
 the hottest and dryest weather in the months of July and August.  It is in
irregular, unequal pieces, often several  inches  long, somewhat  similar in
 appearance  to stalactites, rough, light, porous,  brittle, of a whitish  or yel-
 lowish-white  colour, and frequently concave on the surface by which they
 were attached to the trunk, and which is often soiled by impurities, some-
 times by adherent fragments  of the bark. When broken, these pieces exhi-
 bit a  crystalline or granular structure.  This variety is sometimes in small
 fragments, generally less than an inch in length. 
448
Manna.
PART I.
  2.  Common manna—manne en sorte  of French pharmacy—is next in
quality, and is collected in September and the beginning of October, when
the heat of the weather has begun to moderate.   The juice does not now
concrete so readily, and a portion, falling on the ground at the  root of the
tree, becomes  more or  less  mixed with impurities, and forms  imperfectly
solid masses, which require to be further dried in  the sun.  The common
manna consists of whitish or  yellowish  fragments similar to the pieces of
flake  manna,  but much smaller,  mixed  with a soft, viscid, uncrystallized
brownish matter, identical with that which constitutes the following variety.
  3. Fat manna is collected in the latter part of October and  November,
when the weather is cooler and rains more common.  The juice is now still
less disposed to concrete, and flowing down the trunk is received in a small
excavation at its base.   As found in commerce it is in the form of a soft,
viscous mass, containing few crystalline fragments, of a brown or yellowish-
brown colour,  and full of impurities.
  Manna may be found in the shops of every grade, from the most impure
of the third variety to the purest of the first; but the worst kind  is not often
imported into this country.
  Attempts have  sometimes been made to counterfeit it; but the facility of
detection renders frauds of this kind unprofitable, and they are not often
practised.   Baume describes a method in  which common manna is purified
so as to resemble flake manna.  It consists in dissolving common manna in
a little water, allowing the liquid to settle, decanting it in  order to separate
the  impurities, then inspissating  it so that it will congeal on cooling, and
immersing threads in the inspissated liquid several times successively in the
manner practised by the candle-makers.   It may be still further purified by
the  use of animal charcoal.   Thus prepared  it contains less mannite than
flake manna, and  less of the  nauseous principle; but is said not to operate
less effectively as a laxative.  (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. ix. 45.)
  Properties.  Manna has a slight, peculiar odour, and a sweet taste, which
in the  impure kinds is also very nauseous, but in  the  finest flake manna,
scarcely so much so as to be disagreeable.  It melts with heat, and takes
fire, burning with  a blue flame.   When pure it is soluble in three parts of
cold, and in its own  weight of boiling water.  From  a  boiling saturated
aqueous solution, it separates in partially crystalline masses.  Alcohol also
dissolves it, and, if saturated  by means of heat, deposits upon cooling a large
proportion of  the  manna in a beautifully crystalline form.  Analyzed by
Fourcroy and Vauquelin, manna was found to consist of, 1. a peculiar crys-
tallizable saccharine principle, called mannite, which constitutes seventy-five
per cent.;  2. true sugar;  3. a yellow nauseous matter, upon which the pur-
gative  property is thought chiefly to depend; and 4. a small  quantity of
mucilage.   It  is owing to the presence of true sugar that  manna is capable
of fermenting.  Mannite is  white, inodorous, crystallizable in  semi-trans-
parent needles, of a sweetish taste, soluble in five parts of cold water, scarcely
soluble in cold alcohol, but readily dissolved  by that  liquid when hot, and
precipitated when it cools.   Unlike sugar, it  is incapable of undergoing the
vinous fermentation.   It may be obtained by boiling manna  in alcohol,
allowing the solution  to  cool, and redissolving the crystalline  precipitate.
Pure mannite  is now deposited.   This principle  has  been found in nume-
rous vegetables.  It is said to  be  gently laxative, in the dose of one or two
ounces.
  Manna, when long kept, acquires a deeper colour, softens, and ferments.
That  which is dryest resists  this change the longest.   It is  said, when
recently gathered, to be less purgative than it afterwards becomes. 
 part i.                 Manna.—Maranla.                    449

   Medical Properties and Uses.  Manna is a gentle laxative, usually ope-
 rating  mildly, but in some cases producing flatulence  and pain.  Though
 peculiarly adapted to children and pregnant women, it may be given with
 advantage in ordinary cases of piles from constipation, unattended with dys-
 peptic  symptoms.  It is usually, however, prescribed with other purgatives,
 particularly senna, rhubarb,  magnesia,  and the neutral salts, the taste of
 which  it conceals, while it adds to the purgative effect.
   The dose for an adult is from one to two ounces; for children, from one
 to four drachms.  It is  usually given dissolved  in water or some aromatic
 infusion;  but the best  flake  manna may be conveniently administered in
 substance.
   Off.  Prep.  Confectio Cassiae, Lond., Dub.;  Enema  Catharticum, Dub.;
 Syrupus Sennae, Lond.                                          W.


                 MARANTA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                             Arrow-root.
   "The fecula of the rhizoma of  Maranta arundinacea."  U. S.  "Maranta
 arundinacea.  Rhizomatis Faecula." Lond.   " Fecula of the tubers of Ma-
 ranta arundinacea and Maranta indica." Ed.
   Arrow-root, Fr.; Amerikanisches Starkmehl, Arrowmehl, Germ.
   Maranta.  Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Marantaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Anther attached to the petal-like filament.  Style  petal-shaped.
 Stigma three-sided. Flowers panicled.  Loudon's Encyc.
   Maranta arundinacea.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 13;  Loudon's Encyc.  of
 Plants, p. 2.   The root of this plant is perennial, tuberous,  fleshy,  hori-
 zontal,  nearly cylindrical,  scaly, from six inches to a foot or more in length,
 and furnished  with numerous long white fibres.   The stems, of which seve-
 ral rise  from the  same root, are annual,  slender, branched, jointed,  leafy,
 and about three feet in height.  The leaves are ovate lanceolate, about four
 inches long, alternate, and  supported solitarily at the joints of the stem upon
 long, sheathing footstalks.   The flowers are in  a long, loose,  spreading,
 terminal panicle,  at each  ramification of which is  a solitary linear bracte.
 The calyx consists of three small lanceolate leaves.   The corolla is white
 and monopetalous, with a tube longer than the calyx, and a double border,
 of which  the  three outermost segments  are smallest,  and  the two inner
 obovate, and slightly emarginate.
   The  arrow-root plant is a native of the West Indies,  where  it is largely
 cultivated.  It has been cultivated also in our Southern States, but not very
 extensively, as we still derive our supplies of its product from abroad.  The
 plant is easily propagated  by  cuttings of the root.  In the West Indies, the
 fecula, so well known by the  name  of arrow-root, is prepared in the follow-
 ing manner.  The roots  are dug up  when a year old, washed, and then beat
 into a pulp, which is thrown  into water, and agitated so as to separate the
 amylaceous from the fibrous portion. The fibres are removed by the hand,
 and the  starch remains  suspended in the water,  to which it  gives a milky
colour.  This milky fluid is  strained through coarse linen, and allowed to
stand that the  fecula may subside, which is  then washed with  a fresh por-
tion of water, and afterwards dried in the sun.  We obtain the officinal arrow-
root chiefly, if not exclusively, from the West  Indies,  and that  from  the
Bermudas'is most highly esteemed.
  But other plants contribute to furnish the arrow-root of commerce. Lind-
                                 39* 
450
Maranta.
PART I.
ley states that it is procured in the West Indies from the Maranta Allouya
and  M.  nobilis, besides the M. arundinacea.   Under  the  name of M.
Indica, Tussac describes a distinct species which he says was originally
brought  from  the East Indies, and is now cultivated in Jamaica.   This,
however, is generally considered as a mere variety of the M. arundinacea,
from which it  differs chiefly in having leaves more elongated at the  point,
and  smooth on both sides.  Very fine arrow-root is obtained in the East
Indies from the root of the  Curcuma angustifolia of Roxburgh, which
is abundantly  cultivated in  Travancore.   Parcels occasionally reach this
country, but from the length of the voyage  are apt to be musty.  The East
India arrow-root is lighter than ours, and  does not so quickly  make a jelly.
Ainslie. states that the M. arundinacea has  been introduced from the West
Indies into Ceylon, where good arrow-root is prepared from it.  A  fecula
closely resembling that of the Maranta, is said by Guibourt to be prepared
in the West Indies from the root of the cassava plant,  Jatropha Manihot;
and it is not improbable that a variety  of arrow-root brought to this country
from  Brazil has a similar origin.  In fact, it often contains  small lumps,
as large as a pin's head, identical with tapioca, which is a product of the
J. Manihot.  A variety of arrow-root has  been imported from  the  Sand-
wich Islands.   It was  supposed to be identical with  that said to be pro-
cured from the root of the  Tacca pinnatifida, which grows abundantly in
Tahiti and other  islands of the South Pacific; but Mr. Nuttall, during his
visit to the Sandwich Islands, found that it was the product of another
species of Tacca, which he has described under the name of Tacca oceanica.
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm. ix. 305.) The fecula called tous-les-mois has
already  been noticed. (See Canna, page  159.)   Arrow-root is occasionally
brought into the market from Florida, prepared  in the neighbourhood of St.
Augustine from the root of the Zamia integrifolia, by a process similar to
that employed in the preparation of the fecula of the Maranta. (See a paper
by Dr. Joseph Carson in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiv. 22.)
  Attempts have been  made to substitute finely prepared  potato starch for
arrow-root; and there is no doubt that, medically considered, it is quite equal;
but patients complain of an unpleasant taste of the potato which it is  apt to
retain.
   Arrow-root  is in the form of a light white powder, or of small pulverulent
masses, without smell or taste.  It has a firm  feel when  pressed between
the fingers, and produces a faint crackling sound when rubbed.  It is a pure
starch, identical in chemical  properties with that of  wheat and the potato.
It is very apt  to be  musty, and  should then be rejected.   It  is said to be
sometimes adulterated with common  starch, and with that of the potato.
There is  no certain  mode of detecting these, except by the microscope.
(See Amylum.)  The odour and taste are the best criteria of its purity. It
should be  perfectly free from smell and  unpleasant  flavour.   Mr. Procter
has  rendered  musty arrow-root  quite sweet and  fit for use by washing it
thoroughly with two successive portions of cold  water, and then  drying it
upon frames of muslin in a warm place. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiii. 188.)
   As the microscope affords the best means of distinguishing the different
varieties of fecula sold as arrow-root, or used for its adulteration, it is proper
to indicate the form of their granules as exhibited by this instrument. Those
of the proper officinal or Maranta  arrow-root  are  rarely oblong,  some-
what ovate-oblong, or irregularly convex,  with very fine rings, a circular
hilum which  cracks in a linear  or stellate manner, and small mammillary
processes  occasionally  projecting from them. (Pereira.)  The largest are
the 750th of an inch, but many not more than the 2000th of an inch long; 
* m -<*
part i.               Maranta.—Marmor.                     451

and their breadth is generally two-thirds of their length. (Christison.)  The
granules of the East.India arrow-root are, according to Pereira, of unequal
size, ovate or oblong-ovate,  flattened, and  often  furnished  with a  very
short neck or nipple-like  projection.   The rings are numerous, close, and
very fine; and the hilum, which is situated at the narrow extremity, is cir-
cular, small, and indistinct.   The microscopic  appearance of the Tapioca
fecula will  be described under the head of Tapioca, to which the reader is
referred.   The Tacca fecula from the South  Sea Islands, examined by
Pereira, consisted of circular,  muller-shaped, or polyhedral granules,  with
few and not very distinct rings, and a small,  circular hilum, which cracked
in a linear or stellate manner.   The Florida arrow-root was found by Dr.
Carson to consist of granules forming the half, the third, or the quarter of
a solid  sphere.  The potato starch granules are of various shape and  size,
but generally ovate or elliptical, and from the 7000th to the 300th of an inch
in length, the largest being  inferior in size only to  the largest of the canna
starch or tous-les-mois.  (See  Canna.)   They are strongly marked  with
concentric rings, and have a circular hilum, from which usually proceed the
cracks observable in some of the larger grains.  (Pereira.)
   Medical Properties and.  Uses.   Arrow-root is nutritious and  demulcent,
affording a light, very mild, and easily digested article of diet, well adapted
for the  sick and convalescent, and peculiarly suited, from its demulcent pro-
perties, to  bowel complaints and diseases of the  urinary passages.   It is
 much used as food for infants  after weaning, or when the mother's milk is
 insufficient.  It is prepared by dissolving it in hot water, with  which it
 forms a pearly gelatinous solution, and, if in sufficient quantity, a jelly-like
 mass on cooling.   A tablespoonful will communicate  sufficient consistence
 to  a pint of water.  It should  first be formed into a  paste with a small quan-
 tity of  cold water, and the  boiling water then gradually added  with brisk
 agitation.   The preparation may be rendered more palatable by the addition
 of lemon-juice and  sugar, or in  low forms of disease by that of wine and
 spices,  if the latter are not contra-indicated.  For children the arrow-root is
 usually prepared with milk.
    Off.  Prep.  Trochisci Ipecacuanha?, U. S.                        W.


                  MARMOR.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                                Marble.

    " White granular carbonate of lime." U. S.  " Carbonas calcis (dura)."
 Lond.   " Massive  crystalline carbonate of lime."  Ed.
    Off. Syn.  CALCIS CARBONAS.  MARMOR ALBUM. Dub.
    White marble; Marbre, Fr.; Marmor, Germ.;  Marino, Ital.; M irmol, Span.
    Marble is used for obtaining carbonic acid, and for making several offici-
 nal preparations.   For the  former purpose,  common  marble is  sufficiently
 pure;  but for the  latter, the purer varieties must be selected.
    The  officinal marble  is a  white  granular substance, having a specific
 gravity varying from 2*7 to 2-8.  It is brittle, pulverizable, and insoluble in
 water.   It is wholly dissolved in dilute  muriatic  acid with effervescence.
 If magnesia  be present,  the  neutral  muriatic solution will be precipitated
 by ammonia;  and if baryta or strontia be  an impurity, a similar effect will
 be produced  by a solution of  sulphate of lime.  When marble is exposed
 to a full red heat, it loses about  44 per cent, of carbonic acid,  and  is con-
 verted  into lime.  (See Calx.)  In composition it agrees with chalk.
    The purest kind  of marble is that of Carrara, sometimes called statuary 
 452                   Marmor.—Marrubium.               part i.

 marble; but it is not necessary that this kind should be obtained for pharma-
 ceutic operations.  Marble, sufficiently pure for these  purposes, is  found
 in various parts of the  United States.  It is necessary, however, to reject
 the dolomilic marbles, which contain a considerable proportion of magnesia.
   Marble is used by the Edinburgh College, merely to get rid of excess of
 acid by saturating it, in the processes for preparing muriate of morphia, and
 the sulphates of potassa and soda.
   Off. Prep.  Aqua Acidi Carbonici, U. S.; Calcis Murias, Ed.;  Calx,
 Ed.; Liquor  Calcii Chloridi, U. S.;  Potassae  Bicarbonas,  U. S.,  Dub.;
 Sodae Bicarbonas,  U.  S., Ed., Dub.                                B.

            MARRUBIUM. U.S. Secondary, Lond.

                             Horehound.

  " The  herb of Marrubium vulgare."   U. S.  " Marrubium  vulgare."
 Lond.
  Off. Syn. MARRUBIUM VULGARE.  Dub.
  Marrube blane, Fr.; Weisser Andorn, Germ.; Marrubio, Ital., Span.
  Marrubium. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.—Nat. Ord.  Lami-
 aceae or Labiatae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx salver-shaped, rigid, ten-streaked.  Corolla with the up-
 per lip bifid, linear, and straight.
  Marrubium vulgare. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. Ill;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
 332. t. 118. The white horehound has a perennial fibrous root, and nume-
 rous annual stems, which are quadrangular, erect, very downy, and from
 twelve to eighteen inches high.   The leaves are roundish  ovate,  dentate or
 deeply serrate, wrinkled, veined, hoary on the under surface, and  supported
 in pairs upon  strong footstalks.   The flowers are white,  and disposed in
 crowded axillary whorls.  The calyx  is tubular, and  divided at the margin
 into ten narrow segments which are hooked at the end.  The corolla is also
 tubular, with a labiate margin, of which the upper lip is  bifid, the  under
 reflected and three-cleft, with  the middle segment broad and  slightly scol-
 loped.  The seeds are four,  and lie in the bottom of the calyx.
  This plant is a native of Europe, but has been naturalized in this country,
 where it grows on the roadsides, and flowers in July and August.  It is also
 cultivated in our gardens.
  The herb has a strong rather agreeable odour, which is diminished by
 drying, and is  lost by  keeping.  Its taste is bitter and durable.  The bitter-
 ness is  extracted by water and  alcohol.  It contains a volatile  oil, bitter
 extractive, resin, tannin, and lignin.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Horehound is tonic, in large doses  laxa-
tive, and may  be so given as  to increase the secretion from  the  skin, and
occasionally from the kidneys. It was  formerly considered  a valuable deob-
struent, and  recommended in chronic hepatitis, jaundice, menstrual obstruc-
tions,  phthisis, and various cachectic affections.  By its gently tonic powers
it may undoubtedly have proved advantageous in some of these complaints;
but  it  exerts no specific influence over  any;  and has now passed almost en-
tirely  from  the hands of physicians  into  domestic  use.   It  is  employed
chiefly in  catarrh, and other chronic affections of the lungs attended with
 cough and copious expectoration.  The  infusion made in the proportion of
 an ounce of the herb to a pint of boiling  water, may be given in wineglass-
 ful doses.  The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to  a drachm.  The
 medicine is also much used in  the shape of syrup and candy.        W. 
PART I.
Mastiche.
453
                MASTICHE.  Lond.. Ed., Dub.

                              Mastich.

  " Pistacia Lentiscus. Resina." Lond., Dub.   " Concrete resinous exu-
dation of Pistacia Lentiscus." Ed.
  Mastic, Fr.; Mastix, Germ.; Maslicc,  Ital.; Almastiga, Span.; Sakes, Turk.; Arah,
Arab.
  Pistacia.  Sex. Syst.  Dioecia Pentandria.—Nat. Ord.  Anacardiaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla none. Female.  Calyx three-
cleft.  Corolla none.  Styles three. Drupe one-seeded. Willd.
  Pistacia Lentiscus.  Willd. Sp.  Plant, iv. 753; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
26. t. 11.  The lentisk is a shrub  or small  tree, seldom rising more than
twelve feet in height, much branched towards the top, and  furnished with
petiolate, abruptly pinnate leaves.   The leaflets  are from eight to twelve in
number, usually alternate, with the exception of the two upper which are
opposite.   They are  ovate lanceolate, entire, obtuse, often  mucronate, and
sessile upon  the common footstalk, which is winged, or furnished with a
narrow  foliaceous expansion on each side.  The flowers are dioecious, and
very small.   The male are in an axillary ament; the female are arranged
alternately upon a common peduncle, which is also axillary.
  This tree is  a native of the countries which border upon  the Mediterra-
nean; but does  not yield mastich in all places.   The island of Scio in the
Grecian Archipelago is the place whence the drug is chiefly obtained.  Inci-
sions are  made in the trunk  and principal  branches, from which the juice
slowly exudes,  and either hardens in tears  upon the bark, or drops on the
ground, where  it is sometimes received  upon cloths, sometimes upon the
bare earth, and concretes in irregular masses.  The tears are most esteemed.
They are of various  sizes, oval or roundish, often compressed, smooth,
semi-transparent, of a pale yellow colour, of a shining fracture, friable, and
usually  covered  with  a whitish powder, occasioned by their friction against
each other.  The masses are composed of yellowish tears agglutinated toge-
ther, with others of a darker colour and less translucent, and often fragments
of wood, bark,  or earthy matter intermingled.
  Mastich is nearly inodorous, unless  rubbed or heated, when it becomes
fragrant.  Its taste is weak  but  agreeably  terebinthinate, and, after long
chewing, very slightly acrid.  It is at first friable under the  teeth, but soon
becomes soft and ductile,  and  acquires a white opaque appearance.  Its sp.
gr. is 1-074.  It is fusible and  inflammable by heat.  Alcohol  dissolves about
four-fifths of it,  leaving a viscid substance which becomes brittle when dried,
and for  which the  name of masticin has been proposed.  This substance,
though not dissolved  by alcohol, softens  and  swells up in it, as gluten does
in water.   According to Berzelius,  it enjoys  the same general properties as
copal, and should be considered as a variety  of  resin.   Mastich  is wholly
soluble  in ether and in oil of  turpentine, scarcely soluble in the fixed oils,
and insoluble in water.  It consists chiefly of resin, with masticin,  and a
minute  proportion of volatile  oil, which  can  scarcely be said to have been
obtained in a separate state, though it imparts flavour to alcohol and water
distilled from the mastich, especially when this has been previously triturated
with an equal weight of carbonate of potassa.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Mastich was formerly thought to possess
properties analogous to those of the turpentines,  and was used in debility of 
454
Mas tic he.—Matricaria.
part r.
the stomach, haemoptysis from ulceration,  leucorrhoea, chronic diarrhoea,
&c; but its virtues were overrated; and it is at present scarcely ever given
internally.   It is sometimes employed to fill the cavities of carious teeth,
for which purpose it is well fitted by its softness.  Great quantities of it are
consumed in Turkey,  where it is habitually chewed by the women, under
the impression that it sweetens the breath, and preserves the gums and teeth.
Dissolved in alcohol  or oil of turpentine, it serves for the formation of a
brilliant varnish.
   The following mode of applying it to carious teeth is highly recommended.
Dissolve four parts of mastich in one part of sulphuric ether, in a bottle well
stopped.  With the solution thus formed, which is of a yellow colour and
oily consistence, saturate a small piece of cotton of the size of the carious
cavity, and having well cleansed and dried the cavity, introduce the cotton,
without painful pressure, so as to fill it exactly.   The ether is soon evapo-
rated, and the resin, remaining soft and adhesive,  attaches itself to the dis-
eased surface of the tooth, which it protects from  the action of the air, and
of the food taken into the mouth. (Journ. de Pharm.  xx. 597.)
   Off. Prep.  Tinctura Ammoniae Composita, Lond.               W.

               MATRICARIA.  U.S. Secondary.

                        German Chamomile.

   " The flowers of Matricaria Chamomilla." U. S.
   Matricaria. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord. Compositae-
 Senecionideae, De Cand.  Asteraceae, Lindley.
    Gen. Ch.   Calyx  flat,  imbricate, with scales  having  scarious margins.
 Receptacle naked", terete.  Pappus  none.
   Matricaria Chamomilla. Linn. Sp.  1256.   This  is an  annual plant,
 with a branching stem a foot or two in height, bearing alternate leaves about
 two inches long, the  lower ones tripinnate, the upper bipinnate or simply
 pinnate,  and all of  them very green, and nearly or quite  smooth.  The
 leaflets are linear and very small.   The  flowers appear  singly at the  ends
 of the stem  and branches.   They are about three-quarters  of  an inch in
 diameter, with the ray spreading.  The scales of the calyx are obtuse, green
 in  the middle, and  whitish,  membranous, and translucent at the margin.
 The ray florets are white, at first spreading, and ultimately reflected.  The
 disk is of a deep yellow colour,  at first flat,  but in  the end convex, and
 even somewhat conical.
    The plant is a native of Europe, and  has been occasionally cultivated in
 our gardens.  All parts of it are  active; but the flowers only are officinal
 with us.  These shrink  very much in drying, so that they are scarcely half
 as large as in their recent state.  Those found in our  shops are imported
 from Germany.
    The dried flowers of the Matricaria are considerably smaller than com-
 mon chamomile, and exhibit a larger proportion of the disk florets compared
 with those of the ray.  They have a strong, peculiar, rather unpleasant
 odour, and a disagreeable bitter taste. Their active constituents are volatile
 oil and bitter extractive,  which are readily extracted by  water and alcohol.
 The oil, which is obtained by distillation with  water, is thick,  somewhat
 tenacious, of a dark-blue colour becoming brown by age, and almost opaque
  in mass.                                                        .
     Medical Properties and  Uses.  Matricaria  is a mild tonic, very similar 
PART I.
Matricaria. —Mel.
455
to chamomile in medical properties, and, like it, capable in large doses of
producing an emetic effect.   It is esteemed also  in  Europe  antispasmodic
and anthelmintic.   It is much employed in Germany;  but in this country
scarcely at all unless by some  German  practitioners.   It may be given for
the same purposes and in the same manner as chamomile.           W.

                 MEL.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                               Honey.

   " A liquid prepared from flowers by Apis mellifica." U. S.  "Apis mel-
lifica. Humor e floribus decerptus, et ab ape paratus."  Lond.  " Saccha-
rine secretion of Apis mellifica." Ed.
   Miel, Fr.; Ilonig, Germ.; Miele, Ital.; Miel, Span.
   Naturalists have not yet determined whether honey is a secretion of the
bee, Apis mellifica, or  whether it  exists already formed in plants.   It is
certain that the nectaries of flowers contain a saccharine  matter, which is
extracted by the insect, and the fact is well known that the flavour and cha-
racter of honey are very much affected  by the nature of the plants which
predominate in the vicinity of the hive;  so much so, that when these plants
are poisonous, the fluid  sometimes partakes of their noxious qualities.   Still,
it probably undergoes some change in the organs of the bee; as the saccha-
rine matter of the nectaries, so far  as it has been possible  to examine it,
wants some  of the characteristic properties of honey.
   The finest honey is that which  is  allowed to drain  from  the comb.  If
obtained from hives that have never  swarmed,  it is called virgin honey.
An inferior kind is  procured by exposing the comb to pressure, and if heat
be employed previous to expression, the product is still more impure.
   Much honey is collected in different parts of the  United States; but that
with  which  the shops  of cities on the  seaboard are supplied, is derived
 chiefly from Cuba.
   In the recent state honey is fluid; but, on being kept, it forms a crystal-
line deposit, and is ultimately converted into a soft  granular mass.   In the
 shops it is found of every consistence, from that of a viscid  liquid like thin
 syrup or oil, to that of lard or soft suet.  Its colour is sometimes white, but
 usually yellowish,  and occasionally of a brown or reddish tinge.   It has a
 peculiar agreeable odour, varying somewhat with the flowers from which it
 was collected, and  a very sweet feebly aromatic taste, which is followed by
 a slight prickling  or  sense  of acrimony in the fauces.   Its specific gravity
 is about 1*333. (Duncan.)   Cold water dissolves it readily, alcohol with
 less facility.  It contains crystallizable  sugar analogous to  that  of grapes,
 uncrystallizable sugar, an  aromatic principle, an acid, wax, and,  according
 to Guibourt, a little mannite.   The crystalline sugar may be obtained by
 treating granular  honey with a small quantity of alcohol, which when ex-
 pressed takes along with it the other ingredients, leaving the crystals  nearly
 untouched.  The same end may be attained by melting the honey, saturating
 its acid with carbonate of lime, filtering the liquid,  then setting it aside to
 crystallize, and washing the crystals  with alcohol.   Inferior honey usually
 contains a larger proportion  of uncrystallizable  sugar and  vegetable acid.
 Diluted with water, honey undergoes the vinous  fermentation; and treated
 with nitric acid, is converted  into oxalic acid.
    In warm weather, honey, if not very pure, sometimes ferments, acquiring
 a pungent taste, and a deeper colour.  Starch is said to be occasionally added
 to the inferior kinds to give  them a white appearance.   The adulteration 
456
Mel—Melissa.
PART I.
 may be detected by dilution with water, which  dissolves the honey and
 leaves the starch at the bottom  of the vessel.  The nature of the deposit
 may be tested by the tincture of iodine.  Water is said  to be sometimes
 added to honey to increase its bulk.  Its  presence may be  suspected from
 the greater thinness of the liquid, and its  want of disposition to crystallize.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Honey possesses the same medical pro-
 perties with sugar, but is  more disposed  to run off by the bowels, and  to
 occasion griping pain.   Though largely consumed as an article of food, it
 is seldom employed medicinally, except as the vehicle of  more active sub-
 stances.  Its taste and demulcent qualities render  it  a  useful addition  to
 gargles, and it is sometimes employed as an application to foul ulcers, and
 in the  form of enema.
   Off. Prep. Confectio Piperis Nigri, Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Confectio Rutae,
 Lond., Dub.; Linimentum  iEruginis, Lond.; Mel Boracis, Lond., Ed.,
 Dub.;  Mel Despumatum, U. S., Dub.;  Mel Rosae,  Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.;
 Oxymel, Lond., Dub.; Oxymel Colchici, Dub.;  Oxymel Cupri Subaceta-
 tis, Dub.; Oxymel Scillag, U. S., Lond., Dub.                     W.

               MELISSA.   U.S.  Secondary, Ed.

                                Balm.

   " The leaves of Melissa officinalis." U. S.  " Herb of  Melissa officina-
 lis." Ed.
   Off. Syn. MELISSA OFFICINALIS. Herba. Dub.
   Melisse, Fr.; Garten. Melisse, Germ.; Melissa, Ital.; Torongil, Span.
   Melissa. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.—Nat.  Ord. Lamiacea?
 or Labiatae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx dry, nearly flat above; with the upper lip sub-fastigiate.
 Corolla, upper  lip somewhat arched, bifid; lower lip with the middle lobe
 cordate. Willd.
   Melissa officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 146; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 334.
 t.  119.   Balm has a perennial root, which sends up  annually several erect,
 quadrangular stems, usually branched towards the  base, and a foot or two in
 height.  The leaves are opposite, ovate  or cordate, deeply serrate, pubes-
 cent;  the lower on long footstalks, the uppermost nearly sessile.  The
 flowers are white or yellowish, upon short peduncles, and in axillary whorls,
 surrounding only half the stem.  The calyx is  tubular,  pentangular, and
 bilabiate, with the upper lip tridentate and flattened,  the lower cut into two
 pointed teeth.   The corolla is also tubular and bilabiate, the upper lip less
 convex and notched, the lower three-cleft.
   The plant is a native  of the South of Europe.  It has been introduced
 into this country, where it is cultivated in gardens,  and grows wild along
 the fences of our roads and lanes.  For medical use  the herb should be cut
before  the appearance of the flowers, which begin  to expand in July.
   In the fresh state, it has a fragrant odour very similar to that of lemons;
but is nearly inodorous  when dried.   The taste is  somewhat  austere and
slightly aromatic.  The herb contains a minute proportion of a yellowish or
reddish-yellow essential oil, which has its peculiar  flavour in a very high
 degree.  It contains also tannin,  bitter extractive, and gum.
  Medical Properties  and  Uses.  Balm scarcely produces any remedial
operation upon the system.  The quantity of oil which it contains is not
more than sufficient to communicate a pleasant flavour to the infusion, which
 forms an excellent drink in febrile complaints, and when  taken warm tends
 to  promote the operation of diaphoretic medicines.                  W. 
PART I.
Mentha Piperita.
457
       MENTHA  PIPERITA.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                            Peppermint.

   " The herb of Mentha piperita." U. S., Ed. " Mentha piperita." Lond.
   Menthc  poivree, Fr.; Pl'eftermtinze, Germ ; Menla piperita, Ital.; Pimenta piperita,
Span.
   Mentha. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae
or Labiatae.
   Gen. Ch. Corolla nearly equal, four-cleft;  the broader segmentemargi-
nate. Stamens upright, distant.  Willd.
   Mentha piperita.  AVilld.  Sp. Plant, iii. 79; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 336.
t. 120.   Peppermint is a perennial herbaceous plant, with a creeping root,
and  quadrangular, channeled, purplish, somewhat hairy stems, which  are
branched  towards the top, and about two  feet in height.  The leaves  are
opposite,  petiolate, ovate, serrate, pointed, smoother on the upper than  the
under  surface, and of  a dark green  colour which is paler beneath.  The
flowers are small, purple, and disposed in terminal obtuse spikes, which are
interrupted below.   The calyx is tubular, furrowed, and five-toothed;  the
corolla is  also tubular,  with its border divided into four segments, of which
the uppermost is broadest, and notched at its apex.  The  anthers are con-
cealed within the tube of the corolla;  the style projects beyond it, and termi-
nates in a bifid stigma.  The  four-cleft germ is  converted intO' four seeds,
which are lodged in the calyx.
   This species of mint is a native of Great Britain, whence it has been con-
veyed to the continent of Europe and to this country.   In some parts of the
United States, especially in New England, the western part of New York,
Ohio, and New  Jersey, it is largely cultivated for the sake of its volatile oil.
We  occasionally find it growing wild along the fences of our villages.  The
cultivators of this herb have observed that,  in order to maintain its flavour
in perfection, it is necessary to transplant the roots every three years.   It
should be cut for medical use in dry weather, about the period of the expan-
sion of the flowers.  These appear in August.
   The herb, both in the recent and dried state, has a peculiar, penetrating,
grateful odour.   The taste is aromatic,  warm, pungent, glowing, camphor-
ous, bitterish, and attended with a sensation of coolness when  air is  admitted
into  the mouth.  These properties depend on  a volatile oil, which  abounds
in the herb, and may be separated by distillation with water.   (See Oleum
Menthae Piperitae.)  The virtues of the herb  are  imparted  to water, and
more readily to alcohol.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Peppermint is a very grateful aromatic
stimulant, much used for all  the purposes to which medicines of this class
are applied. To allay nausea, to relieve spasmodic pains of the stomach and
bowels, to expel flatus, to cover the taste or qualify the nauseating or griping
effects of  other medicines, are among the most common of these purposes.
The  fresh herb,  bruised and  applied over the epigastrium, often allays sick
stomach, and is especially useful in the^cholera of children.   The medicine
may be given in infusion; but the volatile oil, either alone, or in some state
of preparation, is almost always preferred.
  Off. Prep. Aqua Menthae  Piperitae, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Oleum  Menthae
Piperitae,  U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.; Spiritus Menthae, Ed.          W.
40 
45S            Mentha Pulegium.—Mentha Viridis.      part i.
           MENTHA  PULEGIUM.  Lond., Dub.

                     European Pennyroyal.

  " Mentha Pulegium."  Lond.
  Menthe-pouliot, Pouliot, Fr.; Poleymunze, Germ.; Puleggio, Ital.; Poleo, Span.
  Off. Syn. PULEGIUM.  Herb of  Mentha Pulegium.  Ed.
  Mentha. See MENTHA PIPERITA.
  Mentha Pulegium.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 82; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 342.
t. 122. This species of mint is distinguished by its roundish prostrate stems,
its ovate obtuse somewhat crenate leaves, and its verticillate flowers.  It is a
native of Europe, and neither cultivated nor employed in this country.  Our
native pennyroyal belongs to a different genus.  (See Hedeoma Pulegioides.)
The Pulegium possesses similar properties, and is employed for the same
purposes with  the other mints.
  Off. Prep. Aqua Menthae Pulegii,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Oleum Menthae
Pulegii, Lond., Ed., Dub.                                      W.

        MENTHA  VIRIDIS.   U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                            Spearmint.

  " The herb  of Mentha viridis."  U. S., Ed. " Mentha viridis." Lond.
   Mcnthe a epi, Fr.; Grune Miinze, Germ.; Menta Romana, Ital.; Yerba buena puntia-
guda, Span.
   Mentha. See MENTHA PIPERITA.
   Mentha viridis.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. 76; Woodv; Med. Bot. p. 338.
t. 121.   Spearmint, sometimes called simply mint, differs from the M. pi-
perita chiefly  in having sessile, or nearly sessile, lanceolate, naked  leaves;
elongated, interrupted, panicled spikes; setaceous bractes; and stamens longer
than the tube of the corolla.  Like the two preceding species, it is a native
of Europe.   In this country it is cultivated in gardens  for domestic use, and
in some places more largely for the sake of its oil.   It also grows wild in
low grounds  in parts of the country which  have been long settled.  Its
flowering season is August. According to Thomson, it should be cut in very
dry weather, and, if intended for medical use, just as the flowers appear; if
for obtaining the oil, after they have expanded.
   The  odour of spearmint is strong and aromatic, the taste warm and slightly
bitter, less pungent than that of peppermint, but considered by some as more
 agreeable.  These properties are retained for some time by the dried plant.
 They depend  on a volatile oil which rises on distillation with water, and is
 imparted to alcohol and water by maceration.   (See  Oleum  Menthae Vi-
 ridis.)
   Medical Properties.  The virtues and applications of this plant are the
 same with those of peppermint.
    Off. Prep.  Aqua Menthae Viridis, Lond., Dub.; Infusum Menthae Com-
 positum, Dub.; Oleum Menthas Viridis, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   W. 
PART I.
Menyanthes.
459
                 MENYANTHES. Lond.,  Ed.

                             Buckbean.

  "Menvanthes trifoliata." Lond.  "Leaves of Menyanthes trifoliata." Ed.
  Off. Syn. MENYANTHES  TRIFOLIATA.  Folia. Dub.
  Meny.mthc, Trefle d'eau, Fr.; Bitterklee, Germ.; Trifoglio pulustre, Ital.; Trifolio pa-
lustre, Span.
  Menyanthes.   Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Gen-
tianaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Corolla hirsute.  Stigma bifid. Capsule one-celled.  Willd.
  Menyanthes trifoliata, Willd. Sp. Plant,  i. 811; Bigelow,  Am.  Med.
Bot. iii. 55.   The buckbean  or marsh trefoil has a perennial, long, round,
jointed, horizontal, branching, dark-coloured root or rhizoma, about as thick
as the finger, and sending out numerous fibres from its under surface.  The
leaves are ternate, and stand upon long stalks, which proceed from the end of
the root, and  are furnished at their base with sheathing stipules.  The leaflets
are obovate, obtuse, entire or bluntly  denticulate, very smooth,  beautifully
green on their upper surface and paler beneath. The scape or flower stalk
is erect, round,  smooth, from six to twelve inches high,  longer than the
leaves,  and terminated by a conical  raceme of  whitish  somewhat rose-
coloured flowers.  The calyx is five parted; the corolla funnel-shaped, with
a short tube,  and a five-cleft, revolute border, covered on the  upper side
with numerous long, fleshy fibres.   The anthers are red and sagittate; the
germ ovate, supporting a slender style longer than the stamens, and termi-
nating1 in  a bifid stigma.   The fruit is an ovate, two-valved, one-celled cap-
sule, containing numerous seeds.
  This beautiful plant is  a native both of Europe and North America,  grow-
ing in boggy and marshy places which are always moist,  and occasionally
overflowed with water.  It prevails, in the United States, from the northern
boundary to Virginia.  In this country the flowers appear in May, in Eng-
land not till June or July.  All  parts of it are medicinal.  The leaves are
directed by the  Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges,  the  whole plant by  the
London College.
   The taste  of  buckbean is  intensely bitter and somewhat  nauseous,  the
odour of the leaves faint  and  disagreeable. The virtues of  the plant depend
on  a bitter extractive, which is dissolved by water  and alcohol.
   Medical Properties arid Uses. With the ordinary properties of the bitter
tonics,  Menyanthes unites a cathartic power, and in large doses  is  apt to
vomit.  It was formerly held in high estimation in Europe as  a remedy in
numerous complaints, among which were intermittents, rheumatism, scro-
fula, scurvy, dropsy,  jaundice, and various cachectic and cutaneous affec-
tions.   In most of these complaints  it was administered under  a  vague
impression of its alterative powers.  It is scarcely ever  employed in this
country;  but as  it is a native plant, capable  of useful application in cases
where a combined tonic and purgative effect is demanded,  it  is desirable
that our country practitioners should be aware of its properties,  and pre-
pared to take advantage of them should occasion offer.
   The  dose  of the powdered leaves or root as a tonic is from twenty to
thirty grains; of an infusion, prepared with half an ounce to a pint of boiling
water, from one to two fluidounces; and of the extract ten or fifteen grains,
to be repeated three or four times a day.  A drachm of  the powder, or a
gill of the strong decoction generally purges, and often occasions vomiting. 
460
Mezereum.
PART I.
                  MEZEREUM. U.S., Lond.

                             Mezereon.

   " The bark of Daphne Mezereum and Daphne Gnidium." U. S. "Daphne
Mezereum.  Radicis  Cortex."  Lond.
   Off. Syn. MEZEREON. Root-bark of Daphne Mezereon.  Ed.; ME-
ZEREON.  DAPHNE MEZEREUM. Cortex. Dub.
   Bois gentil, Fr.; Kellerhals, Germ.; Mezereo, Ital.; Meeercon, Span.
   Daphne.  Sex. Syst. Octandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Thymelaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx none.  Corolla four-cleft, withering,  enclosing the sta-
mens.  Drupe one-seeded.  Willd.
   All the species of Daphne are possessed of active properties; but two only
are officinal—the D.  Mezereum  and D. Gnidium—the former of which is
recognised in the British Pharmacopoeias,  the latter in the French Codex,
and both in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States.
   1. Daphne Mezereum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 415; Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 717. t. 245.   This is a very hardy shrub, three or four feet high, with a
branching stem, and  a smooth dark-gray bark, which is very easily separa-
ble from the wood.   The leaves  spring from the ends of the branches, are
deciduous, sessile, obovate lanceolate, entire, smooth, of a pale green colour,
somewhat glaucous beneath, and  about two inches long. They are preceded
by the flowers, which  appear  very early in  spring, and  sometimes bloom
even amidst the snow.   These are of a pale rose  colour, highly fragrant,
and disposed in  clusters, each  consisting of two or three flowers, forming
together a kind of spike at the upper part of the stem and branches.  At the
base of each cluster are deciduous floral leaves.  The fruit is oval, shining,
fleshy, of  a bright  red colour, and contains a single round seed.  Another
variety produces white flowers and yellow fruit.
   This species of Daphne is a native of Great Britain and the neighbouring
continent, in the northern parts of which it is particularly abundant.   It is
cultivated  in Europe both for medicinal purposes,  and  as  an  ornamental
plant, and is occasionally found in our own gardens.  It flowers in February,
March, or April, according to the greater or less mildness of the climate.
   2. D. Gnidium. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 420.  In this species, called garou
or sain-bois by the French, the  leaves are linear lanceolate, acute, entire,
smooth, and irregularly but closely set upon the branches.  The flowers
are white, downy,  odoriferous, and disposed in  terminal  panicled racemes.
The fruit is globular, dry,  at first green, but ultimately black.  The D. Gni-
dium grows in dry uncultivated places in the South of Europe, and flowers
in June. In France its bark is used indiscriminately with that of the former
species.
   Besides the officinal species above described, the  D. Laureola, or spurge
laurel, is said to furnish a portion of the  mezereon of commerce; but its
product is inferior in acrimony, and consequently in medicinal activity.
   The bark of the root was the part directed by the former U. S. Pharma-
copoeia, as it now is by the British Colleges; and it is said to be exclusively
employed  in Great Britain.   But the mezereon with which our markets
are now supplied is evidently the bark of the stem; and  the present Phar-
macopoeia, therefore,  very properly directs the bark, without designating the
part from which it  must be taken.  The British writers state that the bark
of the root is the most active.   The berries and leaves of the plant are also
possessed of active properties;  and the former have sometimes proved fatal 
part r.                      Mezereum.                          461

to children, who have been attracted by their beautiful colour.  Pallas states
that they are used as a purgative  by the Russian peasants, and that thirty
berries are required to  produce this  effect.  The French  authors observe
that fifteen are  sufficient to kill a Frenchman.  Mezereon is brought to us
chiefly from Germany.
   Properties.  Mezereon, as it comes to us, is usually in strips from two to
four feet long and an inch or less in breadth, sometimes flat, sometimes par-
tially rolled, and always folded in bundles, or wrapped in the shape of balls.
It is covered externally with a grayish or reddish-brown wrinkled epidermis,
very thin, and easfly separable from the bark.  Beneath the epidermis is a
soft greenish tissue. The inner bark is tough,  pliable, fibrous, striated, and
of a whitish colour.  When fresh it has a nauseous smell, but in the dry
state is nearly inodorous.  Its taste is at first sweetish, but afterwards highly
acrid, and even corrosive. It yields its virtues to  water by  decoction.  Vau-
quelin ascertained the presence of a peculiar principle in the bark of the D.
Alpina. This  has subsequently been  discovered in other species, and has
received the name of daphnin.  Gmelin and Bar  found it in the bark of the
D. Mezereum associated  with wax, an acrid resin, a yellow colouring mat-
ter, a reddish-brown extractive matter, an uncrystallizable and  fermentable
sugar, a gummy matter containing azote, ligneous fibre, malic acid, and seve-
ral malates.  Daphnin is in  prismatic crystals grouped  together, colourless,
transparent, brilliant, slightly soluble in cold water, very soluble in boiling
water, ether, and alcohol, without odour, and of a bitter, somewhat austere
taste.  It is obtained by  treating the alcoholic extract of the  bark with water,
decanting the solution, precipitating with  subacetate of lead, filtering,  de-
composing  the excess  of the subacetate by sulphuretted  hydrogen, again
filtering, evaporating to dryness, submitting the residue  to the action of
anhydrous  alcohol, and  evaporating the alcoholic solution to  the point of
crystallization.   Though daphnin  is probably not inactive, it is not the
principle upon which the virtues of mezereon chiefly depend.   Vauquelia
thinks that in the recent plant these reside in an essential oil, which by time
and exposure is changed into a resin, without losing its activity.  The acrid
resin observed by  Gmelin and  Bar, is probably the characteristic principle
to which the bark owes its  vesicating properties.  It is obtained separate
by boiling  mezereon in alcohol, allowing  the liquor to cool in  order that
it may deposit some wax which it has taken up,  then  distilling  off the
alcohol, and treating the residue with water, which leaves the resin.  This
is of a dark green, almost black  colour,  hard and brittle,  and of  an ex-
ceedingly acrid and permanent  taste.   In  the  isolated  state, it is slightly
soluble in water, and much more  so when combined with the  other prin-
ciples of the bark.  It appears, however, not to be a pure  proximate prin-
ciple, but rather a resinoid combination of an acrid vesicating fixed oil with
another substance.  The acrid  principle of mezereon is partially given off
by decoction with water, as  proved by the irritating character of the  vapour
when inhaled;  but  none of  it appears to escape  when  the bark is boiled
with alcohol. (Squire, Pharmaceutical Transactions, i. 395.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The recent bark applied to the skin pro-
duces inflammation followed by vesication,  and has been popularly used as
an epispastic from time immemorial in some of  the southern  countries of
Europe. The  dried bark, though less active, is possessed of a similar pro-
perty, and  is occasionally employed in France  by regular practitioners for
the purpose of  forming  issues, in cases which do not  admit of the use of
Spanish flies.   A small  square piece of the bark, moistened with vinegar,
is applied to the skin, and renewed twice a day till a blister is formed, and
                                 40* 
462
Mezereum.—Monarda.
PART I.
occasionally afterwards in order to maintain the discharge. It is slow in its
operation, generally requiring from twenty-four to forty-eight hours to vesi-
cate.   An irritant ointment is prepared from mezereon, which answers for
application to blistered surfaces in order to maintain the discharge, and may
be applied advantageously to obstinate, ill-conditioned, indolent ulcers.  (See
Extractum Mezerei.)   The alcoholic extract of mezereon  has also been
employed to communicate irritant properties to issue peas.
  Internally administered, mezereon is a stimulant capable of being directed
to the skin or kidneys, and in large doses apt to excite purging, nausea, and
vomiting.  In overdoses  it produces all the fatal effects of the acrid poisons,
and a case of apparently severe  narcotic effects  has been recorded.  (Am.
Journ. of Med.  Sci. xxi. 518.)  It had at one time much reputation as a
remedy in  the secondary stages of the venereal disease, and still enters as
an ingredient into the officinal compound decoction of sarsaparilla.  It has
also been thought to act  favourably as an alterative in scrofulous affections,
chronic rheumatism, and obstinate diseases of the skin.  For  this purpose it
is usually administered in decoction.  (See Decoctum Mezerei.)  Dr. With-
ering cured a case of difficult swallowing, arising from paralysis, by direct-
ing the patient to chew frequently small pieces of the root.   The affection,
which had continued three  years, was removed in a month.   The dose of
the bark in substance may be stated at ten grains, though it is seldom used
in this  Avay.
  Off. Prep. Decoctum Mezerei, Ed., Dub.; Decoctum Sarsaparillae Com-
positum, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Unguentum  Mezerei, U. S.    W.

                       MONARDA.  U.S.

                            Horsemint.

  " The herb of Monarda punctata."  U. S.
  Monarda. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or
Labiatae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx five-toothed, cylindric, striate.  Corolla ringent, with a
long cylindric tube; upper  lip linear, nearly straight and entire, involving
the  filaments, lower lip reflected, broader, three-lobed, the middle  lobe
longer.  Nuttall.
  Monarda punctata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 126;  Am. Med. Recorder, vol.
ii. p. 496.   This is an indigenous perennial or biennial plant, with herba-
ceous, obtusely angled, downy, whitish, branching stems, which rise one or
two feet in height, and are furnished with oblong lanceolate, remotely serrate,
smooth,  punctate leaves.   The flowers are yellow, spotted with  red or
brown,  and are  disposed in numerous  whorls,  provided  with lanceolate,
coloured bractes, longer  than the whorl.
  The horsemint grows in light gravelly or sandy soils from New Jersey to
Louisiana,  and flowers from June to  September.  The  whole herb is em-
ployed.  It has an aromatic smell, and a warm, pungent, bitterish taste; and
abounds in a volatile oil, which  may be separated  by distillation with water.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Horsemint is stimulant and carminative;
but is seldom used in regular practice.   In the state of infusion it is occa-
sionally employed in families as a remedy for flatulent colic and sick stomach,
and for other purposes to which the aromatic herbs are applied.  It was in-
troduced into the primary catalogue of the United States Pharmacopoeia on
account of the volatile oil which it affords.   (See  Oleum Monardae.)
  Off.  Prep. Oleum Monardae,  U. S.                              W. 
PART I.
Mora.—Moschus.
463
                          MORA. Lond.

                            Mulberries.

  " Morus nigra. Fructus." Lond.
  Off. Syn. MORUS  NIGRA. Baccae. Dub.
  Mures, Fr.; Sehwarzc Maulbeeren, Germ.; Morone, Ital.; Moras, Span.
  Mortjs.  Sex. Syst. Monoecia Tetrandria.—Nat. Ord. Urticaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Male.  Calyx four-parted.  Corolla none.  Female.  Calyx
four-leaved. Corolla none.  Styles two. Calyx berried.  Seed one. Willd.
  Morus nigra. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 36; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 712. t.
243.   This species of mulberry is distinguished by its  cordate ovate, or
lobed, unequally toothed, and scabrous leaves.  It is a tree of middle size,
supposed to have been  brought originally  from Persia into Italy, and thence
spread over Europe and America.  Its leaves  afford food for the silk-worm;
and the bark of the root, which is  bitter  and  slightly acrid, has been em-
ployed as a vermifuge, especially in cases of the tape-worm, in the dose of
two drachms infused  in eight ounces of boiling water.   But the fruit is the
only portion directed by the Colleges.
  This is oblong oval, of a dark reddish-purple almost black colour; and
consists of numerous minute berries united together and attached  to a com-
mon  receptacle, each containing a single seed, the  succulent envelope of
which is formed by the calyx.   It is inodorous, has a sweet, mucilaginous,
acidulous  taste,  and  abounds in a deep  red  juice.   The sourish  taste is
owing, according to Hermbstadt, to the presence of tartaric acid.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Mulberries  are refreshing and laxative,
and serve to prepare a grateful drink well  adapted to febrile cases.  A syrup
is made from them, and used  as a pleasant addition  to gargles in  inflam-
mation of the throat.    They are, however, more used  as food than medi-
cine.   Our native mulberry, the fruit of the M. rubra, is quite equal to that
of the imported  species.   The  M.  alba, originally from  China, and now
extensively cultivated as a source of food  for  the silk-worm, bears a white
fruit,  which is sweeter  and less  grateful than the others.
  Off. Prep.  Syrupus Mori, Lond.                               W.


              MOSCHUS.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                               Musk.

  " A peculiar concrete  substance obtained from Moschus moschiferus."
U.S. "Moschus moschiferus.  Humor  in folliculo  praeputii secretus."
Lond. " Inspissated secretion in the follicles  of the  prepuce of Moschus
moschiferus."  Ed.
  Muse, Fr.; Bisam, Germ.; Muschio, Ital.; Almizcle,Span.
  Moschus. Class Mammalia.  Order Pecora.
  Gen. Ch. Horns none.  Fore  teeth eight in the lower jaw. Tusks one on
each side in the upper jaw, projecting out of the mouth.
  Moschus moschiferus.  Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. 172; Rees's Cyclopaedia.
This animal bears a close  resemblance to the deer in shape and size.  It is
usually less than three feet in length, with haunches considerably more ele-
vated than the shoulders.  From its upperjaw  two tusks project downwards
out of the mouth, each about two inches long, curved backwards, and serving
to extract the roots which are used as food by the animal. The ears are long 
464
Moschus.
PART I.
 and narrow, and the tail very short.   The fleece, which consists of strong,
 elastic, undulated hairs, varies in colour with the season, the age of the ani-
 mal, and perhaps the place which it inhabits.  The general colour is a deep
 iron gray.  The individual hairs are whitish near the root, and fawn-coloured
 or blackish towards the tip.  The musk is contained in an oval, hairy, pro-
 jecting sac, found only in the male, situated between the umbilicus and the
 prepuce, from two to three inches long, and from one to two broad, commu-
 nicating externally by a small hairy orifice at its anterior part, and marked
 posteriorly by a groove or furrow which corresponds with the opening of the
 prepuce. It is lined internally by a smooth membrane, which is thrown into
 a number of irregular folds forming incomplete partitions.  In the vigorous
 adult animal, the sac sometimes contains six drachms  of musk; but in the
 old seldom more than two drachms, and none in the young.  The musk is
 secreted by the lining membrane, and in the living animal forms a consistent
 mass, which on the outside is compact and marked with the folds of the mem-
 brane, but is less firm towards the centre, where there is sometimes a vacant
 space.   As first secreted it is probably in the  liquid state, and a portion is
 occasionally forced out by the animal, to which it communicates its odour.
   The  musk deer inhabits the  vast mountainous regions of central Asia,
 extending from India to Siberia, and from the  country of the Turcomans to
 China.   It is an active and  timid animal, springing from rock to rock with
 surprising agility, and frequenting the  snowy recesses, and most inaccessi-
 ble crags of the mountains.   Concealing itself during the day, it chooses the
 night for roaming in search of food;  and, though said to  be abundant in its
 native regions, is taken with difficulty.   It is hunted for its hide, as well as
 for the musk.   As soon as the animal is killed the sac  is cut off, and dried
 with  its  contents;  and in this state is sent into the market.
   Musk varies in quality with the country inhabited by the animal.  That
 procured from the mountains on the southern borders of Siberia, and brought
 into the  market through Russia,  is comparatively feeble.   The  best is  im-
 ported from China, and is said  to be  the product of Tonquin.  A variety
 intermediate between these is procured  in the Himalaya Mountains and
 Thibet,  and sent to Calcutta.   We  derive our chief supply from Canton,
 though,  when the drug is scarce, portions are occasionally brought hither
 from Europe.
   Two varieties are distinguished in the market, the Chinese and Russian.
 Both come in sacs, convex and hairy on one side, flat and destitute of hair
 on the other.   The hairs are brownish-yellow, grayish, or whitish, stiff
 and short, and arranged concentrically  around  the orifice of the sac.   The
 Chinese, which is the most highly valued, is in bags of a rounder shape,
 covered with brownish-yellow or reddish-brown hairs, and containing at
 most a drachm and a half of large grained, dark, strong-scented musk, having
 an ammoniacal odour.   The Russian,  which is contained  in  longer and
 larger bags, is small grained, of a clear yellowish-brown colour, oi a weaker
 and more fetid odour, with less smell of ammonia.
   Properties. Musk is in grains or lumps concreted together, soft and unc-
 tuous to  the touch, ami of a reddish-brown or ferruginous colour, resembling
 that of dried blood.   Some  hairs of the pod are  generally mixed with it.
 The odour is strong, penetrating, and so powerfully diffusive, that one part
 of musk  communicates its smell to more than 3000 parts of inodorous pow-
 der. (Fee).  In some delicate individuals it produces headache  and other
 disagreeable symptoms, and has even given rise to convulsions.   The taste
 is  bitter,  disagreeable, and somewhat acrid.  The colour of the powder is
reddish-brown.   Musk is inflammable, burning with a white flame, and
leaving a light spongy charcoal.   It yields, upon analysis, a great number 
PART I.
Moschus.
465
 of proximate principles.  Guibourt and Blondeau obtained water, ammonia,
 stearin, olein, cholesterin,  an  acid oil  combined with ammonia, a volatile
 oil, muriate of ammonia, chlorides of potassium and calcium, an uncertain
 acid combined with  ammonia  potassa  and lime, gelatin, albumen, fibrin, a
 highly carbonaceous matter soluble in water, a soluble calcareous salt with a
 combustible acid, carbonate and phosphate of lime, hair, and sand. (Annal.
 de Chim. et de Phys. ix. 327.)  Besides these principles Geiger and Rein-
 man found a peculiar bitter resin, osmazome, and a peculiar substance in
 part combined with ammonia.  According to  Guibourt and Blondeau, it
 contains 47 per cent, of volatile matter, thought by some to be chiefly am-
 monia,  by others to be a compound of ammonia and volatile oil.  Theimann
 obtained only from 10 to 15 per cent.  But the quantity of volatile as well
 as of soluble matter varies exceedingly in different specimens.  Thus Thei-
 mann found from 80 to 90 per cent, of matter soluble in water,  Buchner
 only  54-5 per cent.,  and other chemists intermediate proportions. The pro-
 portion soluble in alcohol, as ascertained by different experimenters, varies
 from  25 to 62 per cent.  Sulphuric ether  is a good solvent.  The watery-
 infusion has a  yellowish-brown colour, a  bitterish taste, a strong smell of
 musk, and an acid reaction.   The alcoholic tincture is  transparent, and of
 a reddish-brown colour, with the peculiar odour of the medicine.  The action
 of potassa upon musk is accompanied with the extrication of ammonia, and
 an  increase of its  peculiar  odour.  By the influence of heat and moisture
 long  continued, ammonia is developed, which acts upon  the fatty matter,
 producing a substance resembling adipocire, but, according  to Guibourt,
 without diminishing the activity of the medicinal  principles.  The correct-
 ness, however, of this opinion, is perhaps questionable;  and it is advisable
 to preserve the musk as much as possible unaltered. When kept in glass
 bottles,  in a situation neither  moist nor very dry,  it remains for a grGat
 length of time without material change.  The odour of musk is said to be
 very  much  diminished  by mixing the medicine  with syrup of almonds.
 (See Med. Exam. N. S. i. 541.)
  Adulterations.  The price  of this medicine  is so  high, and the sources
 of supply so limited, as to offer strong temptations to adulteration; and it is
 said that little of the genuine, unmixed musk is to be found in the market.
 The  sophistication commences with the  Chinese,  and is  completed  in
 Europe and this country.   A common  practice in the East is  to open the
 sac,  and  to  supply  the  place  of the musk with an adulterated mixture.
 Sometimes the scrotum of the animal  is filled  with  this mixture, and not
 unfrequentiy the sacs are manufactured out of the skin.   Dried blood, from
 its resemblance in appearance to musk, is among the most common adulte-
 rations;  but besides this, sand, lead, iron-filings,  hair, animal membrane,
 tobacco, the dung of birds, wax, benzoin, storax, asphaltum, and  other
 substances are  introduced.  These are  mixed with a portion of musk, the
 powerful odour of which is diffused through the mass, and renders the dis-
 covery of the  fraud sometimes difficult.  It is said that the  Chinese some-
 times  mix the  musk of Tonquin with that of Siberia.   The bags containing
 the drug should have the  characters before described as belonging to the
 natural sac, and should present no evidence of having been opened.   The
 slit is  sometimes carefully sewed up, sometimes glued  together. The former
 condition may be discovered by close  inspection, the latter by immersion in
 hot water.  Musk  which burns with difficulty, which has a feeble odour,
and a  colour either pale or entirely black, which feels gritty to the finger, is
very moist, or contains obvious impurities,  should  be rejected.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.   Musk is stimulant and antispasmodic, 
466
Mosch us.—Moxa.
PART I.
increasing the vigour of the circulation,  and exalting the nervous energy,
without producing, either as  an immediate or secondary effect, any con-
siderable derangement of the  purely cerebral  functions.  Its medical uses
are such as may be inferred from its general operation.  In almost all spas-
modic diseases, so far as mere relaxation of spasm is desirable, it is more or
less efficacious;  but peculiar advantages may be  expected from it in those
cases in which a prostrate condition of the system, attended  with great ner-
vous agitation, or irregular muscular action, calls  for the united influence of
a highly diffusible stimulant and powerful  antispasmodic.   Such  are very
low cases of typhous disease, accompanied with subsultus tendinum, tremors,
and singultus.  Such also are many instances of gout in the stomach, and
other spasmodic affections  of this organ.  In very obstinate hiccough we
have found it more effectual than any other remedy; and have seen great
advantage from  its use in  those alarming and  dangerous  convulsions of
infants which have their  origin in  spasm of  the intestines.   It is said to
have  done much good combined with  opium, and administered in very
large doses in tetanus.  Epilepsy, hysteria, asthma, pertussis, palpitations,
cholera, and colic, are among the numerous spasmodic affections in which
circumstances may render the employment of musk desirable.  The chief
obstacles to its general  use are its very high price, and the great uncertainty
as  regards the degree of its purity.  Musk was  unknown to  the ancients.
Aetius was the first writer who  noticed it as a medicine. It was introduced
into Europe through the Arabians,  from  whose  language its name was
derived.
   It may be  given in the form  of pill or emulsion.  The medium dose is
ten grains, to be repeated every two or three hours.   In the cases of children
it may be given  with great advantage in  the form of enema.  The tincture,
which is an officinal preparation, is sometimes prescribed.
   Off. Prep.  Mistura Moschi, Lond.;  Tinctura Moschi, Dub.      W.

                            MOXA.  Dub.

                                Moxa.

   " Artemisia Chinensis et A. Indica. Folia." Dub.
   The term  moxa is  employed to designate small masses of combustible
matter, intended, by being burnt slowly  in contact with the skin, to produce
an eschar. They are of various forms, and made  of different materials. The
Chinese moxa is in small cones, from eight to twelve lines  in height, and is
prepared  from the leaves of one or more species of Artemisia.  The A.
Chinensis and A. Indica are  indicated by the Dublin College; but Lindley
states that it is the A. JMoxa  of De Candolle  which is employed.  Accord-
ing to some  authors, the  part used is the down which covers the leaves and
stems;  but others, with greater  probability, assert that it is a fine lanuginous
substance prepared from  the leaves by beating them in a mortar. A coarser
and a finer product are obtained, the  former of which is used for tinder, the
latter worked up into moxa.  A similar moxa has been made  in France, by
a similar process, from the leaves of the A. vulgaris, or common European
 mugwort.
    Various substitutes have been proposed for the Chinese moxa, all com-
 posed of some light, porous, soft, inflammable substance, which burns slowly,
 and  thus allows the  heat  to be regulated according  to the effect desired.
 Linen rolled into a cylinder, cotton formed into the same shape and enclosed
 in a piece of linen, cords of  cotton in small  masses of various  shapes, and 
PART I.
Moxa.
467
even common spunk made from the agaric of the oak, have been employed
by different persons with the desired effect.   But all these bodies are sub-
ject to the inconvenieuce of requiring to be constantly blown upon in order
that their combustion may be sustained.
  To remedy this defect, cotton impregnated with nitre has been recom-
mended; and  the  moxa usually employed is prepared from that substance.
It is important that the impregnation should be uniform, as otherwise differ-
ent parts of the cylinder, burning with different degrees of rapidity, would
produce unequal effects  upon the skin.  The following process is recom-
mended.   One pound of cotton is introduced into a vessel containing two
ounces of  nitre  dissolved in half a gallon  of water, and  a moderate heat
applied, till all the liquid is evaporated.   The cotton when perfectly dry is
formed into thin,  narrow sheets, which  are rolled  round a central cord of
linen, so as to form a cylinder from half an  inch to an inch in diameter, and
several inches long.  This is enclosed in a  covering of silk or linen sewed
firmly around  it; and when used may be cut by a razor into transverse slices
a few lines in length.  By leaving a hole in the centre of  the cylinder, the
combustion will be rendered more vigorous, and a deeper  eschar produced.
   The pith of the Helianthus annuus, or common sun-flower, has  been
proposed by M. Percy for the preparation of moxa, for which it is well
 adapted by the nitre which it contains, and which enables it to burn without
 insufflation.   The stem, when perfectly mature, is cut  into transverse sec-
 tions about half an  inch in thickness, which must be  carefully dried, and
 kept in a perfectly dry place.   They  have  this advantage, that, in conse-
 quence of the retention of the cortical  portion, they may be held with impu-
 nity, while burning, between the fingers of the  operator.   They are, how-
 ever, frequently defective in consequence of an insufficiency of nitre in the
 pith, or of the unequal inflammability of different parts  of it.
   M. Robinet has perfected  the  preparation of moxa, by combining the
 advantages of the two kinds last described.  He rolls cotton round a small
 central cylinder  of  pith, and envelopes the  whole in a piece of muslin,
 which is more or less firmly applied, according to the degree of compactness
 required.  The cylinders thus made burn without assistance, uniformly, and
 with a rapidity proportionate to their firmness.
   Dr. Jacobson, of  Copenhagen, has  proposed, as a substitute  for the ordi-
 nary forms of moxa, small cylinders formed out of strips  of paper imbued
 with a solution of chromate of potassa; and cotton, impregnated with the
 solution of chlorate  of potassa instead  of nitre, is said to answer an excellent
 purpose. (Journ. de Pharm. xix. 608.)  Small cylinders made  out of strips
 of coarse muslin imbued with the same  solution are also employed.
   Lime in the act of slaking has been employed by Dr. Osborne for the
 purposes of moxa.  A portion of powdered quicklime, half an inch in thick-
 ness, and of  suitable lateral dimensions, is  applied to the  skin and confined
  by some convenient arrangement.  A few  drops of water are  then  added,
  and  a degree  of heat is soon evolved sufficient for a caustic effect, if the lime
  be allowed to remain as long as the heat continues.  This may be increased
  or diminished by increasing or diminishing the quantity of lime employed.
  The eschar formed is somewhat more than double the extent of the base of
  the moxa.  (Dublin Journ., Jan., 1842.)
    Medical Use.  Cauterization by fire, in the treatment of disease, has been
  commonly practised among savage and half civilized nations from the earliest
  periods of history,  and has not been unknown as a  remedy  in the most
  polished communities.  The ancient Egyptians and Greeks were acquainted
  with the use of moxa;  and in Ghina, Japan, and  other countries of Asia, it 
468
Moxa.—Mucuna.
PART I.
 appears to have been employed from time immemorial.   From these coun-
 tries the early Portuguese navigators introduced it into Europe; and the term
 moxa is said to have been derived from their language, though supposed by
 some to be of Chinese origin.  The true Chinese name is said to be kiew.
 (Percy and Laurent.) Some years since, the remedy became very popular
 in France, and attracted some attention in this country.  It acts on the prin-
 ciple of revulsion; relieving deep-seated inflammation, and  local irritation
 whether vascular or  nervous, by inviting the current of excitement to the
 skin.  In some cases it may also operate advantageously by the propagation
 of a stimulant impression to neighbouring parts in which the  natural actions
 are enfeebled.
   The  celebrated Larrey was  among those who contributed  most to bring
 this remedy into repute.  The diseases in which it was  recommended by
 this author were amaurosis, loss of taste, deafness, paralytic affections of the
 muscular system, asthma, chronic catarrh and pleurisy, phthisis, chronic
 engorgement of the liver and spleen, rachitis, diseased spine, coxalgia, and
 other forms of scrofulous and rheumatic inflammation of the joints.  It has
 also been used  advantageously in neuralgia, and is  applicable to chronic
 complaints generally, in which powerful external revulsion is indicated.
  The parts of the body upon which, according to Larrey, it should not be
 applied are the cranium when protected only by the  skin and pericranium;
 the eye-lids, nose, and ears; the skin over the larynx, trachea,  and mammary
 glands,  over superficial  tendons, projecting  points of bones, and articular
 prominences in which the capsular ligament might be involved; the anterior
 surface  of the abdomen;  and the genitals.
  As a general rule it should be applied as near  as possible  to  the seat of
 the disease; and, in neuralgic or paralytic cases, at  the origin or over the
 course of the nerves  proceeding to the part affected.  Some advise that the
 cylinder be attached  to the skin by some adhesive liquid; but a more gene-
 ral practice is  to retain it in the proper position by a pair of forceps or other
 instrument.   Larrey recommends that the skin around it be covered with a
 piece of moistened lint, having a hole in the centre to admit the base of the
 cylinder.   The moxa should be set on fire at the summit, and the combus-
 tion sustained if necessary by the breath, the blow-pipe, or the  bellows.
 The size of the cylinder should  vary, according to the effect desired, from
 half an inch to an inch or more in diameter, and from  a few lines to an inch
 in height.  Any degree of effect may be obtained, from a slight inflamma-
 tion to the death of the skin, by regulating the time during which the moxa
 is allowed to burn.   When a slough  is  required, it  should  be suffered to
burn until consumed.   The first  sensation experienced is not disagreeable;
but  the operation becomes gradually more painful, and towards the close is
for a short time very severe.                                      W.


                  MUCUNA.  U.S. Secondary.

                             Cowhavc.

  " The bristles of the pods of Mucuna pruriens." U. S.  " Mucuna pru-
riens. Leguminis Pubes." Lond.   " Hairs  from  the  pod of  Mucuna
pruriens."  Ed.
  Off. Syn. DOLICHOS PRURIENS.  Pubes leguminis. Dub.
  Pois a  gratter, Fr.; Kuhkiatze, Germ.; Dolico Seottanle, Ital.
  Mucuna. Sex. Syst.  Diadelphia  Decandria.—Nat. Ord.  Fabaceae or
 Leguminosae. 
PART I.
Mucuna.
469
  Gen. Ch. Calyx campanulate, bilabiate;  the lower lip trifid, with acute
segments, the  middle one longest; the upper lip broader, entire,  obtuse.
Corolla with the vexillum ascending, shorter than the wings and keel;  the
wings  oblong, equal to the keel in length;  the keel oblong, straight, acute.
Stamens  diadelphous, with  five  anthers  oblong-linear,  and five  ovate,
hirsute. Legume oblong, torose, bivalvular, with cellular partitions.  Seeds
roundish,  surrounded circularly by a linear  hilum. (De Candolle.)
  Mucuna pruriens.  De Cand., Prodrom.  ii. 405; Lindley, Flor. Med.
p. 254.—Dolichos pruriens.  Willd.  Sp. Plant,  iii. 1041;  Woodv. Med.
Bot. p. 422.—Stizolobium pruriens.  Persoon.  This is a perennial climb-
ing plant, with an herbaceous branching stem, which twines round the trees
in its vicinity, and rises to a considerable height.  The leaves are pinnately
trifoliate, and stand on long footstalks placed alternately on the stem at the
distance of a foot from each other.  The leaflets are acuminate, smooth on
their upper surface, and hairy beneath.   The lateral leaflets are oblique at
the base, the middle one somewhat rhomboidal.  The flowers, which re-
semble those of the pea in form, are large, of a red or purplish colour, usually
placed in threes on short peduncles, and hang from the axils of the leaves in
pendent spikes about a foot in length.  The fruit is a coriaceous pod, shaped
like the Italic letter/1, about four inches long, and covered with brown bristly
hairs,  which easily separate, and when handled stick in  the fingers, pro-
ducing an intense itching  sensation.   The plant is a native of the  West
Indies, and other parts of tropical America.   It has been  supposed to grow
also in the East Indies; but the plant of that region is now considered  a
distinct species, and entitled Mucunaprurita.  The part usually imported
is the  pod, of  which the hairs are the  officinal portion.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   These spiculae are said to be possessed
of powerful vermifuge properties, and  are thought to act mechanically, by
penetrating the worms.  That they do  act in this manner is evinced, as well
by the result of direct experiment  upon worms out of the body, as by the
fact that neither the tincture nor decoction is in the slightest degree anthel-
mintic.  Why the worms should be injured,  and the mucous membrane of
the stomach and bowels escape with impunity, is not satisfactorily explained.
The medicine was first employed as a vermifuge by the  inhabitants of the
West Indies, and thence passed into British practice.  The testimony in its
favour is too strong to admit of any reasonable doubt as to its efficiency. It
has been  chiefly employed against the round worm;  but all the  different
species which infest the alimentary canal have been expelled by its use.   It is
best administered mixed  with some tenacious vehicle.   The usual mode of
preparing it is to dip the pods into syrup or molasses, and  scrape off the
hairs with  the liquid, which is  in a proper  state for  administration  when it
has attained the consistency of thick honey.  The dose of this preparation
is a tablespoonful for an adult, a teaspoonful for a child three or four  years
old, to be given every morning for three days, and then followed by a brisk
cathartic.
  The root of the M. pruriens  (M. prurita)  is said by  Ainslie to  be  em-
ployed in  the East Indies in the treatment of cholera; and both this part and
the pods have been thought to possess diuretic properties.           W.
41 
470          Myristica.—Myristicas Jldeps.—Macis.       part i.
                MYRISTICA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                              Nutmeg.

   " The kernels of the fruit  of Myristica moschata." U. S.  " Myristica
 moschata. Nuclei." Lond. "Kernel of the fruit of Myristica officinalis." Ed.
   Off. Syn.  NUX MOSCHATA.  MYRISTICA  MOSCHATA.  Nu-
 cleus. Dub.
   Noix muscade, Fr.; Muskatnuss, Germ.; Noce moscata, Ital.; Nuez moscada, Span.

                 MYRISTICA  ADEPS.  Ed.
                     Concrete Oil of Nutmeg.

   " Concrete expressed oil from the kernel of the fruit of Myristica offici-
 nalis." Ed.

                          MACIS.  Dub.

                               Mace.

   "Myristica moschata. Involucrum MACIS dictum." Dub.
   Maei-, Fr.; Muskatbliitlic, Germ.; Macis, IlaL; Macias, Span.
   Myristica. Sex. Syst. Dicecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Myristicaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx none. Corolla bell-shaped, trifid.  Filament^co-
lumnar. Anthers six  or ten united.   Female. Calyx none.  Corolla bell-
shaped, trifid,  deciduous.  Style none.  Stigmas  two.  Drupe with a nut
involved in an arillus with one seed.  Willd.
   Myristica moschata.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 869; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
698. t. 238.  M. officinalis. Linn. Suppl. 265; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 21.
The nutmeg tree is about thirty feet high, with numerous branches, and an
aspect  somewhat resembling  that of the orange tree.  The leaves stand
alternately  on  short footstalks, are oblong oval, pointed, entire, undulated,
obliquely nerved, bright green and somewhat glossy on their upper surface,
whitish  beneath, and of an aromatic  taste.   The  flowers are male and fe-
male upon  different trees.  The former are disposed in axillary, peduncled,
solitary clusters;  the  latter  are  single, solitary, and axillary; both are mi-
nute and of a pale yellowish colour.   The fruit, which appears on the tree
mingled with the flowers, is  round  or oval,  of the size of a small peach,
with a smooth surface,  at first pale  green, but  yellow  when  ripe,  and
marked with  a longitudinal furrow.   The external covering-, which is at
first thick  and fleshy, and  abounds in an austere, astringent juice, after-
wards becomes dry and  coriaceous, and, separating into two valves from
the apex, discloses a  scarlet  reticulated  membrane or  arillus, commonly
called mace, closely investing a thin,  brown,  shining shell,  which contains
the kernel  or  nutmeg.   Not less than eight varieties of this species are
said by Crawford to be cultivated in the East  Indies; but they have not been
well defined.
   The Myristica moschata is a native  of the Moluccas and other neigh-
bouring islands, and abounds  especially in that small cluster  distinguished
by the name of Banda, whence the chief supplies of nutmegs have long been
derived.  The plant, however, is now cultivated in Sumatra, Java, Penang,
 and some other parts of the East Indies;  and has  been introduced into the
 Isle of France and Bourbon,  the French colony of Cayenne, and some of
 the West India islands. 
part i.           Myristica.—Myristicas Jideps.                471

   The  tree is produced from the seed.  It does not flower till the eighth or
ninth year, after which it bears flowers and fruit together, without intermis-
sion; and  is  said to  continue  bearing for seventy or eighty years.  Little
trouble  is requisite in its cultivation.  A branch of the female tree is grafted
into all  the young plants when about two  years old, so as to ensure their
early fruitfulness.   In the  Moluccas  the tree yields three crops annually.
The fruit is  gathered by the hand, and the outside covering is rejected as
useless.  The mace is then carefully separated,  so as to break it as little as
possible, is flattened, and dried in the sun, and afterwards sprinkled with
salt water, with  the  view of contributing to its  preservation.   Its fine red
colour is much impaired by drying.  The nuts are dried in the sun or by
ovens, and exposed  to smoke, till  the kernel rattles in the shell.   They are
then broken open, and the  kernels having been removed, and steeped for a
short time in a mixture  of lime and water, probably in  order to  preserve
them from the attack of worms, are next cleaned, and packed  in casks or
chests for exportation.
   Nutmegs are brought to  this country either directly from the East Indies,
or indirectly  through England and Holland.  They are also occasionally
imported in very small quantities from the  West Indies.
   Properties.  The nutmeg, nux moschata, is of a roundish or oval shape,
obtuse  at the extremities,  marked  with vermicular furrows, of a grayish
colour,  hard, smooth to the  touch, yielding readily to the knife or the grater,
but not very  pulverulent.   When cut or broken it presents a yellowish sur-
face, varied with reddish-brown, branching, irregular veins, which give to it
a marbled appearance. These dark veins abound in oily matter, upon which
the medicinal properties depend.   The  odour of nutmeg is delightfully fra-
grant, the taste warm, aromatic, and grateful.  Its virtues are extracted by
alcohol  and ether.   M. Bonastre obtained  from  500 parts, 120  of a white
insoluble oily substance (stearin), 38 of a coloured soluble oil (olein), 30 of
volatile  oil, 4 of acid, 12 of fecula, 6 of gum, 270 of lignin;  and 20  parts
were lost. (Journ. de Pharm. ix. 281.)   The volatile oil is obtained by
distillation with water. (See Oleum Myristicae.)  By pressure with heat an
oily matter is obtained from the kernels, which  becomes solid on cooling,
and is commonly though erroneously called oil of mace.
   It is  said that nutmegs are often  punctured and boiled in order to extract
their essential oil, and the orifice afterwards closed so carefully as not to be
discoverable  unless by breaking the kernel.  The fraud may be detected by
their greater levity.   They are also apt to be  injured by worms,  which,
however, attack preferably  those parts which are  least impregnated with the
volatile  oil.  We are told that the Dutch heat them in a stove  in order to
deprive them of the power of germinating, and thus prevent the propagation
of the tree.  The small and round nutmegs are preferred to those which are
large and oval.   They should be rejected when very light, with  a feeble
taste and smell, worm-eaten, musty, or marked with black veins.
   A kind of nutmeg is occasionally met  with, ascribed by some to a variety
of the M. moschata, by others to a different species, which is distinguished
from that just described by its much greater length, its  elliptical  shape, the
absence of the dark brown veins, and its comparatively feeble odour, and
disagreeable taste.   It has been called male or wild nutmeg, the other being
designated as the female or cultivated nutmeg.
  The  concrete  or expressed  oil of nutmeg (Myristica Adeps, Ed.),
commonly  called  oil of mace, is  obtained  by bruising nutmegs, exposing
them in  a bag to the  vapour of water, and then compressing them strongly
between heated plates.  A liquid oil flows out which becomes solid when it 
 472               *       Myristica.—Macis. ■                part i.

 cools.  Nutmegs are said to yield from ten  to twelve per cent, of this oil.
 The  best is imported from the East Indies  in stone jars.   It is solid, soft,
 unctuous to the touch, of a yellowish or orange-yellow colour, more or less
 mottled, with the odour and taste of nutmeg.  It is composed, according to
 Schrader, of 52*09 per cent, of a soft oily substance, yellowish or brownish,
 soluble in cold alcohol and ether; 43-75 of a white, pulverulent, inodorous
 substance, insoluble in these liquids; and 4-16 of volatile oil.
   An inferior kind of expressed oil of nutmegs is prepared in Holland, and
 sometimes found in the shops.  It is in hard, shining,  square cakes, of a
 lighter colour than that from the East Indies, and with less  smell and taste.
 It is supposed to be derived from nutmegs previously deprived of most of
 their  volatile oil by distillation.   An artificial preparation is sometimes sub-
 stituted for the genuine oil.   It is made by  mixing together various  fatty
 matters, such as suet, palm oil, spermaceti, wax, &c, adding some colour-
 ing substance, and giving flavour to  the mixture  by  the  volatile oil of
 nutmeg.
   Mace (Macis, Dub.)  is in the shape of a  flat membrane  irregularly slit,
 smooth, soft, flexible, of a reddish or orange-yellow colour, and  an odour
 and taste closely resembling those of nutmeg.  It consists, according to M.
 Henry, of an essential oil in small quantity;  a fixed oil, odorous, yellow,
 soluble  in  ether, insoluble in  boiling  alcohol; another fixed oil,  odorous,
 red, soluble in  alcohol and ether in  every proportion;  a peculiar gummy
 matter, analogous to amydin and gum,  constituting one-third of the whole
 mass; and a small proportion of ligneous fibre.   Mace yields a volatile oil
 by distillation, and a fixed oil by pressure.  Neumann found the former
 heavier than water.  The latter is less consistent than the fixed  oil of nut-
 megs. Mace is inferior when it is brittle, less than usually divided, whitish
 or pale yellow, or with little taste and smell.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Nutmeg unites with  the medicinal  pro-
 perties of the ordinary aromatics, considerable narcotic power. In the quan-
 tity  of  two or three drachms  it has been known to produce stupor and
 delirium;  and dangerous if not fatal consequences are said to have followed
 its free use in India.  It is employed to cover the taste or correct the opera-
 tion  of other medicines, but more frequently as an  agreeable addition to
 farinaceous articles of diet, and to various kinds of drink in cases of languid
 appetite, and  delicate stomach.  It is  usually given in substance, and is
 brought by grating to the state of a powder.  Mace possesses properties
 essentially the same with those of nutmeg, but is less used as a  medicine.
 The dose of either is from five to twenty grains.  As the virtues of nutmeg
 depend chiefly if not exclusively on the volatile  oil, the  latter may be  sub-
 stituted, in the dose of two or three drops, whenever a liquid preparation is
 desirable.  The  expressed oil  of nutmeg is  occasionally used as a gentle
 external stimulant, and,  though not admitted into  the Materia Medica list of
 the London Pharmacopoeia, is an ingredient  in  the  Emplastrum Picis of
 that work.
  The ancients  were wholly unacquainted with  nutmeg; and Avicenna is
 said to be the first author by whom it is noticed.
   Off. Prep.  Of Myristica. Acetum  Opii,  U. S.;  Confectio Aromatica,
 Lond., Dub.; Electuarium Catechu, Ed.; Pulvis Aromaticus, U.S.; Pulvis
 Cretae Compositus, Ed.; Spiritus  Ammoniae Aromaticus,  Dub.; Spiritus
Armoraciae Comp., Lond., Dub.; Spiritus Lavandulae Comp., U. S., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.;  Spiritus Myristicae, U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Syrupus Rhei
Aromaticus,  U. S.; Trochisci  Cretae,  U. S., Ed.;  Trochisci Magnesiae,
 U.S., Ed.                                                       W. 
PART I.
Myroxylon.
473
                     MYROXYLON.  U.S.

                         Balsam of Peru.

   " The juice of Myroxylon Peruiferum."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.   BALSAMUM  PERUVIANUM.  Myroxylon Peruiferum.
Balsamum Liquidum. Lond.;  BALSAMUM PERUVIANUM.  Fluid
balsamic exudation  of Myrospermum Peruiferum. Ed.;  MYROXYLUM
PERUVIANUM.  Balsamum. Dub.
   B.iume de Perou, Fr.; Peruvianischer Balsam, Germ.; Balsamo  del Peru, Ital.; Bal-
samo negro, Span.
   Myroxylon. Sex. Syst. Decandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Legumi-
nosae, De Cand.  Amyridaceae, Lindley.
   Gen.  Ch.  Calyx bell-shaped,  five-toothed.  Petals five, the  upper one
larger than the others.  Germen longer than the  corolla.   Legume with .
one seed only at the point. Willd.
   Myroxylon peruiferum. Willd. Sp. Plant,  ii. 546; Lambert's  Illustra-
tions, A.D.  1821. p. 97.  Myrospermum peruiferum. De Cand. Prodrom.
ii. 95; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 279.  This is a tall and very beautiful tree, with
a straight, smooth trunk, and branches nearly horizontal.  The bark is of a
gray colour, compact, heavy,  and highly resinous;  and has the aromatic fla-
vour of the balsam.   The leaves are alternate, and  composed of two, three,
four, and sometimes five pairs of leaflets, which are nearly opposite, ovate
lanceolate, with a lengthened but somewhat blunt and emarginate apex, en-
tire,  smooth and shining, hairy on the under surface, marked with numerous
transparent points, and placed on short footstalks.  Many leaves terminate
unequally, consisting of five, seven, or nine leaflets.  The common petioles
are rather thick and hairy.   The flowers are  white  or rose-coloured, and
disposed in axillary racemes, longer than the leaves.  The fruit is  a pendu-
lous, straw-coloured legume, club-shaped, somewhat curved, terminating in
the curved style, and globular near the extremity, where there is a single
cell,  containing a crescent-shaped seed.
   The tree is a native of the warmer regions of South America, growing in
various  parts of Peru and New Granada, where it is called quinquino by the
natives.  The wood is employed in building, and  is  valuable for its dura-
bility. The bark and fruit are used to perfume apartments.  The tree yields
by incision a balsamic juice,  which, when received in bottles, may be pre-
served in a liquid state for some  years. This is called white liquid balsam.
When this juice is deposited in mats or calabashes,  it becomes concrete, and
acquires the  name of dry white balsam, thought by some to be  identical
with balsam of Tolu. By boiling the bark in water, a dark coloured liquid
is  procured,  which retains its fluid consistence, and  is  called black Peruvian
balsam.  According to Ruiz, from whose account the above details were
derived, " there is no difference in these three balsams, excepting in the name,
colour and consistence."  It is only the  dark coloured liquid that is known
with us  by the name of balsam  of Peru, and to this the following remarks
are confined.
   In stating that it is procured by boiling the bark  in water, Ruiz does not
speak from  his own  knowledge.  A general opinion is, that it is  prepared
by decoction from the smaller branches.   As brought into  the United States,
it is usually in tin canisters, with a whitish scum upon its surface, and more
or less deposit, which, however, is dissolved with the aid of heat.
   In  a  communication by M.  Guibourt to the Society  of Pharmacy at
                                 41* 
474
Myroxylon.—Myrrha.
PART I.
Paris, it is stated, on the authority of M. Bazire, that a product, exactly re-
sembling the dark coloured Peruvian balsam of commerce, is collected largely
in Guatemala, and thence sent to Peru.  It is obtained from a tree belonging
to the genus Myrospermum of Jacquin—Myroxylon of Linnaeus—but spe-
cifically different from the M. Peruiferum.
   Properties.  Balsam of Peru is viscid like  syrup  or  honey, of a dark
reddish-brown colour, a fragrant odour,  and  a warm bitterish taste, leaving
when swallowed a burning or prickling  sensation in the throat.   Its sp. gr.
is from 1*14  to 1*15.   When  exposed  to flame it takes fire, diffusing a
white smoke, and a  fragrant odour.  Consisting chiefly of resin, essential
oil, and benzoic acid, it is  properly considered a balsam, though probably
altered by heat.  Alcohol in large proportion entirely dissolves it.  Boiling
water extracts the benzoic acid.   From 1000 parts of the balsam, Stoltze
obtained 24 parts of a brown nearly insoluble resinous matter, 207 of resin
readily soluble, 690  of oil, 64 of benzoic acid, 6 of extractive matter, and a
small proportion of  water.  The oil he  considers to be of a peculiar nature,
differing from the volatile, the fixed, and the empyreumatic oils.   Results of
a different character  were obtained by Fremy, who maintains that the  acid
contained in the balsam is cinnamic and not benzoic acid;  but the experi-
ments and inferences of this chemist require confirmation.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  This balsam is a warm, stimulating tonic
and expectorant; and has been  recommended in chronic catarrhs, certain
forms of asthma, phthisis, and  other  pectoral complaints attended with
debility.  It has also been used in gonorrhoea, leucorrhoea, amenorrhoea,
chronic rheumatism, and palsy.   At present, however, it is little employed
by American physicians.  As an external application it has been found
beneficial in chronic indolent ulcers.   The dose is half a  fluidrachm.   It is
best  administered diffused in water by means of sugar and the yolk of eggs
or gum Arabic.
   Off. Prep.  Tinctura Benzoini Composita. Ed.                  W.


              MYRRHA.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                              Myrrh.

   "The concrete juice of Balsamodendron Myrrha." U.S.  " Balsamo-
dendron Myrrha.  Gummi-resina." Lond.  "Gummy-resinous  exudation
of Balsamodendron Myrrha." Ed.
   Myrrhe, Fr.,Germ.; Mirra, Ital., Span.; Murr, Arab.; Bowl, Hindoost.
   Though myrrh has been employed from the earliest periods of history,
the plant which yields it has not been certainly known  till  a very recent
date.  The Amyris Kataf of Forskhal, seen  by that traveller  in Arabia,
was  supposed by him to be the myrrh tree, but without sufficient evidence.
More recently Ehrenberg, a German traveller, met on the  frontiers of Arabia
Felix with  a plant,  from the bark of which he collected a gum-resin  pre-
cisely similar to the myrrh  of commerce.   From specimens of the plant
taken by Ehrenberg to Germany, Nees  of Esenbeck referred it to the genus
Balsamodendron of Kunth, and  named it Balsamodendron Myrrha.  This
genus was  formed by Kunth from the  Amyris,  and includes the Amyris
Kataf of Forskhal, which may possibly also produce a variety of myrrh.
The new genus differs  from the Amyris,  chiefly in having the  stamens
beneath instead of upon the germ.  It is not thought by De Candolle suffi-
ciently distinct.   For the generic  character of Amyris, see Elemi.
   Balsamodendron Myrrha.  Fee, Cours d'  Hist. Nat. Pharm. i. 641. 
PART I.
Myrrha.
475
This is a small tree, with a stunted trunk, covered with a whitish-gray bark,
and furnished with rough  abortive branches terminating  in  spines.  The
leaves  are ternate, consisting of obovate, blunt, smooth, obtusely denticulate
leaflets, of which the two lateral are much smaller than that at the end. The
fruit is oval lanceolate, pointed, longitudinally furrowed, of a brown colour,
and surrounded at its base by the persistent calyx. The tree grows in Arabia
Felix,  in  the  neighbourhood of Gison, in dwarfish thickets, interspersed
among the Acaciae and Euphorbiae.  The juice exudes spontaneously, and
concretes  upon the bark.
   Formerly the best myrrh was brought from the shores of the Red Sea by
way of Egypt and the Levant, and hence  received the name of Turkey
myrrh; while the inferior qualities were imported from  the  East Indies,
and commonly called India myrrh.  These  titles have ceased to be applica-
ble; as myrrh of all qualities is now brought from the East Indies, whither
it is carried from Arabia and probably from Abyssinia.  It is usually imported
in chests containing between one and two hundred weight.   Sometimes the
different qualities are  brought  separate; but sometimes also more or  less
mingled, so that it is necessary to assort them by the hand.   Only the best
kind should be selected for medical use.
   Properties.   Myrrh is in small irregular  fragments or tears, or in larger
masses composed apparently of agglutinated portions differing somewhat in
their shade of colour.   The pieces are exceedingly irregular  in shape and
size, being sometimes  not larger than a pea, and sometimes, though rarely,
almost as large as the fist.  They are often powdery upon the surface.
When of good quality, myrrh is reddish-yellow or reddish-brown and trans-
lucent, of a strong peculiar somewhat  fragrant odour, and  a bitter aromatic
taste.  It is brittle and pulverizable,  presenting, when broken, a shining
surface, which in the  larger masses is very irregular, and sometimes ex-
hibits opaque  whitish or yellowish veins. In  powder it is of a light yellowish
colour.  Under the teeth it is at first friable, but soon softens  and becomes
adhesive. It is inflammable, but does not burn vigorously;  and is not fusible
by heat.  Its specific gravity is  stated at ] *36. The inferior kind of myrrh,
commonly called India myrrh, is in pieces much darker than those described,
more opaque, less odorous, and often abounding with impurities.  We have
seen pieces of India myrrh enclosing  large  crystals of common salt, as if
 the juice  might have fallen from  the tree and concreted upon the ground,
 where this  mineral abounds.  Pieces  of bdellium and other gummy or
 resinous substances of unknown origin are often mixed with it.   It is  best
 to purchase myrrh in  mass; as in powder it is very liable to  adulterations
 which are not easily detected.
   Myrrh is partially soluble in water, alcohol, and ether.   Triturated with
 water it forms an opaque yellowish or whitish emulsion, which deposits the
larger portion of the myrrh upon standing.    Its alcoholic tincture is  ren-
dered  opaque by the  addition  of water, but throws down no precipitate.
According to  Neumann, alcohol and water severally extract the whole of its
odour and taste.  By distillation a volatile  oil  rises,  having the peculiar
flavour of myrrh, and leaving the residue in the retort simply bitter.   The
gum-resin is soluble in  solutions of the alkalies, and when triturated with them
in a crystalline state forms a tenacious liquid.  Hence carbonate of potassa
may be used to facilitate its suspension in water.   Braconnot found 2-5 parts
of volatile oil and 23 parts of a bitter resin, 46 of soluble,  and 12 of insolu-
ble gum in the hundred. (Ann. de Chim. lxvii. 52.)   Pelletier gives as the
result  of his analysis, 34 per cent, of resin, with a small proportion of vola-
tile oil, and 66 per cent, of gum.  According to Brandes, it contains in one 
 476                   Myrrha.—Nux Vomica.               part i.

 hundred  parts, 2-60 of volatile oil, 22-24 of a soft bitter resin, soluble in
 ether, 5-56 of a tasteless resin, insoluble in ether, 54-38 of gum with traces
 of various salts, 9-30 of tragacanthin (bassorin), besides salts of potassa and
 lime, water, and impurities.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Myrrh is a stimulant tonic, with some
 tendency to the  lungs, and perhaps to the uterus. Hence it is employed as
 an expectorant and emmenagogue, in debilitated states of the system, in the
 absence of febrile excitement or acute inflammation.   The complaints in
 which  it  is usually administered  are chronic catarrh, phthisis pulmonalis,
 humoral asthma, other pectoral affections in which the secretion of mucus is
 abundant but not easily expectorated, chlorosis, amenorrhoea, and the various
 affections connected with this state of the uterine function.   It is generally
 given combined with the chalybeates or other  tonics,  and in amenorrhoea
 very frequently with aloes.  It is used also as a local application to spongy
 gums, the aphthous sore mouth of children, and various kinds of unhealthy
 ulcers.   The dose is from ten to thirty grains, and may be given in the form
 of powder or pill,  or suspended in water, as in the  famous antihectic mix-
 ture of Dr. Griffith, which has been introduced into  the Pharmacopoeias
 with the  title of Mistura Ferri Composita.  The watery infusion is also
 sometimes given, and an aqueous  extract has been recommended as milder
 than the medicine  in substance.  The tincture is used chiefly as  an external
 application.
   Off. Prep.  Decoctum Aloe's Compositum, Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Mistura
 Ferri Comp., U.S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Pilulae  Aloe's et Myrrhae, U.S.,
 Lond., Ed., Dub.; Pil. Assafcetidae, Ed.; Pil. Ferri Comp., U. S., Lond.,
 Dub.; Pil. Galbani Comp., U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.; Pil.  Rhei  Comp.,
 U. S., Lond., Ed.; Tinctura Myrrhae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.    W.
                                                                    •
           NUX VOMICA.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                           Nux  Vomica.

   "The  seeds of  Strychnos Nux vomica."  U. S., Ed.  " Strychnos  nux
 vomica. Semina." Lond.
  Noix vomique, Fr.; Krahenaugen, Brechnilsse, Germ.; Noce vomica, Ital.; Nuez vo-
 mica, Spun.
  Strychnos. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Apocynacea?.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla five-cleft.  Berry one-celled, with a ligneous rind.
 Willd.
   Strychnos Nux vomica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1052;  Woodv.  Med. Bot.
 p. 222. t. 79.   This  tree is of  a moderate size, with numerous  strong
 branches covered with a smooth, dark gray bark.  The  young branches are
 long, flexuous, very smooth, dark green,  and  furnished  with oval roundish,
 entire, smooth, and shining leaves, having three or  five ribs, and  placed
 opposite to each other on short footstalks.  The flowers are small, white,
 funnel-shaped, and disposed in terminal corymbs.   The fruit is  a round
 berry, about as large as an orange, covered with a smooth, yellow or orange-
 coloured,  hard, fragile rind, and containing  numerous seeds embedded in a
juicy pulp.
  The tree is a native of the East Indies, growing in Bengal, Malabar, on
 the coast  of Coromandel,  in Ceylon,  in numerous  islands of  the Indian
 Archipelago, in Cochin-china,  and  other  neighbouring countries.  The
 wood and the root  are very bitter, and employed in the  East  Indies for the
 cure'of intermittents.   The radices colubrinae, and lignum  colubrinum, 
PART I.
Nux Vomica.
477
 of the  older writers, which have  been long known  in Europe as narcotic
 poisons, are ascribed by some writers to this  species of Strychnos, under
 the impression that it is identical with the S. Colubrina, to which Linnaeus
 refers them.  They have been ascertained by Pelletier and Caventou  to con-
 tain a large quantity of strychnia.  The bark is said by Dr. O'Sliaughnessy,
 Professor of Chemistry in the Medical College of Calcutta, to answer ex-
 actly to the description given by authors of the false angustura, and, like
 that,  to contain  a large quantity of brucia.  The identity of the two barks
 has been confirmed by Dr. Pereira, who has had  an opportunity of com-
 paring specimens of  them together.  (See Angustura.)   The only officinal
 portion of the plant is the seeds.
   These are circular, about three quarters of an inch in diameter, and two
 or three lines in thickness, flat, or slightly convex on one side  and concave
 on the other.   They are thickly  covered with fine, silky, shining, ash-co-
 loured  or yellowish-gray hairs, attached to a thin fragile coating,  which
 closely invests the interior nucleus or kernel.   This is very hard, horny,
 usually whitish  and semitransparent, sometimes dark coloured and opaque,
 and of very difficult pulverization.  The powder is yellowish-gray, and has
 a faint sweetish odour.   The seeds are destitute of odour, but have an acrid
 very  bitter taste, which is much stronger in  the kernel than in the investing
 membrane.   They impart their virtues to water, but more readily to diluted
 alcohol.  Nux vomica has been  analysed  by several chemists, but most
 accurately by Pelletier  and Caventou, who discovered in it two alkaline
 principles, strychnia and brucia,  united with  a  peculiar acid  which they
 named igasuric.  Its other constituents are a yellow colouring  matter, a
 concrete oil, gum, starch, bassorin, and a small quantity of wax.  Strychnia
 and brucia are its active principles.
   Strychnia was discovered by Pelletier and Caventou, A. D. 1818, both
 in the nux vomica and bean of St. Ignatius,  and received its name from the
 generic title of the plants (Strychnos), to which these two products belong.
 According to these chemists, it exists much  more abundantly in the bean of
 St. Ignatius than in the nux vomica, the  former yielding 1-2 per cent., the
 latter only 0*4 per cent, of the alkali.  For an  account of its properties and
 mode of preparation, see Strychnia, in the second part of this work.
   Brucia was discovered by Pelletier and Caventou, first in the bark called
 false angustura, in combination with  gallic acid, and subsequently, asso-
 ciated with strychnia  in the form of igasurates, in the nux vomica and bean
 of St. Ignatius.   It is crystallizable; and its  crystals are said to contain
 18*41 per cent, of water.   It is without smell, but  of a permanent, harsh,
 very bitter taste; soluble in 850 parts of cold, and 500 of boiling water; very
 soluble  in alcohol, whether hot or  cold; but insoluble in ether and the fixed
 oils, and only slightly dissolved by the volatile oils.   It is  permanent in the
 air, but melts at  a temperature a little above that  of boiling water, and  on
 cooling congeals into  a mass resembling wax.   It forms crystallizable salts
 with the acids.   Concentrated nitric acid produces with brucia or its salts an
 intense  crimson colour, which changes to yellow  by heat, and  upon the
 addition of protochloride of tin becomes violet.  These effects  are peculiar
 to brucia, and, if produced with strychnia, evince the presence of the former
alkali.  Brucia is analogous in its  operation to strychnia, but possesses,
 according to M. Andral, only about  one-twelfth of its strength, when the
latter  principle is entirely  pure.  It is therefore seldom employed; and it  is
unnecessary to insert a process for its  preparation.   It is  sufficient to ob-
serve, that it  may be procured from  false  Angustura bark,  in a manner 
478
Nux Vomica.
PART I.
essentially the same with that in which strychnia is procured  from the nux
vomica; with this difference, that the alcoholic extract, obtained  from  the
precipitate produced by lime or magnesia, should  be treated with oxalic
acid, and subsequently with a mixture of rectified alcohol and ether, which
take up the colouring matter, leaving the oxalate or brucia.  This is decom-
posed by magnesia, and the brucia is separated by alcohol, which, by spon-
taneous evaporation, yields it in the state of  crystals.  According to  Dr.
Fuss, whose experiments were  repeated  and  confirmed by Professor Erd-
man, brucia is not a distinct alkali, but merely a compound of strychnia  and
resin. (Pereira's Materia Medica.)
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Nux vomica is very peculiar in its opera-
tion upon the system.  In very small doses, frequently repeated, it is tonic,
and is said to be diuretic, and occasionally diaphoretic and laxative.  When
it is given  in larger doses, so  as to bring the system decidedly under its
influence, its action appears to be directed chiefly to the nerves of motion,
probably  through  the medium  of  the  spinal marrow.  Its  operation is
evinced at first  by a feeling of weight  and weakness, with tremblings in
the  limbs, and some rigidity on attempting motion.   There seems to be a
tendency to permanent involuntary muscular contraction, as in tetanus;  but
at  the  same time  frequent starts or spasms  occur, as if the patient  had
received a shock of electricity.   These  spasms  are  at first brought on by
some exciting cause, as by a slight blow  or an attempt to move; but, if the
medicine is persevered in, occur without extraneous agency, and are some-
times frequent and violent.  In severe  cases there is occasionally general
rigidity of the muscles.   A sense  of heat in the stomach, constriction of
the  throat and abdomen,  tightness of the chest, and  retention  of urine  are
frequently experienced, to a greater  or less extent, according to the quantity
of  the medicine administered.   It  sometimes, also, produces pain in  the
head, vertigo, and dimness of vision, thus proving that it  is capable of
acting on tbe brain as well as the spinal marrow.  Sensations  analogous to
those attending  imperfect palsy, such as formication, tingling, &c, are ex-
perienced in some cases  upon the  surface.   The  pulse is not materially
affected,  though sometimes slightly  increased in frequency.  In over doses,
the medicine is  capable  of producing fatal effects.   Given to the inferior
animals in  fatal doses it  produces great anxiety, difficult  and confined
breathing,  retching to vomit,  universal  tremors, spasmodic  action of the
muscles, and  ultimately violent convulsions.  Death is  supposed to take
place from a suspension of respiration, resulting  from a spasmodic constric-
tion of the  muscles concerned  in the process.   Upon dissection, no traces
of inflammatory action are observable,  unless large quantities of the  nux
vomica have been  swallowed, when the  stomach appears inflamed.  A divi-
sion of the  spinal marrow near the occiput, does not prevent the peculiar
effects of the medicine, so that the  intervention of the brain is not essential
to its action.  That it enters the circulation and is brought into contact with
the parts  upon  which it acts,  is rendered evident by the experiments of
Magendie and others.
  Nux vomica has long been employed  in India, and was known as a  me-
dicine  to  the Arabian physicians.   On  the  continent  of Europe, it has at
various times been recommended as an  antidote to the plague, and as a re-
medy in intermittents, dyspepsia,  pyrosis,  gastrodynia, dysentery, colica
pictonum,  worms, mania, hypochondriasis, hysteria, rheumatism,  and  hy-
drophobia.  It is said to  have effectually cured obstinate spasmodic asthma.
Its  peculiar influence  upon the  nerves of motion, to which the public atten-
tion was first called by Magendie, suggested to M. Fouquier, a French phy- 
PART I.
Nux Vomica.
479
sician, the application of the remedy to paralytic affections; and his success
was such as to induce him to communicate to  the public the result of his
experience.   Others have subsequently employed it with variable success;
but the experience in its favour so much predominates, that it  may now be
considered a standard remedy in  palsy.  It is  a singular fact, attested  by
numerous witnesses, that its action is directed  more  especially to the para-
lytic part, exciting contraction in this before it is extended to other muscles.
The medicine, however, should be administered with judgment, and never
given in cases depending on inflammation'or organic lesion of the brain or
spinal marrow, until after the removal of the  primary affection by bleeding
or other depletory measures.   It has been found more successful in general
palsy and paraplegia than in hemiplegia, and has frequently effected cures
in palsy of the bladder, incontinence of urine from paralysis of the sphincter,
amaurosis, and other cases of  partial palsy,  and has been employed with
asserted success  in prolapsus ani and impotence.  It has recently been re-
commended in neuralgia.
   Nux vomica may be given in powder in the dose of five grains, repeated
three or four times a day, and  gradually increased till its effects  are expe-
rienced.   In this form,  however,  it is very uncertain; and fifty grains have
been  given with little or no effect.   It is most teadily reduced to powder by
filing or grating,  and the raspings may be rendered  finer by first steaming
them, then drying them by stove  heat, and lastly rubbing them in a mortar.
The Edinburgh College directs that the seeds should be first well softened
with  steam, then sliced, dried, and ground in a coffee-mill.
   The alcoholic  extract is more convenient and more certain in its operation.
From half a grain to two grains may be given in the form of pill, repeated
as before, and gradually increased.  (See Extractum Nucis Vomicae.)  The
watery extract is comparatively feeble.
   Strychnia has recently been much  used, and  possesses the advantage of
greater certainty  and uniformity of action.  Its effects are precisely similar.
 With the exception of prussic acid,  it is perhaps the  most violent poison
in the catalogue  of medicines, and should therefore be administered with
 great caution.  The dose  is from  one-twelfth to one-sixth of a grain, re-
 peated twice or three  times a clay,  and  gradually increased.   Even  the
 smallest quantity mentioned sometimes produces spasmodic symptoms, and
 these generally occur when  the  dose  is augmented to half a grain, three
 times a day.  The system is not so soon  habituated to  its impression as to
 that  of the  narcotics generally, so that after its effects are experienced it is
 unnecessary  to go  on  increasing the dose.   Strychnia has  been  applied
 externally with  advantage in  amaurosis.  It should be sprinkled  upon  a
 blistered  surface near the temples, in  the quantity of half a grain  or a grain
 morning and  evening; and the quantity may be gradually augmented.   The
 best  form of administration is  that of pill,  in consequence of the excessive
 bitterness of the  solution.  Strychnia may, however, be given, dissolved in
 alcohol, or in water by the intervention of an acid.
   Brucia may be used for the same purposes with strychnia in the dose of
 one grain twice or three times a day.  Dr. Bardsley found that the quantity
 of two grains three or four times a day, was seldom exceeded without the
 occurrence of the characteristic effects of the medicine.   Magendie has found
 this alkali very useful in small doses as a tonic.  He employed for this pur-
 pose one-eighth of a grain, frequently repeated.
    Off. Prep.   Extractum  Nucis Vomicae, U. S., Ed., Dub.; Strychnia,
 U. S., Lond., Ed.                                                W. 
4S0
Oled.— Olea  Fixa.
PART I.
                               OLEA.

                                 Oils.

   These are liquid  or solid substances, characterized by an unctuous feel,
inflammability,  and the property of leaving a greasy stain  upon  paper.
They are divided into two classes, the fixed and volatile, distinguished, as
their names imply,  by their different habitudes in relation to the vaporizing
influence of caloric.

                     1. OLEA FIXA.  Fixed Oils.

   These are termed  Olea expressa, expressed oils, in the Dublin Phar-
macopoeia, in which alone they are designated as a class.
   The fixed oils, though existing in greater or less proportion in various
parts of plants, are furnished for use exclusively by the fruit; and, as a gene-
ral rule, are most abundant in the dicotyledonous seeds. They are obtained
either by submitting the bruised seeds  to pressure in hempen bags, or by
boiling them in water, and  skimming off the oil as it  rises to the surface.
When pressure is employed, it is customary to prepare the seeds for the
press, by exposing  them to a moderate heat, so as to render the  oil more
liquid, and thus enable it to flow  out more readily.
   The consistence  of the fixed  oils varies  from  that of tallow to perfect
fluidity, but by far the greater part are liquid at ordinary temperatures.
They are somewhat viscid, transparent, and usually of a yellowish colour,
which disappears when they are treated with animal charcoal.   When pure
they have little  taste or smell.   They  are lighter  than  water,  varying in
specific gravity from 0*913 to 0*936. (Berzelius.)   They differ very much
in their point of congelation, olive oil becoming solid a little above 32° F.,
while linseed oil remains fluid at 4° below zero.  They are not volatilizable
without decomposition.   At about 600° they boil, and are converted into
vapour, which, when condensed, is  found to contain a large proportion of
oleic and margaric  acids,  together with benzoic acid, another  volatile acid,
and an empyreumatic oil.  Exposed to a red heat, in close  vessels, they
yield,  among other products  of the destructive distillation of  vegetables,
a large quantity of the  combustible compounds of carbon  and hydrogen.
Heated in the open  air they take  fire, burning with a bright flame,  and pro-
ducing water and carbonic acid.  When kept in air-tight vessels, they remain
unchanged for a great length of time, but exposed to the atmosphere, they
attract oxygen,  and ultimately become concrete.   Some,  in  drying, lose
their unctuous feel,  and are converted into a  transparent, yellowish, flexible
solid.  These are called drying oils.   Others, especially such as contain
mucilaginous impurities, become rancid, acquiring a sharp taste, and unplea-
sant smell.  This change is owing to the formation of  an acid, from which
the oil may be freed by boiling it for a short time with hydrate of magnesia
and water.   The fixed oils are insoluble in water, but are miscible with that
fluid by means of mucilage, forming mixtures which are called  emulsions.
They are in general very  sparingly soluble in alcohol, but readily dissolved
by ether,  which serves to separate  them from  other vegetable proximate
principles.   By the aid of heat they  dissolve sulphur and  phosphorus.
Chlorine and iodine  are converted by  them into  muriatic and hydriodic
acids, which reacting upon the oils increase their consistence, and ultimately
render them as hard as wax.  The stronger acids  decompose  them, giving 
PART I.
Olea Fixa.
481
rise, among other products, to  the oleic and margaric acids.  Boiled with
diluted nitric  acid, they are converted into malic and oxalic  acids, besides
other substances usually resulting from the action of this acid upon vegeta-
ble matter.   Several acids are dissolved  by them  without producing any
sensible change.   They combine  with salifiable bases; but at the moment of
combination undergo a change, by which they are converted into a peculiar
substance called glycerin, and into the oleic and margaric acids, which unite
with the base employed.  The compounds of these acids with potassa and
soda are called soaps. (See Sapo and Emplastrum Plumbi.)  The fixed oils
dissolve many of the vegetable alkalies,  the volatile oils, resin, and  other
proximate principles of plants.  They consist of two distinct substances, one
of  which  is liquid at ordinary temperatures,  and  therefore  called olein,  the
other solid, and called margarin.  The more solid ingredient of the vegetable
oils was originally called stearin, the name applied to the analogous ingre-
dient of the animal oils, with which  it was supposed by Chevreul, the dis-
coverer of this complex constitution of oleaginous substances, to be identical.
It has, however, been  found to be essentially different,  yielding margaric
acid in the process of saponification,  while stearin yields stearic acid; and a
new name has  accordingly been conferred upon it.    For the mode of sepa-
rating the liquid  from the solid principles of oils, as well as  for an account
of  their distinctive properties, the reader  is referred to  the  article  Adeps.
Margarin is  distinguished from stearin  by its greater fusibility, and by its
solubility in  cold ether; and the two  principles may be separated by the
action of  boiling ether,  which dissolves both, but deposits  the stearin upon
cooling, while  it retains the margarin and yields it  by evaporation.  These
principles, however, are thought by Berzelius not to be  absolutely identical
in  the different oils; as they have different points of congelation and lique-
faction, according to the substance from which they are derived.*   By the
action of  nitric acid or nitrous acid  fumes, olein is converted into  a  deep-
yellow butyraceous mass.  If this be treated with warm alcohol,  a deep
orange-red oil  is dissolved, and a  peculiar fatty  matter remains,, called
elaidin.   It  is  white, fusible at 97°, insoluble  in water,  sparingly  soluble
in  alcohol, readily soluble  in  ether, and converted, by saponification with
the alkalies,  into a peculiar acid, denominated elaidic acid, and into glycerin.
 (Kane's Chemistry.) The view  now taken of the nature of olein, margarin,
stearin, elaidin, and other similar fatty matters, is that they are  compounds
 of the oleic,  margaric, stearic,  elaidic acids, &c, with glycerin;, and in  the
 process of saponification, the alkali takes the oily acid and sets glycerin free.

   * Some  interesting results  in relation to the fixed oils have been obtained by MM.
Pelouze and Boudet, and published in the Journal de Pharmacie, torn. xxiv. p. 385.  Ac-
cording to  these chemists, the variable fusibility of the margarin and stearin of fixed oils,
which  has induced sonic chemisls to believe that they are  severally not entirely  identical
as obtained from different oils, is owing to the existence of definite corjnhinations of mar-
garin and stearin respectively with olein; and each of these principles, in a state o( purity,
is probably the same from  whatever source derived, whether  from vegetable or from ani-
mal oils.  Thus they found the same margarin in palm oil and in  human fat. But there
appear to be two distinct kinds of olein, one existing in the drying oils, as li:seed oil, the
oil  of poppies,  &c., the other in the  oils which are nut drying, as in olive oil, almond oil,
human fat, and lard. These two forms of olein are different in their solubility in different
menstrua, and  in the circumstances that one is drying and  the other not so, that one re-
mains  liquid under the action of nitrous acid, while the  other is  converted by it into a
solid substance called elaidin, and finally that the foni.cr contains much  less hydrogen
than the latter.  Besides, the oleic acid formed in the process of  saponification by these
two kinds of olein is decidedly different, inasmuch as, in the one case, it is converted by
nitrous acid into elaidic acid, and in the other is not thus  changed.—Note to Fourth Edi-
tion.
     42 
482
Olea Fixa. — Olea Volatilia.
PART I.
The ultimate constituents of the fixed oils are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen,
the hydrogen being in much larger proportion than is necessary to  form
water with the oxygen.  Those which are least fusible contain most carbon
and least oxygen;  and, according to Saussure, their solubility in alcohol is
greater  in  proportion  to their  amount of oxygen. (Berzelius.)   Some of
them contain a very minute proportion of nitrogen.

                 2. OLEA VOLATILIA. Volatile oils.

   These are sometimes called distilled oils, from the mode in which  they
are usually procured; sometimes essential oils, from the circumstance that
they possess, in a concentrated state, the properties of the plants from which
they are derived.  In the Pharmacopoeias  of the United States and London,
the former title has been adopted; in that of Dublin, the latter;  the Edin-
burgh College uses the term volatile oils.
   They exist in all odoriferous vegetables, sometimes pervading the whole
plant, sometimes confined  to a single part;  in some instances contained in
distinct cellules, and preserved after desiccation, in others formed upon the
surface, as in many flowers, and exhaled as soon as they are formed.  Oc-
casionally two or more are found in different parts of the same plant. Thus
the orange tree produces one volatile oil in its leaves, another in its flowers,
and a third in the rind  of its fruit.  In a few instances, when existing in dis-
tinct cellules, they may be obtained by pressure, as from  the rind of the
lemon and orange; but  they are generally procured  by distillation with water.
(See Olea Destillata.)  Sometimes the volatile  oils obtained by distillation
are formed,  during the process,  out  of  substances of a different  nature
pre-existing in the plant.  This is the case with the oils of bitter almonds
and mustard.
   The volatile oils are usually yellowish, but sometimes brown, red, green,
or even blue, and  occasionally colourless.   They have a strong  odour, re-
sembling that of the plants from which they were procured, though generally
less agreeable.  Their taste is  hot and pungent, and when they are  diluted
is often gratefully aromatic.   The greater number are lighter than water;
some are heavier;  and  their sp.gr. varies  from 0*847 to 1*17.*  They par-
tially rise in vapour at ordinary temperatures, diffusing their peculiar odour,
and  aie completely volatilized by heat.   Their  boiling  point is various,
generally as high  as 320° F. and sometimes higher; but most of them rise
readily  with the vapour of boiling water.  When distilled alone, they almost
always  undergo partial decomposition.   They differ also in  their point of
congelation.   A few are solid  at ordinary temperatures, several become so
at 32° F., and many remain liquid considerably below this  point.  Heated
in the open air, the  volatile oils take fire, and burn with a  bright flame at-
tended with much smoke.   Exposed at ordinary temperatures, they absorh
oxygen, assume a deeper colour, become  thicker and less odorous, and are
ultimately converted into resin. This change takes place most rapidly un-
der the  influence of light.  Before the alteration is complete, the remaining
portion  of oil may be recovered by distillation.  Some of them, instead of
resin, form well characterized acids by combination with oxygen.
   The volatile oils are very slightly soluble in water.   Agitated with this
fluid they render it  milky; but separate  upon  standing, leaving the water
impregnated with  their odour and taste.   This  impregnation is more com-
plete when water  is distilled with  the oils, or  from the plants containing

  * The oil of the Gaultheria procumbens, a native plant, is said to have the extraordi-
nary sp. gr. of 1-17. {Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. iii. 199.) 
PART I.
Olea  Volatilia.
483
them.  Trituration with magnesia or its carbonate renders them much more
soluble, probably in consequence of presenting, by their minute division, a
more extensive  surface to the  action of the solvent.   The intervention of
sugar also greatly increases their solubility, and affords a convenient method
of preparing them for internal use.  Most of them  are very soluble in alco-
hol,  and in  a degree  proportionate to its freedom  from water.  The oils
which contain no oxygen are  scarcely soluble in diluted alcohol, and, ac-
cording to Saussure, their solubility generally in this liquid is proportionate
to the  quantity of oxgen which they contain.   They are readily dissolved
by ether.
   The volatile oils dissolve sulphur and phosphorus with the aid of heat,
and  deposit them on cooling.  By long boiling with  sulphur they form
brown, unctuous, fetid substances, formerly called  balsams  of  sulphur.
They  absorb chlorine, which  converts them into resin, and then combines
with the resin.  Iodine produces a similar effect.  They are decomposed by
the strong mineral acids, and unite with  several of those from the vegetable
kingdom.   When treated with a  caustic  alkali, they are converted into
resin,  which unites with the alkali to form a kind of  soap.  Several of the
metallic oxides, and  various salts which easily part  with  oxygen, convert
them into resin.   The volatile oils dissolve many of the proximate  princi-
ples of plants and animals, such as the fixed oils and fats, resin, camphor,
and  several of the vegetable alkalies.
   The volatile,  like the fixed oils, consist  of distinct principles, which are
congealed at different temperatures, and may be separated by  compressing
the frozen oil between the folds of bibulous paper. The solid matter remains
within the folds; and the fluid is absorbed  by the paper, from which it may
be separated by distillation with water.  The name of stearoptene has been
proposed for the former, that of eleoptene for the latter.   The solid crys-
talline substances deposited by certain volatile oils upon standing, usually
considered  as camphor, are examples of  stearoptene.   Some of  these are
isomeric with the oils in which they are formed, others are oxides.  Some
oils, under  the  influence of water, deposit crystalline bodies which appear
to be hydrates of the respective oils.
   The ultimate  constituents of the volatile oils are usually carbon, hydrogen,
 and oxygen.  Some, as the oils of turpentine  and copaiba, in their purest
 state,  contain only carbon and hydrogen.  Several, according  to De Saus-
 sure,  have  nitrogen in their composition;  and the oils of  horse-radish and
mustard contain sulphur.
   The volatile oils are often sophisticated. Among the most common adul-
terations are fixed oils, resinous substances, and alcohol.  The presence of the
fixed oils may be known by the permanent greasy stain which they leave on
paper, while that occasioned by a pure volatile oil disappears entirely when
exposed to  heat. They may also in general be detected by their comparative
 insolubility in alcohol.  Both the fixed oils and resins are left behind when the
 adulterated  oil is distilled with water.  If alcohol is present, the oil becomes
milky when agitated with water, and after the separation of the liquids, the
water occupies more space, and the oil less than before. The following method
of detecting alcohol has been proposed by M. Beral. Put twelve drops of the
suspected oil in a perfectly dry watch-glass, and add a piece of potassium
about  as large as the  head of a pin.  If  the potassium remain for  twelve or
fifteen minutes in the midst of the liquid, there is either no alcohol present,
or less than four per cent.  If it disappear in five  minutes, the oil contains
 more  than  four per cent, of alcohol; if  in less  than  a  minute, twenty-five
per  cent, or more.  M. Borsarelli employs chloride of calcium for the  same 
4S4
Olea  Volatilia.— Oleum Jlmygdalas.
PART I.
purpose.  This he introduces in small pieees, well dried and perfectly free
from  powder, into a small  cylindrical tube, closed at one end, and about
two-thirds  filled with the oil to be examined, and  heats tbe tube to 212°,
occasionally shaking it.   If there be a considerable proportion of alcohol,
the chloride is entirely dissolved, forming a solution which sinks to the bot-
tom of the tube; if only a very small quantity, the pieces lose their form
and collect at the bottom in a white  adhering mass; if none at all, they re-
main unchanged. (Journ. de Pharm. xxvi. 429.)   Sometimes volatile oils
of little value are mixed  with those which are costly.  The taste and smell
afford in  this case the best means  of detecting the fraud.  The specific
gravity of the oils  may also serve as a test of their purity.  When oils, of
which one is lighter and one heavier than water, are mixed, they are sepa-
rated by long agitation with this fluid, and will  take a place corresponding
to their  respective specific  gravities.  But  it sometimes happens that an
unadulterated oil may thus be  separated  into two  portions.  When oil of
turpentine  is used as the adulteration, it may be known by remaining in
part undissolved, when  the mixture is treated  with three or four times its
volume of alcohol  of the sp. gr. 0.84.
  Volatile oils may be preserved without change in small well-stopped bot-
tles, entirely filled  with the  oil, and excluded from the light.        W.

                OLEUM AMYGDALAE.  U.S.

                          Oil of  Almonds.

  " The fixed oil of the kernels of Amygdalus  communis."  U. S.
   Off. Syn. AMYGDALAE OLEUM.  Amygdalus  communis.  Var.  a.
Var. r3.  Oleum ab alterutriusque nuchis expressum.  Lond.; OLEUM
AMYGDALARUM, Dub.
  Huile  d'amandes,  Fr.; Mandclol, Germ.; Olio di mandorle, Ital; Aceyte de almen-
dras. Span.
  See AMYGDALA.
  This oil is obtained equally pure from sweet  and bitter almonds.   In its
preparation, the almonds, after having been deprived of a reddish-brown
powder  adhering to their surface, by rubbing them  together in  a  piece of
coarse linen, are ground in a mill resembling a coffee-mill, or bruised in  a
stone  mortar,  and  then  submitted to pressure  in  canvass sacks  between
plates of iron slightly heated.  The  oil, which is at first turbid, is clarified
by rest and filtration.  The Dublin  College directs the oil to be prepared
by bruising the almonds, and then  expressing  without  heat.   Sometimes
the almonds are steeped in very hot water, deprived of their  cuticle, and
dried in a stove previously  to expression.  The oil  is thus obtained free
from colour, but in no other respect  better.  Bitter almonds, when treated
in this way, are said to impart a smell of hydrocyanic acid to the oil.  With
regard to these, therefore, the process is objectionable. M. Boullay obtained
fifty-four per cent,  of oil from sweet almonds, Vogel twenty-eight percent.
from bitter almonds.
  The oil of almonds is clear and colourless, or slightly tinged of, a green-
ish-yellow, is nearly inodorous, and has  a bland sweetish taste.   It remains
liquid at  temperatures considerably below the freezing point of water. Its
sp. gr. is from 0-917 to 0-92.  From the statement of Braconnot it appears
to contain 76 per cent, of olein  and 24 of margarin.
  It may be used for the same purposes with olive oil; and, when suspended
in water  by means of mucilage  or the yolk of  eggs and loaf sugar, forms a 
part i.        Oleum Bergamii.— Oleum Bubulum.           485

very pleasant emulsion, useful in catarrhal and other pulmonary affections
attended with cough.  From a fluidrachm to a fluidounce may be given at a
dose.
   Off. Prep. Unguentum Aquas Rosae, U. S.                      W.

                 OLEUM  BERGAMII. U.S.

                         Oil of Bergamot.

   " The volatile oil of the rind of the fruit of Citrus Limelta  (De Can-
dolle)." U.S.
   Off. Syn. BERGAMII OLEUM.  Citrus Limetta  Bergamium. Oleum
efructus  cortice  destillatum. Lond.; BERGAMOTiE OLEUM. Vola-
tile oil of  the rind of the fruit of  Citrus Limetta. Ed.
   Huile de Be'gamotle. Fr.; Bergamottol, Germ.; Oleo di bergamotta, Ital.
   Citrus. See AURANTII  CORTEX.
   Citrus Limetta. De Cand. Prodrom. i. 539.  The bergamot  tree has
been ranked by botanists generally among the lemons, but is now consider-
ed as a variety of the Citrus Limetta of Risso, and is so placed by  De Can-
dolle.  It has oblong, ovate, dentate, acute or obtuse leaves, somewhat paler
on the under than the upper surface, and with footstalks more or less winged
or margined.  The flowers are white,  and usually small; the fruit pyriform
or roundish, pale yellow, terminated by an obtuse point, with a sourish pulp,
and concave receptacles of oil in  the rind.
   The pulp of the fruit is sourish, somewhat aromatic, and not disagreeable
to the taste.  The rind is shining, and  of a pale yellow colour, and abounds
in a very grateful volatile oil.   This may be obtained either by expression
or distillation.   In the former case, it preserves the agreeable flavour of the
rind, but is somewhat  turbid; in the latter, it is limpid but less sweet.  The
mode of procuring it by expression is exactly that used for the oil of lemons.
(See Oleum Limonis.)  It is brought from the South of France, Italy, and
Portugal.
   The oil of bergamot, often called essence of bergamot, has a sweet, very
agreeable  odour, a bitter aromatic pungent taste, and a pale-greenish yellow
colour.  Its sp. gr. is 0-885, and  its composition the same as that of the oil
of lemons.  Though possessed of the excitant properties of  the volatile oils
in general, it is employed chiefly if not exclusively as  a perfume.
   Off. Prep. Unguentum Sulphuris, Lond.; Unguentum Sulphuris Com-
positum, U. S., Lond.                                          W.


                  OLEUM BUBULUM.  U.S.

                          Neats-foot Oil.

   " The oil prepared from the bones of Bos domesticus."  U. S.
   Huile de pied de boeuf,  Fr.; Ochsenfussefett, Germ.
   Neats-foot oil is obtained by boiling in water for a long time  the feet of
the ox, previously deprived of their hoof.   The fat and oil which rise to
the surface are removed, and introduced into a fresh portion of water heated
nearly to  the boiling  point.  The impurities having  subsided, the oil is
drawn off, and if required to be very pure, is again introduced into water,
which is kept for twenty-four hours sufficiently warm to enable the fat which
is mixed with the oil to separate from it.   The liquid being then allowed to
                                42* 
486
Oleum Bubulum.— Oleum  Cajuputi.       part i.
cool, the fat concretes, and the oil is removed and strained, or filtered through
layers of small fragments of charcoal free from powder.
  This  oil is yellowish, and when properly prepared,  inodorous and of a
bland taste.   It thickens or congeals with great difficulty, and  is therefore
very useful for greasing machinery in order to prevent friction.
  It was introduced into the officinal catalogue of the United States Phar-
macopoeia as an ingredient of the ointment of nitrate of mercury.
  Off. Prep. Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis, U.S.               • W.

           OLEUM  CAJUPUTI.  U.S.  Secondary.

                            Cajeput  Oil.

  " The volatile oil of the leaves of Melaleuca Cajuputi."  U. S.
  Off. Syn.  CAJUPUTI.  Melaleuca minor.  Oleum  efoliis destillatum.
Lond.;  "CAJUPUTI  OLEUM.  Volatile  oil of the leaves of Melaleuca
minor.  Ed.;  MELALEUCA LEUCADENDRON.  Oleum  volatile Ca-
jeput. Dub.
  Huile  de cajeput, Fr.; Kajcputol, Germ.-, Olio di cajeput, Ital.; Kaynputieh, Malay.
  Melaleuca. Sex. Syst. Polyadelphialcosandria.—Nat. Ord. Myrtaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-parted, semi-superior.   Corolla five-petaled.  Sta-
mens about  forty-five, very long, conjoined in five bodies.   Style single.
Capsule three-celled.  Seeds numerous.  Roxburgh.
  It was long supposed that the oil of cajuput was derived from the Melaleuca
leucadendron; but from specimens of the plant affording it, sent from the Mo-
luccas and cultivated in the botanieal garden of Calcutta, it appears to be a dis-
tinct species, upon which the trivial name of Cajuputi has  been conferred.
It corresponds with the arbor alba minor  of  Rumphius, and  is  a smaller
plant than the M. leucadendron.  It is possible, however, that the oil may
be obtained  from different species of Melaleuca; as M. Shekel, of Jena, suc-
ceeded  in procuring from  the leaves of the M. hypericifolia,  cultivated in
the botanical garden of that place, a specimen of oil not distinguishable from
the cajuput oil of commerce, except by a paler green colour.  (Annal. der
Pharm. xix. 224.)
  Melaleuca. Cajuputi. Rumphius, Herbar. Amboinense,  torn. ii. tab. 17;
Roxburgh,  Trans. Lond. Med. Bot. Soc,  A.D.  1829; Journ. of the Phil.
 Col. of Pharm.,  vol. i. p. 193.—Melaleuca minor.  De Candolle.  This is
a small tree, with an erect but crooked stem, and scattered branches,  the
slender twigs of which droop like those of the weeping willow.  The bark
is of a whitish-ash colour, very thick, soft, spongy, and  lamellated, throwing
off its exterior layer from time  to time in flakes,  like the birch tree.  The
leaves have short footstalks; are alternate, lanceolate, when young sericeous,
when full grown smooth, deep green, three and five-nerved, slightly falcate,
entire, from  three to five inches long,  from one-half to three-quarters of an
inch broad; and when bruised exhale a strong aromatic odour.   The flow-
ers, which are small, white, inodorous, and sessile, are  disposed in terminal
and axillary downy spikes, with solitary, lanceolate, three-flowered bractes.
The filaments are three or four times longer  than the petals,  and both are
inserted in the rim of the calyx.
   This species of Melaleuca is a native of the Moluccas, and  other neigh-
bouring islands.   The oil is obtained from the leaves by distillation.  It is
prepared chiefly in Amboyna and Bouro,  and is exported from the East
 Indies  in glass bottles.  The small proportion yielded by the leaves, and
 the extensive use made of it in India, render it very costly. 
part i.        Oleum Cajuputi.— Oleum Caryophylli.         487

  Properties. Cajuput oil is very fluid, transparent, of a fine green colour,
a lively and penetrating odour analogous to that of camphor and cardamom,
and a warm pungent taste.  It is very volatile  and inflammable,  burning
without any residue.  The sp. gr. has been variously stated from 0*914 to
0*980.  Dr.  Thomson says it varies from 0*914  to 0-9274.   The  oil is
wholly soluble in alcohol.  When it is distilled a light colourless liquid first
comes over, and afterwards a green and denser one. The green colour has
been ascribed to the presence of a salt of copper derived from the vessels in
which the distillation is performed, and Guibourt obtained two grains  and
a half of oxide of copper from a pound of the  commercial oil.   But neither
Brande nor Goertner  could  detect copper in specimens which they exa-
mined; and M. Lesson, who witnessed the process for preparing the oil at
Bouro, attributes its colour  to  chlorophylle, or some analogous principle,
and states that it is rendered colourless by rectification.  Guibourt,  more-
over, obtained a green oil by distilling the leaves of a Melaleuca cultivated
at Paris.  A fair inference is that the oil  of cajuput is naturally green;  but
that, as found in commerce, it  sometimes contains  copper, either accident-
ally  present, or added with a view of imitating or maintaining  the  fine
colour natural to the  oil.   The proportion of copper,  however, is not so
great as to interfere with  the internal use  of the  oil; and the metal may be
readily separated by distillation with water, or agitation with a solution of
ferrocyanuret of potassium.  (Guibourt.)
   The high price of cajuput oil has led to its  occasional adulteration.  The
oil of rosemary, or that of  turpentine, impregnated with camphor and co-
loured with the resin of milfoil, is said to be employed for the purpose.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  This oil is highly stimulant, producing
when swallowed a sense of heat, with an increased  fulness and frequency of
pulse, and exciting in some instances profuse perspiration.  It is very highly
esteemed  by the Malays  and  other  people of the East, who consider it a
universal panacea. (Lesson, Journ. de Chim. Med., 1827.)  They are  said
to employ it with great  success  in epilepsy and  palsy.  (Ainslie.)   The
complaints to which it is best adapted  are probably chronic rheumatism,
and  spasmodic affections  of the stomach and  bowels, unconnected with in-
 flammation.  It has been highly extolled as a  remedy in spasmodic cholera,
 and has been used also as a diffusible stimulant in low fevers.  Diluted with
 an equal proportion of olive oil, it is applied externally to relieve gouty and
 rheumatic  pains.  Like most other  highly stimulating  essential oils, it re-
 lieves toothache, if introduced  into  the  hollow of the carious tooth.   It is
little used in the United States.  The dose is from one  to five drops, given
in emulsion, or upon a lump of sugar.                             W.


               OLEUM CARYOPHYLLI. U.S.

                           Oil of Cloves.

   " The volatile oil of the unexpanded flowers of Caryophyllus  aromati-
 cus." U.S.
   Off. Syn.  CARYOPHYLLI OLEUM. Caryophillus aromaticus. Oleum
 efloribus destillatum. Lond.; CARYOPHYLLI OLEUM.  Volatile oil
 of the undeveloped flowers of  Caryophyllus aromaticus. Ed.; EUGENIA
 CARYOPHYLLATA.  Oleum volatile.  Dub.
   Huile de jjimfle, Fr.; Nelkenol, Germ.; Olio di garofani, Ital; Aceyte de clavos, Span.
   See CARYOPHYLLUS.
   This oil is obtained by distilling cloves with water, to which it is  cus- 
 4S8         Oleum. Caryophylli.—Oleum Cinnamomi.     part i.

 tomary to add common salt, in order to raise the temperature of ebullition;
 and the water should be repeatedly distilled from the same cloves, in order
 completely to exhaust them.  The product of good cloves is said to be about
 one-fifth or one-sixth of their weight.  The oil was formerly brought from
 Holland  or the East  Indies;  but since  the  introduction of the Cayenne
 cloves into our  markets, the reduced price and superior freshness of the
 drug have rendered the distillation of oil of cloves profitable in this country;
 and the best now sold is of  domestic extraction.  We have been informed
 that from seven  to  nine pounds of cloves yield to our  distillers about one
 pound of the oil.
   Properties. Oil of cloves, when recently distilled, is very fluid, clear, and
 colourless, but becomes yellowish by exposure, and  ultimately  reddish-
 brown.   It has  the odour of cloves, and a hot, acrid, aromatic  taste.  Its
 sp. gr. is variously  stated at from 1*034 to 1-061, the latter being given by
 Bonastre  as the sp. gi. of the rectified oil.  It  is one  of  the least volatile of
 the essential  oils, and  requires for congelation a temperature from zero of
 Fahrenheit to —4°.  It is completely soluble  in alcohol, ether, and strong
 acetic acid.   Nitric acid changes is colour to a deep red, and converts it by
 the aid of heat into oxalic acid.  When long kept it deposits a  crystalline
 stearoptene.  It is  frequently adulterated with fixed oils, and sometimes
 also with oil  of pimento and with copaiba.   When pure it always sinks in
 distilled water.
   According  to Ettling, the  oil of cloves consists  of two distinct oils, one
 lighter, the other heavier than water.   They  may be obtained separate by
 distilling the  oil from a solution of potassa.   The lighter comes over, the
 heavier remains combined with potassa, from which it may be separated by
 adding sulphuric acid and again distilling.  Light oil of cloves is colourless,
 has  the  sp. gr. 0-918,  and  consists exclusively of carbon and  hydrogen,
 being isomeric with pure oil of turpentine.   It is said not to possess active
 properties. (Kane.)  Heavy oil of cloves is colourless at first, but darkens
 with  age, has the odour and taste of cloves, is  of the  sp. gr. 1-079, boils  at
 470°, and forms soluble and crystallizable salts with the alkalies.  Hence
 it has been called eugenic or caryophyllic acid.  It consists of carbon, hy-
 drogen, and oxygen; the formula, according to  Ettling, being C^HjsOs.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Its medical  effects  are similar to those  of
 cloves, and it is  used for the same purposes; but its most common employ-
 ment is as a corrigent of other medicines.   Like other powerful irritants, it
 is sometimes  effectual in relieving toothache, when introduced into the ca-
vity of a carious tooth.  The dose is from two to six drops.
   Off. Prep.  Pilulae Colocynthidis  Compositae, Ed., Dub.         W.

                OLEUM CINNAMOMI.  U.S.

                         Oil of Cinnamon.

   " The volatile oil of the bark of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, and Cinna-
 momum aromaticum."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  CINNAMOMI OLEUM.  Laurus Cinnamomum.  Oleum e
 cortice destillatum. Lond.;  CINNAMOMI OLEUM.  Volatile oil of the
 bark of Cinnamomum  Zeylanicum.  C ASSISE OLEUM. Volatile oil of
 the bark  of  Cinnamomum  Cassia. Ed.;  LAURUS CINNAMOMUM.
 Oleum volatile. Dub.
   Huile de cannelle. Fr.; Ziwnmtol, Germ.; Olio di cannella, Ital.; Aceyte de canela, Span.
   See CINNAMOMUM.
   The United States Pharmacopoeia includes, under the name  of Oil of 
PART I.
Oleum Cinnamomi.
489
Cinnamon, both the oil procured from the Ceylon cinnamon, and that from
the Chinese cinnamon or cassia.  As these  oils,  though very different in
price, and slightly in flavour, have the same medical properties, are used for
the same purposes, are often sold by the same name, and are not unfrequentiy
mixed together, there does not seem to  be sufficient ground for  maintain-
ing any officinal distinction between them.  Nevertheless, the Edinburgh
College has given  them  distinct places in its officinal list, designating the
one as oil of cinnamon and the other as oil of cassia.
   Oil of Cinnamon of Ceylon, is prepared in that island from the inferior
kinds of cinnamon which are of insufficient  value to pay the  export duty.
The following account of the method of extraction, as formerly practised, is
given by Marshall.  The bark, having been coarsely powdered, is macerated
for two  days in sea-water, and then submitted to distillation.  A light and
a heavy oil come over with the water, the former of which separates in a few
hours, and swims upon  the surface, the  latter falls to the  bottom of the re-
ceiver, and continues to be precipitated for ten or twelve days.   In future
distillations the saturated cinnamon water is employed in connexion with
sea-water to macerate the cinnamon.  Eighty pounds of the bark, freshly
prepared, yield about two and a half ounces of the lighter oil, and five and
a half of the heavier.  From the same quantity of cinnamon which has been
kept for several years in store, about half an ounce less of each oil is ob-
tained.   The two kinds are probably united in the oil of commerce.
   Recently  prepared oil of cinnamon is of  a light yellow colour,  which
becomes deeper by age, and ultimately red.   Dr. Pereira states that the
London druggists redistil the red oil, and thus obtain two pale yellow oils,
one lighter and the other heavier than water, with a loss of about ten per
cent,  in the process. The oil has the flavour of cinnamon in a concentrated
state.  When applied undiluted to the  tongue it is  excessively hot  and
pungent.  Dr. Duncan states that it sometimes  has a peppery taste, which
he ascribes to an admixture of the leaves with the bark in the preparation
of the oil.
   Chinese oil of cinnamon  (oil of cassia) is imported from Canton and
Singapore.  Like  the former variety it  has  a pale  yellow colour,  which
becomes red with age;  at least such is the case  with the  specimens  which
have  come under our observation.  Its flavour  is similar to that of oil of
cinnamon, though  inferior;  and it commands a  much smaller price.  The
following remarks apply to both oils.
   Oil of cinnamon is heavier than water, having the  sp. gr. of about  1-035.
Alcohol completely dissolves it; and, as  it does not rise in any considerable
quantity at the boiling  temperature of that liquid, it may be obtained by
forming a tincture  of cinnamon and distilling off the menstruum.   When
exposed to the air, it absorbs oxygen, and is said to be  slowly converted
into a peculiar acid denominated cinnamic or cinnamonic acid,  two dis-
tinct  resins,  and water.  Cinnamic  acid is colourless,  crystalline, of a
sourish taste, volatilizable, slightly  soluble in water, readily  dissolved by
alcohol,  and  convertible by nitric acid  with heat into  benzoic acid.  It is
sometimes seen in crystals in bottles of  the oil which have been long kept.
Of the two resins,  one  is soluble both in hot and cold alcohol,  the other
readily  in the  former,  but  sparingly in the latter.   Oil of  cinnamon  is
almost wholly converted by nitric acid slowly added  to it into a crystalline
mass, which  is supposed to be a compound  of  the oil  and acid.   The re-
searches of Dumas and Peligot have led  to the opinion that there exists in
the oil a compound radical, named cinnamule, consisting of carbon, hydro-
gen, and oxygen (C1SH702), which unites with one equivalent of hydrogen
to form oil of cinnamon, and one equivalent of oxygen to form anhydrous 
490
Oleum  Cubebae.—Oleum Limonis.
PART I.
cinnamic acid.  Crystallized cinnamic acid contains in addition one equiva-
lent of water.  The oil of cinnamon  is said to  be frequently adulterated
with alcohol and fixed oil.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  It has the cordial and carminative pro-
perties of cinnamon, without its astringency; and is much employed as an
adjuvant  to other medicines, the taste of which it corrects or conceals, while
it conciliates the stomach.  As a powerful local stimulant,  it is sometimes
prescribed in gastrodynia, flatulent colic, and langour  from gastric debility.
The dose is one or two drops,  and may be most conveniently administered
in the form of emulsion.
  Off. Prep. Aqua  Cinnamomi, U. S., Lond.; Mistura Spiritus Vini Gal-
lici, Lond.; Spiritus Cinnamomi, Lond.                           W.

                OLEUM  CUBEBtE.  U.S., Ed.

  " The  volatile oil of the berries of Piper  Cubeba."  U. S.
  See CUBEBA.
  This oil is obtained from the fruit of Piper Cubeba, by grinding it, and
then distilling with  water.  From ten  pounds of cubebs Schonwald pro-
cured eleven ounces of oil, and  this result very nearly coincides with the
experiments of Christison, who obtained seven per cent.  When perfectly
pure, the oil is colourless; but as usually found, is yellowish  or  greenish.
It has the smell of cubebs, and a warm, aromatic, camphorous taste; is of a
consistence approaching that of almond  oil, is lighter than water, having
the sp. gr. 0.929; and, when exposed to the air, is said to thicken without
losing its odour.  Upon standing, it sometimes deposits crystals, which are
thought to be a hydrate of the  oil.  It consists of carbon and hydrogen, and
its formula is stated to be C15H12.
  The oil has all the medicinal properties of cubebs, and  may often be
advantageously substituted for the powder,  in the commencing dose of ten
or twelve drops, to  be gradually increased until its effects  are obtained, or
until  it proves offensive to the  stomach.   It  may be given suspended in
water by means of sugar, or in  the form of emulsion, or enclosed in cap-
sules of  gelatin.                                                 W.


                   OLEUM  LIMONIS.  U.S.

                          Oil of Lemons.

   " The volatile  oil of the rind of the fruit of Citrus Limonum." U. S.
   Off. Syn. LIMONUM OLEUM.  Citrus Limonum. Oleum e Fructus
 Cortice  exteriori destillatum.  Lond.;  LIMONUM  OLEUM. Volatile
oil  of the  rind of the fruit of  Citrus  medica.  Ed.;  CITRUS MEDICA.
Fructus  tunicae exterioris oleum volatile. Dub.
  Huile de citron, Fr.; CetronenOl, Germ.; Olio di limone, Ital; Aceyte de limon, Span.
   See LIMON.
   The exterior rind of the lemon abounds in an essential oil, which, as it is
 contained in distinct cellules, may be separated by simple expression. The
rind is first grated from the fruit, and then submitted to pressure in a bag of
fine cloth.  The oil thus obtained is  allowed to stand till it becomes clear,
 when it  is decanted, and preserved in stopped bottles.  By a similar process,
 that delightful perfume, the essence of bergamot, is procured from the fruit
 of  the bergamot  citrus;  and the  oil called  by the  French huile de cedrat,
 from the citron.  (See Oleum Bergamii and Limon.)  All these oils may
 also  be  obtained by distillation; but thus procured, though clearer, and in 
part i.            Oleum Limonis.— Oleum Lini.              491

consequence of the absence of mucilage, less liable to  change on keeping,
they have less of the peculiar flavour of the fruit, and the mode by expres-
sion is  generally preferred.  They are all brought originally from Italy,
Portugal, or the South of France.
   Properties.  The oil of lemons is a very volatile fluid, having the odour
of the fruit, and a warm, pungent, aromatic taste.   As ordinarily procured
it is yellow, and  has the  specific  gravity 0*8517; but by distillation  it is
rendered colourless; and, if three-fifths only are distilled, its sp. gr. is reduced
to 0*847, at 71° F.  It is soluble in all proportions  in anhydrous  alcohol.
When perfectly pure, it consists exclusively  of carbon and  hydrogen, and
is said to be identical in composition with  pure oil of turpentine,  or  cam-
phene;  its formula being C10H8.   In this state  it is capable of absorbing
almost half its weight of muriatic acid gas, by which it is converted into a
crystalline substance, and  a yellow oily fuming liquid.  The crystals are
analogous to the artificial camphor which results from the action of  muriatic
acid upon the oil of turpentine,  and are a compound  of the oil and  acid.
The oil of lemons is said to consist of  two isomeric oils.
   The oil of lemons is often adulterated by the fixed oils and  by alcohol, the
former of which may be, detected by the permanent stain which they impart
to paper, the latter by the milkiness produced by the addition of water.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   This oil has the stimulant properties of
the aromatics;  but is chiefly used to impart a pleasant  flavour to other me-
dicines.  It has recently been lauded as an application  to the eye in certain
cases of ophthalmia.
   Off. Prep. Liquor Potassae Citratis, U. S.; Spiritus Ammoniae Aroma-
ticus, Ed., Dub.;  Trochisci Acidi Tartarici,  Ed.;  Unguentum Veratri
Albi, U. S., Lond.                                              W.

                   OLEUM  LINI.  U.S.,  Dub.

                            Flaxseed Oil.

   " The oil of the seeds of Linum usitatissimum."  U. S.
   Off.  Syn. LINI OLEUM. Linum  usitatissimum.  Oleum e  Seminibus
 expressum.  Lond.;  Expressed  oil of the seeds of Linum usitatissimum.
 Ed.
   Linseed oil; Huile de lin,  Fr.; Lcinol, Germ.; Olio di lino,  Ital;  Aeeyte  de linaza,
 Span.
   See LINUM.
   This oil is obtained by expression from the seeds of the Linum  usitatis-
 simum, or common flax.   In its preparation  on a large scale, the seeds  are
 usually roasted before being submitted  to pressure, in  order to destroy  the
 gummy matter contained in their exterior coating.  The oil is thus  obtained
 more free from  mucilage, but more highly  coloured and more acrid than
 that procured by cold expression.   Flaxseed oil  is of a yellowish-brown
 colour, a disagreeable  odour, and nauseous  taste; is of the sp. gr. 0*932;
 boils at 600° F.;  does not congeal at zero; dissolves in forty  parts of cold
 and five of boiling alcohol, and in one part and a half of  ether (Christi-
 son's Dispensatory); becomes rancid with facility; and has  the property of
 drying or becoming  solid  on exposure  to the air.  On account of its dry-
 ing property, it is highly useful in painting, and the formation of  printers'
 ink.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  It is laxative in the  dose  of a  fluidounce,
 but on account of its disagreeable  taste is  seldom  given internally.   It is 
492            Oleum Myristicas.— Oleum Olivas.           part i.

sometimes added to purgative enemata; but its most common application is
externally to burns, usually in combination with lime-water.
   Off. Prep.  Ceratum  Resinae Compositum, U.S.;  Linimentum Calcis,
 U. S., Ed., Dub.                                                W.


                 OLEUM  MYRISTICiE.  U.S.

                          Oil of Nutmeg.

   " The volatile oil of the kernels of Mvristica moschata." U. S.
   Off. Syn.  MYRISTICiE  OLEUM!  Myristica  moschata.   Oleum  e
nucleis destillatum.  Lond.; MYRISTICiE  OLEUM.  Volatile  oil of the
kernels of the fruit of Myristica  officinalis. Ed.;  MYRISTICA MOS-
CHATA.  Oleum volatile. Dub.
   See MYRISTICA.
   This oil is obtained from powdered  nutmegs by distillation with water.
It is colourless or of a pale straw-colour, limpid, lighter than water, soluble
in alcohol and ether, with a pungent spicy taste, and a strong smell of nut-
meg.   It  consists  of two oils, which may be separated by agitation with
water, one rising to the  surface, the other sinking to the bottom.  Upon
standing it deposits a  crystalline  stearoptene, which is called  by John
myristicin.  It may be used for the  same purposes  as nutmeg, in the dose
of two or three drops;  but is not often employed.                  W.

                    OLEUM OIAVJE.  U. S.

                             Olive Oil.

   " The oil of the fruit of Olea Europoea."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  OLIV^E  OLEUM.  Olea  europoea.  Oleum e drupis  ex-
pressum.  Lond.; Expressed  oil of the pericarp  of Olea  europoea. Ed.;
OLEA  EUROPCEA. Oleum ex fructu. Dub.
   Huile d'olive, Fr; Olivenol, Germ ; Olio delle olive, Ital.; Aceyte de olivas, Span.
   Olea.  Sex. Syst. Diandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Oleaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Corolla four-cleft, with subovate segments. Drupe one-seeded.
Willd.
   Olea Europoea.   Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 44; Woodv. Med.  Bot. p. 280. t.
98.  This valuable tree  is usually from fifteen to twenty  feet in height,
though it sometimes attains a much greater size, particularly in Greece and
the Levant.  It has  a solid, erect, unequal stem, with numerous straight
branches,  covered with a grayish bark.   The leaves, which stand opposite
to each  other on short footstalks, are evergreen, firm, lanceolate, entire, two
or three inches in length, with the edges somewhat reverted, smooth and of
a dull green colour on their upper surface, whitish  and  almost silvery  be-
neath.   The flowers are small, whitish, and  disposed  in opposite axillary
clusters, which are about half as long as the leaves,  and  accompanied with
small, obtuse, hoary bractes.  The fruit or olive is a smooth, oval drupe, of
a greenish, whitish, or violet colour, with a fleshy pericarp, and a very hard
nut of a similar shape. The flowers are not very fruitful, as clusters contain-
ing not less than thirty yield only two or three ripe olives.
  The olive tree, though believed by some to have been originally from  the
Levant, flourishes at present in all the countries bordering on the Mediterra-
nean,  and  has been cultivated from  time immemorial  in Spain, the South of
France, and Italy.   It begins to bear fruit after the second year, is in  full  ( 
part i.                     Oleum Olivas.                        493

bearing at six years, and continues to flourish for a century.   There are
several  varieties, distinguished by the form  of the leaves, and  the  shape,
colour, and size of the fruit.   The variety longifolia of Willdenow is said
to be chiefly cultivated in Italy and the South of France, and the variety
latifolia in Spain.  The latter bears much larger fruit than the former; but
the oil is less esteemed.
   The leaves and bark of the olive tree  have an acrid and bitterish taste,
and  have been  employed as substitutes for cinchona, though with no great
success.  In hot countries, a substance resembling the gum-resins exudes
spontaneously from the  bark.   It was thought by the ancients to possess
useful medicinal properties, but is not now employed.   Analyzed by Pelle-
tier, it was found to contain resinous matter, a small  quantity of benzoic
acid, and a peculiar principle analogous to gum, which has received the name
of olivile.   But the fruit is by far the most useful product of the tree.   In
the unripe state it is hard and insupportably acrid;  but when macerated in
water, or an alkaline solution, and afterwards introduced into a solution of
common salt, it loses these properties, and becomes a  pleasant and highly
esteemed article of diet.   The  pericarp, or fleshy part of the ripe olive,
abounds in a fixed oil, which  constitutes its greatest  value,  and for which
the tree  is chiefly cultivated in the South of Europe.   The oil is obtained
by first bruising the olives in  a mill, and then submitting then* to pressure.
The product varies much, according to the state of the fruit and: the circum-
stances of the process.  The best oil, called virgin oil, is  obtained' from
the fruit picked before it has arrived  at  perfect  maturity, and immediately
pressed.  It is  distinguished  by its greenish  hue.  The common oil used
for culinary  purposes, and in  the manufacture of the finest  soaps, is pro-
cured from very ripe olives, or from the  pulp of those  which have yielded
the virgin oil.   In the latter case, the pulp is thrown into boiling water, and
the oil removed as it rises to the surface.   An inferior kind, employed in the
arts, especially in the preparation of the  coarser  soaps, plasters* unguents,
&c, is  afforded by fruit which has been thrown  into heaps and allowed to
ferment  for several days, or by the marc left after the expression of the finer
kinds of oil,  broken up, exposed to the fermenting process, and  again intro-
duced into the press.
   Olive oil is imported in glass bottles, or in flasks surrounded  by a pecu-
liar kind of  net-work  made  of grass, and usually called  Florence  flasks.
The best comes  from the South of France, where most care  is exercised in
the  selection of the fruit.
   Properties.  The pure oil  is an unctuous liquid,  of a pale  yellow or
greenish-yellow colour, with scarcely any smell, and a bland  slightly sweet-
ish taste.  Its sp. gr. is 0*9153.   It is soluble in twice its volume of ether,
but is only partially soluble in alcohol, at least unless this liquid be in very
large proportion.   It begins to congeal at 38° F.  At a freezing temperature
a part of it becomes solid, and  the remainder retaining the  liquid consist-
ence, may be separated by  pressure, or by the agency of cold alcohol,
which dissolves it.  The concrete portion has been found by MM. Pelouze
and Boudet to be a definite compound of margarin and olein; the liquid portion
is uncombined olein.   According to Braconnot, the oil contains  72 parts of
olein, and 28 of margarin in the hundred.'  Olive oil is solidified by nitrous
acid and by nitrate of mercury, and converted into a  peculiar fatty sub-
stance, which has received the name of elaidin.  The olein of all oils which
have not the  drying property undergoes the same change, when acted  on
by nitrous acid; and the singular  fact is stated by MM. Pelouze and Boudet,
that the margarin of olive oil, combined  as it is with olein, is converted by
       43 
494               Oleum Olivas.—Oleum Ricini.           part i.

that acid into elaidin, while  the same principle in  a  state of purity is not
affected by it.  (Journ. de Pharm. xxiv. 391.)
  Olive oil when exposed to the air is  apt  to become rancid, acquiring a
disagreeable smell, a sharp taste, a thicker consistence, and a deeper colour;
and the change is promoted by heat.   It is said to be frequently adulterated
with the  cheaper  fixed oils,  especially with  that of poppies;  but the  adul-
teration may easily be detected by reducing the temperature to the freezing
point.  As other  oils are less readily congealed than the olive oil, the degree
of its purity will  be indicated by the degree of concretion.   Another mode
has been indicated by  M. Poutet, founded on the property possessed by the
supernitrale of mercury of solidifying the oil of olives, without a similar
influence upon the other oils.  Six parts of mercury are  dissolved at a low
temperature in seven parts and a half of nitric acid of the sp. gr. 1-35; and
this solution is mixed with the suspected oil in the proportion of one part to
twelve, the mixture being occasionally shaken.  If the oil is pure, it is con-
verted after some  hours into a yellow solid mass; if it contain  a minute pro-
portion, even  so  small as a  twentieth of poppy oil, the resulting  mass is
much less  firm;  and a tenth prevents a greater degree of consistence than
oils usually acquire when they concrete by cold.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Olive oil is nutritious and mildly laxative,
and is occasionally given in cases of irritable  intestines, when the patient
objects to more disagreeable medicines.   Taken into  the stomach in large
quantities, it serves  to involve acrid and poisonous substances, and mitigate
their action.   It has also been recommended as a remedy for worms, and is
a very common ingredient in  laxative enemata.   Externally applied, it is
useful in  relaxing the skin, and sheathing irritated surfaces from the action
of the air; and is  much employed as  a vehicle or diluent of more active sub-
stances.  In  the  countries bordering on the Mediterranean, it is thought,
when  smeared over the skin, to afford some protection against the plague;
and applied warm, by means of friction over the surface, is said to be useful
as a remedy in the early stages of that eomplaint.   But the most extensive
use of olive  oil is  in pharmaey, as a constituent of liniments, ointments,
cerates, and plasters.
  The dose as a  laxative is from one to two fluidounces.
  Off. Prep. Enema Catharticum, Ed.                            W.


                    OLEUM  RICINI. U.S.

                             Castor Oil.

  "The oil of the seeds of  Rieinus communis."   U. S.
  Off. Syn.  RICINI  OLEUM.  Rieinus communis.  Oleum e seminibus
expressum. Lond.; RICINI OLEUM.  Expressed oil of the seeds of Riei-
nus communis. .Erf.;  RICINUS COMMUNIS.  Oleum e seminibus. Bub.
  Huile de ricin, Fr.; Ricinnsol, Germ.; Olio di ricino, llnl; Accyle de rieino, Span.
  Ricinus.  Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Euphorbiacese.
  Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-parted.  Corolla none.  Stamens numerous.
Female.  Calyx  three-parted. Corolla none. Styles three, bifid.  Capsule
three-celled. Seed one.  Willd.
  Ricinus communis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 564; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 624.
t. 221.   The  castor oil plant, or palma Christi, attains in the  East Indies
and Africa the character of a tree, and  rises sometimes thirty or forty feet
in height.  In the temperate latitudes of North America and Europe it is an
annual plant;  though it is slated  by  M. Achille Richard, that in the  South 
PART I.
Oleum Ricini.
495
of France, in the vicinity of Nice,  on the sea-coast, he saw a small wood
consisting entirely of this species of Ricinus.   The following description
applies to the plant as cultivated in cool latitudes.  The stem is  of vigorous
growth, erect, round, hollow, smooth, glaucous, somewhat purplish towards
the top, branching, and  from three  to eight feet or  more in height.   The
leaves are alternate; peltate or supported upon footstalks inserted into their
lower disk;  palmate, with seven or nine pointed serrate  lobes;  smooth on
both sides; and of a bluish-green colour.  The flowers are monoecious, stand
upon jointed peduncles, and form a pyramidal  terminal raceme, of which
the lower portion is occupied by the  male flowers, the upper by the female.
Both are destitute of corolla.   In the male flowers the calyx is divided into
five oval, concave, pointed, reflected, purplish segments,  and encloses nu-
merous stamens, which are united into fasciculi at their base. In the female,
the calyx has three or five narrow lanceolate segments; and the ovary, which
is roundish and three-sided, supports three linear, reddish stigmas, forked at
their apex.  The fruit is a roundish glaucous capsule, with three projecting
sides, covered with tough spines, and divided into three cells, each contain-
ing one seed, which is expelled by  the bursting of the capsule.
   This  species of Ricinus is a native of the East Indies and Northern
Africa; has become naturalized in   the West Indies; and is cultivated in
various parts of the world, in  no country perhaps more largely than  in the
United States.   New Jersey,  Virginia, North Carolina, and the  States upon
the  right bank of the Ohio, are  the  sections in which it is most abundant.
The flowers appear in July, and the seeds ripen successively in August and
September.  The part employed in medicine is the fixed  oil extracted from
the seeds.
   1. The Seeds.   These are about as lan-e as a small bean,  oval,  com-
pressed,  obtuse at the extremities, very smootn'and shining, and of a grayish
or ash colour, marbled with reddish-brown spots and veins.  At  one end of
the seed  is a small  yellowish  tubercle, from which an obscure longitudinal
ridge proceeds  to the opposite extremity, dividing the sides upon which it is
situated  into two flattish surfaces.   In  its general appearance  the seed is
thought  to resemble the insect called the tick, the Latin name of which has
been adopted as the generic title of the plant.  Its variegated colour depends
upon a very thin pellicle, closely investing a hard, brittle, blackish, tasteless,
 easily separable shell, within which is  the kernel, highly oleaginous, of a
 white colour, and a sweetish taste succeeded by a slight degree of acrimony.
 The seeds easily become rancid, and are then unfit for the extraction of the
oil, which is acrid and irritating.  In 100 parts of the seeds Geiger found,
exclusive of moisture, 23-82 parts of envelope, and 69-09  of kernel.  These
69-09 parts contained 46-19 of fixed oil, 2-40 of gum, 20-00 of starch and
lignin, and 0-50 of albumen.
   Taken internally the seeds are  powerfully cathartic,  and often emetic.
Two or  three  are  sufficient to purge, and seven or eight act  with  great
violence.  This  property depends  upon  an acrid principle, which has by
some been thought to exist exclusively in the integuments, by others in the
embryo.   But  it is now satisfactorily ascertained that the  integuments  are
inert; and Guibourt maintains that the principle alluded to pervades  the
whole kernel,  in connexion with the oil.  This principle is volatile, and
dissipated by the heat of boiling water.  By a much greater heat the oil
itself becomes  altered, and acquires acrid properties.
   2. The Oil.  This may be extracted  from the seeds in three ways;  1. by
decoction, 2. by expression, and 3. by the agency of alcohol.
   The process by decoction, which is practised in  the East and West In- 
496
Oleum Ricini.
PART I.
 dies, consists in bruising  the  seeds previously deprived of their husk, and
 then boiling them in water.   The oil, rising to  the  surface, is skimmed or
 strained off, and  afterwards again boiled with a small quantity of water to
 dissipate the acrid principle.   To increase the product it is said that  the
 seeds are sometimes roasted.  The oil is thus rendered brownish  and acrid;
 and the same result takes place  in the second boiling, if care is not taken to
 suspend the process soon after  the water has been evaporated.  Hence it
 happens that the  West India  oil has generally a brownish colour, an acrid
 taste, and irritating properties.
   The oil is obtained, in  this country, by  expression.   The following, as
 we have been informed,  are  the outlines of the process usually  employed
 by thosfj who  prepare it  on  a  large scale.  The  seeds having  been  tho-
 rough1  : cleansed from the dust  and fragments of the capsules with which
 they are mixed, are conveyed into a shallow iron reservoir, where they are
 submitted to a gentle heat insufficient to scorch or decompose them, and not
 greater than can be readily borne by the hand.   The object of this  step is
 to  render the  oil sufficiently liquid  for  easy expression.   The  seeds are
 then introduced into a powerful screw press.  A whitish oily liquid  is thus
 obtained, which is  transferred to clean  iron boilers, supplied with  a con-
 siderable quantity of water.    The mixture  is boiled for some time, and, the
 impurities being  skimmed off  as  they rise to the surface, a clear oil is  at
 length left upon the top of the water, the mucilage and  starch having been
 dissolved by this  liquid, and the albumen coagulated by the heat.  The latter
 ingredient forms  a whitish layer between the oil and the water.  The clear
 oil is now carefully removed; and the process  is  completed by  boiling it
 with a minute proportion of water, and continuing the application of heat
 till aqueous vapour ceases to rby, and till a small portion of the liquid taken
 out in a vial, preserves a perfect transparency  when it cools.  The effect
 of  this last  operation is to clarify the oil, and to render it less irritating by
 driving off the  acrid volatile matter.  But much care is requisite not to push
 the heat too far, as the oil then  acquires a brownish hue, and an acrid pep-
 pery taste, similar to those of the West India medicine.   After the comple-
 tion of the process, the oil is put into barrels, and thus sent into the market.
 There  is reason,  however, to  believe that much  of  the American oil  is pre-
 pared by merely  allowing it  to  stand  for some  time after expression, and
 then drawing off the supernatant liquid.  One bushel of good seeds  yields
 five or six quarts, or about twenty-five per cent,  of the best oil.  If not very
 carefully prepared, it is apt  to deposit a  sediment  upon standing; and the
 apothecary frequently finds it necessary to  filter  it through coarse  paper be-
 fore dispensing it.  Perhaps this  may be owing to the plan just alluded to
 of purifying the oil by rest and decantation.*  We have been told that the oil
 in barrels occasionally deposits a copious whitish sediment in cold weather,

  * We find the following sentence in Christison's Dispensatory, p.  793. " If the state-
 ment made above, on the authority of Boutron-Charlard, be correct  [that no margarin is
 deposited by castor oil previously heated to 212°J, this circumstance  [the deposition of a
 crystalline matter  by castor oil in cold weather], instead  of being an objection, is strong
 proof of the Americsn oil being  really cold drawn, and not prepared  by dry heat and
 ebullition, as  Drs.  Wood and Bache  have represented."  If it be intended  here  to
 throw discredit on our statement,  we have  only to reply, that we  have ourselves wit-
 nessed the arrangements above described, and had  the account of the steps of the process
 from the manufacturers, as it was at  the time  conducted in  this city.  That American
castor oil is also prepared by mere expression, rest,  and decantation, we have stated in the
text. We are  disposed to give the preference to  that prepared by  the former process,
as freer from impurities, and therefore likely to keep better, and as milder in its action in
consequence of the volatilization of a portion of the acrid principle. 
PART I.
Oleum Ricini.
497
which it redissolves when the temperature rises.  This substance is proba-
bly margarin, or an analogous principle.  A large proportion of the drug
consumed in the eastern  section  of the  Union is derived, by way of  New
Orleans, from Illinois and the neighbouring States, where it is so abundant
that it is sometimes used  for burning in lamps.
   The process for  obtaining castor oil by means of alcohol has been  prac-
tised in France, but the product is said to become rancid more speedily than
that procured in the ordinary modei
   Properties.  Pure castor  oil  is a thick, viscid, colourless fluid, with little
or no odour, and a mild  though somewhat nauseous taste, followed by a
slight sense of acrimony.  As found in the shops it is often tinged with yel-
low, and has an unpleasant  smell; and parcels are sometimes though rarely
met with, of a brownish colour,  and hot acrid  taste.  It does not readily
congeal by cold.   When exposed to the air it slowly thickens, without be-
coming opaque, and it ranks among the drying oils. It is heavier than most
of the other fixed oils, from which it differs also in being soluble in all pro-
portions in cold absolute  alcohol.  Weaker alcohol, of the sp. gr. 0-8425,
takes up about three-fifths of its weight.  Adulterations with other fixed oils
may thus be detected, as  the latter are much less soluble in this fluid.   Such
adulterations, however, are  seldom if ever practised in this country.  Castor
oil is also soluble  in sulphuric  ether.  Its proximate composition is but
imperfectly understood.   When distilled it yields, according to MM. Bussy
and Lecanu, 1. a colourless, highly odorous volatile oil, which crystallizes
by cold, 2. two oleaginous acids, denominated ricinic and ricin-oleic, which
are  excessively acrid and nearly concrete, and 3. a  solid spongy residue,
amounting to two-thirds of the oil employed.   Supposing these acids  to be
developed  by heat, we can readily account for the injurious  influence of
too  high a  temperature  in  the preparation of the oil.  By the  action of
nitrous acid, it is converted  into a peculiar oleaginous  body called palmin,
which yields palmic acid and glycerin when saponified.   Alkalies  unite
with castor  oil forming soaps,  and determine  the formation of three acids,
the ricinic, ricin-oleic, and ricino-stearic acids, which can be obtained  sepa-
rate.  Hence it has been inferred that the oil consists of three principles,
for  which the names of ricin, ricin-olein, and  ricino-stearin have  been
proposed.  (Kane's Chemistry.)  These principles, however, have not been
isolated.  The purgative property of the oil  is  supposed by  MM. Bussy
and Lecanu to be essentially attached  to the oil  itself, and not to reside in
any distinct principle which it  may hold in solution.
   Castor oil which is acrid  to the taste may be rendered mild by boiling it
with a small proportion of water.  If turbid, it should be clarified by filtra-
tion through paper.  On  exposure to the air, it is apt  to become rancid, and
is then unfit for use.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Good castor oil is a mild cathartic, speedy
in its action, usually operating with  little griping or uneasiness, and evacu-
ating the contents of  the bowels  without much increasing the alvine secre-
tions.  Hence it is particularly  applicable to cases of constipation  from
collections of indurated feces, and to those cases in which acrid substances
have been swallowed, or  acrid secretions have accumulated  in the bowels.
From its  mildness  it  is also especially  adapted  to diseases attended with
irritation or inflammation of the bowels,  as colic,  diarrhoea, dysentery, and
enteritis.  It is habitually  resorted to in the cases of pregnant and puerperal
women; and is decidedly, as a general rule, the best and safest cathartic for
children.  Infants usually require a  larger relative dose than adults, proba-
bly because they digest a  larger proportion of the oil.
                                  43* 
498                Oleum Ricini.— Oleum Rosas.            part i.
   The dose for an adult is about a fluidounce, for an  infant from  one to
 three or four fluidrachms.  It is  sometimes of exceedingly difficult  admin-
 istration,  not so much from  any peculiarly disagreeable taste, as from the
 recollection of former nausea, or other uneasiness which it may have pro-
 duced, and  from its clamminess and unpleasant adhesiveness to the  mouth
 In a few cases the disgust which it excites is utterly  unconquerable  by any
 effort of resolution.   It is desirable, therefore, to obviate this inconvenience
 as far as possible by  the mode of exhibition.   A common method is to give
 it floating on the surface of mint or cinnamon water; but that which we
 have found upon the whole  the least offensive, is to mix it with a cup of
 hot sweetened coffee, by which it is rendered more fluid, and its taste con-
 siderably disguised.   Some take it  in wine or spirituous liquors; but these
 are generally contraindicated  in the cases to which the medicine is applica-
 ble.  When the stomach is unusually delicate, the oil may be made  into an
 emulsion with mucilage or the yolk of an egg, loaf sugar, and some aromatic
 water.   To the mixture  laudanum  may be added in  cases of intestinal irri-
 tation.   Castor oil may also  be beneficially used as  an enema in the quan-
 tity of two  or three fluidounces mixed with some mucilaginous liquid.
    Though  apt to become rancid  by itself, it loses much of this susceptibility
  when mixed with lard; and some apothecaries are said to use it as a sub-
  stitute  for  olive oil  in  unguents and cerates.   But  the slightly irritating
  properties  of even the mildest  castor oil,  render it inapplicable in those
  preparations which are intended  rather to alleviate irritation than to produce
  it.                                                              w<


                       OLEUM  ROS.E. U.S.

                              Oil of Roses.

     " The volatile oil  of Rosa  centifolia."  U. S.
     Off. Syn. ROS^E OLEUM.  Volatile oil of the petals of Rosa centifolia.
  Ed.
     See ROSA CENTIFOLIA.
     This is  commonly called attar, otto, or essence of roses.  It is prepared
  on a large  scale in Egypt, Persia, Cashmere, India, and other countries of
  the East, by distilling the petals of the rose with water.  The oil concretes
  and floats upon the surface of the water when it cools. The precise species
  of rose from which the oil is extracted is not in all instances certainly known;
  but it is said to be  obtained from  the R.  damascena in  Northern  India,
 and the R.  moschata in Persia.  It is furnished in very minute proportion;
 not more than three  drachms having been  obtained  by Colonel Polier, in
 Hindostan, from one hundred pounds of the petals.  It is usually imported
 in small bottles, and is very costly.
   Oil of roses is nearly colourless, or presents some shade of green, yellow,
 or red; but, according to Polier, the colour is no  criterion of its value.  It
 is concrete below 80°, and becomes liquid between 84° and 86°.  Its odour
 is very powerful and  diffusive.  At 90° its sp. gr. is 0*832.  Alcohol dis-
 solves it, though not freely when  cold.  It consists of two oils, one liquid,
 the other  concrete at ordinary  temperatures.   These may be separated by
 freezing the oil, and compressing  it between folds of blotting paper, which
absorbs the liquid oil or eleoptene and leaves  the concrete or stearoptene.
The latter  consists exclusively of carbon and hydrogen, the former of these
and oxygen.
  Sandal-wood oil, other volatile oils, fixed oils, spermaceti, &c, are said 
parti.       Oleum Sesami.—Oleum  Terebinthinas.           499

to be  added as adulterations.   The volatile additions  may be detected by
not being concrete; the fixed, by the greasy stain left  on paper, when
heated.
   Oil of roses may be added, as a very grateful  perfume,  to various spirit-
uous preparations for internal use, and to cerates and ointments.    W.


             OLEUM SESAMI.  U.S. Secondary.

                            Benne Oil.

   " The oil of the seeds of Sesamum orientale." U. S.
   See SESAMUM.

          OLEUM TEREBINTHINJ3.  U.S.,  Dub.

                         Oil of  Turpentine.

   " The volatile  oil of the juice of Pinus palustris  and other species of
Pinus."  U. S.  " Pinus Svlvestris. Oleum volatile." Dub.
   Off. Syn. TEREBINTHINtE OLEUM. Pinus  Sylvestris.  Oleum e
resina destillatum. Lond.; TEREBINTHIN^E OLEUM. Volatile oil of
the liquid resinous exudation of various species  of Pinus and Abies. Ed.
   Huile volatile de te>6beuthine, Fr.; Terbiuthinol, Germ.; Olio della trementina, Ital.;
Aceyte de trementina, Span.
   See TEREBINTHINA.
   This is commonly called spirits or  spirit of turpentine.  It is  prepared
by distillation from our common  turpentine, though  equally afforded by
other varieties.   It may be  distilled  either with or  without  water;  but
in the latter case a much  higher temperature is required, and  the product
is  liable  to be empyreumatic.   To  obtain it  absolutely pure  it should
be redistilled  from a  solution  of caustic potassa.  The  Dublin College
gives the following formula for its  preparation.  " Take of common tur-
pentine, [Terebinthina Vulgaris,  Lond.] five pounds; water, four pints.
Draw off the  oil in a copper alembic."  But it is at present never prepared
by the  apothecary, and in all the other Pharmacopoeias is placed in the
 catalogue of the Materia Medica.  The turpentine of the Pinus palustris is
 said to yield about seventeen per cent, of oil; while the  common  turpen-
tine of Europe affords twenty-four per cent.   Large  quantities of the oil
 are distilled in North Carolina for exportation.
   Pure  oil of turpentine is  perfectly limpid  and colourless,  of  a  strong,
penetrating, peculiar odour, and a hot, pungent,  bitterish taste.  It is much
lighter than water, having the specific gravity 0*86 at 72°  F.; is highly vo-
latile and inflammable; boils  at a temperature  somewhat higher than 300°;
is very slightly soluble in  water, less soluble in alcohol than most other vo-
latile oils, and readily soluble in sulphuric ether. Boiling alcohol dissolves
it with  facility, but deposits  most of the oil upon cooling.   One hundred
parts of  alcohol of 0*84, dissolve 13*5 parts of the oil at 72°.  As found in
commerce, it always contains oxygen; but when perfectly pure, it consists
exclusively of carbon and  hydrogen, and is thought to be isomeric with the
radical of camphor.  Hence it has been denominated camphene. (Seepage
155.)  According to Blanchet and Sell, it consists of two distinct isomeric
oils, which, by the absorption of oxygen, are  converted  into two  distinct
resins, corresponding to those found by Unverdorben in colophony. (Journ.
de Pharm. xx. 226.)   But there is reason to believe that these oils are the 
 500                     Oleum Terebinthinas.                part i.

 results of chemical reaction; as, when  isolated,  they  have boiling points
 higher than that of the original oil.  The oil of  turpentine absorbs muri-
 atic acid, forming with it two compounds, one a red dense liquid, the other
 a white crystalline substance resembling camphor, and hence called arti-
ficial  camphor.   The latter consists of the unaltered oil (camphene) com-
 bined  with  the acid, and is  therefore muriate of camphene.   In the former
 the oil appears to have undergone some molecular change, being converted
 into an oil  isomeric with the oil of turpentine, but differing  from it in  its
 action  on polarized light, and in  forming a liquid  compound  with muriatic
 acid.  If the  muriate of camphene  be  distilled with lime, the acid  is re-
 tained, and an  oil comes over, differing  from pure oil of turpentine,  in
 having no action  on polarized light, and from the oil just  mentioned  in
 forming a solid compound with muriatic acid.  These three oils are said to be
 isomeric. (Soubeiran and Capitaine, Journ.  de Pharm. xxvi. 11.) Nitric
 acid converts the oil of turpentine into resin, and,  by long boiling, into tur-
pentinic acid.  On exposure to the air and light, turpentine deposits a white
 solid matter in acicular crystals, which are without taste or smell,  insoluble
 in cold water, but soluble in ether and alcohol. (Boissenot, Journ. de Chim.
 Med. ii. 143.)   White crystals of stearoptene, heavier than water and fusi-
 ble at 20°, separate from the oil at the temperature of 18° below zero. These
 are probably a hydrate of the oil.
  Exposed to the air the oil absorbs oxygen,  becomes  thicker and yellow-
 ish,  and loses much of its activity, owing to the formation of resin.  Hence
 the British Colleges direct a process for its rectification, consisting in dis-
 tilling  it with  about four  measures of water.   But the  process is difficult,
 in consequence of the  great inflammability of the  vapour, and its rapid for-
 mation, which causes the liquid to boil over.  In this country it is scarcely
 necessary, as  the recent  oil can be  obtained at an  expense less than that
 which would be incurred  by its redistillation on  a small scale.  Another
 mode of purifying the  oil is to agitate it with  one-eighth of alcohol, which
 dissolves the portion that has become resinous by the absorption of oxygen.
 About one-fifth of the alcohol is retained by the oil, but is readily separated
by agitation with water.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.   Oil of turpentine is stimulant, diuretic,
occasionally diaphoretic,  anthelmintic, in large doses  cathartic, and exter-
nally rubefacient.  When swallowed in moderate  quantities it produces
 a sense of warmth in the stomach, accelerates  the  circulation,  and increases
the heat of  the skin, without especially affecting the functions of the brain.
In small doses, frequently repeated, it stimulates  the kidneys, augmenting
the secretion of urine, and often producing,  especially if long continued,
painful irritation of the urinary passages, amounting sometimes to violent
strangury.   At  the same  time it imparts  the odour of violets to the urine;
and  this effect  is also produced  by its external  application, or even by
breathing the air of an apartment impregnated with its vapours.  In large
doses  it occasions slight vertigo, or a sense of fulness in the head, some-
times amounting to intoxication, attended frequently with nausea, and suc-
ceeded generally,  though  not  always,  by  speedy and  brisk catharsis.
When  this effect  is experienced, the oil is carried out of the bowels, and,
no time being allowed  for absorption, is less apt to irritate the kidneys and
bladder than when taken in small and repeated doses.  In some  constitu-
tions it produces, even when taken internally, an  erythematic eruption on
the skin.
  The oil is employed in numerous diseases.   As a stimulant it is useful
in low  forms of fever,  particularly in cases where there is reason to sus- 
PART I.
Oleum Terebinthinas.
501
 pect ulcerations of the mucous membranes.  There is a particular state
 of  fever usually attended with much  danger,  in  which  we  have found
 this remedy uniformly successful.   The  condition of things alluded to, is
 one which occurs in the latter stages of typhoid fevers or lingering remit-
 tents,  in which the  tongue,  having begun  to throw off its load of fur in
 patches, has suddenly ceased to clean itself,  and become dry and brownish.
 The skin is at the same time dry, the bowels torpid and distended with fla-
 tus, and the patient sometimes affected with  slight delirium. Under  the use
 of  small doses of oil of turpentine frequently repeated, the tongue becomes
 moist and again coated, the tympanitic state of the bowels disappears, and
 the patient goes on to recover as in a favourable case of fever.  We  are dis-
 posed  to ascribe the effect to a healthy change produced  by the oil in the
 ulcerated  surface of the intestines.  The medicine  has also been  recom-
 mended as a counter-irritant  in yellow and  puerperal fevers; and may un-
 doubtedly be  given with advantage  in the latter stages of these diseases,
 and in other instances  of gastric and enteritic inflammations, which  require
 a resort to stimulation; but the highly favourable reports which have been
 made of its effects  in  the  early stages  of puerperal peritonitis, have pro-
 bably originated in  the confounding of intestinal  irritation with  that formi-
 dable disease.   In chronic rheumatism, particularly sciatica and lumbago,
 the oil has often been given with great benefit.   It has also been much ex-
 tolled as a remedy in neuralgia, in epilepsy  and tetanus, in passive  hemor-
 rhages, particularly from the bowels, in disordered conditions of the  alimen-
 tary canal attended with sallow countenance, foul tongue, tumid abdomen,
 sour or fetid eructation, and  general depravation of health, in obstructions
 of  the bowels, in some forms of chronic dysentery and diarrhoea, in obsti-
 nate gleets and leucorrhoea, in suppression of urine, and in chronic  nephri-/
 tic  and calculous affections. We have seen it very beneficial in haemoptysis, a
 As  a vermifuge also it is very highly esteemed, especially in cases of taenia.
 It appears, by its poisonous  operation,  to destroy or debilitate  the worm,
 which losing its hold upon the bowels is then easily discharged.  In cases
 of  worms in  the stomach it is often very useful.   The  worms,  in  this
 instance, are  destroyed and digested as any  other dead animal matter.   In
 dropsies with feeble action, the oil may sometimes be advantageously given
 as  a diuretic;  and in amenorrhoea  from torpor of the uterine vessels it is
 occasionally useful.  As a local stimulant or carminative it may be given
 beneficially in some instances of flatulent colic, and gout in the stomach.
  The dose  for ordinary purposes  is from  five to thirty drops, repeated
 every hour or  two in acute,  and three or four times a day in  chronic dis-
 eases.   In rheumatism it is  recommended by some  in the dose of a flui-
 drachm every four  hours.   As a remedy for the tape-worm it is given in
 the quantity of one or two fluidounces, and should be followed by castor oil
 if it do  not operate in three or four hours.   It has also proved successful in
 taenia in the dose of half a drachm twice a day continued for a considerable
 time.   In ordinary cases of worms, the  usual dose may be given.   It may
 be administered dropped on  sugar,  or in emulsion with gum Arabic, loaf
 sugar, and cinnamon or mint water.
  In the form of enema, it has been  employed in amenorrhoea, and is  highly
useful in cases of ascarides,  obstinate constipation,  and distension  of  the
bowels  from  accumulation of air.   No  remedy  is more effectual in tym-
panites than injections of the oil of  turpentine.  From half a fluidounce to
two fluidounces  may be administered in this way, suspended by the yolk
of eggs in  half a pint or a pint of water or some mucilaginous fluid.
  Externally  applied, the oil of turpentine irritates  and speedily inflames 
502
Oleum Terebinthinas.—Oleum Tiglii.
PART I.
the skin; and in low forms of fever, with coldness of the surface, is when
heated one of the most  efficacious rubefacients.   It is also  used as a lini-
ment in rheumatic and paralytic affections,  and various internal  inflamma-
tions.   It should generally, in mild cases, be diluted with olive oil;  and in
some constitutions, even in this state, produces such violent inflammation of
the skin, with extensive eruptions, as to render its external use in any shape
improper.  Mixed with some mild oil and introduced on cotton into the ear,
it is  sometimes beneficial  in deafness arising from  a deficient or unhealthy
secretion of wax.  Applied  to  recent  burns  it is  thought by some to be
highly useful in allaying the burning pain  and promoting a disposition to
heal.  For this purpose, however, it is usually mixed with the resin cerate
(basilicon ointment), so as to form a liniment capable of being spread upon
linen rags. (See Linimentum Terebinthinas.)*
   Off. Prep. Enema Terebinthinae, Lond., Ed.; Linimentum Cantharidis,
U. S.;  Linimentum Terebinthinas, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Oleum Tere-
binthinae Purificatum, Lond., Ed., Dub.                          W.


                    OLEUM TIGLII.  U.S.

                             Croton Oil.

   "  The oil of the seeds of Croton Tiglium." U. S.
   Off. Syn.   TIGLII  OLEUM.  Croton Tiglium.   Oleum e  seminibus
expressum. Lond.;  CROTONIS OLEUM. Expressed oil of the seeds
of Croton Tiglium. Ed.   CROTON TIGLIUM.   Oleum ex  seminibus
expressum. Dub.
   Huile de croton, Fr.; CrotonOl. Germ.; Nervalum unnay, Tamool.
n<  Croton.  See CASCARILLA.
   Croton Tiglium.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv.  543;  Woodv. Med. Bot. 3d ed.
vol.  5. p. 71.   This species of Croton is a small tree or shrub,  with a few
spreading  branches, bearing alternate petiolate leaves, which  are ovate,
acuminate,  serrate, smooth, of a dark green colour on the upper surface,
paler beneath, and furnished with two  glands at the base.  The  flowers are
in erect terminal racemes,  scarcely  as long as  the  leaf—the lower being
female, the upper male, with straw-coloured petals.  The fruit is a  smooth
capsule, about the size of  a filbert, with three cells, each containing a single
seed.
   The tree is a native of Hindostan, Ceylon, the Moluccas,  and  other parts
of continental and insular  India.  It is  pervaded throughout by an acrid pur-
gative  principle, which  is probably analogous to that found  in other plants
belonging to the family of the Euphorbiaceae.   Rumphius says that  the root
is employed in Amboyna  in the dose of a  few grains as a drastic purge in
dropsy; and,  according to the same author,  the  leaves are so  acrid that,
when chewed and swallowed, they excite  painful  inflammation  in the lips,
mouth, throat,  and along  the whole  course of the alimentary canal.  The
wood is said in small doses to be diaphoretic, in larger, purgative and emetic.
But  the seeds are the portion in which  the  active principle of  the  plant is
most concentrated.   These  have been  long employed throughout the whole
of India as a powerful purgative, and were  introduced so early as the year

  *  The following is the formula adopted  by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy for
the preparation of the rubefacient liniment, so much sold under the name of British Oil.
R. Olei Terebinth, fgviij, Olei Lini f.^viij, Olei Succini fgiv. Olei Juniperi fgiv.  Pe.
trolei Barbadens. f.^iij, Pctrolei American- (Seneca oil) f^j. Misce. {Journ. of the Phil.
Col.  of Pharm.  v. 29.) 
PART I.
Oleum Tig Hi.
503
1630 into Europe, where they were known by the names of Grana Molucca
and Grana Tiglia.   But in consequence of their violent effects they passed
into neglect,  and had ceased to be ranked among medicinal substances,
when at a recent period  attention was again called to them by the writings
of some English physicians in India.   They are now imported for the oil
which they afford,  and which is the only portion  of the plant considered
officinal.
   These seeds are  rather larger than a grain of  coffee, of an oblong form,
rounded at the extremities, with two faces, the external  considerably more
convex than the internal, separated from each other by longitudinal ridges,
and each divided by a similar longitudinal ridge, so that the whole seed pre-
sents an irregular quadrangular figure.   Sometimes, as in the grain of coffee,
their  internal surface is flat with a longitudinal groove, owing to the presence
of only two seeds in the capsule, the groove being produced by the central
column or axis.  The shell is covered with a soft yellowish-brown epider-
mis, beneath which the surface is black and smooth; and as the epidermis is
often partially removed by friction  during their carriage, the seeds as they
come  to us are frequently of a mottled  appearance, and  sometimes nearly
black.   The kernel or nucleus is of a yellowish-brown colour, and  abounds
in oil.  In India the seeds  are prepared for use by submitting them  to slight
torrefaction, by which the shell is rendered more easily separable.   In the
 dose of one or two grains  the kernel purges with great activity.
   The oil is obtained by expression from the seeds, previously deprived of
 the shell.  It may also be separated by decoction in water, or by the  action
 of ether, which dissolves the oil, and leaves  it behind  when  evaporated.
 According to  Dr. Nimmo, the seeds consist of 64 parts of kernel, and 36 of
 envelope, in the hundred; and the cotyledons yield 60 per cent, of oil.  They
 yielded to Brandes, upon  analysis, independently of the shell, traces of a
 volatile oil, fixed oil, a peculiar fatty acid called crotonic acid, an  alkaloid
 which he called  crotonin,  resin,  stearin,  wax, extractive, sugar, starch,
 gum, albumen, gluten, lignin, and  salts.   Some doubts are  entertained as
 to the existence of crotonin.   The crotonic acid is  the most  interesting
 ingredient, is thought to be the active principle of the seeds, and is separated
 along with the oil in expression.   It may be obtained  by treating the  oil
 with  solution of potassa, decomposing the resulting soap by tartaric acid,
 filtering and distilling the solution, neutralizing the product with baryta water,
 evaporating to dryness, decomposing the salt of baryta  with strong phos-
 phoric acid, and again  distilling.  (Christison's Dispensatory.)  The acid
 solidifies at  23° F.,  is highly volatile, has a very acrid  taste, is very irri-
 tating to the  nostrils, and forms salts with alkaline  bases called crotonates.
 It is this principle probably which causes the dust  and exhalation  from  the
 croton seeds sometimes to excite excessive irritation in  the mucous surfaces
 of those who prepare them for  expression, or otherwise work among them.
   Properties.   Croton oil, as  found in the shops,  is often of an orange or
 reddish-yellow colour, which is owing to  the roasting of the seeds previously
 to expression, or to their having been kept too long. When procured with-
 out roasting from fresh  seeds, it is yellowish or nearly colourless.  Its smell
 is faint but peculiar, its taste hot and acrid, leaving in the mouth a disagree-
 able  sensation which continues for many hours.  The oil is wholly soluble
 in sulphuric  ether and  oil of turpentine, and  partially so in alcohol.  Ac-
 cording to Dr. Nimmo, it consists of two portions, one acrid  and purgative,
 amounting to forty-five  per cent., soluble in cold alcohol, and having an acid
 reaction, the  other a mild  oleaginous substance like olive oil, soluble in ether
 and  the oil of  turpentine,  and  very  slightly soluble  in hot alcohol, by 
504
Oleum Tig Hi.
PART I.
 which it is deposited when.the  liquor cools.  The acrid portion probably
 consists of a resinous substance,  and the acrid volatile acid, before mentioned,
 by the name of crotonic acid.
   It is thought that  croton oil  is often adulterated with other fixed  oils.
 The Edinburgh College gives  the following test of its purity.   " When
 agitated with its own volume of pure alcohol and gently heated, it separates
 on standing, without having undergone any apparent diminution."  This,
 however, does not agree with the statement of Dr. Nimmo.
   We have been told by Dr. M.  Burrough, who was for some time in India,
 that much of the oil there prepared for exportation, under  the name of croton
 oil,  is derived from the seeds of a plant wholly different from the Croton Tig-
 lium.  Dr. R. E.  Griffith informed us that, from a parcel of these seeds pre-
 sented to him by Dr. Burrough, he had succeeded in producing a plant which
 proved to be the Jatropha Curcas, the seeds of which are known by the name
 of Barbadoes nuts. (See Tapioca.) This oil is weaker than the genuine cro-
 ton oil, but is said  by  Dr. Burrough to be an efficient cathartic in the dose of
 three or four drops. It is stated by Dr. Hamilton that croton seeds are afforded
 by the Croton Pavana, growing  in Ava and the Eastern parts of Bengal; and
 it is highly probable  that a portion of the croton oil of commerce is obtained
 from these seeds.  (Trans. Lin. Soc, xiv. 257.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The substance under consideration is a
 powerful hydragogue purgative, acting, for the  most part, when adminis-
 tered in moderate  doses, with  ease to the patient; but in  large doses apt to
 excite vomiting and severe griping pain, and capable, if immoderately taken,
 of producing fatal  effects.  It acts with very great rapidity, frequently evacu-
 ating the bowels in less  than  an hour,  and generally exciting a  rumbling
 sensation in half that period.  It possesses also  a great advantage  in the
 minuteness of the dose,  on account of which it may frequently be given
 when we should fail with more bulky medicines, as in mania, coma, and the
 cases of children.   A drop placed on the tongue of a person in a comatose
 state will generally operate.  Though long used in India,  and known a cen-
 tury ago to the Dutch physicians, it did not attract general  notice till about
 1820, when it was introduced into England by Mr. Conwell.  It is chiefly
 employed in cases of obstinate constipation, in which it often produces the
 happiest effects after the  failure  of other medicines; but it may also be ad-
 vantageously employed in  almost all cases in which powerful and speedy
 purging is demanded.   Dropsy,  apoplexy, mania, and visceral obstructions,
 are among the complaints in which it has  been particularly  recommended.
 It has recently been employed with great asserted benefit in neuralgia, epi-
lepsy, and  spasm of the glottis,  and has been supposed to have powers in
 these affections, independent of its purgative property.  The seeds are said
 to have been used with great  success  in  India in  amenorrhoea.  Applied
 externally, the oil produces inflammation of the skin attended with a pustular
eruption, and has  been used  in this way  in rheumatism, gout, neuralgia,
glandular and other indolent swellings, and in pulmonary diseases. It should
be diluted with three  parts  of olive oil, soap-liniment, oil of turpentine, or
other convenient vehicle, and applied in the way of liniment twice or oftener
in the twenty-four  hours.   Sometimes the insusceptibility of the skin to its
influence is such as to require  its application undiluted.   For further infor-
mation on this subject the  reader is referred to the Amer. Journ.  of Med.
 Sciences, xv. 240.  The oil may be also applied externally, in the form of
a plaster, made by  incorporating  one part of it with four parts of lead  plaster
melted by a very gentle heat.
   The dose for an adult is one or two drops, and is most conveniently ad- 
part i.             Oleum Tiglii.— Olibanum.                 505

ministered in the form of pill.  A very safe and convenient plan is to make
two drops into four pills with crumb of bread,  and give one every hour till
they operate.  The oil may also be given in emulsion.  The form of tincture
may be advantageously resorted to when a minute quantity of the medicine
is required,  as it affords the means of readily dividing the dose.  It is said
that four drops of the oil, applied externally by friction around the umbilicus,
will  produce a purgative effect. (Diet, des Drogues.)               W.

                    OLIBANUM. Lond., Dub.

                             Olibanum.

   " Boswellia serrata.  Gummi-resina." Lond., Dub.
   Encens, Fr.; Wtihrauch, Germ.; Olibano, Ital.; Olibano, Incienso, Span.; Koondir
Zuckir, Hindoo.; Cundur Looban, Arab.
   Olibanum, the frankincense of the ancients, was erroneously ascribed by
Linnaeus to the Juniperus Lycia.  There appear to be two varieties of
olibanum, one derived from  the  countries  bordering on  the Red  Sea, and
taken to Europe by way of the  Mediterranean, the other brought directly
from Calcutta.   The origin of the former remains  yet undecided; though
some writers refer it to a species of Amyris.   The latter has  been satisfac-
torily ascertained to be the product of the  Boswellia serrata of Roxburgh,
a large tree  growing in the mountains of India, and found by Mr. Colebrook
abundant in the vicinity of Nagpur.  The tree belongs to the class and order
Decandria Monogynia, and to the natural order Terebintaceae of Kunth.
   The Arabian or African frankincense is in the form of yellowish tears and
irregular reddish lumps or fragments.  The tears are generally small, oblong
or roundish, not very brittle, with a dull and waxy fracture, softening in the
mouth, and bearing much resemblance to mastich, from which, however,
they differ in their want of transparency.   The reddish masses soften in the
hand, have a stronger smell and  taste than the tears, and are often mixed
with fragments of  bark, and small crystals of carbonate of lime.
   The  Indian frankincense, or  olibanum, consists chiefly of yellowish,
somewhat translucent, roundish tears, larger than  those of the African, and
generally covered  with  a whitish powder produced by friction.  It  has a
balsamic resinous  smell,  and  an acrid,  bitterish,  and somewhat  aromatic
taste.   When chewed it softens in the mouth, adheres to  the teeth, and par-
tially dissolves in the saliva, which it renders milky.  It burns with a bril-
liant flame,  and a fragrant odour.  Triturated with water it forms a milky
imperfect solution.  Alcohol dissolves nearly three-fourths of it, and  the
tincture is transparent.   From 100 parts, Braconnot obtained 8 parts of
volatile oil,  56 of resin, 30 of gum, and 5*2 of a glutinous matter insoluble
in water or alcohol, with 0*8 loss.  Various saline  substances were found
in its ashes.  The oil may be separated by distillation, and resembles that
of lemons in colour and smell.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Olibanum is stimulant like the other gum-
resins* but is now never used internally.   It is chiefly employed for  fumi-
gations, and enters into the composition of some unofficinal plasters.  W.
44 
506
Opium.
part r.
               OPIUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                              Opium.

   " The concrete  juice of the unripe capsules  of Papaver somniferum."
 U. S. " Papaver somniferum.   Capsulae immaturae  Succus  concretus."
Lond. " Concrete juice from the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum."
Ed.  " Papaver  somniferum.   Capsularum  succus proprius  concretus."
Dub.
   Opium, Fr.; Opium, Monshaft,  Germ.; Oppio, Ital; Opio,  Span;  Affioni, Turk.;
Ufyoon, Arab.; Sheerikhaskash, Persian; Ufeem, Hindoo.
   Papaver. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Papaveraceae.
   Gen. Ch. Corolla four-petaled.  Calyx two-leaved.  Capsule one-celled,
opening by pores under the persistent stigma. Willd.
   Opium is at present generally believed to be derived  exclusively from the
Papaver somniferum, though every species of poppy is capable of yielding
it to a greater or less extent,  and some authors have indicated the Papaver
orientate as its real source.  The British and French Pharmacopoeias unite
with our own in recognising only the first mentioned species.
   Papaver somniferum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1147; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
376. t. 138. There are two varieties of this species, which are distinguished
by the titles of the white and black poppy, derived from  the colour of their
seeds.  It is the former which is  usually described as  the proper opium
plant.   The white poppy is an annual plant, with  a round, smooth, erect,
glaucous, often branching stem, rising two or three  feet in height, and some-
times attaining five or even six  feet in favourable  situations.  The leaves
are large, variously lobed  and  toothed, and  alternately disposed upon the
stem  which they closely embraee.   The flowers  are terminal, very large,
and of a white or silver gray colour.  In India they appear in February, in
Europe and the United States, not earlier than June, July, or August. The
calyx is smooth, and composed of  two leaves, which  fall when the petals
expand.  These are usually four in number; but there is a variety in which
the flower is double.  The germen, which is smooth and globular, supports
a radiated stigma, and is surrounded by numerous short and slender fila-
ments, with erect, oblong, compressed  anthers.   The capsule  is smooth
and glaucous, of a rounded shape, from two to four  inches in diameter,
somewhat flattened at the top and bottom, and crowned with the persistent
 stigma, the  diverging segments  of which are arranged in a circle upon the
 summit. It  contains numerous minute white  seeds, which, when perfectly
ripe, escape through small  openings beneath the stigma.  In the blackpoppy,
 the flower, though sometimes white, is  usually violet  coloured or red, the
 capsule is somewhat smaller and more globular, and the seeds are of a brown
or blackish  colour.
   All parts  of the  poppy are said to contain a white opaque narcotic juice;
but the leaves, when analyzed by M. Blondeau yielded none of those active
 principles by which opium is characterized. (Journ. de Pharm. vii. 214.)
 It is in the capsule that the juice most abounds, and the virtues of the plant
 chiefly reside.   Hence this part is sometimes employed medicinally in Eu-
 rope, where it is considered officinal. (See Papaveris Capsulae.) The seeds
 are wholly  destitute of narcotic properties, and are even used  as  food  in
 many parts of the world.   The Romans employed them in the preparation
 of various dainties.  They abound with a bland oil, which may be extract-
 ed by expression, and has most of the useful properties of olive oil.  It is 
PART I.
Opium.
507
an article of much importance on the continent  of Europe, particularly in
France, in the  northern  departments of which the black poppy is  very  ex-
tensively cultivated for the seed  alone.  The oil is  employed for  culinary
and pharmaceutic purposes, in painting, and the manufacture of soap, and in
other ways as a substitute for olive oil, which is said to be frequently adul-
terated with it.  The poppy does not appear to elaborate the milky fluid in
which its narcotic properties reside, before a certain period  of its growth;
for we are told that in Persia, the young plants which are pulled up to pre-
vent too thick a crop, are used as pot-herbs; and the p.r\x^v of the  Greeks,
which is believed  to be identical with the Papaver  somniferum, is said by
Hippocrates to be nutritive.
   Though generally believed to be a native of Asia, this species of poppy
grows wild in the South of Europe, and eveniri England, whither its seeds
are supposed to have been brought at a very early period.  It was cultivated
by the ancient  Greeks, and is mentioned by Homer as a garden plant.  It is
at present cultivated very extensively in India, Persia, Egypt, and  Asiatic
Turkey, for the opium  which  it affords; and in several parts of Europe,
especially in France, not only for this product,  but  also for  the  seed  and
capsules.  In this country it is found only in our gardens as an  ornamen-
tal flower.
   The process for  procuring opium from  the poppy, as  practised by the
modern inhabitants  of India and Persia,  according  to  the reports of Kerr
and of Koempfer, is very nearly the same with that described by Diosco-
rides as employed  in his own  times, about eighteen hundred years since;
and the accounts of Belon, Olivier, and Texier, as to the modes  of collec-
tion in Asia Minor, are not  materially different.  As the  capsules  abound
most in the narcotic juice, it is from  these that the opium is   procured.
According to Texier, a few days after the fall of the flower, men and  wo-
 men proceed  to  the fields, and  make  horizontal incisions in the capsule,
taking care not to penetrate  its cavity.  A white juice exudes, and appears
 in the form of tears upon the edges of the incisions.  The field is left in
 this state for  twenty-four  hours, after which the  juice  is  scraped  off by
 means of large blunt knives.   A portion  of the epidermis  of the  capsule
 is also removed, and constitutes about one-twelfth  of the whole product.
 Each poppy-head affords opium  but once.  Thus  collected, the  opium  is
 in the state of an  adhesive and granular jelly.   It is placed in small  earthen
 vessels, where it is  beaten and at  the same time moistened with saliva.
 When of a proper consistence, it is  wrapped in leaves and sent into the
 market.  (Journ.  de Pharm. xxi. 196.)  Considerable  quantities of good
 opium have been obtained by different individuals in England by scarifying
 the capsules of the  poppy.*  Similar success has been met with in France;
 and the drug obtained by incisions in both countries  has been found nearly
 if not  quite equal  to that imported from the East.   In the Dictionnaire
 ties Drogues it is even stated, that  a  specimen of  opium  collected in this
 way in the vicinity of Provins, gave sixteen per cent, of the active  principle,

   *  So early as the  year 1796, a premium was awarded by the society for the encourage-
 ment of arts, to  Mr. Ball, for a specimen of British opium; and in 1823, Messrs. Cowley
 and Stains collected  196 pounds, which sold for nearly seven dollars  a  pound, from little
 more than twelve acres of land.   This product,  however, was by no means equal to that
 obtained in Scotland by Mr. John Young.  From one ac:e of ground  planted with pop-
 pies and potatoes, he procured fifty-six pounds of opium, valued at 4;>0  dollars, while the
 whole expense was more than repaid by the potatoes, and the oil expressed from the  seeds.
 For papers on the subject of the cultivation of the poppy  in England, see Edin. Philosoph.
 Journ, vtl. i. p. 253, and the Quarterly Journal of Science, vol. iv. p. 69. 
508
Opium.
PART I.
 while a good commercial  specimen examined by M. Petit, afforded only
 eight per cent.
   Another method of extracting the virtues of the capsules, is to select such
 as have ceased to yield their juice by exudation, to beat them with a small
 proportion of water, and  inspissate the liquid thus  obtained  by artificial
 heat.  The ancient Greeks were acquainted with both processes, as appears
 from the writings of Dioscorides.  The term ottvov, derived from 0*0$, juice,
 they applied to the substance procured by incision, and answering precisely
 to the modern opium.  The inspissated expressed juice they called u->nxuviov,
 from wxiov, the  name of the plant.   Tournefort states that it  is the latter
 preparation which is exported from Turkey  as opium, the former being
 much more valuable, and therefore retained in  the country for the use of the
 great and  wealthy.  This  error has been  copied  by many writers on the
 Materia Medica;  and  till  within a  comparatively few years,  opium was
 generally believed  to be an extract obtained by evaporating either the ex-
 pressed juice, or a decoction of the capsules.
   Commercial History.   Commerce is supplied with opium chiefly from
 Hindostan, Persia, Egypt,  and  the Asiatic  dominions  of  Turkey.  Im-
 mense  quantities  are produced in the Indian provinces of  Bahar and Be-
 nares, and in the  more interior  province of Malwa.   The opium of Hin-
 dostan  is  distributed extensively  through continental and  insular India,
 where it is habitually employed in the place of spirituous liquors.  Great
 quantities  are also sent to China, into whieh it finds an easy entrance, not-
 withstanding prohibitory laws.   Much was formerly imported  by  the East
 India Company into England, through which a small portion reached our
 own country; but at present India opium is considered so far inferior to that
 from Turkey, that it has been almost  entirely excluded from  our market,
 and none is  brought directly from the East.   The great demand  for it  in
 the Indian Archipelago  and in China,  and  its consequent high price, have
 probably contributed more even than its reputed inferiority to this result.
 Indeed, Ainslie explicitly states that India opium is inferior to  none; and it
 is probable that the specimens from which the description was drawn up
 that has been current among authors upon the Materia Medica, were the
 refuse of the Eastern market.  We know that the drug was formerly very
 much  and  variously  adulterated by the natives.   Among  the impurities
 mentioned  by authors are the extract of the poppy procured by decoction,
 the powdered leaves and stems of the plant made into a paste with muci-
 lage, the oil  of sesamum, catechu, and  even cow-dung.  But  a more care-
 ful superintendence by the officers of the Company is said to have resulted
 in a great improvement of  the India opium.   Of that produced in Persia,
 very little is  brought to this country;  and it is scarcely known  in our mar-
 kets as  a distinct variety.   Much was  formerly produced in  Upper Egypt,
 especially in  the  district of ancient Thebes, which was supposed  to  yield
 it in greatest  perfection.  It was in fact for a long time generally known by
 the name of  Opium Thebaicum, and laudanum is still frequently directed
 in prescriptions  as the  Tinctura Thebaica.   Its  cultivation has  recently
been again introduced into  Egypt; and considerable quantities are  now an-
nually exported.
   Turkey opium is produced in Anatolia, and is shipped chiefly from the
port of  Smyrna.   It is  brought  to  the United States, either directly from
the Levant, or indirectly through the Mediterranean ports of France. From
the treasury returns for the year 1829, it appears  that the value of opium
imported from the Turkish  dominions was 92,924  dollars, from France
on the  Mediterranean,  12,187 dollars, and  from all other parts of the 
PART I.
Opium.
509
world only 2,040 dollars.  None was imported from India.  Turkey opium
usually comes to  us in masses of irregular size and  shape,  generally more
or less flattened,  covered with  leaves, or the remains of leaves, and with
the reddish  capsules of some species of Rumex, which are said to be ab-
sent in the  inferior kinds, and may therefore be  considered  as affording
some  indication of the purity of the drug.   We may account for this cir-
cumstance upon the very probable supposition,  that  these capsules are re-
moved during  the operation which the masses sometimes  undergo in  the
hands of the merchants,  after leaving those of the cultivators.   We  are
told by the French writers, that extensive  frauds are practised at  Marseilles
in this branch of commerce.   The opium brought thither from the Levant
is first softened, and then adulterated with various matters, which are incor-
porated in its substance.   To use a strong expression of M.  Guibourt, they
make  the opium over again at Marseilles.  Our traders to the Mediterranean
would do well to bear this  assertion in  mind.   According to  Dr. A. T.
Thomson, one-fourth  part of Turkey opium generally consists of impuri-
ties.   Sand, ashes, the seeds of different plants, the extracts of the poppy,
Lactuca  virosa,  Glycyrrhiza glabra,  and  Chelidonium  glaucum,  gum
Arabic, tragacanth, aloes, even small stones,  and minute pieces of lead and
iron, are  mentioned among the substances employed in  the sophistication
of the drug.  In  England a sophisticated  opium has  been prepared, so
nearly resembling good Turkey opium  in  appearance, that  by  the  eye
alone  it would  be difficult to detect  the fraud, and yet wholly destitute of
the  active principle of this drug.  Portions  of it have been sent  into the
markets  both of  France and this  country.  It is  probably the  genuine
drug,  deprived of its morphia by some  process which does not  materially
disturb the visible arrangement of its particles.* (Am. Journ. of Pharm.
x. 261.)

  * The great importance of opium renders it desirable that all its commercial varieties
should  be accurately described, and their relative value so far as possible  ascertained.
The following statement has been drawn up from the most recent published accounts of
this drug, and from the personal observations of the author.  The papers of Guibourt in
France, Christison in Greit Britain, and Merck  and Martius in Germany, have been con-
sulted. (See Journ. de Pharm. xvii. 714, and xxi. 542; and Annalen der Pharm. xviii. 79,
and xxiv. 56)
  The varieties of this drug may be arranged, according to the countries in which they
are produced, under the heads of Turkey, Egyptian, India, and Persia,  opium.
  I. TURKEY OPIUM.  This title belongs "to the opium produced in the Turkish pro-
vince of Anatolia, and exported from Smyrna and Constantinople.  According to some
authorities, there is no essential difference between the parcels of the drug brought from
these two ports.  Others maintain  that they are distinct varieties, differing in their interior
structure, and  probably also in  the  precise place of their production, and  the mode of their
collection.   The truth probably is, that most of the opium shipped at  Constantinople is
produced in the northern  parts of Anatolia, while that from Smyrna is collected in the
provinces more convenient to the latter city; and, though it is possible  that an identical
drug may be occasionally brought from the two ports, yet there seems to be good ground in
general for arranging it under different varieties, as derived from these different sources.
  1.  Smyrna Opium. This is the  variety which is beyond all comparison most abundant
in our markets; and it is from  this that the ordinary descriptions of opium are drawn up.
It comes to us in masses of various size, usually from half a pound or somewhat less to a
pound in weight, sometimes, though rarely, as much as two or even three pounds, origi-
nally perhaps of a globular form, but variously indented, and rendered  quite  irregular in
shape, by the pressure to which they are subjected, while yet soft, in the cases which
contain them.  Sometimes they are even  pressed  out into flat cakes.  As brought into
market, the lumps are usually hard on the outside, but still soft within.  They are covered
externally with the remains of leaves, and with the reddish capsules of a species of Rumex,
which have no doubt  been applied  in order to prevent the surfaces from adhering.   Not-
                                    44* 
510
Opium.
PART I.
   Opium is regarded as inferior when it is of a blackish colour;  a weak or
 empyreumatic smell; a sweet or slightly nauseous  and bitter taste;  a soft,
 viscid, or greasy consistence; a dull fracture; or an irregular, heterogeneous
 texture, arising from the intermixture of  foreign substances.   It should not


 withstanding, however, this coating, the masses sometimes stick together, and two or more
 become consolidated into one.   In this way the (act may be accounted for, that the seeds
 of the Rumex are occasionally found in the interior of the masses.   In the finer parcels
 of Smyrna  opium, the colour  internally is light brown;  in the  inferior it is darker.  A
 peculiar character of this variety is, that when a lump of it is cut into and then carefully
 torn, numerous  minute shining tears  are  observable,  particularly under a  microscope,
 bearing some resemblance to small seeds, but readily distinguishable by pressure between
 the fingers. They are undoubtedly formed  from  the drops of juice which escape from the
 incisions in the capsules, and which, according  to  Belon, are allowed to  concrete betbre
 they are removed.  From the account of the same author it appears that, after the juice
 has been collected, it is not subjected to the process of kneading or beating, as in the case
 of other varieties of opium; so that the tears preserve their original shape in the mass.  It
 is probably owing to the peculiar mode of collecting Smyrna  opium, that minute pieces
 of the skin of the poppy capsules are found intermingled in the mass, these being sepa-
 rated in the process of removing the adhering tears.  In the finer specimens  of Smyrna
 opium, these fragments of the capsules are  the only impurities.   This variety of the drug
 is of very different qualities, the finest kinds yielding, according to Merck, as much as 13
 per cent, of pure morphia, while from some very bad parcels he  could not procure more
 than 3 or 4 per cent.  In these inferior specimens  tbe colour is darker, the smell is often
 musty, and there is very generally more or less mouldiness both upon the surface, and in
 the interior of the masses, indicating perhaps too much moisture in the opium originally,
 or its subsequent exposure to  an injurious degree  of dampness. Good  Smyrna opium
 ought to yield 10 or 11  per cent, of morphia.
   2. Constantinople Opium.  Most of the  Constantinople opium is in lumps from half a
 pound to two and a half pounds in weight, and scarcely distinguishable in exterior appear-
 ance from those  of the former variety, being equally irregular in shape, and in like manner
 covered with the capsules of the Rumex. It differs, however, strikingly from  the Smyrna
 opium in its interior contitution, being, according to Merck, wholly destitute of the tears
 which characterize that variety.  This  would indicate some  difference in the mode of
 collecting and preparing the juice.  In the case of the Constantinople opium, it is pro-
.bably either removed from  the capsules before concretion, or  subjected to pressure after-
 wards.  Merck says that he has not discovered  in this variety those minute portions of
 the poppy  capsules which are usually present in the Smyrna opium.   The average quality
 of the Constantinople opium, as above described, is about equal  to that of the drug from
 Smyrna; but it appears to be occasionally purer; as Merck obtained  from one specimen
 as much as 15 per cent, of pure morphia.  Notwithstanding what has been above stated,
 we are not yet in possession of facts to prove that this is  not, as some have supposed it to
 be, the better sort of Smyrna opium selected and sent to the capital.
   Guibourt describes another variety of Constantinople opium of much inferior character.
 " It comes," he observes, "in small flattened cakes, sufficiently regular and of a lenticular
 shape, from two to two and a half inches in diameter, and always covered with a poppy
 leaf, the midrib of which divides the surface into two equal parts.  It has an odour similar
 to that of the preceding variety, but feebler, and it blackens and dries in the air.  It is
 more mucilaginous than Smyrna opium, and contains only half as much morphia." These
 characters are obviously those of  Egyptian opium; and, though the  parcels which came
 under the notice of Guibourt may have been imported directly from Constantinople, it is
 highly probable  that they  were originally from Alexandria.  Mr. Stettner of Trieste,
 though well acquainted with the opium  commerce of that port, admits no such Constan-
 tinople opium as that described by Guibourt. (Annul, der Pharm. xxiv. 65.)
   II.  EGYPTIAN OPIUM.  This  is  in flat  roundish cakes,  of  various  dimensions,
 sometimes as much as  six inches in diameter and a pound in weight, usually, however,
 much smaller, and sometimes  not  weighing more than half an ounce.   These cakes are
 either wrapped in  a poppy leaf, so placed  that the midrib divides the surface into two
 equal parts, or exhibit vestiges of such a covering.  Occasionally the  brown colour of the
 opium is seen through the  leaf, and the surface appears as if uncovered, while the leaf is
 still present. This variety of opium is always destitute of the Rumex  capsules, and differs
 from the Smyrna opium also in being brittle instead of tenacious, and equally hard in the
 centre as at the surface of the mass. Its fracture is conchoidal and of a waxen lustre, and 
PART I.
Opium.
511
impart a deep brown colour to the saliva, nor leave a dark uniform  trace
when drawn over paper, nor form  with water a thick viscid solution.
   Properties.    Good  opium has a peculiar, strong, narcotic odour, and  a
bitter, somewhat acrid taste.  When long chewed it excites much irritation


small fragments of it are translucent.  Its colour is usually redder than  that of Smyrna
opium, though it is sometimes dark.  Some of the pieces, on exposure to the air, become
damp and sticky on the outer surface, indicating the  fraudulent addition of some deli-
quescent substance.  The odour is similar to that of Smyrna opium, but weaker.  There
can be little doubt  that this opium is, in some way, sophisticated in its preparation; as it
yields only 6 or 7 per cent, of morphia. (Merck.)  A specimen examined by Mr. J. Evans
of Philadelphia, yielded only 3-55 per cent.   Egyptian opium, therefore, should never be
dispensed by the apothecary, or employed in the preparation of his tinctures; as the pre-
scription of the physician is based upon the strength  of good Smyrna  opium, which is
about twice that of the Egyptian.
   III. INDIA OPIUM.  Little if any of this opium reaches our market.  There  appear
to be two chief varieties of it, one produced in Bahar and Benares, in the Bengal Presi-
dency, and called Bengal  opium, the other  in the interior  provinces, and  designated by
the name of Malwa opium.
   1. Bengal Opium. This appears to be  identical with the variety sometimes called Patna
opium.  It is in round balls, weighing  three pounds and a half, invested by a  coating half
an inch thick, composed of agglutinated leaves and poppy-petals.  The interior  of the
mass is of a brownish-black colour, of the consistence of a stiff paste, and  possessed in a
high degree of the characteristic odour  and  taste of opium.  Mr. Smyttan,  inspector  of
opium at Bombay, obtained from two to three and a half per cent, of morphia from this
variety of opium; but,  as  he  obtained only from  five  to six and  a  half per cent, from
Smyrna opium, we may conclude that the drug was not  exhausted by his  process, and
may estimate the proportion of its active principle at double that stated above.  Still, even
with this allowance, it  must be subjected to great  adulteration in its preparation; as it is
by no means probable  that  the poppies cultivated in  India yield a product materially
weaker than those of Turkey.  Yet Christison states,  that all the India opium which he
has seen is exempt from the mixture of leaves, seeds, and fragments of poppy capsules so
abundant in Smyrna opium.  Its inferior character is in some degree probably owing  to
the juice, after collection, being kept for  some time before it is made up, and consequently
undergoing fermentation.
   The India opium examined by Dr. A.  T. Thomson was apparently of inferior character.
As described by that author, it was in  round masses, covered with the petals of the poppy
in successive layers, to  the thickness of nearly one-fourth  of an  inch.  It had a  strong
empyreumatic smell, with little of the peculiar heavy odour of Turkey opium.  Its taste
was more bitter and equally nauseous, but less  acrid.  Its colour was  blacker, and ita
texture, though as tenacious, was less plastic.  It  was more friable, and when triturated
 with water, was wholly suspended or dissolved, leaving none of that plastic residue which
is afforded by the other variety.  It yielded  to Dr. Thomson more narcotina than Turkey
opium, but only about one-third the quantity of morphia.  All these are the characters of
an extract of the poppy heads, rather than of their inspissated juice.  The  absence of the
plastic principle  analogous to caoutchouc is strong evidence in favour of this view of its
nature; for  it is obvious that water would not extract this principle from the capsules,
while it is hardly probable that the juice  is destitute of it.  Besides, the strength indicated
by Dr. Thomson is very nearly the same with that of the extract of the capsules prepared
in France.  The Bengal opium is at present a superior drug to that here described, thoagh
still inferior to the Smyrna opium.
   There is a variety of Patna or Bengal  opium, called garden Patna opium, which was de-
scribed in the last edition of this work, on the authority of Dr. Christison, as Malwa  opium.
Dr. Christison has subsequently ascertained its true origin.   It is prepared in Bahar with
peculiar care, from juice which has not been suffered to undergo fermentation.  It is  in
cakes three or four inches square, and  about half an inch thick, which are packed  in
cases with a layer of mica between them.  These cakes are without covering, hard, dry,
and brittle, of a uniform shining fracture, and not unlike an extract in appearance.  The
colour is  sometimes almost  black, and sometimes of a light brown, not  unlike that  of
Egyptian opium.   Dr.  Christison states  that it is much superior  to the globular Bengal
opium, and that some specimens are little inferipr to Turkey opium  in the proportion  of
morphia.
   2. Malwa Opium. This is in flat, roundish cakes, five or six inches in diameter, and 
512
Opium.
PART I.
in the lips and  tongue, and even blisters the mouth of those unaccustomed
to its use.  Its colour is a reddish-brown or deep lawn; its texture compact;
its specific gravity 1-336.  When drawn over paper it usually leaves an in-
terrupted trace of a light brown colour.  It is often soft in the interior of
the  mass, and  in this state is  tenacious;  but when exposed to the air it
gradually hardens, and  ultimately becomes  brittle, breaking  with a shin-
ing  fracture, and affording when pulverized a  yellowish-brown powder,
which becomes adhesive upon a slight elevation of temperature.   It  readily
inflames upon  the application  of a lighted  taper.  It yields its virtues, to
water, alcohol,  and diluted  acids, but not to  ether.  To all these menstrua
it imparts a  deep brown colour.  Alcohol  dissolves about four-fifths of it.
Pelletier states  that the proportion taken up by water varies in all speci-
mens.  He never found the quantity of extract prepared with  cold water to
exceed 12 parts out of 16.  (Journ. de Pharm. Nov. 1832.)
   Much attention has been devoted to the chemical constitution of opium;
and  very interesting results have been obtained.  It was by their researches
into  the nature of this substance that chemists were led to the discovery of
those vegetable alkaloids, which, as the active principles of the plants in
which  they  are  found,  have recently attracted  so much attention  among
physicians, and been applied so advantageously in the treatment of disease.
To  Sertiirner,  an apothecary at  Eimbeck, in Hanover, certainly belongs
the  credit of having opened this  new and most important field of experi-
ment.  In the  year  1803, M. Derosne made  known the  existence of a
crystallizable substance which  he had discovered in opium, and which he
erroneously  believed  to be the active  principle.  In  the  following year,
Seguin discovered another crystallizable body, which subsequent experience
has  proved to be the  true narcotic principle of opium;  but he did not fully
investigate its nature, and no  immediate practical advantage was derived
from his excellent analysis.  About the same time, Sertiirner was engaged
in a similar  investigation, the results  of which,  very analogous to those
obtained by Seguin, were published in a  German journal, without, however,
attracting general attention.   In this state the subject remained till the year
1817, when  Sertiirner announced the existence of a saline compound in
opium, consisting of  a  peculiar alkaline principle  united with  a peculiar

from  four to eight ounces in weight.   They are commonly quite hard, dry, and brittle,
of a  light-brown colour,  a shining  fracture, a compact homogeneous texture, and free
from  mechanical impurities.  The quality is superior to that of common Bengal opium.—
(Christison1 s Dispensatory.)
  IV. PERSIA OPIUM.  A variety of opium under this name has sometimes existed in
the markets of London, and has even  found its way to  this country, though it is  very
rare.   It is described as being in cylindrical pieces, about three and a half inches  long
and half an inch thick, wrapped in  glossy paper, and tied with a cotton thread.  It is
of a  uniform consistence, but exhibits,  nevertheless,  under the microscope,  small agglu-
tinated tears, much less than those of the Smyrna opium.   It has the liver-brown colour
of Egyptian opium, a virose, musty odour, and a very bitter taste; and, like Egyptian
opium, softens  in a moist  atmosphere.  It is said to have been brought to England from
Trebizond on the Black Sea; but its origin is not known.  It is of inferior quality. From
the report of a trial in the city of New York, published in the Journal of Commerce,
it appears, that a parcel of Persia opium imported into that city from London in August
1835, was in small round balls, and contained only 3 per cent, of morphia.
  It  is highly important that the real value of these commercial varieties of opium should
be known to the physician and apothecary; as otherwise, there can be no certainty in  rela-
tion to the strength of the preparations  which may be made from them.  In the  prepara-
tion of laudanum and the other  tinctures into which opium enters, it is understood that
the drug employed should have the average quality of good Smyrna opium.  The inferior
kinds should be used only for the extraction of morphia. 
PART I.
Opium.
513
acid, and  clearly demonstrated the precise nature of a substance,  which,
though before discovered both by Seguin and by himself, had been hitherto
but vaguely known.  To the alkali,  in which he correctly conceived the
narcotic powers of the opium to reside, he gave the name of morphium,
which has been subsequently changed to morphia by English writers, in
order to render it analogous to the titles of the other alkalies.   The  acid he
called meconic, a term derived from the  Greek name of the poppy.  The
correctness  of the  statements of Sertiirner was confirmed  by the  experi-
ments  of  Robiquet, who also satisfactorily demonstrated that the substance
obtained by Derosne, and called by him the salt of opium, was a principle
altogether distinct from the morphia, though supposed to possess very con-
siderable  influence  over the system.  In the  belief of its narcotic powers,
Robiquet denominated it narcotin, a title which it  still retains.   Several
other peculiar principles have since been discovered; though  it is difficult
to resist the impression  that some  of them may be  the result of the pro-
cesses to  which opium is submitted for their extraction.   According to the
views of  its consitution  at present admitted, opium contains, 1.  morphia;
2. narcotina or  narcotin; 3. codeia;  4.  paramorphia;  5.  narcein;  6. me-
conin; 7. meconic and sulphuric acids;  8. a peculiar acid,  not  yet fully
investigated; 9. extractive matter;  10. gum;  11. bassorin;  12. a peculiar
resinous body insoluble in ether and containing nitrogen; 13. fixed oil; 14.
a substance resembling caoutchouc; 15.  an odorous volatile principle; be-
sides lignin, and a small proportion  of  acetic  acid, sulphate  of lime, sul-
phate  of  potassa, alumina,  and iron.  Besides these principles, Pelletier
announced the discovery of another  which he  called pseudomorphia, but
which appears to be only an occasional constituent of opium.   (See Journ.
de Pharm. xxi. 575.)
   Of the principles above mentioned morphia is by far the  most  impor-
tant.   It is generally admitted to exist in opium united with meconic acid
in the  state of meconate, and to a certain extent  also as a sulphate.   Of
morphia and the mode of procuring it,  and  of its salts, we shall treat at
large under another head. (See Morphia.)
   Narcotina or narcotin  receives one or the other of these names accord-
ing as  it is considered alkaline or neuter, they who rank it among the alka-
lies giving it the former, they who deny it  such a position, the latter. It exists
in opium, chiefly at least in the free state, and is left behind in  considerable
quantity when the drug is macerated with water.  It is white, tasteless, and
inodorous; and crystallizes in silky flexible needles, usually larger than the
crystals of morphia, fusible at a moderate elevation of temperature,  insolu-
ble in cold water, soluble in 400 parts of  boiling water, in 100  parts  of cold
and 24 of boiling alcohol which deposits  it upon cooling, and  very soluble
in ether.   The fixed and volatile oils,  and the diluted acids also dissolve it.
As it exerts no alkaline reaction  upon vegetable colours, and does not pre-
vent the acids from reddening litmus paper, there would appear to be some
reason  for denying it the  rank of an alkali.  But it unites with some of the
acids forming definite  compounds, which may be procured in a separate
state; and Robiquet obtained the sulphate and muriate of narcotina well
crystallized.  (Journ. de Pharm. xvii. 639,  and xix. 59.)  Hence many
chemists,  among whom is Berzelius, consider it alkaline; and, perhaps, this
view of it is the most convenient.   It  must be admitted, however, to have a
very feeble neutralizing power.  With acetic acid it does not appear to form
a permanent combination; for, though dissolved by  cold acetic acid, it is
separated  by heating the solution.   Narcotina is composed, according to an 
514
Opium.
part I.
analysis conducted  with great care by Pelletier, of 65-16 parts of carbon,
4-31  of nitrogen, 5-45 of hydrogen, and  25-08 of oxygen.  (Journ. de
Pharm. xviii.  624.)  According to Robiquet, its muriate consists of 4*585
parts of narcotina, and 0*409 of dry acid. (Ibid. xix. 63.)  Narcotina may
be distinguished from morphia by its insipidity,  and insolubility in ether and
alkaline solutions, by not affecting vegetable colours, by assuming a yellow-
ish instead of a blood-red colour under the action of strong nitric acid, and by
not producing a blue colour with the salts of iron.  It is, however, reddened
by a  mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids.  It gives a greasy stain to paper
when heated upon it over a candle.  Water extracts it partially from opium
in consequence of the acid which the latter  contains, either free or combined
with the narcotina.    It is usually obtained  mixed with morphia in the pro-
cesses for procuring that principle; and may be  separated by the action of
 sulphuric ether, which dissolves it without  affecting the morphia, and yields
it upon evaporation.  It may also be obtained by digesting opium in sulphuric
 ether, and slowly evaporating the ethereal  solution, which deposits crystals
 of narcotina.  Another mode of procuring it is to treat opium, which has been
 exhausted by  previous maceration in water, with dilute acetic acid, filtering
 the solution, precipitating by an alkali, washing the precipitate with water,
 and  purifying it by solution in  boiling alcohol,  from which it crystallizes as
 the liquid cools.  Should it still be impure, the solution in alcohol and  crys-
 tallization may be  repeated.
   Though narcotina itself is  tasteless, its salts  are very bitter, even more so
 than those  of morphia. (Berzelius.)   Their solution reddens litmus, and
 affords precipitates with the alkalies and infusion of galls.  They have not
 been very accurately investigated.  It has  already been stated that Robiquet
 obtained the sulphate and muriate crystallized.
    Different opinions have been advanced  relative to the action of narcotina
  on  the system.  Derosne  believed it  to be the  active principle of opium;
  though, upon experimenting with it, he obtained effects  but little stronger
  than those  produced by an equal dose of opium  itself.  Magendie found it
  to exercise a powerful influence upon the  system of dogs.  One grain dis-
  solved in oil  was sufficient to throw the animal into a state of stupor, which
  terminated in death in the course of twenty-four hours.   This stupor was
  wholly different from the composed sleep produced by morphia and its pre-
  parations.   He  inferred that, while the latter principle exercises  the reme-
  dial, anodyne, and soporific virtues of opium, the injurious excitant operation
  of the medicine  is  ascribable  to the narcotina.   Both Derosne and Magendie
  found its unpleasant effects to be modilied  or prevented by its conjunction
  vr-ith acetic acid.   According to Magendie, twenty-four grains, dissolved in
 vinegnr, may be given  to  a  dog  without  destroying life.  M. .Baily pre-
 scribed it in the dose of sixty grains, both in the solid state and dissolved in
 muriatic acid, without observing from it auy sensible  effect.  In the same
 state, Orfila found  that it might be taken by man in very large doses with
 impunity; and thirty grains of it dissolved in acetic acid, produced no effect
upon several patients to whom  it was administered.  Upon dogs, he informs
us, that it is without action when  dissolved in nitric or  muriatic acid; but
held  in solution by  acetic or sulphuric acid, or by olive oil,  thirty or forty
grains of it were sufficient to produce fatal effects. A singular circumstance
noticed by the same experimenter is, that the solution in acetic or sulphuric
acid occasioned violent excitement; while the contrary condition uniformly
resulted  from the  use of that in olive oil.  On the whole,  we may conclude
that narcotina,  either in the solid form or dissolved in acids, is  not possessed 
PART I.
Opium.
515
of any considerable narcotic powers;  and that the effects of a narcotic cha-
racter which have been attributed to it, have probably arisen  from the em-
ployment of a preparation not entirely freed from other principles contained
in the opium.  Dr. O'Shaughnessy, Professor of Chemistry in the Medical
College of Calcutta, recommends narcotina very highly in intermittent fever,
and believes that he has discovered in it even stronger anti-periodical pro-
perties than those of quinia.  Should his reports in its favour be confirmed by
further experiments, it will undoubtedly take its place among the most valu-
able substances of the Materia Medica.  In  the cases reported by him, it
was employed in combination with  muriatic acid.   Given in this  form,
though powerfully febrifuge, it was  found not to produce  narcotic effects,
not to constipate the bowels, and never to occasion that distressing headache
and restlessness which sometimes follow the use of quinia.   It proved, more-
over, powerfully sudorific.   It was given in doses of three grains, three
times a day.  Dr. O'Shaughnessy was induced to recommend its employ-
ment to his medical  friends in  India, from a knowledge that it had proved
effectual in mild agues, in the hands  of Dr. Roots and Mr. Jetson in Eng-
land.
   Codeia was discovered in 1832 by Robiquet  in the  muriate of morphia
prepared according to the process of Gregory.  It exists in opium combined
like morphia with meconic  acid, and is extracted along with that alkali in
the preparation of the muriate.  (See Morphia.)   When the solution of the
mixed muriates of morphia  and codeia is treated with ammonia, the former
alkali is precipitated,  and the codeia, remaining in solution, may be obtained
by evaporation and crystallization.   It may be purified by treating the crys-
tals with hot ether, which dissolves them and yields the codeia in colourless
crystals by spontaneous evaporation.    This  alkaline product melts at 300°
without decomposition.   It is soluble in water,  which takes  up  1-26 per
cent, at 60°, 3-7 at 110°, and 5-9 at 212°. When added in excess to boiling
water, the undissolved portion  melts and sinks  to  the bottom, having the
 appearance of an oil.  It is soluble also in alcohol and ether, but is insoluble
in alkaline solutions.   Hence it may be separated from morphia by a solu-
tion of potassa or soda, which dissolves the morphia, and leaves the codeia.
It has an alkaline reaction on test paper, and combines with acids to form
 salts, some of which are crystallizable, particularly the nitrate.  Its capacity
 of saturation is almost identical with  that of morphia.  According to Robi-
 quet, 1 part of muriatic acid is saturated by 7-837 of codeia, and by 7-88 of
 morphia.   It is distinguishable, however, from  the latter principle, by the
 different form of its crystals which are octohedral, by its  solubility in boil-
 ing ether, greater solubility in water, and insolubility in alkaline solutions,
 and by not assuming a red colour with nitric acid, nor a blue one with the
 sesquisalts of iron.  (Journ. de Pharm. xix. 91.)   Tincture  of galls pre-
 cipitates from its solutions a tannate of codeia.   Crystallized from a watery
 solution, it contains about six per cent, of water, which is driven off at 212°.
 The crystals obtained from a solution in ether contain no water.  Like the
 other vegetable alkalies, it consists of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
 Its formula is C3sH2o05N; and its combining number consequently 288*35.
 Dr. Gregory tried the effects of nitrate of codeia upon himself andseveral of
 his pupils, and found that, in a  dose  of three grains or less, it produced no
 obvious effect, but in the quantity of from four to six grains, accelerated the
 pulse, occasioned a sense of heat in  the head and face, and gave  rise to an
 agreeable  excitement of the spirits  like that resulting  from intoxicating
 drinks, which was attended with a sense of itching upon the skin, and, after 
516
Opium.
PART I.
lasting for several hours, was followed by an unpleasant depression, with
nause'a  and sometimes  vomiting.   No tendency  to sleep  was  observed,
except in the state of depression.  In two or three cases the medicine pro-
duced a slight purgative  effect; but in others it appeared  to exercise  no
peculiar influence on the  bowels.  M. Barbier of Amiens  administered
codeia uncombined in numerous cases, and observed  that,  in the dose of
one or two grains, it acted  on the  nervous system, and appeared to be di-
rected especially to the  great sympathetic; as it relieved painful  affections
having their origin apparently in disorders of this nerve, while it exerted no
influence over pains of the back and extremities supplied by  nerves from the
spinal marrow.  He did not find it to affect the circulation, to disturb diges-
tion,  or to produce constipation.  In sufficient quantity, it  induced sleep,
without occasioning those marks of cerebral congestion induced by opium.
Dr. Miranda, of Havana, has employed it with great advantage in several bad
cases of dyspepsia.  On the whole, there can be no doubt that this principle
has a decided action on the animal economy, and is  among those upon which
opium depends for its peculiar powers.
  Paramorphia (thebaina) is  the name given by Pelletier to a principle
discovered by him in the precipitate thrown down from an infusion of opium
treated with milk of lime.   The precipitate being washed  with water  till
the liquid came away colourless, and then treated with alcohol, instead of
affording morphia to this solvent, as was anticipated, yielded a new alkaline
principle, which was obtained  separate by evaporating the alcohol, acting
on the residue with ether, allowing the ethereal solution to evaporate spon-
taneously, and then purifying the  resulting crystalline mass by dissolving
it in  an  acid, precipitating by ammonia, and  recrystallizing  by  means of
alcohol or ether.   Pelletier named it paramorphia, from  its close analogy
in composition with morphia, from which, however, it is quite distinct in'
properties.  It is white, crystallizable in needles,  of an acrid and styptic
rather than bitter  taste, fusible at about 300°, scarcely soluble in water, very
soluble in alcohol and ether even when cold, and still more so  when heated,
and capable of combining with the acids, with which,  however, it does not
form  crystallizable  salts. Alkalies  precipitate it from its acid solutions, and,
unless in very concentrated solution, do not redissolve it when added in ex-
cess.   It is not like morphia reddened  by nitric acid, nor does it become
blue with solutions of the sesquisalts  of iron.  From codeia it differs in
never being in  large crystals, in not forming crystallizable salts, in being
always precipitated from its acid solutions by ammonia, and in not melting
in oily drops.  From narcotina, which it  most resembles, it may be distin-
guished by its shorter crystals which want the pearly appearance of those
of narcotina, by its  different taste, by its much greater solubility in cold
alcohol, of which 10 parts  will dissolve 1 of this  principle,  while  narco-
tina requires 100 parts,  and by  the action of nitric acid which converts it
into a resin-like  matter  before  dissolving it, while the same acid instantly
dissolves narcotina.  It consists of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,  and nitrogen,
its formula being C^H^OaN (Kane), and its combining number consequently
205*15.  The name of thebain was proposed for it by M. Couerbe, who was
disposed to give the credit of its discovery tb M. Thiboumery, the director
of Pelletier's laboratory.   According to Magendie, it  is closely analogous,
in its  effects on the system, to strychnia and brucia, producing tetanic spasms
in the dose of a grain. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. viii.  69.)
  Narcein, discovered by Pelletier in 1832, is white, in silky acicular crys-
tals, inodorous, of a slightly bitter taste, fusible at 197° F., soluble in 375 
PART I.
Opium.
517
parts of cold and 220 of boiling water, soluble also in alcohol, and insoluble
in ether.  It is rendered blue by the action of mineral acids so far diluted as
not to decompose it; but does not, like morphia, become blue by the action
of the salts of iron, nor red by that of nitric acid. It is dissolved by the acids,
but does not combine with or neutralize them, and, though at first thought
to be alkaline  by Pelletier, is not so  considered at present.  It resembles the
vegetable alkalies, however, in its  constitution, consisting of carbon, hydro-
gen, nitrogen, and oxygen.  Its formula is CsJrlanOjaN.  Pelletier obtained
it in the course of his  analysis of  opium.   Having formed an aqueous  ex-
tract of opium, he treated it with  distilled  water, precipitated the  morphia
by ammonia,  concentrated the solution, filtered it,  threw down the meconic
acid by baryta water, separated the excess of baryta by carbonate of ammo-
nia, drove off the  excess  of the ammoniacal salt  by  heat, evaporated  the
liquor to the  consistence  of syrup,  set it aside till a  pulpy matter formed
containing crystals, separated  and expressed  this pulpy matter, then treated
it with alcohol, and concentrated the alcoholic solution. This, upon cooling,
deposited crystals of narcein, which were easily purified by repeated solu-
tion and crystallization.   When mixed with  meconin,  which often crystal-
lizes with it, the  latter may be  separated by the agency of ether.  It  has
not been ascertained to have any influence upon the system.  Two grains
of it have been introduced into the jugular vein of a  dog  without any ob-
 servable effect.
   Meconin, the existence of which  was announced in 1832 by M. Couerbe,
is  identical with a  substance discovered several  years previously by  M.
Dublanc, jun., but of which no  account was published.  It is  perfectly
white, in the form  of acicular crystals, soluble in  about 265  parts of cold
and 18 of boiling water, very soluble in  ether, alcohol, and the  essential
oils, fusible at 195°, volatilizable without change, and possessed of a degree
of acrimony which favours the supposition that it may  not be without action
 upon the system.   It  is neither acid nor alkaline, and  contains no  nitrogen.
 Meconin is obtained  by precipitating the aqueous infusion of opium with
 ammonia, washing the precipitate  with water until  the  latter nearly  ceases to
 acquire  colour, mixing the watery  fluids, evaporating them to the consist-
 ence of molasses, setting them  aside for two or three  weeks, during which
 a mass of granular crystals is formed, then decanting the liquid, expressing
 the mass, and drying it with a gentle heat. The meconin may be separated
 from the mass by treating it with boiling alcohol of 36° Baume, evaporating
 so as to obtain crystals, dissolving these in boiling water with animal char-
 coal, filtering the liquid while hot, and subjecting  the crystals which form
 upon the cooling of the solution to  the action of ether,  which  dissolves
 the meconin, and yields it in a state of purity by spontaneous evaporation.
 (Journ. de Pharm., Decemb. 1832.)
    Of pseudomorphia, as it is found in opium only as an  accidental ingre-
 dient, and is not  generally present, it is  scarcely necessary to treat in
 detail.   An interesting fact, however, in relation to  it, and one of some
 toxicological  importance, is that it possesses two  properties hitherto consi-
 dered characteristic of morphia, those namely of being reddened  by nitric
 acid and of striking a blue colour with the salts of iron, and yet is without
 any poisonous influence  upon  the  animal economy.  (See Am. Journ. of
 Pharm.  viii.  77, or Journ. de Pharm. xxi. 575.)   But  it differs in  not
 forming salts with the  acids, and in not decomposing iodic acid.  It consists
 of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
    Meconic acid  is  in white crystalline scales, of a sour taste followed by
        45 
518
Opium.
PART I.
 bitterness, fusible and volatilizable by heat, soluble in four parts of boiling
 water, soluble also in cold water and alcohol, with the property of reddening
 vegetable  blues, and  forming salts.   Its compounds with the earths and
 heavy metallic oxides are generally  insoluble in water.   Its characteristic
 properties are, that it produces a blood-red colour with the sesquisalts of iron,
 a green precipitate with a weak solution of ammoniated sulphate of copper,
 and white precipitates, soluble in nitric acid, with acetate of lead, nitrate of
 silver, and chloride of barium.  It is obtained by macerating opium in water,
 filtering the infusion, and adding a solution of chloride of calcium.  Meco-
 nate and sulphate of lime are  precipitated.   The precipitate  having  been
 washed with hot water and  with alcohol, is treated with dilute  muriatic
 acid at 180°.   The  meconate  of lime  is taken up, and  upon the  cooling
 of the liquid, bimeconate of lime is deposited.  This is dissolved in warm
 concentrated muriatic acid, which deposits pure meconic acid when it cools.
 It may be freed from  colouring matter by neutralizing it with potassa, de-
 composing the crystallized meconate thus obtained by muriatic  acid, and
 again crystallizing.  Meconic acid has little or no action on the system, and
 is not used separately in medicine; but its natural relation to morphia requires
 that it should be understood.
  Incompatibles. All the substances which produce precipitates with opium,
 do not necessarily affect its medical  virtues; but the alkalies, and all vege-
 table infusions containing tannin  and gallic acid, are strictly incompatible;
 the former separating and precipitating the active principle, the latter form-
 ing with it an insoluble compound.
  The proportion of morphia which  any particular specimen of opium will
 furnish, may be considered as the best test of its value, except that of actual
 trial upon the system.   Good opium  should yield ten  or twelve per  cent.
 of the impure morphia  precipitated  from the  infusion by ammonia  with
 alcohol according to the process of the United States Pharmacopoeia.  (See
 Morphia.)  The Edinburgh College  gives the following test.   "A solution
 from 100  grains of fine opium macerated twenty-four hours in  two fluid-
 ounces of water,  filtered,  and strongly squeezed in a cloth, if treated with a
 cold solution of half an ounce of carbonate of soda in two  waters, yields a
 precipitate, which weighs  when dry  at least  ten grains, and dissolves en-
 tirely in solution of oxalic acid."
   Tests of Opium.  It is sometimes  highly important to be able the ascer-
 tain  the presence or  absence  of opium in any suspected mixture.   As me-
 conic acid  and morphia have been found only in the products of the  poppy,
 if either or both of them  be  shown to exist in any substance, very strong
 evidence is afforded  of the presence of  opium  in that substance.  Our tests
 should, therefore, be applied in reference to the detection of these two prin-
 ciples.  If an aqueous infusion of the  substance  examined  yield a red
 colour with the tincture of chloride of  iron, there is presumptive evidence
of the presence of meconic acid.   Greater certainty may be obtained by the
following  process.  Add in excess to  the filtered liquor a solution of acetate
 of lead.   If opium  be present, there will be a precipitate  of meconate of
lead, and  the acetates of morphia and lead will remain in solution.  The
precipitate is then to be suspended in water and decomposed,  either by
 adding a little diluted sulphuric acid, which forms the sulphate of lead and
leaves  the meconic  acid  in  solution, or by passing through it a stream of
 sulphuretted hydrogen, removing  by filtration the precipitated sulphuret of
lead, and heating the clear liquor so as to drive off the sulphuretted hydro-
 gen.  With the clear liquor thus obtained, if it  contain meconic acid, the
 tincture of chloride  of iron will produce a striking red colour, the ammo- 
parti.                        Opium.                           519
  mated sulphate of copper a green precipitate, and acetate of lead, nitrate of
  silver, and chloride of barium, white precipitates soluble in nitric acid.   It
  has been ascertained that hydrosulphocyanic acid or a sulphocyanuret, and
  consequently saliva which occasionally contains it, produce  a  red  colour
  with the sesquisalts of iron resembling that produced by meconic acid; but,
  according to Mr. Everitt, this colour is entirely and at once destroyed by a
  solution of corrosive sublimate, which has no effect on  the red  colour of  the
  meconate of iron. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. xii. 88.)  On  the contrary,
  chloride of  gold reddens a solution of hydrosulphocyanic  acid or a sulpho-
  cyanuret, but not of meconic  acid.  Pereira says the acetates also redden  the
  sesquisalts of iron; but they do not afford  the results above mentioned with
  acetate of lead and chloride of barium.  To test the presence of morphia,
  the liquid from which the meconate of lead has been precipitated, and  which
  may be supposed to contain the acetates of morphia and lead, must be freed
  from the lead by a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, and then from the sulphu-
  retted hydrogen by heat;  after which, the  following reagents may be  appli-
  ed:—viz.  1. nitric acid, which colours the  morphia red; 2.  iodic acid, which
  is decomposed by the  morphia with the extrication of iodine, which colours
  the liquid reddish-brown, and, if starch is present, unites  with it to form a
  blue compound; 3. solution of ammonia, which, if carefully added so as not
  to be in excess, throws down  a precipitate of morphia soluble in a great
  excess of that alkali or of potassa; and 4. tannic acid, which precipitates  an
  insoluble tannate of morphia.  If the precipitate thrown down by ammonia
  afford a deep red colour, becoming yellow,  with nitric acid, and a blue colour
  wiffi the sesquichloride of iron, the proof may be considered as complete.
   The London College judiciously directs that opium, before  being  used,
 be carefully separated  from all foreign  substances, especially those which
 are external.  The College also directs that it should be kept in two states—
 soft, fit to form pills; and hard, by drying it with the aid  of a water-bath,
 so that it may be pulverized.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Opium  is a stimulant narcotic.  Taken
 by a healthy person, in a moderate dose, it increases the force,  fulness, and
 frequency of the pulse, augments the temperature of the skin, invigorates
 the muscular system, quickens the senses, animates  the spirits, and  gives
 new energy to the intellectual  faculties.  Its operation, while thus extending
 to all parts of the system, is directed with  peculiar force to the brain the
 functions of which it  excites sometimes even to intoxication or delirium
 In a short time this excitation subsides; a calmness of the corporeal actions,
 and a debghtful placidity of mind succeed;  and the individual, insensible  to
 painful impressions, forgetting all sources of care and anxiety, submits him-
 self to a current of undefined  and unconnected, but pleasing fancies; and  is
 conscious of no other feeling than that of a  quiet and vague enjoyment. At
 the end of half an hour or an  hour from  the administration of the narcotic,
 all consciousness is lost in sleep.  The soporific effect, after having con-
 tinued for eight or ten hours,  goes off, and is generally  succeeded by more
 or less nausea,  headache, tremors, and other symptoms of diminished or
 irregular nervous action, which soon yield  to  the recuperative  energies  of
 the system; and unless the dose be frequently repeated, and the powers  of
 nature worn  out  by over-excitement,  no  injurious consequences ultimately
 result   Such is the obvious  operation of  opium when moderately taken;
 but other effects, very important in a remedial point of view, are also expe-
rienced.  All the secret.ons, with the  exception  of that from the skin, are
either suspended or diminished;  the peristaltic motion of the bowels is les- 
520
Opium.
PART I.
 sened; pain and inordinate muscular contraction, if present, are allayed; and
 general nervous irritation is composed, if not entirely relieved.
   When large doses are taken, the period of excitement and exhilaration is
 shorter; the soporific and anodyne effects  are  more intense and of longer
 duration; and  the succeeding  symptoms of debility are more obvious and
 alarming.
   In quantities sufficient to destroy life, opium scarcely produces any sen-
 sible increase of the general powers of the system, but almost immediately
 reduces the frequency, though  not the force, of the pulse, diminishes mus-
 cular strength, and brings on languor and drowsiness, which soon eventuate
 in a deep apoplectic sleep.  A  stertorous respiration; a dark suffusion of the
 countenance; a full,  slow, and  labouring pulse;  an almost total insensibilitv
 to external impressions; and—when a moment of consciousness has been
 obtained by  violent  agitation, or powerfully irritating applications—a con-
 fused state of intellect, and an irresistible disposition to sink back  into coma-
 tose sleep, are  symptoms which, for the first few hours, attend the operation
 of the poison.   Though  not signs of an elevated condition  of  the bodily
 powers, neither do  they imply a state of pure, unmixed debility.   The
 pulse is, indeed, slow; but it is often so full, and so powerful  in its beat,
 that the practitioner  feels himself obliged to use the lancet.  In  the space,
 however, of a few hours, varying according to the quantity of the narcotic
 taken, and the  powers of the patient's constitution, a condition of genuine
 debility ensues; and  this condition will be hastened in point of time, though
 it will be more under the control  of  remedies, if the opium be removed
 artificially from the stomach.   Called  to an individual labouring under the
 influence of a fatal dose of opium, at a period from six to  eight  hours after
 it has been swallowed, the practitioner will generally find  him with a cool,
 clammy skin, cold extremities; a pallid  countenance; a feeble, thread-like,
 scarcely perceptible  pulse; a slow, interrupted, almost gasping respiration;
 and a torpor  little  short  of absolute, death-like  insensibility.  Death soon
 follows, unless relief is afforded.
  No appearances are revealed by the dissection of those who have died
 of the immediate effects of opium, which  can  be considered as affording
 satisfactory evidence of its mode of operation.   The redness occasionally
 observed  in the mucous membrane of the stomach, is  by no means con-
 stantly  present, and  is ascribable rather to the irritating  substances  pre-
 scribed as remedies, or to the  spirituous vehicle in  which the poison has
 been swallowed, than to the action of the poison itself.  Such at least is  the
 inference  drawn by  Nysten from his experiments and observations; and
 Orfila states that the stomachs of dogs which he had killed by opium inter-
 nally administered, did not present the slightest vestige  of  inflammation.
 The force of the medicine is directed to the cerebral and nervous functions;
 and death is produced by a suspension of respiration arising from the want
 of due influence from the brain.  The section of the  par vagum on both
sides has not been found to prevent or retard the death of animals to which
large doses of  opium have been given, nor even  materially to  modify  its
narcotic effects. (Nysten, quoted by  Orfila.)  It would  seem,  therefore,
that the active principle is conveyed into the circulation, and operates upon
the  brain, and  probably upon  the nervous system  at large,  by  immediate
contact with their interior structure.  It is an error to attribute the anodyne,
sedative, and soporific effects of the medicine to  the previous excitement.
They are, as much as this very excitement, the direct results of its action
upon the brain.  It is in  the state of exhaustion and collapse which ensue
after the peculiar influence of the opium  has ceased, that we are to look for 
PART I.
Opium.
521
an illustration of that principle of the system, by which any great exaltation
of its energies above  the natural standard is followed by a corresponding
depression.   We may be permitted to advance the conjecture, that the ex-
citement which almost immediately supervenes  upon the internal use of
opium, is produced by means of nervous communication; while the succeed-
ing narcotic effects are attributable to its absorption and entrance  into the
circulation;  and the prostration of all the powers  of the system which ulti-
mately takes place, is a necessary consequence of the agitation into which
the various organs have been thrown.
   On some individuals opium produces very peculiar effects, totally differ-
ing from the ordinary results of its  operation.  In  very small quantities it
occasionally gives rise to excessive sickness and vomiting, and even spasm
of the stomach; in other cases  it produces restlessness, headache, and deli-
rium; and  we have known it, even in large doses,  to occasion obstinate
wakefulness.  The headache, want of appetite, tremors, &c, which  usually
follow, in a slight degree, its narcotic operation, are uniformly experienced
by some individuals to such an extent,  as to render the use of the medicine
very inconvenient. It is  possible that some of these disagreeable effects
may arise not from the meconate of morphia contained in the  opium, but
from  some  other  of  its ingredients, and  those which do result  from the
meconate, may not be produced by other salts of  morphia.   It has,  in fact,
been found  that the operation of opium may often  be favourably modified
by changing the state of combination in which its active principle naturally
exists.   Dissolved in  vinegar or lemon juice, it had been known to act in
some instances more pleasantly and effectually than in substance, or in the
state of tincture, long before physicians had learned to explain the pheno-
menon by referring it  to the production of an acetate or citrate of morphia.
When upon the subject of morphia, we shall take occasion to treat of the
medical properties of  this principle in its various combinations.
   An occasional effect  of opium, which has not yet  been alluded to, is a
disagreeable  itching or sense of pricking in the skin, which is sometimes
attended with a  species of miliary eruption.  We have  found the effect to
result equally  from all the preparations  of this narcotic.
   The general operation of opium may be obtained by injecting it into the
rectum, or applying it to  the surface of the body,  especially upon a part
denuded of  the cuticle.   It has appeared to us,  when  thus applied,  to pro-
duce less general excitement, in proportion to its other effects, than when
administered by the mouth; but we do not make the statement with entire
confidence.   It is said that when introduced into  the cellular membrane, it
acts with great energy; and when thrown into the cavity of the peritoneum
speedily  produces  convulsions  and death.   Injected into the cavity of the
heart, it impairs, or altogether destroys the powers of that organ.
   The local effects of opium are of a similar character with those which fol-
low its general operation.  An increased action of the part is first observable;
then a diminution of its sensibility and contractility; and the latter effect is
more speedy,  more intense, and of longer continuance, the larger the quan-
tity in which the narcotic is applied.
  In all parts of the world, opium is habitually  employed by many with a
view to its exhilarating and anodyne influence. This is particularly the case
among the Mahomedans and Hindoos, who find in this narcotic  the most
pleasing  substitute  for those alcoholic drinks which are interdicted  by the
precepts  of their religion.  In India, Persia, and Turkey, it is consumed in
immense quantities; and many nations of the East  smoke opium as those
                                 45* 
522
Opium.
part i.
of the West smoke tobacco.  This is not the place to speak of the fearful
effects of such a practice upon both the intellectual and bodily faculties.
  The use of opium as a medicine can be clearly traced back to Diagoras,
who was nearly contemporary with Hippocrates; and it was  probably em-
ployed before his time.  It is at  present more frequently prescribed than
perhaps any other article of the materia medica.  Its extensive applicability
to the cure of disease, will be rendered evident by a view of the indications
which it is calculated to fulfil.  1. It is excitant in its primary action.   In
low or typhoid  complaints,  requiring a supporting treatment, it exalts the
actions of the arterial and nervous  systems, and in moderate doses frequently
repeated, may be  employed  with advantage in  conjunction  or alternation
with other  stimulants.   2.  It relieves  pain  more speedily and effectually
than any other medicine with which we are acquainted. If possessed of no
other property than this, it would be entitled to high consideration.  Not to
mention cancer, and those other incurable affections, which, if not alleviated
by opium, would render the remainder of life one continued scene of torture;
we have numerous instances of painful diseases which are not only tempo-
rarily, but entirely cured by the remedy, and there is scarcely a complaint
in the catalogue of human ailments, in the treatment of which  it is not occa-
sionally demanded for the relief of suffering, which, if allowed to continue,
might aggravate the disorder, and  protract, if not prevent a cure.  3.  Another
very important indication, which,  beyond any other narcotic, it is capable of
fulfilling, is the production of sleep.  For this purpose it is given in a great
variety of diseases—whenever, in fact, morbid vigilance exists, not depend-
ent on acute inflammation of the brain.  Among the complaints in which it
proves most serviceable in this way,  is delirium  tremens, or the mania of
drunkards, in which it is  frequently  sufficient of itself to effect a cure.
Opium produces  sleep in two  ways; first, by  its direct operation on the
brain, secondly, by allaying that morbid  nervous irritation  upon  which
wakefulness generally depends.  In the latter case it may  frequently be
advantageously combined with camphor or Hoffmann's anodyne. 4. Opium
is powerfully antispasmodic.   No medicine is so efficient in relaxing spasm,
and in controlling those  irregular muscular movements which depend on
unhealthy nervous action.  Hence its great importance as a remedy in teta-
nus;  colic; spasm  of the stomach attending gout, dyspepsia,  and  cholera;
spasm of the  ureters in nephritis, and of the biliary ducts during the passage
of calculi; and in various convulsive affections.  5. Probably dependent upon
a similar influence over  the nervous  system, is the property  which it pos-
sesses of allaying general  and local irritations, whether  exhibited  in the
nerves or  blood-vessels, provided the action do not amount to positive in-
flammation; and even in this case  it is sometimes prescribed with advantage.
Hence its  use in  composing restlessness,  quieting  cough,  and relieving
nausea, tenesmus,  and strangury.   6. In suppressing morbid discharges, it
answers another indication which fits it for the treatment of a long list of
diseases.   This effect it is, perhaps, enabled to produce by diminishing the
nervous energy upon which secretion and  muscular motion depend.  Upon
this principle it is  useful in diarrhoea, when  the complaint consists merely
in increased secretion into the  bowels, without high  action or organic de-
rangement;  in consumption, chronic catarrh, humoral asthma, and other
cases of morbidly increased expectoration; in diabetes, and in certain forma
of hemorrhage, particularly that from the uterus, in combination with other
remedies.  7. It remains to  mention one other indication—that of producing
perspiration—in  fulfilling  which opium, conjoined  with  small doses of
emetic medicines,  is pre-eminent.  No diaphoretic is  so powerful as a com- 
PART I.
Opium.
523
bination of opium and  ipecacuanha; and none is so extensively employed.
We shall speak more fully of this application of the remedy under the head
of Pulvis Ipecacuanhae et Opii. It is here sufficient to say, that its beneficial
effects are  especially experienced in rheumatism, the bowel affections, and
certain forms of pulmonary disease.
   From  this great diversity of properties, and the frequent occurrence  of
those morbid  conditions in  which opium affords relief, it  is often  pre-
scribed in the same disease  to meet numerous indications.  Thus, in idiopa-
thic  fevers, we frequently  meet with  morbid vigilance and great nervous
irritation, combined with a low condition of the system.  In typhous pneu-
monia, there is the same depression  of the vital powers,  combined with
severe neuralgic pains, and much nervous  irritation.  In  diarrhoea, besides
the indications presented by the  spasmodic pain and  increased discharge,
there is a strong call for the diaphoretic operation of the opium.   It is un-
necessary to multiply instances.   There is hardly a complaint which does
not occasionally present a complication of symptoms demanding the use  of
this remedy.
   But a medicine possessed of such extensive powers may do much injury
if improperly directed; and conditions of the system frequently occur,  in
which, though some one of the  symptoms calls for its use, others, on the
contrary, are  incompatible  with  it.  Thus, opium is contra-indicated by a
high state of inflammatory excitement, which should be reduced before we
can with propriety venture upon its employment; and, when there is  any
doubt as to the sufficiency  of the reduction, the opium should be given  in
combination with tartarized  antimony or ipecacuanha, which  modify its
stimulant operation, and give it  a more decided tendency to  the skin.   It
is also contra-indicated by inflammation of the  brain or strong determina-
tion of blood to  the head, by deficient secretion from  inflamed mucous
membranes, as in the early stages of bronchitis, and generally by constipa-
tion of the bowels.  When, however, the constipation depends upon intes-
tinal spasm, as in colic, it is sometimes relieved  by the antispasmodic action
of the opium; and the binding  effects of the medicine  may generally  be
counteracted by the use of laxatives.
   Opium is usually administered in substance or  in tincture.  In the former
state it is given in the shape of pill, which, as a general rule, should  be
formed out of powdered opium, as it is thus more readily dissolved in the
liquors of the stomach, and therefore operates more speedily and effectually
than when  made, as  it sometimes is,  immediately from  the  plastic mass.
 There is no medicine of which  the dose is more variable, according to the
 habits of the patient, the nature of his complaint, or the purpose to be effected.
 While in catarrh and diarrhoea, we often prescribe not more than one-fourth
 or one-third of a grain; in  tetanus and some other nervous affections, it has
 been administered, without abating the violence  of the symptoms, in the
 enormous quantity of two  drachms in twenty-four hours; and in  a case of
 cancer of the uterus, under the care of the late Drs. Monges and La Roche
 of this city, the quantity is stated to have been  gradually increased, till the
 amount taken during one day, either in the shape of tincture or in substance,
 was equivalent to more than three ounces.   The medium dose, in ordinary
 cases of disease, to produce the  anodyne and soporific effects of the medi-
 cine, is one grain.
   Opium may often be applied with great advantage by the rectum.  In this
 way it operates most advantageously in cases of obstinate vomiting, of pain-
 ful nephritic and uterine affections, of strangury from blisters, and of dysen-
 teric tenesmus.   It may be employed as  a suppository, or in the form of 
524
Opium.
PART I.
enema made with laudanum and a small quantity of viscid liquid, as flaxseed
tea,  mucilage  of gum  Arabic,  or  starch prepared  with hot water.   The
quantity,  as a general  rule, may be three  times  that administered by the
mouth; but the relative susceptibility of the  stomach and rectum in different
persons,  is not always the same; and the effects  produced by the narcotic
given by injection, are sometimes much greater than was anticipated.   The
practitioner, moreover, should take into consideration the previous habits of
the patient.  In  an individual who  has long been accustomed to take opium
internally, and whose stomach will receive  large doses with impunity, it is
possible that the rectum  may not  have lost, in a proportionate degree, its
absorbing power or susceptibility; and  that serious  consequences  might
result by  adhering, in  such a case, to the general rule as  to the relative
quantity to be  given in the way of enema or suppository.
  In some one of its liquid preparations, opium is often used externally as an
addition to collyria in ophthalmia, to injections in  gonorrhoea, and to lotions
in various complaints of  the skin,  and  external pains, as those of gout and
rheumatism.   It is also  used as a local anodyne in  the state of powder,
made into a plaster or cataplasm.
  When opium  has been taken in  an overdose, the only effectual mode of
relief is immediately to evacuate the stomach, either  by means of the sto-
mach-pump, or when this is not attainable, by the more active emetics, such
as tartarized antimony, sulphate of zinc, or sulphate  of copper, conjoined
with ipecacuanha.  Emetics  are preferable  to the stomach-pump,  when
opium has been swallowed  in  substance; as the capacity of the tube is
insufficient to  admit of the passage of the masses in which the poison is
sometimes taken.   The  operation  of the emetic should be promoted by a
very free  use of warm drinks,  by  irritating the fauces  with a feather, by
keeping the patient in motion, and, if the insusceptibility to  the action of
the remedy is very great,  by dashing cold  water upon the head and shoulders,
thus counteracting, for a  moment,  the narcotic influence of the opium upon
the brain, and enabling  this  organ to  receive and transmit the necessary
impressions.   For  the same  purpose it  has been recommended  to pass a
current of electricity through the brain.   After the evacuation of the poison,
the chief  indication is to obviate the debility which generally supervenes,
and which, in cases where the  quantity of the narcotic  has been large, or
has remained long in the stomach, is sometimes alarming and even fatal.
For this  purpose, the carbonate of ammonia or the aromatic spirit of am-
monia, with wine whey, may be employed internally,  and sinapisms and
stimulant  frictions  applied to the surface.  The practitioner  should  not
despair even if called at  the last moment.   The stomach tube may be ap-
plied at any period; and it is possible that, even without an evacuation of the
stomach, a little  assistance may enable the system to resist successfully the
prostrating influence of the poison, if not taken in an overwhelming dose.
Should all other measures fail, resort may be had to artificial respiration, by
which the functions of the lungs and heart may  possibly be sustained till
the brain has struggled through its  conflict  with the narcotic, and is enabled
to resume its natural action.  Brodie has demonstrated that death from many
of the narcotics results from a suspension of the cerebral influence necessary
to sustain the  respiratory function,  and that the heart ceases to act in con-
sequence  of the  cessation of respiration.   If this can be restored artificially
before the contractions of the heart have entirely ceased,  the circulation
may continue,  and life  be  supported  for a time without aid from  the
brain,  which now  receives a supply  of arterial  blood, and is thus  better
enabled to rise above the repressing action  of the opium.  As this  narcotic 
PART I.
Opium. — Opopanax.
525
does not produce a structural derangement, but operates chiefly upon the
nervous power,  a favourable result is more likely to be experienced than in
cases of poisoning from some other articles of the same class.  Several cases
are on  record, in  which patients, apparently  in  the very last stage, were
saved by a resort to artificial respiration.*   We have seen a notice by Dr.
Page, of Valparaiso,  in  Chili, of the  successful application,  in a  case of
great prostration and insensibility, of the powerfully excitant  current of
electric  fluid from  an electro-magnetic machine.
   Off. Prep. Acetum Opii, U. S., Ed., Dub.; Confectio Opii, U. S., Lond.,
Ed.; Electuarium Catechu,  Ed., Dub.;  Emplastrum Opii, U. S., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.; Extractum Opii, Ed., Lond., Dub.; Linimentum Opii, Ed.;
Morphia,  U. S.; Morphias  Murias, Ed.,  Lond.; Pilulae Calomelanos et
Opii, Ed.,; Pilulae Opii, U. S., Ed.; Pil. Plumbi Opiataa, Ed.;  Pil. Sapo-
nis Composita;, U. S., Lond., Dub.; Pil. Styracis Comp., Lond., Ed.,
Dub.; Pulvis  Creta? Compositus cum  Opio, Lond., Ed.; Pulvis Ipecacu-
anha? et Opii,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Pulvis Kino Compositus,  Lond.;
Tinctura Opii, U. S„ Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tr. Opii Acetata, U. S.; Tr. Opii
Ammoniata, Ed.;  Tr. Opii Camphorata, U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.;  Tro-
chisci Glycyrrhiza? et Opii, U. S., Ed.; Vinum Opii, U. S., Lond., Ed.
                                                                W.


                       OPOPANAX.  Lond.

                              Opopanax.

   " Opopanax Chironium.  Gummi-resina." Lond.
   Off. Syn. OPOPONAX.  Pastinaca Opoponax. Gummi Resina. Dub.
   Opopanax, Fr.;  Panax, Opopanax, Germ.;  Opopanaco, Ital; Opopanaco, Span; Jawe-
sheer, Arab.;  Gawsheer, Pers.
   Pastinaca. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Umbelliferae.
   Gen.Ch. Fruit elliptical, compressed, flat. Petals involute, entire. Willd.
   Pastinaca Opopanax. Willd. Sp. Plant, i.  1466; Woodv. Med.  Bot. p.
122. t. 47.— Opopanax Chironium.  De Candolle. This species of parsnip,
usually called  rough parsnip, has a thick, yellow, fleshy, perennial  root,
which sends up annually a strong  branching stem, rough near the base,
about as thick as a man's thumb, and from four to  eight feet in height.  The
leaves are variously pinnate, with long sheathing petioles, and large, oblong,
serrate leaflets, of which the terminal one  is cordate, others are deficient at
their base upon the upper  side, and the  whole  are  hairy on their under
surface.   The flowers are small, yellow, and form large flat umbels at the
termination of the branches.
   The  plant is a native of the Levant, and  grows wild in the South of
France, Italy,  and Greece.  When the base of  the  stem is wounded, a
juice exudes,  which, when dried in the sun, constitutes the  opopanax of
commerce.  Some authors state that it is obtained from the root.   A warm
climate  appears necessary for the perfection of the juice, as that which has
been collected from the plant in France, though  similar to opopanax, is of
inferior quality.  The drug is  brought from Turkey.  It  is  said to come

  * One case was that of an infant, ten days old, who had received by mistake from twenty-
five to thirty drops of laudanum intended  for  the mother, had completely lost  the  power
of deglutition, was comatose, and had had several convulsions.  Artificial respiration was
sustained two or  three hours.  (See case by Dr. Ogilvic, in the N. Am. Med. and Surg.
Journ. vol iii. p. 277 ) Another case was ilint of an adult female, for a notice of which,
sec the American Journal of the Medical  Sciences, vol. xx. p. 450. 
526
Opopanax.— Origanum.
part r.
also from  the East  Indies; but Ainslie states that he has never met with it
in any Indian medicine bazaar.
   It is sometimes in tears, but usually in irregular lumps or fragments, of a
reddish-yellow colour, speckled with white on the outside, paler within, and
when broken exhibiting white pieces intermingled with the mass.  Its odour
is strong, peculiar, and unpleasant; its taste bitter and  acrid.   Its sp. gr. is
1*622.  It is inflammable, burning with a bright flame.  In chemical con-
stitution it is a gum-resin,  with an admixture of other  ingredients in small
proportion.  The results of its analysis by Pelletier were from 100 parts,
33*4 of gum, 42 of resin, 4*2 of starch, 1*6 of extractive, 0*3 of wax, 2-8 of
malic acid, 9-8 of lignin, 5-9 of volatile oil and loss, with traces of caout-
chouc.  Water by  trituration  dissolves  about  one-half of the gum-resin,
forming an opaque milky solution, which deposits resinous matter on stand-
ing, and becomes yellowish.  Both alcohol and water distilled from it retain
its flavour; but  only a very minute proportion of oil  can be obtained in a
separate state.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Opopanax was formerly employed as  an
antispasmodic  and deobstruent, in hypochondriasis, hysteria, asthma, and
chronic visceral affections, and as an emmenagogue in suppression of the
menses; but it is  now generally  regarded as a medicine of very feeble
powers, and in this  country is  scarcely ever used.   Its dose is from ten to
thirty grains.                                                    W.

               ORIGANUM. U.S., Lond., Ed.

                             Origanum.

   " The herb of Origanum vulgare." U. S., Ed.   "  Origanum vulgare."
Lond.
   Off. Syn. ORIGANUM VULGARE.  Dub.
   Origan, Fr.; Gemeiner Dosten, Wohlgemuth, Germ.; Origano, Ital; Orejrano, Span.
   Origanum.  Sex.  Syst.  Didynamia Gymnospermia.—Nat. Ord.  Lamia-
ceae or Labiatae.
   Gen. Ch.  Strobile  four-cornered, spiked, collecting  the calyces. Corolla
with the upper lip erect and flat, the lower three-parted, with the segments
equal. Willd.
   Origanum vulgare. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 135; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 344.
t.  123.  Origanum  or common marjoram is a perennial herb, with erect.
purplish, downy, four-sided, trichotomous stems, which rise about eighteen
inches high, and bear opposite,  ovate, entire, somewhat hairy leaves, of a
deep yellowish-green colour.  The flowers are  numerous, of a pinkish-pur-
ple or rose colour, disposed in roundish, panicled spikes, and accompanied
with ovate reddish bractes, longer than the calyx.  This is tubular, and five-
toothed, with nearly equal segments.  The corolla is funnel-shaped, with
the upper lip erect,  bifid, and obtuse, the lower trifid, blunt, and spreading.
The anthers are double, the stigma bifid and reflexed.
   The plant is a native of Europe and America.   In  this country it grows
along the road sides, and in dry stony fields and woods, from Pennsylvania
to Virginia,  and is in flower from June to October; but it is not very abun-
dant,  and is  seldom  collected for use.  The oil, which is  the part chiefly
employed, is imported from Europe.
   Properties.  Common marjoram has a peculiar agreeable aromatic odour,
and a warm, pungent taste. These properties it owes to a volatile oil, which
may be separated by distillation. (See Oleum Origani.) 
part i.      Origanum.—Origanum Majorana.— Os.         527

  Medical Properties and Uses.  It is gently tonic  and excitant,  and has
been used in the form of  infusion as a diaphoretic and  emmenagogue, and
externally as a fomentation; but it is at present scarcely employed.
   Off. Prep. Oleum Origani, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.             W.

         ORIGANUM  MAJORANA. Herba. Dub.

                         Sweet Marjoram.

   Marjolaine, Fr.; Majoran, Wurstkraut, Germ.; Maggiorana, Ital; Mcjorana, Span.
   Origanum. See ORIGANUM.
   Origanum Majorana. Willd. Sp.  Plant, iii. 137; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
345. t. 124.  This species of Origanum has a perennial  root with numerous
stems, which are woody, branching, four-sided, and  a foot and a half high.
The leaves are sessile, in pairs, ovate, obtuse, entire, downy, and of a pale
green colour. The flowers are small, white, and appear successively between
the bracteal leaves, which are numerous, and form round compact spikes, of
which three or four are placed  at the extremity of each peduncle.  The
corolla is funnel-shaped, with the upper lip erect and  roundish, the under
divided into three pointed segments.
   Sweet marjoram grows wild in Portugal and Andalusia, and is cultivated
as a garden herb in other parts of Europe and in the United States.  Some
authors, however, consider the O. Majoranoides, which is a native of Bar-
bary, and closely allied  to the O. Majorana, as the type of  the sweet mar-
joram of our gardens.
   This plant has a  pleasant odour, and a warm,  aromatic, bitterish taste,
which it imparts to water  and alcohol.  By distillation with water  it yields
a volatile oil, which  is directed by the Edinburgh College among their pre-
parations, though the plant has been rejected.
   It is tonic and gently excitant,  but is used more as a condiment in cookery
than as a medicine.  In  domestic practice, its infusion is much employed by
the vulgar to hasten the  tardy eruption in measles and other exanthematous
diseases.
   Off. Prep. Oleum Volatile Origani Majoranae. Ed.               W.


                             OS.  U.S.

                                Bone.

   Off. Syn. OSSA. Dub.
   Os, Fr.; Knochen, Germ.; Ossa, Ital; Huesos, Span.
   Bones are employed  in several pharmaceutical processes, and those de-
rived from the domestic quadrupeds, especially the ox,  may be assumed as
the kind intended  for officinal use.   They have been  expunged from the
officinal list of the Edinburgh College, though used by the College for pre-
paring phosphate of soda.
   Properties, <y*c.  They are solid, white substances, of a  lamellated tex-
ture, constituting the skeleton of the superior orders of animals, of which
they form the hardest and densest parts.  They consist of a cellular gela-
tinous tissue, the cavities  of which are filled up with certain  earthy  salts,
to be mentioned presently.  When subjected  to destructive distillation, in
close vessels, they are decomposed without alteration of shape, lose about
three-sevenths of their weight, become brittle, and are converted into a black
substance, containing the earthy salts of the bone, and constituting the species 
52S
Os.
PART I.
of animal charcoal called bone-black.  (See Carbo Animalis.)  The portions
which distil over consist  of the usual ammoniacal products  derived from
animal matter.  (See Ammoniae Murias.)   When calcined  in open vessels
they lose more  of their weight, and are converted  into a white friable sub-
stance, consisting of the incombustible part, and commonly called bone-earth
or bone-ash; and a similar residue is obtained by calcining horn. (See Cornu
Ustum.) Treated with boiling water, a small portion of the gelatinous matter
is dissolved; but when acted on by water in a Papin's digester,  the whole
of it is taken up, and the earthy salts, deprived of their cement, crumble into
powder, and become diffused through the solution.   When subjected to the
action of dilute muriatic  acid, the  earthy salts are dissolved, and the bone
softens without losing its shape, and  becomes semitransparent and flexible.
The portion which remains unattacked by the acid is the gelatinous tissue,
and may be converted into gelatin  by long  boiling.   This portion of bone
is nutritious, and has been prepared  so as to form a wholesome aliment by
M. d'Arcet.  His process  for obtaining it consists in digesting bones in
weak muriatic acid for seven or eight days, occasionally renewing the acid,
plunging them for a few moments in boiling water, and then  subjecting them
to  a strong current of cold water.   The pure  animal matter thus procured
is  made into cakes  called portable soup,  (tablettes de bouillon,) by dis-
solving in water, concentrating the solution until it gelatinizes, and drying
the matter obtained.
   Composition.  The bones of different animals, and of the same animal at
different ages, vary somewhat  in their composition.   Dry ox-bones, accord-
ing to Berzelius, consist of animal matter 33-3, bone-phosphate of lime 55-45,
carbonate of lime 3-85, fluoride of calcium 2-90, soda, chloride of sodium,
water, &c. 2*45, phosphate of magnesia 2.05 = 100.  Fourcroy and Vau-
quelin's results give a larger quantity of animal matter and carbonate of lime,
and a smaller of bone-phosphate.  Fluoride  of calcium is not always present
in recent bone, but is invariably found in fossil bones.  Human bones differ
somewhat in the proportions of their constituents, and in containing traces
of iron and manganese.   Bone-phosphate of lime, so called to distinguish
it from the other calcareous phosphates, consists of three eqs. of phosphoric
acid and eight of lime.
   Uses.  Bones are applied to numerous uses.   Burnt to whiteness, they
furnish bone-phosphate of lime, from  which phosphorus and all its com-
pounds are either directly or indirectly obtained. (See Phosphorus.)  Sub-
jected to destructive distillation, they yield impure carbonate of  ammonia,
and empyreumatic oil; and a carbonaceous residue is left, called bone-black.
Calcined,  pulverized, and washed, they form  the material of which cupels
are made.  As bone-dust, they  form an excellent manure. Deprived of their
earthy portion by weak acids,  they furnish a nutritious article of  diet.   By
proper treatment with water they furnish gelatin, applicable not only to the
purposes of size and common glue, but also to those of the  finer sorts of
gelatin, called isinglass, in making animal jellies, and for the fining of wines.
(See Ichthyocolla and Cornu.)  The hoof-bones of the ox, when boiled with
water, furnish a peculiar oil, called neats-foot oil.  (See  Oleum Bubulum.)
   Off. Prep. Calcis Phosphas Praecipitatum, Dub.; Soda? Phosphas, U. S.,
Ed., Dub.                                                       B. 
PART I.
Ovum.
529
                       OVUM.  Lond., Ed.

                                Egg>
  " Phasianus Gallus.  Ovum."  Lond.  " Egg of Phasianus gallus."  Ed.
  CEu', Fr ; Ei, Germ ; Ovo. Ital; Hucvo, Span.
  The common dunghill  fowl is supposed to have come originally from
India, where it is found in a wild state.   It is now domesticated in almost
all parts of the globe.
  The egg, which is the only officinal product, consists  of 1. an  exterior
covering called the shell; 2. a white, semi-opaque membrane, lining the in-
ternal surface of the shell;  3. the white; 4. the yolk.   Other distinct parts
are recognised by the comparative anatomist, but  they  have no  peculiar
interest for the practical physician or pharmaceutist.
  1. The shell—testa ovi or putamen ovi—consists, according to Vauque-
lin, chiefly of carbonate of lime, with animal  matter, and a minute propor-
tion of phosphate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, oxide of iron, and sulphur.
When exposed to a high degree  of heat in the  open air, the carbonic acid is
driven off, the animal matter consumed, and lime is left nearly pure.
  2. The membrane lining the shell appears to be of an albuminous nature.
  3. The white—albumen ovi—is  a  glairy viscid liquid contained in  very
delicate membranes, without odour  or taste, readily soluble in water, coagu-
lable by the stronger acids, by alcohol, and by a heat of 160° F.  Exposed
in thin layers to a current of air it becomes solid,  retaining its transparency
and solubility in water.  By coagulation it  is rendered sapid, white, opaque,
and insoluble.  At a temperature of 212®, one part of it  renders one thou-
sand parts of water in which it has been dissolved opaque.  It  contains,
according to Dr. Bostock, in one hundred parts, 85 of  water, 12 of  pure
albumen, 2*7 of mucus or uncoagulable matter, and 0-3 of saline substances,
including soda with traces of sulphur.  The white of egg is precipitated by
chloride of tin, chloride of gold, subacetate of lead, corrosive sublimate, and
tannin.  When  kept in the fluid state it soon putrefies;  but  if carefully
dried without coagulation  it may be long preserved without change, and
may be applied in a state cf solution to the same purposes as in its original
condition.
   4.  The yolk—vitcllus ovi—is inodorous, of a bland oily taste, and forms
a milky emulsion when agitated with water.   It contains water, albumen, a
mild fixed oil, and a colouring matter.  By heat it is coagulated into a gra-
nular solid, which yields the oil by  expression.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Eggs are applied to various purposes in
medicine and pharmacy.  The shells powdered  and levigated may be used
beneficially as an antacid in diarrhoea.  In common with oyster shells, they
possess the advantage of uniting intimately animal matter with the carbonate
of lime, the particles of which are thus more thoroughly isolated, and prove
more acceptable to the stomaeh, than chalk in  the finest state of division to
which the latter can be brought by mechanical  means.  The dose and mode
of preparation are the same  with those of oyster shell.  (See Testa.)
  The white of the egg is used chiefly for the  clarification of liquids, which
it effects by involving, during its coagulation, the undissolved particles, and
rising with them to  the surface or subsiding.   It is highly recommended as
an antidote for corrosive sublimate and sulphate of copper, with which it
forms insoluble and comparatively  inert compounds.   It is sometimes also
used for the suspension of insoluble substances in water, but is inferior for
    46 
530
Ovum.—Panax.
PART I.
this purpose to the yolk, and even to mucilage of gum Arabic.   Agitated
briskly with a lump of alum it  coagulates,  at the same time dissolving a
portion of the alum, and thus forming an astringent poultice, which may be
advantageously applied between folds of gauze over the eye, in some states
of ophthalmia. (See Cataplasma Aluminis.)
   The yolk in its raw state is thought to be laxative, and  is a popular re-
medy in  jaundice.  If beneficial in this complaint, it is probably in conse-
quence of affording a mild nutritious  diet,  acceptable to the stomach, and
easily digested.   In dyspepsia it is, from this cause,  highly useful.   The
late Dr. Parrish, of Philadelphia, found much advantage from recommending
to his dyspeptic patients  the habitual use of the yolk of egg beat up with
water and  a  little ginger.   In  pharmacy, the yolk is highly useful as an
intermedium between water and  insoluble substances, such as the balsams,
turpentine, oils, &c.   It is a mistake to employ the white, instead of  the
yolk of eggs, in the preparation of emulsions.
   Off. Prep.   Cataplasma Aluminis, Dub.; Enema Terebinthina?, Lond.,
Ed., Dub.; Mistura Spiritus Vini Gallici, Lond.                  W.

                   PANAX.  U.S., Secondary.

                              Ginseng.

   " The root of Panax quinquefolium." U. S.
   Ginseng, Fr.. Germ., Span ; Ginsen, Ital.
   Panax.  Sex.  Syst.  Pentandria Digynia.  (Polygamia Dicecia, Linn.)—
Nat. Ord.  Araliaceoe.
   Gen. Ch.  Flotvers  polygamous.   Umbel  simple.  Calyx five-toothed.
Corolla  of five petals. Berry inferior, subcordate, two, sometimes  three-
seeded.  Calyx in the  male flower entire. Nuttall.
   Panax quinquefolium.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1124; Woodv.il/eJ.jBo/.
p. 149. t. 58;  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 82.   The ginseng has a peren-
nial root, which sends up  annually  a smooth, round stem, about a  foot
high, and divided at the summit  into three leafstalks, each of which sup-
ports a compound leaf, consisting of five, or more rarely of  three or seven
petiolate, oblong obovate, acuminate, serrate  leaflets.  The  flowers  are
small, greenish, and arranged in a simple umbel, supported by a peduncle,
which rises from the  top of the  stem in the centre of the petioles.  The
fruit consists of kidney-shaped, scarlet berries, crowned with the styles and
calyx, and containing two, and sometimes three seeds.
   The plant is indigenous, growing in the hilly regions  of the Northern,
Middle,  and Western States, and  preferring the shelter  of thick,  shady
woods.  The root is the part employed.  This is collected in considerable
quantities  in Ohio and Western Virginia, and brought to Philadelphia and
other cities on the sea-board for the purpose of exportation to China, where
it is highly valued.   Some  suppose the ginseng plant of  Chinese Tartary
to be the same as ours, others  consider it a  different species—the Panax
 Schinseng of Nees von  Esenbeck.   While supplied with this  drug  ex-
clusively from their own  native sources, which furnished  the root only in
small quantities, the Chinese entertained the most extravagant notions of its
virtues, considering it as a remedy for all diseases, and as possessing almost
miraculous powers in preserving health, invigorating the system, and  pro-
longing  life.   It is said  to  have been worth its weight in gold at Pekin;
 and the  first shipments made from  North America to Canton, after the  dis-
 covery of  the root in this country, were attended with enormous profits. 
PART I.
Panax.—Papaver.
531
But the subsequent abundance of supply has greatly diminished its value,
and though it still occasionally forms a part of the investments for Canton,
it has become an object of less importance than formerly.
  The root is fleshy, somewhat spindle-shaped, from  one to three  inches
long,  about  as thick as the little  finger, and terminated by several slender
fibres.  Frequently there are two portions, sometimes three or more, con-
nected at their upper extremity, and bearing a supposed, though very re-
mote  resemblance to the human figure, from which circumstance it is said
that the Chinese name ginseng originated.  When dried, the root  is yel-
lowish-white and wrinkled externally, and within consists usually of a hard
central portion, surrounded by a soft whitish bark.  It has a feeble  odour,
and a sweet, slightly aromatic taste, somewhat analogous to that of liquorice
root.  It has not been accurately analyzed, but is said to be rich in gum and
starch. It is sometimes submitted, before being dried, to a process of clarifi-
cation, which renders it semitransparent and horny, and enhances its value
as an article of export.  The extraordinary medical virtues formerly ascribed
to ginseng, had no other existence than in the imaginations of the Chinese.
It is little more than a demulcent, and in this country is not  employed as a
medicine.   Some persons, however, are in the habit of chewing it, having
acquired a relish for its taste;  and it is chiefly to supply the wants of these
that it is kept in the shops.                                       W.


                 PAPAVER.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.

                            Poppy-heads.

   "The ripe capsules of Papaver somniferum."  U. S. "Papaver  somni-
ferum. Capsulae maturse." Lond. " Capsules of Papaver somniferum, not
quite ripe." Ed.
   Off. Syn. PAPAVER SOMNIFERUM.  Capsulae matura?.  Dub.
   Capsules des pavots, Fr.; Kupseln des weissen Mohns, Germ.; Capidel papavero, Ital;
Cabezas de nmnpola, Span.
   See OPIUM.
   In England the poppy is cultivated  chiefly for its capsules,  which are
 gathered as they ripen, and taken to market enclosed in bags.   The Edin-
 burgh College properly directs them to be collected before they are quite
 ripe, as they contain at that period, more of the active milky juice.   They
 are occasionally imported into this country; but as no effect  is produced by
 them, which cannot be as readily obtained  from opium, or some one of its
 preparations, they are little employed; and  the framers of the United States
 Pharmacoposia did  not consider them entitled to a place among  the articles
 of the Materia Medica.
   The dried poppy capsules vary in size from the dimensions of  a  small
egg to those of the fist.  They are of a spheroidal shape, flattened  below,
 and surmounted by a crown-like expansion—the  persistent  stigma—which
is marked by numerous diverging rays that rise somewhat above its upper
surface, and appear to be prolongations of partial septa, or  partitions, pro-
 ceeding along the interior circumference of the capsule from the top to the
bottom.  In the recent state, the seeds, which are very numerous, adhere to
these septa; but in the dried capsule they are loose in its cavity.   The cap-
sules of  the black poppy are  smaller and  more globular  than those of the
white, and contain datk instead of light-coloured seeds.   There appears to
be no essential difference in their properties.   Both kinds, when fresh, are
glaucous, but when dry, as directed in  the Pharmacopoeias, are of a dirty 
532
Papaver.—Pareira.
PART I.
 white or purplish-brown colour, have a consistence somewhat like that of
 paper, are without smell, and  have little taste, unless long chewed, when
 they are decidedly bitter.   Submitted to analysis, they are found to contain
 principles similar to those of opium, which they yield to water  by decoc-
 tion.  They have been employed in France for obtaining morphia.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Dried poppy heads, though analogous to
 opium in medical properties, are exceedingly feeble.   They are sometimes
 employed in the form of decoction, as an external emollient and anodyne
 application, and in the shape of emulsion, syrup, or extract, are often used
 internally by European practitioners to calm irritation,  promote rest, and
 produce generally the narcotic effects of opium.
   Off. Prep.   Decoctum Papaveris,  Lond., Ed.;  Extractum Papaveris,
 Lond., Ed.; Syrupus Papaveris, Lond., Ed., Dub.                W.

           PAREIRA.  U.S.  Secondary,  Lond., Ed.

                           Pareira Br ava.

   "The root of Cissampelos Pareira."  U. S., Ed. "Cissampelos Pareira.
 Radix." Lond.
   Cissampelos.  Sex. Syst. Dicecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Menisper-
 maceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Male.  Calyx four-leaved.  Corolla none.  Nectary  rotate.
 Stamens four,  with connate filaments.   Female  one-leaved, ligulate round-
 ish.   Corolla none.   Styles three.  Berry one-seeded.
   Cissampelos Pareira.'Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 861;  Woodv. Med. Bot. 3d
 ed. p. 167. t. 65. This is a climbing plant, with numerous slender, shrubby
 stems, and roundish, entire leaves, indented at the top, covered with soft hair
 upon their under surface, and supported upon downy footstalks, which are
 inserted into the back of the leaf.  The flowers are very small, and disposed
 in racemes,  of  which those in the female plant are longer than the leaves.
 The plant is a  native of the West Indies and South America, and is sup-
 posed to be the  source of the root, introduced into Europe from Brazil, under
 the name of pareira brava,  and now recognised  in the United States, Lon-
 don, and Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeias.  According to Auguste St. Hillaire,
 however, the true pareira is obtained from another species of the same genus,
 growing in  Brazil, and denominated C. glaberrima; while by Aublet it is
 referred to a species  of Abuta, belonging to the same natural family.
   The root  comes in pieces from the thickness of the finger to that of the
 arm, from a fqw inches to two or more feet in length, cylindrical, sometimes
 contorted or forked, and covered with a thin, firmly adhering, grayish-brown
bark. The  outer surface is marked with longitudinal and annular wrinkles,
and sometimes, in the larger pieces, with knotty excrescences.  The interior
is  ligneous,  yellowish, very porous, marked by irregular concentric circles,
inodorous, and  of a sweetish, nauseous, bitter taste.  The root imparts its
virtues readily to water.  M. Feneulle found in it  a soft resin, a yellow bitter
principle, a brown substance, an azotized substance, fecula, acidulous malate
of lime, nitrate of potassa, and various other salts.  M. Feneulle considers
the yellow bitter substance as the active principle.   It is soluble  in water
and alcohol, and precipitated from its solution by tincture of galls.  Wiggers
announced, in 1838,  the existence in pareira brava of a vegetable alkali, for
which he proposed the name of cissampelina.   He procured it by boiling
the root with water  acidulated with sulphuric acid, precipitating by  carbo-
nate  of potassa, dissolving the  precipitate again in  water acidulated with 
PART I.
Pareira.—Petroleum.
533
sulphuric  acid, treating the solution with animal  charcoal,  precipitating
anew with carbonate of potassa, drying  and pulverizing the precipitate,
treating it repeatedly with ether, and evaporating the ethereal solution. The
alkali thus obtained may be rendered entirely pure by dissolving it in diluted
acetic acid, precipitating with carbonate of potassa, and washing and drying
the precipitate. (Annal. der Pharm. xxvii. 29.)  Wiggers did not describe
this alkali.  It is  probably the chief ingredient of the bitter substance ob-
tained by  Feneulle.  Peretti of Rome and  Pelletier afterwards separated an
alkali from the root, which was characterized by assuming a beautiful pur-
ple colour by contact with strong nitric acid. (Journ. de Pharm. xxvi. 162.)
In Christison's Dispensatory it is stated to be uncrystallizable, insoluble in
water, soluble in ether, alcohol, and  the acids, and of an intensely bitter and
sweetish taste.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Pareira brava is said to be tonic, aperient,
and diuretic.   It was introduced into European practice so long ago as 1688,
and at one time enjoyed considerable reputation as  a  lithontriptic.  It has
been recommended in calculous affections, chronic inflammation and ulcer-
ation of the  kidneys and  bladder,  leucorrhoea,  dropsy,  rheumatism,  and
jaundice.   The purpose for which  it is at present chiefly employed is the
relief of chronic  diseases of the  urinary passages.   Sir  Benjamin Brodie
has found it very useful, in chronic  inflammation of the bladder, in allaying
irritability of  that organ, and correcting the disposition to profuse mucous
secretion.  Dr. T. F. Betton of Germantown, near  Philadelphia, has also
employed it successfully in a case of irritable bladder. (Am. Journ. of Med.
Sci. xvii. 259.)  Advantage may often  be derived  from combining it, in
this complaint, with one of the narcotics,  as opium or hyoscyamus.   In
Brazil,  it is used in the cure of the bites of poisonous serpents,  a vinous
infusion of the root being taken  internally, while the bruised  leaves of the
plant are  applied  to the wound.  The dose of pareira brava in substance is
from thirty grains to a drachm.  The infusion, however, is more convenient.
(See Infusum Pareirae.)   A tincture  made by macerating one part of the
root in  five parts of alcohol has been given in the dose of a fluidrachm. The
aqueous extract may be given in the dose of from ten to thirty grains.
   Off. Prep.  Extractum Pareirae, Lond., Ed.;  Infusum Pareirae, Lond.,
Ed.                                                            W.


                   PETROLEUM. Lond., Ed.

                             Petroleum.

   " Petroleum (Barbadense)." Lond.
   Off. Syn.   PETROLEUM. BITUMEN  PETROLEUM.   PETRO-
LEUM BARBADENSE. Dub.
   Barbadoes tar, Rock oil; Petrole, Huile de Gabian, Fr.; Steinol, Germ.; Petrolio, Ital;
Petroleo. Span.
   Petroleum  belongs to the class of native inflammable substances, called
bitumens.  These are liquids or readily fusible solids, which emit when
heated a peculiar smell, burn easily, and leave a very small carbonaceous
residue.  They are of two kinds, one liquid, called naphtha, the other solid,
denominated asphaltum.   Naphtha is a  transparent, yellowish-white, very
light and  inflammable, limpid liquid, which  is found abundantly  in Persia.
It consists exclusively of hydrogen  and carbon.  As oxygen does not enter
into its composition, it may be advantageously employed for  preserving
potassium.  During the formation of coal gas, an artificial naphtha is ob-
                                  46* 
534
Petroleum.
PART I.
tained, which by rectification is rendered equally light and limpid with the
natural substance.   Thus purified, it was discovered by Mr. James  Syme
of Edinburgh to possess  the property of dissolving caoutchouc,  and the
solution has been usefully applied to the  purpose of  forming various surgi-
cal instruments of that material.  It has also been employed by Mr. Mackin-
tosh of Glasgow for giving a thin coating  of caoutchouc to cloth, to ren-
der it impermeable  to moisture.  Asphaltum is solid, black, dry, friable,
and insoluble  in alcohol.  These two varieties  of bitumen often exist in  a
state of mixture in nature.   When the asphaltum predominates it takes the
name of maltha or  mineral tar; when the naphtha is in the larger propor-
tion it is called petroleum.
  Localities.  Petroleum is found principally at Amiano in Italy, at Gabian
in France, upon the borders of the Caspian Sea, near Rangoon in  the Bir-
man empire, and in  Barbadoes, Trinidad, and  other West India  islands.
The wells of petroleum in Birmah are said to produce four hundred thou-
sand hogsheads annually.  The petroleum from  Barbadoes is indicated as
the officinal  variety  by the London and Dublin  Colleges.  The kind is not
specified by the Edinburgh College.
  In the United States, petroleum is found in various localities, the princi-
pal of which are on  the Kenhawa in Virginia; near Scottsville in Kentucky;
in Western  Pennsylvania; on Duck  Creek  in Ohio; and on the shores of
Seneka  lake in New York.   That found  in the latter locality is usually
called in this country Seneka  oil, and  similar varieties of petroleum from
other native  sources are known by the same name.
  Properties.  Barbadoes petroleum is  a black, nearly opaque, inflamma-
ble liquid, of the consistence of molasses, unctuous  to the touch, and pos-
sessing a  bituminous taste,  and strong and  tenacious odour.  Its  sp.gr.
varies  from  0-730  to 0-878.   When subjected to  distillation, it yields
naphtha, and  leaves a solid residue of asphaltum.   It is little  affected by
alcohol, acids, or alkalies, but dissolves in ether and in the fixed and volatile
oils.  It consists chiefly of hydrogen  and carbon, associated with a little
oxygen and  nitrogen.   Rangoon petroleum  has   a  dark  reddish-black
colour, a strong, rather fragrant odour, and the consistence of lard in sum-
mer.  When heated to 90°, it becomes a reddish-brown very mobile liquid.
(Christison.)   Dr.  Christison obtained from it by distillation, first, a large
quantity of naphtha, and afterwards a crystalline principle, which he ascer-
tained  to  be identical with  paraffin.   In the naphtha Dr. Gregory subse-
quently discovered  eupione.  It  is probable, as Dr. Christison remarks,
that this petroleum is  more active than  the Barbadoes.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Petroleum is accounted a stimulating anti-
spasmodic and sudorific.  It is occasionally given in  disorders of the chest,
when not attended with inflammation; but is seldom employed as an internal
remedy except in the West Indies.   In Germany it  has been extolled as  a
remedy for tape-worm.   Schwartz's formula in such  cases was a mixture of
one part of petroleum with one and a half parts  of tincture of assafetida, of
which forty  drops were given three times a day. Externally petroleum is
employed as a stimulating embrocation in  chilblains, chronic rheumatism,
affections of the joints, and  paralysis.   It  is an ingredient  in the  popular
remedy called British oil.   The dose of petroleum is from  thirty drops to
a small teaspoonful, given in any convenient vehicle.
  The native petroleum  called Seneka oil  is used to a considerable extent
as an external application in  domestic  practice. It is lighter coloured,
thinner  in  consistence, and less sapid and  odorous than the Barbadoes
petroleum, and probably contains more naphtha.                     B. 
part i.             Petroselinum.—Phosphorus.               535
             PETROSELINUM. U.S.-Secondary.

                           Parsley Root.

  " The root of Apium Petroselinum." U. S.
  Persil. Fr ; Petersilie, Germ.; Prezzemolo, Ital; Peroxil, Span.
  Apium.  Sex. Syst.  Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Apiaceae or Umbel-
liferae.
  Gen. Ch.  Fruit  ovate, striated.  Involucre  one-leafed.  Petals equal.
Willd.
  Apium Petroselinum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1475; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
118. t. 45. Petroselinum Sativum.  Hoffman, Umb. i. t. 1. f. 2.;  Lindley,
Flor. Med. p. 35.  Parsley has a biennial root, with an annual, round, fur-
rowed, jointed, erect,  branching stem, which rises  about two feet in height.
The radical leaves are compound, pinnated  in  ternaries, with  the leaflets
smooth, divided into three lobes, and notched at the margin.  In the cauline
leaves, the segments of the leaflets are linear and entire.  The  flowers are
small, pale yellow, and disposed in terminal compound umbels, with a one
or two-leaved general involucre, and partial ones composed of six or eight
leaflets.   The petals  are five, roundish, and inflexed at their apex.   The
seeds (half fruits) are  small, ovate, flat on one side, convex on the other, of
a dark green colour, and marked with five longitudinal ridges.   They have
a strong, terebinthinate odour, and a warm aromatic taste.
  The plant is a native of Sardinia and other parts of southern Europe, and
is cultivated everywhere in gardens.  All parts of it contain an essential
oil, to  which it owes  its medicinal virtues, as well as its use in seasoning.
The root  is the part directed by the Pharmacopoeia, though the  fruit is at
least equally efficient.
  The root is spindle-shaped, about  as thick as the finger, externally white
and marked with close annular wrinkles, internally fleshy and white, with a
yellowish central portion.   It has a  pleasant smell, and a sweetish slightly
aromatic taste; but loses these properties by long boiling, and by the action
of time.  It should be employed in  the recent state.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Parsley root is said to be aperient and
diuretic, and is  occasionally used in nephritic  and dropsical affections, in
connexion with  more  active medicines. It is highly recommended by Pro-
fessor Chapman.  The  usual form of administration is  that of  strong infu-
sion.  The juice of the fresh herb has been employed as a substitute for
quinia in  intermittents.                                           W.

                     PHOSPHORUS.  Lond.

                             Phosphorus.

   Phosphoro, Fr.; Phosphor, Germ.; Fosforo. Ital., Span.
   This substance was discovered in 1669  by Brandt, an alchemist of Ham-
burg; and the process by which it was made remained a secret until  1737.
At first it was obtained from  putrid urine, and was exceedingly scarce and
costly;  but  in 1769, Gahn discovered  it  in  bones, and  shortly afterwards
published a process by which it might be extracted from  them; and his
method has been followed,  with  but slight modifications, up to  the present
time.
   Preparation.  Calcined bones, which  consist principally of  that variety 
536                         Phosphorus.                     part i.

of phosphate of lime  called bone-phosphate, are  digested for twenty-four
hours with two-thirds  of their weight of strong sulphuric acid, previously
diluted with twelve times its weight of water.  The sulphuric acid separates
a part of the lime from the phosphoric acid, and precipitates as sulphate of
lime; while a superphosphate of lime remains in solution.  This mixture is
then strained through a linen cloth to separate the sulphate of lime, and after-
wards submitted to evaporation, which causes a fresh precipitation of sul-
phate, requiring to  be separated  by a new filtration.  The filtered solution
of superphosphate  is  evaporated to a syrupy consistence,  and then tho-
roughly mixed with half  its weight  of powdered  charcoal, so as to form a
soft  mass, which is dried by being  heated to dull redness in an iron pot.
The mass when cool is  quickly transferred to a coated earthenware retort,
furnished with an adopter of copper, bent downwards at right angles so as
to enter a bottle with a large neck containing water, which should rise about
two lines above the orifice of the adopter.   The bottle is closed round the
adopter by a  cork, which is traversed by a small glass tube, to give exit to
the gaseous products.  The retort is heated in a  furnace, furnished with a
dome, in the  most  gradual  manner, so  as  to occupy about  four hours  in
bringing it to a red  heat.   Afterwards the heat is pushed vigorously, so long
as any phosphorus  drops into the water; and  this  takes place generally for
from twenty-four to thirty hours.  During this part  of the process, the excess
of acid in the superphosphate is decomposed; its oxygen combining with
the charcoal, and the liberated phosphorus distilling  over.  A quantity of
the materials  sufficient to fill a  quart retort  will yield about a pound  of
phosphorus.
  Properties.   Phosphorus  is a semitransparent solid, without taste, but
possessing an alliaceous  smell.   When  perfectly  pure it is colourless; but
as usually prepared it is  yellowish or  reddish-yellow.  It is flexible, and
when  cut exhibits  a waxy lustre.   It  is insoluble in water, but dissolves
sparingly in alcohol and  the oils, and more freely in ether.   Its sp.  gr. is
1*77, and its  equivalent number 31-4.*  It takes fire at 100°, melts at  108°,
and boils at 550°, air being excluded.  During its combustion, it combines
with the oxygen of the air, and  forms phosphoric  acid.  On account of its
great inflammability it requires to be kept under water.  When exposed to
the air it undergoes a slow combustion,  emitting white vapours, which are
luminous in the dark.  It forms  with oxygen  the  hypophosphorous, phos-
phorous, and phosphoric acids,  and  the  two isomeric varieties of phos-
phoric acid, called pyrophosphoric and metaphosphoric. With hydrogen it
forms three combinations; one solid, a second gaseous, not spontaneously
inflammable when  pure,  and a third, not  yet  isolated, generally present as
an impurity  in  the second,  which it  renders spontaneously inflammable.
The only  medicinal combinations containing phosphorus are phosphoric
acid, and the phosphates  of mercury, iron, lime, and soda.   Of these phos-
phoric acid in a diluted state, and the phosphates of iron, lime, and soda are
officinal.
  Medical Properties.   Phosphorus,  exhibited in small doses, acts as a
powerful general stimulant; in large doses, as  a violent irritant poison.  Its
action  seems particularly directed  to the kidneys  and genital organs, pro-
ducing diuresis, and excitation of the venereal appetite.  The latter effect
has been conclusively proved by the experiments of Alphonse Leroy,  Che-

  * Following the example of Kane and others, we have here doubled the usually received
equivalent number fi>r phosphorus.  The old  number  made it  necessary to suppose the
presence of two equivalents of phosphorus in nearly all its compounds. 
part i.      Phytolacca Baccas.—Phytolacca Radix.         537

nevix, and Bertrand-Pelletier.  From its peculiar physiological action, it is
considered applicable to diseases attended with extreme prostration of the
vital powers.  It has been recommended in dropsy, impotency, typhus fever,
phthisis, marasmus, chlorosis, paralysis, amaurosis, mania, &c.  The usual
form for exhibition  is an ethereal solution, as directed by the Paris Codex,
under the title of Tinctura Mtherea cum Phosphoro.  It is formed by ma-
cerating for a month, in a well-stopped bottle, covered with  black paper, 4
parts of phosphorus, cut in small pieces, in 200 parts of sulphuric ether, and
decanting into small bottles, prepared in a similar manner.   The proportion
of phosphorus dissolved is about 4 grains to the  ounce of ether.  The dose
of this  solution is from five to ten drops, repeated every two or four hours,
according to circumstances, in  a  small portion  of some  bland drink.   It
has been  objected  to the  ethereal solution, that, upon the  evaporation of
the ether, the phosphorus is  liable to be set free, and may inflame in the
stomach.  It is on this account that oil is preferred as a solvent.  The Oleum
Phosphoratum of the Prussian Pharmacopoeia  is made as follows.   Take
of phosphorus twelve grains;  almond  oil, recently  prepared, an ounce.
Melt the phosphorus in the oil by the  heat of warm water, and agitate until
it appears to be dissolved.  The ounce of oil  takes up about four grains of
phosphorus;  and the dose of the  solution is from five to ten drops, mixed
with some mucilaginous liquid.   An aromatic flavour may be given to the
phosphorated oil by the addition of a few drops  of oil of bergamot.
   Great caution is necessary in the exhibition of phosphorus, and its effects
should  be closely watched.  It ought  never to  be given in  substance; as,
when thus administered, it is apt to produce violent irritation of the stomach.
When taken  in substance in a poisonous dose, two or three grains of tartar
emetic should be given to dislodge  it.   If swallowed in the state of solution,
copious draughts of cold water containing magnesia in suspension should
be administered, in order to arrest the further combustion of the  phosphorus,
and to neutralize any acid which may  have been formed.
   Off. Prep. Acidum Phosphoricum Dilutum, Lond.               B.

        PHYTOLACCA BACCA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                           Poke Berries.

   " The berries of Phytolacca decandra."  U. S.

         PHYTOLACCA RADIX.  U.S.  Secondary.

                            Poke Root.
  " The root of Phytolacca decandra." U. S.
  Phytolacca.   Sex. Syst. Decandria Decagynia.—Nat. Ord. Phytolac-
caceae.
  Gen.  Ch. Calyx  none.  Petals five, calycine.  Berry superior, ten-celled,
ten-seeded. Willd.
  Phytolacca decandra. Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii.  822;  Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. i. 39; Barton,  Med. Bot. ii. 213.  This is  an indigenous  plant with a
very large perennial root, often  five or six inches in diameter,  divided into
two or  three principal  branches,  soft, fleshy, fibrous, whitish within, and
covered  with a brownish cuticle.   The stems, which are annual, frequently
grow to the height of six or eight feet,  and divide into numerous spreading
branches.   They are round, very smooth, of a green colour when young,
but purple after the berries have ripened.  The leaves  are scattered, ovate 
538           Phytolaccas Baccas.—Phytolacca Radix.      part i.

oblong, entire, pointed, smooth, ribbed beneath, and supported on  short
footstalks.   The flowers are  numerous, small, and  grow in long racemes,
which are sometimes erect, sometimes drooping.  The corolla  consists of
five ovate, concave petals, folding inwards, and of a whitish colour.  The
germ is green.  There are ten stamens, and the same number of pistils.
The raceme of flowers becomes  a cluster of dark purple, almost  black,
shining berries, flattened above  and below, and divided into ten cells, each
of which contains one seed.
   The.poke is abundant in all parts of the United States, flourishing along
fences, by the borders of woods, and especially in newly cleared and uncul-
tivated fields.  It also grows  spontaneously in the North of Africa and the
South of Europe, where, however, it is  supposed to have  been introduced
from America.  Its flowers begin to appear in July, and the fruit ripens in
autumn.   The magnitude of  the poke-weed, its large rich leaves, and its
beautiful clusters  of purple berries, often  mingled upon  the same branch
with the green unripe fruit, and the flowers still in bloom,  render it one of
the most striking of our native  plants.  The  young shoots are much used
as food early in the spring, boiled  in the manner of spinage.   The ashes
of the dried stems and  leaves  contain a very large proportion of potassa,
yielding, according to Braconnot, not  less  than  forty-two per  cent,  of the
pure  caustic alkali.  In  the  plant  the potassa  is neutralized by an acid
closely resembling the malic, though differing from it in some respects.
The leaves, berries, and  root are used in medicine,  but the two latter only
are mentioned  in the Pharmacopoeia.  The root abounds most in the active
principles of the plant.   It should  be dug up late in November, cut into
thin  transverse slices, and  dried with a moderate heat.  As its virtues are
diminished by keeping, a new supply should be procured every year. The
berries  should  be collected when  perfectly ripe, and the leaves about the
middle of summer, when the footstalks begin to  redden.
   The berries contain a succulent  pulp, and  yield upon  pressure a large
quantity of fine  purplish-red  juice.   They have  a  sweetish, nauseous,
slightly acrid  taste,  with little odour.  The  colouring principle of their
juice is evanescent, and  cannot be applied to useful purposes in dyeing,
from the difficulty of fixing it.  Alkalies render  it yellow;  but the original
colour is  restored by acids.  The juice contains  saccharine matter, and,
after fermenting, yields alcohol by distillation.
   The dried root is of a light yellowish-brown colour externally, very much
wrinkled, and, when in transverse slices, exhibits on the cut surface nume-
rous concentric  rings, formed  by the projecting  ends of fibres, between
which the intervening matter  has shrunk in the drying process.  The struc-
ture  internally in  the older roots is firm  and almost  ligneous; the  colour
yellowish-white, alternating with darker circular  layers.  There is no smell;
the taste is slightly sweetish, and at first mild, but  followed by a sense of
acrimony.   The active matter is imparted  to boiling water and alcohol.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Poke is emetic, purgative, and somewhat
narcotic.  As an emetic it is very slow in its operation, frequently not com-
mencing in  less than one  or two  hours  after it has been  taken, and then
continuing to act for a long time upon both the stomach and bowels.  The
vomiting produced by it is said  not to be attended with much pain or spasm;
but narcotic effects have been observed by some physicians, such as drowsi-
ness, vertigo, and  dimness of vision.  In  over-doses it produces excessive
vomiting  and  purging, attended  with great prostration  of strength, and
sometimes with convulsions.  It has been  proposed as  a substitute for
ipecacuanha; but  the slowness and long  continuance of its action,  and its 
PART I.
Pimenta.
539
tendency to purge, wholly unfit it for  the  purposes which that emetic is
calculated to fulfil.  In small  doses it  acts as an alterative, and  has been
highly recommended in the treatment of chronic rheumatism.  The dose
of the powdered root, as an emetic, is from ten to thirty grains; as an alte-
rative, from one to five grains.  A saturated tincture of the berries prepared
with  diluted alcohol may be  given  in rheumatic cases, in the dose of a
fluidrachm three times a day.   A strong infusion of the leaves or root has
been recommended in piles.
   An ointment prepared by mixing a drachm of the powdered root or leaves
with an ounce of lard, has been used with advantage in psora, tinea capitis,
and some other forms of cutaneous disease.  It occasions at first a sense of
heat and smarting in the part to which it is applied.   An extract made by
evaporating the expressed juice of the recent leaves has been used  for the
same purpose, and acquired at one time considerable repute as a remedy in
cancer.                                                         W.

              PIMENTA.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.

                              Pimento.

   "The  unripe berries of Myrtus Pimenta." U.S.   " Myrtus Pimenta.
Baccae immaturae e.xsiccatae."  Lond.   " Unripe berries  of Eugenia  Pi-
menta." Ed.  " Myrtus  Pimenta.  Fructus."  Dub.
   Allspice, Jamaica pepper; Piment, Poivre de la Jamaique, Fr.; Nelkenpfeffer, Germ.;
Pimenti, Ital; Pimienta de In Jamaica, Span.
   Myrtus.  Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Myrtaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five cleft, superior. Petals five. Berry two to five-celled,
many-seeded.  Willd.
   Myrtus Pimenta.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 973;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 541.
t. 194. Eugenia Pimenta. De Cand. Prodrom. iii. 285; Lindley, Flor.
Med. p. 76.  This is a beautiful tree, about thirty feet high, with a straight
trunk, much branched  above, and covered with a very smooth gray bark.
Its dense and ever-verdant foliage gives it at all times  a refreshing appear-
 ance.  The leaves,  which are petiolate, vary  in shape  and  size; but are
 usually about four inches long, elliptical, entire, blunt  or obtusely pointed,
 veined, and of a deep shining green colour.   The flowers  are small, with-
 out show, and disposed in panicles upon trichotomous stalks, which usually
 terminate  the branches.  The fruit is a spherical berry, crowned with the
 persistent calyx, and when ripe is smooth, shining, and of  a black or dark
 purple colour.   The tree exhales an aromatic fragrance, especially during
 the summer months, when it is in flower.
   It is a native of the West Indies, Mexico, and South America, and is par-
 ticularly abundant in Jamaica, whence its fruit received the name of Jamaica
pepper.   The  berries  are  the  officinal portion of the  plant.   They are
 gathered  after having  attained their  full size,  but while yet green, and are
 carefully  dried in the sun.  When sufficiently dry, they are  put into bags
 and casks for exportation.
   Properties.  The berries, as they reach us,  are of different sizes, usually
 about as large as a small pea, round, wrinkled,  umbilicate at  the summit, of a
 brownish colour, and when broken present two cells, each containing a black
 hemispherical seed.  They have a fragrant odour, thought  to resemble that
 of a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg: hence the name of allspice,
 by which they are best known in  this  country.   Their taste is warm,  aro-
 matic, pungent, and slightly astringent.  They impart  their  flavour to water,
 and all their virtues  to alcohol.  The infusion is of a brown colour, reddens 
540
Pimenta.—Piper.
PART 1.
 litmus paper, and affords a black precipitate with the salts of iron.  They
 yield a  volatile oil by distillation.  (See Oleum Pimentee.)   By a minute
 analysis, Bonastre obtained  from them a volatile oil, a green fixed  oil, a
 concrete oleaginous substance  in yellowish flakes, tannin, gum, resin, un-
 crystallizable sugar, colouring matter, malic and gallic acids, saline matters,
 moisture, and lignin.  The green oil has the burning  aromatic taste of
 pimento, and is supposed to be the acrid  principle.   Upon this, therefore,
 together with the volatile oil, the medical  properties  of  the berries depend;
 and as these two principles exist most largely in the shell or cortical portion,
 this part is  most efficient.  According to Bonastre, the  shell contains 10
 per cent, of the volatile, and 8 of the fixed oil, the seeds only 5 per cent, of
 the former, and 2*5 of the  latter.  Berzelius considers  the green fixed oil
 of Bonastre as a mixture of volatile oil, resin, fixed oil, and perhaps a little
 chlorophylle.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Pimento  is a warm,  aromatic  stimulant,
 used in medicine chiefly as an adjuvant to tonics and purgatives, the taste of
 which it serves to cover, while it increases their warmth and  renders them
 more acceptable to the stomach.  It is particularly useful  in cases attended
 with much flatulence.   It is, however, much  more  largely employed as a
 condiment than as a medicine.   The dose is from ten to forty grains.
   Off. Prep.  Aqua Pimentae, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Oleum Pimentae, U. S.,
 Lond., Ed., Dub.; Spiritus Pimentee, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Syrupus
 Rhamni, Lond., Ed., Dub.                                       W.


                           PIPER.  U.S.

                           Black Pepper.

   " The berries of Piper nigrum." U. S.
   Off. Syn.   PIPER NIGRUM.  Piper nigrum. Baccae. Lond.; PIPER
 NIGRUM.  Dried unripe berries ofPiper nigrum. Ed.; PIPER NIGRUM.
 Semina.  Dub.
   Poivre, Fr.; Schwarzer Pfeffer, Germ; Gemoine pepcr, Dutch; Pepe nero, Ital; Pi-
 mienta negra, Span.;  Fifil uswud, Arab.; Ladu, Malay; Marieha, Javan.; Suhan, Palem-
 bang.
  Piper. See CUBEBA.
  Piper nigrum.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 159; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 721. t.
 246.  The pepper vine is a perennial plant, with a round, smooth, woody,
 articulated stem, swelling near the joints, branched, and from eight to twelve
 feet or more in length.  The leaves are entire, broad ovate, acuminate, seven-
nerved, coriaceous, very smooth, of a dark green  colour,  and attached by
 strong, sheath-like footstalks to the joints of the branches.  The flowers are
small, whitish, sessile, covering thickly a cylindrical spadix, and succeeded
by globular berries, which are of a red colour when ripe.
  The plant grows wild in Cochin-china and various parts of India.   It is
cultivated on the coast of Malabar, in the peninsula of Malacca, in Siam,
 Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Philippines, and many other places in the East.
 We are told by Crawford, that the best pepper is produced in  Malabar; but
Europe and America derive their chief supplies  from Sumatra and  Java.
The plant is propagated by cuttings, and is supported by props, or by trees
of various kinds planted for the purpose, upon which it is trained.  In three
or four years from the period of planting, it begins to bear fruit.   The ber-
ries are gathered before they are all perfectly ripe, and upon being dried,
become black and  wrinkled.
  White pepper is the ripe  berry  deprived of its skin by maceration in 
PART I.
Piper.
541
water and subsequent friction, and afterwards dried in the sun.  It has less
of the peculiar virtues of the spice than the black pepper, and is seldom
employed in this country.
  Properties.   The dried berries are about as  large as a small pea, exter-
nally blackish and wrinkled, internally whitish, of an aromatic smell, and a
hot, pungent, almost fiery taste.  They yield their virtues partially to water,
entirely to alcohol  and ether.   Pelletier  found them  to contain a peculiar
crystalline matter called piperin, an acrid concrete oil or soft resin of a green
colour, a balsamic volatile  oil, a coloured gummy substance,  an extractive
matter like that  found in leguminous plants capable of being precipitated
by  infusion of galls, a portion of bassorin, uric and malic acids, lignin, and
various salts.  Piperin was discovered by professor CErsted of Copenhagen,
who considered  it a vegetable alkali, and  the  active principle of pepper.
Pelletier, however, utterly denied its alkaline nature and medical activity,
and ascribed all the effects supposed to have been obtained from it to a por-
tion of the acrid concrete oil with which it is mixed when not very carefully
prepared.   When perfectly pure, piperin is in  colourless transparent crys-
tals, without taste, fusible at 212°, insoluble in cold water, slightly soluble
in boiling water which deposits it upon  cooling,  soluble in alcohol, ether,
and acetic acid, decomposed by the concentrated mineral  acids, with  the
sulphuric becoming of a blood-red colour, with the nitric, first of a greenish-
yellow, then orange, and ultimately red.   It is  obtained by treating pepper
with alcohol, evaporating the tincture to the consistence of an extract, sub-
mitting the extract to the action of an alkaline  solution by which the olea-
ginous matter is converted into soap, washing the undissolved portion with
cold water, separating the liquid by filtration, treating the matter left on  the
filter with alcohol, and  allowing the solution  thus  obtained  to  evaporate
spontaneously, or by a gentle heat.   Crystals of piperin are deposited, and
may be purified by alternate solution in alcohol or ether, and crystallization.
The taste  of pepper depends on  the  peculiar concrete oil or resin before
alluded to, and  on the volatile oil.  The former is of a deep green colour,
very acrid, and  soluble in alcohol and ether.   The volatile oil is  limpid,
colourless, becoming yellow by age, of a strong odour, and of a taste less
acrid than that of the pepper.  It consists often equiv. of carbon, and eight
of  hydrogen, and forms a liquid but not a concrete compound with muriatic
acid.  The  medicinal activity of pepper probably depends on these two
ingredients.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Black  pepper is  a warm carminative
stimulant, capable of producing general arterial excitement, but acting with
greater proportional energy on  the part  to which it is applied.   From  the
time of Hippocrates it has been employed as a condiment and  medicine.
Its culinary uses at present are too well known  to require notice.   Its chief
medicinal  application is to excite  the languid  stomach, and correct  flatu-
lence.  It was long  since  occasionally administered  for the cure of  inter-
mittents;  but its  employment for this purpose had passed from the hands
of  the profession into those of the vulgar, till a few years since revived by
an  Italian  physician, to be again consigned to forgetfulness.  Piperin has
also been employed in the same complaint, and has been recommended as
superior even to the sulphate of quinia; but experience has not confirmed
the first reports in its favour.  Tbat in its impure state, when mixed with
a portion  of the  acrid  principle,  it  will occasionally  cure intermittents,
there can be no doubt; but it is not comparable  to the preparations of bark,
and is probably less active than  the  alcoholic  extract  of pepper.  When
perfectly pure it is inert.  In those cases of intermittents in which  the sto-
       47 
542
Piper.—Piper Longum.—Pix Jibietis.      part i.
 mach is not duly susceptible to the action of quinia, as in some instances
 of drunkards, pepper may be found a useful adjuvant to the more powerful
 febrifuge.
   The  dose of pepper is from five to twenty grains.  It may be  given in
 the  state  of the berry  or  in powder; but is more energetic in the latter.
 Piperin has been given in doses varying from one to six or eight grains.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Piperis Nigri, Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Confectio Rutae,
 Lond.,  Dub.;  Emplastrum Cantharidis  Compositum, Ed.;  Unguentum
 Piperis Nigri, Dub.                                             W.


             PIPER  LONGUM.  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.

                          Long Pepper.

   "Piper longum. Fructus immaturus exsiccatus." Lond.  "Driedspikes
 of Piper longum." Ed.  "Semina." Dub.
   Poivre longue, Fr.; Langer Pfeffer, Germ.; Pepe lungo, Ital; Pimienta larga, Span,
   Piper.  See CUBEBA.
   Piper longum.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 161;  Woodv.  Med. Bot. p. 724.
 t. 247.  This species of Piper differs from its congeners in having its lower
 leaves  cordate, petiolate, seven-nerved, its upper oblong cordate, sessile,
 and five-nerved;  its flowers in dense, short, terminal, and nearly cylindrical
 spikes;  and its fruit, consisting of very small one-seeded berries or grains,
 embedded in  a pulpy matter.  It is a native of South-eastern Asia,  and is
 produced  abundantly in Bengal and many parts of Hindostan.  The fruit
 is  green when immature, and becomes red as it ripens.   It is gathered in
 the former state, as it is then hotter than when perfectly ripe.  The whole
 spike is taken from the plant and dried  in the sun.
   Long pepper is cylindrical,  an inch or more in length, indented on its
 surface, of a dark gray colour, a weak aromatic odour, and a pungent fiery
 taste.  M. Dulong found its chemical composition to be closely analogous to
 that of black  pepper as  ascertained by  Pelletier.   Like that it  contains
piperin, a concrete oil or soft resin upon which  its burning acrimony de-
 pends, and a volatile oil to which it probably owes its odour.  Its medical
 virtues  are essentially the  same with those of the black pepper;  but it is
 considered inferior to that spice, and is  seldom used.
   Off. Prep.   Confectio Opii,  Lond., Dub.; Pulvis Aromaticus,  Dub.,
 Lond.;  Pulvis Cretae  Compositus, Lond.,  Dub.;  Tinctura  Cinnamomi
 Composita, Lond, Ed.                                         W.


                      PIX ABIETIS.  U.S.

                         Burgundy Pitch.

   " The prepared concrete juice of Abies excelsa."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  PIX ABIETINA. Pinus Abies. Resina praeparata, Lond.;
 PIX BURGUNDICA. Concrete  resinous exudation, probably in  a great
 measure from  Abies  excelsa.  Ed.;  PIX  BURGUNDICA.   PINUS
 ABIES.  Resina.  Thus. Dub.
   Poix de Bourgogne, Poix jaune, Poix blanche, Fr.; Burgundisches Pech, Germ.
   The  genus Pinus of Linnaeus has been divided  into three genera, which
 are  now  generally acknowledged by  botanists,  viz.  Pinus, Abies, and
 Larix; the first including the pines, the second the firs and spruces, and 
PART I.
Fix JIbietis.
543
the third the larches.  In the former editions of this work we followed the
United States Pharmacopoeia in  adhering to the Linnean arrangement;  in
the present, we follow the same authority in adopting the new division.
  Abies.  Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Pinaceae or Coni-
ferae.
   Gen. Ch. Male flowers.  Catkins solitary, not racemose;  Scales sta-
miniferous at the apex.  Stamens two,  with one-celled anthers.   Females.
Catkins simple. Ovaries two.  Stigmas glandular.  Cone with imbricated
scales, which are thin at the  apex, and rounded.   Cotyledons digitate-par-
tite.  Leaves solitary in each sheath.  De Cand.
   Abies excelsa.  De Cand.—A. communis. Lindley, Loudon's Encyc. of
Plants.—Pinus Abies.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 506; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 4.
t. 2.   The Norway spruce is a very lofty tree, rising sometimes one hun-
dred and fifty feet in height, with a trunk from  three to five feet in diameter.
The leaves, which stand thickly upon the branches, are short, obscurely
four-cornered, often curved,  of a dusky green colour, and shining  on the
upper surface.   The male aments are purple and axillary, the female of the
same colour, but usually terminal.   The fruit is in pendent, purple, nearly
cylindrical strobiles, the  scales of which are  oval, pointed, and ragged at
the edges.
   This tree is a native of Europe and Northern Asia.   Though designated
as the source of Burgundy pitch, it furnishes  but  a part of the substance
sold under that name by the druggists.   Tingley asserts that the real Bur-
gundy pitch is  obtained from the Abies picea, or European silver fir tree;
and the same fact is stated by Fee.   According to  Geiger, who  is probably
correct, it is procured from both species.   To obtain the pitch, portions of
the bark are removed so as to lay bare  the wood, and the flakes of concrete
resinous matter which form upon the surface of the wound, having been de-
tached by iron instruments, are melted with water in large boilers, and then
strained through coarse cloths.   It is called Burgundy pitch from the pro-
vince of that name in  the East of France.   We  are told that the  greater
portion is collected in the neighbourhood of Neufchatel.
   From other species of pine in different parts of Europe, a similar product
is obtained and sold by the same name.   It is prepared by removing the
juice which concretes upon the bark of the tree or upon  the surface  of inci-
sions, called galipot by the French, and  purifying  it by  melting and strain-
ing, either through cloth or a layer of straw.
   A factitious Burgundy pitch is also made by melting together common
pitch, resin,  and turpentine,  and agitating the mixture  with water, which
gives it the requisite yellowish colour.   Its odour  is different from that of
the genuine.
   As  brought  to this  country,  Burgundy pitch is generally mixed  with
impurities, which  require that it should be melted and strained before being
used.   In its pure  state it is hard,  brittle, quite opnque, of a yellowish or
brownish-yellow colour, and a weak terebinthinate taste and odour.  It is
very fusible,  and at the  heat of the body softens and becomes adhesive.  It
differs from turpentine in containing a smaller  proportion of essential oil.
   Under the name of Abietis Resina, the London College directs the con-
crete juice of the spruce fir, as taken immediately from the bark of the tree,
without any preparation.  It is the Thus or  Frankincense of the  former
London and present Dublin  Pharmacopoeia.   It is in solid brittle tears, of
 a  brownish-yellow colour on the outside, and paler within, and emits  an
 agreeable odour when burned.  It softens and becomes adhesive at the tem-
 perature of the body.  Though ascribed to the Abies  excelsa, it  is pro- 
544               Pix Abietis.—Pix Canadensis.           part r.
bably obtained also  from other sources; and we  have been told by an
apothecary from London, that an article exactly resembling  our common
white turpentine when perfectly dried, is sold as frankincense in the shops
of that city.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Applied to the  skin in the shape  of a
plaster, Burgundy pitch acts as a gentle rubefacient, producing a slight de-
gree of inflammation and serous effusion without separating the  cuticle.
Sometimes it excites a papillary or vesicular eruption; and we have known
it to act upon the surface as a violent poison,  giving rise to excessive pain,
tumefaction, and redness, followed by vesication and even ulceration.   It is
used chiefly in cases of slight chronic pains of a rheumatic character, or in
chronic affections of the chest or abdominal viscera, which call for a gentle
but long continued revulsive action upon the skin.
  The  resin of the  spruce fir (Abietis Resina) is  used only as an ingre-
dient of plasters.
  Off. Prep. Emplastrum Cantharidis Comp., Ed.; Emplast. Ferri, U. S.;
Emplast. Galbani Comp., U. S.; Emplast. Opii, U. S., Ed., Dub.;  Em-
plast. Picis, Lond., Ed.;  Emplast.  Picis cum Cantharide, U. S., Dub.
  Off. Prep, of Abietis Resina.   Emplast.  Aromatic,  Dub.; Emplast.
Galbani, Lond.; Emplast. Opii, Lond.; Emplast. Picis, Lond.     W.

                  PIX  CANADENSIS.  U.S.

                           Canada Pilch.

  " The prepared concrete juice of Abies Canadensis." U. S.
  Abies.  See PIX BURGUNDICA.
  Abies Canadensis.   Michaux, N Am. Sylv. iii. 185.—Pinus Cana-
densis.  Willd.  Sp. Plant,  iv. 505.  This is the hemlock  spruce of the
United States and  Canada.   When of full growth it is  often seventy or
eighty feet high, with a trunk two or three feet in  diameter, and of nearly
uniform dimensions for two-thirds of its length.  The branches are slender,
and dependent at their extremities.   The leaves are very numerous, six or
eight lines  long, flat, denticulate,  and  irregularly arranged in two rows.
The strobiles are ovate, little longer than the leaves, pendulous, and  situ-
ated at the ends of the branches.
  The tree is abundant in Canada, Nova Scotia,  and the more  northern
parts of New England; and  is found in the elevated and  mountainous re-
gions of the  Middle  States.  Its bark abounds in the astringent principle,
and is much used for tanning in the northern parts of the United States.
It contains much less juice than some other of the Pinaceae;  and very  little
flows from incisions made into its trunk.  But in the trees which have at-
tained their full  growth, and are about or have begun to  decay, the juice
exudes spontaneously, and hardens upon the bark in consequence of the
partial  evaporation  or oxidation  of its essential oil.  The  bark thus in-
crusted is stripped from the tree, broken into  pieces of convenient size, and
boiled in water.  The pitch melts, rises to the surface, is skimmed off, and
is still further purified  by a second  boiling in water.  It is brought to  Phi-
ladelphia  from the north of Pennsylvania, in dark coloured brittle  masses,
which on being broken exhibit numerous minute fragments  of bark, inter-
spersed through  their substance.  From these it is purified in the shops by
meltino- and  straining through linen or canvass.  (Ellis, Journ. of Phil.
Col. of Pharm. ii. 18.)                                      .
  Thus prepared it is hard, brittle, quite opaque, of a dark yellowish-brown 
 part i.           Pix Canadensis.—Pix Liquida.              545

 colour, which becomes still darker by exposure to the air, of a weak pecu-
 liar odour, and scarcely any taste.  It softens and becomes adhesive with a
 moderate heat, and melts at 198° F.  Its constituents are resin and a minute
 proportion of essential oil.  It is most generally known by the  incorrect
 name  of hemlock gum, and  in the former  edition of the U. S. Pharmaco-
 poeia was named hemlock pitch.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Hemlock pitch is a gentle rubefacient,
 closely analogous to  Burgundy pitch in its properties, and employed for
 precisely the same purposes.                                      W.


            PIX  LIQUIDA.  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                                 Tar.

   " The impure turpentine  procured by burning from the wood of Pinus
 palustris and other species of Pinus."  U.  S.   '• Pinus sylvestris.  Resina
 praeparata liquida."  Lond.   " Tar from various species of  Pinus and
 Abies." Ed.   " E speciebus Pini diversis."  Dub.
   Goudron, Fr.;  Theer, Germ; Pece liquida, Ital; Alquitran, Span.
   The tar used in this  country is prepared from  the wood of various spe-
 cies of pine, particularly the Pinus  palustris of the Southern  States, the
 P. australis of Michaux.  (See Terebinthina.)   The dead wood is usually
 selected, because, when vegetation ceases, the resinous matter becomes con-
 centrated in the interior layers. " The wood is  cut into billets of  a conve-
 nient size, which are placed together so as to  form a large stack  or pile,
 and then covered with earth as in the  process for making charcoal.   The
 stack is built upon a small  circular mound of earth previously prepared, the
 summit of which gradually declines  from the circumference to the centre,
 where a small cavity is formed, communicating by a conduit with a shallow
 ditch surrounding the mound.  Fire  is applied  through an opening in  the
 top of the pile, and a slow combustion is maintained, so  that the  resinous
 matter may be melted by the heat.  This runs into the cavity in the centre
 of the mound, and passes thence by the conduit into the ditch, whence it is
 transferred into barrels. Immense quantities of tar are thus prepared in North
 Carolina and the south-eastern parts of Virginia, sufficient, after supplying
 our own consumption, to afford a large  surplus for exportation.
   Considerable quantities  of tar are also prepared in the lower parts of
 New Jersey, in some portions of New England, and in Pennsylvania west
 of the Alleghany mountains, from the  Pinus rigida, or pitch pine, and
 perhaps from some other species.
  Properties.  Tar has a peculiar empyreumatic odour, a bitterish, resinous
 somewhat acid  taste, a colour almost black, and  a tenacious consistence
 intermediate between that of a liquid  and solid.  It consists of resinous mat-
 ter, united with acetic acid, oil of turpentine, and various volatile empyreu-
 matic products, and coloured with charcoal.   By distillation it yields an
 acid liquor called pyroligneous  acid (see Acidum Pyroligneum), and an
 empyreumatic oil called oil of tar; and what is left behind is pitch.  The
 empyreumatic oil has been ascertained by Dr. Reichenbach, of Moravia, to
 contain, besides oil of turpentine, six distinct principles, which he has named
paraffine, eupione, creasote, picamar, capnomor,  and pittacal.   Of these
 only picamar and creasote merit particular attention; the former as the  prin-
 ciple to which  tar owes its  bitterness, the latter as the one upon which it
 probably depends chiefly for its medical virtues. (See Creasotum.)   Tar 
546
Pix Liquida.—Pix Nigra.—Plumbum.      part i.
yields a small proportion of its constituents to water, which is thus rendered
medicinal,  and  is employed under the name of tar water.  It is dissolved
by alcohol, ether, and the volatile and fixed oils.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  The medieal properties of tar are similar
to those of the turpentines.   It is sometimes used in chronic coughs, and,
when the disease depends on chronic bronchial  inflammation,  with occa-
sional advantage.  Little benefit can be expected from it in genuine phthisis,
in the treatment of which it was formerly highly recommended.  Dr. Bate-
man employed it advantageously as an internal remedy in ichthyosis.  Its
vapour, inhaled into  the lungs, has been found serviceable in numerous cases
of bronchial disease.  Externally applied, in the state of ointment, it  is a
very efficient remedy in tinea capitis, or  scald head, and in some cases of
psoriasis; and has been used with advantage in foul or indolent ulcers, and
some other affections of the skin.
  It may be used in the form of tar water (Aqua Picis Liquidae), or in sub-
stance made into pills with wheat flour, or mixed with sugar in the form of
an electuary.  The dose is from half a drachm to a drachm, and  may be
repeated so as to amount to three or four  drachms daily.
  Off. Prep. Aqua Picis Liquidae, Dub.; Unguentum Picis Liquidae, U. S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.                                              W.


                      PIX  NIGRA. Lond.

                           Black  Pitch.

  "Pinus sylvestris. Resina praeparata solida." Lond.
  Off. Syn.  PIX  ARIDA.  Piteh:  from  various  species of  Pinus  and
Abies. Ed.
  This is the solid black mass left after the evaporation of the liquid parts
of tar. (See Pix Liquida.)   It has a  shining fracture,  softens and becomes
adhesive with a moderate heat, melts in  boiling water, and consists of the
resin of the pine unaltered, and of various empyreumatic resinous products
which have received the name of pyretine. (Berzelius, Trait, de Chim. vi.
641  and 680.)  It appears to be very gently stimulant or tonie, and has been
used internally in ichthyosis and other cutaneous diseases, and recently with
great advantage in piles.  The dose is from ten grains  to a drachm given in
pills.  Pitch is  also used externally in the form of ointment. (See Unguen-
tum Picis Nigree.)
  Off. Prep. Unguentum Picis Nigrae, Lond.                     W.


                           PLUMBUM.

                                Lead.

  Plomb, Fr.; Blei, Germ.; Lood, Dutch.;  Plombo, Ital; Plomo, Span-; Chumbo, Port.
  Lead  is not officinal in its metallic  state; but enters into a number of im-
portant medicinal preparations. It occurs in nature in three principal states—
as an oxide, as a  sulphuret called galena, and in the  saline state,  forming
the native sulphate,  phosphate, carbonate, chromate, molybdate, tungstate,
and arseniate of lead.  The oxide is rare, but gelena  is exceedingly abun-
dant and diffused, and is the ore from which all the lead of commerce is
extracted.  The process of extraction consists merely in melting the ore in
contact with charcoal.  Mines of galena occur in different parts of the world,
but the richest and most extensive are found in our own country.   The lead 
PART I.
Plumbum.
547
region of the United States  extends  in length from  the Wisconsin in the
north, to the Red river of Arkansas in the south, and in breadth about one
hundred  and fifty miles.  It is only  of latter years that these mines have
been extensively worked.
  Properties.  Lead is a soft, bluish-gray, and very malleable metal, present-
ing a bright surface when newly melted or cut.  It has a perceptible taste,
and a peculiar smell when rubbed. It undergoes but little change in the air,
but is corroded by the combined action of air and water.  Its sp. gr. is 11*4,
melting point about 612°, and equivalent number 103*6.   Exposed  to a
stream of oxygen on ignited charcoal, it burns with a blue flame, throwing
off dense yellow fumes.  The best  solvent of lead is nitric  acid;  but the
presence of sulphuric  acid  destroys, and that of muriatic acid lessens its
solvent power, on account of the insolubility of the compounds which these
acids form with the metal.   Lead forms five oxides, a dinoxide, protoxide,
sesquioxide, deutoxide, and red oxide.  The dinoxide  consists  of  two
equivalents of lead and one of oxygen.  The protoxide, called in commerce
massicot,  may be obtained  by calcining,  in a platinum crucible,  the sub-
nitrate of lead, formed by precipitating a solution of the nitrate by ammonia.
On a large scale it is manufactured by exposing melted lead to the action of
the air.  Its surface becomes incrusted with a gray pellicle,  which, being
scraped off, is quickly succeeded by another;  and the whole  of the metal,
being in this way successively presented to the air, becomes converted into
a greenish-gray powder, consisting of protoxide and metallic lead.   This,
by exposure to a moderate  heat,  absorbs  more oxygen,  and is converted
entirely into protoxide.  This  oxide has  a yellow colour, and is  the one
present in the salts of lead.  As a hydrate it  is officinal with the London
College.  (See Plumbi Oxydum Hydralum.)  It consists of one  equiv.
of lead 103*6. and one  of oxygen 8 = 111*6.  A  variety of the protoxide,
called litharge, is very much used in pharmacy, and is officinal in  all the
Pharmacopoeias.  (See Plumbi  Oxidum Semivitreum.)   The sesquioxide,
recently discovered by Winkelblech,  is unimportant.  The deutoxide, called
also puce oxide from itsy?ea-brown colour, may be obtained by treating red
lead  with  nitric  acid.   The acid  takes up  the  protoxide, and leaves the
deutoxide, which may be purified  by washing with boiling water.   It is a
tasteless powder, of a dark-brown colour.  When heated to redness it loses
half its oxygen, and becomes protoxide.   It consists of one equiv. of lead
 103-6, and two of oxygen 16=119-6.  The red oxide, called in commerce
minium, or red lead, is described under another head.  (See Plumbi Oxidum
Rubrum.)  head combines  with chlorine  and iodine, forming officinal  pre-
parations.  (See Plumbi Chloridum  and Plumbi Iodidum.)   The acetate,
carbonate, and nitrate  are also officinal.
   The best tests of this metal are sulphuretted hydrogen, and a solution of
iodide of potassium.    The  former  produces  a  dark-brown precipitate of
sulphuret of lead, the latter,  a yellow one of iodide of lead.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  The effects of lead in its various combina-
tions are  those of a sedative and astringent.   It is used  internally for the
purpose of reducing vascular action,  and restraining inordinate discharges;
and externally as an abater of inflammation.  When introduced into the
system in a gradual manner, either by working in the  metal, or by taking
it in small and frequently repeated doses, it acts injuriously on the nervous
system, producing a peculiar colic, called  lead colic, sometimes apoplectic
symptoms, and palsy which is almost always partial and incomplete, and
affects for the most part the upper extremities.   Occasionally salivation is
produced, and, according to  Dr. Henry Burton, the constitutional effects of 
54S
Plumbum.
PART I.
the metal are indicated by a narrow lead-blue line at the edge of the gum,
round two or more of the teeth, as a constant and early sign.  The treatment
of lead colic is mentioned under carbonate of lead.  Lead palsy is usually
attended with  dyspepsia, constipation,  tendency to colic, lassitude,  and
gloominess of mind; and is best  treated  by tonics, aperients, exercise,  and
avoidance of the cause of the disease.  The  poisonous effects of an over-
dose of the lead preparations are to be combated by  emetics, if free vomit-
ing has not previously occurred, by the exhibition of the sulphate of mag-
nesia or sulphate of soda, to act as an  antidote by forming the inert sulphate
of lead, and by opium.
  Orfila has determined, by experiments on dogs, the appearance exhibited
by the mucous membrane of the stomach after the use of small doses of the
salts of lead.  After the action of such doses for two hours, dull white points
are visible on the membrane, sometimes in rows and sometimes disseminated,
and evidently consisting of the metal,  united with the organic tissue.  If the
animal be allowed to live for four days, the  same spots may be seen with
the magnifier,  and if sulphuretted hydrogen  be applied to  the membrane,
they are instantly blackened.  (Archives  Gen. Seme Serie, iv. 244.)
  According to M. Gendrin,  sulphuric acid, prepared like  lemonade, and
used both internally and externally, is a prophylactic against the poisonous
effects of lead, especially the lead colic. (Am. Journ.  of Med. Sci. xv. 528.)
It may be supposed to act by forming the inert sulphate with the poison.
Mr. Benson, a manager of white lead works at Birmingham, has tried this
acid, and finds it an effectual preventive  of lead colic in his establishment,
where it was exceedingly prevalent before its employment.   He uses it as
an addition to  ginger  beer, to which  bicarbonate of  soda is  also added to
render it brisk,  but  not in sufficient quantity  to prevent a considerable por-
tion of the acid remaining in excess.  (London Lancet, Dec. 1842.)  On the
other hand, the powers of sulphuric acid in preventing the poisonous effects
of lead are positively denied by Dr. A. Grisolle.   This writer recommends
that workmen employed in lead  manufactories should use frequent baths,
avoid intemperance, and  always  eat  before they enter upon their work in
the morning.   He supposes that in the great majority of cases the metal is
introduced into the system through the stomach by means of the saliva or
food.
  Pharm. Preparations.  The following table embraces a list of all the
officinal preparations containing lead in the United States and British Phar-
macopoeias.
  Plumbi Oxidum Rubrum, U. S., Ed.
  Plumbi Oxidum Semivitreum, U. S.;  Plumbi Oxydum, Lond.;  Lithar-
               gyrum, Ed.; Plumbi Oxydum Semivitreum, Dub.  An-
               glice,  Litharge.
       Ceratum Saponis, U. S., Lond.
       Emplastrum  Plumbi,  U.S., Lond.; Emplastrum Lithargyri, Ed.,
               Dub.  Anglice, Lead plaster, Litharge plaster.*
           Unguentum Plumbi Compositum, Lond.
       Liquor Plumbi  Subacetatis, U.S.; Liquor Plumbi Diacetatis, Lond.;
               Plumbi Diacetatis Solutio, Ed.; Plumbi Subacetatis Li-
               quor, Dub.
           Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis Dilutus, U. S.; Liquor Plumbi Dia-
               cetatis Dilutus, Lond.;  Plumbi Subacetatis Liquor Com-
               positus, Dub. Anglice, Lead-water.
* This plaster forms the basis of a number of other plasters. 
PART I.
Plumbum.—Plumbi Acetas.
549
            Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S.; Ceratum Plumbi Compo-
                situm, Lond.  Anglice, Goulard's cerate.
  Plumbi Oxydum Hydratum, Lond.
  Plumbi Chloridum, Lond.
  Plumbi Iodidum, Lond., Ed.
       Unguentum Plumbi Iodidi, Lond.
  Plumbi Acetas,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
       Ceratum Plumbi Acetatis, Lond.; Unguentum Plumbi Acetatis, Ed.,
                Dub.
       Pilulae Plumbi Opiatae, Ed.
  Plumbi Carbonas, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
       Unguentum Plumbi Carbonatis,  U. S., Ed., Dub.
  Plumbi Nitras, Ed.                                             B.


         PLUMBI  ACETAS.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                          Acetate  of Lead.

  Sugar of lead; Saccharum Saturni, Cerussa acetata, Lat.; Acetate de plomb, Sucre de
plomb, Sel de Saturne, Fr.;  Essigsaures Bleioxyd, Bleizucker, Germ.; Zucchero di Sa-
turno, Ital; Azucar de plomo, Span.
  Directions are given by the three  British Colleges for preparing acetate
of lead;  but as it is seldom or never  prepared by the apothecary, and may
be obtained in the  greatest perfection, and at a cheap rate, from  the manu-
facturing chemist,  it is more properly placed, in the United States Pharma-
copoeia, in  the catalogue of the Materia Medica.
  Preparation.  Sugar of lead is obtained by two methods.   By one me-
thod, thin  plates of lead are placed in shallow vessels filled with distilled
vinegar,  in such a manner as to have a part of each plate rising  above  the
vinegar;  and they are  turned from  time to time, so  as  to bring different
portions  of the metallic surface  in contact with the air.  The metal becomes
protoxidized, and dissolves in the vinegar to saturation, and the solution is
evaporated to  the point of crystallization.   This process is a slow one, but
furnishes a salt which is  perfectly neutral.  The other method consists in
dissolving, by the  assistance  of heat, litharge, or the  protoxide of lead ob-
tained  by calcination, in  an excess of distilled vinegar or purified pyrolig-
neous  acid, contained in leaden boilers.  The oxide is quickly  dissolved,
and  when the vinegar has become  saturated, the solution is  transferred to
other vessels to cool and crystallize.  The crystals having formed, the mother
waters are  decanted, and, by  a new evaporation, made to yield  a  new crop.
These  are  generally of a yellow colour, but may be  purified  by repeated
solutions and crystallizations.
  The London College directs  this salt to be formed by dissolving litharge,
by the  aid of a gentle heat, in dilute acetic acid.  The Edinburgh  process is
substantially the same as the  London; the  pyroligneous acid directed being
in fact  acetic acid of medium  strength.   The process of the Dublin  College
directs the  solution of carbonate of  lead (white lead) in  the acid, but is in-
eligible on  account of its  expense.
  Sugar  of lead  is  extensively manufactured in Germany, Holland,  France,
and England, as  well as in the United  States; its principal consumption being
caused by the arts of dyeing and calico-printing, in which it is employed to
form with alum the acetate  of alumina, which is used as a mordant.
  Properties.  Acetate of lead is a white salt, crystallized in brilliant needles,
which  have the shape  of long prisms, terminated by dihedral summits.  Its 
550
Plumbi Acetas.
PART I.
taste is at first' sweet and afterwards astringent.   Exposed to the air, it
effloresces slowly.  It dissolves in four times  its weight of cold, and in a
much smaller quantity of boiling water.  It is soluble also in alcohol.   Its
solution in common water is turbid, in consequence of the formation of ca>-
bonate of lead with the carbonic acid which such water always contains.
This turbidness may be removed by the addition of a small portion of vine-
gar, or of dilute acetic acid. In pure distilled water, free from carbonic acid,
it ought to dissolve entirely, and form a clear  solution.  Sulphuric acid or
a soluble sulphate, when added  to a solution  of acetate  of lead, produces
instantly a precipitate of sulphate of lead;  the acid, at  the  same time, dis-
engaging vapours having the smell of vinegar.   The salt, when heated, first
fuses and  parts with its water of crystallization, and afterwards is decom-
posed, yielding acetic acid and pyroacetic spirit  (acetone), and leaving a
residue of charcoal and reduced lead.   An important property of sugar of
lead is its power of dissolving a large quantity of protoxide of lead.  (See
Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis.)  It consists of one equiv. of acetic acid 51*48,
one of protoxide of lead 111*6, and three of water 27 = 190-08.
  Incompatibles.  Acetate  of lead is decomposed by all acids, and by those
soluble salts, the acids of which produce with protoxide of lead insoluble
or sparingly soluble compounds.  Acids of this character are the sulphuric,
muriatic, citric, and tartaric.  It is also decomposed by lime-water, and by
ammonia, potassa, and soda; the last two, if added in  excess, dissolving
the precipitate at first formed.   It is decomposed by hard water, in conse-
quence of the sulphate of lime and common salt, which such water usually
contains.  With sulphuretted hydrogen, it gives a black precipitate of  sul-
phuret of  lead; with  iodide of potassium,  a yellow one of iodide of lead;
and with carbonate of soda, a white one  of carbonate of  lead.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Acetate  of lead, in  medicinal doses,  is a
powerful astringent and sedative;  in large  ones, an irritant poison.  The
danger, however,  from over-doses  of sugar of lead is not so great as is
generally supposed.   It has sometimes been given in pretty large doses in
regular practice, without any bad effects, and  cases are on record where a
quarter of an ounce has been swallowed  without proving fatal.   It may be
remarked, however, that the immediate effects of an  over-dose are often
escaped by prompt and spontaneous vomiting; and that  the remote consti-
tutional effects are not apt to occur, so long  as the evacuations from the
bowels are not materially diminished.   The principal diseases in  which it
has been  exhibited are hemorrhages, particularly from  the lungs, intes-
tines, and uterus.  Its effect in restraining  the discharge of blood is admit-
ted to  be very powerful.   It has also  been used with advantage in certain
forms of dysentery and diarrhoea, and  has  been recommended in particular
stages of cholera infantum.  Combined with opium it is well suited to the treat-
ment of the diarrhoea  occurring in phthisis.  It sometimes proves a valuable
remedy in checking vomiting.   Dr. Irvine, of Charleston, recommends it
to compose the irritability of the stomach in yellow fever; and Dr. Davis of
Columbia, S. C, used it with benefit in  the irritable stomach attendant on
bilious fever.  It has been much extolled  by  the  German practitioners in
dothinenteritis, or the typhoid fever attended  with ulcerations of the intes-
tines.  In some of these  cases it was advantageously combined with  car-
bonate of  ammonia.   The same practitioners  have strongly recommended
it in aneurism of the aorta, and Dupuytren, on their report of its efficacy,
tried it in  several cases, and with marked results, in diminishing the size of
the aneurismal tumour. (Archives  Gen. Seme Serie, v. 445.)  One of the
authors of this  Dispensatory has imitated  the practice  in aneurism  of the 
part i.       Plumbi Acetas.—Plumbi Carbonas.            551

aorta, and in  enlargement  of the heart, and with encouraging results.   In
mercurial salivation, M. Brachet, of Lyons, found  sugar of lead very effi-
cacious, administered in grain pills, night  and  morning.  Several cases of
severe salivation of several months' duration, which had resisted the use of
opium, purgatives, <fec. were  speedily relieved  by the remedy.  The solu-
tion is frequently used as  a collyrium; and applied by means of  cloths, or
mixed with crumb of bread, it forms a  good  application to  superficial in-
flammation.  For the  latter purpose, the  dilute solution of subacetate of
lead is generally preferred. (See Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis Dilutus.)
   When employing this medicine, the practitioner should always bear in
mind that, when long continued in  small doses, it is  apt to produce dan-
gerous constitutional effects.  These  effects are chiefly of two kinds; 1. an
affection of the  alimentary canal,  attended with  severe pain  and obstinate
constipation, called colica pictonum or lead colic; 2. a chronic affection of
the muscles, especially of the extensors of the upper extremities, charac-
terized by an excessive wasting  of these organs, and denominated lead
palsy.  Both these affections are  apt to be excited in those  artisans who
work in lead.  The approach of these dangerous constitutional symptoms
is said to be indicated by  a rrarrow lead-blue line at the edge of the gums.
(Seepage  548.)
   The dose  of sugar of lead  is from one to three grains, in the form of pill,
repeated every two or three hours.   It is generally given  combined with
opium.  The solution for external use may be made  by dissolving from
two to three  drachms of the salt in  a pint of water; and if it be wanted clear,
a fluidrachm of vinegar or dilute acetic acid may be added, which immedi-
ately  dissolves  the  carbonate of  lead,  to which its turbidness  is owing.
The usual strength of the  solution  as a collyrium is from one to two grains
to the fluidounce of distilled  water.
   Off. Prep. Acidum  Aceticum, Ed.;  Liquor Plumbi  Subacetatis, U. S.,
 Lond., Ed.; Pilulae Plumbi Opiatae, Ed.;   Plumbi Chloridum,  Lond.;
 Plumbi Iodidum, Lond.;  Unguentum Plumbi Acetatis, Ed.,  Dub., Lond.
                                                                 B.


           PLUMBI  CARBONAS.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.

                         Carbonate of Lead.

    Off. Syn.  PLUMBI CARBONAS.  CERUSSA. Dub.
   White lead,  Ceruse; CeVuse, Carbonate de plomb, Blanc de plomb, Blanc de ceruse, Fr.;
 Bleiweiss, Germ.; Cerussa, hat., Ital.; Albayalde, Span.
   Preparation.   Carbonate of lead is prepared by two principal methods.
 By one method it is obtained by passing a stream of carbonic acid through
 a solution  of subacetate (trisacetate) of lead.   The carbonic acid combines
 with the excess of protoxide and precipitates as carbonate of lead, while a
 neutral acetate  remains in solution.  This, by being  boiled with a fresh
 portion of protoxide, is again brought to the state of subacetate, when it is
 treated with  carbonic acid as before.  In this way  the same portion of ace-
 tate repeatedly serves  the purpose of being converted into subacetate, and
 of being decomposed by carbonic  acid.  The carbonate obtained is washed,
 dried  by a gentle heat, and thrown into commerce.  This process, which
 produces white lead of the first quality, was  invented and made  public by
 Thenard,  about  the year 1802, and is that which is  usually pursued  in
 France and Sweden.
    A  modification of the process of Thenard is  now pursued by some manu- 
552
Plumbi Carbonas.
PART I.
 facturers in England.  Litharge is mixed with a hundredth part of acetate of
 lead, and the mixture, previously moistened with very little water, is sub-
 jected to a stream of carbonic acid.  (Pelouze.)
   The  other method, which consists  in  exposing lead  to  the vapours of
 vinegar, originated in Holland, and is  pursued in England and the United
 States; but in England, with some modifications, which are not well known.
 We shall describe the process as pursued by our own manufacturers.  The
 lead is cast into thin sheets, made by pouring  the melted lead over an ob-
 long  sheet-iron shovel, with a  flat  bottom and  raised edges on  its sides,
 which  is held in a slanting direction over the melting-pot.   As many of
 these sheets  are then loosely rolled up as may be sufficient to form a cylin-
 der five or six inches in diameter, and seven or eight high, which is placed
 in an earthen pot containing about half a pint of vinegar, and having within
 a few inches from the bottom, three equidistant projecting portions in the
 earthenware, on which the cylinder of lead is supported, in order to keep
 it from contact with  the vinegar.   The pots thus  prepared are placed
 side by side,  in horizontal layers, in a  building roughly  constructed of
 boards,  with interstices  between them.   The first  layer is covered with
 boards,  on  which a  stratum  of tan or  refuse  straw from the stables is
 strewed; and  fresh layers of pots, boards, and straw, are  successively
 placed, until the whole building is filled.   The sides also are enclosed with
 straw.   The pile of pots, called a bed, is  allowed to remain undisturbed for
 about six weeks, at  the end of which time it is taken  down, and the cylin-
 der of  lead in each pot, though still retaining its shape, is  found almost
 entirely converted into a flaky, white, friable substance, which is the white
 lead.    This  is separated from  the lead yet remaining in the metallic state,
 ground in water, whereby it is washed and reduced to  fine powder, and
 finally dried  in long, shallow reservoirs, usually heated by steam.
   Pelouze has succeeded in explaining  all these processes on the same
 general principles.  In Thenard's process  it is  admitted, that the same por-
 tion of acetate of lead repeatedly unites  with  protoxide, and gives it up
 again  to carbonic acid to form  the carbonate.   In  the  modified  English
 process, he supposes that the one per cent, of acetate of lead combines with
 sufficient litharge to convert it into  subacetate, which  immediately returns
 to the state of neutral  acetate, by yielding  up its excess of base to form the
 carbonate with the carbonic acid.   The  acetate is  now ready to  combine
 with a fresh  portion of litharge, to  be  transferred to the carbonic acid as
 before;  and thus  this  small proportion of acetate, by combining with suc-
 cessive portions of the litharge, finally causes the whole of it to unite with
 the carbonic  acid.   In  the Dutch process, Pelouze has rendered it almost
 certain, that  none of the oxygen or carbonic  acid of the carbonate is de-
 rived  from the vinegar.  Here  he supposes that the heat, generated by the
 fermentation  of the straw or tan, volatilizes  the vinegar, the acetic acid of
 which,  with the assistance of the oxygen  of the air,  forms with the lead a
 small portion of subacetate.  This, by reacting with  the carbonic acid re-
 sulting from the decomposition of the straw or tan, forms carbonate of lead
 and is reduced to the state of neutral acetate.  The neutral acetate returns
 again  to the state of  subacetate, and, by alternately  combining  with and
yielding up the protoxide, causes  the whole of the  lead  to be finally con-
verted into carbonate.  (Journ. de Pharm. Seme  Serie, i.  51 and 443.)
  The temperature of the beds  of pots in the Dutch process, is about 113°.
If it falls below 95°, a part of the  lead escapes  corrosion, and if it rises
above 122° the product is yellow.   The form of acetic acid usually em-
ployed in this process is  common vinegar; but the variable  nature of that 
PART I.
Plumbi Carbonas.
553
liquid as to strength and purity is an objection to its use; and, accordingly,
other forms of the acid have been substituted for it with advantage, such as
the purified acetic acid from wood in a diluted state.  For further informa-
tion in  relation to the different processes proposed or pursued for making
white lead, the reader is referred to a paper by Prof. J. C. Booth, in the
Journal of the Franklin Institute for Jan. 1842.
   Properties.  Carbonate of lead is a heavy, opaque  substance,  in powder
or friable lumps,  insoluble  in water, of a fine white colour, inodorous and
nearly insipid.   Its beauty as  a pigment depends in a great measure on the
purity of the lead from  which it is manufactured.   It is  wholly soluble,
with effervescence, in dilute nitric acid.  Exposed to heat it becomes yel-
low, and with charcoal is  reduced to the metallic state.   It is  sometimes
adulterated with the sulphates of  baryta, lime, and lead.  These sulphates,
if present, are left undissolved by nitric acid.  Chalk  or whiting is another
adulteration.   This may be detected by precipitating the nitric solution of
the white lead with sulphuretted hydrogen to remove the lead, and then
adding to the  boiled  and filtered solution oxalate of  ammonia, which will
cause  a precipitate  of oxalate of lime; or  it may be discovered by add-
ing to the nitric solution  an  excess of potassa, which will redissolve the
protoxide of lead first thrown down, but leave  a white powder of lime.
Neutral carbonate of lead  consists of one eq. of carbonic  acid 22*12, and
one of protoxide of lead 111*6 = 133-72.   Commercial white lead is  gene-
rally a mixture  in varying proportions  of the  carbonate  and hydrate of
lead.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  White  lead is ranked in the Materia
Medica as  an astringent  and sedative.   It is employed externally  only,
being  used as an application to ulcers, and to inflamed and excoriated sur-
faces.    It has been recommended as an external application in facial neu-
ralgia.  (Journ.  de Pharm. xx. 603.)  It is used  either by sprinkling the
powder on the part, or in the  form  of ointment. (See Unguentum Plumbi
 Carbonatis.)   Its external use, however, is viewed by many practitioners
as dangerous, on account of the risk of absorption; but the danger is cer-
tainly overrated,  as we have  the testimony of respectable physieians that
they frequently use it in this way, without the least unpleasant result.
   Of the different preparations of lead, the carbonate is generally considered
 to be  the most poisonous.  Being very extensively  manufactured for the
 purposes of the arts, it is  that preparation also which most frequently pro-
 duces the peculiar spasmodic  colic, called colica pictonum. This disease is
 characterized by pain about the region of the navel, and by obstinate con-
 stipation, attended  with a frequent desire  u> evacuate  the  bowels, and  is
supposed to depend  upon a spasmodic constriction of the intestinal  tube,
particularly of the colon.  The principal indications in the treatment are,
first to relax  the spasm, and  then  to evacuate the bowels by the gentlest
means.  Opium and mild aperients, used alternately, are accordingly the
best remedies, and among the latter castor oil and sulphate of  magnesia are
 to be  preferred.   Indeed the  latter appears peculiarly adapted to the case;
 for while it aets  as an aperient, it operates as a counterpoison, by forming
the inert sulphate of lead  with any preparation of the metal which it may
 meet with in the bowels.  Calomel is often useful in  particular  states  of
the disease;  and if it happen  to induce  ptyalism, the disease immediately
yields.
   Off. Prep.  Plumbi Acetas, Dub.; Unguentum Plumbi Carbonatis,  U. S.,
Ed., Dub.                                                        B.
         48 
554                  Plumbi Oxidum Rubrum.            part i.
         PLUMBI  OXIDUM  RUBRUM.   U.S..  Ed.

                       Red Oxide of Lead.

  Red lead, Minium; Deutoxide de plomb, Oxide rouge de plomb, Minium, Fr.; Men-
nig, Germ.; Minio, Ital, Span.
  Preparation.  Red  lead is prepared on the large scale in a furnace, with
the floor slightly concave and the roof arched, presenting  a general resem-
blance to  a baker's  oven.   The lead is  placed on the  floor, and gradually
raised to a' red heat, whereby it melts and becomes covered  with a pellicle
of protoxide, which is removed by means of a long  iron scraper;  and  the
pellicles, as they successively form, are  scraped off, until the whole of the
metal has been converted  into them.  The product is  subjected to further
calcination with occasional  stirring, for  some  time, with a view to oxidize
any particles  of metallic lead.   It is thus rendered yellow, and constitutes
the protoxide of lead, or massicot.   This is taken out of the furnace and
thrown upon  a level pavement, and cooled by being  sprinkled with water.
It is next reduced to fine  powder by trituration and  levigation, and dried;
and in this state is  introduced into  large, shallow, square  tin boxes, which
are placed in  another furnace, closed from the air, and heated nearly to red-
ness;  the heat being allowed  gradually to fall  during a period  of from
twenty-four to thirty hours.  At the end of  this time the protoxide of lead
will have combined with an additional quantity of oxygen, and become the
red oxide. This is  taken out, and,  having been passed through a fine wire
sieve, is  packed in barrels for the purposes of  commerce.
  The above is an outline of the French process  for making red lead.  In
England and  the United States, the Calcination of the protoxide is  not per-
formed in tin boxes, but by returning it  to the furnace in which it was first
calcined.  To save the first calcination, litharge is generally used for making
the red  lead of commerce, which consequently is liable to contain the im-
purities of that substance, consisting of iron, copper, a little silver, and silica.
Copper is hurtful in red lead when used for  making glass, to which it com-
municates colour.   In order to have red lead  of good quality, it should be
made in  large quantities at a time.   It  is also important  that it be slowly
cooled;  for as the absorption of oxygen by which it  is formed, takes place
during a  particular interval of temperature  only, it  is necessary  that  the
heat within that interval should be maintained sufficiently long to allow all
the protoxide to absorb its appropriate dose  of oxygen.   It is said that the
finest red lead is procured by calcining the protoxide  obtained from the car-
bonate.
  Properties, fyc.  Red lead is in the form  of a heavy, scaly powder, of a
bright red colour, with a  slight shade  of orange.   Its sp.  gr. is  about 9.
When exposed to heat it  gives off oxygen, and  is reduced to the state of
protoxide.  It is sometimes adulterated  with red oxide of  iron, or red bole,
substances which may be detected  by dissolving  the suspected red lead in
nitric acid, and testing with tincture of galls.  This reagent will produce a
black precipitate, in consequence of the  iron present in the substances men-
tioned.   If brick-dust be  present, it will be left undissolved upon treating
the suspected specimen with muriatic acid.   When free from impurities, it
is completely reduced on charcoal, by means of the blowpipe, into a globule
of metallic lead.  It  is completely soluble  in highly  fuming nitrous acid.
(Ed. Pharm.)   The resulting solution is one of the nitrate of the protoxide,
formed by a  transfer of the excess of oxygen in the  red lead to the nitrous 
part i.           Plumbi Oxidum Semivitreum.               555

acid, which is thus converted into the nitric.   When treated by nitric acid,
it is resolved into protoxide which dissolves,  and deutoxide which remains,
in the form of a deep-brown powder.
   The red lead of commerce may be considered as a mixture of what may
be called the true red oxide,  and variable proportions of protoxide.   That
this is its nature  is proved by the action  of cold dilute acetic acid, not used
in excess, which takes up a variable quantity of protoxide, leaving a portion
unchanged in colour, which may be deemed the pure red  oxide.   This
latter, when  analyzed  by nitric  acid, has  been proved, by the  coincident
results of Dalton, Dumas, and Phillips, to consist of two  equiv. of protoxide,
and one of deutoxide, corresponding with  three equiv.  of lead, and four of
oxygen.
   Red lead enters into no officinal preparation.   It is employed in preparing
Acidum Aceticum, U. S., Ed., and Chlorinei Aqua, Ed.  It is used in  the
arts chiefly as a paint and  as an ingredient  in flint glass.              B.


       PLUMBI  OXIDUM  SEMIVITREUM.  U.S.

                   Semivitrified Oxide  of Lead.

   Off. Syn.  PLUMBI  OXYDUM.   Plumbi Oxydum (semivitreum).
Lond.; LITHARGYRUM. Ed.;  PLUMBI  OXYDUM SEMIVITRE-
UM. LITHARGYRUM. Dub.
   Litharge; Oxide de plomb  fondu, Litharge, Fr.; Bleiglatte, Germ.; Litargirio, Ital.;
Almnrtaga, Span.
   When  the protoxide of lead is rendered  semi-crystalline by incomplete
fusion, it becomes the semivitrified oxide, or litharge. Almost all the litharge
of commerce is  obtained,  as a secondary product,  in the process  for  ex-
tracting silver from argentiferous galenas. After extracting the argentiferous
lead from the ore, the alloy is calcined in the open air;  whereupon the lead
becomes oxidized, and by fusion passes  into  the state of litharge, while  the
silver remains behind.  The following  is  an outline of the process.  The
lead containing the silver is placed upon  an oval slightly excavated dish,
about three feet long and twenty inches wide, called a test, made by beating
pulverized bone-earth formed into a paste with water,  into a mould,  the
sides of which are formed of an elliptical band of iron, and the bottom, of
 strips  of sheet iron, placed a short distance apart.  The test is of  such a
size as exactly to fit an  opening in the floor  of a reverberatory furnace,
where it is placed, and adjusted to the level of the floor.  On one side of
the test the fire-place is situated, and exactly opposite, the chimney; while
at one extremity of it the pipe of a strong bellows is placed,  and at  the
other a vertical hole is made, communicating with a gutter leading from  the
centre of the test.  The furnace is now  lighted, and shortly afterwards  the
bellows is put in motion.  The lead fuses and  combines with oxygen, and
the resulting oxide melting also, forms a stratum which swims on the sur-
face, and  which is driven by the blast of the bellows along the  gutter, and
through the vertical hole, into a recipient below, where, upon solidifying, it
crystallizes in small scales, which form  the litharge.  In proportion as  the
lead is oxidized and blown off the test, fresh  portions are  added, so as to
keep it always sufficiently full.  The process  is continued for eight or ten
days, after which no more lead is added.  The operation  is now  confined
to the metal remaining on the test; and, the oxidizement  proceeding, a period
at last arrives when  the whole of the lead has run off  as litharge,  and  the
silver, known to be pure by its  brilliant appearance in the fused state, alone 
556      Plumbi Oxidum Semivitreum.—Podophyllum,  part I.

remains.  This is then removed, and the process repeated on a fresh portion
of argentiferous lead.
  Properties.  Litharge is in the  form of small,  brilliant, vitrified scales,
some presenting a red, and some a yellow colour.  In mass it has a folia-
ceous structure.   It is devoid of taste or smell.  It slowly attracts carbonic
acid  from the air, and contains more of this acid the longer it has been pre-
pared.  It is on this account that it commonly effervesces slightly with the
dilute acids.   It  has the  property of  decolorizing wines, when agitated
with them.   When heated with the fats and oils,  in connexion with  water,
it saponifies  them.  (See  Emplastrum Plumbi.)  In  dilute  nitric acid it
should be almost entirely soluble.  As it occurs  in  commerce, it usually
contains  iron, copper, and a little silver and silica.   The English litharge
is  most esteemed; that  from Germany being generally contaminated with
iron  and copper.  In choosing litharge, samples  should be  selected  which
are free from copper, and  from fragments of vegetable matter.  This metal
is detected, if upon adding ferrocyanuret of potassium to a nitric solution of
the litharge,  a brown instead of a white precipitate is produced.  Two
varieties of litharge are distinguished in commerce, named from their colour,
and dependent on differences in  the process for  making it.   Sometimes it
has a pale yellow colour and silvery appearance,  and  is then  denominated
silver litharge, or yelloiv  litharge; at other times it is of a red colour, and
is known under the name of gold, litharge, or red litharge.  The latter
owes its colour to the presence of a portion of red lead.  In  composition,
litharge is essentially identical with the protoxide of lead. (See Plumbum.)
The carbonic acid which it contains is variable, dependent  on the length of
time it has been prepared;  but its average amount is about four per cent.
  Pharmaceutical Uses,  <y-c.   Litharge  is never used internally,  but  is
employed in several pharmaceutical operations, and forms an ingredient in
various external applications, which are used for abating inflammation, and
for other purposes.  Combined  with olive oil it forms the  Emplastrum
Plumbi, which is the basis of many of the preparations technically called
Plasters. (See Emplastra.)  In the arts it is extensively employed  in the
glazing of pottery, in painting to render oils drying, and as an ingredient in
flint glass.
  Off. Prep.  Ceratum Saponis, Lond.; Emplastrum Plumbi, U. S., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.; Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Plumbi
Acetas, Lond., Ed.;  Plumbi Nitras, Ed.                          B.

                    PODOPHYLLUM.  U.S.

                             May-apple.

  " The rhizoma of Podophyllum peltatum."  U. S.
  Podophyllum.  Sex.  Syst. Polyandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Ranun-
culi, Juss.;  Podophylleae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx three-leaved.   Corolla nine-petalled. Berry one-celled,
crowned with the stigma.  Willd.
  Podophyllum peltatum. Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 1141; Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. ii. 34;  Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 9.   The may-apple, known also by the
name of mandrake, is an indigenous herbaceous plant, and the only species
belonging to the genus.   The root (rhizoma) is perennial, creeping, usually
several feet in length, about one quarter of an  inch thick, of a brown colour
externally, smooth, jointed, and furnished with radieles at the joints.   The
stem  is about a foot high, erect,  round, smooth, divided at top  into two 
PART I.
Podophyllum.
557
petioles, and supporting at the fork a solitary one-flowered peduncle. Each
petiole  bears a large peltate, palmate  leaf, with six or seven wedge-shaped
lobes, irregularly incised at the extremity, yellowish-green on their upper
surface, paler and slightly pubescent beneath.  The flower is nodding. The
calyx is composed of three oval, obtuse, concave, deciduous  leaves.  The
corolla has from six to nine white, fragrant petals, which are obovate, obtuse,
concave, with delicate transparent veins.   The stamens are from thirteen to
twenty, shorter  than the petals, with oblong yellow anthers  of twice  the
length of the filaments.  The stigma is sessile, and rendered irregular on its
surface  by numerous folds or convolutions.  The fruit is a large oval berry,
crowned with the persistent stigma, and  containing a sweetish fleshy pulp,
in which about  twelve ovate seeds are imbedded.   It is, when ripe, of a
lemon-yellow colour, interrupted by round brownish spots.
  The plant is extensively diffused throughout the  United States,  growing
luxuriantly in moist shady woods, and in low marshy grounds.  It is propa-
gated by its creeping root, and is often found in large patches.  The flowers
appear about the end of May and beginning of June; and the fruit ripens in
the latter  part of September.  The leaves are said to be poisonous.  The
fruit has a subacid, sweetish, peculiar taste, agreeable to some palates, and
may be eaten freely with impunity.  From its colour and shape it  is some-
times called wild lemon.   The root is  the  officinal portion,  and is said to
be most efficient when collected after  the falling of  the leaves.  It shrinks
considerably in  drying.
   Properties.  The dried root is in pieces about two lines in thickness, with
swelling, broad, flattened joints  at short intervals.   It is  much wrinkled
lengthwise, is yellowish or  reddish-brown externally, and furnished with
fibres of a similar, but  somewhat paler  colour.  The fracture is short and
irregular, and the internal colour whitish.  The powder is light  yellowish-
gray, resembling that of jalap.   The root in its aggregate state is nearly
inodorous; but in powder has a sweetish not unpleasant smell.  The taste
is at first sweetish, afterwards bitter, nauseous, and slightly acrid.  The  de-
coction  and  tincture  are  bitter.  A peculiar bitter principle was  discovered
in the root by William Hodgson, jun. of Philadelphia.  It is in pale brown
shining scales, unalterable  in the air, very sparingly soluble in cold water,
much more  soluble in boiling water, soluble also in  ether, and  freely so in
boiling  alcohol.   It has  neither acid  nor alkaline properties.  Nitric acid
dissolves it with effervescence,  producing a rich deep red colour.  Its taste,
at first not very decided in consequence  of its sparing solubility, becomes
at length very bitter and permanent; and its alcoholic solution is intensely
bitter.   Should it be found to be the purgative principle of the plant,  it would
be entitled to the name of podophyllin.   It may be  obtained by boiling the
root with  quicklime in water, straining the decoction, precipitating  the lime
with sulphate of zinc, evaporating the  clear solution  to the consistence of an
extract,  treating  this with cold alcohol of 0.817, filtering and evaporating the
alcoholic  solution, and treating the residue with boiling  distilled water,
which deposits the bitter principle on cooling.  (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of
Pharm. iii.  273.)
  Medical Properties and  Uses.   Podophyllum  is an active and certain
cathartic,  producing copious liquid discharges without much  griping or
other unpleasant effect.   In some cases it has given  rise to nausea and even
vomiting, but the same result is occasionally experienced from every active
cathartic.   Its operation  resembles  that of jalap;  but is rather slower, and
is thought by some to be more drastic.  It is applicable to  most inflamma-
tory affections which require brisk purging; and is much employed in vari-
                                  48* 
558        Polygala Rubella.—Polygonum Bistorta.     part i.

ous parts of the country, especially combined with calomel, in bilious fevers
and  hepatic congestions.  It is also frequently used in connexion with the
bitartrate of potassa in dropsical, rheumatic, and scrofulous complaints.
   The dose of the  powdered root is about twenty grains.   An extract is
prepared from it possessing all its virtues in a smaller bulk. (See Extractum
Podophylli.) In minute doses frequently repeated, podophyllum is said to
diminish the frequency of the pulse,  and to relieve cough; and for  these
effects is sometimes used in  haemoptysis, catarrh, and other pulmonary
affections.
   Off. Prep. Extraetum Podophylli,  U.S.                        W.

        POLYGALA RUBELLA. U. S. Secondary.

                         Bitter Polygala.

   " The root and herb of Polygala rubella."  U. S.
   Polygala. See SENEGA.
   Polygala rubella. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 875; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
iii. 129.—P. polygama.  Walter, Flor. Car. 179; Pursh, Flor. Am. Sept.
465.  This species of Polygala is an indigenous, perennial plant, with a
branching,  somewhat fusiform root,  which sends up annually  numerous
simple, smooth, and angular  stems,  from four to  eight inches in height.
The leaves  are scattered, sessile, obovate or linear lanceolate, attenuated
towards the base,  obtuse, and  mucronate.  The flowers are purple, and in
elongated terminal racemes.  From  the  base of  the  stem proceed  othsr
racemes, which lie upon  the ground, or are partially buried under it, and
bear incomplete but fertile flowers, the calyx of which is without wings.
   This plant is  found in many parts of the United States, preferring a dry
sandy or gravelly  soil, and flowering  in June and July.  The whole plant
is  officinal.  It  has a strong and permanent bitter taste, which it yields to
water and alcohol.
   Medical  Properties and Uses. In small doses it is tonic, in larger laxative
and diaphoretic.  The infusion of the dried plant has been usually employed
to  impart tone to the digestive organs.  (Bigelow.)  It  appears to be closely
analogous  in medical virtues  to the Polygala amara of Europe, which is
used for a similar  purpose.                                       W.


         POLYGONUM  BISTORTA.  Radix.  Dub.

                           Bistort Root.

   Bistorte, Fr.; Natler-Wurzel, Germ.; Bistorta, Ital, Span.
   Polygonum.  Sex. Syst. Octandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Polygonaceae.
   Gen.  Ch. Corolla five-parted, calycine. Seed one, angular.  Willd.
   Besides the bistort, some other plants belonging to this genus, have been
used as medicines.  Among  these are  the P. aviculare or knot-grass, a
mild astringent formerly employed as a vulnerary and styptic; the P. Per-
sicaria (Persicaria mitis), of a feebly astringent saline  taste, and at one time
considered  antiseptic; and the P. Hydropiper or water-pepper (Persicaria
urens), the leaves of which have a burning and biting taste, inflame the skin
when rubbed upon it, and are esteemed diuretic.  The water-pepper or
smart-weed of this country—P. punctatum (Elliott), P. Hydropiperoides
(Michaux)—which  grows abundantly in moist places, possesses properties
similar to those of the  European water-pepper, and is occasionally used as 
part i.   Polygonum Bistorta.—Porrum.—Potassium.      559

a detergent in chronic ulcers, and internally in  gravel.   Dr. Eberle very
strongly recommended it in  amenorrhoea, in which complaint he found no
other remedy equally effectual.  He gave a fluidrachm of the saturated tinc-
ture of the plant, or from four to six grains of the  extract, three or four times
a day.  He found it to produce a warmth and peculiar  tingling sensation
throughout the system, with slight aching pains  in the hips and loins, and
a sense of weight and tension within the pelvis.  (Eberle's Mat. Med. 4th
ed. vol. i. p. 441.)  The P. Fagopyrum is the common buckwheat.
   Polygonum Bistorta. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 441; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
668. t. 232.   This plant has a perennial root, and an annual herbaceous
stem, which is simple, erect, jointed, and rises one or two  feet in height.
The lower leaves are cordate lanceolate, and supported on long winged foot-
stalks; the upper are ovate, almost  sessile, amplexicaule,  and sheathing.
The flowers are of a pale rose colour, and form a close terminal spike.  The
plant is a native of Europe and  the North of Asia.
   The root, which is the officinal portion, is cylindrical, somewhat flattened,
about as thick as the little finger, marked with annular or transverse wrinkles,
furnished with numerous fibres, and folded or  bent upon itself, so as to give
it the tortuous appearance from which its name was derived.   When dried,
it is solid, brittle, of a deep brown colour externally, reddish within, desti-
tute of smell, and possessed of a rough, astringent taste.   It contains much
tannin, some  gallic acid and gum, and a large proportion of starch.
   Medical Properties.  Bistort resembles  the other vegetable astringents,
such as galls, kino, &c, in medical properties, and is applicable to the same
complaints; but in  this country it is seldom or never used.   It may be em-
ployed in the form of decoction or of powder.  The dose  of the latter is
twenty or thirty grains, three or four times a day.                  W.

                         PORRUM. Lond.

                             Leek Root.

   "Allium Porrum. Bulbus."  Lond.
   Poireau, Fr.; Gemeiner Laucli, Germ; Porro, Ital; Puerro, Span.
   Allium.  See  ALLIUM.
   Allium Porrum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 64.  " Stem flat-leaved, umbelli-
 ferous.  Stamens tricuspidate.  Root tunicated."
   The leek is a biennial bulbous  plant, growing wild in Switzerland, and
 cultivated in the  gardens of Europe and this country for culinary purposes.
 All parts of it have an offensive pungent odour, and an acrid taste, dependent
 on an essential oil, which is in great measure dissipated by decoction, and
 may be  obtained separate by distillation.  The bulb, which is the officinal
 portion, consists of concentric  layers, like the onion, which it resembles in
 medical properties, though  somewhat  milder.  It is gently stimulant, with
 a peculiar direction to the kidneys.  The expressed juice may be given in
 the dose of a fluidrachm, mixed with syrup.  This species of Allium is not
 used medicinally in the United States.                            W.

                           POTASSIUM.

                              Potassium.
   Potassium, Fr.; Potassium, Kalimetall, Germ.;  Pottassio, Ital; Potasio, Span.
    Potassium is  a  peculiar metal, and the  radical  of a  number of impor-
 tant medicinal preparations.   It was discovered in 1807 by Sir H. Davy, 
 560              Potassium.—Potassas Bitartras.          part i.

 who obtained it by decomposing hydrate of potassa by galvanic electricity.
 It was afterwards obtained in  larger quantity by Gay-Lussac and Thenard,
 by bringing the fused alkali in contact with white hot iron, which attracted
 the oxygen and set free the metal.   The  best process is that of Brunner,
 as modified by Wiihler, which consists in decomposing potassa in the state
 of carbonate, mixed with charcoal.  The mixture of carbonate and charcoal
 is obtained by heating cream of tartar to redness in a covered crucible.
   Potassium is solid, softer and  more ductile than wax, easily cut with a
 knife, and of a silver-white colour.  A newly cut surface is brilliant; but the
 metal quickly tarnishes by combining with the oxygen of the  air, and as-
 sumes the appearance of lead.  It  possesses a remarkably strong affinity
 for oxygen, and  is capable of taking  that element from every other sub-
 stance.   On  account  of this property it must be kept in liquids, such as
 naphtha, which are devoid of oxygen as a constituent.  Its sp. gr. is 0-865,
 its melting point  136°, its equivalent number 39-15, and symbol K. When
 thrown upon  water it swims, takes fire,  and burns with  a rose-coloured
 flame, combining with oxygen, and generating potassa which dissolves in
 the water.  It forms numerous combinations, uniting with most of the non-
 metallic  bodies, and with several of the metals.  It combines  in two pro-
 portions  with  oxygen, forming a protoxide (dry potassa) of a gray, and a
 teroxide  of a  yellowish-brown colour; the former containing one, and the
 latter three equivalents of oxygen to one of. metal.  It unites also with chlo-
 rine, and forms officinal compounds with iodine, bromine, sulphur,  cya-
 nogen, and ferrocyanogen, under the names of iodide, bromide, sulphuret,
 cyanuret, and  ferrocyanuret of potassium.  Its protoxide (dry potassa) is a
 very strong salifiable  base, existing in nature always  in combination, and
 forming with acids a numerous and  important class of salts.   Of these, the
 acetate, carbonate, bicarbonate, chlorate, citrate (in solution), hydrate (caus-
 tic potassa), nitrate, sulphate, sulphuretted  sulphate, bisulphate, tartrate, and
 bitartrate are officinal, and will be described under their respective titles, to
 which, for their properties, the reader is referred.                   B.


       POTASSJE BITARTRAS.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                       Bitartrate of Potassa.

  Off. Syn.  POTASSiE  BITARTRAS.  TARTARI  CRYSTALLI.
 Dub.
  Cream of tartar, Crystals of tartar; Cremor tartari, hat.; Tartrate acide de potasse,
 Creme de tartre, Fr.; Doppelt weinsaures  Kali, Weinsteinrahm, Germ.; Cremore di tar-
 taro, Ital; Cremor de tartaro, Span.
  During the fermentation of wines, especially those that are tart, a pecu-
liar matter is  deposited on the bottom and sides of the casks,  forming a
 crystalline crust, called crude  tartar or argot.  That deposited from red
wines is  of a reddish  colour, and is called in commerce red tartar; while
that derived from white wines  is of a  dirty white colour, and  is denomi-
nated white tartar.  Both  kinds consist of potassa, united with  an excess
of tartaric acid, forming bitartrate of potassa, rendered impure  by tartrate
of lime, more  or less  colouring matter, and  the lees and  other matters
which are deposited during the clarification of the wine.  The deposition
of the tartar is thus explained.  The bitartrate exists naturally in the juice
of the grape, held in  solution by saccharine matter.   When the juice is
submitted to fermentation in the process  for converting it into wine, the
 sugar disappears, and  is  replaced by alcohol, which, not being  competent 
PART I.
Potassae Bitartras.
561
to dissolve the salt, allows it to  precipitate  as  a crystalline  crust.  It is
from this substance that cream of tartar is obtained by a process of purifi-
cation.
   The process is conducted on a  large scale  at Montpellier in France, and
is founded upon the greater solubility of bitartrate of potassa in hot than in
cold water.  The  tartar,  previously pulverized, is  boiled  with water in
copper  boilers.   The solution, when saturated,  is transferred  to  earthen
pans, where  it deposits on cooling a  crystalline layer, nearly  free from
colour.   This is redissolved in boiling water; and the solution, having been
mixed with four or five per cent, of pipe-clay, is evaporated to a pellicle.
The clay precipitates with the colouring matter, and  the clear solution, as
it cools, deposits white crystals  in crusts, which, upon being exposed to
the air on linen for several days, acquire an increased  degree of whiteness.
These constitute  the  crystals of tartar,  or cream of tartar of pharmacy.
The salt, however, as met with in the  shops, is generally, for greater con-
venience, in  the form of powder; and it is to the substance in this form,
that we are accustomed to  apply the name of cream of tartar.
   Properties.  Bitartrate  of potassa occurs in commerce in white  crystal-
line crusts, or  masses of aggregated crystals, and is  received in that state
from France  by our wholesale druggists, who procure its pulverization  for
the use of the apothecaries.   In  crystals it is hard and  gritty  between  the
teeth, and dissolves slowly in the mouth;  in powder it has a white colour.
It is a permanent salt, of an acid  not ungrateful taste, soluble  in 184 parts
of cold, and  18 of  boiling water,  but insoluble in alcohol.  When exposed
to a red heat it is  decomposed,  exhales a peculiar odour,  gives rise to a
solid pyrogenous acid, and the usual products of the destructive  distillation
of vegetable  matter; and carbonate of potassa, mixed  with charcoal, is left.
Its solution is precipitated  by solutions  of baryta, strontia, and lime, which
form insoluble tartrates, and  by  acetate of lead, forming tartrate of lead.
If chloride of barium throws down a precipitate not entirely  soluble in
nitric acid, it indicates the  presence  of a sulphate; for the tartrate of baryta
is soluble in  this  acid, but not the  sulphate.  With salifiable  bases which
form soluble  tartrates, it gives rise to double  salts, consisting of neutral  tar-
trate of potassa, and the tartrate  of the base  added.   Several of them  are
important medicines, and  will be described  under their respective titles.
Cream of tartar, though sparingly soluble in water, becomes abundantly so
by the addition of  borax or boracic acid.   These combinations  are some-
times used in  medicine, and will be described  under  borax.  (See Sodae
Boras.)
   The cream of tartar of commerce is  not a pure bitartrate of potassa.   It
usually contains from two  to  five  per cent, of tartrate  of lime; and is some-
times adulterated with sand, clay, and similar substances.  The fraud may
be easily detected by  the salt not being entirely soluble in boiling water, or
by treating it with a hot solution of potassa, which will  dissolve the eream
of tartar, and leave the adulterating substances.
   Composition.   Cream  of  tartar  consists  of  two eqs. of  tartaric  acid
132*96, one  of potassa  47*15, and one of water 9 = 189*11.   The water
cannot be expelled without decomposing the salt, and is supposed to act the
part of a base.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Bitartrate of potassa is cathartic, diuretic,
and refrigerant.   In small  doses  it acts as a cooling aperient, in large ones
as a hydragogue cathartic,  producing copious watery  stools; and from this
latter property, as well as  its  tendency  to excite the action of the kidneys,
it is very much used in dropsical  affections.   It is frequently prescribed in 
Potassae Bitartras.—Potassae Carbonas Impurus.  part i.
combination with sulphur or jalap. (See Pulvis Jalapae Compositus.)   Its
solution in boiling water, sweetened with sugar and allowed to cool, forms
an acid, not unpleasant, refrigerant  drink, advantageously  used  in some
febrile  affections, and very much  employed as  a  domestic  remedy.  The
beverage called imperial is a drink of this kind, made by dissolving half an
ounce of the salt in three pints of boiling water, and adding to the solution
four ounces of white sugar, and half an ounce of fresh lemon peel.  Cream
of tartar whey is prepared  by adding about two drachms of the bitartrate to
a  pint  of milk.  It  may be  given, diluted with  water, in  dropsical com-
plaints.  The dose of cream of tartar is a drachm or two  as  an aperient;
and from half an ounce to an ounce as a hydragogue cathartic, mixed with
molasses or suspended in water.   As a diuretic in dropsical cases, it may
be given in the dose of a drachm and a half or two drachms, several times
a  day.
   In  pharmacy, cream of  tartar is employed to obtain the  neutral tartrate
of potassa (soluble  tartar), tartrate of  potassa and  soda (Rochelle salt), tar-
trate of antimony and  potassa (tartar  emetic), and the tartrate of iron  and
potassa.  Saturated  by means of chalk, it forms tartrate of lime, which,
decomposed by  sulphuric  acid, yields tartaric   acid.   Deflagrated with
nitre, it is converted into a pure form  of carbonate of potassa, called salt of
tartar. (See Potassae Carbonas Purus.)  In the  laboratory it is used to
procure potassa in a pure state, and in making black and white flux. Black
flux is prepared by deflagrating cream of tartar with  half its weight of
nitre;  and white flux, by a similar process, with twice  its weight of the
latter salt.
   Off. Prep. Acidum Tartaricum, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Antimonii et Potassae
Tartras, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Decoctum Scoparii, Ed.; Ferri et  Po-
tassae Tartras,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Potassa? Carbonas Purus, U. S.,
Ed., Dub.; Potassae  Tartras, U.S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.;   Pulvis Jalapae
Compositus, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Pulvis  Scammonii Compositus,
Ed.;  Sodae et  Potassae Tartras,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.          B.


         POTASSAE CARBONAS IMPURUS.   U.S.

                  Impure Carbonate of Potassa.

   " The impure carbonate of potassa known in commerce by the name of
pearlash."  U.S.
    Off. Syn.  POTASS^ CARBONAS  IMPURA. Lond.; LIXIVUS
 CINIS. Dub.
    Pearlash,  Pearlashes, Impure potassa. Impure subcarbonate of potassa; Potasse du
commerce, Fr.; Rohe Poltasche, Germ.; Potasch, Dutch.; Potaske, Dan.; Polaska, Swed.;
Potnssa del comrnercio, Ital; Cenizas claveLdus, Span.
   The alkali potassa,  using this term in its strict sense, is the protoxide of
the metal potassium. (See Potassium.)  It exists in various states of com-
bination and purity.  In its most  impure state,  it is  the common potash
 of commerce.   This, subjected  to calcination, becomes somewhat purer,
 and is then called pearlash, the form  of the alkali intended to be designated
 by the officinal name at the head of this article.
    Natural State and Preparation.   Potash and pearlash of commerce are
 procured from the ashes of wood, by lixiviation and the subsequent evapo-
 ration of the solution  obtained.   The alkali exists in the wood, principally
 in the state of acetate; and being of a fixed and incombustible nature, is left
 behind after the incineration.   The wood is burnt on the ground, in a place 
part i.             Potassas Carbonas Impurus.               563

sheltered from the wind.  The ashes consist of a soluble and insoluble por-
tion.   The soluble part is made up of carbonate of potassa, together with
the sulphate, phosphate, and silicate of potassa, and the chlorides of potas-
sium and sodium; and  the insoluble portion, of carbonate and subphosphate
of lime, alumina, silica, the oxides of iron and manganese, and a little car-
bonaceous matter that had escaped incineration.  The ashes are lixiviated
in barrels with the addition of a portion of lime, and the soluble substances
above  mentioned are taken  up.   The lixivium  is then evaporated in iron
kettles, which for several days are  kept  constantly full.   The  evaporation
is continued until the  mass  has become  of a black colour, and of the con-
sistence of brown sugar.  It is now subjected to as powerful a heat as can
be raised by the  best wood fire for a number of hours, by which it is fused.
During the  progress of the  fusion, the combustible impurities  are for the
most part burnt  out, and a gaseous matter is emitted, which  agitates the
more fluid part.   When the fusion is  complete, the liquid  becomes quies-
cent, and looks like melted  iron.  It is now transferred, by means of  large
iron ladles, to iron pots, where it congeals in cakes.  These are broken up
and packed in tight barrels,  and constitute the potash of commerce. (Dr. G.
A. Rogers, in Silliman's Journal.)
   If it be  intended  to make pearlash, the process is varied.   In this case
 the black matter of the consistence of brown sugar, called black salts by our
 manufacturers,  instead of being fused, is transferred from  the  kettles to  a
 large  oven-shaped furnace,  so  constructed that the flame  may be made to
 play over the alkaline mass, which in the mean time is stirred by means of
 an iron rod.  The ignition is  in this way continued, until the combustible
 impurities are burnt out, and the mass, from being black, becomes of a dirty
 bluish-white colour. (Rogers.)
   The ashes of  plants amount generally  to not more than a few parts in the
 hundred; and  of these a portion only consists  of potassa.  The different
 parts of the same vegetable, and, for a stronger reason, different plants, fur-
 nish variable quantities of ashes.   Ligneous plants furnish less  than herba-
 ceous, the trunk less than  the branches, and the branches less than  the
 leaves.  The bark yields more ashes than the wood;  and the leaves of trees
 which drop their leaves in  winter, more than  those of evergreens.  The
 following table  gives  the quantity of potassa  contained in the ashes of one
 thousand parts of different plants.
Pine,	-	-	.	045	Barley straw,	.	5*8
Poplar,	.	-	.	0*75	Beech bark,	.	60
Birch,	.	.	.	1*29	Fern,	.	6*2
Beech,	-	.	-	1*45	Stalks of Indian corn,	.	17-5
Oak,	.	-	■	2-03	Sun-flower stalks, -	.	19*4
Oak bark,		-	-	2-08	Dry oak leaves,	-	24*0
Box,	-	-	■	2-26	Common nettle,	.	25*0
Willow,	.	.	.	2-85	Black elder,	.	25-5
Linden,	.	.	-	3-27	Vetch,	.	27*5
Elm,	.	.	-	3-9	Poke,	-	45-6
Maple,	.	■	■	3-9	Wheat stalks, young,	.	47-0
Wheat straw,		.	-	4*18	Dried stems of potatoes,	-	55*0
Flax,	.	.	.	5-0	Wormwood,	.	73-0
Rush,	.	.	.	5*08	Fumitory, -	-	79-0
Common	thistle,	-	-	5*37	Angelica,	-	96-2
Vine branches,		-	-	5-5			
  Commercial History.   Pot and pearlash are made in those countries in
which forests abound.  Accordingly the alkali is extensively manufactured 
564                Potassas Carbonas Impurus.             part i.

in Canada and the United States, and constitutes a very important export of
this country.  It is prepared  chiefly in the state  of New York, which is
supposed to furnish three-fourths of our export of this alkali.  It is also
produced in considerable quantities in  the  northern countries of Europe,
especially in  Russia,  and on  the shores of the Baltic.  It is of different
qualities as it occurs in commerce, being more or less pure; and is generally
distinguished by the country or place of manufacture, as  American, Rus-
sian,  Dantzic potash, &c.
   Properties.  Potash is in the form of fused masses of a stony appearance
and hardness, and caustic burning taste.  Its colour is variegated, but red-
dish and dark brown are  the predominant hues.  When exposed to the air
it absorbs moisture and deliquesces;  and, if sufficiently long exposed, finally
becomes liquid.   Pearlash is of a white colour, with usually a tinge of
blue.   As it occurs in commerce, it is in tight casks, containing about three
hundred and fifty pounds, in which it forms one entire hard concrete mass.
In the shops it is found in coarse powder, intermingled with lumps as dug
out of the casks,  presenting  an opaque granular  appearance, like salt or
Havana sugar.   It is a deliquescent salt, and has  a  burning alkaline taste,
but no smell.  It is soluble in water, with the exception of impurities, whieh
are more or less in quantity according to the quality  of the alkali, of which
three  sorts  exist  in the market.  One hundred grains  of that of medium
quality  will neutralize about fifty-eight grains of sulphuric  acid.  It differs
from  potash principally  in  containing less combustible impurities, and in
being less  caustic and deliquescent.   The  colouring matter of both these
forms of alkali is derived from carbonaceous impurities, and small portions
of iron and manganese.
   Composition.   The basis of both  pot and  pearlash is carbonate of po-
tassa; but this is associated with certain salts, and with insoluble impurities.
Several varieties of potash found in commerce were analyzed by Vauquelin,
whose results are contained in the following table.  The quantity examined
of each kind was 1152 parts.
	Caustic				Carbonic
Kinds of potash.	Hydrate of	Sulphate	Chloride of] Insoluble		Acid and
	Potassa.	of Potassa.	Potassium.	Residue.	Water.
American potash,	857	154	20	2	119
Russian potash,	772	65	5	56	254
Pearlash,	754	80	4	6	308
Potash of Treves,	720	165	44	24	199
Dantzic potash,	603	152	14	79	304
Potash of Vos°:es,	444	148	510	34	16
  By the above table it is perceived that  the American potash contains 74
per cent, of pure hydrated  alkali, and the Russian 67 per cent.  Pearlash,
it is seen, is more rich in carbonic acid than potash; and this result of ana-
lysis corresponds with the qualities of the  two substances as prepared in the
United States;  potash being known to be far  more caustic  than pearlash.
The greater causticity of the American potash compared with most of the
varieties of Europe, probably depends upon the use of lime with us, which
is not mentioned as being employed in  the  prepaiation of the commercial
alkali in the best European works.   The  usual saline impurities are shown
by the table to be sulphate of potassa and  chloride of potassium.  The inso-
luble residue consists principally of carbonaceous matter, which has escaped 
part i.  Potassae Carbonas Impurus.—Potassas Chloras.     565

incineration. Sometimes, however, insoluble matters are fraudulently added,
such as brick-dust, sand, and other substances.
   As the potash of commerce is valuable  in the arts  in proportion to the
quantity of real alkali which it contains, it becomes important, in so variable
a substance,  to possess  an easy method of ascertaining its quality in that
respect.   The process by which this is accomplished is called alkalimetry,
and the instrument used  an alkalimeter.  The best mode of conducting the
assay, which is applicable  to the commercial forms of soda as well as those
of potassa, is that proposed by Faraday, and described by Turner as follows.
Take a cylindrical tube,  sealed at one end, nine and a half inches long, and
three quarters of an inch in diameter, and  pour into it  one  thousand grains
of  water, marking with a file  the point at which the water  stands.   Divide
the space occupied by the  water into one hundred  equal parts, graduating
from above downwards;  and opposite to the numbers 23*44,  48-96, 54*63,
and 65,  severally, write the words  soda, potassa,  carbonate of soda, and
carbonate of potassa.  Then  prepare a  dilute sulphuric acid,  having the
specific gravity 1-127, which  may be formed by adding to the strong acid,
about four times its volume of distilled water.   An acid of  this  strength, if
added to the tube  so as to  reach to any one of the heights denoted by the
above numbers, will be  just sufficient to neutralize one hundred  grains of
the alkali written  opposite  to it.  Suppose, for example, that the dilute acid
be  added until it stands opposite to the word carbonate  of potassa, we shall
then have the exact quantity necessary to neutralize one hundred  grains of
that carbonate; and if we add pure water,  until the liquid  reaches to 0, or
the beginning of the scale,  it is evident that the acid has been brought to the
bulk of a hundred  measures, each of which would be competent to neutralize
one grain of the carbonate  in question.   All that is now necessary in order
to ascertain  the quality of  any commercial sample  of this  carbonate, is to
dissolve one  hundred grains of it in warm water, filter the solution to re-
move insoluble impurities,  and add by degrees the dilute acid  from the tube
until the  solution  is exactly neutralized,  as shown by litmus  paper.   The
number of divisions of acid, expended in attaining this point, may be read
off from the tube; and for each division one grain of  real  carbonate is in-
dicated.
   Pharmaceutical Uses.   Pearlash  is never used as a medicine in regular
practice, being considered  as  too impure;  but it is employed pharmaceuti-
cally in several processes.   The Dublin College uses it for depriving recti-
fied spirit of water, in the process  for strengthening it, and it is directed to
be  purified,  in all the Pharmacopoeias, to form the carbonate of potassa.
This remark is applicable  to  the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia; for  although
pearlash has  been expunged from the officinal list of that work, yet it is
mentioned under the name  of " potashes of commerce," as the proper mate-
rial for making the carbonate.
   Off. Prep. Potassae Carbonas,. U. S., Lond., Dub.                B.


                POTASSAE  CHLORAS. Lond.

                        Chlorate of Potassa.

  Oxymuriate of potassa, Hyperoxymuriate of potassa; Chlorate de potasse, Fr.; Chlor-
saures Kali, Germ.
  Chlorate of potassa may be prepared by passing an excess of chlorine
through a solution  of either caustic hydrate, or carbonate of potassa.  At
first two eqs. of chlorine react with two eqs. of potassa, so as to  form one
       49 
566
Potassas  Chloras.
PART I.
eq. of chloride of potassium, and one eq. of hypochlorite  of potassa (2C1
-f 2KO=KCl + KO,C10).  Afterwards,  by the further action of the chlo-
rine, more chloride of potassium is formed, and the oxygen separated from
the potassa converts the hypochlorous acid into the chloric, and consequently
the hypochlorite into chlorate of potassa.  Thus, 4C1+4K0+K0,C10 =
4KCl-fKO,C105.  The chlorate, being but sparingly soluble in  water,
is separated from the chloride  of potassium  by priority of crystallization.
When carbonate  of potassa is  used, the carbonic acid is  first transferred
from a part of the alkali to the  remainder, and finally evolved.
   Graham has devised  an improved process  for obtaining this salt.  It
consists in mixing the carbonate of  potassa with an equivalent quantity of
hydrate of lime, before submitting it to the  action of chlorine.   The gas is
absorbed with avidity, and  the  mass becomes hot, while water is given off
abundantly.   The lime  converts the carbonate into caustic potassa, and the
reaction then takes place between six eqs.  of potassa and  six of chlorine,
with the result of forming  five eqs.  of chloride of potassium, and  one of
chlorate of potassa.  (6KO + 6Cl=5KCl-f KO,C105.)  The products are,
therefore, earbonate of lime, chloride of potassium, and chlorate of potassa.
The chloride and chlorate are separated  from the carbonate by solution in
hot water, and the chlorate from the  chloride by  priority of crystallization
as before.
  Properties.  Chlorate of potassa is a white anhydrous salt, of a cooling
and slightly acerb taste.   It crystallizes  in  rhomboidal plates of a pearly
lustre.  It is  soluble in sixteen parts of water at  60° and in two  and a
half parts of boiling water.   When thrown on burning coals, it augments
their  combustion remarkably.  This property is due to the  presence of
oxygen,  which may be evolved from the salt in the proportion of nearly
39 per cent., by  heating it a little  above its point of fusion.   The residue
is chloride of potassium.
   Chlorate of potassa is characterized by giving out oxygen upon fusion,
and  leaving a residue of chloride of potassium;  by becoming first yellow
and then red, by admixture with a little sulphuric acid, and by the action
of that acid evolving chlorous acid gas (quadroxide  of chlorine), known by
its  yellow colour, and  explosive property when heated; by its bleaching
power when mixed  first with  muriatic acid and then with water; and by
its property of exploding violently when triturated with a small portion of
sulphur or phosphorus.   Its usual impurity is chloride of potassium, which
may be detected by a precipitate of chloride of silver being produced on the
addition of nitrate of silver.  It consists of one equiv. of chloric acid 75*42,
and one of potassa 47*15 = 122*57.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Chlorate of potassa is ranked as a refrige-
rant and diuretic.  From experiments  made by Dr.  O'Shaughnessy and
others, it gives a  bright scarlet  colour to  the venous blood, and passes un-
decomposed into  the urine.  The first trials made  with it as a medicine were
founded upon the supposition that it would prove an oxygenating remedy;
and hence it was employed in scurvy which was  supposed to depend upon
a deficiency of oxygen in the system, and in syphilis and liver complaint as
a substitute  for mercury, which mineral was held  by some to act in these
affections by imparting oxygen.  In  scurvy it appears to have acted benefi-
cially, but not on the principle which induced its trial;  as it would seem not
to be decomposed in the system.  More recently it has been employed by
Dr. Stevens and  others as a remedy for  certain fevers, and for malignant
cholera, to supply a supposed deficiency  of saline matter in  the blood. For
an account of its  physiological  effects and the trials which have been made 
part i.          Potassas Chloras.—Potassae Nitras.             567

with  it as a  medicine,  the  reader  is referred to  Pereira's  Elements of
Materia Medica, 2d ed. 1842.  The dose is from ten to thirty grains.
   Chlorate of potassa is used to obtain pure oxygen; to make matches which
take fire by  friction, or when dipped  in  sulphuric  acid;  and  to  prepare
priming  for cannon and fire-arms.  It forms  a stronger gunpowder  than
nitre, but too dangerous to  be  employed,  on account of the facility  with
which it explodes.                                                 B.


        POTASSjE NITRAS.  U.S., Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.

                        Nitrate of Potassa.

   Nitre, Saltpetre; Nitrum, hat.; Nitrate de potasse, Azotate  de potassc, Nitre, Sal-
petre, Fr; Salpetersaures Kali, Salpeter, Germ.; Salpeter, Dutch., Dan., Swed.; Nitro,
Ital, Span., Port.
   Nitre or saltpetre is both a natural and artificial production.  It  is found
ready formed in many countries,  existing in the soil on which it forms a
saline efflorescence, in the fissures of calcareous rocks, and in caves. It has
been found  in different  parts of Europe, in Egypt,  and in Peru,  but the
country in which it is most abundantly produced is  India, from which the
principal part is furnished for the demands of commerce.   In the United
States it is  found in Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia,  Maryland, Ohio,  and
Kentucky.   It exists, in these States, for the  most part in caverns situated
in limestone  rock, called saltpetre caves, and  is associated with nitrate of
lime.  The earths contained in them are lixiviated, and yield, according to
their richness, from one to ten pounds of crude nitre to the bushel.   These
caves are particularly numerous in Kentucky, and furnished a large portion
of the nitre consumed in the United States during the late war.   It exists
also in the vegetable kingdom, having been found in borage,  tobacco, bug-
loss, parietaria,  hemlock, and  the  sun-flower.  The  artificial sources of
nitre are certain mixtures of animal and vegetable substances  with wood-
ashes and calcareous matter, called nitre beds; and certain materials, im-
pregnated with saltpetre, consisting  principally of old plaster, derived  from
the demolition of old buildings.
   Preparation from its Natural  Sources.  In India the saline earth, which
on an average contains seven parts of nitre in a thousand, is placed in  large
mud filters lined with stiff clay, on which wood-ashes have been previously
laid.  Water is  added,  and  the solution  filters through the wood-ashes,
with the effect of converting any nitrate of lime present, which amounts to
nearly  one per  cent., into  nitrate  of potassa.  The  solution  obtained is
evaporated in earthen pots, filtered, and set aside to  crystallize.   The im-
pure nitre thus  obtained, contains from 45  to 70 per cent, of  the pure salt.
It is redissolved and crystallized by the native merchants, and thrown into
commerce under the name of crude  saltpetre.
   Artificial Preparation.  The plan of forming saltpetre in artificial nitre-
beds is principally practised in Germany;  while the method of  obtaining it
from old plaster rubbish is  followed in France.  Artificial nitre-beds are
formed of animal and vegetable remains, together with ashes and calcareous
earth, which  are  mixed up with  a  portion of loose soil  and placed under
sheds, to shelter them from the rain; while the sides  are left open to permit
the free access of air.  The matter is disposed in little ranges or heaps,
which are frequently turned over with a spade, and sprinkled  with  urine, as
a substance containing a large quantity of nitrogen.   At the  end of two or
three years the nitrogen is converted into nitric acid, and this, by uniting 
568
Potassae Nitras.
PART I.
 with the potassa existing in  the vegetable remains, forms nitre.  When the
 contents of the bed contain about four ounces of the salt for every cubic foot
 of the materials, they are deemed fit to be lixiviated.   The lixiviation is
 performed with boiling water, which is  repeatedly thrown  upon  fresh por-
 tions of the mass, until the solution obtained is  sufficiently strong.   The
 lixivium is of a brown colour, and contains chiefly  the nitrate of potassa,
 but at the same time more or less of  the nitrates of lime and magnesia, and
 of common salt.   The earthy nitrates are then decomposed by a solution of
 wood-ashes, which,  by furnishing potassa, converts them into  nitre, and
 precipitates the earths.  The solution being further evaporated, the common
 salt rises to the surface as a  scum, and  is removed.   The  solution is then
 allowed  to  cool, and the  nitre crystallizes  in  dirty white crystals, called
 crude nitre.
   When obtained from old  plaster  rubbish, the  material  is  reduced  to
 powder  and lixiviated, in order to exhaust it of every thing soluble.  The
 solution  is found to contain the nitrates  of potassa and  lime, and common
 salt, and is treated with wood-ashes, which convert the  nitrate of lime into
 nitrate of potassa, with precipitation of the earth as a carbonate. The liquor
 is separated from the precipitate and concentrated by heat; and the common
 salt as it rises to  the  surface  is skimmed off.  When the solution is so strong
 as to mark 45° of Baume's areometer, it is allowed to cool and crystallize;
 and the crystals form the crude nitre  of  this process.   The salt obtained in
 this way generally contains from 85  to 88 per cent, of  pure  nitre;  the re-
 mainder  being made up of chloride of sodium, and certain deliquescent salts.
 The details of this process  as practised in  Paris, are given with minute-
 ness by  Thenard.
   Purification.   Nitrate of potassa, as first obtained,  either from natural
 or artificial sources,  is called in commerce crude saltpetre, and requires to
 be purified or refined before  it can be used in medicine, or in most of the
 arts.   The  process,  which is  founded principally on the fact that nitre is
 more soluble than common salt in hot  water, is conducted  in  tbe follow-
 ing manner in  France.  Thirty parts of the  saltpetre are  boiled with six
 parts of  water, and the portion which remains undissolved, or is deposited,
 consisting  of common  salt,  is carefully removed.   As  the ebullition pro-
 ceeds, a  little water is added  from time to time,  to hold the nitre in solution.
 When common salt  ceases  to be separated, the  solution is  clarified with
 glue, and more water is added at intervals, until the whole amounts, includ-
 ing that  previously added,  to ten  parts.  The clear solution  is now trans-
 ferred  to large, shallow copper coolers,  where it is agitated  with wooden
 instruments, to hasten the cooling, and to cause the nitre to  crystallize in
 small grains.  The purification is completed by washing  the salt with water,
 or a saturated solution of nitre, in a kind of wooden hopper, with holes in
 the bottom stopped with pegs.  The  liquid employed is allowed to remain
 in contact with the nitre for several  hours, at the end  of which  time it is
 permitted to drain off by taking out the pegs.  The salt being now dried, its
 purification is completed.
  In Sweden, the process of purification is conducted in a different manner.
 The solution of the crude nitre is boiled, until a saline crust (common salt)
 forms on its surface, and until it is so far concentrated that a  small portion
 of it crystallizes upon cooling.  The crust being removed, the solution is
filtered, and diluted with l-48th of water, with  a view to retain in solution
the common  salt, which, being somewhat less  soluble in cold than in boil-
ing water, would otherwise be in  part precipitated on refrigeration.   The
solution is now allowed to cool, and, at the moment crystals begin to form, 
PA«T I
Potassae Nitras.
569
is stirred constantly to cause the salt to crystallize in small grains.   The
granular salt is  then washed after the French  method, as above described,
dried, and being fused,  is cast in sheet  iron moulds, so as to form masses,
each weighing from ten to twenty pounds.   The preparation of nitre in this
manner by fusion  is, according to Berzelius, attended  with several advan-
tages; such as its occupying less space, its losing nothing by waste in trans-
portation, and in its presenting in  this state an obvious index of its quality.
This index is the character of its fracture.   When  the salt is perfectly pure,
this is radiated,  the radii being generally large.  The presence of l-80th of
common salt renders the radii smaller;  and of l-40th or a larger quantity,
produces a zone in the substance of the mass, devoid of the radiated struc-
ture, or causes  this structure to disappear entirely.   On  the other  hand,
the process  by fusion has the disadvantage of converting the salt in part
into hyponitrite when heated  too high,  and of rendering it difficult to pul-
verize.
  Commercial History.  Nitre is received in this country  from Calcutta in
the state of crude saltpetre, packed in grass cloth bags, containing from one
hundred and fifty  to one  hundred and seventy-five pounds.  The greater
portion of it arrives at Boston. Its quality  varies considerably. That which
comes in dirty  yellow  crystals is  called crude  saltpetre; while  the  finer
lots, in small, comparatively clear crystals, approaching to white,  are called
East India refined.  Very little crude saltpetre is at present prepared in the
United States, on account of the low price of that from India.  The refined
saltpetre is  almost exclusively prepared by our own chemists; and a con-
siderable portion of it is exported.
  As connected with the subject of saltpetre, it may be proper in  this place
to notice what is incorrectly called South American saltpetre, considerable
quantities of which have been received within a few years from  Peru.  It
is the nitrate of soda, and comes  in bags containing about two hundred and
seventy pounds of the salt in the crude state.   This nitrate is coming into
use with our manufacturing chemists, and  is better suited than nitre for pre-
paring nitric and sulphuric acids, on account of the  greater proportional
quantity of  acid which  it  contains.  It is, however, not applicable to the
purpose  of making gunpowder, from its tendency to absorb moisture.
  Properties. Nitre is  a white salt, possessing a sharp, cooling, and slightly
bitterish taste, and generally crystallized in long, striated, semitransparent,
six-sided prisms, with dihedral summits.  It dissolves in four or  five times
its weight of cold,  and in about two-fifths of its weight of boiling  water.  It
is sparingly  soluble in rectified  spirit, but  insoluble in  absolute alcohol.  It
undergoes no alteration in the air, unless this be very moist.  It contains  no
water of crystallization; but is apt to hold a portion of liquid, mechanically
lodged within the substance of the crystals.  This is  particularly the case
with the large crystals,  and, according to  Berzelius, is a source  of impu-
rity; as the liquid in question is a portion of the  mother-waters  in which
they were formed.  It  is on this  account  that Berzelius recommends that
the solution of the purified salt should  be agitated,  so as to cause  it to shoot
into small crystals. When exposed to heat, nitre fuses at about 662°.  The
fused mass, when cast in moulds, or  formed into  little circular cakes, con-
stitutes  that  form of nitre  kept in the shops under  the name  of crystal
mineral or salprunelle.*   If the heat be increased, the salt is decomposed,

  * Sal prunelle, as directed to be made in the  French Codex, is a mixture of nitrate
and sulphate of potassa. It is prepared by fusing nitre in  a  Hessian crucible, adding
1428th part of sulphur, and pouring out the product on a smooth marble slab, where it
is allowed to congeal.   The sulphur immediately takes fire, and by combining with oxy.
                                   49* 
570
Potassae Nitras.
PART I.
 evolves pure oxygen, and is reduced to the state  of hyponitrite, which,
 when rubbed to powder, emits  orange-coloured  fumes  of nitrous acid and
 nitric oxide, on the addition of sulphuric acid.  Upon a further continuance
 of the heat, the hyponitrous acid itself is decomposed, and a large additional
 quantity of oxygen is evolved, contaminated, however, with  more or less
 nitrogen.  The residuum, after the gaseous matter has ceased to come over, is,
 according to Berzelius, a compound of potassa with nitric oxide; but, some-
 times at least, it is the teroxide of potassium, as was observed about the same
 time by Mr. Phillips of London and Dr. Bridges of this city. On account of
 the large quantity of oxygen which it contains, nitre increases the combus-
 tion of-many  substances in a remarkable degree.   When thrown on burning
 coals, it deflagrates with bright scintillations.  Mixed with half its weight
 of sulphur, and two-thirds of its weight of pearlash, it forms  a compound,
 powerfully detonating when struck with a hammer.   Nitre may be readily
 recognised by its effect in increasing  the  combustion  of live coals, when
 thrown upon  them; and by evolving white or reddish  vapours on  the addi-
 tion of sulphuric acid., When it has been fused, its radiated structure is a test
 of its  purity.  Its most usual impurity is common salt, which is seldom en-
 tirely absent, and which injures it for the manufacture of gunpowder.   The
 presence of this salt is readily detected by nitrate of silver.   If a  sulphate
 be present it will cause a precipitate  to be formed with chloride of barium.
 Lime is indicated by a precipitate being produced by oxalate  of ammonia.
 The refined or purified saltpetre of commerce may be  deemed the officinal
 nitre, and is sufficiently pure for medical use.   Nevertheless, the Dublin
 College,  with needless refinement, has  given a formula for its purification.
 (See Potassae Nitras Purificatum.)
  Composition. Nitrate of potassa is composed of one equiv.  of nitric  acid
 54*15, and one of potassa 47*15 = 101*3.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Nitre is considered refrigerant, diuretic,
 and diaphoretic, and is much used in inflammatory  diseases.   It is known
 to be  a powerful antiseptic.  It generally promotes  the secretion  of urine
 and sweat, lessens the heat of the  body and the frequency of the pubje,
 and has a tendency to keep the bowels in a soluble condition.  It is very
 frequently prescribed  with tartar emetic and calomel, forming a combination
 usually called the nitrous powder, which promotes most of the secretions,
 particularly those of the liver and skin, and which in many cases is advan-
 tageously employed in lessening  and modifying  febrile excitement.   The
 formula usually preferred is eight  or ten grains of nitre, the eighth of a grain
 of tartar emetic, and from  a fourth to half of a grain of calomel, exhibited
 every two or three hours.   Nitre is frequently given in active hemorrhages,
 particularly haemoptysis, and is useful as an ingredient in gargles, in certain
 stages of inflammatory sorethroat.  In the form of sal prunelle, it is rubbed
 with advantage on chapped lips.   The dose is from  ten to fifteen grains,
 dissolved in water or  some mucilaginous fluid, and  repeated every two or
 three  hours.   From one  to three drachms may be exhibited in the course
 of the day.  If given too freely,  or for too long a period, it is apt to excite
pains  in the stomach.  In an overdose, (half an ounce to an ounce or more,)
sometimes taken by mistake for sulphate of soda, it causes heat and pain in the
 stomach, vomiting and purging of blood, great prostration, convulsions, and
 sometimes  death.  On dissection, the stomach and intestines are found in-

gen  from the nitre, becomes sulphuric acid, which  then unites with  the potassa of this
salt, and forms sulphate of potassa. This preparation is  said to be called sal prunelle,
because formerly it was the custom  to give it a purple colour, resembling that of the
plum. 
part i.          Potassas Nitras.—Potassas Sulphas.           571

flamed.  The treatment in such cases consists in the speedy removal of the
poison from the stomach, and in the administration of mucilaginous and de-
mulcent drinks, laudanum to allay pain and irritation, and cordials to  sustain
the sinking powers of the system.  No antidote is known.
  Pharmaceutical Uses, #-c. In pharmacy nitre is employed to form crocus
of antimony, (see London process for tartar emetic,) and to procure nitric
acid.   It is also used in the formulas  of the United  States Pharmacopoeia
for obtaining sweet spirit  of nitre and  pure  carbonate of potassa (salt of
tartar).  It enters into the composition  of moxa,  and is employed in pre-
paring the sulphate of potassa with sulphur of the Edinburgh College.   In
the laboratory it is used as an oxidizing  agent, and to yield oxygen at a red
heat.   One  pound of  it will  furnish four hundred  and  fourteen pints of
oxygen, sufficiently pure for experiments of  illustration.   In the arts, it is
employed in the production of aquafortis, the manufacture of sulphuric acid,
(see Acidum Sulphuricum,) and the  fabrication of gunpowder.   It is this
last use which causes its principal consumption.  In domestic economy, it
is applied to the purpose of preserving meat,  especially beef, to the fibre of
which it communicates a red colour and considerable firmness.
   Off. Prep.  Acidum  Nitricum, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Antimonii Potassio-
tartras, Lond.; Potassae Carbonas  Purus, U. S.; Potassae  Nitras  Purifi-
catum, Dub.; Potassae  Sulphas cum Sulphure, Ed.; Spiritus iEtheris Ni-
trici,  U. S.;  Unguentum Sulphuris Compositum, U. S., Lond.       B.


       POTASSAE  SULPHAS. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                       Sulphate of  Potassa.

   Vitriolated tartar;  Tartarum vitriolatum, Arcanum duplicatum, Sal de duobus, hat;
Sulfate de potasse, Potasse vitriolee, Fr.; Schwefelsaures Kali, Vitriolisirtir Weinstein,
Germ.; Solfato di potassa, Ital.
   This salt is placed among the preparations  by the British Colleges,  but
in the Materia Medica list of the United States Pharmacopoeia.
   Preparation. Several chemical processes give rise to sulphate  of potassa
as a secondary product.  Thus it is produced in the distillation of nitric acid
from  a mixture of nitre with sulphuric acid or with sulphate of iron; in the
decomposition of sulphate of magnesia by carbonate of potassa, in forming
carbonate of magnesia; and during the combustion  of the mixture of nitre
and sulphur in the manufacture of sulphuric acid.  (See Acidum Nitricum,
and Acidum Sulphuricum.)   When  nitric acid is obtained  by calcining a
mixture of nitre and sulphate of iron,  the residue consists of sesquioxide of
iron and sulphate of potassa, the latter  of which, being alone soluble, is sepa-
rated  by means of water, and crystallized from its solution.  The  residue of
the combustion of sulphur and nitre, in making sulphuric acid, is an impure
sulphate of potassa mixed  with sulphur, and is not purified for use in medi-
cine,  but sold to the alum makers;  sulphate of potassa  being one of the
saline ingredients of that double salt.
   The British Colleges agree  in obtaining sulphate of potassa from the salt
which remains after the distillation of nitric  acid.   This  salt is a supersul-
phate of potassa, and must be so prepared as to bring it to the neutral state.
The London College brings it to this state by igniting it in  a crucible; the
Dublin College, by saturating the excess of acid with carbonate of potassa;
and the Edinburgh College, by removing the excess by the addition of white
marble, which converts it into an insoluble sulphate of lime.  The directions
of  the London College are as follows.   " Take of the salt  which remains 
572      Potassae Sulphas.—Potassii Ferrocyanuretum.  part i.

after the distillation of nitric  acid two pounds, boiling water two gallons.
Ignite the salt in a crucible until the excess of sulphuric acid is entirely
expelled; then boil it in the two gallons of water until a pellicle forms, and
the liquor being strained, set it aside that crystals may form.  Pour off the
liquor from the crystals and dry them."  This is a new process  of the Lon-
don Pharmacopoeia, which is stated  by Mr. Phillips to be more  economical
than the former one, in which the  excess of acid was saturated by carbonate
of potassa.
  Properties.  Sulphate of potassa is a white,  anhydrous salt,  in the form
of small, aggregated, transparent,  very hard  crystals, permanent in the air,
having the shape usually of short  six-sided prisms, terminated by six-sided
pyramids, and possessing a nauseous, somewhat bitter taste.  It is slowly
soluble in about sixteen times its weight of cold, and five times its weight
of boiling water; but is insoluble  in alcohol.  When thrown upon burning
coals it decrepitates, and exposed to a strong red heat it undergoes fusion.
It exists  naturally in ligneous vegetables, and hence is present in  their ashes.
Added to a solution of sulphate of  alumina, it  generates alum, recognised
by the octohedral shape of its crystals.   It is decomposed by tartaric acid,
which forms bitartrate of potassa, and by the soluble salts of baryta, strontia,
lime,  silver,  and lead,  forming insoluble or sparingly  soluble sulphates.
This salt is not subject to adulteration.   It  consists of one equiv. of sul-
phuric acid 40*1, and one of potassa 47*15 = 87*25.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Sulphate  of  potassa is a mild purgative,
operating without heat, pain, or  other symptoms  of irritation. In small
doses, from a scruple to half a  drachm, it operates as an aperient,  and is
useful  in removing obstructions;  in larger doses, of four or five drachms,
it acts  slowly as a purge.  Combined with  rhubarb, in the proportion of
about a drachm of the  salt to ten grains of  the root, Dr. Fordyce found it
an excellent alterative cathartic in  the visceral obstructions of children, cha-
racterized by a tumid  abdomen, and defective digestion and nutrition;  and
we can bear testimony to its efficacy in these  cases from our own experi-
ence.   Dr. A. T. Thomson states that this salt, in  combination  either with
rhubarb or aloes, has  proved  in his hands  " more useful than  any of the
other  saline purgatives, in jaundice and dyspeptic affections."  It  enters
into the composition of Dover's powder, in which  it assists in  pulverizing
the other ingredients when triturated with them, in consequence of the hard-
ness of its crystals.   In the arts it is employed in making alum, and by the
refiners of saltpetre for converting nitrate of lime into nitrate of potassa.
  Off. Prep.   Pilulae Colocynthidis Compositae,  Dub., Ed.;  Pilulae Opii
sive Thebaicae, Ed.;  Pulvis Ipecacuanhae et Opii, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Pulvis Salinus Compositus, Ed., Dub.                             B.


         POTASSII  FERROCYANURETUM.  U.S.

                   Ferrocyanuret of Potassium.

  Off. Syn.   POTASSII FERROCYANIDUM.  Lond., Ed.
  Ferrocyunide of potassium, Ferrocyanate of potassa,  Ferroprussiate of potassa, Prus.
siate of potassa; Proto-cyanure jaune de fer et de potassium, Fr.; Cyaneisenkalium, Germ.
  This is the yellow double  cyanuret of potassium and  iron, the salt from
which the  cyanuret of potassium is obtained by calcination at a low red
heat.  (See Potassii Cyanuretum.)
  Preparation.   This salt is prepared on a large scale by calcining animal
matters,  such  as dried blood, hoofs,  horns, and other substances  rich  in 
part i.               Potassii Ferrocyanuretum.                573

nitrogen, with the pearlash of commerce,  in  an egg-shaped iron pot, dis-
solving the calcined mass, after cooling, in  water, and evaporating the solu-
tion so as to crystallize.  The requisite iron for forming the salt is derived
from the pots and stirrers used in the process.   Occasionally iron filings are
added.
   Properties. Ferrocyanuret of potassium is in large, beautiful, transparent,
permanent, four-sided, tabular crystals, of a lemon-yellow colour, devoid of
odour, but possessing a sweetish, yet somewhat bitter, saline taste.   It dis-
solves in between three and four times its weight of cold water, and in about
its own weight of boiling  water, but is insoluble in alcohol.  It acts but
slightly, if at all, on turmeric paper.  The alkaline reaction, when it occurs, is
probably owing to the presence of a little free potassa retained by the water of
crystallization. (R. Phillips.)   When heated to 140°  it loses  its water of
crystallization, amounting  to 12-6 per cent., and  becomes white.   When
ignited, the  fixed residue amounts to 18-7 per cent, of sesquioxide of iron,
resulting from the oxidizement of the iron of the salt.   It is characterized
by striking  a  deep blue colour with the sesquisalts of iron, a deep  brown
one with the salts of copper, and a white one with those of zinc; the several
precipitates formed being cyanurets of the respective metals. Ferrocyanuret
of potassium consists  of two eqs. of cyanuret of potassium 131*08, one of
cyanuret of iron 54*39, and three of water 27 == 212*47.  The water present
is just sufficient to convert the iron and  potassium into protoxides,  and the
cyanogen into hydrocyanic acid.  Apart from the water present, it is gene-
rally considered to consist of a compound radieal,  called ferro cyanogen,
formed of three eqs.  of cyanogen  and  one  of iron (tercyanuret of iron),
united with two eqs.  of potassium.  Hence its officinal name.  This salt
is remarkably pure as  it occurs in commerce.
   Medical  Properties, fyc.  From experiments undertaken  chiefly by the
German physicians, to determine the physiological effects  of this salt, it
would appear to have but little activity.  Callies, as quoted by Pereira, found
the commercial salt slightly poisonous,  but  the pure  salt unproductive of
harm in the dose of several ounces.  It should be borne in mind that it is
the commercial salt which is  used medicinally.   Westrumb  and  Hering
proved that it passed with  rapidity into the blood and urine.
   Notwithstanding the above statements, Dr. Burleigh  Smart, of Kennebee,
Maine, has  attributed to this salt valuable  medicinal powers. (Am. Journ. of
Med. Sci. xv. 362.)   Its primary effect, according to him, is that of a seda-
tive,  diminishing the fulness and frequency of the pulse, and  allaying pain
and irritation.  It also  acts, under favourable circumstances, as a diapho-
retic  and astringent.   Dr.  Smart used it with success in a case of  chronic
bronchitis in a child,  with the effect, in  a  few days, of diminishing the
frequency of the pulse, and of lessening  the sweating, cough, and dyspnoea.
It sometimes acts as a  diaphoretic, but only incases attended with excessive
vascular action and increased  heat of skin.   As an  astringent its power is
most conspicuous  in  the  colliquative  sweats  of chronic bronchitis and
phthisis.  The  same  power was evinced  in several  cases of leucorrhcea
cured by its use.  It sometimes  produces  ptyalism, unattended, however,
by swelling of the salivary glands or fetor  of  the breath.   Its properties as
an anodyne and sedative render it applicable to cases of neuralgic pains and
whooping cough, in which diseases, especially  the latter, Dr. Smart found
it useful.   When given in an over-dose  he states  that it occasions  vertigo,
coldness, and numbness, with a sense of gastric sinking.
   The form of administration which Dr. Smart prefers  is that of solution,
in the proportion of two drachms to the fluidounce of water.  Of  this the 
574
Potassii Ferrocyanuretum.—Prinos.
PART I.
dose for an adult is from 30 to 45 drops, equivalent to from 10 to 15 grains
of the salt, repeated  every four  or  six hours.   Should the results of Dr.
Smart be confirmed,  the ferrocyanuret of potassium will form an important
acquisition to the Materia  Medica.
   Phis salt is manufactured  on a large  scale, chiefly for the use of the
dyers and calico-printers.   In pharmacy it is employed to prepare hydro-
cyanic acid, Prussian blue, and cyanuret of potassium.
   Off. Prep.  Acidum  Hydrocyanicum, U. S.,  Lond., Ed.;  Ferri Ferro-
cyanuretum, U. S.;  Potassii Cyanuretum, U. S.                    B.

                   PRINOS.  U. S., Secondary.

                           Black Alder.

  " The bark of Prinos verticillatus." U. S.
  Prinos.  Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Aquifoliaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx small, six-cleft.  Corolla monopetalous, subrotate, six-
parted.  Berry six-seeded;  seeds nuciform. Nuttall.
  Prinos verticillatus.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 225; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
iii. 141; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 203.  The black alder is an indigenous shrub,
with a  stem  six  or  eight feet high, furnished with  alternate, spreading
branches, and  covered with a bluish-gray bark.   The leaves, which stand
alternately or irregularly on short petioles, are oval, pointed, tapering at the
base, acutely serrate, of a dark green colour, smooth on their upper surface,
but downy on the veins beneath.  The flowers are small, white, nearly ses-
sile, and grow three  or four together at the axils of the leaves.  They are
often  dioecious.  The calyx  is persistent;  the  segments of the  corolla
obtuse; the stamens usually  six in number, and furnished with  oblong
anthers; the germ  large, green, roundish,  and surmounted by a short style,
terminating in an obtuse stigma.   The fruit when ripe consists of glossy,
scarlet, roundish berries,  about the size of a pea, containing six cells and
six seeds.  Several  of these berries are clustered together so as  to form
little  bunches  at irregular intervals on  the stem.   In the latter part of
autumn, after the leaves have fallen, they  still remain attached to the stem,
and render the  shrub a striking object in the midst of the general nakedness
of vegetation.   Hence the plant has received the name of winter-berry, by
which it is frequently designated.
  It grows  in  all parts of the United  States, from Canada to Florida, fre-
quenting low  wet places, such  as swamps,  and the borders of ponds,
ditches, and streams.   Its flowers appear in June.   The berries, which
have a bitter, sweetish, somewhat acrid  taste, are sometimes  used medici-
nally  for the same purposes with the bark, which is the officinal portion.
  The dried bark is  in slender pieces,  more or less rolled, brittle, greenish-
white internally,  and covered  with a smooth  epidermis which  is easily
separable, and  of a whitish-ash colour, alternating or mingled with brown.
It has no smell.  The taste is bitter and slightly astringent. Boiling water
extracts the virtues of the bark.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Black  alder  is usually considered tonic
and astringent;  and  is among the remedies which have  been proposed as
substitutes for Peruvian bark, with which, however, it has very little analogy.
It has been recommended  in intermittent fever, diarrhoea, and other diseases
connected with a debilitated state  of the  system, especially gangrene and
mortification.   It is a popular remedy in gangrenous or flabby and  ill-con-
ditioned ulcers, and in chronic cutaneous eruptions, in which it is given 
PART I.
Prinos.—Prunum.
575
internally, at the same time that it is applied locally in the form of a wash
or poultice.
  It may be used in substance or decoction.  The dose of the powder is
from thirty grains to a drachm, to be repeated several times a day.   The
decoction, which is usually preferred both for internal and external use, may
be prepared  by boiling two  ounces of the bark with three pints of water to
a quart, and given in the dose of two  or three fluidounces.   A saturated
tincture, as well of the berries as of the bark, is sometimes employed.
                                                               W.

                        PRUNUM.  U.S.

                              Prunes.

   " The dried fruit of Prunus domestica."  U. S.
   Off. Syn. PRUNA. Prunus domestica. Drupae exsiccatae. Lond.; PRU-
NA. Dried  fruit of  Prunus domestica. Ed.; PRUNUS DOMESTICA.
Fructus siccatus. Dub.
   Pruneaux, Fr.; Pflaumen. Germ.; Pruni, Ital; Ciruelas secas. Span.
   Prunus.  Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Amygdaleae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx  inferior, bell-shaped, deciduous, with five obtuse, con-
cave segments.  Petals five,  roundish, concave, spreading, larger than the
segments of the calyx, into the rim of which they  are inserted.  Filaments
awl-shaped, nearly as long as the corolla, from the rim of the calyx within
the petals.  Anthers short,  of two round lobes.  Ovary superior, roundish.
Style  of the length  of the stamens.   Stigma  orbicular, peltate.  Drupe
roundish or elliptical.  Nut hard, somewhat  compressed, of one cell, and
two more or less distinct sutures with an intermediate furrow.  Leaves rolled
up when young.  (Lindley.)
   Prunus domestica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 995; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 520.
t. 187.  The  cultivated prune or plum tree is so well known  as to render
a minute description unnecessary.   We merely give the specific character.
"Peduncles subsolitary;  leaves lanceolate, ovate,  convolute; branches not
spiny."   The varieties of  the tree produced by cultivation are very nume-
rous.  Nearly one hundred  are to be found in the British gardens. Though
at present growing wild in  various  parts  of Europe, it is thought to  have
been brought  originally from Asia  Minor and Syria.  It is  the dried fruit
only that is officinal.
   The prunes brought to our market come chiefly from the South of France,
the best from  the port of Bordeaux.  They are  derived from the variety of
the tree named Juliana by Linnaeus. The fresh fruit, called prune de Saint
Julien by the French, is of an oval shape, nearly an inch in length, and of
a deep violet colour.  It is prepared by drying in the sun after  having been
exposed to the heat  of an  oven.  The finest prunes, used on  the tables in
France, are prepared from the larger  kinds  of plums, such as the  Saint
 Catharine and Reine-Claude or green-gage.  An inferior sort is brought
from Germany.
   Prunes have a feeble  odour,  and a  sweet mucilaginous taste, which is
generally also somewhat acid.  They contain uncrystallizable  sugar, malic
acid, and mucilaginous matter.  In Germany they obtain from this  fruit a
kind of brandy, which in some districts is largely consumed.  Bonneberg, a
 German chemist, has succeeded  in extracting crystallizable sugar, equal to
 that of the cane.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Prunes are laxative  and nutritious, and 
 576             Prunum.—Prunus  Virginiana.           part i.

 stewed with water form an excellent diet in cases of costiveness, especially
 during convalescence from febrile and inflammatory diseases.  As they im-
 part their laxative property to water in which they are boiled, they serve as
 a pleasant and useful addition to purgative decoctions.  Their pulp is also
 used in the preparation of laxative confections.  Too largely taken in a
 debilitated state of the digestive organs, they are apt to occasion flatulence,
 and griping pain in the stomach and bowels.
   Off. Prep.  Pruni Pulpa,  U. S.; Confectio Sennae, Lond.        W.

                PRUNUS VIRGINIANA.  U.S.

                         Wild-cherry Bark.

   " The bark of Cerasus serotina (De Candolle), Cerasus Virginiana  (Mi-
 chaux)." U. S.
   Cerasus.  See LAURO-CERASUS.
   This genus, which is recognised  by most of the recent botanical writers,
 includes a large number of species formerly embraced in the genus Prunus
 of Linnaeus.
   Cerasus serotina. De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 540; Torrey and Gray, Flora
 of N. America, i. 410.—Cerasus Virginiana. Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii.
 205. According to Torrey and Gray, the name Prunus Virginiana, which
 has  frequently been applied to this  species, was  given by Linnaeus to the
 choke-cherry—a small tree or shrub, growing in  the Northern States, and
 bearing a dark  red, globular, astringent fruit,  about as large as that of the
 wild-cherry. This is described in the Flora of N. America of these authors,
 under  the name of Cerasus Virginiana.  The officinal species or wild-
 cherry tree is, according to Michaux, one of the largest productions of the
 American forest.  Individuals were seen by that  botanist  on the  banks of
 the Ohio from eighty  to one hundred feet high, with trunks from twelve to
 fifteen feet in circumference, and undivided to the height of twenty-five or
 thirty feet.  But as usually met with in the Atlantic States, the tree is of
 much smaller dimensions.   In the  open fields it is less elevated than in
 forests, but sends out  more numerous branches,  which expand into an  ele-
 gant oval summit. The trunk is regularly shaped, and covered with a rough
 blackish bark, which detaches itself semi-circularly in thick narrow plates,
 and  by this peculiar character serves as a distinguishing mark of the tree,
 when the foliage is too high for inspection.  The leaves are oval oblong,
 or lanceolate oblong, acuminate, unequally serrate, smooth on both sides, of
 a beautiful  brilliant green, and supported  alternately upon  petioles, which
 are furnished with from two  to four reddish glands.  The flowers are small,
 white, and collected in long erect or spreading racemes.   They appear in
 May, and are followed by globular drupes about the size of a pea, and when
ripe  of a shining blackish-purple colour.
   This tree grows throughout the Union,  flourishing most in those parts
where  the  soil is fertile and the climate temperate, and abounding in the
Middle Atlantic  States, and in those which border on the  Ohio.   In  the
neighbourhood of Philadelphia, it affects open situations, growing solitarily
in the fields and  along the fences, and seldom aggregated in woods or groves.
It is  highly valued by the cabinet makers for its wood, which is compact,
fine-grained, susceptible of polish, and of a light red tint,  which deepens
with age.   The fruit  has  a sweetish, astringent, bitter taste; and is  much
 employed in some parts of the country to impart flavour to spirituous liquors.
 The  inner bark is the part employed in medicine, and is obtained indiscri- 
part i.                  Prunus Virginiana.                    577

minately from all parts of the tree, though that of the roots is most active.
It should be preferred recently dried, as it deteriorates by keeping.
   Properties.  Wild-cherry bark as kept in the shops is in pieces of various
sizes, more or less curved laterally, usually destitute of epidermis, of a lively
reddish cinnamon colour, brittle, and pulverizable, presenting a reddish-gray
fracture, and affording a fawn-coloured powder.  In the fresh state, or when
boiled in water, it emits an  odour resembling that of peach leaves.   Its
taste is agreeably bitter and aromatic,  with the peculiar flavour of the bitter
almond.  It imparts its sensible properties to water, either cold or hot, pro-
ducing a clear  reddish  infusion closely resembling Maderia wine  in  ap-
pearance.  Its  peculiar  flavour as well as medical virtues are  injured by
boiling, in  consequence  partly of the  volatilization of the principle upon
which  they depend,  partly upon a chemical  change effected by the heat.
From an analysis  by Dr. Stephen Procter, it appears  to contain starch,
resin, tannin, gallic acid; fatty matter, lignin, red colouring  matter, salts of
lime and potassa, and iron.   He obtained also a volatile oil, associated with
hydrocyanic acid, by distilling the same portion of water successively from
several different portions of the bark.   This oil was of a  light straw colour,
 and very analogous in its properties to the volatile oil of bitter almonds.   In
 the quantity of two drops it proved fatal to a cat  in less  than  five minutes.
 (Journ.  of the Phil.  Col. of Pharm.  vi. 8.)  Mr.  William Procter, of
 Philadelphia, has shown that, as in the case of bitter almonds, (see Amyg-
 dala,) the volatile oil and hydrocyanic acid do not exist ready formed in the
 bark, but are the result of  the reaction of water upon  amygdalin, which he
 ascertained to  be  one  of  its constituents.  In order, however,  that  this
 change may take place, the agency of another principle, probably analogous
 to if not identical with emulsin, or the synaptase of Robiquet, is also essen-
 tial; and, as this principle becomes inoperative at a boiling temperature, we
 can understand how- decoction may interfere with  the virtues of the bark.
 (Am. Journ. of Pharm. x.  197.)  It is highly  probable that wild-cherry
 bark contains also phloridzin, a bitter principle proved to exist in the bark
 of the apple, pear, cherry, and plum  trees.  (See Phloridzin in the Appen-
 dix.)   In this case, an easy explanation is offered of the coexistence of tonic
 and sedative properties in  this valuable medicine, the former depending on
 the phloridzin, the latter on the hydrocyanic acid.
    Medical Properties and Uses.  This bark is among the most valuable of
 our indigenous remedies.   Uniting  with  a tonic  power the property of
 calming irritation and  diminishing nervous  excitability, it  is admirably
 adapted  to the  treatment of diseases in which a debilitated condition of the
 stomach, or of the system  at large, is united with general or local irritation.
  When largely  taken it is said to  diminish  the action of  the heart, an effect
 ascribable to the hydrocyanic acid which it affords.  Dr. Eberle states  that
 copious  draughts of the cold infusion, taken several times a day, and con-
 tinued  for nearly two  weeks, had the effect  of reducing  his  pulse from
 seventy-five to fifty strokes  in the minute.   The remedy is  highly useful
 in the hectic fever of scrofula and consumption,  in the treatment of which
 it has long been  a  favourite .with many American practitioners.   In the
 general  debility which  often succeeds inflammatory  diseases,  it has  also
 been found advantageous, and it is well adapted to many cases of dyspepsia.
 It has been used successfully in intermittent fever, but in this complaint is
 much  inferior to cinchona.
    It may be used  in powder or infusion.   The dose of the  powder is from
 thirty  grains to a drachm.  The infusion is properly directed by our national
 Pharmacopoeia to  be prepared with cold water.  (See Infusum Pruni  Vir-
      50 
578             Prunus Virginiana.—Pyrethrum.         part i.

ginianae.) A syrup of wild-cherry bark is considerably used at present.  It
may be prepared by  macerating four ounces of the powdered bark with
twelve fluidounces of water for two days, putting the mixture into a dis-
placement apparatus,  returning the liquid  which passes until it  becomes
clear, displacing with an additional quantity of water until twelve fluidounces
of infusion are obtained, and  then  dissolving in this twenty-four ounces of
sugar. (Procter, Am.  Journ. of Pharm. xiv. 27.)  The dose of this syrup
would be  about a fluidounce.   But a serious objection  to the syrup of wild-
cherry bark is, that in order to give the requisite quantity of the medicine,
so much sugar must be given at the same time as to endanger embarrass-
ment of the digestive organs.
   Off. Prep.   Infusum  Pruni Virginianae, U. S.                    W.

     PYRETHRUM.  U. S.  Secondary, Lond., Ed., Dub.

                             Peltilory.

  "The root of  Anthemis Pyrethrum."  U.S.  "Anthemis Pyrethrum.
Radix." Lond., Dub.  '• Root of Anacyclus Pyrethrum."  Ed.
  Pvrelhre, Fr.; Bertram Wnrzrl, Germ.; Piretro, Ital; Pelitre, Span.
  Anthemis.  See ANTHEMIS.
  Anthemis Pyrethrum.   Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. 2184; Woodv. Med. Bot
p. 50. t. 20.—Anacyclus Pyrethrum. De Cand. Prodrom. vi. 15.  The root
of this plant is perennial, and sends up numerous stems, which are usually
trailing at the  base, erect in their  upper portion, eight or ten inches high,
and terminated by one large flower.  The leaves are doubly pinnate, with
narrow nearly linear segments of a pale green colour.   The florets of the
disk are yellow;  the rays are white on their upper surface,  and  reddish or
purple beneath and at  their edges.
  The plant is a native of the Levant, Barbary, and the Mediterranean coast
of Europe.  The root is the part used under the name of pellitory, or pelli-
tory of Spain. According to Hayne, the pellitory of  the shops is derived
from the Anacyclus officinarum, a plant cultivated in  Thuryngia for medi-
cal purposes.  This remark,  however, can  apply only to Germany.
  Properties.  The dried  root of  the A. Pyrethrum is about the size of
the  little finger, cylindrical, straight or but slightly curved, wrinkled longi-
tudinally,  of an ash-brown colour externally, whitish within, hard  and brit-
tle, sometimes furnished with a few radicles.  It is destitute of odour, though
when fresh, of a disagreeable smell.  Its taste is peculiar, slight at first, but
afterwards acidulous, saline, and acrid, attended with a burning and tingling
sensation over the whole mouth and throat, which continues for some time,
and excites a copious flow of saliva.  Its constituents, according to  M. Gau-
thier, are a fixed  oil, a  yellow colouring matter, gum,  inulin, lignin, with
traces of volatile oil and of chloride of calcium. A  more minute analysis by
Koene gives,  in 100 parts, 0-59 of a brown, very acrid substance, of a re-
sinous appearance, and insoluble in caustic potassa;  1*60 of a dark brown,
very acrid fixed oil, soluble in potassa;  0*35 of a yellow acrid oil, also solu-
ble in potassa; traces of tannin;  9*40 parts'of gum; inulin; 7*60 parts of
sulphate and  carbonate of potassa, chloride of potassium,  phosphate and
carbonate of lime, alumina, silica, &c; and 19*80 of lignin, besides loss.
(Am. Journ. of Pharm. viii. 175, from the Journ. de Pharm.)
  Medical Properties  and  Uses.   Pellitory is a powerful  irritant, used
almost exclusively as  a  sialagogue  in certain forms of headache, rheumatic
and neuralgic affections of the face, toothache,  &c, or as a local stimulant 
PART I.
Pyrethrum.— Quassia.
579
in palsy of the tongue or throat, and in relaxation of the uvula.  For these
purposes it may be chewed, or employed as a gargle in decoction or vinous
tincture.  It is seldom prescribed by medical practitioners in this country.
The dose as a masticatory is from 30 grains to a drachm.           W.


                  QUASSIA. U.S., Lond.,  Ed.

                              Quassia.

   " The wood of Quassia excelsa."  U. S.   " Quassia excelsa. Lignum."
Lond.  " Wood chiefly of Picraena excelsa (Lindley), seldom of Quassia
amara." Ed.
   Off. Syn. QUASSIA  EXCELSA.  Lignum.  Dub.
   Bois de quassie, Fr.; Quassienholtz, Germ.; Legno della quassia, Ital; Leno de quassia,
Span.
   Quassia.  Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Simarubaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved.  Petals five.  Nectary five-leaved.  Drupes
five, distant, bivalve, one-seeded,  inserted into a fleshy receptacle.  Willd.
   Of the species included by Linnaeus in this genus, some, as the  Quassia
amara, are  hermaphrodite; others, as  the Q. excelsa and Q. Simaruba, are
monoecious  or polygamous.   The latter have been associated  together by
De Candolle in a distinct genus, with  the title Simaruba.  This has been
again divided by Lindley into Simaruba with monoecious, and Picraena with
polygamous flowers.  To the last-mentioned genus the proper quassia plant,
the Q. excelsa of Linnaeus, belongs.
   The  medicine was formerly thought to  be obtained  from the  Quassia
amara; but more than twenty years  since, Lamarck stated  that in conse-
quence  of the scarcity of this  tree, the Quassia  excelsa had  been  resorted
to as a substitute, and the Pharmacopoeias at present agree in acknowledg-
ing the  latter as the officinal plant. It is, however, the opinion of Martius,
that the genuine quassia of Surinam is the Q. amara; and we shall, there-
fore, give a  brief description of both species.
   Quassia  excelsa.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 569.—Simaruba excelsa,  De
Cand. Prodrom. i.  733;  Hayne, Darstel. und  Beschreib., fyc. ix. 16.—
Picraena excelsa. Lindley, Flor. Med. 208.  As its name imports, this is
a lofty tree, attaining sometimes not less than one hundred  feet in height,
with a straight, smooth, tapering trunk, which is often three feet in diameter
near its base, and covered with a  smooth gray bark.  The leaves are  pin-
nate, with a naked petiole, and oblong pointed leaflets standing upon short
footstalks, in opposite pairs, with a single leaflet at the end.   The flowers
are small, of  a yellowish-green  colour, and  disposed in panicles.   They
are polygamous and pentandrous.  The fruit is a small black drupe.  This
species  inhabits Jamaica and the Caribbean islands, where it is called bitter
ash.  The wood is the officinal portion.
   Quassia amara.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 567; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 574. t.
204.  The  bitter quassia is a small branching tree  or shrub,  with alternate
leaves, consisting of two pairs of opposite pinnae,  with an odd one at the
end.  The  leaflets  are elliptical,  pointed, sessile, smooth, of a deep green
colour on their upper surface, and paler on the under.   The  common foot-
stalk is articulated, and edged on each side with a leafy membrane.   The
flowers, which are hermaphrodite  and decandrous, have a bright red colour,
and terminate the branches in long racemes.   The fruit is a two-celled cap-
sule, containing globular seeds. The Q. amara is a native of Surinam,  and
is said also to grow  in some of the West India islands.  Its root, bark,  and 
5S0
Quassia.
PART i.
wood were formerly officinal.   They are all  excessively bitter, as are also
the leaves, flowers, and fruit, and in fact the whole plant.   It is uncertain
whether any of the produce of this  tree reaches our markets.
   Quassia comes in cylindrical billets of various sizes, from an inch to near
a foot in diameter, and several feet in length.   These are frequently invested
with a whitish smooth bark,  brittle and but slightly adherent, and possess-
ing in at least an equal degree the virtues of the wood.   Their shape  and
structure clearly evince that they are derived  from  the branches or  trunk,
and not, as some suppose, from the root of the tree. In the shops they are
usually kept split into  small pieces, or rasped.
   Properties.  The wood is at first whitish, but becomes yellow by expo-
sure.   It is inodorous, and has a purely bitter taste, which is surpassed by
that of few other substances in intensity and permanence.  It imparts all its
active properties, with its  bitterness and yellow colour, to water and alcohol.
The name of quassin was given by Dr. Thomson to the aqueous extract of
quassia; but improperly, as this preparation is of complex constitution.  Dr.
Winckler first obtained from the wood a bitter crystallizable principle, to
which the  name of  quassin  properly belongs; but  there is some reason to
suppose that as prepared  by him it was not entirely free from saline impu-
rities.   The  following process of  Wiggers probably affords it in a purer
state.  A filtered decoction of quassia is evaporated  to three quarters of the
weight of the wood employed, slaked lime is added, and the mixture having
been allowed to stand  for a day, with occasional agitation, is  again filtered.
A  considerable quantity of pectin,  besides other substances, is thus sepa-
rated.   The  clear liquor  is evaporated nearly to dryness, and the resulting
mass exhausted by  alcohol of the sp. gr. 0 835,  which leaves behind gum,
common salt, nitre, &c. in large amount,  and dissolves quassin with some
common salt and nitre, and an organic substance of a brown colour.  In order
to separate the quassin from these  latter principles, which are soluble  in
water, the solution  is evaporated to dryness, the resulting mass  is dissolved
in the least possible quantity of absolute alcohol, a large proportion of ether
is  added, and the liquor,  previously separated by filtration  from the brown
mass  which the ether has thrown down, is evaporated to dryness; and this
process is repeated, till  the quassin remains  behind quite colourless, and
affords no  evidence of the presence of the above-mentioned salts.  Lastly,
in order to obtain it in a crystalline form, to which it is not strongly disposed,
pour the alcoholic solution mixed with ether  upon a little water, and allow
it  to evaporate spontaneously.   Quassin is white, opaque,  unalterable in
the air,  inodorous,  and of an intense bitterness, which in the  solutions of
this principle is almost insupportable.  The  bitterness is pure, and resem-
bles that of the wood.   When heated, quassin melts like a resin.  It is but
slightly soluble  in water, which at 54° dissolves only 0-45  in  100 parts,
and that slowly.   By  the addition of salts, especially of those with which
it is associated in quassia, its solubility is strikingly increased.   It is also
but slightly soluble in ether, but is very soluble in alcohol, more so in that
liquid hot than cold, and the more so the purer it is.  Quassin is perfectly
neuter, though both  alkalies and acids increase its solubility in water.  It is
precipitated by tannic acid from  its aqueous solution, whiqh is not disturbed
by iodine,  chlorine, corrosive sublimate, solutions of iron, sugar of lead, or
even the subacetate of lead.  Its ultimate constituents are carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.  Quassia has in the highest degree all the
properties of the simple bitters.   It is purely tonic, invigorating the diges-
tive organs, with little excitement of  the circulation, or increase of animal 
parti.   Quassia. —Quercus Alba.—Quercus Tinctoria.      581

heat.   It has not been very long known as a medicine.   About the middle
of the last century, a negro of Surinam, named Quassi, acquired  consider-
able reputation in the treatment of the malignant fevers of that country, by a
secret remedy, which he was induced to disclose to Mr. Rolander,  a Swede,
for a valuable consideration.  Specimens were taken to Stockholm by this
gentleman in the year 1756; and  the medicine soon became popular in
Europe.   The name of the negro has been perpetuated in the generic title
of the plant.   But the quassia of Surinam is not now in use, having  been
superseded by the product of the  Quassia excelsa, from the West Indies.
This  medicine is useful in all cases in which a simple tonic  impression is
desirable.  It is particularly adapted to dyspepsia from debility of stomach,
and to that weakened  state of the digestive  organs which  sometimes suc-
ceeds acute disease.  It may also be given with advantage in  the remission
of certain fevers in which tonics are demanded.  No one at present would
expect from  it any peculiar controlling influence over malignant fevers.  It
is said to be  largely consumed in England by the brewers, who employ it
to impart bitterness to their liquors.
   It is most conveniently administered in infusion or  extract. (See Ex-
tractum  Quassiae and Infusum  Quassias.)   The difficulty of reducing the
wood to powder, is an objection to its use in substance.   It may, however,
be employed in a dose varying from a  scruple to a drachm, repeated three
or four times a day.
   Off. Prep. Extractum  Quassiae, U. S., Ed.; Infusum  Quassiae, U. S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Quassiae, U. S., Ed., Dub.;  Tinctura Quas-
siae Composita, Ed.                                            W.

                   QUERCUS ALBA.  U.S.

                         White-oak Bark.

   " The bark of Quercus alba."  U. S.

               QUERCUS  TINCTORIA.  U.S.

                         Black-oak Bark.

   " The bark of Quercus  tinctoria." U. S.
   Off. Syn. QUERCUS. Quercus pedunculata. Cortex. Lond.; QUER-
CUS CORTEX.  Bark of Quercus pedunculata. Ed.;  QUERCUS  RO-
BUR. Cortex. Dub.
   Ecorce de chene, Fr.;  Eichcnrinde, Germ.; Corteccia della quercia, Ital;  Corteza de
roble, Span.
   Quercus.   Sex. Syst.  Monoecia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord. Amentaceae,
Juss.; Cupuliferoe, Richard; Corylaceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.  Male.  Calyx commonly five-cleft. Corolla none.  Stamens
five to ten. Female. Calyx one-leafed, entire, rough. Corolla none.  Styles
two to five. Nut coriaceous, surrounded at the base by the persistent calyx.
Willd.
   This extensive genus comprises  not less  than eighty  species, of which
between thirty and forty are  found within the limits of the United States.
Many of these are applied to important practical purposes.  In the northern
hemisphere,  the  oak is the most valuable, as it is the most widely diffused
of all forest trees.  Notwithstanding the great number of species, few,  com-
paratively, have found a place in the officinal catalogues.   The  Q. robur or
common  European oak, and the Q. pedunculata or European white oak,
                                 50* 
582
Quercus Alba.—Quercus Tinctoria.
PART I.
are the only species admitted by the British Colleges.  As these do not grow
in the United Slates, and their products are not imported, it is unnecessary
to treat of them  particularly in this work.   According  to Michaux, they
grow in the same countries, frequently together, constituting the greater part
of the forests of Europe, and  spreading  over almost the whole northern
section of Asia, and the northern coast of Africa.   The  Q. pedunculata is
the common  British oak, celebrated as well for its majestic growth and the
venerable age which it attains, as for the  strength  and durability  of its
timber, and the  high purposes to which  it has  been applied.  Our own
Pharmacopreia recognises only the Q. alba  or white oak, and the Q. tinc-
toria or black oak; but several other species afford barks  which are equally
useful, and perhaps as much employed. Such are the  Q.falcata or Spanish
oak, and Q. prinus or white  chestnut oak,  and  the  Q.  montana or rock
chestnut oak. The remarks which follow  in relation to the white oak  bark,
will apply  also to that of the  three last mentioned species.  The bark of
the Q. tinctoria is somewhat peculiar.
   1.  Quercus alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 448; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. i.
17.   Of all the American species, the  white oak approaches  nearest in the
character of its foliage, and the properties of  its wood and bark, to the Q.
pedunculata  of Great Britain.   When allowed to expand  itself freely  in the
open field, it divides at a  short  distance from the ground into numerous
widely spreading branches, and attains under favourable circumstances a
magnificent size.  Its trunk and large  branches are covered with a whitish
bark, which serves to distinguish it from  most of the other species.   The
leaves are regularly and obliquely divided into oblong, obtuse, entire lobes,
which are often narrowed at their base. When full grown, they are smooth
and light green on their upper surface, and glaucous beneath.  Some of the
dried leaves remain on the  tree during the whole  winter, and till the circu-
lation of the sap returns in spring.  The acorns are large, ovate, contained in
rough, shallow, grayish cups, and supported singly or in  pairs upon pedun-
cles nearly an inch in length.
   The white oak abounds in the Middle  States,  and  extends also through
the whole Union, though comparatively rare in the northern, southern, and
western  sections.  It is the most highly valued for  its timber of all the
American oaks, with the exception of the live  oak (Q. virens), which is
preferred in  ship-building.   The bark is  sometimes  used for tanning, but
that of the  red and Spanish oaks is preferred for this purpose. All parts of
the tree,  with the exception of the epidermis, are more  or less astringent,
but this property predominates in the fruit and bark,  the latter of which is
the only officinal portion.
   Oak bark, deprived of its epidermis, is  of a  light brown colour, of a
coarse fibrous texture, and  not easily pulverized.  It has a feeble odour,
and  a rough,  astringent, and bitterish taste.   Water and  alcohol extract its
active properties.  The chief soluble ingredients are tannin, gallic acid, and
extractive matter.  It is upon  the  tannin that its medical virtues as well as
its use in the preparation of leather chiefly depend. The proportion of this
ingredient  varies  with the size and age of the tree, the part from which the
bark is derived, and even the  season when it is gathered.  It is most abun-
dant in the young bark; and the  English  oak is said  to yield four times as
much in spring  as in winter.  Sir H. Davy found  the inner  bark  most
abundant in tannin, the middle portion or  cellular integument much less so,
and the  epidermis  almost wholly destitute as well of this principle,  as of
extractive.   Vauquelin states  that the infusion of oak bark  does not, like
that of galls, precipitate tartar emetic. 
part i.         Quercus Tinctoria.—Ranunculus.             583

  2.  Quercus tinctoria.  Willd.  Sp. Plant,  iv. 444;  Michaux, N. Am.
Sylv. i. 91.  The black oak is one of our largest trees, frequently attaining
the height of eighty or ninety feet.  Its trunk is covered with a deeply fu£
rowed bark, of a black or dark brown colour.  The leaves are ovate oblong,
pubescent, slightly sinuated, with oblong, obtuse, mucronate lobes.   The
fructification is biennial.  The acorn is globose, flattened at top, and placed
in a saucer-shaped cup.
  Black-oak bark has a more bitter taste than  that of the other species, and
may be distinguished  also by staining the saliva  yellow  when it is chewed.
Its  cellular integument contains a colouring principle, capable of being ex-
tracted by  boiling water, to which it  imparts a  brownish-yellow colour,
which is deepened by alkalies, and rendered brighter by acids.   Under the
name of quercitron, large quantities of this bark, deprived of its epidermis
and reduced to coarse powder, are sent from the United States  to Europe,
where it is used  for dyeing wool and silk of a yellow colour.   It contains
also much tannin; but is less used in  tanning than the other barks, in con-
sequence of the  colour which it imparts to the leather.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  Oak bark is astringent  and somewhat
tonic.   It has been  given with advantage  in intermittent fever, obstinate
chronic diarrhoea, and certain forms  of passive  hemorrhage; but it  is not
much employed as an internal remedy.   Externally applied it is often pro-
ductive of benefit.  The decoction may be  advantageously used as a bath,
particularly for  children, when a combined  tonic and  astringent effect is
desirable, and the stomach is not disposed to receive medicines  kindly.  It
has been employed in this way in marasmus, scrofula, intermittent fevers,
chronic diarrhoea, and cholera infantum.  As  an injection in leucorrhoea, a
wash in prolapsus ani and hemorrhoidal affections, and  as a gargle in slight
inflammation of the fauces, attended with prolapsed uvula, the decoction is
often highly useful.   Reduced to  powder and  made into a poultice, the bark
was recommended by the  late  Dr. Barton as an excellent application in
cases of external gangrene and mortification, and the infusion obtained from
tanners' vats has been used beneficially as a wash for flabby, ill-conditioned
ulcers.
   The bark may  be given internally in the form of powder, extract, or
decoction.   The  dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm, of
the extract about half as much,  of the  decoction two  fluidounces.   (See
Decoctum Quercus.)
   Black-oak bark is  considered inferior to the  white-oak as  an internal
remedy, in consequence of being more disposed to irritate the bowels.
   The fruit of the oak is sometimes used as an astringent; and  a decoction
made from roasted acorns has been highly recommended by Hufeland as a
remedy in scrofula.
   Off. Prep. Decoctum  Quercus, Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Decoctum Quercus
Albae, U. S.; Extractum  Quercus, Dub.                           W.

              RANUNCULUS.  U.S.  Secondary.

                              Crowfoot.

   " The cormus and  herb of Ranunculus bulbosus."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  RANUNCULUS ACRIS.  Folia.  RANUNCULUS FLAM-
MULA. Herba recens. Dub.
   Ranunculus. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Ranuncu-
laceae. 
584
Ranunculus.
part r.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-leaved. Petals five, having the inner side of each
 claw furnished with a melliferous pore.  Seeds naked,  numerous. Nuttall.
   Most of the plants belonging to this genus  have the  same acrid proper-
 ties.   Several of them grow together in  our fields  and  pastures, and  from
 their close resemblance, are confounded under the common name of butter-
 cup,  applied to them from  the colour and shape of their  flowers.   Those
 which are most abundant  are believed to have been  introduced from Eu-
 rope. Such are the R. bulbosus, R. acris, and R. repens, which, with the
 R. sceleratus, may be indiscriminately used.  In Europe,  the R. sceleratus
 appears to have attracted most  attention; in this country,  the R. bulbosus.
 The  latter is the only one designated by our Pharmacopoeia.  The R. acris
 and R. F/ammula are directed  by the Dublin  College.
   Rununculus bulbosus.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 1324;  Bigelow, Am. Med.
 Bot.  iii. 60.   This species of  crowfoot  is perennial, with a solid, fleshy
 root (cormus), which sends up annually several erect, round, and branching
 stems, from nine to eighteen inches high.  The radical leaves, which stand
 on long footstalks, are ternate or quinate, with lobed  and dentate  leaflets.
 The  leaves of the  stem are sessile and ternate, the upper  more simple.
 Each stem  supports  several solitary, bright yellow, glossy flowers, upon
 furrowed, angular peduncles.   The leaves of the calyx are reflexed or bent
 downwards, against the flowerstalk.  The petals are obcordate and arranged
 so as to represent a small cup in shape.   At the inside of  the claw of each
 petal  is a  smidl cavity, which is covered with a minute wedge-shaped emar-
 ginate scale.   The  fruit consists  of numerous  naked  seeds, collected  in  a
 spherical  head.  The stem, leaves, peduncles,  and calyx are hairy.
   In  the  months of May  and June our pastures are  everywhere adorned
 with  the  rich yellow flowers of  this species  of Ranunculus.  Somewhat
 later  the R.  acris and R. repens begin to bloom, and a succession of similar
 flowers is maintained till  September.  The  two  latter  species  prefer a
 moister ground, and are found most abundantly in meadows.  The R. scele-
 ratus is found in ponds and ditches.  In all these species, the whole plant
 is pervaded by a volatile acrid  principle, which is  dissipated  by drying or
 by the application of heat.  This principle may be separated by distillation.
 Dr. Bigelow found  that water  distilled from the  fresh plant  has an  acrid
 taste, and produces when  swallowed a burning sensation  in  the stomach;
 and that it retains these properties for a long time if kept in closely stopped
 bottles.   The  plant itself  when  chewed excites violent  irritation in the
 mouth and throat; inflaming and even excoriating the  tongue  and inside of
 the cheeks and lips, if not quickly discharged.   Both the root and herbace-
 ous portion of the R. bulbosus  are officinal.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Crowfoot, when swallowed in the fresh
state,  produces heat and pain in  the stomach, and if the  quantity be consider-
able,  may excite fatal inflammation.  It is, however, never used internally.
The property for which it has attracted the attention of physicians is that of
inflaming  and vesicating the skin; and before the introduction of the Spanish
fly into use, it was much employed for this purpose.  But the uncertainty
and occasional violence of  its action have nearly banished it  from  regular
practice.  While on some individuals it appears  to produce  scarcely any
effect, on  others it acts very speedily, exciting extensive  and troublesome
inflammation, which sometimes terminates in deep  and obstinate ulcers. It
probably varies in strength  with the season; and, in  the dried state, or boiled
with  water, it is wholly inert.   The decoction, moreover,  is inert in conse-
quence of the escape of the acrid  principle.   Nevertheless, the plant has
been very properly retained by  the Pharmacopoeia in the  catalogue of medi- 
PART I.
Ranunculus.—Resina.
585
 cines of secondary importance; as occasions may occur when the practitioner
 in the country may find advantage in having recourse to its powerful rube-
 facient and epispastic operation.                                   \y.


                   RESINA.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.

                                Resin.

   " The residuum after the distillation of the volatile oil from the turpentine
 of Pinus palustris and other species of Pinus."  U. S.  " Pinus sylvestris.
 Residuum resinae liquidae posfquam terebinthinse oleum destillatum est."
 Lond.  " Residue of the distillation of the turpentines of various species of
 Pinus and Abies."  Ed.
   Off. Syn.  PINUS  SYLVESTRIS.  Resina.  Dub.
   Risine blanche, Resine juune, Fr ; Fichlenharz, Germ.; Ragea di pino, Ital.; Resina
 de pin<>, Span.
   After the distillation  of the volatile oil from the turpentines, (see  Terebin-
 thina,) a resinous matter remains, which on the continent of Europe is called
 colophony,  but in our language  is commonly known by the name  of rosin.
 It is the Resina of the  United States and London Pharmacopoeias, and the
 Resina flava or yellow resin, of the Dublin College.  When this, in a state
 of fusion, is strongly agitated with water, it acquires a distinct appearance,
 and is now denominated Resina alba  or white  resin.  Before describing
 these officinal substances,  it may be proper to enumerate  the characteristic
 properties of the proximate principles which chemists designate by the term
 resins.
   Resins are solid,  brittle, of a smooth and shining fracture, and generally
 of a yellowish colour and semitransparent.   When perfectly pure they are
 probably  inodorous  and often insipid, but, as usually found,  they have a
 slight odour, and a somewhat acrid or bitterish taste.  Their sp. gr. varies
 from 0-92 to 1-2.  They are fusible by a moderate  heat, decomposed at a
 higher temperature, and in  the open air  take fire, burning with  a yellow
 flame  and  much smoke.   Insoluble in water, they are dissolved  by ether
 and the essential oils,  and generally  by alcohol; and their alcoholic and
 ethereal solutions afford precipitates upon the addition of water. With pure
 potassa and soda they unite  to form soaps which are soluble in water; and
 the same result takes place when  they  are heated with the solutions of  the
 alkaline carbonates.  Concentrated sulphuric acid dissolves them  with mutual
 decomposition; and nitric acid converts them  into artificial tannin.  They
 readily unite by fusion  with wax and the fixed oils.
   Common or yellow resin, in  its purest state, is beautifully clear and pel-
 lucid, but much less so as it is commonly found in the shops.  Its odour
 and  taste are usually in a slight degree  terebinthinate;  its colour yellowish-
 brown with a tinge of olive, and more or less  dark according to its purity,
 and  the degree of heat  to which it has been exposed in its preparation.   It
 is rather heavier than water.  At 276° F. it fuses, is  completely  liquid at
 306°, begins to emit bubbles of gas at 316°, and is entirely decomposed at
 a red heat.   Its ultimate constituents are carbon, oxygen,  and hydrogen,
 in variable proportions.  It appears,  from the researches of Unverdorben,
 to contain three distinct resinous bodies, two of which, denominated pinic
 and silvic acids, pre-existed in the turpentine, and the third, called colophonic
 acid, is formed by the agency of the heat in the process of distillation.  The
pinic acid is dissolved by cold spirit of the sp. gr. 0-865,  and is thus sepa-
 rated from the sylvic acid.   It is obtained pure by adding to the solution a 
5S6
Resina.—Rhamnus.
PART I.
spirituous solution of acetate of copper, dissolving the precipitated pinate of
copper in strong boiling alcohol, decomposing this salt with a little muriatic
acid, and adding water, which throws down the pinic acid in the form of a
resinous powder.  The sylvic acid is obtained by treating the residue of the
common resin with boiling spirit of the sp. gr. 0-865, which dissolves it,
and lets it fall upon cooling.   Both of these resinous acids  are colourless.
The pinic acid is soluble in weak  cold alcohol; the  sylvic acid is insoluble
in the same menstruum when cold, but is dissolved  by it when boiling hot,
and by strong alcohol at all temperatures.   The salts which they form with
the alkalies are soluble, those with the earths and metallic oxides, insoluble
in water.   Colophonic acid differs from the others  in having stronger acid
properties, and in being  less  soluble in alcohol.  It is of a brown colour,
and common resin is more or less coloured in proportion to the quantity of
this acid which it contains.  (Kane's  Chemistry.)  The experiments  of
Unverdorben were made with  European  colophony.   It is  somewhat un-
certain whether exactly the same results would be afforded by the common
resin of this country, which is obtained from a different species of pine.
   White resin differs from the preceding only in  being opaque and of a
whitish colour.  These properties it owes to the water with which it is
incorporated, and which  gradually escapes upon exposure, leaving it more
or less transparent.
   Medical Uses.  Resin is important as  an ingredient of  ointments and
plasters; but is never used internally.
   Off. Prep.  Ceratum Cantharidis, U. S., Ed.,  Dub.; Ceratum Resina?,
U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Ceratum  Resinae Compositum, U. S.; Emplas-
trum Cantharidis  Comp., Ed.; Emplast. Cerae, Lond., Ed,; Emplast.
Ferri,  Ed.;  Emplast.  Hydrargyri,  U. S., Ed.; Emplast.  Picis, Lond.,
Ed.;  Emplast. Resinae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Emplast.  Simplex, Ed.;
Unguentum Infusi Cantharidis, Ed.; Unguent. Picis Nigrae, Lond.
                                                                 W,


                       RHAMNUS.  Lond.

                        Buckthorn Berries.

   " Rhamnus catharticus. Baccae."  Lond.
   Off. Syn.   RHAMNI  BACCiE. Fruit of Rhamnus Catharticus. Ed.;
RHAMNUS CATHARTICUS.  Bacca?. Dub.
   Bak's du nerprun,  Fr.; Kreulzbeeren, Germ.;  Bacche del spino cervino, Ital; Bayas
de nimno ealartico, Spin.
   Rhamnus. Sex. Syst.  Pentandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Rhamnaceae.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx tubular.  Corolla scales defending the stamens, inserted
into the calyx.  Berry. Willd.
   Rhamnus catharticus.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1092; Woodv. Med. Bot.  p.
594. t. 210.  The purging buckthorn is a shrub seven or eight feet high,
with branches terminating in a sharp spine.  The leaves are  in fascicles, on
short footstalks, ovate, serrate, veined.   The flowers are usually dioecious,
in clusters, small, greenish, peduncled, with a four-cleft calyx, and four very
small scale-like petals, placed, in the male flower, behind the stamens, which
equal them in number.   The fruit  is a four-seeded berry.
   The shrub is a native of Europe,  and is said to have been  found  grow-
ing wild in this country.   It was first discovered in  the Highlands of New
York  by Dr. Barratt. (Eaton's Manual.)  It flowers in May and  June,
and ripens its fruit in the latter part of September.  The berries are the 
PART I.
Rhamnus.—Rheum.
587
officinal portion.  When ripe they are about the size of a pea, round, some-
what flattened on the summit, black, smooth,  shining, with four seeds sur-
rounded  by a green, juicy parenchyma.   Their odour is unpleasant, their
taste bitterish, acrid, and nauseous.  The expressed juice has the colour,
odour, and taste of the parenchyma.  It is reddened by the acids, and from
deep green is rendered light green  by the alkalies.   Upon standing it soon
begins to ferment,  and  becomes red in consequence of the formation  of
acetic acid.   Evaporated to  dryness with the  addition of lime or an alkali,
it  forms  the colour called  by painters sap-green.   The dried  berries  of
another species, R. infectorius, yield a rich yellow colour, for which they
are much employed in the arts under the name of French berries.
   Vogel obtained from the  juice of the berries a peculiar colouring matter,
acetic acid,  mucilage, sugar, and a nitrogenous substance.   Hubert found
green colouring  matter, acetic and  malic acids, brown gummy matter, and
a bitter substance which  he considered  as  the purgative principle and sup-
posed to resemble cathartin.   M. Fleury obtained a peculiar crystallizable
principle, which is contained both in the  expressed juice and the residue
remaining after expression,  and for which  he  proposed the name of rham-
nin; but he did not ascertain whether it possessed cathartic properties.
(See Journ. de Pharm. xxvii. 666.)
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  Both the berries  and the expressed juice
are actively purgative;  but, as they are apt to occasion nausea, and severe
griping pain in the  bowels, with much thirst and dryness of the mouth and
throat, they are now little employed.  They formerly enjoyed considerable
reputation  as a  hydragogue cathartic in dropsy; and were given  also  in
rheumatism and gout.   The only shape in which they  are used in this
country is that of the syrup, which is sometimes, though  rarely, added to
hydragogue or diuretic mixtures. (See Syrupus Rhamni.)
   The dose of the recent berries is  about a scruple,  of tbe dried berries a
drachm,  and of the  expressed juice a  fluidounce.
   Off. Prep.  Syrupus  Rhamni. Lond., Ed., Dub.               W.

                   RHEUM.  U.S., Lond.,  Ed.

                              Rhubarb.

   "The root of Rheum palmatum, and other species of Rheum." U.  S.
" Rheum palmatum. Radix." Lond.  " Root of an undetermined species
of Rheum." Ed.
   Off. Syn.  RHEUM  PALMATUM  et RHEUM  UNDULATUM.
Radix. Dub.
   Rhabarbarum; Rhubarbe, Fr.; Rhabarber, Germ.; Rabarbaro, Ital; Ruibarbo, Span.;
Hai-houng, Chinese; Schara modo, Tibet.
   Rheum. Sex. Syst.  Enneandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Polygonaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx petaloid, six-parted, withering. Stamens about nine,
inserted into the base of the calyx.  Styles three, reflexed.  Stigmas peltate,
entire. Achenium  three-cornered, winged, with the withered calyx at  the
base. Embryo in the centre of the albumen. (Lindley.)
   Notwithstanding the length of time that rhubarb has been in use, and the
attention which  it has received from naturalists, the question yet remains
unsettled from what precise  plant it is  derived.   The remoteness of the
region where it is collected, and the jealous care with which the monopoly
of the  trade in this  drug  is  guarded, have prevented any accurate  informa-
tion on the  subject.  All that we  certainly know,  is that it is the root of 
5S8
Rheum.
PART I.
one or more species of Rheum.  It is true that the Pharmacopoeias under-
take to designate the particular species.   Thus, the London College recog-
nises the R. palmatum, the Dublin both this and the R. undulatum, and in
the United States  Pharmacopoeia the drug is referred to  the R. palmatum
and other species  not particularized.   But the evidence in favour of either
of these species is by no means unequivocal, as will  appear  from the  fol-
lowing brief history.
   The terms rha and rheon, from the  former of which were derived  the
names rhabarbarum and rhubarb, and from the latter the botanical generic
title  Rheum, were  applied by the  ancients to a root which  came from
beyond  the  Bosphorus, and which  is supposed,  though upon  somewhat
uncertain grounds, to have been the  product of the Rheum Rhaponticum,
growing  on the banks  of  the Caspian sea and the Wolga.   This species
was  also at one time believed  to be the source of the medicine now in use;
but the true rhubarb has long been  known to be wholly distinct from  the
Rhapontic,  and derived  from  a different  source.   It was not till the year
1732 that any probable information was obtained as to its real origin.  At
that time plants were received from Russia by Jussieu in France, and Rand
in England, which were said to be of the species which  afforded the genuine
rhubarb,  and were  named by Linnaeus,  under this  impression, Rheum
Rhabarbarum, a  title which has since given way to Rheum undulatum.
At a subsequent period, Kauw Boerhaave obtained from a merchant who
dealt in the rhubarb of Tartary, some seeds which he said were those of the
plant which  produced the root he sold.  These seeds having  been planted,
yielded  two species of Rheum, the R.  undulatum,  and another which
Linnaeus pronounced to be distinct, and named R.palmatum.   Seeds trans-
mitted by Dr. Mounsey from St. Petersburg to Dr. Hope, and  planted in  the
botanic garden at Edinburgh, produced the latter species; and  the same was
also  raised at Upsal from a root received by Linnaeus from  De Gorter, and
was  described A. D. 1767 by the younger Linnaeus, two years after the ap-
pearance of Dr. Hope's paper in  the  Philosophical Transactions.  Thus
far the  evidence  appears  equally in favour  of the R. palmatum and  R.
undulatum.  The claims  of  another species were  afterwards presented.
Pallas, upon exhibiting the leaves of the  R. palmatum to some Bucharian
merchants,  of whom he was making inquiries relative to the rhubarb plant,
was  told  that the leaves of the latter were entirely different, in  shape; and
the description  he received of  them  corresponded  more closely with  those
of the R. compactum, than of any  other known  species.   Seeds of this
plant were moreover sent to Miller from St. Petersburg, as those of the true
Tartarian rhubarb.  Within a few years the attention of naturalists has been
called to  a fourth species, for which the same honour is claimed.   Dr. Wal-
lich, superintendent of the botanical garden at Calcutta, received seeds which
were said to be those of the plant which yielded the Chinese rhubarb, grow-
ing on the Himalaya mountains  and the highlands  of Tartary.  These
produced a  species not previously described,  which Dr. Wallich named R.
Emodi, from the native title  of the plant.  It is the R. australe of Mr.
Don and of Colebrooke; and  has been  ascertained to  afford  a root which,
though  purgative, is very  unlike the  officinal rhubarb.  Other species
have been found to grow in the Himalaya mountains, from which a kind of
rhubarb used by the natives is said to be procured; but none of it reaches
the markets  of this country or Europe.   From what  has  been said, it is
obvious that no species yet mentioned can be considered as the undoubted
source of commercial rhubarb;  the plant  having, in no instance, been seen
and  examined by naturalists in its  native place.  Sievers, an  apothecary 
part i.                         Rheum.                          5S9

sent to Siberia in the reign of Catharine II. with the view of improving the
cultivation  of the native  rhubarb, asserts, from information given him by
the Bucharians, that all the seeds procured under the name of true rhubarb
are false, and pronounces "all  the descriptions in the Materia Medicas to
be incorrect."  This assertion,  however, has no relation to the R. australe
which has been subsequently described; but of this plant it is said that the
roots  dried by the medical officers of the British army differ from  true rhu-
barb in appearance and power.   Still, however, it is possible that the medi-
cine is derived from one or more of the species alluded to;  and if it should
be objected  that their  roots, as  cultivated in Europe, have  not the precise
qualities or composition of the  Asiatic rhubarb, the  answer is obvious, that
the product  of the same plant is often known to vary exceedingly  with
diversities of soil, climate, and  culture.
   All the plants of this genus are perennial  and herbaceous, with large
branching roots, which send forth vigorous stems from four to eight feet or
more  in height, surrounded at their base with numerous very large petiolate
leaves, and terminating in lengthened branching panicles composed of small
and very numerous flowers, resembling those of the Rumex or dock.  Bota-
nists experience some  difficulty in properly arranging the species,  in conse-
quence of the tendency of the  cultivated  plants to form hybrids;  and it is
frequently impossible  to ascertain to which of the wild  types the several
garden varieties are to be referred.  The following descriptions  are from
the Flora Medica of Dr. Lindley.
   Rheum palmatum.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 489;  Lindley, Flor. Med. p.
358;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 662. t. 231.   "Leaves roundish-cordate, half
palmate; the lobes pinnatifid,  acuminate, deep dull green, not wavy, but
uneven and very much wrinkled on the upper side, hardly scabrous at the
edge, minutely  downy on  the under side; sinus  completely closed; the
lobes of  the  leaf standing forwards beyond it.   Petiole pale green, marked
with  short purple lines, terete,  obscurely channeled quite at the upper end.
Flowering stems taller than those of any other species."  This species is
said to inhabit China in the vicinity of the great wall.   It is cultivated ex-
tensively near Banbury in England  for the sake of its root, which is gene-
rally admitted to approach more nearly in odour, taste, and the  arrangement
of its colours, to the Asiatic rhubarb  than that of any other known species.
   R.  undulatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 489; Lindley, Flor. Med. p.  357;
Woodv.  Med. Bot. 3d ed. v. 81.  " Leaves oval, obtuse, extremely wavy,
deep  green, with veins purple  at the base, often shorter than the petiole,
distinctly and   copiously downy on  each side, looking as  if frosted
when young, scabrous at the  edge; sinus open,  wedge-shaped,  with the
lower lobes  of the leaves  turned  upwards.   Petiole downy, blood-red,
semi-cylindrical, with  elevated edges to the upper side, which is  narrower
at the upper  than the  lower end."   This is a native of Siberia, and pro-
bably of Tartary and China.  It was cultivated by  the Russian government
as the true  rhubarb plant; but the culture has been abandoned.  It con-
tributes to the rhubarb produced in France, and, according  to Stevenson
and Churchill, is the source of the drug sold in the London herb shops as
English  rhubarb, though the  accuracy  of this statement is  doubted by
Lindley.
   R.  compactum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 489; Lindley, Flor. Med. p.  358;
Loudon's Encyc. of Plants, p. 336.   " Leaves heart-shaped,  obtuse, very
wavy, deep green, of a thick texture, scabrous at the margin, quite smooth
on both  sides,  glossy  and even  on the upper side; sinus nearly  closed
by the parenchyma.   Petiole green, hardly tinged with  red except at the
       51 
590
Rheum.
PART I.
base, semi-cylindrical, a little compressed at the sides,  with the upper
side broad, flat, bordered by elevated edges, and of equal breadth at each
end."   This plant is said to be a native of Tartary and China.   It is one
of the garden rhubarbs, and is cultivated in France for its root.
  R. australe. Don, Prod. Flor. Nepal, p. 75.—R. Emodi. Wallieh; Lind-
ley, Flor. Med. p. 354;  Hooker, Bot. Mag. t. 3508.   " Leaves cordate,
acute, dull  green,  but little  wavy, flattish, very much wrinkled, distinctly
rough, with eoarse  short hairs on each side; sinus of the base distinctly
open, not wedge-shaped but diverging at an obtuse angle, with the lobes
nearly turned upwards.   Petioles very rough, rounded-angular, furrowed;
with the upper  side depressed,  bordered by an elevated edge, and very
mueh narrower at the upper than the lower end."  The root of this species
was at one  time strongly maintained  to be the source of officinal Asiatic
rhubarb; but a specimen received by Dr.  Pereira from Dr.  Wallieh was
found to have scarcely any  resemblance  to it.   The  plant has  been culti-
vated both  in Europe and  this country, and its petioles answer well  for
tarts. &c.
  R. Rhaponticum. Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 488;  Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 357;
Loudon's Encyc.  of Plants,  p. 335.  " Leaves roundish-ovate, cordate,
obtuse,  pale  green, but  little wavy, very concave, even, very  slightly
downy on the under side, especially near the edge, and  on the edge itself;
scabrous at the margin;  sinus quite  open, large, and  cuneate.   Petiole
depressed,  channeled on  the upper side, with the  edges regularly rounded
off,  pale green, striated, scarcely  scabrous.  Panicles very eompact  and
short, always rounded at the ends, and  never  lax  as in the other garden
species.  Flowering stem about three feet high."   The Rhapontic rhubarb
grows upon the banks of the Caspian Sea, in the deserts between the Wolga
and the Oural, and on the  mountains of Krasnojar in Siberia.  It is said
also to grow upon  the borders of the Euxine.  It is cultivated abundantly
as a garden plant in Europe and this country; and large quantities  of the
root are produced for sale in France.
  Besides  the species above described, the R. leucorrhizum growing in the
Kirghese desert in Tartary, the R. Caspicum from the Altai  mountains,
and the R.  Webbianum, R.  speciforme, and R. Moorcraftianum, natives of
the Himalaya mountains, and R. crassinervium and R. hybridum, cultivated
in Europe, but of  unknown origin,  yield roots which have either been em-
ployed as purgatives, or possess properties more or less  analogous to those
of officinal  rhubarb, though  they have not entered into general commerce.
  The  leafstalks of the different species  of Rheum have a pleasant acid
taste, and are used for making tarts  and pies, whieh are not unlike those
made with  gooseberries.  It is for this purpose only that the plants are cul-
tivated in the United States.   Lindley states that the R. Rhaponticum, R.
hybridum,  and R. compactum, and hybrid varieties of them, are the common
garden rhubarbs.
  In relation to the culture and preparation of rhubarb,  our information is
almost as uncertain as on the subject of its natural history.  The accounts
received from the Bucharian merchants are very discordant, and few intelli-
gent travellers have penetrated into the country where the medicine is col-
lected.   We shall  present,  however, a brief abstract of what we have been
able to collect upon the subject from the authorities we have consulted.
   Rhubarb is produced abundantly in the elevated lands of Tartary about
the lake Koko Norr, and is  said to be cultivated in the neighbouring Chinese
province of Shen-see, and in that of  Setchuen.  From these sources it is
generally supposed that our supplies of  Russian and Chinese rhubarb are 
PART I.
Rheum.
591
exclusively derived; but the root is also collected in Boutan and Thibet, on
the north of the Himalaya mountains; and it is probable that the plant per-
vades the whole of Chinese Tartary.  It flourishes best  in a light sandy
soil.  We are told by Mr. Bell, who, on a journey from St. Petersburg to
Pekin, had an  opportunity of observing it in a growing state,  that it is not
cultivated by the Tartars, but springs up spontaneously in  tufts at uncertain
distances, wherever the seeds have  fallen  upon the heaps of loose earth
thrown up by the marmots. In other places the thickness of the grass pre-
vents their access to the soil.  The root is not considered sufficiently mature
for collection till it has attained the age of six  years.   It is dug up twice a
year in Tartary, in the spring and autumn;  in China not till the winter.
After removal from the ground it is cleaned, deprived of its cortical portion
and of the smaller branches, and then divided into pieces of  a convenient
size.  These are bored with holes, and strung upon cords  to dry, according
to Mr. Bell, about the tents and on  the horns of  the sheep;  according to
Sievers, under sheds, by which the rays of the sun are excluded, while the
air has free  access.   The  Chinese are said  first  to place the pieces on a
stone slab heated by fire beneath, and afterwards to  complete the drying pro-
cess by exposing them to the  sun  and air.  In Boutan, the roots are hung
up in a kind of drying room, in which a moderate and regular heat is main-
tained.   Much time and attention are devoted to the preparation of the root;
and Sievers states, that a year sometimes elapses from the period of its col-
lection before  it is ready for  exportation.  A very large  proportion of its
weight is  lost in drying, according to some accounts  four-fifths, to others
not less than seven-eighms. It is probably in order  to favour the drying that
the bark is removed.   The trade in rhubarb is said to centre in the Chinese
town of Si-nin, where a Bucharian company or family is established, which
possesses a  monopoly of this trade, in consideration of a certain tribute paid
to the government.  To this city the rhubarb is brought  from the various
places of its collection, and having been duly assorted and undergone further
preparation, is transmitted  partly to Russia, partly  to the coast  of China; so
that the drug which reaches us  through St. Petersburg,, is procured from
the same neighbourhood with  that imported from Canton.  But it will soon
be seen that there are differences between the Russian and Chinese rhubarb,
which would seem to indicate a different origin, and might authorize doubts
as to the entire accuracy of the above accounts.  It is at least probable that
the drug produced in  the province of Setchuen, whence the best China rhu-
barb is said to be brought,  takes a more direct route to the coast than that
through the  town of Si-nin.  Besides the two commercial varieties just men-
tioned, a third  occasionally comes  to us from  Europe, where the cultivation
of rhubarb has  been  carried on for some  time with success,  especially in
France, Belgium, and Great Britain.  Of these three varieties we shall treat
under different heads.

                        1. Chinese Rhubarb.

   India Rhubarb. Rheum Sinense vel Indicum.   Much the largest propor-
tion of rhubarb consumed in this country is brought from Canton.  Though
somewhat inferior to the Russian, its comparative  cheapness  gives it a de-
cided preference in our markets;  and when of good quality it  does not dis-
appoint the expectations of the physician.
   It is in cylindrical or roundish pieces, sometimes flattened on one or both
sides, of a dirty brownish-yellow colour externally, appearing as if the cortical
portion of the root had been removed by scraping,  and the surface rendered 
592
Rheum.
PART I.
 smooth and somewhat powdery by attrition.   The best pieces are heavier
 than the Russian rhubarb, have a texture rather close and compact, and when
 broken present a ragged uneven surface, variegated with intermingled shades
 of dull red, yellowish, and white, which are sometimes diversified or inter-
 rupted by darker colours.   The pieces are  generally perforated with small
 holes intended for convenience of suspension during the drying process; and
 portions of the suspending cord are not unfrequentiy found remaining in the
 holes.  Chinese rhubarb has a peculiar somewhat aromatic smell, and a bitter
 astringent taste,  is  gritty  when  chewed, imparts  a  yellow colour to the
 saliva, and affords a yellowish powder with a reddish-brown tinge. With the
 pieces  of good quality others often come mingled, which are defective from
 decay or improper preparation.  These are  usually lighter, and of a dark or
 russet  colour.  Like all  the  other varieties of rhubarb, this is liable to be
 attacked  by worms; and in almost every large parcel, pieces may be found
 which  have suffered from this cause.  The  want  of proper care in its selec-
 tion by the Chinese merchants, and the exposure incident to  a long sea-voy-
 age, are causes which contribute to its inferiority to  the Russian  rhubarb.
 As  the whole contents of the chest imported are usually powdered together,
 including the worst as well as the best pieces, it follows that the powder is
 inferior in efficacy to the  selected and sound pieces.
  In the last edition of this work, we noticed  a variety of rhubarb imported
 from Canton, which was  evidently prepared, before leaving  China, so as to
 resemble the Russian, having an angular surface, as  if pared with a knife.
 The pieces were obviously selected with great care, as  they were remark-
 ably free from defects.  But in most of those which came under our notice,
 the small penetrating hole was observable, which characterizes the Chinese
 rhubarb, though it had in  some instances been filled with the powdered root,
 so as in some  measure to conceal it.   Besides, the colours were not quite
 so bright as those of Russia rhubarb.   This is undoubtedly the variety de-
 scribed by Pereira, under a distinct head, as  the Dutch-trimmed or Bata-
 vian rhubarb, and  considered by him as  probably Bucharian or Russian
 rhubarb  of inferior quality, sent by the way of Canton.   A sufficient proof,
 we think, that this is not the case, is the presence in most pieces of the small
 penetrating hole, occasionally filled with remains  of the cord, and in some
 pieces almost shaved away in the paring process.   We have never seen such
 a hole in any piece  of true Russian  rhubarb, which  does not appear to be
 strung  up like the Chinese when dried.


                      2. Russia?i Rhubarb.

  Turkey Rhubarb.  Bucharian Rhubarb.  Rheum Russicum  vel Tur-
 cicum. The rhubarb taken to Russia from Tartary undergoes a peculiar pre-
 paration, in conformity with the stipulations  of a contract with the Bucharian
merchants, who furnish the supply.  The  best is selected,  and  each piece
perforated in  order to ascertain whether it  is  sound in  the  centre.   From
Si-nin it  is conveyed by the Bucharian merchants to the frontier town of
Kiachta,  where it undergoes a rigid inspection by an apothecary stationed
at that  place by the Russian  government.  All those pieces which do not
pass examination are committed to the flames; and the remainder is sent to
 St.  Petersburg.  This variety is  sometimes called Turkey rhubarb, from
the circumstance that it was formerly derived  from the Turkish ports, whither
it is said  to have been brought from Tartary by caravans through Persia
and Natolia.  The circumstance of the identity of the Russian and Turkey 
PART I.
Rheum.
593
 rhubarb, and their decided difference from the Chinese, would  appear to
 indicate a distinct origin for the two  varieties.
   The  pieces of Russian rhubarb are irregular, and somewhat angular, ap-
 pearing as if the bark had been shaved  off longitudinally  by successive
 strokes of a knife, and a portion of the  interior substance removed with each
 shaving.  They have a cleaner and  fresher appearance  than  the Chinese,
 and their colour both internally and externally, though of the same general
 character, is  somewhat more  lively.   They are less compact and heavy;
 and are cut with less facility, owing  to their giving away before the knife.
 Another distinction is the character of  the perforations, which in the Rus-
 sian rhubarb are large, frequently reaching only to the centre, and evidently
 made for the purpose of inspection;  while in the Chinese they are small,
 penetrate completely through the pieces, and were  intended for the passage
 of  a suspending cord.   The taste and smell of the  former closely resemble
 those of the latter, except that the Russian is rather more aromatic.   There
 is the same crackling under the teeth, and the  same yellow stain imparted
 to the saliva; but the colour of the powder in this variety is a bright yellow,
 without the  brownish tinge exhibited by the Chinese.  When thin  slices,
 previously boiled in water are examined  by the microscope, they exhibit
 numerous clusters  of minute crystals of  oxalate  of lime.   Mr. Quekett
 found between 35 and 40 grains of them  in 100 grains of the root.   They
 are observed both in the Russian and Chinese rhubarb.
   The  care which renders the Russian rhubarb so  free  from  defects, tends
 greatly to enhance its price, and consequently to limit its consumption.  Its
 great comparative value in the market has led to frequent  attempts  at
 adulteration;  and the pieces of Chinese rhubarb are sometimes cut down
 and prepared so as to resemble the Russian.  The fraud, however, may
 be  detected  by  adverting to  the  peculiarities in  texture, colour, and
 weight, by which the varieties are distinguished, and to the occasional pre-
 sence of the small penetrating hole or vestiges of it.  We have seen a spe-
 cimen in which the hole was enlarged at its two extremities, and closed by
 powder in the middle,  with the view  of imitating the larger perforations of
 the Russian  pieces.   Sometimes the  worm-eaten pieces are made to  re-
 semble  the  sound,  by filling up  the holes with a mixture  of pulverized
 rhubarb and mucilage,  and covering over the surface with the  powder. By
 removing this the fraud is at once revealed.


                      3.  European Rhubarb.

   In various  parts of  Europe, particularly in  England, France, Belgium,
 and Germany,  the rhubarb plants have been  cultivated for   many years;
 and considerable quantities  of the root are annually brought into the mar-
 ket.  It is imported into this country from England and France.
  English Rhubarb.  This comes in two forms.   In one, the root is cut
 and perforated in imitation of the Russian.   The pieces are of various
 shape and size, sometimes cylindrical,  but more commonly flat, or some-
 what lenticular, and of considerable dimensions.  In  the other, the pieces are
 somewhat cylindrical, five or six inches long by an inch or less  in thickness,
 and more or less irregular upon the surface, as if they had shrunk un-
 equally  in drying.  This is called stick rhubarb in England, and is the kind
we  have most frequently met with in our shops. English rhubarb is lighter
than the Asiatic, more spongy, and often somewhat pasty under the pestle.
It is of  a redder  colour, and  when broken exhibits a more  compact and
                                 51* 
594
Rheum.
PART I.
regular marbling; the pinkish lines being arranged in a radiated manner from
the centre towards the circumference.   The powder also has a deeper red-
dish tint.   The odour is feeble and  less aromatic than that of the Asiatic-
varieties;  the taste is astringent and mucilaginous  with little  bitterness; and
the root,  when chewed, scarcely feels gritty between the  teeth, and but
slightly colours the saliva.  Few crystals of  oxalate of lime are discover-
able by means  of the microscope.  The roots of the different species are
not distinguishable  in commerce.
   French  Rhubarb.   Rhapontic  Rhubarb.   Krimea Rhubarb.  The
rhubarb produced in France is  at present, according to  Guibourt, chiefly
from the R. Rhaponticum, R. undulatum,  and R. compactum; that of the
R. palmatum,  which most closely resembles the Asiatic, having been found
to degenerate so much, as not to be a profitable object of culture.   Most of
the French rhubarb is produced in the neighbourhood of L'Orient, in the de-
partment  of Morbihan;  and the spot  where it  is grown  has,  from this
circumstance, received the name of Rheumpole.   Two kinds are described
by Guibourt, both under the name of Rhapontic root.  One proceeds from
the R. Rhaponticum, growing in the gardens in the environs of Paris; the
other, from this and  the two other  species above mentioned, cultivated at
Rheumpole.  The former is in pieces of the size  of the fist or smaller, lig-
neous in their appearance, of a reddish-gray colour on the outside,  internally
marbled with red and white arranged in the form of crowded rays proceed-
ing from the centre  to the circumference, of  an  odour like that of Asiatic
rhubarb, but more disagreeable, of a mucilaginous and very astringent taste,
not crackling under  the teeth, but tinging the  saliva yellow, and affording a
reddish-yellow powder.   The  pieces of the  latter are  irregularly cylindri-
cal, three or four  inches long and from one  to two or even three inches
thick, less ligneous in  appearance than the preceding, and externally of a
pale or brownish-yellow colour less inclining to redness.  In  exterior as-
pect, this  variety bears considerable resemblance to  Chinese rhubarb; but
may be distinguisaed by its more  disagreeable odour, its  astringent and
mucilaginous taste, its want of the crackling  under the teeth, and its radi-
ating fracture, in which properties it is similar to the preceding variety. Con-
siderable quantities of this drug  have been imported into the United States
from  France, under the name of Krimea  rhubarb;  and it is sometimes
employed, we  fear,  to adulterate the powder of the Chinese rhubarb.  It
appears to have displaced in France the Rhapontic root formerly imported
from  the  Euxine.   Whether from difference in species, or from  the influ-
ence of soil and climate, none of the European rhubarb  equals the Asiatic
in purgative power.*
   Choice  of Rhubarb.  In selecting good rhubarb, without reference to the
commercial variety, those pieces should be  preferred which  are moderately
heavy and  compact, of a lively colour, brittle,  presenting when broken
a fresh appearance, with  reddish and yellowish veins  intermingled with
white, of an odour decidedly aromatic, of a bitter and astringent not mucila-

  * Besides the  varieties  of rhubarb above described others  are noticed  by writers.
Pallas speaks of a white rhubarb, brought to Kiachta by the Bucharian merchants who
conveyed to that place the drug for Russian commerce. It was white as milk, of a sweet
taste, and equal to the best rhubarb in quality.  It is supposed to  be the product of the
R leucorrhizum.   The Himalaya rhubarb is produced by  the R. australe, and other spe-
cies mentioned in the text as growing in the Himalaya mountains.  According  to Dr.
Royle, it makes its way to the lower countries in Hindostan, wiere it sells for one-tenth
of the price of the best rhubarb.  Mr. Twining tried it in the Hospital at Calcutta, and
found it superior  as a tonic and astringent to Russia rhubarb, and nearly equal to it in
purgative power. 
PART I.
Rheum.
595
ginous taste, feeling gritty and staining the saliva yellow when chewed, and
affording a powder either bright yellow, or yellow with but a slight reddish-
brown tinge.   When very light, rhubarb  is usually rotten or worm-eaten;
when very heavy and compact, it  is of inferior species, culture, or prepa-
ration.  Rotten, worm-eaten, or otherwise inferior  rhubarb, is  often pow-
dered and coloured yellow  with turmeric;  and the shavings left, when Chi-
nese rhubarb is cut to imitate the Russian, are applied to the same purpose.
   Chemical Properties.   Rhubarb yields all its active properties to water
and  alcohol.   The infusion  is of a dark reddish-yellow colour, with the
taste and odour of rhubarb; and the  residue, after sufficient maceration, is
whitish, inodorous, and insipid.  By long boiling the  virtues of the medi-
cine are diminished, in consequence  probably  of the  evaporation of a
volatile ingredient in which they partly reside.  Many attempts have been
made  to analyze  this important root, with various results.  Among them,
are those of the two  Henrys and Caventou of Paris, Brande  of London,
Peretti of  Rome,  and Horneman and  Brandes of Germany.   The most
recent is that of Brandes, who  found in 100 parts of Chinese rhubarb, 2 of
pure rhabarbaric  acid, 7-5 of the same acid impure, 2-5 of gallic acid, 9*0
of tannin,  3-5 of colouring extractive, 11-0  of  uncrystallizable sugar with
tannin, 4-0 of starch, 14-4 of gummy extractive, 4-0 of pectic  acid, 1-1 of
malate and gallate of lime, 11*0 of oxalate  of  lime,  1*5  of  sulphate of
potassa and chloride of  potassium, 1*0 of silica,  0*5  of phosphate of lime
and oxide  of iron, 25*0  of lignin, and  2*0  of water.   Professor Dulk, of
Konigsberg, has shown that the rhabarbaric acid of Brandes is for the most
part formed during the process for its extraction; and believes that it results
from the reaction  of the atmospheric air, assisted by the reagents employed,
upon another principle, which  he succeeded in isolating and named rhein.
 That portion of the rhabarbaric acid which exists ready formed in rhubarb
may be extracted  by macerating the powdered root in ether, distilling  off
 most of the ether, and allowing the remainder  to evaporate spontaneously.
 Crystals are left, which  may be purified by repeated solution and crystalli-
 zation in alcohol.  The medical  properties of rhubarb, being themselves
 diversified, probably depend upon different  principles.   Approaches seem
 to have been frequently made towards the discovery of the  purgative prin-
 ciple, but  not with complete success, unless the rhein of Professor Dulk be
 allowed this rank.  The  caphopicrite, or yellow  colouring matter  of M.
 Henry, has been shown  to be a complex substance.  The same is the case
 with the different matters obtained  by various  chemists  and described  by
 the name  of rhabarbarin.  The rhabarbaric acid of Brandes, though re-
 garded by that chemist as the  active principle, can have little  claim  to be
 so considered; as it has  no remarkable taste, and six grains  of  it given to  a
 young man produced griping, but did  not  purge.  We may consider the
 rhein above  mentioned to be, as asserted, the  purgative  principle, until
 proved to  be otherwise.
   Rhein is  a reddish-yellow  substance, which  strongly attracts moisture
 from the air, and is, therefore, not easily obtained crystallized.  Its taste and
 odour are closely analogous to those of the root itself. It is soluble in water,
 alcohol, and ether, but most readily in diluted alcohol; and forms yellow or
 reddish-yellow solutions.  It reddens litmus;  when heated, melts and dif-
 fuses  vapours having the odour  of rhubarb; is  inflammable;  forms com-
 pounds with alkaline bases and especially with ammonia, having a blood-
 red tint; and, when treated with  nitric acid, yields  a yellow solution which
 is rendered turbid by water, and  deposits a yellow powder.  It was obtained
 bv Professor Dulk in the following manner.  The root was macerated with 
596
Rheum.
PART I.
solution of ammonia, and to the red mucilaginous  liquor which resulted,
carbonate of baryta was added.   When the red colour of the liquor ceased
to be changed to green by a salt  of iron, the baryta was  separated from its
combination with  the  rhein by sulphuric or fluosilicic acid, added until the
liquor exhibited an acid reaction.   The  whole mixture was then evapora-
ted,  and  the  residue treated with  alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-802,  saturated
with ammonia.   'J'he  solution,  which was  of a blood-red  colour, was fil-
tered and evaporated nearly to  dryness, when solution of ammonia was
again added,  and the liquid again filtered, in  order to  separate  a  yellow
powder,  which  was the  rhabarbaric  acid of  Brandes.   The red  filtered
liquor was precipitated by subacetate of lead;  the  precipitate  was washed
with  small quantities of water,  mixed with  a  little ammonia, and  having
been dried, was treated with alcohol of  0-820, and decomposed by a cur-
rent  of sulphuretted hydrogen.   The solution, which  was  very yellow,
being filtered and evaporated, yielded  the rhein in the form  of a reddish-
yellow mass, mingled with  some prismatic crystals, which, by the absorp-
tion  of moisture, soon lost their form.  (Journ. de Pharm.  xxv.  261, from
Arch, der Pharm. des Apothek. Vereins in Nord-Deutschland, bd. xvii.)
   There are other interesting principles in rhubarb.  Some have been dis-
posed to  ascribe its odour to a  volatile oil;  but this has  not  been isolated;
and the odour probably resides in the rhein, which is volatilizable. Tannin
is an important constituent.  It is of that  variety which precipitates  the
sesquisalts of  iron of a greenish colour.   Whether there is a bitter  princi-
ple distinct from the purgative has not been positively  determined.  The
oxalate of lime is  interesting from its quantity, and from the  circumstance
that, existing in distinct crystals, it occasions the grittiness  of the rhubarb
between the teeth.  The proportion seems to vary  exceedingly in different
specimens.   According to Scheele  and  Henry, it constituted nearly one-
third, and Quekett found, as already stated, between 35 and 40 per cent.;
while Brandes obtained only 11,  and Schrader only 4-5 parts in the hundred.
Little or no difference of composition has been  found between the Russian
and Chinese rhubarb.  The European contains but a small proportion of
the oxalate of lime, and is therefore less  gritty  when chewed.  It contains,
however,  more tannin and starch than the Asiatic varieties.
   When powdered rhubarb is heated, odorous yellow fumes rise, which are
probably in part the vapour of rhein.   Its infusion is reddened by the alka-
lies,  in consequence of their union with rhein and  rhabarbaric acid.   It
yields precipitates with gelatin, the sesquisalts of iron, acetate of lead,  nitrate
of protoxide  of mercury, nitrate of silver, protochloride of tin, lime-water,
solutions of quinia, and gelatin.  It is probable  that nitric acid, which occa-
sions at first a turbidness, and afterwards the deposition of a yellow preci- '
pitate, acts by oxidizing the rhein, and  thus converting it into rhabarbaric
acid,  which is but very slightly soluble in water. The substances producing
precipitates may be considered as incompatible.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The medical properties of rhubarb are
peculiar and valuable.  Its most remarkable singularity is the union of a
cathartic  with an astringent power; the latter of which, however, does not
interfere with  the former, as the  purgative effect precedes the astringent.  It
is also tonic and stomachic; invigorating, in small doses, the powers of diges-
tion.   It is  not probable that these properties reside in a single proximate
principle; and, as rhubarb owes its chief value to their combination, it is not
to be expected that chemical analysis will be productive of the same  practi-
cal advantages in this,  as in some other medicines, the virtues of which are 
PART I.
Rheum.
597
concentrated in one ingredient.   In its purgative operation rhubarb is mode-
rate, producing- fecal rather than watery discharges, and appearing to affect
the muscular fibre more than the secretory vessels.  It sometimes occasions
griping pains in the bowels.  Its colouring principle is absorbed, and may
be detected in the urine.  By its long continued use, the perspiration, espe-
cially that of the axilla, is said to become yellow, and the milk of nurses
to acquire a purgative property.
   The  circumstances of disease to which it is  applicable may be inferred
from its peculiar properties. When the stomach is enfeebled and the bowels
relaxed, at the  same time that a gentle cathartic is required, rhubarb, as a
general rule, is preferable to all others. Hence its use in dyspepsia attended
with constipation, in diarrhoea when purging is indicated, in the secondary
stages of cholera infantum, in chronic dysentery, and  in almost all typhoid
diseases when fecal matter has accumulated  in the intestines, or the use of
cathartic medicine is necessary to prevent such accumulation.  When em-
ployed in cases of habitual constipation, its  astringent tendency should  be
counteracted by combining it with soap.   Magnesia is also an  excellent
associate in disorders of the stomach and bowels.   By combination with
other cathartics, rhubarb frequently acquires additional activity, while it gives
increased efficiency to the substance with which it is associated. A mixture
of calomel and rhubarb is a brisk and powerful cathartic, much used in  the
commencement of our bilious  fevers.  As  a general rule, rhubarb is not
applicable  to  cases attended with  much inflammatory action.  Its  griping
effect may be counteracted by combining it with aromatics.
   The  dose of rhubarb as a purgative is from twenty to thirty grains, as a
laxative and stomachic from five to ten grains.   European rhubarb must be
given in double or treble the dose to produce an equal effect. Few medicines
are used in a greater variety of forms.   It is most effectual in substance. It
is frequently given in the shape of pill, combined with an equal proportion
of soap, when its laxative effect is desired.  The infusion is much  used in
cases of delicate stomach, and is peculiarly adapted to children.  The syrup
and tincture are also highly useful  preparations.   They are all officinal.
   By the roasting of rhubarb its purgative property is diminished, probably
by tbe volatilization of the rhein, while its astringency remains unaffected.
This mode of treatment has, therefore, been sometimes resorted to in cases
of diarrhoea.  By long boiling the same  effect is said  to be produced.
   Powdered rhubarb  has  been usefully applied to indolent and sloughing
ulcers.   It is  said to have proved  purgative when sprinkled over a large
ulcerated surface; and the same effect is asserted to have been produced  by
rubbing it, mingled with saliva, over the abdomen.
   Off. Prep.  Extractum Rhei, Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Infusum Rhei, U.  S.,
Lond.,  Ed., Dub.; Pilulae  Rhei, U. S., Ed.;  Pil.  Rhei Comp.,  U.  S.,
Lond.,  Ed.;  Pulvis Rhei Comp., Ed.; Syrupus  Rhei, U. S.;  Syrupus
Rhei Aromaticus, U. S.;  Tinctura Rhei, U. S., Ed.; Tinctura Rhei Comp.,
Lond.,  Dub.; Tinctura Rhei et Aloe's, U. S., Ed.; Tinctura Rhei et Gen-
tianae,  U. S.,  Ed.; Tinctura Rhei et Sennae, U. S.; Vinum Rhei, U.  S.,
Ed.                                                             W. 
593
Rhozas.—Rhus  Glabrum.
PART I.
                      RHCEAS.  Lond., Ed.

                            Red Poppy.

  " Papaver Rhoeas. Petala."  Lond.  " Petals of Papaver Rhoeas." Ed.
  Off. Syn.  PAPAVER  RHCEAS. Petala. Dub.
  Coquelicot, Fr.; Wilder Mohn, Klapperrose, Germ.; Rosolaccio, Ital; Amapola, Span.
  Papaver.  See OPIUM.
  Papaver Rhoeas. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1146; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 387.
t. 139.  The red or corn poppy is distinguished by its hairy stem, which is
branched and rises about a foot in height, by its  incised pinnatifid leaves, by
its urn-shaped  capsule, and by the full, bright, scarlet colour of its petals.
It is a native  of Europe, where it grows wild in great abundance,  adorning
especially the fields of grain with its brilliant flower.  It has been introduced
and naturalized in this country.
  Its capsules  contain the same kind of milky juice as that found in the P.
somniferum, and an extract has  been prepared from them having the pro-
perties of  opium; but  the  quantity is  too  small to repay the trouble of its
preparation.   The petals are the officinal  portion.   They have a narcotic
smell, and a mucilaginous, slightly bitter taste.  By drying, they lose
their odour,  and assume a violet-red colour.   Chevallier detected a very
minute proportion of  morphia in an  extract obtained from them (Diet, des
 Drogues); but their operation on the system  is exceedingly feeble, and
 they are valued  more for their beautiful scarlet colour, which they commu-
 nicate to water,  than  for their medical virtues.   A syrup is prepared from
 them, which was formerly prescribed as an anodyne in catarrhal affections;
 but is now little  esteemed, except for its fine colour.
    Off. Prep.  Syrupus Rhoeados, Lond.,  Ed., Dub.             W.

             RHUS GLABRUM. U.S. Secondary.

                               Sumach.

    " The fruit of Rhus glabrum.  Baccae. The berries."  U.S.
    Rhus.  Sex.  Syst.  Pentandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Anacardiaceae.
    Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Petals'five. Berry small, with one nuciform
 seed. Nuttall.
    Of this genus there  are  several species which possess poisonous proper-
 ties, and should  be carefully distinguished  from that here described.  For
 an account of  them the reader  is  referred to the article Toxicodendron.
   Rhus glabrum. Willd.  *S>. Plant, i. 1478.   This species of Rhus, called
 variously smooth sumach,  Pennsylvania sumach, and  upland sumach, is
 an indigenous  shrub from four to twelve feet high, with a stem usually more
or less bent, and divided into  straggling branches,  covered  with a smooth
light gray  or somewhat reddish bark.  The leaves are upon smooth petioles,
and consist of many pairs of opposite leaflets, with an odd one at the ex-
tremity, all of which  are lanceolate, acuminate, acutely serrate, glabrous,
green on their upper  surface, and whitish beneath.  In the autumn their
colour changes to a beautiful red.   The flowers are greenish-red,  and dis-
posed in large, erect, terminal,  compound thyrses, which are succeeded by
clusters of small crimson berries covered with a silky down.
  The shrub is found in almost all  parts of the United States,  growing in
old neo-lected  fields, along fences, and on the borders of woods. The flowers 
part i.           Rhus Glabrum.—Rosa Canina.              599

appear in July, and the fruit ripens in the early part of autumn.  The bark
and leaves are astringent, and said to be used in tanning leather and in dve-
ing.  Excrescencies are produced under the leaves resembling galls in cha-
racter, and containing large quantities of tannin and gallic acid.  These have
been used as a substitute for the imported galls by Dr. Walters of New York,
who thought them, in every respect, preferable.  They may be collected at
little expense, as  they are  produced very abundantly, especially in the
Western States.  (A. W. Ives'  edition of Paris's Pharmacologia.)   But
the only officinal part of the plant is the berries.
   These have a sour, astringent, not unpleasant taste, and  are often eaten
by the country people  with impunity.  According to Mr. Cozzens of New
York, the acid to which they owe their sourness is the malic, and is con-
tained in the pubescence which covers  their surface; as, when it is washed
away by warm water,  the berries are wholly free from acidity.  Professor
W. B. Rogers of Virginia found the acid combined with lime, in the state of
bimalate.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.   Sumach berries are astringent and refri-
gerant;  and their infusion  has  been recommended  as  a cooling  drink in
febrile complaints, and a pleasant gargle in inflammation and ulceration of
the throat.   By  Dr. Fahnestock an infusion of the  inner bark of the root,
employed as a gargle,  is considered almost as a specific in  the sore mouth
 attending inordinate  mercurial  salivation.  (Am. Journ. of  Med. Sciences,
v. 61.)                                                          W.

                    ROSA  CANINA.  Lond.

                              Doo Rose.
                                 o
   " Rosa canina. Fructus pulpa."  Lond.
   Off  Syn.   ROSiE  FRUCTUS.  Hip  of  Rosa  canina  and  of several
 allied  species deprived of  the carpels.   Hips. Ed.;  ROSA CANINA.
 Fructus. Dub.
   Rose sauvage, Fr ; Hundsrose, Germ.
   Rosa. See ROSA CENTIFOLIA.
   Rosa canina.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1077; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 493. t.
 177.   The dog rose, wild briar, or heptree,  is a native of Europe, distin-
 guished as a species by its glabrous ovate germs, its smooth peduncles, its
 prickly stem  and petioles, and its ovate, smooth, rigid leaves.  It rises eight
 or ten  feet in height, and bears white or  pale red flowers, having usually
 five obcordate fragrant petals.  The plant has been introduced  into this
 country, but is not much cultivated.
   The  fruit  is  fleshy, smooth, oval, red, and  of a pleasant, sweet, acidu-
 lous taste; and contains sugar,  and uncombined citric and malic acids.
   The  pulp, separated from the seeds and the silky bristles in which  they
 are embedded,  is employed in Europe for the  preparation  of a confection
 intended chiefly as an agreeable vehicle for other medicines.
    Off. Prep. Confectio Rosae  Caninae, Lond., Ed.                W. 
600              Rosa Centifolia.—Rosa  Gallica.          part i.
       ROSA CENTIFOLIA. U.S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.

                      Hundred-leaved Roses.

  "The petals of Rosa centifolia."  U.S., Ed.  " Rosa centifolia. Petala."
Lond., Dub.
  Roses a cent feuillcs, Fr.; Hundertblatterige Rose, Germ.; Rosa pallida, Ital; Rosa
de Alexandria, Span.
  Rosa.  Sex. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosaceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Petals five.  Calyx urceolate, five-cleft, fleshy, contracted  at
the  neck.  Seeds numerous, hispid, attached to the  inner side of the calyx.
Willd.
  Rosa  centifolia.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 1071;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 495.
t. 178.  This species of rose has prickly stems, which  usually rise from
three  to six  feet in height.  The leaves consist of two  or three pairs  of
leaflets,  with an odd  one at the  end, closely attached to the common foot-
stalk,  which is  rough, but without spines.  The leaflets are ovate, broad,
serrate, pointed, and  hairy on the under surface.  The flowers are large,
with many petals, usually of a pale red  colour, and supported upon pedun-
cles beset with short bristly hairs.   The  germ is  ovate, and the segments
of the calyx semi-pinnate.  The varieties  of the R.  centifolia are very
numerous, but may be indiscriminately employed.  The plant is now culti-
vated  in gardens all over the world;  but its original country is not certainly
known.   It has sometimes been mistaken for  the damask rose, which is a
distinct species.
  The petals are the officinal portion.  They are extremely fragrant, and
have a sweetish, slightly acidulous, somewhat bitterish taste.  Their odour
is said to be increased by iodine.  It depends on a volatile oil, which may
be separated by distillation with water.  (See Oleum Rosas.)  They should
be collected  when the flower is  fully expanded, but  has not begun to fall.
Their fragrance is impaired but not lost by  drying.  They may be pre-
served fresh, for a considerable time, by compressing  them with alternate
layers of common  salt in a well closed  vessel, or beating them  with  twice
their weight of that substance.
  The petals are slightly laxative, and  are sometimes  administered in the
form of  syrup combined with cathartic medicines;  but  their chief use is in
the  preparation of rose-water. (See Aqua Rosae.)
  Off. Prep. Aqua Rosae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Syrupus Rosae, Lond.,
Ed., Dub.;  Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, U. S.              W.


         ROSA  GALLICA.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                            Red Roses.

  "The petals of Rosa Gallica."   U. S., Ed.  "Rosa  gallica. Petala."
Lond., Dub.
  Roses rouges, Fr.; Franzosiche Rose, Essig-rosen, Germ.; Rosa domestica, Ital; Rosa
rubra o Castillara, Span.
  Rosa.  See ROSA CENTIFOLIA.
  Rosa  Gallica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1071; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 498. t.
179.  This species is smaller than the R. centifolia, but resembles it in the
character of its foliage.  The stem is beset with short bristly prickles.  The
flowers  are  very large, with  obcordate widely spreading  petals, which are 
part i.             Rosa Gallica.—Rosmarinus.               601
  of a rich crimson colour, and less numerous than in the preceding species.
  In the centre is a crowd of yellow anthers on  thread like filaments, and as
  many villose styles bearing papillary stigmas.  The fruit is oval, shining,
  and of a firm consistence.  The red rose is a native of the South of Europe,
  and is cultivated in gardens throughout the United States.
    The petals, which are the part employed, should be gathered before the
  flower has blown, separated from their claws, dried in a warm sun or by the
  fire, and kept in a dry place.   Their odour,  which is less fragrant than that
  of the R. centifolia, is improved by drying.   They have a velvety appear-
  ance, a purplish-red colour, and a pleasantly astringent  and bitterish taste.
  Their constituents, according to M. Cartier,  are tannin, gallic acid, colour-
  ing matter, a volatile oil, a fixed oil, albumen, soluble salts of potassa, inso-
  luble salts of lime, silica,  and oxide of iron.  (Journ. de Pharm. vii. 531.)
  Their sensible properties and medical virtues  are extracted by boiling water.
  Their infusion is  of a pale reddish colour, which becomes bright red on the
  addition of sulphuric acid.  As their colour is impaired by exposure  to light
  and air, they should be kept in opaque well-closed bottles or canisters.
    Medical Properties  and Uses.   Red roses  are slightly astringent  and
  tonic, and were formerly thought to possess peculiar virtues.   They are at
  present  chiefly employed  in infusion, as an elegant vehicle  for tonic  and
  astringent medicines.
    Off. Prep.  Confectio Rosae, U. S.r Lond.,  Ed., Dub.; Infusum Rosae
  Compositum, U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Mel  Rosas, U. S., Lond., Ed.,
  Dub.; Syrupus Rosae Gallicae, Ed.                                W.


               ROSMARINUS.   U. S., Lond., Ed.

                             Rosemary.

   " The tops of Rosmarinus officinalis." U. S., Ed.  " Rosmarinus offici-
 nalis.  Cacumina."  Lond.
   Off. Syn.  ROSMARINUS  OFFICINALIS. Cacumina. Dub.
   Romann, Fr.; Rosmarin, Germ.; Rosmarino, Ital; Romero, Span.
   Rosmarinus.  Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or
 Labiatae.
   Gen. Ch.  Corolla unequal, with the upper lip  two-parted.   Filaments
 long, curved, simple, with  a tooth. Willd.
   Rosmarinus officinalis.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 126; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
 329. t. 117.  Rosemary  is an evergreen shrub, three or four feet high, with
 an erect stem, divided into many long, slender, ash-coloured branches. The
 leaves are numerous, sessile, opposite,  more than an inch long, about one-
 sixth of an inch broad, linear, entire, obtuse at the summit, turned backward
 at the edges, of a firm consistence, smooth and green on  the upper surface,
 whitish and somewhat downy beneath.  The flowers are pale blue or white,
 of  considerable  size, and  placed in opposite groups at the  axils  of the
 leaves, towards the ends of the branches.   The seeds are four in number,
 of an oblong shape, and naked in the bottom of  the calyx.
  The plant grows  spontaneously in the countries which  border on the
 Mediterranean, and is cultivated in the gardens of Europe and this country.
 The flowering summits are the officinal portion.
  These have a strong balsamic odour,  which is  possessed, though in a less
degree, by all parts of the  plant.  Their taste  is  bitter  and camphorous.
These properties are imparted partially  to water, completely to alcohol, and
depend on a volatile oil which may be obtained by distillation.  (See Oleum
       52 
602
Rosmarinus.—Rubia.
PART I.
Rosmarini.)  The tops lose a portion of their sensible properties by dry-
ing, and become inodorous by age.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.   Rosemary is gently stimulant, and has
been considered emmenagogue.  In the practice of this country it is scarcely
used; but in Europe, especially on the continent, it enters  into the compo-
sition of several syrups, tinctures, &c, to which it  imparts its  agreeable
odour and excitant property. It is sometimes added to sternutatory powders,
and is used externally in connexion with other aromatics in the form of
fomentation.   In some  countries it is employed as  a  condiment; and its
flowers, which are much sought after by the bees,  impart their peculiar
flavour to  the honey of the districts in which the plant abounds.
   Off. Prep.  Oleum Rosmarini, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Spiritus Ros-
marini, Ed., Dub.                                               W.

                   RUBIA.  U.S. Secondary.

                              Madder.

   " The root of Rubia tinctorum." U. S.
   Off. Syn. RUBIA TINCTORUM. Radix.  Dub.
   fiiirance, Fr.; Krappwurzel, Germ.; Robbiii, Ital; Rubia de tintoreros, Granza, Span.
   Rubia.  Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Rubiaceae. Juss.
   Gen.  Ch.  Corolla one-petaled, bell-shaped.  Berries two, one-seeded.
Willd.
   Rubia tinctorum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 603; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 173.
t. 67.  The root of the dyers' madder is  perennial, and consists of nume-
rous long, succulent fibres, varying in thickness from  the size of  a quill to
that of the little finger,  and uniting at top in a common head, from which
also proceed side-roots that run near the surface of the ground, and send up
many annual stems.  These are slender, quadrangular, jointed, procumbent,
and furnished with short prickles by which they adhere to the neighbouring
plants upon which they  climb.   The  leaves are elliptical, pointed, rough,
firm, about three inches long and nearly one inch broad, having rough points
on their edges and midrib, and standing at the joints  of the stem in whorls
of four, five, or six together.   The branches rise in pairs from  the same
joints, and bear small yellow flowers at the summit of each of their subdi-
visions.   The fruit is a  round, shining, black berry.
   The plant is a native of the South of Europe, and is cultivated in France
and Holland.  It is from the latter country that commerce derives its  chief
supply.  The root, which is the part used, is dug up in the third summer,
and, having been deprived of its cuticle, is dried by artificial heat, and then
reduced to a coarse powder.  In this state it is packed in barrels, and sent
into the market.
   The root consists of a reddish-brown bark, and a ligneous portion within.
The latter is yellow in the recent state, but becomes red when dried.  The
powder, as kept in  the shops, is reddish-brown.
   Madder has a weak peculiar odour, and  a bitterish astringent taste; and
imparts these properties, as  well as  a red  colour, to  water and alcohol.
It contains, according'to M. Runge, five  distinct colouring substances;  a
red, a purple, an orange, a yellow, and  a brown.   According  to M. De-
caisne, only yellow colouring matter  is found in the  recent root;  and it is
under the  influence of atmospheric air that this changes to red.  The most
interesting of the  colouring  substances  is  the alizarin of Robiquet and
Collin.  This is of an orange-red colour,  inodorous, insipid, crystallizable, 
 part i.    Rubia.—Rubus Trivialis.—Rubus Villosus.       603

 capable of being sublimed without change,  scarcely soluble in cold water,
 soluble in boiling water,  and very readily so in alcohol, ether, the fixed
 oils,  and liquid  alkalies.  The alcoholic and watery solutions are rose-
 coloured; the ethereal, golden-yellow; the alkaline, violet  and blue when
 concentrated, but violet-red when sufficiently diluted.  A beautiful rose-
 coloured lake is produced by precipitating a mixture of the  solutions  of
 alizarin and alum.  Madder also contains sugar;  and Dobereiner succeeded
 in obtaining alcohol from it by fermentation  and  distillation, without affect-
 ing its colouring properties.   It is much used by the dyers.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Madder was formerly thought to be em-
 menagogue and diuretic; and  was used in amenorrhoea, dropsy, jaundice,
 and visceral obstructions.  It is still occasionally prescribed in suppressed
 menstruation; but physicians generally have no confidence in its efficacy in
 this or any other complaint. When taken into the stomach it imparts a red
 colour to the milk and urine, and to the bones of animals, without sensibly
 affecting any other tissue.   The effect is observable most quickly  in the
 bones of young animals, and in those nearest the heart. Under the impres-
 sion that it might effect some change in the osseous system, it has been pre-
 scribed in  rachitis, but without any favourable result.  The dose is about
 half a drachm, repeated three or four times a day.                  W.


           RUBUS  TRIVIALIS.  U.S. Secondary.

                           Dewberry-root.

   " The root of  Rubus trivialis."  U. S.

            RUBUS VILLOSUS.  U.S.  Secondary.

                          Blackberry-root.

  " The root of Rubus villosus."  U. S.
  Rubus. Sex. Syst.  Icosandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosacea?.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-cleft.  Petals five.  Berry  compound, with one-
 seeded acini.  Willd.
  Of this extensive genus not less than twenty species are indigenous in
 the United  States, where they are called by the various names of raspberry,
 blackberry, dewberry, cloudberry, 8pc.   Most of them are shrubby or  suf-
 fruticose briers, with astringent roots and edible berries; some have annual
 stems without prickles.  The only officinal species are the R. trivialis  and
 R. villosus, which, so  far as relates  to  their medical properties, are so
 closely alike as not to require a separate description.
  1. Rubus trivialis.   Michaux, Flor. Americ. i. 296.  The dewberry,
 sometimes also called low blackberry, or creeping blackberry, has a slen-
 der, prickly stem, which runs along the ground, and occasionally puts forth
 roots.  The leaves are  petiolate, and  composed  of three or five  leaflets,
 which are oblong oval, acute, unequally serrate, and somewhat pubescent.'
 The  stipules  are  awl-shaped.   The flowers are  large, white, and nearly
solitary, with elongated  pedicels, and peduncles which, like the leafstalks,
are armed with recurved, hispid prickles. The petals are generally obovate,
and three times longer than the calyx.   In one variety they are orbicular.
The  plant grows abundantly in old fields and neglected grounds in  the
Middle and Southern  States.   Its  fruit is large,  black, of a very pleasant
flavour, and ripens somewhat earlier than that of the R. villosus.  Accord- 
604
Rubus Trivialis.—Rubus Villosus.
PART I.
 ing to Torrey and Gray, the dewberry of the Northern States is the Rubus
 Canadensis of Linn., or R. trivialis of Pursh.  (Flor. of N. Am. i. 455.)
   2. R. villosus.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1085; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii.
 160; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 151.  The  stem of the blackberry is somewhat
 shrubby, from  three to  seven  feet high, branching, more  or less furrowed
 and angular, and armed with strong prickles.  The smaller branches  and
 young shoots are herbaceous.  The leaves are ternate or quinate; the leaflets
 ovate, acuminate,  unequally and sharply serrate, and pubescent  on both
 sides; the footstalk and  midrib usually  armed with short recurved prickles.
 The flowers are large,  white, and in erect  racemes, with a hairy, prickly
 stalk.   The calyx  is short, with  acuminate segments.   The fruit is first
 green, ihen red, and when  perfectly ripe,  of a  shining black  colour,  and
 very pleasant taste.  It is a compound berry, consisting of numerous pulpy
 one-seeded globules or  acini attached  to the receptacle.   This  species of
 Rubus is, perhaps, the  most  abundant of those indigenous in  the United
 States, growing in neglected  fields, along fences, on the borders of woods,
 in forest glades, and wherever tillage or too  much shade and moisture does
 not interfere with it.  Its flowers appear from May to July, and its fruit is
 ripe in August.
   The berries of both these species of  Rubus are much used as  food; and a
jelly made from them is in great esteem as an article of diet, and even as a
 remedy in dysenteric affections.  The roots only are officinal.
   The  blackberry root is  branching,  cylindrical, of various dimensions,
 from nearly an  inch in thickness down to the size of a straw, ligneous, and
 covered with a thin bark, which is externally of a light brownish or reddish-
 brown colour, and in the dried root is wrinkled longitudinally.   The dew-
 berry root is usually smaller, without  the  longitudinal wrinkles, but with
 transverse fissures through the epidermis, and of a dark ash colour, without
 any reddish tinge.   Both  are inodorous.   The bark in both has a bitterish
 strongly astringent taste, and the ligneous portion is nearly insipid, and com-
 paratively inert.  The smaller roots, therefore, should be  selected for use;
 or, if the thicker pieces  are employed, the cortical part should be separated,
 and  the wood rejected.  Their virtues  are  extracted by boiling water, and
 by diluted alcohol, and depend chiefly,  if not  exclusively, upon tannin,
 which experiment has proved to be an abundant constituent.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Dewberry and blackberry roots are tonic
and strongly astringent.  They have long been a favourite domestic remedy
in bowel affections; and  from popular favour have passed into regular medi-
cal use.  Given in  the form of decoction,  they are usually acceptable to the
stomach, without being  offensive to the taste; and may be  employed with
great advantage in cases  of diarrhoea from relaxation of the  bowels, whether
in children or adults. We can add our own decided testimony to that  of
others who have spoken  favourably of their use in this complaint; and there
is  no doubt that they are applicable to all other cases in which the vegetable
astringents are found serviceable.  The decoction may be prepared by boil-
ing an ounce of the smaller roots, or of the bark of the larger, in a pint and
a half of water down to a pint; of which from one to two  fluidounces may
be given  to an adult three  or four times, or more frequently,  during  the
twenty-four hours.   The dose of the  powdered  root is  twenty or thirty
grains.                                                          W. 
parti.     Rumex.—Rumex Aquaticus.—R. Britannica.     605
                         RUMEX.  Lond.

                              Sorrel.

  " Rumex acetosa. Folia." Lond.
  Off. Syn.  RUMEX ACETOSA.  Folia. Dub.
  Oseille des jardins, Fr.; S:iuernmpfer, Germ ; Acetosa, Ital; Azedera, Span.
  Rumex. See RUMEX AQUATIC US.
  Several species of Rumex have acid leaves, and are distinguished by the
common name of sorrel from the others which are called dock.  Two only
deserve particular notice, the R. Acetosa, or common English sorrel, which
is sometimes cultivated in our gardens, and the R. Acetosella, or  common
sorrel of our fields.
  Rumex Acetosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 260; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 660.
t. 230.  This  is a perennial herbaceous plant, with a striated leafy stem,
branching at top, and rising one  or two feet in height.   The radical leaves
are narrow, oblong, arrow-shaped, and  supported on long footstalks; those
attached to the stem are alternate, pointed and  clasping.  The flowers are
dioecious,  in terminal panicles, and partly tinged of a red colour.
  R. Acetosella.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 260; Eng. Bot. 1574.  The com-
mon field sorrel  is also an herbaceous perennial, with a stem from four to
twelve inches high, and lanceolate-hastate  leaves, having the lobes spread-
ing or recurved.  The male and female flowers are on separate plants. The
valves are without grains.  The flowers  appear in May, June, and July.
Though abundant in the  light sandy  or gravelly soils of this country, it is
supposed by some botanists to have been introduced from Europe.
  Sorrel  leaves are  agreeably sour,  and without odour. Their acidity is
dependent on the presence of binoxalate of potassa, with a small proportion
of tartaric acid.   Starch and mucilage are also among their constituents.
Their taste is almost entirely destroyed by drying.
  They are refrigerant and diuretic, and may be used with great advantage,
as an article  of diet, in scorbutic complaints. They are prepared in the form
of salad, or boiled like spinage.  The juice of the fresh leaves forms with
water a pleasant  acidulous drink, sometimes given in fevers.         W.

            RUMEX  AQUATICUS. Radix.  Dub.

                        Water Dock Root.

         RUMEX BRITANNICA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                           Water Dock.

  " The root of  Rumex Britannica." U. S.

       RUMEX  OBTUSIFOLIUS.  U.S.  Secondary.

                       Blunt-leaved Dock.

  " The root of Rumex obtusifolius." U. S.
  Rumex. Sex. Syst.  Hexandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Polygonaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Petals three, converging. Seed one, three-
sided.  Willd.  Calyx six-parted, persistent,  the  three  interior divisions
                                52* 
606
Rumex Aquaticus.—R.  Brilannica.
PART I.
petaloid, connivent.   Seed one, three-sided, superior, naked.   Stigmata
multifid. Nuttall.
   We have placed together the three officinal species of dock, because their
virtues are so nearly alike that a separate consideration would lead to unne-
cessary repetition.   The roots of several other species have been medici-
nally employed.   Those of the  R. Putientia, and R. alpinus,  European
plants, and of the R. crispus, R. acutus, and R. sanguineus, which belong
both to Europe and the United States, may be  used indiscriminately with
those which are considered officinal.  Several  species of  Rumex have acid
leaves, which are sometimes  used in medicine.  Such are the R. Acetosa,
R.  Acetosella,  and R. scutatus.   These  are more  particularly noticed
under the head of Rumex.
  The docks are herbaceous plants with perennial roots.   Their flowers
are in terminal or axillary panicles.  Some of the species  are  dioecious;
but all those here described have perfect flowers.
  1. Rumex aquaticus.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 255; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
658. t. 229. The water dock has a  large thick root, externally black, inter-
nally whitish, with an erect stem from three to five feet high, furnished with
smooth, lanceolate, pointed leaves, of which the lower are  cordate at their
base.  The three  petals,  or  as  some botanists consider them, the three
interior divisions of the calyx, approach each other so as  to assume a trian-
gular shape, and in this  state are called valves.  These are large, ovate,
entire, and are each furnished with  a small, linear, often obscure grain,  ex-
tending down the middle.  The plant  is a native of Europe, but naturalized
in America. It grows in this country in small ponds and ditches, and flowers
in July and August. It is thought to be the Herba Britannica of the ancients,
celebrated for the cure of scurvy and diseases of the skin.
  2. R.  Britannica.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 250.   This  species is  distin-
guished in the vernacular language by the name of yellow-rooted water
dock.  The root is  large, dark on  the  outside, and yellow within.  The
stem  is two  or three  feet  high, and  bears  broad lanceolate, smooth, flat
leaves, with the sheathing stipules slightly torn.  The spikes of the panicle
are leafless; the valves entire and all graniferous.  The plant is indigenous,
inhabiting low, wet places, and flowering in June and July.
  3. R.  obtusifolius.   Willd.  Sp. Plant,  ii.  254; Loudon's  Encyc.  of
Plants, p.  293.   The root of the blunt-leaved dock  is  externally brown,
internally yellow; the stem  two or three feet high and somewhat rough;  the
radical leaves ovate cordate, obtuse, and very large; the valves dentate, and
one of them conspicuously graniferous.  It is a common weed in our rich
grounds and pastures, but is supposed to have been introduced from Europe.
Its flowers appear in June and July.
  4. R.  crispus.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 251.  This common species, though
not officinal, is perhaps equally entitled to  notice with those which  are so.
It has a yellow, spindle-shaped  root, with a smooth furrowed stem  two or
three feet  high, and  lanceolate, waved, pointed  leaves.   The valves  are
ovate, entire, and all  graniferous.   It is  a native of Europe, and grows wild
in this country.   It is common in  our  dry fields and pastures,  and  about
barn yards, and flowers in June and July.
  Dock-root, from whatever species derived, has an astringent bitter taste,
with little or no smell.  It readily yields its virtues to water by  decoction.
According to Riegel,  the root of the 7?. obtusifolius contains a peculiar prin-
ciple called rumicin,  resin,  extractive  matter resembling  tannin,  starch,
mucilage, albumen, lignin, sulphur, and various salts, among which are  the
phosphate  of lime, and different acetates and malates.  Rumicin is  said to 
PART I.
Rut a.
607
bear a close resemblance to the active  principle  of rhubarb.  (Journ. de
Pharm. Seme Serie i. 410.) The leaves of most of the species are edible
and  are occasionally used as spinage.   They are somewhat laxative, and
form  an  excellent diet in scorbutic cases.   The  roots are used to dye a
yellow colour.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   The  medical properties of dock-root are
those of an astringent and mild tonic.   It is also supposed to possess an
alterative property, which renders it useful in scorbutic disorders, and cuta-
neous eruptions, particularly the itch, in  the cure of which it enjoyed at one
time considerable reputation. It is said to have proved useful also in syphilis.
Dr. Thomson found a decoction of the root of the R. Patientia very effica-
cious in obstinate ichthyosis. (London Dispensatory.)  The R. aquaticus,
and R. Britannica, are the  most astringent.  The  roots of  some  species
unite a laxative with the tonic  and  astringent  property, resembling rhubarb
somewhat  in  their operation.  Such are  those of  the R. crispus  and R.
obtusifolius;  and the R. alpinus has in  some parts of Europe the common
name of mountain rhubarb.  This resemblance  of properties is not sin-
gular, as the two genera belong to  the same  natural family.   Dock-root is
given in  powder or decoction.   Two ounces of the fresh root bruised, or
one ounce  of  the dried, may be boiled  in a pint of water, of which two
fluidounces may be given at a dose, and repeated as the stomach will bear
it.  The root has often been  applied externally in the shape of  ointment,
cataplasm, and decoction, to the various  cutaneous eruptions and ulcerations
for which its  internal use is recommended.   The powdered root is recom-
mended as a dentifrice, especially when  the gums  are spongy.       W.


              RUT A.  U.S.  Secondary, Lond., Ed.

                                 Rue.

   " The leaves of Ruta  graveolens."  U. S. " Ruta graveolens. Folia."
 Lond.   "Leaves  and unripe fruit of Ruta graveolens." Ed.
   Off. Syn. RUTA GRAVEOLENS.  Folia.  Dub.
   Rue odorante, Fr.; Garten-Raute, Germ; Ruta, Ital.; Ruda, Span.
   Ruta.   Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Rutaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Petals concave. Receptacle surrounded by
 ten melliferous points. Capsule lobed.  Willd.
   Ruta  graveolens. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 542; Woodv. Med. Bot.  p. 487.
 t. 174.  Common rue is a perennial plant, usually two or three feet  high,
 with several shrubby branching stems, which, near the base, are woody and
 covered with  a rough bark, but in  their ultimate ramifications are smooth,
 green, and herbaceous.  The leaves are doubly pinnate, glaucous, with obo-
 vate, sessile, obscurely crenate, somewhat thick and fleshy leaflets.  The
 flowers are yellow, and disposed in a terminal branched corymb upon sub-
 dividing peduncles.  The calyx is persistent, with four or five acute seg-
 ments; the corolla consists of  four or five concave petals somewhat sinuate
 at the margin.  The stamens  are usually ten, but  sometimes  only eight in
 number.   The plant is a native of the  South of Europe, but cultivated in
 our gardens.  It flowers from June to September.   The whole herbaceous
 part  is active; but the leaves are usually employed.
   These have a strong disagreeable odour, especially when rubbed.  Their
 taste is bitter, hot, and acrid.   In  the recent state, and in full vigour, they
 have so  much acrimony as  to  inflame and even  blister the  skin, if much
 handled; but  the acrimony is diminished by  drying.  Their virtues depend 
60S
Ruta.—Sabadilla.
PART I.
 chiefly on a volatile oil, which is very abundant, and is contained in glandular
 vesicles, apparent over the whole surface of the plant.  (See Oleum Rutae.)
 Besides volatile oil, they contain, according to M'tlhl, chlorophylle, albumen,
 an azotized substance, extractive,  gum, starch or inulin, malic acid, and
 lignin.  Both alcohol and water extract their active  properties.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Rue is stimulant  and antispasmodic, and
 like most  other substances  which excite  the circulation, occasionally in-
 creases the secretions, especially when they are deficient from debility.  It
 appears  to have  a  tendency  to act upon  the uterus; in moderate  doses
 proving emmenagogue, and in larger doses producing a degree of irritation
 in that organ which sometimes determines abortion.  Taken in very large
 quantities, it acts as an acrid narcotic poison.  Three cases are recorded by
 Dr. Helie  in which it was  taken  by pregnant women, with the effect  of
 producing dangerous symptoms of gastro-intestinal inflammation and cere-
 bral derangement, which  continued for several days, but from which the
 patients ultimately recovered.   In each of these cases miscarriage resulted.
 Great depression and slowness of  the pulse  attended the narcotic action  of
 the poison. (Ann. d'Hyg. Pub. et de Med. Leg. xx.  180.) Rue is sometimes
 used in hysterical affections, flatulent colic,  and amenorrhoea, particularly
 in the last complaint.  It has also been given in worms.  The ancients em-
 ployed it as a condiment, and believed it to possess, besides other valuable
 properties, that of resisting the action of poisons.  Its excitant and irritating
 properties  require that it should be  used with caution.   The dose of the
 powder is from fifteen  to thirty grains two or three times a day.  The me-
 dicine is also given in infusion and extract.   In one of the cases of poison-
 ing above  mentioned, three fresh roots  of the size  of the finger were taken in
 the form of decoction.
    Off. Prep. Confectio Rutae, Lond., Dub.; Extractum Rutae, Dub.; Ole-
 um Rutae, Ed., Dub.                                            W.

                  SABADILLA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Cevadil/a.

    "The seeds of Veratrum Sabadilla." U.S. " Helonias officinalis.  Semi-
 na."  Lond.  " Fruit of Veratrum  Sabadilla, Helonias officinalis, and pro-
 bably of other  Melanthaceae." Ed.
   C6vadille, Fr.; Sabadillsame,  Germ.; Cebadilla, Span.
   There has been much  uncertainty in relation to the botanical origin of
 cevadilla.   For some time after it began to attract attention as the source of
 veratria, it was generally believed to be derived from the Veratrum Saba-
 dilla,  which is  recognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  But Schiede, dur-
 ing his travels in Mexico, ascertained that it was, in part at least, collected
 from a different plant, of the same natural order  of Melanthaceae, growing
 upon  the  eastern declivity of  the Mexican Andes.   This was  considered
 by Schlechtendahl as a different species  of the same  genus  Veratrum, by
 Don as a Helonias, and  by Lindley as belonging to  a new genus which he
 named Asagraea.  Hence it has been variously denominated Veratrum offi-
 cinale, Helonias officinalis,  and Asagrsea officinalis.   The  London Col-
 lege refers cevadilla to this plant,  with Don's title  of Helonias  officinalis;
 while the Edinburgh College recognises both this, and the Veratrum Saba-
 dilla, and admits other plants of the same order as probable sources of the
drug.   More exact information, however, is wanted, before we  can deter-
mine its precise  origin.   It has  been adopted in the Pharmacopoeias solely 
PART I.
Sabadilla.
609
on account of its employment in the preparation of veratria.   It is brought
from Vera Cruz in Mexico.*
   The cevadilla seeds usually occur in  commerce mixed with the fruit of
the plant.   This consists  of three coalescing  capsules or follicles, which
open above, and present the appearance  of a single capsule with three cells.
It is three or four lines long and a  line and a half in thickness, obtuse at the
base, light brown or  yellowish, smooth, and  in each capsule contains one
or  two seeds.   A resemblance existing or  supposed  between  this fruit and
that of barley, is said to have given rise  to  the  Spanish  name  cevadilla,
which  is a diminutive of barley.   The seeds  are elongated, pointed at each
end, flat- on one side and  convex  on  the  other, somewhat curved, two or
three  lines  long, wrinkled, slightly winged,  black or  dark brown on the
outside,  whitish within,  hard, inodorous, and of  an exceedingly acrid,
burning, and durable taste.  Cevadilla was  found by Pelletier  and  Caventou
to contain a peculiar organic alkali which they named veratria,  combined
with gallic  acid; fatty matter, consisting of olein, stearin, and a  peculiar
volatile fatty acid  denominated cevadic or sabadillic acid;  wax; yellow
colouring matter; gum; lignin; and salts  of potassa and of lime with a little
silica.   From 100  parts of the seeds, separated from their capsules, Meiss-
ner obtained 0*58 of veratria.  Besides the principles above mentioned, M.
 Couerbe  discovered another organic  alkali  (sabadillia),  a  resinous sub-
stance  (veratrin), and  a resinoid substance which he called resini-gum of
sabadillia.  A peculiar acid was also discovered by  Merck, called  veratric
acid, which is in  colourless crystals,  fusible  and  volatilizable without de-
composition, but slightly soluble in cold water, more soluble  in hot water,
soluble in alcohol,  insoluble in ether, having the properties of reddening lit-
mus paper, and forming soluble salts with  the alkalies;
   The following process  is recommended by M. Couerbe  for  obtaining
veratria.   An extract of cevadilla,  obtained by  treating this substance with
boiling alcohol  and  evaporating the tincture,  is to  be boiled with water
acidulated with  sulphuric acid until the liquid ceases to receive colour, or
till a mineral alkali introduced into it,  no longer occasions any sign of pre-

  * Until more definitive information is  obtained on the subject, we give in a note a brief
description of the two plants above referred to.
   Veratrum Sabadilla. Retzius, Obs. i. 31; Descourtilz, Ann. Soc. hinn. Par. A. D. 1824,
167.  See Veratrum Album.   The leaves of  this  plant  are numerous, ovate  oblong, ob-
tuse, with from eight  to fourteen  ribs, glaucous  beneath, and all radical.  The flower-
stem is erect, simple, and round, rises three or four feet  in height, and bears a spreading,
simple, or  but slightly  branched  panicle  of somewhat nodding  flowers, supported upon
very short pedicels.  The flowers, which are  of a  blackish purple colour, approximate in
twos and threes, the fertile turning at length  to one side, and the sterile falling off.  The
segments of the corolla are  ovate lanceolate, and  without veins.  The  capsules occupy
only one side of the stem.  This plant grows in Mexico and  the West  Indies, and was
cultivated by Descourtilz at San-Domingo, from seeds obtained in Mexico.
  Asagraa officinalis.  Lindley,  Botan. Reg., June, 1839.— Veratrum officinale. Schlech-
tendahl, hinncea, vi. 45.—Helonias officinalis. Don, Ed. New  Phil. Journ., Octob.  1832,
p. 234.   The following is the generic character  given by Lindley.  " Flowers polyga-
mous, racemose, naked.  Perianth six-partite;  segments linear, veinless, almost equal,
with a nectariferous excavation  at the base, equal  to  the stamens.  Stamens alternately
shorter;  anthers cordate, as if unilocular,  after dehiscence, shield-shaped.  Ovaries three,
quite simple, attenuated  into an obscure stigma.  Follicles  three,  acuminate, papery;
seeds scimetar-shaped, corrugated,  winged.  Bulbous  herbs, with grass-like  leaves, and
small, pale, and densely racemed flowers."  The A. officinalis, which is  the only known
species, has linear, acuminate, subcarinate leaves,  roughish  at the margin, and four feet
in length by three lines in breadth, and a  round flower-stem, about six feet high,  terminat-
ing  in a very dense, straight, spike-like raceme, eighteen inches long.  The flowers are
white, with yellow anthers. 
610
Sabadilla.
PART I.
cipitation.   To the solution of impure sulphate of veratria thus obtained, a
solution of potassa or ammonia is to be added, and the resulting precipitate
is to be treated with  boiling alcohol and animal charcoal.  The alcoholic so-
lution, being filtered and evaporated, will yield the veratria sufficiently pure
for  medical use.   A drachm of  it, in this  state,  may be procured from a
pound of cevadilla.  But besides veratria, M. Couerbe has shown that the
principles,  called respectively sabadillia and veratrin, are also contained in
this product.  These are separated in the following manner.   Into the solu-
tion  of impure sulphate of  veratria  obtained in  the above  process, nitric
acid  is to be introduced by  drops.   This occasions an  abundant precipi-
tate,  from which  the clear liquor is to be decanted.  A weak solution of
potassa is then to be  added  to  the  liquor, and  the  precipitate which it
produces is to be washed  with  cold water, and treated with boiling  alco-
hol.   The  substance obtained by evaporating the alcohol yields the saba-
dillia to boiling water,  which deposits it upon cooling; a substance called
by M. Couerbe resini-gum  of sabadillia, remaining in solution.  If the
residue of the  substance, treated as just mentioned with boiling water, be
submitted to the action  of ether,  it yields to this liquid the proper veratria,
which may be obtained entirely pure  by the spontaneous  evaporation of the
ether.   The matter  remaining undissolved is the  resinous substance which
M. Couerbe calls veratrin.
  Veratria, when pure, is white, pulverulent, uncrystallizable, inodorous,
extremely acrid, fusible by heat, scarcely soluble in cold water, soluble in
a thousand  parts of boiling water which it renders sensibly acrid, dissolved
freely by alcohol, less  so by ether, and capable of neutralizing the acids,
with several of which, particularly  the sulphuric and muriatic, it  forms
crystallizable salts.  For a further account of veratria, with its effects upon
the system, and  its  remedial applications, see  the article Veratria in the
second part of this work.
  Sabadillia  is white,  crystallizable, insupportably acrid, fusible by heat,
readily soluble in hot water, which deposits  it upon  cooling, very soluble
in alcohol, and wholly  insoluble in ether.  It is  capable of saturating the
acids.   According to Simon, sabadillia is a compound of resinate of soda
and resinate of veratria.
  For practical purposes it is unnecessary to  obtain these two principles in
a separate  state;  the impure veratria, procured by the process above de-
scribed, being  the preparation usually employed  in medicine. (Journ. de
Pharm. xix. 527.)
  Medical Properties  and  Uses.  Cevadilla is  an  acrid  drastic emeto-
cathartic, operating  occasionally  with great violence, and in over doses
capable of  producing fatal  effects.   It was  made known as  a medicine in
Europe so  early as the  year 1572;  but has never been much employed.  It
has been chiefly  used  as an  anthelmintic, especially in  cases  of taenia, in
which it has been given in doses varying from five to thirty grains.  It has
also been given in different nervous affections.  It is the principal ingredi-
ent of the pulvis  Capucinorum,  sometimes used in Europe for the destruc-
tion  of vermin in the  hair.  It is considered by the  natives of Mexico
useful in hydrophobia, and was employed by M. Fouilhoux, of Lyons, in
a supposed case of that disease, in the  dose  of about  nine grains, with
asserted  success.  Externally applied, it is  highly irritatin<r, and  is even
said  to be corrosive. Its chief employment at present is for the preparation
of veratria.
  Off.Prep.  Veratria, U.S., Lond., Ed.                          W. 
PART I.
Sabbatia.
611
                        SABBATIA. U.S.

                        American Centaury.

  " The herb of Sabbatia angularis.  U. S.
  Sabbatia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Gentianaeeac.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx five  to twelve-parted. Corolla rotate, five  to twelve-
parted.  Stigmas  two, spiral.   Anthers at length revolute.  Capsule one-
celled, two-valved, many-seeded.  Nuttall.
  Sabbatia angularis. Pursh. Flor. Am. Sept.  137; Bigelow,  Am. Med.
Bot. iii. 147; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 255.—Chironia angularis. Linn. The
American centaury is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant, with a fibrous
root, and  an erect, smooth, four-sided  stem, winged  at the angles, simple
below, sending off opposite axillary branches above, and rising one or two
feet in height.   The leaves, which vary considerably in length  and width,
are  ovate, entire, acute, nerved, smooth, opposite, and sessile,  embracing
half the circumference of the stem at their base.  The flowers  are nume-
rous, growing on the ends of the branches, and forming altogether a large
terminal corymb.   The  calyx is divided into five  lanceolate  segments,
considerably shorter  than the  corolla.   This is deeply  five-parted, with
obovate segments of a beautiful  delicate  rose-colour, which is paler and
almost white in the middle of their under  surface.  The anthers are yellow,
and after shedding their pollen become  revolute.   The style, which is bent
downward, and is longer than the stamens, terminates in two linear stigmas,
which become spirally twisted together.
  The plant is widely diffused through  the Middle  and Southern States,
growing in low meadow grounds, and in wet seasons upon uplands, in
woods and neglected fields.  It flowers in July and August.  In its gene-
ral aspect as well as medical properties, it bears a close resemblance to the
Erythraea,  formerly  Chironia Centaurium,  or  European  centaury, for
which it was mistaken by the earlier settlers.   The whole herb is  employed,
and should be  collected when in flower.
  All parts of it have a strongly bitter  taste,  without  any admixture of as-
tringency or other peculiar flavour.  Both alcohol and water extract its bit-
terness, together with its medical  virtues.
  Medical  Properties and Uses.  American  centaury has the  tonic  pro-
perties  of the simple bitters, and is very analogous in  its action to the other
plants belonging  to the same natural family.   It has  long been popularly
employed as a  prophylactic and remedy in our  autumnal  intermittent and
remittent fevers; and has  found much favour with the  medical profession in
the latter of these complaints.  The  state of the  fever to which  it is  parti-
cularly applicable, is that which exists  in the intervals  between the parox-
ysms, when the remission is such as to call for the use of tonics, but is not
sufficiently  decided to justify  a resort to the preparations of Peruvian bark.
It is also occasionally useful during the progress of a slow convalescence,
by promoting appetite and invigorating the digestive function; and may be
employed for the same purpose in dyspepsia and diseases of debility.
  The  most convenient form  for administration is that of infusion.  A pint
of boiling water poured on an ounce of the herb  and  allowed to cool, may
be given in the dose of two fluidounces, repeated every hour or  two during
the remission of fevers, and less frequently in chronic affections.   The dose
of the powder is  from thirty grains to  a drachm.  The decoction, extract,
and  tincture are also efficient preparations.                         W. 
612
Sabina.
PART I.
                   SABINA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Savine.

   " The tops of Juniperus Sabina." U. S., Ed.  " Juniperus Sabina.  Ca-
 cumina recentia et exsiccata." Lond.
   Off. Syn.  JUNIPERUS  SABINA. Folia.  Dub.
   Siibine, Fr.; Sevenbaum, Germ.; S.ibina, Ital, Span.
   Juniperus. See JUNIPERUS.
   Juniperus Sabina. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 852; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 10.
 t. 5.   This is an evergreen shrub, rising from three or four feet  to fifteen
 feet in height, with numerous  erect, pliant branches, very much subdivided.
 The bark of the young branches  is light green, that of the trunk rough  and
 reddish-brown.  The leaves, which completely invest the younger branches,
 are numerous, small, erect, firm, smooth, pointed, of a dark green colour,
 glandular in the middle, opposite, and imbricated in four rows.  The flowers
 are male and female on different trees.  The fruit is a blackish-purple berry,
 of an ovoid shape, marked with tubercles, the  remains of the calyx  and
 petals, and containing three seeds.
   The savine is a  native of the  South of Europe  and the  Levant.  It is
 said also to grow  wild  in the neighbourhood of our Northwestern lakes.
 The ends of the branches, and the  leaves by which they are invested,  are
 collected for medieal use  in the spring.   When dried  they fade very much
 in colour.
   There is reason to believe that the Juniperus Virginiana, or  common
 red cedar, is sometimes substituted in the shops  for the savine, to which it
 bears  so close a resemblance  as to be  with difficulty distinguished.  The
 two species, however, differ in their taste and smell.  In the J. Virginiana,
 moreover, the leaves are sometimes ternate.
   The tops and leaves of  savine have a strong, heavy, disagreeable odour,
 and a bitter, acrid taste.  These  properties, which  are less striking in the
 dried than in the recent leaves, are owing to a volatile oil,  which is obtained
 by distillation with water. (See Oleum Sabinae.)  The leaves  impart their
 virtues to alcohol and water.   From an imperfect analysis by Mr.  C.  H.
 Needles, they appear to contain,  volatile oil, gum, tannin or gallic acid,
resin, chlorophylle,  fixed oil, bitter extractive,  lime, and salts of potassa.
 (Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiii.  15.)
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Savine is highly stimulant, increasing
most of the secretions, especially those  of the skin and uterus, to the latter
of which organs it is supposed to have a peculiar direction.   It has been
much  used in amenorrhoea, and occasionally as a remedy for worms. Dr.
Chapman strongly recommends it in chronic rheumatism.   In over doses
it is  capable of producing dangerous  gastro-intestinal inflammation, and
should therefore be used with caution.   In no case should it be given when
much  general or local excitement exists.  In pregnancy  it  should always
be avoided.   It is most conveniently administered  in  the form of  powder,
of which the dose is from five to fifteen grains, repeated three or four times
a day.
  As an external irritant it is very useful, in the form of cerate, for main-
taining a discharge  from  blistered surfaces; but as the  preparation sold in
this country under the name of savine ointment is often deficient in power,
either from the  age  of the drug or the substitution of red cedar, it  has in
some measure fallen into disrepute. (See Ceratum Sabinae.)   In the state 
PART I.
Sabina.—Saccharum.
613
of powder or infusion, savine is used in Europe as an application to warts,
indolent, carious, and gangrenous ulcers, psora, and tinea capitis; and the
expressed juice of the fresh leaves, diluted with water, is sometimes applied
to similar purposes.
   Off. Prep.  Ceratum Sabinae, U.S., Lond., Ed.;  Oleum Sabinae, U.S.,
Ed., Dub.; Unguentum Sabinae, Dub.                           W.

                 SACCHARUM.  U.S., Lond.

                               Sugar.

  " The sugar of Saccharum officinarum, refined." U. S.
   Off. Syn.   SACCHARUM  PURUM. Ed.;  SACCHARUM OFFI-
CINARUM. Succus concretus purificatus.  Dub.
   White sugar; Sucre pur, Sucre en pains, Fr.; Weisser  Zucker, Germ.; Zucchero en
pane, Ital; Azucar de pilon, Azucar refinado, Span.

              SACCHARUM COMMUNE.  Ed.

                          Brown Sugar.

  " Impure sugar, from Saccharum officinarum."  Ed.
   Off. Syn.   SACCHARUM  OFFICINARUM.  Succus concretus non
purificatus. Dub.
   Raw or Muscovado  sugar; Sucre brut,  Cassonade rouge, Moscouade, Fr.; Geraeiner
Zucker, Germ.; Zucchero brutlo, Ital; Azucar negro, Span.

           SYRUPUS  EMPYREUMATICUS.  Dub.

                              Molasses.

  Off. Syn.  SACCHARI FIEX.  Lond., Ed.
  Treacle;  Melasse, Fr., Germ.; Mclazzo, Ital; Melaca, Span.
  The saccharine principles distinguished by the chemist are cane sugar, or
sugar properly so called, derived from the sugar cane, the beet, and the sugar
maple; glucose or grape sugar, of which the crystallizable sugar of honey,
starch sugar, and diabetic sugar, if not identical with it, are varieties; uncrys-
tallizable sugar, called by Soubeiran chulariose (from xVKapiov, syrup); lactin
or sugar of milk;  sugar of ergot, improperly called mushroom sugar; mannite;
and glycerin.  All these saccharine principles are susceptible of the vinous
fermentation, except mannite and glycerin.  Glucose, or  grape sugar, is
found in nearly all fruits.   Its taste  is less sweet than that of cane sugar.
It has the sp. gr. of 1*386.   It is  less soluble  in water, and  much more
soluble in alcohol than cane sugar.   Obtained from a concentrated aqueous
solution, it forms crystalline grains.  Strong mineral acids hardly act on
grape sugar, but destroy  cane sugar  with facility.   On  the  other hand,
grape sugar is destroyed by alkalies, with  several  of  which cane sugar
forms definite compounds.  Dissolved in water and subjected to prolonged
ebullition, it undergoes very little alteration.   Grape sugar is the immediate
material which undergoes the vinous fermentation; for although other sugars
will undergo this process,  there is good reason to believe that they will not
ferment without  being first  converted into  grape  sugar.   This  has been
shown to be  the fact in the case of cane  sugar by H. Rose.   This sugar
requires eight times  as much ferment, to cause it to undergo the vinous fer-
mentation, as is necessary  to produce the same change in grape sugar;  and
       53 
614
Saccharum.
PART I.
 if the fermentation in cane sugar be arrested before it is completed, part
 of the sugar will be found  to be converted into  grape sugar.  (Journ. de
 Pharm. xxvii. 681.)  Soubeiran  admits  the  occurrence  of  a  preliminary
 change in  cane  sugar  before fermentation, but considers it as undecided
 whether  this change is into grape or uncrystallizable sugar.   Uncrystal-
 lizable sugar exists in  honey and in the juice of fruits,  and is generated
 from  cane  sugar by solution in  water or weak  acids, and long boiling.
 Hence it  is present in molasses.   The view of Liebig that the uncrystal-
 lizable sugar of fruits, and that generated by  weak acids, is really a combi-
 nation of ordinary sugar  and acid, has been disproved by Soubeiran, who
 obtained it exempt from acid, and, therefore, considers it a distinct kind of
 sugar.  (Journ. de Pharm. for Jan.  1842.)  Lactin is a white, crystalline,
 semitransparent substance, obtained  from the  whey  of milk, permanent in
 the air, soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol and ether.   By the  action
 of nitric acid, it is converted into mucic (saclactic) acid.   Mannite  is de-
 scribed under manna, and glycerin  under soap.  (See Manna  and  Sapo.)
 Cane sugar is manufactured extensively in France  from  the beet, and in
 considerable quantities in the north-western parts of the United States, as
 well as in Canada, from the  sap of the  sugar  maple (Acer Saccharinum).
 But  the  supply  of sugar from these sources is insignificant when com-
 pared with  that obtained  from  the sugar  cane itself, which is  extensively
 cultivated in the East and West Indies, Brazil, and  some of  our Southern
 States, particularly Louisiana, for the purpose of being manufactured into
 sugar.   This  plant is the Saccharum officinarum of botanists, and is the
 source of  the  officinal sugars of the Pharmacopoeias.
   Saccharum. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia.—Nat.  Ord. Graminaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx two-valved, involucred, with long down.  Corolla two-
 valved. Willd.
   Saccharum officinarum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 321; Phil. Trans, lxix. 207.
 The sugar cane is an herbaceous plant, possessing a jointed, succulent root,
 from which arise several shining, jointed, solid stems, from an inch to two
 inches in diameter, and from six to twelve feet high, and containing a white
 and juicy  pith. The colour of the stem  is yellow, greenish-yellow, purple,
 or striped.   The joints  are about  three inches apart, and give origin to the
 leaves, which embrace the stem at their base, are three or four feet  long,
 and about an inch wide,  flat, acuminate,  longitudinally striated, furnished
 with a white midrib, glabrous, finely dentate, and of a green colour inclining
 to yellow.  The flowers are pinkish,  surrounded by a long silky down, and
 disposed in a  large, terminal, nearly pyramidal panicle, composed  of sub-
divided spikes, and two or three feet in length.  The  plant has a  general
resemblance to the Indian corn.  Four varieties are mentioned; 1. the com-
mon, with a yellow stem; 2. the purple, with a  purple stem and richer juice;
 3. the gigantic, with a very large, light-coloured stem; and 4. the Otaheitan,
which  was introduced into the West Indies from the island of Tahiti  (Ota-
heite) by Bougainville and Bligh, and is distinguished by its greater height,
 the longer intervals  between its  joints, and by the  greater length of the
hairs which surround the flowers.
   The sugar cane is a native  of the tropical regions of both the old and new
 continents.  It is cultivated  by cuttings,  which are planted  in  rows, and
 which, by giving rise to successive shoots, furnish five or six crops before
 the plants require to be renewed.   At the end  of a year the plant generally
 flowers, and  in four or five  months  afterwards the  canes are  completely
 ripe, at which time  they have a  yellowish  colour, and  contain a sweet
 viscid juice.  The quantity of sugar  which they yield is variable.  Accord- 
PART I.
Saccharum.
615
ing to Avequin, of New Orleans, the proportion of cane sugar in the recent
stalk is about 10 per cent., of uncrystallizable sugar from Si to 4 per cent.
   Preparation  and Purification.  The canes being  ripe, are cut down .
close to the earth, topped, and stripped of their leaves, and then crushed
between iron rollers  in a kind of mill.  The  juice is of  a pale-greenish
colour, sweet taste,  and balsamic odour, and has  a sp. gr. varying from
1-033 to 1-106.  As it runs out it is received in suitable vessels, and being
quickly removed, is immediately mixed with lime in the proportion of one
part to eight hundred of the juice, and heated in  a boiler to  140°.  The
gluten and albumen rise to the top, and form a thick scum, from underneath
which the liquid is drawn off by a cock into a copper boiler, where it is
concentrated by ebullition, the froth being carefully skimmed off as it forms.
When sufficiently concentrated, it is transferred to shallow vessels called
coolers, from  which, before it is cool, it is  drawn off into wooden vessels,
with  perforated  bottoms, the holes in which are temporarily plugged.  At
the end of twenty-four hours, the  liquid is strongly agitated with wooden
stirrers, in order to accelerate the granulation of the sugar, which is com-
pleted in six hours. The stoppers are now removed, and the syrup is allowed
to drain off from the sugar, which in this state is granular, of  a yellowish
colour, and moist.   It is  next dried in the sun, and being  introduced  into
hogsheads, forms  the brown sugar of commerce.   The syrup, by a new
evaporation, furnishes  an additional portion of sugar; and  the portion
which finally remains, incapable  of yielding  more sugar, is the liquid
called molasses.  Eight  pounds of the juice  yield, on an average,  one
pound of brown sugar.  In the process of extraction,  it is important  that
the juice should be concentrated by a  moderate heat, which prevents the
cane  sugar from being converted into uncrystallizable sugar, and, therefore,
lessens the amount of the molasses.  Sometimes the brown sugar undergoes
an additional preparation, consisting in boiling it with lime-water, and, after
sufficient concentration, allowing the syrup to crystallize in large inverted
conical vessels, pierced at the apex and plugged. The  surface  of  the crys-
talline mass being covered  with a thin mixture of clay  and  water, the plug
is removed, and the water from the clay, penetrating the mass, removes the
coloured syrup, which flows out at the  hole.  The sugar, as thus prepared,
approaches to the white state, and constitutes the clayed  sugar of commerce,
usually called in this country Havana sugar.  It is still, however, far from
being pure.
  The refining  of brown sugar forms  a distinct branch of business, and
the methods pursued have undergone many changes  and  improvements.
By the original process, the sugar was boiled  with lime-water, and clarified
by heating it with bullocks' blood.   The clarified syrup was then strained
through a  woollen cloth, whereby it was  rendered limpid.  It was next
transferred to a boiler, where it was subjected to  ebullition, until it was
brought to a proper concentration, when it was allowed to cool in conical
moulds, and to drain for the separation  of the molasses.  This  last boiling
required  to  be continued  so long, that the action  of the fire  and air  fre-
quently decomposed the  sugar to such an extent, as  to cause a loss of
twenty-five per cent, in molasses. This disadvantage has led to the abandon-
ment  of prolonged boiling;, and now, for the most part, the sugar refiners boil
the  syrup in  shallow boilers, which are suspended in such a way as to
admit of their being emptied with the  greatest quickness, without putting
out  the fire.   By this arrangement, ten minutes are a sufficient  time for
boiling, and thus any considerable decomposition of the sugar is avoided.
  The process of refining has been still further improved by Messrs. Philip 
616
Saccharum.
part 1.
Taylor and Howard.   The former introduced the improvement of heating
the syrup  with great  rapidity by means of steam, made  to pass through a
series of tubes traversing the boiler; and the latter devised the plan of caus-
ing the syrup to boil under a diminished pressure, created by a  suction
pump, set  in motion by a steam engine, while it was heated by steam, cir-
culating round the boiler.  In this way, the  syrup was made to boil at a
lower  temperature, and with a diminished contact with the air;  and the loss
of the  cane sugar, by conversion into uncrystallizable sugar, was in a great
measure avoided.
   After the syrup is sufficiently concentrated by any one of these methods,
it is transferred to coolers, where it is agitated to cause it to granulate.  In
this state it is poured into  unglazed earthenware moulds  of a conical shape,
with a hole in the apex, which is stopped with a paper plug.   The moulds
are placed, with  the  apex downwards, above  stone-ware pots, intended to
receive the uncrystallizable syrup.  When the  mass has completely con-
creted, the moulds are unstopped, to allow the coloured syrup to drain off.
To remove the remains of this syrup,  the  operation called  claying is per-
formed.   This  consists in* removing from the base of  the loaf, a layer of
 the sugar, about an inch thick, and replacing  it with pure sugar in powder,
 which is covered with a mixture  of pipe clay and water, of about the con-
 sistence of cream.  The water gradually leaves the clay, dissolves the pure
 sugar, and percolates the  mass as a pure syrup, removing in its progress the
 coloured syrup.   Sometimes the  purification is  performed without  the use
 of clay, by allowing a saturated solution of pure sugar to percolate the loaf.
 When all  the coloured syrup is removed, the loaf is taken out of the mould
 and placed in stoves to dry.  It  now constitutes white or purified  sugar.
 The syrup which drains  from the loaves  contains a considerable quantity
 of cane sugar, and is used in subsequent operations.  The syrups of lowest
 quality are employed in  forming  inferior white sugar, from which a syrup
 finally drains, containing so little cane sugar  as not to repay the expense of
 extracting it.  This  constitutes sugar house molasses.  Good brown sugar,
 in the process of refining, yields about 70 per cent, of white sugar.
    After the  clarification  by bullocks'  blood, the  syrup is  decolorized by
 allowing  it to filter through a bed of coarse-grained animal charcoal, nearly
 three feet thick.
    Of the  several forms of sugar above indicated, as resulting from the vnrious
 steps  in its preparation from the cane, three only,  white and brown sugar,
 and molasses, are officinal in the  British and United States Pharmacopoeias,
 and these  are designated by the Latin names placed at the head of this arti-
 cle.  The United States Pharmacopoeia recognises refined sugar only, giving
 it the  name of Saccharum; the uses of brown  sugar and  molasses being
replaced by the employment of a  prepared  syrup of known strength.  (See
 Syrupus.)  The London College also  recognises refined sugar under the
name  of Saccharum;  but in the last  edition of their Pharmacopoeia  (1836)
they have  omitted brown  sugar, and inserted molasses.  The  Edinburgh
and Dublin Colleges, besides recognising refined sugar, also  admit brown
sugar and  molasses.
   Commercial History.  Sugar has been known from the earliest ages, and
was originally obtained from Asia.   About  the period of the Crusades, the
Venetians  brought it  to Europe;  but at that time it was so scarce as to be
used exclusively  as a  medicine.  Upon the discovery of the Cape of Good-
Hope and  the maritime route to the  East Indies,  the commerce in sugar
passed into the hands  of the Portuguese.  Subsequently, the cultivation of
the cane was extended to Arabia, Egypt,  Sicily,  Spain, and  the Canaries, 
PART I.
Saccharum.
617
and finally, upon the discovery of the new world, to America, where it was
pursued with the greatest success, and continues to be so up to the present
day.  After this time, sugar became comparatively so cheap  and abundant,
that, from being viewed as a medicine and costly luxury, it came into almost
universal use among civilized  nations as an article of food.   In America it
is produced most abundantly in the West Indies, which supply the greater
part of the consumption of Europe, little comparatively being taken thither
from the Brazils or the East Indies.  The consumption of the United States
is more than half supplied by Louisiana and some of the neighbouring states.
Within a few years,  our planters have introduced into Louisiana the variety
of cane called the Otaheite cane, which is hardier and more productive than
the  common cane, and better suited to the climate of our Southern  States.
  Properties.   Sugar, in a pure state, is a solid of a peculiar grateful taste,
permanent in the air, phosphorescent by friction, and of the sp. gr.  16.  It
dissolves readily in half its weight of cold water, and  to almost an unlimited
extent in boiling water.  The solution, when thick and ropy, is called syrup.
When  a concentrated  syrup is gently heated, and  spirit added to it, the
liquid, on cooling, forms white semi-transparent crystals of hydrated sugar,
having the shape  of oblique  four-sided  prisms, and called sugar-candy.
Sugar is nearly insoluble in absolute alcohol, but dissolves in four times its
weight of boiling alcohol of the  sp.  gr. 0*83.  When heated to  365°, it
melts into  a  viscid,  colourless liquid, which, on being suddenly  cooled,
forms a transparent amorphous mass,  called barley sugar.   At  a higher
temperature (between 400°  and 420°) it loses two  eqs. of water, and is
converted into  a black porous mass, having a high lustre like anthracite,
called caramel.   At a still higher heat, it yields combustible gases, carbonic
acid, empyreumatic oil, and acetic acid, and there remains one-fourth of its
weight of charcoal, which burns without residue.  Sugar renders the fixed
and volatile oils to a  certain extent miscible with water, and forms with the
latter an imperfect combination, called in pharmacy oleosaccharum. When
in solution, it is not precipitated by subacetate of lead, a  negative property
by taking advantage  of which  it may be separated from most other organic
principles.
  Action of Acids and Alkalies, <y-c.  The mineral acids act differently on
cane sugar, according as they are concentrated or  dilute.   Strong nitric
acid, with the assistance of heat,  converts it into oxalic acid.  (See Oxalic
Acid,  in  the Appendix.)  The same acid, when weak, converts it into
saccharic  acid,  confounded by  Scheele with malic acid.   Concentrated
muriatic or sulphuric acid chars it.  Diluted muriatic acid, when boiled with
cane sugar, converts it into a  solid,  brown, gelatinous mass.  Weak sul-
phuric acid,  by a prolonged action  at a  high  temperature, converts  cane
sugar,  first into uncrystallizable  sugar,  afterwards  into grape sugar, and
finally into two substances, analogous to ulmin and ulmic acid, called sac-
chulmin and  sacchulmic acid.  Vegetable acids are  supposed to  act in a
similar way.   If the boiling be prolonged for several days in open vessels,
oxygen is absorbed, and, besides these two substances, formic acid is formed.
Soubeiran admits the change of the uncrystallizable  into  grape sugar, but
attributes  it to  a molecular transformation of the sugar, independently of
the action  of the  acid; as, according to his observations, the conversion
takes place only after rest. In confirmation of his views, this chemist states
that he found the same changes to be produced by boiling sugar with water
alone.
  Cane sugar unites  with the alkalies and some of the alkaline earths, form-
ing combinations  which render the sugar less liable to change.   It also
                                 53* 
61S
Saccharum.
PART I.
unites with protoxide of lead.   Boiled for a long time with aqueous solu-
tions of potassa, lime, or baryta, the liquid becomes brown, formic acid is
produced,  and two" new acids  are  generated, discovered by Peligot, one
brown or  black and  insoluble  in  water,  called melassic acid, the other,
colourless  and very soluble, named glucic acid.  It is  supposed that the
cane sugar is converted into grape sugar before these acids are formed.
   The account above given of the action of acids and alkalies on sugar ex-
plains the way in which lime acts in the manufacture and refining of sugar.
The acids,  naturally existing in the saccharine juice, have the effect of con-
verting the cane sugar into uncrystallizable sugar, by which a  loss of the
former is sustained.   The use of lime, by neutralizing these acids, prevents
this result.   The changes in the sugar which  precede fermentation point to
the necessity of operating before this process sets in; and hence the advan-
tage  of grinding the canes immediately after they are  cut, and  boiling the
juice with the least possible delay.
   From these general remarks on the different varieties  of sugar, and the
action of chemical agents, we pass to the description of the several forms of
officinal sugar.
   Purified or white  sugar, as obtained on a large scale, is in concrete,
somewhat porous masses, called loaves, consisting of an aggregate of small
crystalline  grains.  When carefully refined,  it is brittle and pulverulent,
perfectly white, inodorous, and possessed of the pure saccharine taste.
   Unpurified or brown sugar is in the form  of a coarse powder, more or
less moist  and sticky, consisting of shining crystalline  grains, intermixed
with lumps, having an orange-yellow colour,  more or less deep, a sweet,
cloying taste,  and a  heavy peculiar smell.   It varies very much in qua-
lity.   The  best sort is nearly dry, in large sparkling grains of a clear yellow
colour, and possesses much less smell than the inferior kinds.  It consists
of cane sugar, associated with variable quantities of gummy and colouring
matter,  and a small  proportion of lime and tannic acid.  By  keeping,  it
becomes soft  and gummy, and weaker in saccharine matter, a change attri-
buted to the lime.
   Molasses is of two kinds, the West India and sugar house.  West India
molasses is a black ropy liquid, of a peculiar odour, and sweet empyreu-
matic taste.  When  mixed with water and the skimmings of  the vessels
used in the manufacture of sugar, it forms a liquor, which, when fermented
and  distilled,  yields  rum.  Sugar  house molasses has  the same general
appearance as the West India.  It is, however, thicker, and has a differ-
ent flavour.  Its sp.  gr. is  about 1*4, and  it contains about 75 per cent, of
solid  matter.   It is the officinal molasses of the British Colleges.   Both
kinds of molasses consist of uncrystallizable sugar, more or less  cane sugar,
which has  escaped separation in the process of manufacture or refining, and
gummy and colouring matter.
   Composition.  The following formulas express the composition of the
different varieties of sugar,  as far as  known.  Cane sugar, C12HnOu.  Cane
sugar, as it exists in combination with two eqs. of protoxide of lead (cara-
mel?  anhydrous sugar?),  C12H909.   Grape sugar, 012H14014.  Grape sugar,
heated to 212°, C]2H120J2.   Lactin  or sugar of milk,  C24H24024.  Uncrys-
tallizable sugar has not been analyzed.   The  theory of  the conversion  of
grape sugar, during the vinous fermentation, into earbonic acid and alcohol,
has been explained under another head. (See Alcohol.)
   Med. and Pharm. Uses, fyc.  The uses of sugar as an aliment and con-
diment are numerous.  It is nutritious, but, judging from the results of the
experiments of Magendie,  not capable of supporting life when taken exclu- 
part i.             Saccharum.—Sagapenum.                 619

sively as aliment, on account of the absence of nitrogen in its composition.
It is a powerful  antiseptic, and is beginning to be used for preserving meat
and fish; for which purpose it possesses the advantage of acting in a much
less quantity than is requisite of common salt, and of not altering the taste,
nor impairing the nutritious qualities of the aliment.
  The medical properties of sugar are those of a demulcent, and as such it
is much used in catarrhal affections,  attended with irritation of the larynx
and fauces,  in the form of candy, syrup, &c.  In pharmacy it is employed
to render oils miscible with water, to cover the taste of medicines, to give
them consistency, to preserve them  from  change, and  to protect from oxi-
dation  certain ferruginous preparations.  Accordingly it enters into  the
composition of several infusions and  mixtures, and of nearly all the syrups,
confections, and troches.   Brown sugar is used  in the Dublin compound
pills of iron, and in the Dublin and Edinburgh infusion of senna with tama-
rinds;  and molasses, in preparing the London compound pills of iron, the
London and Dublin compound pills of chloride of mercury, the Edinburgh
syrup of senna,  and the Dublin compound pills of colocynth,  and of galba-
num, and electuary of senna.  Molasses is well fitted for forming pills, pre-
serving them soft and free from mouldiness, on account of its retenliveness
of moisture  and its  antiseptic qualities.   In the United States Pharmacopoeia
brown sugar and molasses are not officinal,  their place being usually sup-
plied by syrup.
   Off. Prep, of Saccharum.  Syrupus, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.    B.


                   SAGAPENUM. Lond.,  Dub.

                             Sagapenum.

   " Ferulae  species incerta. Gummi-resina." Lond.
   Sajrapenum, Fr.; Sagapen, Germ.; Sagapeno, Ital, Span.; Sugbeenuj, Arab.
   All that is known in relation to  the source of this gum-resin, is that it is
the concrete juice of a plant, probably belonging to the family of the Um-
belliferae, growing in Persia.  The plant  is conjectured to be a species of
Ferula, and Willdenow supposes it to be the F. Persica, but without suffi-
cient evidence.  The drug is brought from Alexandria, Smyrna, and other
ports of the Levant.
   It is in irregular masses, composed  of agglutinated fragments, slightly
translucent, of a brownish-yellow, olive, or reddish-yellow colour externally,
paler internally, brittle, of a consistence somewhat resembling  that of wax,
and often mixed with impurities, especially with seeds more or less entire.
An inferior variety is soft, tough, and  of uniform consistence.  It has  an
alliaceous odour, less disagreeable than that of assafetida, and a hot nauseous
bitterish taste.   It softens and  becomes tenacious by the heat  of the hand.
The effect of time  and  exposure is  to harden and render it darker.  It is
inflammable, burning with a white flame  and much smoke, and  leaving a
light spongy charcoal.  Pure alcohol and water dissolve it partially, diluted
alcohol almost entirely.   Distilled with water it affords a small quantity of
volatile oil;  and  the water is strongly impregnated with  its flavour.  Accord-
ing to Pelletier, it contains, in 100 parts, 54*26 of resin, 31*94 of gum, 1*0 of
bassorin, 0-60 of a  peculiar substance, 0-40 of acidulous malate of lime, and
 11-80 of volatile oil including loss.  Brandes found 3-73 per cent, of volatile
oil.   This is of a pale yellow colour, very fluid,  lighter than water, and of
a very disagreeable alliaceous odour.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Sagapenum is a moderate stimulant, simi- 
620
Sagapenu m.—Sago.
PART I.
 lar to assafetida in its properties, but much inferior, and usually considered
 as holding a middle station  between that gum-resin and galbanum.   It has
 been given as an emmenagogue and antispasmodic in amenorrhoea, hysteria,
 chlorosis, &c, but is now  seldom used.  The ancients  were acquainted
 with it; and Dioscorides speaks of it as being derived from Media. The dose
 is from ten to  thirty grains, and may be administered in  pill or emulsion.
 Sagapenum is also considered discutient, and has been occasionally applied
 externally, in the form of plaster, to indolent tumours.
   Off\Prep.  Confectio Rutae, Lond., Dub.; Pilulae Galbani  Compositae,
 Lond.; Pil. Sagapeni Comp.,  Lond.                              W.

                    SAGO.  U.S., Lond.,  Ed.

                               Sago.

  " The prepared  fecula  of the pith of Sagus Rumphii."  U. S.  " Sagus
 Rumphii. Medullae Faecula." Lond. " Farina from the interior of the trunk
 of various Palmaceae and species  of Cycas."  Ed.
  Sagou, Fr.; Sago, Germ., Ital; Sagu, Span.
  Numerous trees  inhabiting the islands and coasts of the Indian Ocean,
 contain a farinaceous pith which is applied to the purposes of nutriment by
 the  natives.  Such are the  Sagus Rumphii, Sagus laevis, Sagus Ruffia,
 SaguerUs Rumphii, and Phoenix farinifera,  belonging  to the family of
 Palms; and the Cycas circinalis, Cycas revoluta, and Zamia lanuginosa,
 belonging to the Cycadaceae.   Of these the Sagus Rumphii, Sagus laevis,
 and  Saguerus Rumphii probably contribute to furnish the sago of com-
 merce.  Crawford, in his History of the Indian Archipelago, states that it
 is derived exclusively from the  Metroxylon Sagu, identical with the Sagus
 Rumphii;  but  Roxburgh ascribes the granulated Sago to S.  laevis, and
 one of the finest kinds is said  by Dr. Hamilton to be produced by the Sa-
 guerus Rumphii of Roxburgh.  The farinaceous  product of the different
 species of Cycas, sometimes called Japan Sago, does not enter into general
 commerce.
  Sagus.  Sex.  Syst. Monoecia Hexandria.—Nat. Ord. Palmaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Common spathe one-valved.  Spadix branched.  Male. Calyx
 three-leaved. Corolla none. Filaments dilated.  Female. Calyx three-
 leaved, with two  of the leaflets  bifid.   Corolla none.  Style very short.
 Stigma simple. Nut tessellated-imbricated, one-seeded. Willd.
  Sagus Rumphii. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 404; Loudon's Encyc. of Plants,
 p. 789.  The Sago palm is  one of the smallest trees of the family to which
it belongs.   Its extreme  height seldom exceeds thirty feet.  The trunk is
proportionably very thick, quite erect, cylindrical, covered with  the remains
of the  old leafstalks, and surrounded by a beautiful crown of foliage, con-
sisting  of numerous, very large, pinnate leaves, extending in every direction
from the  summit, and curving  gracefully downwards.  From the basis of
the leaves proceed long, divided and subdivided flower and fruit-bearing
spadices, the branches of which are smooth.  The fruit is a roundish nut,
covered with a checkered imbricated coat, and containing a single seed.
  The tree is a native of the East India  islands, growing  in the Peninsula
 of Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo,  Celebes,  the  Moluccas, and a part of  New
 Gujnea.  It flourishes best in  low and moist situations.   Before attaining
 maturity, the stem  consists of a shell usually about  two inches thick,  filled
 with an enormous  volume of spongy medullary matter like that of elder.
 This is gradually absorbed after the appearance of fruit, and the stem ulti- 
PART I.
Sago.
621
mately becomes hollow.  The greatest age of the tree is not more than thirty
years.  At the proper period of its growth, when the medullary matter is
fully developed, and has not yet begun to diminish, the tree is felled, and the
trunk cut into billets six or seven feet long,  which are split in order to faci-
litate the extraction of the pith.  This is obtained in the  slate of a coarse
powder, which is mixed with water in a trough, having a sieve at the end.
The water loaded with farina,  passes  through the sieve, and is received in
convenient vessels, where it is allowed to stand till the insoluble matter has
subsided.  It is then strained off;  and the farina which is left may be dried
into a kind of meal, or moulded into whatever shape may be desired.   For
the  consumption of the natives it is usually formed into  cakes  of various
sizes, which are dried, and extensively sold in the islands.   The commercial
sago is prepared by forming the meal into a paste with water, and rubbing
it into grains.  It is produced in the greatest abundance in the  Moluccas,
but of the finest quality on the eastern coast of Sumatra.   The Chinese of
Malacca refine it so  as to give the grains  a fine  pearly lustre.   Malcolm
states  that it is also refined in large quantities  at  Singapore.  In this state
it is called pearl sago,  and is in great repute.  It  is said that not less than
five or six hundred pounds of sago are procured from a single tree.  (Craw-
ford.)
   Pearl sago is that which is now generally used.  It is in small grains,
about the size of a pin's head, hard, whitish, or of a light brown colour,  in
some instances translucent, inodorous, and with little taste.  It may be ren-
dered perfectly white by a solution of chloride of  lime.
   Common sago is in larger and browner grains,  of more unequal size,  of
a duller aspect,  and frequently mixed with more or less of a dirty looking
powder.
   Sago meal is  imported  into England from the  East  Indies;  but  we
have met  with none in the markets of this country.  It is in the form of a
fine amylaceous  powder, of a whitish colour, with a yellowish or reddish
tint, and of a faint but somewhat musty odour.
   Common sago is insoluble in  cold water, but by long boiling unites with
that liquid, becoming at first soft and transparent,  and ultimately forming a
gelatinous solution.   Pearl  sago is partially dissolved by cold water, pro-
bably owing to heat used in its preparation.   Chemically considered, it has
the characters of starch.   Under the microscope, the granules of sago meal
appear oval or ovate, and often  truncated, so as to be more or less mullar-
shaped.   Many of them are broken, and in most, the surface is irregular or
tuberculated.  They  exhibit upon  their surface concentric rings,  which,
however,  are much less distinct  than in potato starch.  The  hilum is cir-
cular when perfect, and cracks  either with  a single slit, or a cross, or in a
stellate manner.   The granules of pearl sago are of the same form, but are all
ruptured, and exhibit only indistinct traces of the annular lines, having been
altered in  the process employed  in preparing them.   Those of the common
sago are very similar to the particles of sago meal, except that they are
perhaps rather less regular and more broken. (Pereira.)
   Potato starch is sometimes prepared in Europe so as to resemble bleached
pearl sago, for which it is sold. But, when examined under the microscope,
it exhibits larger granules,  which  are also  more  regularly oval or ovate,
smoother, less broken and  more distinctly marked with the annular rugae
than those of sago; and the circular hilum  often  cracks with two slightly
diverging  slits.
   Sago is  used exclusively as an  article of diet, having no medicinal qualities
which adapt it to the treatment of disease.  Being nutritive, easily digestible, 
622
Sago.—Salix.
PART I.
 and wholly destitute of irritating properties, it  is frequently employed in
 febrile  cases, and in convalescence from acute disorders, in the place of
 richer and less innocent food.   It is given in the liquid state, and in its pre-
 paration care should be taken to boil it long in water, and stir it diligently,
 in order that the grains may be thoroughly dissolved.   Should  any portion
 remain undissolved, it  should be separated by straining; as it might offend a
 delicate stomach.  A tablespoonful to the pint of water is sufficient for or-
 dinary  purposes.  The solution may be seasoned with sugar and nutmeg,
 or with other spices, and with wine, where these are not contra-indicated.
                                                                 W.


                    SALIX. U.S.  Secondary.

                               Willow.

   " The bark of Salix alba."  U. S.
   Off.  Syn.   SALICIS  CORTEX.  Bark of Salix Caprea.  Ed.; SALIX
 ALBA. SALIX FRAGILIS. SALIX CAPREA.  Cortex.  Dub.
  Ecorce de saule, Fr.;  Weidenrinde, Germ.; Corteccia di salcio, Ital; Corteza de sauce,
 Span.
  Salix.  Sex. Syst.  Dioecia Diandria.—Nat. Ord. Salicaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Male. Amentum cylindrical Calyx a scale.   Corolla none.
 Glands of the base nectariferous.  Female. Amentum cylindrical.  Calyx
 a scale.   Corolla none.  Style two-cleft.  Capsule one-celled, two-valved.
 Seeds downy.  Willd.
  This is a very extensive genus, comprising, according to Nuttall, not less
 than one hundred and  thirty species, which, with very few exceptions, are
 natives  of  Europe and of the northern and temperate parts of North Ame-
 rica.   Though most of them are probably possessed of similar medical pro-
 perties, only three have been admitted to the rank of officinal plants by the
 British  Colleges; viz.  S. alba,  S. caprea, and S. fragilis.   Of these spe-
 cies, the Salix alba  is the only one which has been  introduced into this
 country, and is expressly recognised  in the last  edition of our Pharmaco-
 poeia.   The  S. Russelliana, which has been introduced from Europe, is
 said by Sir James Smith to be  the most valuable species.   The  S. pur-
purea,  which is a European  species, is said  by Lindley to be the most
 bitter, and the S. pentandra is preferred by Nees von Esenbeck.  Many
 native species are in all probability equally active with the foreign; but they
 have not been sufficiently tried in regular practice to admit of a positive de-
 cision in relation to them.  The younger Michaux speaks of the S. nigra
 or black ivillow, as affording in its root a strong bitter, used in  the country
 as a preventive and cure of intermittents.   In consequence of the pliability
 of the young branches or twigs, the  willow is  admirably adapted  for the
 manufacture of baskets and other kinds of wicker-work, and several species,
 as well  native as introduced, are employed for this purpose  in the United
 States.   The S. Babylonica or weeping willow is a favourite ornamental
 tree.  The degree of bitterness in the bark is probably the best criterion of
 the value of the different  species.
  Salix alba. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 710;  Smith, Flor. Brit. 1071.  The
 common European or white willow  is a tree twenty-five or thirty feet in
 height,  with numerous round spreading branches, the younger of which are
 silky.   The  bark of the  trunk is  cracked and brown, that of  the smaller
 branches smooth and greenish.   The leaves are alternate, upon  short pe-
 tioles, lanceolate, pointed, acutely serrate with the lower serratures glandu- 
part I.                          Salix.                           623

lar, pubescent on both  sides,  and silky beneath.  There are no stipules.
The flowers appear at the same time with the leaves.  The amenta are
terminal,  cylindrical,  and elongated,  with elliptical, lanceolate, brown,
pubescent scales.  The stamens are two in number, yellow, and somewhat
longer than  the scales; the style is short;  the stigmas two-parted and thick.
The capsule is nearly sessile,  ovate, and smooth.
   The white willow has  been introduced  into this country from Europe,
and is now very common.  It flowers in April  and  May;  and the  bark is
easily separable throughout the summer.
   That obtained from the branches rolls up when dried  into the form of a
quill, has a  brown epidermis,  is flexible, fibrous, and of  difficult pulveriza-
tion.   Willow bark  has a feebly aromatic odour, and a peculiar bitter astrin-
gent taste.   It yields its active  properties to  water, with which it forms a red-
dish-brown  decoction.  Pelletier and Caventou found among its ingredients,
tannin, resin,  a bitter yellow  colouring matter,  a green  fatty matter, gum,
wax, lignin, and an  organic acid combined with magnesia.  The propor-
tion of tannin  is so  considerable that the  bark has been used  for tanning
leather.  A crystalline principle has  also  been obtained from  it,  which,
having the medical virtues of  the willow, has received the name of salicin.
When pure, it is in  white,  shining, slender crystals, inodorous, but very
bitter, with the peculiar flavour of the bark.  It is soluble  in  cold water,
much more so in boiling water, soluble in alcohol, and insoluble in ether and
the oil of turpentine.  It  neutralizes neither acids nor  salifiable  bases; and
is not precipitated by any  reagent.    Concentrated sulphuric acid  decom-
poses it, receiving from it an  intense and permanent bright red colour, and
producing a new compound called rutulin.  Muriatic  and  dilute sulphuric
acid convert it into  grape-sugar,  and  a white,  tasteless,  insoluble powder
named saliretin. Distilled with bichromate of potassa and sulphuric acid, it
yields, among other products, a volatile oleaginous fluid,  identical with one
of the components of oil of spiraea, and from its acid properties, denominated
saliculous acid.  This is considered  by Dumas as consisting of a pecu-
liar compound radical called salicule and hydrogen.   The formula of salicin
is  C^H^O^.  (Turner's  Chemistry.)  The  honour  of its discovery is
claimed  by  Buchner of Germany, and Fontana and Rigatelli of Italy; but
M. Leroux of France deserves the credit of having first  accurately  investi-
gated its properties.   Braconnot procured it by adding subacetate of lead to
a decoction of the bark, precipitating the excess of lead  by sulphuric acid,
evaporating the colourless liquid  which remains, adding near the end of the
process  a little animal charcoal  previously washed, and  filtering the liquor
while hot.   Upon  cooling it deposits the salicin in a crystalline form.
(Journ.  de  Chimie Medicate, Janv. 1831.)  The following is  the process
of Merck.  A boiling concentrated decoction of the bark is treated with
litharge  until  it becomes  nearly colourless.  Gum, tannin, and extractive
matter, which  would impede  the crystallization of the salicin, are thus re-
moved from the liquid, while a portion of the oxide is dissolved in union
probably with the  salicin.    To separate  this  portion of oxide,  sulphuric
acid is first added  and then  sulphuret  of barium, and the liquor  is filtered
and evaporated.   Salicin is deposited, and may be purified by repeated
solution and crystallization.  (Turner's Chemistry.)   Erdmann has given
another  process.  Sixteen ounces of the bark are macerated for  twenty-four
hours in four quarts  of water mixed with two ounces of lime, and the whole
is then boiled for half an  hour.   The  process is repeated with  the residue.
The  decoctions having been  mixed,  and allowed to become clear  by sub-
sidence, the liquor is poured off, concentrated to a quart,  then digested with 
 624                       Salix.—Salvia.                   part i.

 eight ounces of ivory-black, filtered, and evaporated to dryness.  The ex-
 tract is exhausted by spirit containing 28 per cent, of alcohol, and the tinc-
 ture evaporated so that  the salicin may crystallize.  This is purified  by
 again dissolving, treating with ivory-black, and crystallizing.  (Christison's
 Dispensatory.) Merck obtained 251 grains from 16 ounces of the bark and
 young twigs of Salix helix, and Erdmann 300 grains from the same quantity
 of the bark of Salix pentandra.  It may, in all probability, be  obtained from
 any of the willow barks which have a bitter taste.  Braconnot procured it also
 from various species of Populus, particularly the P. tremula  or European
 aspen.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   The bark of the willow is  tonic and as-
 tringent, and has been employed as a substitute for Peruvian  bark, particu-
 larly in intermittent fever.  It has attracted much attention from the asserted
 efficacy of salicin in the cure of this  complaint.   There seems to  be no
 room to doubt, from the testimony of numerous  practitioners in France,
 Italy, and Germany, that this principle has the property of arresting inter-
 mittents; though the  ascription to it of equal efficacy with the sulphate  of
 quinia was certainly premature.  The bark may be employed in substance
 or decoction, in the same doses and with the same mode of preparation as
 cinchona.  The dose of salicin is from two to eight grains, to be so repeated,
 that from twenty to forty grains may be taken  daily,  or in the interval be-
tween the paroxysms of an intermittent.  Magendie has seen fevers cut short
in one day by three doses of six grains each.   The decoction of willow has
been found beneficial as  an external application in foul and indolent ulcers.
                                                                W.

                   SALVIA.  U.S. Secondary.
   " The leaves of Salvia officinalis." U. S.
   Sauge, Fr.; S.ilbey, Germ.; Salvia, Ital, Span.
   Salvia.  Sex.  Syst.  Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Lamiaceae or
Labiatae.
   Gen. Ch. Corolla unequal.   Filaments  affixed transversely to a pedicel.
 Willd.
   Salvia officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant,  i. 129; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 352.
t. 127.   The common garden sage is a perennial plant, about two feet high,
with a quadrangular, pubescent, branching, shrubby  stem, furnished with
opposite, petiolate, ovate lanceolate, crenulate, wrinkled leaves, of a grayish-
green colour, sometimes tinged with red or purple.   The flowers are blue,
variegated with white and purple; and are disposed on long terminal spikes
in distant whorls, each composed of few  flowers, and accompanied with
ovate, acute, deciduous bractes.  The calyx is tubular  and  striated, with
two  lips, of which the upper has three  acute  teeth, the  under two.   The
corolla is  tubular, bilabiate, ringent, with the upper lip concave, the lower
divided into three rounded lobes, of which  the  middle is  the largest.   The
filaments are supported upon short pedicels, to which they are affixed trans-
versely at the middle.
   Sage grows spontaneously in the South of Europe, and is cultivated abun-
dantly in our gardens.  There are several varieties, differing in the size and
colour of their flowers, but all possessed of the same medical properties.
The flowering period is in June, at which time the plant should be cut and
dried in a shady place.  The leaves are the officinal portion. 
part i.                  Salvia.—Sambucus.                   625

  Both these and the flowering summits have a strong, fragrant odour, and
a warm, bitterish, aromatic, somewhat astringent  taste.  They abound in a
volatile oil, which may be obtained separate by distillation with water, and
contains a considerable proportion of camphor.  Sulphate of iron strikes a
black colour with their infusion.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Sage unites a slight degree of tonic power
and astringency with the properties common to the aromatics.   By the an-
cients it was very highly esteemed; but it is at present little used internally,
except as a condiment.  In the state of infusion  it may be given in debili-
tated conditions of the stomach attended with flatulence, and is said to have
been useful in checking  the  exhausting sweats of hectic fever.   But its
most useful application is as a gargle in inflammation of the throat and re-
laxation of the uvula.  For this purpose it is usually employed in infusion,
with honey and  alum, or vinegar.  From twenty  to thirty grains of the
powdered leaves  may be  given for a dose.  The infusion is prepared by
macerating an ounce of the leaves in a pint of boiling water, of which two
fluidounces may be administered at once. When intended to be used merely
as a pleasant drink in febrile complaints, or to allay nausea, the  maceration
should continue but a very short time, so that all the bitterness of the leaves
may not be extracted.
  Two other species of Salvia—the S. jjratensis and  S. Sclarea—are
ranked among the  officinal plants in  Europe.  The latter, which is com-
monly called clarry, has been introduced into our gardens.   Their medical
properties are essentially  the same as those of the common sage; but they
are less agreeable, and are not much used.  In Europe, the leaves of the S.
Sclarea are said  to be introduced into wine in order to impart to it a mus-
cadel taste.                                                     W.


         SAMBUCUS. U.S. Secondary, Lond., Ed.

                          Elder Flowers.

  " The flowers of  Sambucus  Canadensis." U. S.  " Sambucus  nigra.
Flores." Lond.  " Flowers of Sambucus nigra."  Ed.
   Off. Syn. SAMBUCUS NIGRA. Flores.  Baccae. Cortex interior. Dub.
   Sureau, Fr.; Hollunder, Germ.;  Sambuco, Ital; Sauco, Span.
  Sambucus. Sex.  Syst.  Pentandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Caprifoliaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-parted.   Corolla five-cleft.  Berry three-seeded.
Willd.
   Sambucus Canadensis.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i.  1494.   Our indigenous
common elder is a shrub from six to ten feet high, with  a  branching stem,
which is covered  with a rough gray bark, and contains a large spongy pith.
The small branches and the leafstalks are very smooth. The leaves are op-
posite, pinnate, sometimes bipinnate, and composed usually of three or four
pairs of oblong  oval, acuminate, smooth, shining, deep-green leaflets, the
midribs of which are somewhat pubescent.  The flowers are small,  white,
and disposed in loose cymes, having about five divisions.   The  berries are
small, globular, and when ripe of  a deep purple colour.
  The shrub grows in low moist grounds, along fences, and on the borders
of small streams, in all parts of the United States, from Canada to Carolina.
It flowers  from  May to July, and ripens its  berries early in the  autumn.
The flowers, which are the officinal portion, have  a  somewhat aromatic,
though rather heavy odour.   The berries as well as other parts of the plant
are employed in domestic  practice, and have been found to answer the same
     54 
626                 Sambucus.—Sanguinaria.              part i.

purposes with the corresponding parts of the European elder, to which this
species bears a very close affinity.
   Sambucus nigra.  Willd. Sp!Plant, i. 1495; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 596.
t.  211.   The common  elder of Europe  differs  from the American most
obviously in its size, which approaches  to that of a small tree. The stem is
much branched towards the top, and has a rough whitish bark.  The leaves
are pinnate, consisting usually of five oval, pointed, serrate leaflets, four of
which are in opposite pairs, and the fifth terminal.  The flowers are small,
whitish,  and in five-parted cymes.  The berries are globular,  and of a
blackish-purple colour when ripe.
   The flowers have a peculiar sweetish odour, which is strong in  their re-
cent state, but becomes feeble by drying.   Their  taste is bitterish.  They
yield their active properties to water by infusion, and when distilled give
over a small proportion  of volatile  oil, which on cooling  assumes a buty-
raceous consistence.  Water  distilled from  them contains an appreciable
portion of ammonia. The berries are nearly inodorous, but have a sweetish
acidulous taste, dependent on the saccharine matter and malic acid  which
they  contain.  Their expressed juice is susceptible of fermentation,  and
forms a vinous liquor used in the North of Europe.   It is coloured violet
by alkalies, and bright red by acids; and the colouring matter is precipitated
blue by acetate of lead.   The inner bark is without smell, its  taste is at
first sweetish, afterwards slightly bitter, acrid, and nauseous.  Both water
and  alcohol extract its virtues, which are said to reside  especially in the
green layer  between the  liber and epidermis.   According to Simon, the
active principle of the  inner bark of the root  is  a soft  resin, which may
be obtained  by exhausting the powdered bark  with alcohol, filtering the
tincture,  evaporating to the consistence of syrup, then adding ether, which
dissolves the active matter, and finally evaporating to the consistence of a
thick extract.   Of this, twenty grains produces brisk vomiting and purging.
(Annal.  der Pharm. xxxi. 262.)
   Medical  Properties  and  Uses.  The flowers are gently excitant  and
sudorific, but are seldom used except externally as a discutient in the form
of poultice, fomentation, or ointment.  The berries are diaphoretic and ape-
rient; and their inspissated juice has enjoyed some reputation as a remedy
in rheumatic, gouty, eruptive, and syphilitic affections.  Its dose as an
alterative diaphoretic is one or two drachms, as a laxative half an ounce or
more.  The inner bark is a hydragogue cathartic, acting also as  an emetic
in large  doses.  It  has  been employed in dropsy, and as an alterative in
various  chronic diseases.  An ounce  may be  boiled with two pints of
water to a pint, and four fluidounces of the decoction given for a dose.
It is  also sometimes used in vinous infusion.  The leaves are not without
activity,  and the young leaf-buds are said to be  a violent and  even unsafe
purgative.  The juice  of  the root  has been used as a diuretic in dropsy.
   Off. Prep. Aqua Sambuci, Lond., Ed.; Oleum Sambuci, Lond.; Succus
Spissatus Sambuci, Dub.; Unguentum Sambuci, Lond., Dub.      W.


                     SANGUINARIA.  U.S.

                              Bloodroot.

   " The rhizoma of Sanguinaria Canadensis."  U. S.
   Sanguinaria.  Sex.  Syst.  Polyandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Papave-
 raceae.
   Gen.Ch. Calyx two-leaved. Petals eight.  Stigma sessile, two-grooved. 
PART I.
Sanguinaria.
627
Capsule  superior, oblong,  one-celled,  two-valved, apex  attenuated.   Re-
ceptacles two, filiform, marginal. Nuttall.
  Sanguinaria  Canadensis. Willd. Sp.  Plant,  ii.  1140; Bio-elow, Am.
Med. Bot. i. 75; Barton, Med. Bot.  i.  31.   The bloodroot, or, as it  is
sometimes called, puccoon, is an herbaceous  perennial plant.   The  root
(rhizoma) is horizontal, abrupt, often contorted, about as thick as the finger,
two or three inches long, fleshy, of a reddish-brown colour on the outside,
and brighter red within. It  is furnished with numerous slender radicles, and
makes offsets from the sides,  which  succeed the old plant.  From the end of
the root arise the scape and leafstalks,  surrounded by the  large sheaths  of
the bud.   These spring up  together, the folded leaf enveloping the flower-
bud, and rolling back as the latter expands. The leaf, which stands upon a
long channeled petiole, is reniform, somewhat heart-shaped, deeply lobed,
smooth, yellowish-green  on  the upper surface, paler or glaucous on the
under, and strongly marked by orange-coloured veins.  The scape is erect,
round, and smooth, rising from a few inches to a foot in height, and terminat-
ing in a single flower.  The calyx is two-leaved and deciduous.  The  petals,
varying  from seven to fourteen, but usually about  eight  in number, are
spreading, ovate, obtuse, concave,  mostly white, but sometimes slightly
tinged with rose or purple.   The stamens  are numerous, with yellow fila-
ments shorter than  the corolla, and orange oblong anthers.  The germ  is
oblong and compressed, and  supports a sessile, persistent stigma. The cap-
sule is oblong, acute at both ends, two-valved, and contains numerous oval,
reddish-brown seeds.  The whole plant is pervaded by an orange-coloured
sap, which flows from every part when broken, but is of the deepest colour
in the root.
   The bloodroot is one of  the earliest and  most beautiful spring flowers of
North America.  It grows  abundantly  throughout the whole United  States,
delighting in loose rich soils, and shady situations, and flowering in  March
and April.  After the fall of  the flower, the leaves continue to increase  in
size, and by the middle  of summer, have  become so large  as to give the
plant an entirely different aspect.  All  parts of the plant are active, but the
root only is officinal.
   This, when dried, is in  pieces from one to three inches long, from a
 quarter to half an inch or more in thickness,  flattened, much wrinkled and
 twisted, often furnished with abrupt offsets and numerous short fibres, of a
 reddish-brown colour externally, with a spongy uneven fracture, the surface
 of which is at first bright orange, but becomes of a dull brown by long ex-
 posure.   The colour of the powder is  a brownish orange-red.  Sanguinaria
 has a faint narcotic odour,  and a bitterish very acrid taste, the pungency of
 which remains long in the  mouth and fauces.  It yields its virtues to water
and alcohol.  The late Dr. Dana, of New York, obtained from it a peculiar
 alkaline   principle, denominated by him  sanguinarina,  upon which  the
 acrimony, and perhaps the medical virtues of the root depend.  It may be
 procured, according  to Dana, by infusing the finely powdered root in hot
 water or diluted muriatic or acetic acid, precipitating with water of ammo-
 nia, collecting the precipitated matter, boiling it in water with pure animal
 charcoal, filtering off the water, exposing the residue left upon the filter to
 the action of alcohol, and finally evaporating the alcoholic solution.  (Ann.
 Lye. of Nat. Hist. New York, ii. 250.)  Sanguinarina, thus obtained, is a
 white pearly substance, of an acrid  taste, very sparingly soluble in water,
 soluble in ether, and very soluble in alcohol.   With the acids it forms salts
 soluble in water, all of which have some shade of red, crimson,  or scarlet,
 and form beautiful red solutions.  They are acrid and pungent to the taste, 
62S
Sanguinaria.—Santalum.
PART I.
 particularly the muriate and acetate. From these facts it would appear, that
 the red colour and acrid properties of the bloodroot may be owing to the
 presence of some native salt of sanguinarina, which is decomposed by am-
 monia in the process of separating the vegetable alkali.
    Fhe virtues of the root are said to be rapidly deteriorated by time.
    Medical Properties  and  Uses.  Sanguinaria is  an  acrid  emetic, with
 stimulant and narcotic powers.  In small doses it excites  the stomach, and
 accelerates  the circulation; more largely given,  it produces nausea and con-
 sequent depression of the pulse; and in the full  dose occasions  active vomit-
 ing.   The  effects of an overdose are violent  emesis, a burning sensation in
 the stomach, tormenting thirst, faintness, vertigo, dimness of vision, and
 alarming prostration.   Four  persons lost  their lives at Bellevue Hospital,
 New  York, in  consequence of drinking  largely of tincture of bloodroot,
 which they mistook for ardent spirit. (Am.  Journ. of Med. Sci. N. S. ii.
 506.)   Snuffed up the  nostrils, bloodroot  excites much irritation, attended
 with sneezing.   Upon fungous surfaces it acts as an  escharotic.   It has
 been given in typhoid pneumonia, catarrh,  pertussis, croup,  phthisis pul-
 monalis, rheumatism, jaundice, hydrothorax,  and some  other  affections,
 either as an emetic, nauseant, or alterative; and its virtues are highly praised
 by many judicious practitioners.
   The dose with a view to its emetic operation is from ten to twenty grains,
 given  in powder or pill.  The latter form is  preferable  in consequence  of
 the great irritation of throat produced by the powder when swallowed. For
 other purposes, the dose is from one  to five  grains, repeated more or less
 frequently according to the  effect desired.  The medicine is sometimes
 given  in infusion or decoction, in  the proportion of half  an ounce to the
 pint.  The emetic dose of this preparation  is  from  half a fluidounce to a
 fluidounce.   The tincture is  officinal.  An  infusion in vinegar has been
 employed advantageously, as a local application,  in obstinate  cutaneous
 affections.
   Off. Prep. Tinctura Sanguinariae, U. S.                         W.


                       SANTALUM.  U.S.

                           Red Saunders.

   " The wood of  Pterocarpus santalinus." U. S.
   Off. Syn.  PTEROCARPUS. Pterocarpus santalinus. Lignum. Lond.;
 PTEROCARPUS.  Wood of Pterocarpus  santalinus. Ed.; SANTALUM
 RUBRUM.  PTEROCARPUS SANTALINUS.  Lignum.  Dub.
   Santal rouge, Fr.;  Santelholz, Germ.
   Pterocarpus. Sex. Syst.  Diadelphia Decandria.—Nat. Ord. Fabaceae
 or Leguminosae.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx five-toothed.  Legume falcated, leafy, varicose, girted
by a wing, not gaping.  Seeds solitary. Willd.
   Pterocarpus santalinus. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iii. 906; Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 430. t. 156.   This is a large  tree with alternate branches, and petiolate
ternate leaves, each simple leaf being ovate, blunt, somewhat notched at the
apex, entire, veined, smooth on the upper surface, and hoary beneath.  The
flowers are yellow, in axillary spikes, and have a papilionaceous corolla, of
which  the vexillum is  obcordate,  erect, somewhat reflexed at the sides,
toothed and  waved, the alas spreading with their edges apparently toothed,
and the carina oblong, short,  and somewhat inflated.  The tree is a native
of India, attaining  the highest perfection in mountainous districts, and in- 
PART I.
Santa turn.—Sapo.
629
habiting  especially the mountains of Coromandel and Ceylon.   Its wood
is the true officinal red saunders, though there is reason to believe that the
product of other trees is sold by the same name.
  The wood comes in roundish or angular billets, internally of a blood-red
colour, externally brown from  exposure to the air, compact, heavy, and of
a fibrous texture.  It is kept in the shops in  the state of small chips, rasp-
ings, or coarse powder.
  Red saunders has little smell or taste.  It imparts a red colour  to alcohol,
ether, and alkaline solutions, but not to water; and a test is thus  afforded
by which it  may be distinguished from  some other colouring woods.  The
alcoholic tincture  produces  a deep violet precipitate with the sulphate of
iron, a scarlet with the bichloride of mercury, and a violet with the soluble
salts of lead.  The colouring principle, which was separated by Pelletier,
and called by him santalin, is of a  resinous character, scarcely  soluble in
cold water, more so in boiling water, very soluble in alcohol, ether, acetic
acid, and alkaline solutions, but slightly in the fixed and volatile oils,  with
the exception of those of lavender and rosemary, which readily dissolve it.
It is precipitated when acids are added to the infusion of the wood prepared
with an alkaline solution.
  The wood has no medical virtues, and is employed solely for the  purpose
of imparting colour.
   Off. Prep.  Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Tinctura Cinchonae Composita, U. S.;  Tinctura Rhei et Sennae, U. S.
                                                               W.


                       SAPO.  U.S., Lond.

                                Soap.

  " Soap made with soda and  olive  oil."  U. S.  " Sapo, ex Olivae oleo et
Soda confectus." Lond.
   Off. Syn.  SAPO DURUS. Ed., Dub.;  " Spanish or  Castile soap,
made with olive oil and soda."  Ed.
  Savon blanc, Fr.; Oel-sodaseife, Germ.;  Sapone duro, Ital; Xabon, Span.


                   SAPO VULGARIS. U.S.

                           Common Soap.

  " Soap made with soda and animal oil." U. S.
  Savon de suif, Savon de graisse, Fr.; Talgseife, Germ.

              SAPO MOLLIS. Lond., Ed.. Dub.

                             Soft Soap.

  " Sapo, ex Olivae oleo et Potassa confectus." Lond.  " Soft soap, made
with olive oil and potash."  Ed.
  Sav:iti mou, Savon vert, Savon &. base  de potasse, Fr.; Schmierseife, Kaliseife, Germ.
  Soaps, in  the most extended signification of the term,  embrace all those
compounds which  result from  the reaction of salifiable  bases on oils and
fats. Oils and fats, as has been explained under the titles Olea and Adeps,
consist of three principles, two  solid, differing in  fusibility, called  stearin
and margarin,  and one liquid, called olein, of which there  are  two varie-
                                54* 
630
Sapo.
PART I.
ties.  Stearin characterizes the  fats which  are  firm  and solid, as tallow;
margarin, those that are soft like lard; and olein the  oils.   When the oils
and  fats undergo saponification by reaction with  a  salifiable  base, these
three principles are decomposed into oily acids peculiar to each, discovered
by Chevreul, and called stearic, margaric, and oleic acids, which unite with
the base to form the soap, and into a sweet principle not saponifiable,  called
glycerin, which is set free.  Hence it is inferred that stearin is a stearate, mar-
garin a margarate, and olein an oleate of glycerin, and that the oils and fats
are mixtures of these three oily salts.   Hence, also, it is obvious that soaps
are mixed stearates, margarates,  and oleates  of various bases.  Stearic acid
is  a firm white solid, fusible at 167°,  greasy to the touch, pulverizable,
soluble  in  alcohol, very soluble in ether, but insoluble in water.  In the
impure state it  is used, as a substitute for wax, for making candles.   Mar-
garic acid has  the appearance of fat, and is fusible at 140°.  Oleic acid is
an oily liquid, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, lighter than
water, crystallizable in needles a little below 32°, and having a slight  smell
and pungent taste.   Glycerin (oxide of glycerule,  sweet principle of oils)
is a colourless, volatile, inflammable, syrupy liquid, without  odour, having
a very sweet taste, uniting  in all proportions with water and  alcohol, but
insoluble in ether, and having a  sp. gr. varying from  1*25 to 1-27.
  Soaps are divided into the soluble and insoluble.   The soluble soaps are
combinations of the oily acids with soda, potassa, and ammonia; the insolu-
ble consist of the same acids united with earths and metallic oxides.  It is
the soluble soaps only that are  detergent, and it is to these that the  name
soap is generally applied.   On the  other hand the  insoluble  soaps, though
not fit for use in domestic economy,  are some of them employed in  phar-
macy; as, for example, the soap of the  protoxide  of lead, or lead plaster,
and the soap of lime.  (See Emplastrum Plumbi and Linimentum Calcis.)
  The consistency of the fixed alkaline soaps depends partly on the nature
of the oil  or fat, and partly on  the alkali present.  Soaps are harder the
more stearate  and margarate they contain,  and  softer  when the  oleate
predominates;  and, as it respects the alkali present,  they are harder when
formed with soda, and softer when  containing potassa.   Hence it is that of
pure soaps, considered as salts, stearate of soda is the hardest and most in-
soluble, and oleate  of potassa the softest and most soluble.
  The officinal soaps embrace three varieties; namely, two soda soaps, one
made with olive oil (Castile soap), the other with  animal oil (common soap);
and one potassa soap  (soft soap).  The soap of ammonia is described  under
another head.  (See Linimentum Ammoniae.)
  Preparation. The  following is an outline of the process for making soap.
The oil or fat is boiled with a solution of caustic alkali, until the whole  forms
a thick mass which can be drawn  out into long clear threads.   After the
soap is completely formed, the next step is to separate it from the excess of
alkali, the glycerin,  and redundant  water.   This  is  effected by adding
common salt, or a very strong  alkaline lye, in either of which the soap is
insoluble.   The same end  may be attained by  boiling down the solution,
until  the excess of alkali forms a strong alkaline solution, whieh acts the
same part in separating the  soap as the  addition of a  similar  solution.  As
soon as the soap is completely separated it  rises to the  surface, and  when
it has ceased to froth  in  boiling,  it is ladled  out  into  wooden frames
to congeal, after which it is cut into bars by means of a wire.   The soap,
as  first separated, is called grain soap.   It may be purified by dissolving it
in an alkaline lye,  and separating it by  common salt.  During  this process
the impurities subside, and the soap combines with more water; and  hence 
PART I.
Sapo.
631
it becomes weaker, although  purer  and whiter.  If the grain soap be not
purified, it forms marbled soap, the streaks arising  principally from an  in-
soluble soap of oxide of iron.   Sometimes the marbled appearance is pro-
duced by adding to the soap, as soon as it is completely separated, a fresh
portion  of lye, and immediately afterwards a solution of sulphate of iron.
The black oxide  of  iron is  precipitated, and gives rise to dark-coloured
streaks, which, by exposure to  the air, become red, in consequence of the
conversion of the  black into the sesquioxide  of iron.
   The officinal " soap" of the U. S. and London  Pharmacopoeias is an olive
oil soda soap, made on the same general plan as  that just explained.  It is
the Sapo Durus of the Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges.
   Common soap (Sapo Vulgaris, U. S.) is also a soda soap; but instead of
olive, it contains  concrete animal  oil.   This soap corresponds with the
white soap of Northern European countries and of the United  States, and
is formed usually from barilla and tallow.   In Scotland it is  manufactured
from kelp and tallow.  It was introduced into the list of the U. S. Pharma-
copoeia as the only proper soap for  making  opodeldoc. (See Linimentum
Saponis Camphoratum.)
   Soft soap (Sapo Mollis) is prepared on the  same general principles as hard
soap; potash being employed as the alkali, and a fatty matter, rich in olein,
as the oil.  The French soft soap is made with the seed oils, such as rape
seed, hemp seed, &c; the Scotch and  Irish, with fish oil and some tallow;
and our own with  refuse fat and grease.  A lye  of wood-ashes  is the form
of potash usually  employed.   In forming this  soap it is, necessary that it
should continue dissolved in the alkaline solution, instead of being separated
from  it.   Hence soft  soap is a soap of  potassa, completely  dissolved in the
solution of its alkali, which consequently is present in excess.  A soap of
potassa is sometimes  made with a view to its conversion into a soda soap.
This  conversion is effected by the addition of common salt, which,  by dou-
ble decomposition, generates a  soap  of soda, and chloride  of potassium in
solution.   After this  change is effected, the addition of a further portion of
salt separates the soda soap  formed.   It is  evident that here the common
salt performs a double office, and must be added in larger amount than when
it is merely used as a separating agent.
   Besides the officinal soaps of the United States and British Pharmaco-
poeias,  there are many other varieties, more or less used  for medicinal or
 economical purposes.  The officinal  soap  of  the French Codex,  called
amygdaline soap  (almond oil  soap), is formed of  caustic soda and almond
oil, and is directed to be  kept  for two months,  exposed  to the air, before
being used.   Starkey's soap, also  officinal  in the Codex, is prepared  by
uniting, by trituration, equal parts of carbonate of potassa, oil of turpentine,
and Venice turpentine.  Beef's marrow soap is a  fine animal oil soap, also
included in the French standard of  pharmacy.   Windsor soap is a scented
soda  soap, made of one part of olive oil and nine parts  of tallow.   Eau de
luce (aqua luciae)  is a kind  of  liquid soap, formed by mixing a tincture of
oil of amber and balsam of  Gilead  with water of ammonia.  Transparent
soap  is  prepared by saponifying kidney fat with soda free from foreign salts,
drying  the resulting soap, dissolving it in alcohol,  filtering  and  evaporating
the solution, and running it into moulds  when sufficiently concentrated.
 This soap is yellow or yellowish-brown, and  preserves  its transparency
 after  desiccation.  Palm soap  is prepared from palm oil and soda, to which
 tallow is added  to increase its firmness.  If it  be wanted white, the palm
 oil must be bleached by exposure to the sun, by sulphuric acid, or by chlo-
 rine.   This soap  has a yellowish colour, and an agreeable  odour of violets, 
632
Sapo.
PART I.
 derived from the oil.  Soap balls are prepared by dissolving soap in a small
 quantity of water, and then forming them with starch into  a mass of the
 proper consistence.   Common yellow  soap (rosin  soap) derives its pecu-
 liarities from an admixture of rosin and a little palm oil with the tallow em-
 ployed;  the oil being added to  improve its colour.
   All the varieties of soap,  except a few  of the fancy sort,  and the olive
 oil soaps, are manufactured in the United States.   The latter,  which are
 chiefly used for medicinal  purposes, are imported in largest quantity from
 France.
   Properties.  Soap, whatever may be its variety, has the same general
 properties.  Its aspect and consistence are  familiar to every one.   Its smell
 is peculiar, and taste slightly alkaline.   It  is somewhat heavier than water,
 and therefore sinks in that  liquid.   Exposed to heat it quickly fuses, swells
 up, and  is decomposed.   It is soluble in water, and more  readily in hot
 than in cold.   Potassa soaps and  those containing  oleic acid  are far more
 soluble than  the soda soaps, especially those  in which the stearates and
 margarates predominate.  Acids, added to an aqueous solution of soap, com-
 bine  with  the  alkali,  and set  free  the  oily acids,  which, being diffused
 through the water, give it  a milky appearance.   Its decomposition is also
 produced by metallic salts, which  invariably give rise to insoluble soaps.
 Soap  is soluble in cold, and abundantly in boiling alcohol.   This solution
 constitutes the tincture of soap, and forms a very convenient test for disco-
 vering earthy salts  in mineral waters.  The use  of soap as  a detergent
 depends upon its  power of rendering grease and other soiling substances
 soluble in water,  and, therefore, capable  of being removed by washing.
 Sometimes soap  is  adulterated with lime,  gypsum, or pipe-clay, in which
 case it will not be entirely  soluble  in alcohol.
   Olive  oil soda soap (Sapo,  U. S., Lond.), otherwise  called Castile or
 Spanish soap, is a hard soap,  and is presented under two principal varie-
 ties, the white and the marbled.   White Castile soap, when good, is of a
 pale grayish-white colour,  incapable of giving an oily stain to paper, devoid
 of rancid odour or  strong alkaline  qualities,  and entirely soluble  both in
 water and alcohol.   It should not feel greasy, nor grow moist, but, on the
 contrary, should become dry by exposure to the air, without exhibiting any
 saline efflorescence.  This variety of soap contains about twenty-one per cent.
 of water.  Sometimes it contains a larger proportion of water, with which the
 soap is made to combine by the manufacturer, with the fraudulent intention
 of increasing its weight.   Soap, thus adulterated, is known by its unusual
 whiteness, and by its suffering a great loss of weight in a dry air.  Mar-
bled Castile soap is harder, more alkaline,  and more constant in its  propor-
tions than the other variety.  It contains about fourteen per cent, of water.
 Containing less water than the white  Castile,  it is a stronger  and more
economical soap;  but  at the same time less  pure.   The  impurity arises
from the veins of marbling, which consist of ferruginous matter, as  already
explained.
   Animal oil soda soap (Sapo Vulgaris, U. S.)  is a hard soap, of  a white
 colour, inclining to yellow.   It is made from tallow and caustic soda. This
 soap possesses the same general properties as the olive oil soda soap.
   Soft soap,  as made in this country, is a semi-fluid slippery mass, capable
 of being poured from one vessel to another, and of  a  dirty yellow  colour.
 This soap always contains an excess of alkali, which causes  it to act more
 powerfully as  a detergent  than hard soap.  The London  and Edinburgh
 Colleges direct it to be made  from olive  oil and potash; but  Dr.  Pereira
 states that he has not been  able to meet with it in England.  That which is 
PART I.
Sapo.
633
made in France has a greenish colour and the consistence of soft ointment,
and is obtained from potash and hemp-seed oil.  It is called in the French
Codex, savon vert.  Sometimes it is manufactured from the dregs of olive
oil.
  Incompatibles.   Soap is decomposed by all the acids, earths, and earthy
and metallic salts.  Acids combine with the alkali,  and set free the  oily
acids  of  the soap; the earths unite with the oily acids and separate the
alkali; while the salts mentioned give rise, by double decomposition, to an
insoluble soap of their base, and  a saline combination between their acid
and the alkali of the soap.   Hard waters, in consequence of their containing
salts of lime, decompose and curdle soap.  They may be rendered soft and
fit for washing, by adding sufficient carbonate  of soda, or carbonate of
potassa, to precipitate all the lime.
   Composition.   It has been already explained that  soap consists of cer-
tain oily  acids, united with an alkali.   As olive oil is a compound of mar-
garin and olein, so  the officinal "soap" is a mixed margarate and oleate of
soda.  The officinal "common soap" is principally a stearate of soda, and
" soft soap," as defined by the London  and Edinburgh Colleges, is a mixed
margarate and oleate of potassa.  The most important soaps have  the fol-
lowing composition in  the hundred parts.   Marseilles white soap,  soda
10*24, margaric acid 9*20, oleic acid  59*20, water  21*36. (Braconnot.)
Castile soap, very dry, soda 9*0, oily acids 76*5, water 14*5. (Ure.) Glas-
gow soft  soap, potassa 9*0, oily acids 43*7, water 47*3. (Ure.)   French
soft soap, potassa 9*5, oily acids 44, water 46-5. (Thenard).  Most soaps,
it is perceived, contain a large proportion of water.
   Medical Properties.  Soap possesses the properties of a laxative, antacid,
and antilithic. It is seldom given  alone, but frequently in combination with
rhubarb,  the astringency of which it has a tendency to correct.   Thus com-
bined, it is frequently administered in dyspepsia, attended with constipation
and torpor of the liver.  As it is readily decomposed by the weakest acids,
which combine with the alkali, it has proved useful in acidity  of the stomach,
and has been recommended as  a  remedy in  the uric acid diathesis; but it
possesses no power to dissolve  calculi,  as was once supposed.  Externally,
soap is a stimulating discutient, and as  such has been used, by friction, in
sprains and bruises.   Dr. A. T. Thomson has  seen  much  benefit derived
from rubbing the tumid abdomen of children in mesenteric  fever, morning
and evening, with a strong lather  of soap.  In constipation  of the bowels,
especially when arising from hardened feces in the rectum, a strong solu-
tion of soap, especially of soft soap, forms a useful enema.  When the latter
is employed, two tablespoonfuls may be dissolved in a pint  of warm water.
In pharmacy, soap is  frequently employed for the purpose of giving a
proper consistence to pills; but care must be  taken not to associate it with a
substance which  may be decomposed by it.   It is also an ingredient in some
liniments and plasters.   In toxicology it is used as a counterpoison for the
mineral acids, and should always be resorted to in poisoning  by these agents
without a moment's delay, and its use continued, until  magnesia, chalk,
lime,  or the bicarbonate of soda or of potassa can be obtained.   The mode
of administration, in these cases, is to give a teacupful of a solution of soap,
made by  dissolving it in four times its weight of water, every three or four
minutes, until the patient has taken as much as he can swallow.   The dose
of soap is from five grains  to half a drachm, given in the form of pill.
   Off. Prep, of Soap.  Ceratum Saponis, U. S., Lond.; Emplastrum Sapo-
nis,  U. S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.;  Extractum Colocynthidis Compositum,
U. S., Lond., Dub.; Linimentum Opii,  Ed.;  Pilulae Aloes,  U. S., Ed.; 
634
Sapo.—Sarsaparilla.
PART I.
Pil. Aloes  et Assafcetidae, U. S., Ed., Dub.;  Pil. Assafcetidae,  U. S.; Pil.
Colocynthidis  Comp., Dub.; Pil. Gambogia?  Comp., Dub., Lond., Ed.;
Pil. Opii,  U. S.; Pil.  Rhei, U. S.;  Pil. Rhei Comp., Lond., Ed.; Pil.
Saponis  Comp., U. S„ Lond.,  Dub.;  Pil. Scillae Comp.,  U. S., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Saponis Camphorata,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
   Off. Prep, of Common Soap.  Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum, U. S.
   Off. Prep, of Soft Soap.   Enema Colocynthidis, Lond.; Linimentum
Terebinthinas, Lond.; Unguentum Sulphuris Compositum, Lond.    B.


                SARSAPARILLA.  U.S., Dub.

                            Sarsaparilla.

   " The root of Smilax officinalis and of other species of Smilax."  U. S.
" Smilax Sarsaparilla. Radix."  Dub.
   Off. Syn. SARZA.  Smilax officinalis. Radix. Lond.; SARZA. Root
of Smilax officinalis, and probably other species. Ed.
   Salsepareille, Fr.; Sarsaparille, Germ.; Salsapariglia, Ital; Znrznparrilla, Span,
   Smilax.  Sex. Syst.  Dioecia Hexandria.—Nat. Ord. Smilaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Male.  Calyx six-leaved. Corolla none.  Female. Calyx six-
leaved.  Coroltanone. Styles three.  Berry three-celled.  Seeds two.  Willd.
   Until recently, the Smilax Sarsaparilla was  admitted by most of the
standard authorities as the source of this drug;  but it is doubtful whether any
of the sarsaparilla of the shops was  ever obtained from that species. The
S. Sarsaparilla is a native of  the United  States, and its root would cer-
tainly have been dug up and brought into the  market, had it been found to
possess the same properties with the imported medicine.  It is not among
the eleven  species  of Smilax  described  by Humboldt, Bonpland, and
Kunth, who indicate the S. officinalis, S. syphilitica, and S. Cumanensis,
especially the  first,  as the  probable  sources  of  the sarsaparilla exported
from Mexico and the Spanish Main.  In the present state of our knowledge
on the subject,  it is impossible to decide with certainty from what species
the several commercial varieties of the drug are respectively  derived.  This
much is nearly certain, that  they do not proceed from the same plant.  Of
the great number of species belonging to this  genus, very few possess any
useful medicinal power; and Hancock states that qf the six or eight which
he found growing in the woods of Guiana, only one presented in  any de-
gree the sensible properties of the genuine sarsaparilla, the rest being insipid
and inert.   The root (rhizoma) of the Smilax China, a native of China
and Japan, has  been employed  under the name of China root for similar
purposes with  the officinal sarsaparilla.  As it occurs in commerce, it is in
pieces from three to eight inches long and an inch or two  thick, usually
somewhat flattened, more or less knotty, often branched, of  a brownish or
grayish-brown  colour  externally, whitish or  of  a light flesh-colour inter-
nally, without odour, and of a taste flat at first, but afterwards very slightly
bitterish  and somewhat acrid like that of sarsaparilla.   The  root of the
Smilax aspera is said to be  employed in the  South of Europe  as a  substi-
tute for sarsaparilla; but it has little reputation.    The East India sarsapa-
rilla, which was at one time  supposed to be the  product of  this species of
Smilax,  is  derived  from  a wholly  different plant,  named Hemidesmus
Indicus.  We  shall briefly describe  the  S. Sarsaparilla, on  account of its
former officinal rank, and afterwards such other  species as are believed to
yield  any portion of  the drug.  All of these species are climbing or trailing
plants, with prickly stems;  a character expressed in the name of the medi- 
PART I.
Sarsaparilla.
635
cine, which is derived  from two Spanish words (zarza and parilla) signi-
fying a small thorny vine.
   Smilax Sarsaparilla.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 776;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
161. t. 62.  The stem  of this plant is long, slender, shrubby, angular, and
beset with prickles.  The leaves are unarmed, ovate lanceolate, with about
five  nerves, somewhat  glaucous beneath, and supported alternately upon
footstalks, at the  bases of which are long tendrils.   The  flowers usually
stand three or  four together, upon  a  common  peduncle, which  is longer
than the leafstalk.  This species is indigenous, growing  in swamps  and
hedges in the Middle and Southern States.
   S. officinalis.  Humb. and Bonpl.  Plant  JEquinoct. i. 271.  In  this
species the stem is twining, angular, smooth, and prickly; the young shoots
are unarmed; and the leaves ovate oblong,  acute, cordiform, five or seven-
nerved, coriaceous, smooth, twelve inches long  and four or  five broad,
with footstalks an  inch long, smooth, and furnished with  tendrils.   The
young leaves are lanceolate oblong, acuminate, and three-nerved. According
to Humboldt, the plant abounds on the river Magdalena, in New Granada,
where it is called zarzaparilla by the natives.  Large quantities of the root
are sent down the river to Mompox and Carthagena.
   S. syphilitica.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv.  780.   The stem is  round  and
smooth; armed at the joints with from two to four thick, straight prickles;
and furnished with oblong lanceolate, acuminate, three-nerved, coriaceous,
shining leaves, which  are a foot in length, and terminate by a long  point.
The plant was seen by Humboldt and Bonpland in New Granada,  upon
the  banks of the river Cassiquiare, and by Martius in Brazil, at Yupura
and by the Rio Negro.  It is supposed to yield the  Brazilian sarsaparilla.
   S. medica.  Schlechtendahl,  in Linnssa, vi. 47.   This  species has an
angular stem, armed with straight prickles at the joints, and a  few hooked
ones in the intervals.   The leaves are smooth, bright green on both sides,
shortly acuminate,  five-nerved,  with the veins prominent beneath.  They
vary much in form, the lower being cordate, auriculate-hastate; the upper
cordate-ovate.  In  the old leaves, the petiole and midrib  are  armed with
straight subulate  prickles.  The inflorescence is an umbel  of from eight to
twelve flowers, with a smooth axillary peduncle, and pedicels  about three
lines long.  Shiede found this plant on the eastern declivity of the Mexican
 Andes, where the root is collected to be taken to Vera Cruz.
   The medicinal species of Smilax grow in Mexico, Guatemala, and  the
 warm latitudes of South America.  The  roots are very long and slender,
 and originate in great numbers from a common head or rhizoma, from
 which the stems of the plant rise.   The whole root with the  rhizoma is
usually dug up, and as brought into market exhibits not unfrequentiy por-
tions of the stems attached, sometimes several inches in length.  The sar-
 saparilla  of commerce comes from different sources, and  is divided into
varieties according to the place of collection or shipment.
   Honduras Sarsaparilla is the variety most used  in this country.  It is
 brought from the bay of Honduras, and comes in bundles two or three feet
 long, composed of several roots folded lengthwise, and secured in a compact
 form by a few  circular turns.  These are  packed in bales  imperfectly
 covered with skins, each bale containing one hundred pounds or more.  The
 roots are usually connected at one extremity in large numbers in a common
 head,  to which portions of the stems are also attached.  In some bundles
 are many small fibres  either lying loose or still adhering to the  roots.  The
 colour of the roots externally is a dirty grayish or reddish-brown; and the cor-
 tical portion beneath the epidermis often appears amylaceous when broken. 
636
Sarsaparilla.
PART I.
   The Jamaica or red sarsaparilla of foreign writers is little known by
 that name in the United States.  The island of Jamaica is merely its chan-
 nel of exportation to Europe, and it  is probably derived originally from
 Honduras.  It does not materially differ in  properties  from  Honduras sar-
 saparilla, its  chief peculiarity being  the reddish  colour of the epidermis,
 which is also sometimes found in that variety.   It is  said also  to yield a
 larger proportion of extract, and to contain  less starch.   As  found  in com-
 merce, it is in bundles twelve or eighteen inches long, by four or five in thick-
 ness,  consisting  of long slender  roots  folded up, with numerous  radical
 fibres attached.
   Considerable quantities of the drug are imported from the Mexican ports
 of Vera Cruz and Tampico.  The Vera Cruz sarsaparilla comes in large,
 rather loose bales, weighing about two hundred pounds, bound with cords
 or leather thongs, and usually containing the roots folded upon themselves,
 and separately packed.  These,  as in  the  Honduras  sarsaparilla, consist
 of a head  or caudex  with  numerous long  radicles, which, however, are
 somewhat smaller than in that variety, and have a thinner bark.  They are
 often  also  much soiled with earth.   This variety is  not highly esteemed;
 but  from the acrid taste which it possesses, it is probably not inferior  in real
 virtues to the other kinds.  It is probably derived from  the Smilax medica.
   Another variety is the Caracas sarsaparilla, brought in large quantities
 from La Guayra.   It is in oblong packages, of about one hundred pounds,
 surrounded with  broad strips of hide, which are connected laterally with
 thongs of the  same material, and leave much of the root exposed.   The
 roots, as in the last variety, are separately packed, but more closely and
 with greater care.  The  radicles  are often very amylaceous internally, in
 this respect resembling the  following.
   The Brazilian, or, as it is sometimes  called in Europe,  the Lisbon
 sarsaparilla, is less used in  the United States than in Europe, where it
 has  commanded a higher price.  It has  recently,  however, been  imported
 in considerable quantities.  It comes from the ports of Para and Maranham,
 in cylindrical bundles of from three to five feet in length, by about a foot in
 thickness, bound about by close circular turns of a very flexible stem, and
 consisting of unfolded roots, destitute of caudex (rhizoma) and stems, and
 having few  radical fibres.   It is the variety of which Hancock speaks as
 celebrated  throughout South  America  by the name of sarsa of the  Rio
 Negro, and is  considered as the most valuable variety  of the drug.   It is
 distinguished by the amylaceous character of its interior structure, and has
 considerable acrimony.  It is said by Martius to be derived from the Smilax
 syphilitica; but Dr. Hancock considers that portion of it which  comes from
 the  Rio Negro, and is shipped at Para, as  the product of an undescribed
 species, certainly not the S. syphilitica.
   Much sarsaparilla has  been  imported into England  from Lima, Valpa-
raiso, and other places on the Pacific  coast  of South America.  It  is de-
scribed by Pereira as bearing a close resemblance to Jamaica sarsaparilla,
but yielding a smaller proportion of extract.   It is in bundles of about three
feet long and nine  inches thick, consisting  of the  roots folded with their
heads or rhizoma attached.  The  epidermis is brown  or  grayish-brown.
Sometimes roots of a light clay colour are found in the bundles.
  Properties.  The dried sarsaparilla roots  are several  feet in length, about
the thickness of a  goose-quill, cylindrical, more or less  wrinkled longitudi-
nally, flexible, and composed  of a thick exterior cortical portion covered
with a thin  easily separable  epidermis, of an inner layer of ligneous fibre,
and  of a  central pith.  The epidermis is  of various  colours, generally 
PART I.
Sarsaparilla.
637
ash-coloured, grayish-brown, or reddish-brown, and sometimes very dark.
The cortical portion is  in  some  specimens whitish, in others brown, and
not unfrequentiy of a pink or  rosy hue.   It is occasionally white, brittle,
and almost powdery like starch.   The woody part is usually very thin, and
composed of longitudinal fibres, which allow the root to be split with faci-
lity through its whole length.   The central medulla often abounds in starch.
  Sarsaparilla in its ordinary state is nearly or quite inodorous, but in de-
coction acquires a  decided and peculiar smell.   To the taste  it is  mucilagi-
nous and very slightly  bitter, and, when chewed for some time, produces a
disagreeable acrid impression which remains long in the mouth and fauces.
The root is efficient in proportion as it possesses  this acrimony, which is
said by some authors to be confined  to the cortical portion, while the lig-
neous fibre and medullary matter are insipid and inert.  Hancock avers that
all  parts are equally acrid  and  efficacious.   The truth  is probably between
the two extremes;  and, as in most medicinal roots, it must be admitted that
the bark is more powerful than the  interior portions, while  these are not
wholly inactive.  The virtues of the root are  communicated to water cold
or hot, but are impaired by long  boiling.   (See Decoctum  Sarsaparillae.)
They are extracted  also  by diluted  alcohol.   According  to Hancock, the
whole of the active principle is  not  extracted by water.  He observes in
his paper  upon sarsaparilla,  published  in  the London  Medico-Botanical
Transactions, when  speaking of the sarsaparilla from Para  and the Rio
Negro, " after exhausting half a pound of this sort by two digestions,
boiling and pressure, I added to  the  dregs half a pint of  proof spirit, and
digested this with a gentle heat for a few hours  in  a close vessel, then
affusing hot water to the  amount of that taken off from  the first boiling,
and pressing again, I procured by the  last operation about four pints of an
infusion which possessed  the acrid properties of the sarsa in a much higher
degree even than that obtained by the first decoction  with simple water."
It appears that in South America it is the  custom to prepare sarsaparilla by
digestion in wine  or spirit, or by infusion in water with additions  which
may produce the vinous fermentation, and thus add alcohol to the menstruum.
The  same result, as to the superior efficacy of alcohol as  a solvent of  the
acrid principle  of sarsaparilla, has  been obtained by the French experi-
mentalists.*
   According to M. Thubeuf, sarsaparilla  contains,, 1.  a peculiar crystalline
substance, which is probably the active principle of the root, 2. a colouring
substance, 3. resin,  4. starch, 5. lignin, 6. a thick, aromatic fixed oil, 7. a
waxy substance, and 8. chloride of  potassium and nitrate  of potassa.   It
is said also to contain  a minute proportion of  volatile oil,  and Batka found
gum,  bassorin, albumen,  gluten  and gliadine, lactic  and  acetic acids, and
various salts.  The proportion of starch is large.
    Sarsaparillin. (Smilacin. Pariglin. Salseparine. Pa'rallinic acid.) The
crystalline principle  in which  the  virtues of sarsaparilla  reside should
be called sarsaparillin.  It was first discovered  by Dr. Palotta, who  de-
scribed it in 1824, under  the name of pariglin.  Subsequently, M. Folchi
supposed that he  had found another principle which he  called  smilacin.
In 1831,  M.  Thubeuf announced  the discovery of  a new substance in
sarsaparilla, which he named salseparine, from  the  French  name  of  the
root.  Finally, Batka, a  German chemist, towards the end of 1833, pub-
lished an account  of a principle which he had discovered in the root, and
which, under the  impression that it possessed acid  properties,  he called

      * See a paper by M. Soubeiran, Journ. de Pharm. torn xvi. p. 38. an. 1830.
       55 
638
Sarsaparilla.
PART I.
 parillinic acid.  M. Poggiale, however, has shown that these substances are
 identical, though procured by different processes.  The process of M. Thu-
 beuf, which is decidedly preferable to the others, is the following.  The root
 is treated with hot alcohol till deprived of taste.  The tincture thus obtained
 is submitted to distillation, and seven-eighths of the alcohol drawn off.  The
 remainder is treated with animal charcoal, and filtered at the end of twenty-
 four or forty-eight hours.  The sarsaparillin is deposited in the  form of a granu-
 lar powder. This is dissolved in a fresh portion of alcohol and crystallized.
 The alcoholic mother liquors may be deprived  of that portion of the prin-
 ciple which they retain by evaporating to dryness, dissolving the product in
 water,  filtering, again evaporating to dryness, redissolving in alcohol, and
 crystallizing.  Sarsaparillin is white, inodorous, almost tasteless  in  the
 solid state,  but of a bitter, acrid, nauseous taste, when dissolved in alcohol
 or water.   It is very slightly soluble in cold water, but is  more readily dis-
 solved  by boiling water which deposits it on cooling.  It  is  very soluble in
 alcohol, especially at  a  boiling  temperature.   Ether and the volatile oils
 also dissolve it.  Water which  holds it in solution has the property of froth-
. ing  very much by agitation.  M. Beral states that he has  procured it pure
 by distilling, by  means of a salt-water bath, a tincture of sarsaparilla  pre-
 pared with  very  dilute alcohol.  In that case, it must be considered volatile,
 and we can readily understand why sarsaparilla suffers in decoction. (Am.
 Journ. of Pharm. xii. 245.  from Journ. de Chim. Med.)  The solutions of
 sarsaparillin are  without  either acid or alkaline reaction.   Batka  erred in
 considering it an acid. M. Poggiale found it both in  the cortical and medul-
 lary part of the root, but most largely in  the former.   Palotta gave it inter-
 nally in doses varying from  two to thirteen grains, and found it  to produce
 nausea  and to diminish  the force of  the circulation.  It is probably the
 principle upon which sarsaparilla depends chiefly, if not exclusively, for its
 remedial powers; but this opinion needs the support of further observation
 before  it can be admitted as an established fact.  (Journ. de Pharm. xx.
 553 and 679.)
   The sarsaparilla of the shops is very apt to be nearly if not  quite inert,
 either from age,  or from having been obtained from  an inferior  species of
 Smilax.  This inequality of the medicine, together with the improper modes
 of preparing it which  have been long in vogue, has probably contributed to
 its variable reputation.  The only criterion of good  sarsaparilla  which can
 be relied on is the taste.   If it leave a decidedly acrid impression  in the
 mouth  after having been chewed for a short time, it may be  considered effi-
 cient;  if otherwise, it is probably inert.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Few medicines have undergone greater
 changes of reputation.  About the middle of the sixteenth  century it  was
 introduced  into Europe as a remedy for the venereal  complaint, in the treat-
 ment of which it had been found very useful in the  recent  Spanish settle-
 ments in the West Indies.   After a time it fell into disrepute, and was little
 employed till about a century ago, when it  was again brought into  notice
 by Sir  William Fordyce  and others,  as a useful adjuvant and corrigent of
 mercury in lues  venerea.   Since that  period  very different opinions have
 been entertained of its efficacy.  Some, among whom was Dr. Cullen, con-
 sidered it wholly  inert;  others, on the contrary, have had the most un-
 bounded confidence  in its  powers.  The probable  cause of much of this
 discrepancy has  been already mentioned.  Experience, both among regular
 practitioners and empirics,  would seem to have placed its  efficiency beyond
 reasonable  doubt; and at this moment its reputation  is probably  as high as
 at any  former period.  Its  most extensive and useful application is to the 
part i.   Sassafras Medulla.—Sassafras Radicis Cortex.      639

treatment of secondary syphilis and syphiloid  diseases, and  that shattered
state of the system which sometimes follows the imprudent use of mercury
in these affections.   It is also employed, though with less obvious benefit,
in chronic rheumatism, scrofulous affections, certain cutaneous diseases, and
other depraved conditions of the general health to which the physician may
find it difficult to apply a name.   Its mode of action is less evident than its
ultimate  effects.  It is said  to  increase the perspiration and  urine; but
allowing it to possess this power,  the amount  of effect  is  too trifling  to
explain its influence  over disease; and the  diaphoretic  and diuretic action
which it appears to evince,  may perhaps be as justly ascribed to the medi-
cines  with which it is generally associated, or the  liquid in which it is ex-
hibited.   In this ignorance  of its  precise modus operandi we may call  it
an alterative, as  we call all  those medicines which change existing morbid
actions, without any  obvious influence over any of the functions.
  Sarsaparilla may be given in powder in the dose of half a drachm three or
four times a day.  Dr. Hewson, of Philadelphia,  informed us that he had
found, as  the result of numerous trials, that few stomachs would bear com-
fortably more than this quantity of the powder.   The medicine, however,
is more conveniently administered in the form of infusion, decoction, syrup,
or extract. (See the several officinal preparations in Part II.)  A beer made
by fermenting an infusion of the drug with molasses, is said to be a popular
remedy in South America.*
   Off. Prep.  Decoctum  Sarsaparilla?  Compositum,  U. S., Lond.,  Ed.,
Dub.; Decoctum  Sarzae,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.;  Extractum  Sarsaparillae,
U. S., Lond., Dub.; Extractum Sarsaparillae Fluidum, Dub., Ed.; Infusum
Sarsaparillas, U. S.;  Infusum Sarsaparillae  Comp., Dub.; Syrupus Sarsa-
parillae, Dub., Lond., Ed.; Syrupus Sarsaparillae Comp., U.S.     W.


                SASSAFRAS  MEDULLA.  U.S.

                          Sassafras Pith.
  " The pith of the stems of Laurus Sassafras." U. S.

          SASSAFRAS RADICIS  CORTEX. U.S.

                     Bark of  Sassafras  Root.
  " The bark of the  root of Laurus Sassafras." U. S.
  Off. Syn.   SASSAFRAS. Laurus Sassafras. Radix.  Lond.;  SASSA-
FRAS.  Root of Sassafras officinale. Ed.; SASSAFRAS.  LAURUS SAS-
SAFRAS. Lignum.  Radix. Dub.
  Sassafras. Fr., Germ.; Sassafras, Sassafrasso, Ital; Sasafras, Span.
  In the new distribution of the  species composing  the  genus  Laurus of
Linnaeus,  the sassafras tree has been made the type of a new  genus, de-
nominated Sassafras,  which should have been admitted in our Pharma-
copoeia; as the  new arrangement  was  recognised in the  adoption of the
genus Cinnamomum.

  *  The following  is a formula  recommended by Hancock.  " Take of Rio  Negro sarsa,
bruised, 2 lb.; bark of guaiac,  powdered, 8 oz.; raspings of guaiac wood,  anise  seeds,
and liquorice root, each 4 oz.;  mezereon, baric of the root, 2 oz.; treacle  [molasses] 2 lb.;
and a dozen bruised cloves; pour upon these ingredients about four gallons of boiling
water, and shake the vessel thrice a day.  When  a fermentation has well begun, it is fit
tor use, and may be taken in the dose of a small tumblerful  twice or thrice a day." This
formula is worthy of attention; but the bark of guaiacum, which is not kept  in the shops,
might be omitted, or replaced by the wood, without materially affecting the virtues of the
preparation. 
640
Sassafras Radicis Cortex.
PART I.
   Sassafras. Sex. Syst.  Enneandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Lauraceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Dioecious.  Calyx six-parted, membranous;  segments  equal,
permanent at the base.  Males. Fertile stamens nine, in three rows, the
three inner with double stalked distinct glands at the base.  Anthers linear,
four-celled, all looking inwards.  Females, with as many sterile stamens as
the males or fewer; the inner often confluent. Fruit  succulent,  placed  on
the thick  fleshy apex of the peduncle, and seated in  the torn unchanged
calyx.  (Lindley.)
   Sassafras  officinale. Nees, Laurin.  488.—Laurus Sassafras. Willd.
Sp. Plant, ii. 485; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 142; Michaux. N Am.
Sylv. ii. 144.  This is an indigenous tree of middling size; rising in favour-
able situations from thirty to fifty feet in height, with a trunk about a foot
in diameter.   In the Southern States it is  sometimes larger, and  in the
northern parts of New England is little more than a shrub. The bark which
covers  the stem and large branches is rough, deeply furrowed, and grayish;
that of the extreme branches or twigs is smooth and beautifully green. The
leaves, which are alternate, petiolate,  and downy when young, vary much
in their form  and size even upon the same tree.   Some are oval and entire,
others  have a lobe on one side;  but the greater number are three-lobed.
Their mean length is four or five inches. The flowers, which are frequently
dioecious, and appear before the leaves, are small, of a  pale yellowish-green
colour, and disposed in racemes which spring from the branches below the
leaves, and have linear bractes at their base.  The corolla is divided into
six oblong segments.  The male flowers have nine stamens; the hermaphro-
dite, which are on a different plant, have only six, with a simple style. The
fruit is an oval drupe, about  as large  as a pea, of a deep blue colour when
ripe, and supported on a red pedicel, which  enlarges at the extremity into
a cup for its reception.
   The sassafras is common throughout the United States, and extends into
Mexico.  It is said also to grow in Brazil and Cochin-china; but the plants
observed in these  places were probably not of  the same  species.   In this
country the sassafras is found both in woods and open places, and is apt to
spring  up in the neighbourhood of cultivation, and in neglected or abandoned
fields.   In Pennsylvania and New  York it blooms in the beginning of May;
but much earlier at the South.  The fresh flowers have a slightly fragrant
odour,  and almost all parts of the plant are  more or  less aromatic.  The
wood and root are directed by the British Pharmacopoeias, the bark of the
root, and the  pith of the twigs or extreme branches, by that of the United
States.  The wood is porous, light, fragile, whitish in the young tree, red-
dish in  the old,  and but feebly endowed with  aromatic properties.  It is
sent to Europe in billets invested with the bark; but is  not employed in this
country.  The root is more  commonly exported, and is the part chiefly
used in British pharmacy.   It consists of a brownish-white  wood, covered
with a  spongy bark divisible into layers.  The latter  portion is by far the
most active, and is usually kept in our shops in a separate state.
   1. Sassafras Pith.  This is in slender cylindrical pieces, very light and
spongy, with a mucilaginous taste, having in a slight degree the character-
istic flavour of the sassafras.  It abounds in a gummy matter which it readily
imparts to water, forming a limpid mucilage, which, though ropy and viscid,
has much less tenacity than that of gum Arabic, and  will not answer as a
substitute in the suspension  of insoluble substances.  It differs also from
solutions of ordinary gum, in remaining perfectly limpid  when added to
alcohol.   This mucilage is much employed as a mild  and soothing applica-
tion in inflammation of the eyes; and forms a pleasant and useful  drink in 
part i.      Sassafras Radicis Cortex.—Scammonium.        641

dysenteric, catarrhal, and nephritic diseases.  It may be prepared by adding
a drachm of the pith to a pint of boiling water.
   2. Bark of Sassafras Root.  As found in the shops, this is usually in
small irregular fragments,  sometimes invested with a brownish epidermis,
sometimes partially or wholly freed from it, of a reddish or rusty cinnamon
hue, very brittle, and presenting when freshly broken a lighter  colour than
that of the exposed surfaces.   Its  odour is highly fragrant, its taste sweet-
ish, and gratefully  aromatic.   These properties are  extracted by water and
alcohol.  They reside in a volatile oil which may be  obtained separate by
distillation with water. (See Oleum  Sassafras.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The bark of  sassafras root is stimulant,
and perhaps diaphoretic, though its possession of any peculiar tendency to
the skin, independently of its mere excitant  property, is quite doubtful.  It
is  used almost exclusively  as an adjuvant to  other more efficient medicines,
the flavour of which it improves, while it renders them more cordial to the
stomach.  The complaints for which it has been particularly recommended,
are chronic rheumatism, cutaneous eruptions, and scorbutic and syphiloid
affections.   As a remedy in  lues venerea, in which it formerly had a high
reputation, it is now universally considered as in itself wholly inefficient.
It  is most conveniently administered in the form of infusion.  The oil may
also be given.  As the active principle is  volatile, the decoction  and extract
are useless preparations.
   Off. Prep.  Aqua Calcis Composita, Dub.;  Decoctum Guaiaci Compo-
situm, Dub., Ed.;  Decoctum Sarsaparillae Compositum,  U. S., Lond., Ed.,
Dub.;  Oleum Sassafras, U. S., Ed., Dub.                        W.


          SCAMMONIUM.  U.S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.

                            Scammony.

   "The concrete  juice of the root  of  Convolvulus Scammonia." U.S.
"Convolvulus Scammonea.   Gummi-resina."  Lond.,  Dub.   "Gummy-
resinous  exudation from incisions into  the  root of Convolvulus Scammo-
nia." Ed.
   Scammonee, Fr.; Scammonium, Germ.; Scamonea, Ital;  Escamonea, Span.
   Convolvulus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Convol-
vulaceae.
   Gen.  Ch.   Corolla campanulate. Style one.  Stigmas two, linear-cylin-
drical, often revolute.  Ovary two-celled, four-seeded.  Capsule  two-celled.
(Lindley.)
   Convolvulus Scammonia.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 845; Woodv. Med. Bot.
p.  243. t. 86.   This species of Convolvulus has a perennial, tapering root,
from three to four  feet long,  from nine to twelve inches in  circumference,
branching towards  its lower extremity, covered with a light  gray bark, and
containing a milky juice.  The stems are numerous, slender, and twining,
extending sometimes  to the  distance of  fifteen or twenty feet upon the
ground, or on neighbouring plants, and furnished with  smooth, bright green,
arrow-shaped leaves, which  stand alternately upon long footstalks.   The
flowers are placed in pairs, or three together upon the  peduncles, which are
round, axillary, solitary, and of nearly twice the length of the leaf.
   The plant is a native of Syria and the neighbouring countries.  No part
is medicinal  except the root,  which, when dried, was  found  by  Dr.  Russel
to be a mild cathartic.  Scammony  is the concrete juice of the fresh root, and
is collected, according to Russel, in the following manner.  In  the  month
                                55* 
642
Scammonium.
part r.
 of June, the earth is cleared away from about the root, the top of which is
 cut off obliquely about two inches from the origin of the stems.  The milky
 juice which  exudes is collected in shells or other convenient receptacle,
 placed at the most depending part of the cut surface.   A few drachms  only
 are collected from each root.   The juice from several plants is put into any
 convenient vessel, and concretes by time.   In this state it constitutes genuine
 scammony, but is very seldom exported.   It is generally  prepared  for the
 market by admixture, while it is yet soft, with the expressed juice of the
 stalks and  leaves, with wheat flour, ashes, fine sand, &c; and it has been
 supposed that scammony sometimes consists wholly or in  great part of the
 expressed juice of the root, evaporated to dryness by exposure  to the  sun, or
 by artificial heat. The drug is exported chiefly from  Smyrna, though small
 quantities are said to be sent out of the  country at Alexandretta, the sea-
 port of Aleppo.  Dr. Pereira was  informed by  a merchant who had re-
 sided in Smyrna, that  it is brought upon  camels in a soft state  into  that
 city, and afterwards adulterated  by a set  of individuals called scammony
 makers.   The adulteration appears to be conducted in conformity  with a
 certain understood scale, more or less foreign matter being added accord-
 ing to the price.   The materials  employed are chiefly  chalk and some
 kind of flour or meal.   Very little comparatively is exported perfectly pure.
 We  obtain scammony either directly from Smyrna, or indirectly, through
 some of the Mediterranean ports.
   The name of  Aleppo scammony was formerly given to the better kinds
 of the drug, and of Smyrna scammony to those of inferior quality; the dis-
 tinction having  probably originated in some difference in the character of
 the scammony obtained at these two places.  But no such difference now
 exists; as scammony is brought from Smyrna of every degree of purity. It
 is customary in this country to designate the  genuine drug of whatever
 quality  as  Aleppo scammony; while the name of  Smyrna scammony|is
 given to a spurious article manufactured in  the South of France, and to other
 factitious substitutes.  It is quite time that these terms should be altogether
 abandoned.   We shall treat of the drug under the heads of genuine and fac-
 titious scammony.
   Genuine scammony.   This is sent into  commerce  in drums or  boxes,
 and is either in irregular lumps, in large solid masses of the  shape  of the
 containing vessel, into which it appears to have been introduced while yet
 soft, or in circular, flattish or plano-convex cakes.   It seldom  or  never
 reaches us  in an unmixed  state.  Formerly small portions of pure  scam-
 mony were occasionally to be met with in Europe, contained in the shells
 in which the juice was collected  and dried.  This variety, denominated
 scammony in shells, is now scarcely to be found.   The pure drug, as
 at present known in the shops of London, is called virgin scammony.  It
 is described  as in irregular pieces, probably the fragments  of larger  and
 roundish masses, often  covered  with a whitish-gray powder, friable  and
 easily broken into small fragments between the fingers, with a shining gray-
 ish-green fracture soon passing into greenish-black, and exhibiting under the
microscope minute air cells, and  numerous gray semitransparent splinters.
It it easily pulverized,  affording a  pale ash-gray powder.  When rubbed
with water it readily forms a milky  emulsion.   It has a rather  strong, pe-
culiar odour,  which has  been compared to  that of old cheese.   The taste is
feeble at first, and  afterwards  somewhat acrid, but without bitterness.  It
gives no evidence, when' the requisite tests are  applied, of the presence of
starch or carbonate  of lime, leaves  but a slight residue when burned,  and
yields about 80 per cent, of its weight to sulphuric ether. 
PART I.
Scammonium.
643
  The form of scammony at present almost exclusively found  in our mar-
kets is that in circular cakes.  These are sometimes flattish on both  sides,
but generally somewhat convex on one side and flat on the other, as if dried
in a saucer, or other shallow vessel.  They are five or six inches in diame-
ter, and from half an inch to an inch and a half, or even two inches thick in
the centre.   As  found in the retail  shops, they are usually in  fragments.
They  are  hard  and heavy, with a faintly shining roughish fracture; and
when  broken exhibit in general  a  structure very finely  porous, sometimes
almost compact,  and in  a very few instances cavernous.   Their colour ex-
ternally is a dark ash or  dark olive,  or  slate colour approaching to  black;
internally somewhat lighter,, and  grayish, with an occasional tinge of green
or yellow,  but deepening by exposure.   The  small  fragments are  some-
times slightly translucent at the  edges.   The  mass, though hard, is pul-
verizable without great difficulty,  and affords  a light-gray powder.   It
imparts  to  water "with which  it is triturated a  greenish  milky appearance.
The smell is rather disagreeable, and similar to that of the pure drug. The
taste, very slight at first, becomes feebly bitterish and  acrid.  This kind of
scammony  is never quite pure, and much of it is considerably adulterated.
One of the  finest specimens effervesced strongly with muriatic acid, in cold
filtered decoction struck a deep blue with iodine, and afforded upon incine-
ration  15 per cent, of ashes, which were  dissolved by muriatic acid, and
precipitated by sulphuric acid as sulphate  of lime.  In  some of the  cakes
carbonate of lime is the chief impurity; in others the adulterating substance
is probably meal, as  evidences  of the  presence of starch  and lignin  are
afforded; and in others  again  both these substances are found.   Christison
discovered  in the chalky specimens a proportion of carbonate of lime vary-
ing from 15 to 38 per cent.; in the amylaceous, from 13 to 42 per cent, of
impurity.   It was probably to the flat, dark-coloured, compact, difficultly
pulverizable, and more impure cakes that the name of Smyrna scammony
was formerly given.  These have been  considered by some,  without suffi-
cient grounds,  to be the product  of the Periploca Secamone, a plant  grow-
ing in Egypt.*

  * Dr. Pereira, in his work on Materia Medica, describes the varieties of scammony as
they exist in the London  market.  As  these have interest for the druggist, we introduce
a notice of them.
  1. Virgin  Scammony.  Pure Scammony. hachryma  Scammony.  The description of
this corresponds with that of pure  scammony given in the text. In addition, the  follow-
ing particulars may be mentioned.  The whitish powder often  found  upon the surface
effervesces with muriatic acid, and consists of chalk, in which the lumps have probably
been rolled. The sp. gr. of the masses  is 1-210. In the same piece it sometimes happens
that certain portions are shining and black, while others are dull-grayish.  Virgin scam-
mony readily takes fire, and burns with a  yellowish flame.  This variety is now much
more abundant in the shops of London than formerly.
  2. Scammony of  second quality.  This is called seconds in  commerce.   It is  in  two
forms.  1. In irregular pieces. This, in external appearance, brittleness, odour, and taste,
resembles virgin scammony; but is distinguished by its greater sp. gr., which is 1-463,
by its dull, very slightly shining fracture, and its grayish colour.  The freshly  broken
surface effervesces  with muriatic acid, but the cold decoction does not give a blue colour
with iodine.  It, therefore, contains chalk, but not fecula. 2. In large  regular  masses.
This has the form  of the drum or  box in which it was imported, and into which it was
probably introduced while soft. It has a dull grayish fracture, and the sp. gr. 1-359.  It
exhibits, with the appropriate tests, evidence of the presence both of chalk and fecula.  It
is sometimes found  of a soft or cheesy  consistence.
  3. Scammony of  third quality.  This is called thirds in commerce.   It is in circular
flat cakes, about five inches in diameter and one inch thick. The cakes are dense, heavy,
and more difficult  to  break than  the preceding  varieties. The  fracture is sometimes
resinous and shining, sometimes  dull, and exhibits air cavities,  and numerous white
specks, which consist of  chalk. The  colour is grayish, or grayish-black.  The sp. gr. 
644
Scammonium.
PART I.
   Scammony is ranked among the gum-resins.   It is partially dissolved by
 water, much more largely by alcohol and  ether, and almost entirely, when
 pure,  by boiling diluted alcohol.   Its active ingredient is resin, which con-
 stitutes  about  80 per cent, of pure dry scammony.  The gum-resin has
 been analyzed by various chemists, but the results are somewhat uncertain;
 as the character of the specimens examined is insufficiently determined by
 the  terms Aleppo  and Smyrna scammony,  employed to  designate them.
 Thus,  Bouillon-Lagrange and Vogel obtained, from 100 parts of Aleppo
 scammony, 60 of resin, 3 of gum,  2 of extractive, and 35 of insoluble mat-
 ter;  from the same quantity of Smyrna scammony,  29 parts of resin, 8 of
 gum, 5 of extractive, and 58 of vegetable remains  and earthy substances.
 It is obvious that  both the specimens upon which they operated were very
 impure.  Marquart found in  pure scammony (scammony in shells) 81-25
 per cent, of resin, 3*00 of gum with salts, 0*75 of wax,  4*50 of extractive,
 1-75 of starchy envelopes, bassorin, and gluten,  1-50 of albumen and lignin,
 3-75 of ferruginous alumina, chalk, and  carbonate of magnesia, and 3-50 of
 sand.   Christison found different specimens of  pure scammony to contain,
 in 100 parts from 77 to  83 parts  of resin, from 6  to 8 of gum,  from 3-2
 to 5  of lignin  and sand, and from 7-2 to 12-6 of water, with  occasion-
 ally  a little starch, probably derived accidentally from the  root, and not  in
 sufficient quantity to cause a cold decoction of the gum-resin to give a blue
 colour with iodine.   For the character of the  resin  see Extractum sive
 Resina  Scammonii.  As already stated, scammony is seldom  or never
 quite pure as found in our shops.  Much of  it contains not more than 50
 per cent,  of the resin, and some not more than 42 per cent.*
   The  Edinburgh College gives  the following signs of pure  scammony.
 "Fracture glistening, almost resinous,  if the  specimen  be old  and dry;
 muriatic acid does not cause effervescence on its surface;  the decoction  of
 its powder, filtered and cooled, is not rendered blue by tincture of iodine.
 Sulphuric ether separates at least eighty per cent, of resin  dried at 280°."
 Effervescence with  muriatic acid indicates the presence  of chalk, a blue
 colour with iodine that of starch in the form of  flour.
   Factitious Scammony.  Montpelier Scammony.  Much spurious scam-
 mony is manufactured, in the South of France, from the expressed juice  of
 the Cynanchum Monspeliacum, incorporated with various resins, and other
 purgative substances.  It is occasionally imported  into  the United States
 and sold as Smyrna  scammony.    It  is  usually in  flat semicircular cakes,
 four  or  five inches in diameter, and six or eight lines  thick,  blackish

varies from 1 276 to 1543. Both chalk and flour are detected by tests. In five different
cakes, the quantity of chalk employed in  the adulteration was stated by the importer to
 be, in 100 parts of the cakes respectively, 13 07, 23-1, 25 0, 31-05, and 37-54, numbers
which correspond very closely,  in the two extremes, with the results obtained by Christison.
This is  the variety of scammony referred to in the text as the one chiefly used in the
United States.
  * The following table is given by Dr. Christison as the result of his examination of
different specimens of impure  commercial scammony.
	Calcareous.	Amylaceous. 370 620	Calcareo-anr
Resin,	64-6 56-6 43-3		42-4
Gum,	6-8 5-0 82	9-0 7-2	7-8
Chalk,	17-6 250 316	— —	18-6
Fecula,	— 1-4 4'0	20-0 10-4	13-2
Lignin and sand,	5-2 71 7-8	22-2 13-4	9-4
Water,	64 52 64	12-0 7-5	10-4
	100-6 100.3 101-3	100-2 100-5	101-8
 
part i.               Scammonium.—Scilla.                   645

both externally and within, very hard, compact, rather heavy, of a some-
what shining and resinous fracture, a feeble balsamic odour wholly different
from that of genuine scammony, and  a very bitter nauseous  taste.   When
rubbed with the moistened finger it becomes  dark-gray, unctuous, and
tenacious.  We  have seen another substance sold as Smyrna scammony,
which was obviously spurious, consisting of blackish, circular, flat cakes,
or fragments of such cakes, rather more than half an inch thick, very light,
penetrated with small holes as if worm-eaten, and when broken exhibiting
an irregular, cellular, spongy texture.  There  is very little, if any, of this
now in  the  market.  Dr. Pereira describes another factitious  scammony
sold as Smyrna scammony, which  is in  circular flat cakes,,about half an
inch thick, blackish, and of a slaty aspect,  breaking with difficulty, of a
dull black fracture, and of the sp. gr. 1*412.  Moistened and rubbed it has
the smell of guaiacum,  which may also be detected by chemical tests.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Scammony is an energetic cathartic, apt
to occasion  griping, and sometimes  operating  with harshness.  It was
known to the ancient  Greek physicians,  and was much employed  by the
Arabians, who not only gave it as a purgative, but also applied it externally
for the cure of various cutaneous diseases.   It may be used in all cases of
torpid bowels, when a powerful  impression is desired; but on account of its
occasional violence is  seldom  administered, except in combination with
other cathartics, the action of which it promotes, while its own harshness is
mitigated.  It should be  given in emulsion with mucilage, sugar, almonds,
liquorice or  other demulcent; and its disposition  to gripe  may be counter-
acted by the  addition of an aromatic.  The dose is from five to fifteen grains
of pure scammony, from ten to twenty of that commonly found in the market.
  Off. Prep. Confectio Scammonii, Lond., Dub.; Extractum Colocynthi-
dis  Compositum, U. S., Lond.; Extractum sive  Resina Scammonii, Ed.;
Pilulae Colocynthidis Comp., Dub., Ed.; Pulvis Scammonii Comp., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.                                                      W.

                   SCILLA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.
  " The bulb of Scilla maritima."  U. S., Ed.  " Scilla maritima.  Bulbus
recens" Lond.
  Off. Syn. SCILLA MARITIMA. Bulbus. Dub.
  Scille, Fr.; Meerzwiebel, Germ.; Scilla, Ital;  Cebolla albarrana, Span.
  Scilla.  Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Liliaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Corolla six-petaled, spreading, deciduous.  Filaments thread-
like. Willd.
  Scilla maritima. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 125; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 745.
t. 255.—Squilla maritima.  Steinheil; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 591.  This
is a perennial plant, with fibrous roots proceeding from the bottom of a large
bulb, which sends  forth several long, lanceolate,  pointed,  somewhat undu-
lated, shining,  deep-green leaves.   From  the midst of the leaves  a round,
smooth, succulent flower-stem rises, from one to three feet high, terminating
in a long, close spike of whitish flowers.  These are destitute of calyx, and
stand on purplish peduncles, at the base of each of which is a linear, twisted,
deciduous floral leaf.
  The squill grows on the seacoast of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and the
other countries bordering on  the Mediterranean.   The bulb is the officinal
portion.  It is generally dried for use; but it is sometimes imported into this
country in the  recent state, packed in sand. 
646
Scilla.
PART I.
   Properties.   The fresh bulb is pear-shaped, usually larger than a man's
fist, sometimes as large as the head of a child, and consisting of fleshy scales,
attenuated at their edges, closely  applied over each other, and invested  by
exterior scales so thin and dry as  to appear to constitute a membranous coat.
There are two varieties, distinguished as the red and white squill.  In the
former, the exterior coating is of a deep reddish-brown colour, and the inner
scales have a whitish rosy or very light pink  epidermis,  with a yellowish-
white  parenchyma; in  the latter, the whole bulb is  white.   They do not
differ in their  medicinal virtues.  The bulb abounds  in a viscid,  very acrid
juice, which causes it to inflame  and  even  excoriate  the skin when much
handled.  By drying, this acrimony is very much diminished,  with little
loss of medicinal power.  The bulb loses  about four-fifths of its  weight in
the process.   Vogel found 100 parts of fresh  squill  to be reduced to 18 by
desiccation.   The process  is somewhat difficult,  in  consequence of the
abundance and viscid  character of the juice. The bulb is  cut into thin trans-
verse slices, and the pieces dried  separately by artificial or solar heat.  The
outer and central scales are  rejected, the  former being dry and destitute of
the active principle, the latter too fleshy and  mucilaginous.   The London
College gives directions for the slicing and drying of the recent bulb.
   Dried squill, as found in our shops, is in irregular  oblong pieces, often
more or less  contorted, of a dull yellowish-white colour with a reddish or
rosy tint, sometimes entirely white, slightly diaphanous, brittle and pulveri-
zable  when  perfectly dry,  but  often flexible from  the presence of mois-
ture,  for which they  have a great  affinity.  Occasionally a parcel  will be
found consisting of vertical slices, some of which adhere together at their
base.  The odour is very feeble, the taste bitter, nauseous, and acrid.
   The virtues  of squill are  extracted by water, alcohol,  and  vinegar.   Ac-
cording to Vogel, it contains a peculiar  very bitter principle named by him
scillitin, gum, tannin, traces of citrate of lime and saccharine matter, lignin,
and an acrid  principle which he was unable to isolate.  Water distilled from
it had neither taste nor smell, and was drunk by Vogel to the amount of six
ounces without producing any effect.  From  the experiments of Duncan
and  Buchner it appears, that tannin, if it exists in  squill, is in veiy small
proportion.   The scillitin of Vogel is soluble in water, alcohol, and vinegar;
but it is considered by M. Tilloy of Dijon, whose  analysis is more recent,
as a compound of the proper active principle of squill with gum and uncrys-
tallizable sugar.  The scillitin obtained by the latter experimenter, was in-
soluble in water and in dilute acids, soluble in alcohol, exceedingly acrid and
bitter to the taste, and very powerful in its influence  on the animal system.
A single grain produced the death  of a strong dog.   The following is the
process of M. Tilloy.  Dried squill is macerated in alcohol of 33° Baume,
the resulting tincture  evaporated  to the consistence of syrup, and  the extract
treated with alcohol of 35°.   The  alcoholic solution is evaporated, and the
residue treated first with ether and  subsequently with water.   The aqueous
solution, filtered and evaporated, yields a substance analogous to the scillitin
of Vogel.  To obtain the principle  pure, the aqueous  solution is treated with
animal charcoal before  evaporation.  The matter obtained is dissolved in
alcohol,  ether  is added to precipitate the  sugar, and the active principle
remains in the mixed liquor, from which it may be obtained by evaporation.
According to M. Tilloy, this proceeding should be repeated  several times.
(Diet, des Drogues.)   M.  Chevallier thinks that  the active principle of
squill has not yet been entirely isolated.  Landerer obtained a crystalline
principle from fresh squill, by treating the  bruised bulb with dilute sulphuric
acid, concentrating the solution, neutralizing it with lime, drying the  pre- 
PART I.
Scilla.—Scoparius.
647
cipitate, exhausting this with alcohol, and evaporating the tincture, which,
on cooling, deposited the substance in question in prismatic crystals.   It is
bitter, but not acrid, insoluble in water or the volatile oils, slightly soluble
in alcohol, and, according to Landerer, capable of neutralizing the  acids.
(Christison's Dispensatory.)
   When kept in a dry place, squill retains its virtues for a long time; but if
exposed to moisture, it soon becomes mouldy.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Squill is expectorant, diuretic, and in large
doses emetic  and purgative.  In overdoses it has been  known  to occasion
hypercatharsis, strangury, bloody urine, and fatal inflammation of the stomach
and bowels.  The Greek physicians employed it as a medicine; and it has
retained to the present period a deserved popularity.  As an expectorant, it
is used both in cases of deficient and of superabundant secretion from the
bronchial mucous membrane, in the former case usually combined with tartar
emetic or ipecacuanha, in the latter frequently with the stimulant expectorants.
In both instances, it operates by stimulating the vessels  of the lungs;  and
where the inflammatory action in this organ is considerable, as in pneumonia
and severe catarrh, the use of squill should be preceded by the lancet.  In
dropsical diseases it is  very much employed, especially in connexion with
calomel, which is supposed to  excite the absorbents,  while  the squill in-
creases the secretory action of the kidneys.   It  is thought to succeed best,
in these  complaints, in  the absence of general inflammatory  excitement.
On account of its great uncertainty and occasional  harshness, it is very sel-
dom prescribed as an emetic, except in infantile croup or catarrh, in which it
is usually given in the form of syrup or oxymel. When given in substance,
it is most conveniently administered in the  form of pill.   The dose, as  a
diuretic or expectorant, is one grain, repeated two or three times a day, and
gradually increased  till it produces slight nausea, or evinces its  action upon
the kidneys or lungs.   From six to twelve grains will generally vomit.
   Off. Prep. Acetum Scillae, U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.; Pilulae Digitalis et
Scillae, Eel.; Pil. Ipecacuanhae  Compositae,  Lond.;  Pil. Scillae Comp.,
U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Syrupus Scillae Comp., U. S.; Tinctura Scillae,
U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.                                         W.


             SCOPARIUS.  U.S.  Secondary,  Lond.

                               Broom.

   "The fresh tops of Cytisus Scoparius."  U.S.  " Cytisus  Scoparius.
Cacumina recentia." Lond.
   Off. Syn.  SCOPARIUM.  Tops of Cytisus Scoparius.  Ed.; SPAR-
TIUM SCOPARIUM. Cacumina. Dub.
   Genet a balais, Fr.;  Gemeine Besen^inster, Germ.; Scoparia, Ital: Retama, Span,
   Cytisus.   Sex. Syst.  Diadelphia Decandria.—Nat. Ord.  Fabaceae or
Leguminosae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx bilabiate, upper lip generally  entire, lower somewhat
three-toothed. Vexillum ovate,  broad. Carina very obtuse,  enclosing the
stamens and  pistils.  Stamens  monadelphous. Legume piano-compressed,
many-seeded, not glandular. (De  Cand.)
   Cytisus Scoparius. De  Cand. Prodrom.  ii. 154.—Spartium  Scopa-
rium. Willd. Sp. Plant,  iii.  933; Woodv.  Med.  Bot. p. 413. t. 150.
This is a common European shrub, cultivated in our gardens, from three to
eight feet high, with numerous  straight, pentangular, bright-green, very
flexible branches, and small, oblong, downy leaves, which are usually ternate, 
643            Scoparius.—Scrophularia Nodosa.         part i.

but on the upper part of the plant are sometimes simple.  The flowers are
numerous,  papilionaceous, large, showy, of a golden-yellow colour, and
supported solitarily upon short axillary peduncles.  The  seeds are contained
in a compressed legume, which is hairy at the sutures.
   The whole plant has a bitter nauseous  taste, and when bruised, a strong
peculiar odour.   The tops of the branches are the  officinal portion; but the
seeds are also used, and while they possess similar virtues have the advan-
tage of keeping better.   Water and alcohol extract their active properties.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Broom is diuretic and cathartic, and in
large doses emetic, and has been employed with great  asserted  advantage
in dropsical complaints, in which it was recommended by  Mead, Cullen,
and others.  Cullen prescribed it in the form of decoction, made by boiling
half an ounce of the fresh tops in a pint of water  down to  half a pint, of
which he gave a fluidounce every hour till it  operated by stool or urine.  It
is  a domestic remedy in Great Britain, but is seldom used in this country.
The seeds may be given in powder in the dose of  ten or fifteen grains.
   Off. Prep. Decoctum Scoparii Compositum, Lond., Ed.; Extractum
Spartii Scoparii, Dub.; Infusum  Scoparii, Lond.                  W.

         SCROPHULARIA  NODOSA.  Folia. Dub.

                         Fiowort Leaves.
                            o
   Scrophulaire noueuse, Fr.; Braunwurzel, Germ.; Scrofolaria nodosa, Ilal; Escrofula-
ria, Span.
   Scrophularia. Sex. Syst.  Didynamia Angiospermia.—Nat. Ord. Scro-
phulariaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft.  Corolla subglobular, resupine.  Capsule two-
celled. Willd.
   Scrophularia nodosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 270; Smith, Flor. Brit. 663.
The root of the knotty rootedfigwort  is perennial, tuberous, and knotty;
the stem is herbaceous, erect, quadrangular, smooth, branching, and from
two to three feet high; the  leaves are opposite,  petiolate,  ovate cordate,
pointed, sharply toothed, veined, and of a deep-green colour; the flowers
are small, dark purple, slightly drooping, and borne on branching peduncles
in erect terminal bunches.
   The plant is a native of Europe, where it grows in shady and moist places,
and flowers in July.
   The leaves, which are the part used, have  when fresh a rank fetid odour,
and a bitter somewhat acrid taste;  but these  properties  are  diminished by
drying.  Water extracts their virtues, forming a reddish infusion, which is
blackened by the persulphate of iron.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Figwort  leaves are  said  to be anodyne
and diuretic, and to have repellent properties when externally applied.  They
were  formerly considered tonic, diaphoretic, discutient, anthelmintic, &c;
and were thought to be useful in scrofula.  They  are at present very little
employed, and never in this country.  In Europe they are  sometimes  ap-
plied  in the form of ointment or  fomentation to piles, painful tumours and
ulcers, and cutaneous eruptions.
   Off. Prep. Unguentum Scrophularise, Dub.                      W. 
PART I.
Senega.
649
                 SENEGA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                             Seneka.

  » The root of Polygala Senega."  U. S., Ed. " Polygala Senega. Radix"
Lond.
  Off. Syn.  POLYGALA  SENEGA. Radix.  Dub.
  Polygale de Virjnnie, Fr.; Klapperschlangenwurzel, Germ.; Polig-ala Virginiana. Ital.
  Polygala.  Sex.  Syst. Diadelphia Octandria.—ATat. Ord. Polygalaceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-leaved, with two leaflets wing-shaped, and coloured.
Legume obcordate,  two-celled. Willd.
  Besides the  P. Senega, two other  species have attracted  some attention
in Europe—the P.  amara and P.  vulgaris—as  remedies in  chronic pec-
toral affections; but  as they are  not natives of this  country, and are never
used by practitioners here, they do not merit  particular notice.
  Polygala Senega. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 894;  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
ii. 97; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 111.   This unostentatious plant has a peren-
nial branching root,  from which several erect, simple, smooth, round, leafy
stems annually rise, from nine inches to a foot in height.   The stems are
occasionally tinged with red or purple in their lower portion, but are green
near the top.  The leaves  are alternate or scattered,  lanceolate, pointed,
smooth, bright green on the  upper surface,  paler beneath,  and sessile or
supported on  very  short footstalks.  The flowers are small, white,  and
arranged in a  close  spike  at  the summit of the  stem.   The calyx is the
most conspicuous part  of the flower.  It consists  of five leaflets,  two of
which are wing-shaped, white, and larger than the  others.  The corolla is
small and  closed.   The capsules are small, much compressed,  obcordate,
two-valved, two-celled, and contain two oblong ovate, blackish seeds, pointed
at one extremity.
  This species of  Polygala, commonly called Seneka snakeroot,  grows
wild in all parts of  the  United States, but most abundantly in the southern
and  western sections,  where the root is collected in great quantities for
sale.  It is brought into market in bales weighing from  fifty to four hun-
dred pounds.
  Properties. As the root occurs in commerce, it is of  various sizes, from
that of a straw to that of the little  finger, presenting a thick knotty head,
which exhibits traces of the numerous stems.   It is tapering, branched,
variously  twisted, often marked with crowded annular  protuberances, and
with a projecting keel-like line, extending along its whole length.  The
epidermis is corrugated, transversely cracked, of  a yellowish-brown  colour
in the young roots,  and  brownish-gray in the old.   In the smaller branches
the colour is a lighter yellow. The bark is hard and resinous, and contains
the active  principles of  the root.  The central portion  is ligneous,  white,
and quite  inert, and should be rejected in the preparation  of the powder.
The colour of this is gray.   The odour of seneka is peculiar, strong in the
fresh root, but faint in the dried.   The taste is at first sweetish and muci-
laginous, but after chewing becomes  somewhat pungent and acrid,  leaving
a peculiar irritating sensation in the  fauces.   These properties, as  well as
the medical virtues of the root, are extracted by boiling water, and by alco-
hol.   Diluted  alcohol is an excellent  solvent.   The root has been analyzed
by Gehlen, Peschier of Geneva, Feneulle of  Cambray,  Dulong D'Astafort,
Folchi, and  Trommsdorff,  and  more recently by M. Quevenne.  Gehlen
was  supposed  to have found the active principle in the substance left behind,
       56 
650
Se?iega.
PART I.
when  the  alcoholic  extract is  treated successively  with ether and water,
and the name  of senegin was accordingly conferred upon it.  But it
does not seem to have any just claim to the rank assigned to it, though it
probably  contains the active  principle among  its constituents.   Equally
unfounded are the conclusions  of  those chemists, who believe  that  they
have discovered an organic alkali in  the root.   From a comparison of the
results obtained by  the above  mentioned chemists,  it would appear that
seneka contains, 1. a peculiar acrid  principle, which M. Quevenne considers
to be an acid, and has named polygalic acid; 2. a yellow colouring matter,
of a bitter  taste, insoluble or nearly so in  water, but  soluble in  ether and
alcohol; 3. a volatile principle,  considered by some  as an essential oil, but
thought by Quevenne to  possess acid properties, and named  by him virgi-
neic acid; 4. pectic acid  or pectin; 5.  tannic  acid  of  the variety which
precipitates iron  green;  6.  gum; 7.  albumen;  8. cerin; 9.  fixed oil;  10.
woody fibre; and 11. saline and earthy substances,  as the carbonates, sul-
phates, and phosphates of lime and  potassa, chloride  of potassium, alumina,
magnesia,  silica, and iron.   The virtues of seneka appear to reside chiefly,
if not exclusively, in the acrid principle which M. Quevenne called polygalic
acid, and which he considered closely analogous  to saponin. He obtained it
pure by the following process.   Powdered seneka is exhausted by alcohol
of 33°, and so much of the alcohol  is distilled off  as to bring the resulting
tincture to  the consistence of syrup.  The residue is treated with ether, in
order to remove the fatty matter.  The liquid upon standing deposits a pre-
cipitate, which is separated by filtration, and  is then mixed with water.  To
the turbid solution thus formed alcohol is added, which facilitates the produc-
tion of a white precipitate, consisting chiefly of  polygalic acid. The liquid
is allowed to stand  for  several days, that  the precipitate may be  fully
formed.  The supernatant liquid being decanted, the  precipitate is  drained
upon  a filter, and, being removed while yet moist,  is dissolved by the aid
of heat in alcohol of 36°.   The solution is boiled  with purified  animal
charcoal, and is filtered  while  hot.   Upon  cooling  it deposits  the  prin-
ciple in question in a state of purity.  Thus obtained, polygalic acid is a
white powder, inodorous, and of a  taste  at first slight, but soon  becoming
pungent and  acrid, and producing a very painful sensation in the throat. It
is fixed, unalterable in the  air,  inflammable,  soluble  in water  slowly when
cold and rapidly with the aid of heat, soluble in all  proportions  in boiling
absolute alcohol, which deposits most of it  on  cooling, quite insoluble in
ether and  in the  fixed and volatile oils, and possessed of the property of
reddening litmus and of neutralizing the alkalies.  Its ultimate constituents
are carbon, oxygen,  and hydrogen.   M. Quevenne found it, when given to
dogs, to occasion vomiting and much embarrassment in  respiration, and in
large quantities to destroy the  animal.  Dissection  exhibited evidences of
inflammation of the lungs, and frothy mucus  was  found in  the stomach,
oesophagus,  and superior portion of the trachea,  showing the tendency of
this substance to increase the mucous secretion, and explaining in part the
beneficial influence of seneka in croup. (Journ. de  Pharm. xxii. 449 and
xxiii. 227.)
   From the  experiments of M. Quevenne it also appears, that seneka yields
its virtues  to water, cold or hot, and to boiling alcohol; and that the extracts
obtained by means of these liquids  have the  sensible properties of the root.
But, under the influence of heat, a  portion of the acrid principle unites with
the colouring matter and coagulated  albumen, and thus becomes insoluble
in water;   and the decoction, therefore, is not so  strong as the infusion, if
time is allowed, in the formation of the latter, for the full action of the men- 
PART I.
Senega.—Senna.
651
struum.  If it be desirable to obtain the virtues of the root in the form of an
extract, the infusion should be prepared on the principle of displacement; as
it is thus most concentrated, and consequently requires less  of the injurious
influence of heat in its evaporation.  In forming an infusion of seneka, the
temperature of the  water, according to M. Quevenne,  should not exceed
104° F. (Ibid.)
  The roots of the Panax quinquefolium or ginseng are frequently mixed
with the seneka, but are easily distinguishable by their shape and taste.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Seneka is a stimulating expectorant and
diuretic, and in large doses proves emetic and cathartic.   It appears indeed
to excite more or less all the secretions, proving occasionally diaphoretic and
emmenagogue, and  increasing the flow of saliva.   Its action, however, is
more especially directed to the lungs; and its expectorant virtues are those
for which it is chiefly employed.  It was  introduced into practice about a
century ago by Dr. Tennant of Virginia, who recommended it as a cure for
the bite of the rattlesnake and  in various pectoral complaints.  As an expec-
torant it is employed in cases not attended with inflammatory action, or in
which the inflammation has been in great measure subdued.   It is peculiarly
useful in chronic catarrh, humoral asthma, the secondary stages of croup,
and in peripneumonia  notha  after sufficient depletion.   By Dr. Archer of
Maryland it was  recommended in the early stages of croup;  but under these
circumstances it is  now seldom given unless in combination with squill and
an antimonial, as in the Syrupus Scillae Compositus.   Employed so  as to
purge and vomit it  has  proved useful in  rheumatism;  and  some cases of
dropsy are  said to have been cured by it.   Amenorrhoea also is among the
complaints  for which it has been recommended.
  The dose of powdered seneka is from ten to twenty grains; but the  form
of decoction is that in which the medicine is most conveniently administered.
(See Decoctum Senegas.)  There is an officinal syrup;  and an extract and
tincture may be prepared, though neither is much employed.
  Off.Prep.   Decoctum Senegae, U.S., Lond., Dub.; Electuarium Opii,
Ed.;  Infusum Senegae, Ed.;  Syrupus Scillae Compositus,  U.S.; Syrupus
Senegae, U.S.                                                  W.

                   SENNA.  U. S., Lond., Dub.

                              Senna.

  " The leaves of  Cassia acutifolia (Delile), Cassia obovata (De  Candolle),
and Cassia elongata (Lemaire)." U. S.  " Cassia lanceolata. Folia.  Cassia
obovata. Folia." Lond.  " Cassia Senna. Folia." Dub.
  Off. Syn.  SENNA ALEXANDRINA.  Leaves of various  species of
Cassia, probably of C. lanceolata, C. acutifolia, and C. obovata.  SENNA
INDICA. Leaves of Cassia elongata.  Ed.
  Sene, Fr.; Sennesbl.itter, Germ.; Senna, Ital, Port.; Sen, Span.
  Cassia.  See CASSIA FISTULA.
  The plants which yield senna belong to the genus Cassia, of which seve-
ral species contribute to furnish the drug.  These were confounded together
by Linnaeus in a  single species, which he  named Cassia Senna.  Since his
time the subject has been more thoroughly investigated, especially by Delile,
who accompanied the French expedition to Egypt, and  had an opportunity
of examining the plant in its  native  country. Botanists at  present distin-
guish at least three species,  the  C. acutifolia, C. obovata, and C. elongata,
as the sources of commercial  senna; and it is probable that two others, the 
652
Senna.
PART I.
 C. lanceolata of Forskhal and C. Mthiopica of Guibourt, contribute towards
 it.   The first three are recognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
   1.  Cassia acutifolia. Delile, Flore d'Egypte, lxxv. tab. 27. f.  1.  This
 is a small undershrub, from two to three feet high, with a straight, woody,
 branching, whitish stem.  The leaves are alternate and pinnate, with glandless
 footstalks, and two small narrow pointed stipules at the base.  The leaflets,
 of which from four to six pairs belong to each leaf, are almost sessile,
 oval lanceolate, acute, oblique at their base, nerved,  from half an inch to an
 inch in length, and of a yellowish-green colour.  The flowers are yellow,
 and arranged in axillary spikes.  The fruit is a flat, elliptical, obtuse, mem-
 branous, smooth,  grayish-brown, bivalvular legume,  about an inch long and
 half an inch broad, scarcely if at all curved, and divided into six or seven
 cells, each containing a hard, heart-shaped, ash-coloured seed.  The C.
 acutifolia grows wild  in  great abundance in  Upper Egypt near Sienne, in
 Nubia, Sennaar, and probably in other parts of Africa, having similar quali-
 ties  of soil and climate.  This species furnishes the greater part of that
 variety of senna, known in commerce by the title of Alexandria senna.
  2.  Cassia obovata.  Colladon, Monographic des  Casses, p. 92. tab. 15.
 fig. a.; De Cand., Prodrom., ii. 492.   The  stem of  this species is rather
 shorter than that of the C. acutifolia, rising to the height of only a foot and a
 half.  The leaves  have from five to seven pairs of leaflets, which are obovate,
 very obtuse, sometimes mucronate, in other respects similar to those of the
 preceding species.  The flowers are in axillary spikes, of which the pedun-
 cles are longer than the leaves of the plant.  The legumes are very much
 compressed, curved almost into the kidney form, of a  greenish-brown colour,
 and covered with  a very short down, which is perceptible only by the aid of
 a magnifying glass.  They contain from eight to ten seeds.   The C. obtu-
 sata of Hayne, with obovate, truncated emarginate leaflets, is  probably a
 mere variety of this species.  The plant, which according to Merat is annual,
 grows wild  in Syria, Egypt, and  Senegambia;  and is said to have been
 cultivated successfully in Italy, Spain, and  the West Indies.  It yields the
 variety of senna  called in Europe Aleppo senna,  and contributes  to the
 packages of the Alexandrian.
  3.  Cassia elongata.  Lemaire, Journ. de Pharm. vii. 345; Fee, Journ.
 de Chim. Med. vi. 232.  This name was conferred by M. Lemaire upon the
 plant from which the  India senna of commerce is derived.  The  botanical
 description was completed by M. Fee, from dried specimens of the leaves
 and fruit found by him in unassorted parcels of this  variety of senna.  Dr.
 Wallieh has subsequently succeeded in raising the  plant  from seeds found
 in a parcel of senna taken to Calcutta from Arabia; and  it has been described
 by Dr. Royle,  Wight & Arnott, and Dr. Lindley.   As  usually grown,  it
 is annual; but with care it may be made to  live through the year,  and then
 assumes the character of an under-shrub. It has an erect, smooth stem, and
pinnate leaves, with from  four to eight pairs of leaflets.   These are nearly
sessile, lanceolate, obscurely  mucronate, oblique at the base, smooth above
 and somewhat downy beneath, with  the veins turned inwards so as to form
 a wavy line immediately within the edge of the leaflet.  The most striking
character of the leaflet is its length, which  varies from an inch to twenty
lines.  The petioles are without glands; the stipules  minute, spreading, and
semi-hastate.  The flowers are bright yellow, and arranged in axillary and
terminal  racemes, rather longer than the leaves.   The legume is oblong,
membranous, tapering  abruptly at  the  base, rounded  at the apex, and an
 inch and a half long  by somewhat more  than half an inch  broad.  It  is 
PART I.
Senna.
653
inferred, from the sources whence the  variety of senna which this  plant
furnishes is brought,  that it grows in  the southern parts of Arabia.  It is
said also to grow in  the interior of India, and is at present cultivated at
Tinnevelly for medical use.
   Besides  the three officinal species  above described, the C. lanceolata of
Forskhal, found by that  author growing in the deserts of Arabia, is admitted
by Lindley and others as a distinct species.   Some difference, however, of
opinion exists as to the justice of its claims to this rank.  De Candolle con-
sidered it only a variety of the C. acutifolia, from the ordinary form of which
it differs chiefly in having leaflets with glandular petioles; and, as ForskhaPs
description was  prior to that of Delile, he designates the species by  the
name of C. lanceolata; and  his example was followed by the London Col-
lege.  Forskhal's plant  has been supposed by some to be the source of the
India and  Mocha senna; but  the leaflets in  this variety are much longer
than those  of  the C. lanceolata, from  which the plant differs also in having
no gland on the petiole.   Niebuhr informs us that he found the Alexandria
senna  growing  in  the Arabian territory of Abuarish, whence it  is  taken
by the Arabs  to  Mecca  and Jedda.   This is probably the C. lanceolata of
Forskhal.
   The Cassia Mthiopica of  Guibourt (C. ovata of  Merat), formerly con-
founded  with  the C. acutifolia, is considered by Dr. Lindley as undoubtedly
a distinct species.  It grows in Nubia, Fezzan to the south of Tripoli, and
probably, according to Guibourt, throughout Ethiopia.  It is from this  plant
that the  Tripoli senna of commerce is derived.*
   Commercial History.   Several varieties of this valuable drug are known
in commerce.  Of these we receive three only in America, the Alexandria,
the Tripoli, and the India senna.
   1. Alexandria Senna. Though the name of this variety is derived from
the Egyptian  port at  which it is shipped, it is in fact gathered very  far in
the interior of the country.  The Alexandria senna does not consist exclu-
sively  of the product of one species of Cassia.   The  history of its prepara-
tion is not  destitute of interest.  The senna plants of Upper Egypt  yield
two crops  annually,  one in spring and  the other in autumn.  They  are
gathered chiefly in the country beyond Sienne.  The natives cut the plants,
and having dried them in the sun, strip off the leaves and pods, which they
pack in bales, and send to Boulac, in the vicinity of Cairo, the great entrepot
for this article of Egyptian commerce.   This  senna from  Upper  Egypt,
consisting chiefly though not exclusively of the product of the C. acutifolia,
is here mixed with the leaflets of the C. obovata, brought from other parts of
Egypt, and even from Syria, with the leaves of the Cynanchum oleacfolium
(C. Argel  of  Delile), known  commonly by the  name of argel or arguel,

  * The following is the botanical description of the two species last mentioned, not
hitherto officinally recognised.
  1. C. lanceolata.  Forskhal; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 259.  "Leaflets in four or five pairs,
never more; oblong, and  either acute or obtuse, not  at all ovate or lanceolate, and per-
fectly free from downiness even when young; the petioles have constantly a small round
brown gland a little above the base.  The pods are erect, oblong, tapering- to the base,
obiuse, turgid, mucronate, rather  falcate, especially when young, at which time they are
sparingly covered with coarse scattered haii's." (hindley.)
  2. C. JSthiopica.  Guibourt, Hist. Ab. des Drogue, <yc. ii. 219; Lindley, Flor. Med. p.
259.  The plant is about eighteen inches high.  The footstalks have a gland at the base
and another between each pair of leaflets. There are from three to five pairs of leaflets,
which are pubescent, oval lanceolate, from seven to nine lines in length and three or four
in breadth, rather shorter and less acute than those of C. acutifolia.  The legume  is  flat,
smooth, not rcniform, rounded, from eleven  to filtcen lines long, with from three  to  five
seeds.
                                   56* 
654
Senna.
part r.
and sometimes with those of the Tephrosia Apollinea of De Candolle, a
leguminous plant growing in Egypt and Nubia.   According to  M. Royer,
the proportions in which the  three chief constituents of this mixture are
added together, are five parts of the  C. acutifolia, three of the C. obovata,
and two of Cynanchum.  Thus  prepared, the senna  is again  packed in
bales, and transmitted to Alexandria.   This commercial variety  of senna is
often called in  the French pharmaceutic works sene de la palthe, a name
derived  from an impost formerly laid upon it by the Ottoman Porte.
   If a parcel of Alexandria senna be carefully examined, it will be found to
consist of the  following ingredients:—1.  The leaflets of the C. acutifolia,
characterized by their acute  form,  and  their length almost always  less
than an  inch; 2. the leaflets of the  C. obovata, known  by their rounded
very obtuse summit, which is sometimes furnished with a small projecting
point, and by  their gradual diminution in breadth towards  their base; 3.
the pods, broken leafstalks, flowers, and fine fragments of other parts of one
or both of these species;  4. the leaves of the Cynanchum oleaefolium, which
are distinguishable by their length, almost always more than an  inch, their
greater thickness and  firmness,  the absence of any visible lateral nerves on
their under surface, their somewhat lighter colour,  and the  regularity of
their base.  In this last character they strikingly differ from the genuine
senna leaflets,  which, from whatever species derived, are always  marked by
obliquity at their base, one side  being  inserted in the petiole  at a point
somewhat lower than the other, and at a  different angle.  The discrimina-
tion between this  and the other ingredients is  a matter of some conse-
quence, as the cynanchum must be considered an adulteration. It is said by
the French writers to occasion  hypercatharsis and  much irritation of the
bowels; but was found by Christison  and Mayer to  occasion griping,  and
severe protracted nausea, with little purgation.  The flowers and  fruit of the
Cynanchum are also often present, the former of a white colour, and in small
corymbs, the latter an ovoid follicle rather larger than an orange  seed.   Be-
sides the above constituents  of Alexandria senna, it occasionally contains
leaflets of genuine senna, much longer than  those of the  acutifolia or obo-
vata, equalling in this respect the cynanchum, which they also  somewhat
resemble in form.   They may be distinguished however by their greater
thinness, the distinctness of their lateral nerves, and the irregularity of their
base.   They are probably the product of the C. elongata or C.  lanceolata,
and may be brought to Egypt from Arabia.  The leaflets and fruit of Tephro-
sia Apollinea, which are an occasional impurity in  this  variety of senna,
may be distinguished, the former by  their downy surface, their obovate-
oblong,  emarginate shape, their parallel unbranched  lateral nerves, and by
being usually folded longitudinally; the latter, by its dimensions,  being from
an  inch to  an inch  and a  half long and  only two  lines  broad.  The
Alexandria senna sometimes  comes  to our market with very few leaves
of the   obovate senna and  Cynanchum,  and is  then  probably  a  portion
of the  product brought directly to Alexandria from Upper Egypt, without
having undergone any intermixture  at Boulac or other intervening place.
In Europe, this senna is said  to  have  been sometimes adulterated with the
leaflets  of the Colutea  urborescens  or  bladder  senna,  and  the leaves of
Coriaria myrtifolia, a plant of Southern Europe, said  to be astringent and
even poisonous.  An account of the former  of these plants is given in the
Appendix.  The leaflets of the Coriaria are ovate lanceolate, grayish-green
with a bluish  tint, and are readily known,  when not too much  broken up,
by their strongly marked midrib, and  two lateral nerves running from the
base nearly to the  summit.  They are chemically distinguished  by giving
j 
PART I.
Senna.
655
a whitish  precipitate with solution of gelatin, and a bluish-black one with
the sesquisalts of iron, proving the  presence of tannin.   Their poisonous
properties are denied by Peschier.
  2. Tripoli Senna.   It has been customary in England and this country
to consider the Tripoli senna as  very impure;  and Paris expressly states,
that it contains a much larger proportion than the Alexandrian of cynanchum
and other adulterations.   This, however, is a mistake, which has probably
arisen from the inferior price commanded by this variety; and it is not un-
common to class  indiscriminately together under this name all the least
valuable parcels of the drug.  The fact is, that the genuine Tripoli senna
consists in general exclusively of the leaflets of one species, which was
formerly considered as a variety of the C. acutifolia, but is now admitted
to be distinct, and named C. AZthiopica.   The leaflets, however, are much
broken  up; and it is  probably on this  account  that the  variety  is less
esteemed  than the Alexandrian.  The aspect  given  to it by this state  of
comminution, and by the uniformity of its constitution, enables the  eye  at_
once to distinguish it from the other varieties of senna.   The  leaflets,
moreover, are shorter, less acute, thinner, and  more  fragile than those  of
the C. acutifolia in Alexandria senna; and  their nerves are much less dis-
tinct.   The  general opinion at one time  was, that it was brought from
Sennaar and  Nubia to Tripoli  in caravans; but it is reasonably asked by M.
Fee, how it could be afforded at a cheaper price  than the  Alexandrian, if
thus brought on  the backs of  camels a distance of eight hundred  leagues
through the desert.   It is probably collected in Fezzan, immediately south
of Tripoli, and brought to that town for exportation.
  3. India Senna.  This  variety is  in Europe  sometimes called Mocha
senna, probably because obtained originally from  that port.  It derives  its
name of India senna from the  route by which it reaches us.  Though pro-
duced in Arabia, it  is  brought to this country and Europe from Calcutta,
Bombay, and possibly other ports of Hindostan.   It consists of  the leaflets
of the Cassia elongata, with some of the leafstalks and  pods  intermixed.
The eye is at once struck by the great length and  comparative narrowness
of the leaflets, so that no difficulty can be experienced in distinguishing this
variety.   The pike-like shape of the leaflet has given rise to the name  of
sene de la pique, by which it is  known in French Pharmacy.  Many of
the leaflets have a yellowish,  dark-brown, or blackish colour, probably  in
consequence of exposure after collection;  and  this  variety has  in  mass a
dull tawny hue which is not found in the others.   It is generally consider-
ed inferior in purgative power.
  A variety of India senna has recently been introduced into England, which
is the produce of Hindostan, being cultivated  at Tinnevelly, and probably
other places  in the  South of the Peninsula. The plant was originally raised
from seeds obtained from the  Red Sea, and is believed  to be the same  as
that from  which the common India senna is derived.  The drug is exported
from Madras to  England, where  it is known  by  the  name of Tinnevelly
senna.  It is a very fine, unmixed variety, consisting of unbroken leaflets,
from one to two or more  inches in length, and sometimes half an inch in
their greatest breadth, thin, flexible, and of a fine green colour.   It is yet
scarcely known  in  the United States, but is said to  be  rapidly displacing
other kinds of senna in some parts of Great Britain.
  Commercial senna is prepared for use  by picking  out the leaflets, and
rejecting the  leafstalks, the small  fragments, and the leaves of other plants.
The pods  are also rejected by some apothecaries;  but  they  possess  the
cathartic virtue to a considerable extent, though said to be  milder than the
leaves. 
656
Senna.
PART I.
      Properties.  The odour of senna is faint  and sickly; the taste slightly
    bitter, sweetish, and nauseous.  Water and alcohol extract its active princi-
    ples.  The leaves are said to yield about one-third of their weight to boiling
    water.   The infusion  is of a deep reddish-brown colour, and preserves the
    odour and taste of the leaves.   When exposed to the air for a short  time,
    it deposits a yellowish insoluble precipitate,  supposed  to  result from the
    union of extractive  matter with oxygen.  The  nature  of this  precipitate,
    however, is not well understood.  Decoction  also produces some change in
    the principles of senna,  by which its  medicinal  virtues  are impaired.  To
    diluted alcohol it imparts  the same reddish-brown colour as to water; but
    rectified  alcohol and ether digested  upon the  powdered  leaves become of a
    deep olive-green.  The  analysis of senna by  MM. Lassaigne and Feneulle
    furnished the following  results.  The leaves  contain—1. a peculiar princi-
    ple called cathartin,  2. chlorophylle or the green  colouring matter of leaves;
    3. a fixed oil; 4. a small quantity of volatile  oil; 5. albumen;  6. a yellow
"^colouring matter; 7. mucilage;  8. salts of the vegetable acids,  viz. malate
    and  tartrate of lime and acetate of potassa; and 9. mineral salts.   The  pods
    are composed of the same principles, with the  exception of the chlorophylle,
    the place of which  is  supplied  by a peculiar  colouring  matter. (Journ. de
    Pharm.  vii.  548 and ix. 58.)   Of these constituents, the most interesting
    and important is the cathartin, which is said to be the active  principle of
    senna, and derived its name from this circumstance.   It  is an uncrystalliza-
    ble substance, having a peculiar smell, a bitter,  nauseous taste, and a red-
    dish yellow colour; is soluble in every proportion in water and alcohol, but
    insoluble in ether; and in its dry state attracts  moisture  from the air.   It is
    prepared in the following manner.   To a  filtered decoction of senna the
    solution  of acetate  of lead is added;  and the precipitate which forms is
    separated.   A  stream  of hydrosulphuric acid (sulphuretted hydrogen)  is
    then made to pass through the liquor in order to precipitate the lead, and
    the sulphuret produced is removed by filtration.   The liquid is  now evapo-
    rated to the consistence  of an extract; the product is treated with rectified
    alcohol;  and the alcoholic  solution is evaporated. To the extract thus ob-
    tained sulphuric acid diluted with  alcohol is added,  in order to decompose
    the acetate of potassa which it contains; the sulphate of potassa is separated
   by filtration;  the excess of sulphuric acid by the  acetate  of lead;  the excess
   of acetate  of  lead by  hydrosulphuric acid; and  the sulphuret of lead by
   another filtration.  The  liquid being now evaporated yields cathartin.  The
    claims of this substance  to be the purgative principle of senna are not uni-
   versally  admitted.   Christison states, that  what he obtained on applying
   the process to carefully picked Alexandria senna, had no effect on a healthy
   adult.
     Incompatibles.  Many substances afford precipitates with the infusion of
   senna; but it by no  means follows that they are  all medicinally incompati-
   ble;  as they may remove ingredients which have no  influence upon the
   system, and leave the active  principles  unaffected.   Cathartin is precipi-
   tated  by  the  infusion of galls and  probably other astringents,  and by the
   solution of subacetate of  lead.  The acetate of  lead and tartarized antimony,
   which disturb the infusion of senna, have no effect upon  the solution of this
   principle.
     Medical Properties and Uses. Senna was first used as a medicine by the
    Arabians.  It was noticed in their writings so early as  the ninth century;
   and the name itself  is Arabic.  It is a prompt, efficient,  and  very safe pur-
   gative, well calculated  for fevers and febrile complaints, and other cases in
   which a decided but not  violent  impression is  desired.  An objection some- 
part i.                 Senna.—Serpentaria.                   657

times urged against it is that it is apt to produce severe griping pain in the
bowels.  This effect,  however,  may be  obviated by  combining with the
senna some aromatic and some one of the alkaline salts, especially the bi-
tartrate of potassa, tartrate of potassa, or sulphate of magnesia.  The expla-
nation which attributes the griping property to  the oxidized extractive, and
its prevention by the neutral salts to their influence in promoting the solu-
bility of this substance, is not entirely  satisfactory.   The  purgative effect
of senna is considerably increased by combination with bitters; a fact which
was noticed  by Cullen, and has  been  abundantly confirmed by the expe-
rience of others.  The decoction of guaiac  is said to exert a similar influence.
The dose of senna in powder is from half a drachm to two drachms; but its
bulk renders it of inconvenient administration; and it is not often prescribed
in this state.   Besides, the powder is said to undergo decomposition, and to
become mouldy on exposure to a damp air.  The form of infusion is almost
universally preferred. (See Infusum Sennas.)  The medicine is also used
in the forms of confection, tincture, and syrup; and a fluid extract, though
not officinal,  is sometimes employed in this city.   A formula for the fluid
extract  will be  given  under Syrupus  sennae, in the second part of this
work.
   Senna taken by nurses is said  to purge suckling  infants, and an infusion
injected into  the veins operates as a cathartic.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Sennae,  U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.; Enema Cathar-
ticum, Ed.;  Infusum Sennae,  U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Infusum Sennae
Compositum, Ed., Dub.; Syrupus Sarsaparillae Comp., U. S.;  Syrupus
Sennae, U.S.,  Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.; Tinctura Rhei et Sennae, U.S.; Tinc-
tura Sennae Comp., Lond., Dub.;  Tinctura Sennae et Jalapae,  U. S.  W.


              SERPENTARIA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                        Virginia Snakeroot.

   "The root of Aristolochia Serpentaria." U. S., Ed.  " Aristolochia Ser-
pentaria. Radix."  Lond.
   Off. Syn.  ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. Radix. Dub.
   Serpentaire  de  Virginie, Fr.; Virginianische Schlangenwurzel, Germ.; Serpentaria
Virginiana,' Ital, Span.
   Aristolochia. Sex. Syst. Gynandria Hexandria.—Nat. Ord.  Aristolo-
chiaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx none. Corolla one-petaled, ligulate, ventricose  at the
base.  Capsule six-celled, many-seeded, inferior. Willd.
   Numerous species of Aristolochia have  been employed in medicine. The
roots of all of them  are  tonic and stimulant, and from their supposed posses-
sion of emmenagogue properties, have given origin to the name of the genus.
The A. Clematitis, A. longa, A. rotunda, and A. Pistolochia,  are  still
retained in many officinal catalogues of the continent of Europe, where they
are indigenous.  The root of the A. Clematitis is very long, cylindrical, as
thick as a goose quill or thicker, variously contorted, beset with the remains
of the stems and radicles, of a grayish-brown colour, a strong peculiar odour,
and an acrid bitter taste; that of the A. longa is spindleshaped, from a  few
inches to a foot in length, of the  thickness of the thumb or more, fleshy,
very brittle,  grayish externally,  brownish-yellow within, bitter, and of a
strong disagreeable odour when fresh;  that of the A.  rotunda is tuberous,
roundish, heavy, fleshy, brownish on the exterior, grayish-yellow internally,
and similar to the preceding in odour and  taste; that of the A. Pistolochia 
658
Serpentaria.
PART I.
consists of numerous slender  yellowish  or  brownish fibres attached to  a
common head, and possessed of an agreeable aromatic odour, with a taste
bitter and somewhat acrid.  Many species of Aristolochia growing in the
West Indies, Mexico, and South America, have attracted  attention for their
medicinal properties, and some, like our own snakeroot, have acquired the
reputation of antidotes for the bites of serpents.  In the East Indies, the A.
Indica is employed for similar purposes  with the European and American
species; and  the Arabians are said by Forskhal to use  the leaves of the
A. sempervirens  as a counter-poison.  We have  within the limits of the
United States six species, of which four—the A. Serpentaria, A. hirsuta,
A. hastata, and A. reticulata—contribute to furnish  the snakeroot of the
shops, though  one only, the A.  Serpentaria, is admitted into the Pharma-
copoeia.
  Aristolochia Serpentaria. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 159; Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. iii. 82;  Barton, Med. Bot.  ii. 41.   This species of  Aristolochia is an
herbaceous plant with a  perennial root, which consists of numerous, slender
fibres proceeding from a short horizontal caudex.   Several stems often rise
from the same root.  They are about eight or ten inches in height, slender,
round, flexuose, jointed at irregular distances, and frequently of a  reddish
or purple colour at the  base.  The leaves are  oblong cordate, acuminate,
entire, of a pale yellowish-green colour, and supported on short petioles at
the joints of the stem.   The flowers proceed from  the joints near the root,
and  stand singly  on long,  slender,  round, jointed  peduncles, which are
sometimes furnished with one  or two  small scales, and bend downwards so
as nearly to bury the flower in the earth  or  decayed  leaves.  There  is no
calyx.  The  corolla is of a purple colour, monopetalous, tubular, swelling
at the base, contracted and curved in the  middle, and terminating in a labi-
ate border with lanceolate lips.  The anthers—six or twelve in number—
are  sessile, attached to  the under part of the stigma, which is roundish,
divided into six parts, and supported by a  short fleshy style upon an oblong,
angular, hairy, inferior germ.  The fruit is an  hexangular, six-celled  cap-
sule, containing several  small flat seeds.
  The plant grows in rich, shady woods, throughout the Middle, Southern,
and Western  States, abounding in the valley of  the Ohio, and in the moun-
tainous regions of our interior.   It flowers in May and June.  The root is
collected in  Western Pennsylvania and  Virginia, in Ohio,  Indiana, and
Kentucky, and is  brought to the eastern markets chiefly by the route of
Wheeling and Pittsburg.  As it reaches Philadelphia,  it is usually in bales
containing about one hundred pounds, and is often mixed with the  leaves
and stems of  the plant,  and with  dirt from which it has not been properly
cleansed at the time of collection.
  A.  hirsuta.  Muhlenberg, Catalogue,  p.  81; Bridges, Am. Journ. of
Pharm. xiv.  121.  In  Muhlenberg's Catalogue this species  was named
without being described; and  botanists, supposing from  the name, that it
was  identical with  the  A. tomentosa, have  generally confounded the two
plants.  But  they are entirely distinct.  A description of  the A. hirsuta in
the handwriting of Muhlenberg, and a labeled specimen of the plant, in the
possession  of the Academy of Natural  Sciences  of this city, have been
found to correspond with  a dried specimen received by one of  the authors
of this work  from Virginia.   The A. tomentosa is a climbing plant, grow-
ing in Louisiana on the  banks of the Mississippi, ascending to the  summit
of the highest trees.  A  plant in the garden of the author has a thick creep-
ing root, entirely different in shape from that of the  officinal species, though
possessed of  an analogous odour.   The  A.  hirsuta has a root like that of 
PART I.
Serpentaria.
659
the A. Serpentaria, consisting of a knotty caudex, sending out numerous
slender simple fibres, sometimes as much as  six inches in length.  From
this arise  several jointed, flexuose, pubescent stems,  less than a foot high,
with one  or two  pubescent  bractes,  and several  large  roundish cordate
leaves, of which the lower are obtuse, the upper abruptly acuminate, and
all pubescent on both sides  and at the margin.  From the joints near the
root originate from one  to three solitary  peduncles, each bearing three  or
four leafy bractes  and one flower.  The peduncles,  bractes,  and  corolla
are all  hairy.  This species grows in Virginia,  and probably other parts
of the Western and  Southern States.   There is reason to believe  that it
contributes to afford the  serpentaria of commerce, as its leaves, at one time
mistaken for those of A. tomentosa, have been found in bales of the drug.
   A. hastata.  Nuttall,  Gen. of  N. Am. Plants, p. 200.—A. sagittata.
Muhl.  Catal.  This species, if indeed it can be considered a distinct spe-
cies, differs  from the A. Serpentaria  in  having  hastate, acute, somewhat
cordate leaves, and the lip of the corolla ovate.   It flourishes on  the banks
of the  Mississippi, in Carolina, and elsewhere.  Its root scarcely differs
from that of the  officinal plant, and is  frequently mixed with  it, as  proved
by the presence  of the characteristic leaves of the A.  hastata in the  parcels
brought into market.   (See  Journ. of the Phil. Col.  of Pharm. i. 264.)
   A. reticulata. Nuttall;  Bridges, Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiv. 118. This
plant was probably first  observed by Mr. Nuttall, as  a  specimen labeled
"A. reticulata, Red river," in the handwriting of that botanist, is contained
in the  Herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sciences  of Philadelphia.
From this specimen, as  well as from others found in sufficient perfection in
parcels of the drug recently brought into market, a description was drawn
up and published by Dr. Robert Bridges in the American Journ. of Phar-
macy.  From a root, similar to  that of the A. Serpentaria, numerous short,
slender, round, flexuose, jointed stems arise, usually simple, but sometimes
branched  near the root.    The older stems are slightly villous, the young
densely pubescent.  The leaves, which stand on very short villous petioles,
are round or  oblong cordate, obtuse, ieticulate, very  prominently veined,
and villose on both sides, especially upon the veins.  From the lower joints
of the stem four or five  hairy, jointed  peduncles proceed, which bear small
leafy villous bractes at  the  joints, and  several flowers on short pedicels.
The flowers are small, purplish, and  densely pubescent, especially at the
base and on the germ.  The hexangular capsule is deeply sulcate.  This
species grows on the Red river in Arkansas, and probably in the Indian
Territory to the west of that state, but its geographical range has not been
ascertained.
   Bales of a new variety of serpentaria have  recently been brought to Phi-
ladelphia, which is certainly the product of  this  species, as specimens of
all parts  of  the  plant have  been found in the bales, and the roots, which
differ somewhat from those before known, are homogeneous in  character.
One of these bales was brought from New Orleans, and was said to have
come down the Red river, and  to have been collected by the Indians.  The
chief difference  between this and ordinary Virginia snakeroot is in the size
of the radicles, which are much thicker and less interlaced in the new variety.
Each root has usually a considerable portion of one or  more stems attached
to the caudex. The colour is yellowish.  The odour  and taste are scarcely,
if at all distinguishable  from those  of common serpentaria; and there  can
be little doubt that the root will be found equally effectual as a medicine.
   Properties. Virginia snakeroot, as  found in the shops, is in tufts of long,
slender, frequently interlaced, and brittle fibres, attached to a short, contorted, 
 660         Serpentaria—Sesamum.— Oleum Sesami.     part i.

 knotty head or caudex. The colour, which in the recent state is yellowish,
 becomes brown  by time.  That of  the powder is grayish.  The smell is
 strong,  aromatic, and camphorous;  the  taste warm,  very  bitter, and also
 camphorous.   The root yields all its virtues to  water and alcohol, pro-
 ducing with the former a yellowish-brown infusion, with the latter a  bright
 greenish tincture, which is rendered turbid by the addition of water.  Che-
 vallier found  in  the root, volatile oil, a yellow bitter principle soluble in
 water and  alcohol, resin, gum, starch, albumen, lignin, and various salts.
 Bucholz obtained from 1000 parts, 5 of a green fragrant volatile oil, 28-5 of
 a yellowish-green resin, 17 of extractive matter, 181 of gummy extract, 624
 of lignin, and  144-5 of water.  The active  ingredients are probably the
 volatile oil,  and the yellow bitter principle of Chevallier, which that chemist
 considers analogous to the extract of quassia called quassm by Dr. Thom-
 son.   The volatile oil passes over with water in distillation, rendering the
 liquid milky, and impregnating it with the peculiar odour of the root. Dr.
 Bigelow states that the liquid on standing deposits around the edges of its
 surface small crystals of camphor.
   The roots of the Spigelia Marilandica are sometimes found associated
 with  the serpentaria.  They may be distinguished by the absence of the
 bitter taste, and, when the stem and foliage are attached, by the peculiar cha-
 racter of these parts of the plant.  (See Spigelia.)
   Medical  Properties  and  Uses.   Serpentaria is a stimulant tonic, acting
 also as a diaphoretic or diuretic, according to the mode of its application.
 Too largely taken, it occasions nausea, griping pains  in the bowels, some-
 times vomiting and  dysenteric tenesmus.  It is admirably adapted  to the
 treatment of typhoid fevers, whether idiopathic or symptomatic, when the
 system begins to  feel the necessity for support, but is  unable to bear active
 stimulation.  In exanthematous diseases in which  the eruption is tardy or
 has receded, and  the grade of action is low, it is thought to be  useful by
 promoting the cutaneous affection. It has also been highly recommended in
 intermittent fevers; and though itself generally inadequate to the  cure of the
 complaint, often proves serviceable as an adjunct to  Peruvian bark or the
 sulphate of quinia.   With the same remedies it  is  frequently associated
 in  the treatment  of typhous  diseases.  It is  sometimes given  in dyspep-
 sia, and  is employed as a gargle in malignant sorethroat.
   The dose of the  powdered root is  from  ten  to  thirty grains; but the
infusion  is almost  always preferred.   (See Infusum  Serpentariae.)  The
 decoction or extract would be an improper  form, as the  volatile oil,  upon
 which the virtues of the medicine partly depend, is dissipated by boiling.
   Off. Prep. Infusum Serpentariae, U.S., Lond., Ed.; Tinctura Cinchonae
 Composita,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Serpentariae, U. S., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.                                                      W.

                 SESAMUM.  U. S. Secondary.

                               Benne.

  " The leaves of Sesamum orientale." U. S.

             OLEUM SESAMI.  U.S. Secondary.

                             Benne Oil.

  " The  oil  of the seeds of Sesamum orientale." U. S.
  Sesame, Fr.; Sesam, Germ.; Sesamo, Ital; Anjonjoli, Span.
I 
parti.            Sesamum.— Oleum Sesami.                 661

  Sesamum.  Sex. Syst. Didynamia Angiospermia.—Nat. Ord. Bignoniae,
Juss.; Pedaliaceae, R. Brown, Lindley.
  Gen. Ch.  Calyx five-parted.   Corolla bell-shaped, five-cleft, with  the
lower lobe largest. Stamens five, the fifth a  rudiment.  Stigma lanceolate.
Capsule four-celled. Willd.
  Though the Sesamum orientale has been  indicated by the United States
Pharmacopoeia as the  medicinal plant, there is reason to believe that the S.
Indicum is the one cultivated in our Southern States; at least we have found
plants raised in  Philadelphia from seeds obtained from Georgia, to have
the specific character of the latter, as given  by Willdenow.
   Sesamum orientale. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii.  358; Rheed. Hort.  Malab.
ix.  54.  " Leaves ovate,  oblong, entire."
   Sesamum Indicum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 359; Curtis, Bot. Mag. vol.
xii. t.  1688.   "Leaves ovate-lanceolate, the inferior three-lobed, the supe-
rior undivided.  Stem erect."
  The benne plant of our Southern States is annual, with a branching stem,
which rises four or five feet in height, and bears  opposite, petiolate  leaves,
varying considerably in their shape.  Those on the upper part of the plant
are ovate-lanceolate, irregularly serrate, and pointed; those near the  base
three-lobed and sometimes ternate; and lobed leaves are not uncommon at
all  distances from the ground.   The flowers are of a reddish-white colour,
and stand solitarily upon short  peduncles in  the axils of the leaves.   The
fruit is an oblong capsule, containing small, oval, yellowish seeds.
  These two species  of  Sesamum are natives of the East Indies, and have
been cultivated from time immemorial in various parts of  Asia and  Africa.
From  the latter continent it is supposed that  seeds were brought by the Ne-
groes to our Southern States, where, as well as in the West Indies, one or
both species are now cultivated to a considerable extent. It has been found
that the plant above described will grow vigorously in the gardens so far
north as Philadelphia.
  The seeds are employed as food by the negroes, who parch them over the
fire, boil them in broths, make them into puddings,  and  prepare them in
various other modes.   By expression they yield  a fixed oil, which, as well
as the leaves of the plant, has been introduced into the secondary catalogue
of  our national Pharmacopoeia.
   1.  Oil of Benne.   This is inodorous, of a bland sweetish taste, and will
keep  very long  without  becoming rancid.   It bears some  resemblance to
olive oil in its properties, and may be used   for similar purposes.   It was
known to the ancient  Persians and Egyptians, and  is highly esteemed by
the modern Arabs and other people of the  East, both as food, and as an
external application to  promote softness of the  skin.   Like olive oil, it is
laxative in  large doses.
  2. Leaves.   These  abound in  a gummy matter, which  they readily  im-
part to water, forming  a  rich bland mucilage, much used  in the Southern
States  as a drink in various complaints to which demulcents are applicable,
as in cholera infantum, diarrhoea, dysentery, catarrh, and affections of the
urinary passages.  The remedy has attracted some attention further north-
ward, and has been employed with favourable results by physicians in Phi-
ladelphia.  One or two fresh leaves of full size, stirred about in half a pint
of cool water, will soon  render it sufficiently viscid.   In  their dried state
they should be introduced into hot water.  The  leaves also serve for  the
preparation of emollient cataplasms.                               W.
       57 
662
Sevum.—Simaruba.
PART I.
                  SEVUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Suet.

  " The prepared suet of Ovis  Aries."  U. S.  " Ovis Aries.   Sevum."
Lond.  " Fat of Ovis Aries." Ed.
  Off. Syn.  ADEPS OVILLUS  PRjEPARATUS. Dub.
  Suif, Graisse de mouton, Fr.; Hammelstalg, Germ.; Grasse duro, Ital; Sebo, Span.
  Suet is the fat of the sheep taken chiefly from about the kidneys.   It is
prepared by cutting the fat into pieces, melting it with a moderate heat, and
straining it through linen or flannel. In order to avoid too great a heat, the
crude suet is sometimes purified by boiling it in  a little water.
  Mutton-suet is of a firmer consistence, and  requires a higher temperature
for its fusion than any other animal fat.  It is very white, sometimes brittle,
inodorous,  of a bland taste, insoluble in  water, and nearly so in  alcohol.
Boiling alcohol, however, dissolves it, and  deposits it upon  cooling.  It
consists, according to Chevreul, of  stearin, olein, and a small proportion of
hircin.  For an account of the two first mentioned principles, the reader is
referred to the article Adeps.   Hircin is a liquid like olein, from  which it
differs in being much more soluble in alcohol, and  in yielding hircic acid
by saponification.
  Suet acquires by time an unpleasant smell, and becomes  unfit for phar-
maceutic purposes.  It is employed exclusively to give a proper consistence
to ointments and plasters.                                         W.


                SIMARUBA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                             Simaruba.

  " The bark of the root of Simaruba officinalis."  U. S. " Simaruba offi-
cinalis. Radicis cortex." Lond. " Root-bark of Simaruba amara." Ed.
  Off. Syn. QUASSIA SIMARUBA. Cortex radicis.  Dub.
  Encorce de simarouba, Fr.; Simarubarinde, Germ; Corteccia di simaruba, Ital; Cor-
teza de simaruba, Span.
  Quassia.  See  QUASSIA.
   Quassia  Simaruba. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 568; Woodv. Med. Bot.  p.
569. t. 203.—Simaruba officinalis, De Cand. Prodrom. i. 733.—S. amara,
Aublet; Lindley, Flor. Med.  p. 207. As this plant is unisexual, it belongs
to the genus Simaruba of De Candolle and Lindley, those only being placed
by these botanists in the genus Quassia which are hermaphrodite.  But as the
Linnean arrangement was adhered  to in the case of the Quassia excelsa, we
continue to adhere to it in relation to this plant. (See Quassia.) It is a tree of
considerable height and  thickness, having alternate branches, with  a bark
which in the old tree is black and somewhat furrowed, in the young is smooth,
gray, and marked here and there with broad yellow spots.   The leaves are
alternate and abruptly pinnate, with a naked  petiole to which the leaflets are
alternately attached by short footstalks.   The leaflets are nearly elliptical,
on the upper surface smooth and of  a deep  green colour, on the under whitish.
The flowers are of a yellow colour, and are  disposed in long axillary pani-
cles.  In some descriptions  they  are stated to be monoecious, in  others
dioecious.   According to Dr.  Wright, the female flowers are never found in
Jamaica on the same tree with  the male.   The  number of stamens is ten.
   The tree is found in the West Indies and Guyana.  In Jamaica it is called 
PART I.
Simaruba.— Sinapis.
663
the mountain damson.   The Simaruba amara of Aublet, which grows in
Guyana, and has generally been considered identical with the Q. Simaruba,
is  believed by Hayne to be a distinct  species,  the  Jamaica plant having
dioecious, while this has monoecious flowers.  The bark of the root is the
part employed, the wood itself being nearly tasteless and inert.
   Simaruba bark is in long pieces, some  inches in breadth, folded length-
wise, light, flexible, tenacious,  very fibrous, externally of a light brownish-
yellow colour, rough, warty, and marked  with transverse ridges, internally
of a pale yellow.   It is without smell, and of a bitter taste.   It readily im-
parts  its virtues, at ordinary temperatures, to water and alcohol.  The infu-
sion is at least equally bitter with the decoction, which becomes turbid as it
cools.  Its constituents, according to M. Morin, are a bitter principle, sup-
posed by him to be identical with quassin, a resinous matter, a volatile oil
having the  odour of benzoin, malic acid, gallic acid in very minute propor-
tion, an ammoniacal  salt, malate  and oxalate of lime, some mineral salts,
oxide of iron, silica,  ulmin, and lignin.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.   Simaruba possesses the same tonic pro-
perties as other simple bitters, and may be employed for the same purposes.
In large doses it is said to purge and vomit.  It was  introduced into France
in  the year 1713  from Guyana, where it had  previously been used  as a
remedy for dysentery.   In the treatment of this  disease and  of obstinate
diarrhoea it afterwards obtained much credit in Europe; but Cullen was right
in denying to it any specific control over these  complaints.  It  operates
simply as a tonic;  and,  though it may be occasionally beneficial in relaxed
and debilitated states of the alimentary canal, it  would do much harm if in-
discriminately prescribed in dysenteric  cases.
   On account of its difficult pulverization, it is seldom given in substance.
The best mode of administration is by infusion.  (See Infusum Simarubae.)
The dose is from a scruple to a drachm.
   Off. Prep.  Infusum Simarubae,  Lond., Ed., Dub.               W.


                     SINAPIS.  U.S., Lond.

                              Mustard.

   "The seeds of  Sinapis nigra and Sinapis  alba." U. S.   " Sinapis nigra.
 Semina."  Lond.
   Off. Syn.  SINAPI.  Flour of the seeds of Sinapis nigra, generally mixed
with  those of Sinapis alba, and deprived of fixed oil  by  expression. Ed.;
SINAPIS  ALBA. Semina. SINAPIS NIGRA. Seminum pulvis. Dub.
   Moutarde, Fr.; Senfsamen, Germ.; Senapa, Ital; Mostaza, Span.
   Sinapis.  Sex. Syst. Tetradynamia Siliquosa.—Nat.  Ord. Brasicaceae
or  Cruciferae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx spreading. Corolla with straight claws. Glands between
the shorter stamens and pistil, and between the longer stamens and calyx.
 Willd.
   Sinapis nigra.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii.  555;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 403.
t.  146.  Common or black mustard is an  annual plant, with a stem three or
four feet in  height, divided and subdivided into numerous spreading branches.
The leaves are petiolate, and variously shaped.   Those  near  the  root are
large, rough, lyrate-pinnate, and unequally toothed; those higher on the stem
are smooth and less  lobed; and  the uppermost are  entire, narrow, smooth
and dependent.  The flowers are small, yellow, with a coloured calyx, and
stand closely together upon peduncles  at the upper part of the branches. 
664
Si?i apis.
PART I.
The pods are smooth, erect, nearly parallel with the branches, quadrangular,
furnished with a short beak, and occupied by numerous seeds.
  Sinapis alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 555; Smith, Flor. Brit. 721.  The
white mustard is also an annual plant. It is rather smaller than the  preced-
ing species.   The lower leaves are deeply pinnatifid, the upper sublyrate,
and all  irregularly toothed, rugged with  stiff hairs on both sides, and of a
pale green colour.   The flowers are in racemes, with yellow petals, and
linear, green, calycine leaflets.  The  pods  are  spreading, bristly, rugged,
roundish, swelling in the position of the  seeds, ribbed, and provided with a
very long ensiform beak.
  Both  plants are natives of Europe and  cultivated in our culinary gardens;
and the S. nigra has become  naturalized in  some  parts of this country.
Their flowers appear in June.  The seeds are kept in the  shops both whole
and in the state  of very fine powder, as prepared by the manufacturers for
the table.
  The black mustard seeds are  small,  globular,  of a deep brown  colour,
slightly  rugose  on the  surface, and  internally yellow.  In the entire state
they are inodorous, but  have a distinct smell in powder, and when  rubbed
with water or vinegar exhale a strong pungent odour, sufficient in some in-
stances  to excite a flow of tears.  Their  taste is bitterish, hot, and pungent,
but not  permanent.   The seeds of the white mustard are much larger, of
a yellowish colour, and  less pungent taste.   Both afford a yellow powder,
which has a somewhat unctuous  appearance, and  cakes when compressed.
This is  commonly called flour of mustard, or simply mustard, and is pre-
pared by crushing and pounding the seeds, and then sifting them; the purest
flour  being obtained by a second sifting.   Both  the black and the white
seeds are used in its preparation.  It is often adulterated with wheat flour
coloured by turmeric, to which red pepper is  added to render the mixture
sufficiently hot.   The skin of white mustard seeds contains  a mucilaginous
substance, which  is extracted by boiling water.  When bruised or powdered,
both kinds impart their active properties  wholly to water, but in a very slight
degree to alcohol.  They yield upon pressure  a fixed oil, of a greenish-yel-
low colour, little smell, and a mild not unpleasant taste; and the portion which
remains is even more pungent  than the unpressed seed.
  It has been long known that  black mustard seeds yield by distillation with
water a  very  pungent volatile oil, having sulphur among its  constituents.
Guibourt conjectured, and Robiquet and  Boutron proved, that this oil does
not pre-exist in the seeds, but  is produced by the action of  water.  Hence
the absence or very slight degree of odour in  the  seeds when bruised in a
dry state, and their great pungency when water is added.  It seemed very
reasonable to suppose that the  reaction in this case was similar to that ex-
ercised  by water upon bitter almonds (see Amygdala Amara); and this
has been proved to be the fact by the experiments of Simon, Bussy, Boutron,
and Fremy.   According to M. Bussy, there are two peculiar principles in
black mustard seeds, one named by him myronic acid, which exists in the
seeds in the  state of myronate  of potassa;  the  other named myrosyne,
closely  analogous in character to the albuminous constituent  of almonds
called emulsin.   When water  is added  to black  mustard seed, the myro-
syne, acting the part of a ferment, determines  a reaction between the water
and myronate of potassa, which results in the  production of the volatile oil.
The same thing happens when any one of the  myronates is brought into
contact  with  water and myrosyne.  The presence of the  last-mentioned
principle is essential.  Like emulsin, it  becomes  inoperative when coagu-
lated by heat, alcohol, or the acids; and if black mustard seeds be subjected 
PART I.
Sinapis.
665
to either of these  agencies  previously to the addition of water, they will
yield no volatile oil.  The myrosyne, however, sometimes partially recovers
its power by continued contact with water.   This substance is found also in
white mustard seeds, but without the  myronate  of potassa.  If, therefore,
white mustard seeds be added to the black in which the myrosyne has been
coagulated, the  volatile oil will be  generated on the  application of water.
Though closely analogous to emulsin,  myrosyne is yet a distinct principle,
as its place cannot be supplied  by emulsin with the same effect.   (Journ.
de Pharm. xxvi.  39.)  Simon obtained results somewhat different from
those of M. Bussy.  The former chemist succeeded in procuring a peculiar
crystalline principle from the seeds, which he called sinapisin, and which,
upon contact with  water and the albuminous principle of the seeds, emitted
the  odour of the  oil of mustard.  According to Simon, the  emulsin of
almonds does not answer the same purpose, because it contains no sulphur,
which is an essential constituent of the oil of mustard.   The whole subject
requires further investigation.
   The volatile  oil of mustard is usually obtained from seeds  which have
been deprived of  their fixed  oil by pressure.   It is a colourless or pale
yellow liquid, rather heavier than water, of an exceedingly pungent odour,
and an acrid  burning taste.   It boils  at about 290°;  is slightly soluble in
water, and readily so in  alcohol and  ether; with alkaline solutions yields
sulphecyanurets; and, according to Dumas  and Pelouze, consists of 49-53
parts of carbon, 5-02 of hydrogen,  11*74 of oxygen, 13-45 of nitrogen,  and
20*26 of  sulphur.   It is the principle  upon which black mustard seeds de-
pend for their activity.
   White mustard  seeds do  not yield  volatile oil when  treated with water;
but  an  acrid fixed  principle  is developed, which renders these seeds appli-
cable to the same purposes  as the other  variety.   MM. Robiquet and Bou-
tron, who ascertained this fact, concluded that the acrid principle  resulted
from the reaction of  water upon sulpho-sinapisin discovered in  these seeds
by MM. Henry, Jun., and  Garot.   Their  reason for this belief was  that
mustard,  which had  been deprived of  this ingredient, was incapable of de-
veloping the  acrid principle.   The myrosyne or emulsin is equally essen-
tial  to the change here, as to that which occurs in black mustard;  and the
reaction equally fails, if this principle  be previously rendered inert by heat,
alcohol, or  the acids.  MM. Boutron and  Fremy state that not only the
acrid principle  of white mustard, but hydrosulphocyanic acid  also results
from the reaction above explained; and  this observation renders still closer
the  analogy between the changes that  take  place, upon contact with water,
in mustard seeds and bitter  almonds.  (Journ. de Pharm. xxvi.  50.)*
   From the above account of the chemical relations of mustard, it is obvious

   *  As some may desire to push these investigations further, we give the properties of
these newly discovered principles, and the modes of procuring them.
   Myronic acid is a fixed  inodorous  substance of a bitter and  sour taste, and  acid  reac-
tion. When obtained separate from its  bases, it forms  a colourless solution, which by
evaporation becomes of a thick  consistence like molasses, without crystallizing.   It is
soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether; and forms soluble salts with the alkalies,
baryta, lime, and  the oxides of  lead and silver, all of which yield volatile oil of mustard
when mixed with  an aqueous solution of myrosyne.  It contains sulphur, besides carbon,
hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen.  It is obtained from the myronate of potassa by adding
to 300 parts of that salt 38 parts of crystallized tartaric  acid, concentrating the solution
by evaporation, and then adding  weak alcohol, which precipitates the bitartrate of potassa,
and retains the myronic acid in solution.  To obtain myronate of potassa from black
mustard seeds, the powder, having been dried  at 212°, and deprived of its fixed oil by
pressure, is treated with strong alcohol in a displacement apparatus, and when thus nearly
                                   57* 
666
Sinapis.
PART I.
    that admixture with alcohol or the acids, or the application of a boiling heat,
    can only have the effect of impairing its medical virtues, and  that  the best
    vehicle, whether for external or internal use, is water at common temperatures.
♦      Medical Properties and Uses.  Mustard  seeds  swallowed whole operate
    as  a laxative, and  have recently enjoyed great popularity as a remedy in
    dyspepsia, and in other complaints attended with torpid bowels and deficient
    excitement.  The white seeds are preferred, and are taken in the dose of a
    tablespoonful once  or twice a day, mixed  with molasses, or previously soft-
    ened and rendered mucilaginous  by immersion in hot water. They probably
    act in some measure by mechanically stimulating the bowels.  The bruised
    seeds or powder, in the quantity of a large teaspoonful, operate as an emetic.
    Mustard in this  state is applicable to  cases of great torpor of stomach, espe-
    cially that resulting from narcotic poisons.  It rouses the gastric susceptibility
    and facilitates the action of other  emetics.  In smaller  quantities it is useful as
    a safe stimulant of  the digestive  organs; and, as it is frequently  determined
    to the kidneys,  has  been beneficially employed in dropsy.  Whey made by
    boiling half an ounce  of the bruised seeds or powder in a pint of milk, and
    straining, is a convenient form for administration.   It  may be given  in the
    dose of  a wineglassful repeated  several  times a day.   But mustard is most
    valuable as a rubefacient.   Mixed with water in the form  of a  cataplasm,
    and applied to the skin, it very soon produces  redness with a burning pain
    which in less that an  hour usually becomes insupportable.   When a speedy
    impression is not desired,  especially  when  the sinapism  is applied  to the
    extremities, the  powder should be diluted with an equal portion of rye meal
    or wheat flour.   Care should be  taken not to  allow the application to con-
    tinue  too long,  as vesication  with obstinate  ulceration, and even sphacelus

    exhausted of every thing soluble in that liquid, is pressed,  and treated with  water.  The
    aqueous solution is evaporated, and before it is too  much concentrated, weak alcohol is
    added, which precipitates a glutinous matter.  The  solution being then carefully evapo-
    rated deposits crystals  of myronate of potassa, which may be  obtained very pure and
    white by washing the mass with diluted  alcohol.  This  salt is easily  crystallizable  in
    fine, large, transparent  crystals, is unalterable in  the air, very soluble in water, insoluble
    in pure alcohol, and of a bitter  taste.
      Myrosyne, when dry, has the character of an albuminous substance.   It is soluble in
    water, forming a viscid solution, which froths when agitated, and  is coagulated by heat,
    alcohol, and the acids.  It is obtained by treating white mustard seed with cold water, filter-
    ing the solution, evaporating it by a heat not exceeding 100°, arid when it is of the  consist-
    ence of syrup, carefully adding alcohol, which causes a precipitate easily separable  by
    decantation.   If this be dissolved  in water, and  the solution  evaporated as before, my-
    rosyne is obtained, though not  entirely pure. (Journ. de Pharm. xxvi. 39.)
      The sinapisin of Simon is in brilliant, white, scaly crystals, sublimable by heat, soluble
    in alcohol, ether, and the fixed and volatile oils, but insoluble in acids and alkalies.  To
    obtain  it  he exhausted black mustard seed with strong alcohol, distilled off the  greater
    part of the alcohol, treated the  residue several times with four or five limes  its  weight of
    ether, from the etheral solutions distilled off all the ether, treated the extract again with
    a smaller quantity  of ether so as to leave behind insoluble substances, and  repeated this
    process until the extract formed a perfectly clear solution without  residue.  The  extract
    \  as then  dissolved in cold strong aleohol, and the solution having been decolorized with
    animal charcoal, was allowed to evaporate in the air.  Simon obtained from  55  pounds of
    the seeds  only 80 grains of crystallized sinapisin. (Annul der Pharm. xxviii. 291.)
      Sulpho-sinapisin, the peculiar ingredient of white mustard seed, is white, crystallizable,
    inodorous, bitter, and soluble in alcohol and water, forming a  yellow solution.   It was at
    first thought by MM. Henry and Garot to be an acid, but they afterwards ascertained that
    it was neuter. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur.  It  may be
    obtained from white mustard seeds, from which the fixed oil has previously been expressed,
    by boiling them in water, evaporating the decoction to the consistence of honey,  mixing
    the residue with 6  or 8 times its volume of anhydrous  alcohol which precipitates  various
    substances, then distilling off the  alcohol, and setting  aside  the syrupy residue to crys-
    tallize. The crystals may be purified  by repeated solution and crystallization in  alcohol.
    (Berzelius, Traite de Chimie.) 
PART I.
Si?i apis.—Sodiu m.
667
may result.   This  caution is particularly necessary in  cases  where the
patient is insensible, and  the degree of pain can afford no criterion of the
sufficiency of the action.  The volatile oil, which is powerfully rubefacient
and capable of producing speedy vesication, has been considerably used  in
Germany.  For external application as a rubefacient, 30  drops may be
dissolved  in a fluidounce of alcohol, or 6 or 8 drops in a  fluidrachm  of
almond or olive oil.  It has been given internally in colic, two drops being
incorporated with a six ounce mixture,  and half a  fluidounce given for a
a dose.  (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. xi. 9.)
   Off. Prep. Cataplasma Sinapis, Lond., Dub.; Emplastrum Cantharidis
Compositum, Ed.; Infusum Armoraciae, U. S., Lond., Dub.       W.

                             SODIUM.

                              Sodium.

   Sodium, Fr.; Natronmctall, Natrium, Germ.; Sodio, Ital., Span.
   Sodium is  a peculiar elementary body of a metallic nature, forming the
radical of the alkali soda.   It was discovered  by Sir H. Davy in 1807, who
obtained it in minute  quantity by decomposing the alkali by the agency of
galvanic electricity.  It was afterwards  procured in much larger quantities
by Gay-Lussac  and Thenard, by bringing the alkali in  contact with iron
turnings heated to whiteness.  The iron became oxidized, and the metallic
radical of the soda  was liberated.  It is now obtained at a  much cheaper
rate by following the process of Schoedler, which consists in heating, in a
large iron bottle, the commercial acetate of soda, previously converted into
carbonate and  charcoal by  ignition, and  mixed with a  further  portion of
charcoal.
   Sodium is a soft, malleable, seclile solid, of a silver-white colour.   It pos-
sesses the metallic lustre in a high degree when protected from the action of
the air, by which it is quickly tarnished and oxidized.  Its sp. gr.  is 0*97,
fusing  point about 200°, equivalent number 23-3,  and  symbol Na.  Its
chemical affinities  resemble those of potassium, but are by no means  so
energetic.  Like potassium it has a strong attraction for oxygen.  When
thrown upon cold water it instantly fuses into a globule without inflaming,
and traverses the surface in different directions with rapidity; on hot water
it inflames.  In both cases the water is decomposed, hydrogen is liberated,
and a solution of soda generated.   It combines also with a larger proportion
of oxygen than exists in soda, forming a sesquioxide.   This oxide is always
formed when the metal is burnt in the open air.
   Sodium is present in a number of important medicinal preparations, and
is briefly described in this place as an introduction to these compounds.   Its
protoxide only is salifiable, constituting the  alkali soda, which, united to
acids, gives rise to a numerous class of compounds, called  salts of soda.
These are characterized by being all soluble in water and not precipitable by
any reagent, and by their communicating to the blowpipe flame, a rich yel-
low colour.  Protoxide of sodium consists of one  eq. of sodium 23*3,  and
one of oxygen 8=31-3.   United with one eq. of water 9, it forms hydrate
of soda (caustic soda), weighing 40*3.
   The officinal combinations containing sodium are chloride of sodium, the
solution of chlorinated soda, the acetate, borate,  carbonate, bicarbonate,
phosphate, and sulphate of soda,  and the tartrate of potassa and soda.  The
description of most of these combinations will immediately follow; while
the remainder, being included among the  " Preparations," will be noticed,
under their respective titles, in the second part of this work.         B. 
66S
Sodas Acetas.
PART I.
             SODtE  ACETAS.  U.S., Lond., Dub.

                          Acetate of Soda.
   Terra foliata tartari, hat.; Acetate de soude, Fr.; Essigsaures Natron, Germ.; Acetalo
 di soda, Ital.
   Acetate of soda is included among  the  " Preparations," in the Dublin
 Pharmacopoeia;  but more properly in the catalogue of the Materia Medica
 in those of London and the United States;  as it is obtained on a large scale
 by the manufacturing chemist.
   Preparation.   The Dublin  College obtains this salt by saturating car-
 bonate of  soda with distilled vinegar, and  evaporating the filtered solution
 until it attains the sp. gr. 1-276.   As the solution cools crystals will form,
 which must be cautiously dried, and kept in well stopped bottles.   In con-
 ducting the  process, the crystallized carbonate of soda will be  found to re-
 quire about eleven times its weight of distilled vinegar for saturation.
   Acetate of soda is prepared by the manufacturers of pyroligneous acid, for
 the purpose of being decomposed so as  to yield  strong acetic  acid  by  the
 action of sulphuric acid. (See Acidum Pyroligneum, and Acidum Aceti-
 cum.)  The first step is to  add to the impure acid sufficient cream of lime to
 saturate it.  During the saturation a quantity of blackish scum rises, which
 must be carefully removed.   In this way an acetate of lime is formed, which
 must be decomposed by a strong solution of sulphate of  soda.   By double
 decomposition there are formed acetate of soda which  remains  in solu-
 tion, and sulphate of lime which precipitates,  carrying down with it more
 or less of  the tarry impurities.   After  the sulphate  of lime has completely
 subsided, the solution of acetate of soda is  decanted, and  concentrated to a
 pellicle; when it is  transferred to crystallizers, in which it cools and crys-
 tallizes in mass.   The acetate in this state, is very impure, being black and
 impregnated with much tar.   It is purified  by drying, submitting  it to the
 igneous fusion, solution in  water,  filtration, and  repeated crystallizations.
 Sometimes animal charcoal is used to free the crystals from colour.
  Properties, fyc.   Acetate of soda is a white salt, occurring in amorphous
 foliated masses, or crystallized in long  striated  prisms, and possessing a
 sharp, bitterish,  not disagreeable taste.  Exposed  to the air it effloresces
slowly, and loses about forty per cent,  of its weight.  It is soluble  in about
three parts of cold water, and in twenty-four of alcohol.   The London Col-
lege  is inaccurate in stating that this salt is  insoluble in alcohol.   Subjected
to heat, it undergoes first the aqueous and then the igneous  fusion, and is
finally decomposed; the residue being a mixture of carbonate  of soda and
 charcoal.   By the affusion  o,f sulphuric acid it  is decomposed, the acetic
acid  being liberated, known by its acetous odour, and  sulphate of soda
formed.  The salt  should be perfectly neutral to test paper, and  not pre-
cipitated by chloride of barium,  nitrate of silver, or chloride of platinum.
 The non-action of these tests proves the absence of sulphates, chlorides, and
salts of potassa.   It consists, when crystallized, of one eq. of acetic acid
 51*48, one of soda, 31*3, and six of water 54=136-78.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Acetate of soda is diuretic, and possesses
 generally the same medical properties as  the acetate of potassa, to which
 article the reader is  referred.  It is, however, more convenient for exhibition
 than the latter salt,  as it is not deliquescent.  The dose is  from  a scruple to
 two  drachms.   Its  only pharmaceutical  use is  to yield acetic  acid by the
 action of sulphuric  acid, and for this purpose it is employed in  the London
 and United States Pharmacopoeias.
   Off. Prep.  Acidum Aceticum, U. S., Lond.                     B. 
PART I.
Sodas Boras.
669
                    SOD^E  BORAS.  U.S.

                          Borate of Soda.

   Off. Syn.  BORAX. Lond.,  Ed.; SODjE BORAS. BORAX.  Dub.
  Borate de soude, Borax, Fr; Boraxsaures Natron, Borax, Germ; Borace, Ital; Borrax,
Span.; Boo'rak, Arab.
   Borax  was known to the  ancients, but its chemical nature was first ascer-
tained by Geoffroy in 1732.  It exists native, and may be obtained  by arti-
ficial means.   It occurs in small quantities in several localities in Europe,
and in Peru in South America; but is found abundantly in certain lakes of
Thibet and Persia, from ^hich  it is obtained by spontaneous  evaporation.
The impure borax concretes on the margins of  these lakes, and is  dug up
in lumps, called in commerce tincal or crude borax.   In this state it is in
the form  of crystalline  masses, which are sometimes colourless, sometimes
yellowish or greenish,  and  always covered with an earthy coating, greasy
to the touch, and having the odour of soap.  The greasy appearance is de-
rived from a fatty matter, saponified by soda.  The tincal, thus obtained in
the interior, is transferred to the seaports of India, especially Calcutta, from
which it  is exported to  this  country packed in chests.  Besides Indian tincal,
there is another commercial variety of borax, which comes from China, and
which is partially refined.   Both varieties require to be  purified, before
being used in medicine or the arts.
   Purification.  The method of refining borax was originally possessed as
a secret by the Venetians and Dutch, but is now practised in several Euro-
pean countries.  The process pursued in  France, as  reported by Robiquet
and Marchand, is as follows. The tincal is placed in a large wooden vessel,
and covered to the depth of three or four inches  with  water; in which state
it is allowed to remain  for five or six hours, being agitated from time to  time.
Slaked lime is now added, in the proportion of one  part to four hundred of
the impure salt; and the whole being thoroughly mixed, is allowed to remain
at rest till the succeeding day.   The salt  is next separated by means of a
sieve, the crystals being crumbled between the  hands, and placed so  as to
drain.  The object  of  this  treatment is to separate the soapy matter, with
which the lime forms an insoluble soap;  and at  the same time sulphate of
soda and chloride of sodium are removed, with  only a minute loss of the
borax.   The borax being  drained, is next dissolved, by the  assistance of
heat, in two and a half times its weight of water, and  the solution treated
with one-fiftieth of its weight of chloride of calcium,  and  allowed to strain
through a coarse bag.   The filtration being completed, the liquor is concen-
trated by heat, and then run into wooden vessels, lined with lead, having
the shape of an inverted quadrangular  pyramid.   If care be taken that the
cooling proceeds very gradually, distinct crystals will be obtained, such as
are found in commerce; otherwise, crystalline crusts will be formed.  The
Chinese  borax is purified in a similar  manner, but being less impure than
the common tincal, does not require to be washed.
   Preparation of Artificial Borax.  Large quantities of borax are now
made by  the direct combination  of native boracic acid  with soda.  The acid
is obtained from certain lagoons in Tuscany, which are spread over a sur-
face of about  thirty miles.    At  present, from these lagoons the enormous
quantity  of 2,400,000  pounds  are annually manufactured.  As thus pro-
cured, the acid contains from 17 to  20 per cent, of  impurities, consisting
principally of the sulphates of  ammonia,  magnesia, lime,  and alumina, 
670
Sodas Boras.
PART I.
muriate of ammonia, chloride of iron, and clay, sand, and sulphur.  It is
added to saturation to a solution of carbonate of soda, heated by steam, and
the liquor, after boiling, is allowed  to stand for ten or twelve hours.  It is
then drawn off into wooden vessels  lined with  lead, where it crystallizes.
The crystals are impure, and are refined by dissolving them in water heated
by steam, adding carbonate of soda  to the solution, and crystallizing.   The
merit of introducing the process for obtaining artificial borax belongs to Car-
tier and Payen, who succeeded in establishing its  manufacture in  France,
notwithstanding the strong prejudice felt against its use.
   Properties. Borax is a white salt, generally crystallized in flattened hexa-
hedral prisms terminated by triangular pyramids, and possessing a sweetish,
feebly alkaline taste, and an alkaline reaction with test paper.  It dissolves
in twelve  times its weight of cold, and  twice its  weight of boiling water.
Exposed to the air, it effloresces slowly and slightly at the surface of the crys-
tals, which become covered with a white powder.   Subjected to a moderate
heat it undergoes the aqueous fusion, swells considerably, and finally becomes
a dry porous mass, with loss of half its weight.  Above a red heat it melts
into a limpid liquid, and, after cooling, concretes  into  a transparent solid,
called glass of borax, which is very much used as  a flux in assays with the
blowpipe.   Sulphuric  acid, added to a saturated solution of the salt, unites
with the soda, and precipitates the boracic acid in scaly  crystals, known by
their property of imparting a green  colour to the flame  of burning  alcohol.
According to Dr. Duncan, borax possesses the singular property of  convert-
ing the  mucilage of gum Arabic, of Iceland moss, and  salep, into  a gelati-
nous  mass, without any adhesive property.
   Borax has the property of rendering cream of tartar very soluble in water,
and forms a combination with it, called soluble cream  of tartar, which is
sometimes used in medicine.   This preparation is made by boiling six parts
of cream of tartar and two  of borax in  sixteen of water for five minutes,
allowing the solution to cool, and then filtering to separate some tartrate of
lime.  Soluble cream of tartar attracts moisture from the air, and is soluble
in its own weight  of cold, and half its weight of boiling water.  A similar
preparation may be made by substituting boracic acid for the borax,  the pro-
portions being four parts of cream of tartar to one of the acid.   This combi-
nation is even more soluble than the other.   It has not been well ascertained
what is the nature  of these compounds.   Thenard  has thrown  out  the
suggestion, that the former consists of two double salts, tartrate of potassa
and soda (Rochelle salt), and tartrate of potassa and boracic acid; the acid
acting the part of  a base; and Berzelius inclines to the opinion, that the lat-
ter is a  double tartrate  of potassa and boracic acid.  According to  the for-
mula of the Paris  Codex, soluble cream of tartar is made with boracic acid.
One hundred parts of  the acid and  400 of cream of tartar are dissolved in a
silver basin, at the temperature of ebullition, in 2400 parts of water.  The
solution is  kept boiling until the greater part of the water is consumed. The
fire is then moderated, and the solution continually stirred while the evapo-
ration proceeds.   When the matter has become very thick, it is removed
by portions, which are flattened in the hand, completely dried by the heat of
a stove, reduced to powder, and kept in well stopped bottles.
   Composition.   Borax consists of two eqs.  of boracic acid 69*8,  and one
of soda 31*3= 101*1.  As  ordinarily  crystallized  it contains  ten eqs.  of
water; but a variety of the salt exists, which crystallizes in octohedrons, and
which contains only five eqs. of water.  This  is  obtained  in  the  artificial
production of borax, by crystallizing from a concentrated solution at a tem-
perature between 174° and 133°.   From the composition of borax  in equi- 
part i.       Sodas Boras.—Sodas Carbonas Impura.          671

valents, it is  evidently a biborate, though generally called a subborate, on
account of its possessing an alkaline reaction.  This latter property arises
from the feeble neutralizing power of boracic acid, which renders it unable
to overcome the alkaline nature of so strong a base as soda.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Borax is a mild refrigerant and diure-
tic.  It is supposed  also to exercise a specific influence  over the  uterus,
promoting menstruation,  facilitating parturition, and  favouring the expul-
sion of  the  placenta.  (Vogt's  Pharmakodynamik, quoted  by Pereira,
Elem. Mat.  Med.)  It is strongly recommended by Dr.  Daniel Stahl, of
Indiana, in dysmenorrhoea occurring in sanguineous constitutions, venesec-
tion being premised.  He gives it in doses of about nine  grains every
two hours in a tablespoonful of flaxseed tea, for two days before the time of
the expected  return of the menses.  (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. xx. 536, from
Western Journ. of Med. and Phys. Sci.)   Dr. Duncan quotes Wurzer for
asserting that it is the best remedy  that can  be used in nephritic and calcu-
lous complaints, dependent on an excess of  uric acid.  It probably  acts  in
such cases as an alkali, the soda of the salt  neutralizing the  acid met with
in the  stomach or  urinary passages, and  the boracic acid being set free.
The dose is from thirty to forty grains.  Cream of tartar, rendered soluble
by borax or boracic acid, is a convenient preparation, where it is desirable
to administer large quantities of the former salt.  Externally its solution is
used as a wash in scaly cutaneous eruptions. A solution formed by dissolv-
ing a drachm of the  salt in two  fluidounces of distilled vinegar  has been
found, both by Dr. Abercrombie and Dr. Christison, an excellent lotion for
ringworm of the scalp. Borax is very much used  as a detergent in aphthous
affections of  the mouth in children.  When employed for this purpose, it is
generally applied in  powder, either mixed with sugar in the proportion of
one part to seven, or rubbed up with hone v.  (See Mel Boracis.)
   Off. Prep. Mel  Boracis, Lond.,  Ed., Dub.                      B.


           SOD^ CARBONAS  LMPURA. Lond.

                    Impure Carbonate of Soda.

    Off. Syn.  SODiE CARBONAS VENALE.  BARILLA.  Dub.
    Soude de commerce,  Fr.; Rohe Soda,  Germ.; Soda impura, Ital;  Barilla, Span.
   The impure carbonate of soda intended by the London College, is the arti-
ficial carbonate, obtained on a large scale by the manufacturing chemist, which
the College deems not quite pure enough for medicinal use.   The equiva-
lent preparation of the Dublin College is  the  impure carbonate obtained
by incinerating maritime plants, to  which the name barilla strictly belongs.
The Edinburgh College has very properly dismissed the impure carbonate,
as the source from which the apothecary is to obtain the medicinal carbonate
by a process  of purification; deeming the alkali as manufactured on a large
scale to be sufficiently pure. Influenced by the same views the framers of our
national Pharmacopoeia have never admitted on the officinal list, the  impure
carbonate of  soda.
   Although the officinal names at the head of this article only indicate ba-
rilla, and the  artificial carbonate of soda obtained by chemical means, yet we
shall not confine our remarks to these substances, but notice, generally, the
sources of the alkali.
   Carbonated soda exists as a mineral, and  is obtained by incinerating cer-
tain plants, and by decomposing sulphate of soda.
   Native soda is  found chiefly in Egypt, Hungary, and near Merida in
* 
 672                   Sodas Carbonas Impura.              part i.

 South America.  It exists in these localities in solution in small lakes, from
 which it is extracted in consequence of the drying up of the water during
 the heats of summer.   Native soda is called  natron, and was formerly im-
 ported  from  Egypt for use in  the  arts;  but for a number of years, the
 demands of commerce for this alkali have  been supplied from other sources.
 The native soda of Egypt,  called  trona, by  the natives, is  a sesquicarbo-
 nate; while the South American is  intermediate, in the proportion of its
 acid, between the Egyptian  and  artificial carbonate.   None  of these native
 sodas are important to the American chemist  or druggist, as  they are never
 imported into  this country.
   Soda of vegetable origin is derived from certain plants which  grow on
 the surface or borders of the sea, and is denominated either barilla or kelp,
 according to the particular character of the marine plants from which it is
 derived. Barilla is obtained from  several  vegetables, principally belonging
 to the genera Salsola,  Salicornia,  and Chenopodium.  In Spain,  Sicily, and
 some other countries, the plants  are regularly cultivated for  the  purpose of
 yielding soda  by their combustion.  The plants, when ripe, are cut down,
 dried, and burnt in heaps.   The ashes form  a  semi-fused, hard, and com-
 pact saline mass, which is broken up into  fragments by means of pickaxes,
 and thrown into commerce.  Kelp  is procured by the incineration of various
 kinds of sea-weeds, principally the algae and  fuci, which grow on the rocky
 coasts of many countries.  The  Orkneys and Hebrides,  and  the rocky
 coasts of Wales, Scotland,  and  Ireland, furnish large quantities of these
 weeds.   The  plants are allowed to ferment in heaps, then dried, and after-
 wards burnt to ashes in ovens, roughly made  with brick or stone, and built
 in the ground.   The alkali in the ashes melts, and forms the whole into one
 solid mass.   When cold, it  is broken up  with  iron instruments into large
 heavy masses, in which  state it is  found in commerce.   About twenty-four
 tons of sea weeds are required to produce one of kelp.   Large quantities of
 this substance were formerly manufactured in Great Britain;  but its demand
 and production have almost  ceased since the  introduction of artificial soda
 at a comparatively low price.   An impure soda is obtained in a similar
 manner in France, under the name of vareck.
   Artificial Soda  of Commerce.   At present this  is obtained by decom-
 posing sulphate of soda, which is procured from the manufacturers of chlo-
 rinated  lime (bleaching salt), or,  what is  more usual,  on  account of the
 insufficient supply from this source, is made  expressly for the purpose, by
 decomposing common  salt (chloride of sodium) by sulphuric acid.  The
 dried sulphate is mixed with its  own  weight  of ground chalk, and half its
 weight of small coal, ground and sifted, and the whole is heated  in a rever-
beratory furnace, where it fuses and forms a black mass, called black ash or
 British barilla.  The coal, at the  temperature employed, converts the sul-
 phate of soda into sulphuret  of sodium.  This reacts with the chalk, so as
 to form sulphuret  of  calcium and carbonate  of soda, (NaS + CaO,CO—
 CaS + NaO,C02).   Black ash contains only about 22 per cent, of alkali, im-
perfectly carbonated on account of the high heat used, the remainder being
sulphuret of calcium and coaly matter.  It is  next digested in warm water,
 which takes up the alkali and leaves the impurities.   The solution is eva-
porated to dryness, and the mass obtained  calcined  with one-fourth of its
weight of sawdust,  in order  to convert the alkali fully  into   carbonate, by
 means of the carbonic acid resulting from  the combustion of the sawdust.
 The product is redissolved in water, and the solution evaporated to dryness.
 The alkali, in this stage  of its purification, contains about 50 per cent, of
 carbonate of soda, and is called soda-ash.  It is brought to the state of crys- 
part I.     Sodas Carbonas Impura.—Sodas Carbonas.         673

tallized carbonate of soda  by dissolving it in water, straining the  solution,
evaporating it to a pellicle, and setting it aside to crystallize.
   The chemical process just described for obtaining carbonated soda, is at
present pursued on an immense scale in Great Britain, especially  at Liver-
pool and  Glasgow; and its product is so cheap  that its  use has  nearly
superseded that of barilla and  kelp for manufacturing purposes.   It was
calculated by Mr.  Musprat that, in 1838, there were manufactured in  Great
Britain alone, 50,000 tons of soda-ash, and 20,000 tons of  the crystallized
carbonate, and the manufacture is steadily on the increase.
   Barilla, when of good quality, is in hard, dry, porous,  sonorous, gray-
ish-blue  masses, which become  covered with a saline efflorescence after
exposure  to the air. It possesses an alkaline taste and peculiar odour.  It
contains from  twenty-five to forty per cent, of real  carbonated alkali, the
residue being  made up of sulphate  of soda, sulphuret and chloride  of
sodium, carbonate of lime, alumina, silica,  oxide of iron, and a small por-
tion of charcoal which has escaped combustion.
   Kelp is  in hard, vesicular masses, of a dark-gray,  bluish, or  greenish
colour, sulphureous odour,  and acrid, caustic taste.  It  is  still  less  pure
than barilla, containing  from five  to eight per cent, of carbonated soda; the
rest being made  up of a large proportion of  the sulphates of  soda and
potassa, and  the chlorides  of potassium and sodium, a  small quantity of
iodide of sodium, and insoluble and  colouring matters.   It is from kelp
that iodine is obtained.  (See lodinum.)
   British barilla, the  name given to artificial  soda in  its lowest degree
of purity, is of a blackish-brown  colour, becoming darker by exposure
to  the air.  When broken  it exhibits an  imperfect metallic lustre, and a
close striated texture.   Its taste  is caustic and hepatic.   By exposure to a
moist atmosphere,  it becomes covered with a yellow efflorescence, and
quickly falls  to powder,  with  disengagement  of heat  and sulphuretted
hydrogen; at the  same  time increasing in weight by the absorption of car-
bonic acid and water.   Soda-ash is in white or gray compact masses.
   The  different kinds of impure carbonate of soda, whether barilla, kelp,
or soda-ash, being exceedingly variable in  composition,  it is  important
to have  a ready  method of determining  the  quantity of  real carbonated
alkali which they contain.  The  mode  in which this is done, by means of
 an instrument  called an  alkalimeter,  has  been already explained.   (See
 page 565.)
   Pharmaceutical Uses,  <y-c.  The impure carbonate of soda, in the form
of commercial  carbonate, is employed  by the London College for obtain-
ing the pure carbonate; and barilla is  used for the same  purpose  by the
 Dublin College.   The various forms of impure carbonate  are largely con-
 sumed in soap and glass  making, and in dyeing and bleaching.
    Off. Prep.  Sodae Carbonas,  Lond., Dub.                        B.


        SOD^E  CARBONAS.  U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.

                         Carbonate of Soda.

   Carbonate de  soude, Fr.; Einfach Kohlensaures Natron, Germ.; Carbonato  di soda,
Ital;  Carbonato de soda, Span.
   In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia  this salt has been always placed  in the list
of the Materia  Medica; the crystallized carbonate of soda, obtained on a
large scale by the manufacturing chemist, being a pure salt, and that  which
is sold in the shops of our apothecaries.  The Edinburgh College, in the late
     58 
674
Sodas Carbvnas.
PART I.
revision of its Pharmacopoeia, has given the same position to this salt, hav-
ing abandoned the process previously prescribed for preparing  it from ba-
rilla.   The London and Dublin Colleges give processes for its preparation.
  The London College takes two pounds of the " impure carbonate of soda"
(commercial  carbonate), boils it  v/'iih four pints (Imperial measure)  of dis-
tilled  water, strains the solution while hot,  and sets it by that crystals  may
form.  The Dublin College exhausts "barilla," by boiling it with twice its
weight of water for two  or three successive  times, and, having  mixed  the
several solutions, evaporates to dryness.   The  dry mass is then dissolved
in boiling water, and the solution evaporated  \intil it acquires the sp. gr.
1*22,  when it is exposed  to a  temperature  about freezing, in order that it
may crystallize.   The crystals are then dried and kept in close  bottles.
  These processes for obtaining carbonate  of soda on  a small scale  are
entirely superfluous,  on account of the perfection  to which the artificial
carbonate has been brought by the manufacturing chemist.  The officinal
carbonate  of soda of the  U. S.  and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias may be
considered as this carbonate in the highest state of purity, in  which it is
manufactured on the  large scale.  The process by which  it is  made  is
described in the preceding article. (See Sodae Carbonas Impura.)
  Properties.  Carbonate of soda is a colourless salt, possessing an alkaline
and disagreeable taste, and crystallizing usually in  large oblique rhombic
prisms, which speedily effloresce and fall into powder when exposed to the
air.   It is soluble in  twice its weight of cold water, but  insoluble in alco-
hol, and displays an alkaline reaction with tests.  When heated it  under-
goes the aqueous fusion; and, if the heat be continued, it dries and  finally
suffers the igneous fusion.  The most usual impurities are sulphate of soda
and common salt, which  may be  detected  by converting the  salt into a
nitrate, and testing separate portions of this  severally with the chloride of
barium and  nitrate of silver.  Common salt  is seldom entirely absent, but
good  specimens are free from sulphate of soda.  According to the late Dr.
W. R. Fisher, it  is liable to  contain, when badly prepared, a portion of
sulphuret of sodium, which may be detected  by the production of the smell
of sulphuretted hydrogen upon dissolving the salt in water. (Amer. Journ.
of Pharm. viii. 108.)   Carbonate of soda is incompatible with acids, acidu-
lous salts, lime-water, muriate of ammonia, and earthy and metallic salts.
It consists of one eq. of carbonic acid 22*12,  and one of soda 31-3 = 53-42.
When fully  crystallized  it contains  ten eqs. of water  90,  giving  as the
number representing the  crystallized  salt 143-42.  It  is thus  perceived
that this salt, when perfectly crystallized,  contains nearly two-thirds of its
weight of water;  but the  quantity actually present  in it, as found  in the
shops, is variable, being dependent on  the  extent  to which it may have
undergone efflorescence.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Carbonate of soda is antacid, antilithic,
and resolvent.  It is given principally in diseases  attended with acidity of
the stomach; such as gout, uric acid gravel, and certain forms of dyspepsia.
It is more frequently exhibited than carbonate of potassa, as it is more easily
taken, its  taste being less  acrid..  It has also been recommended in hooping-
cough, scrofula, and  bronchocele.   In the latter disease, Dr. Peschier of
Geneva considers it more efficacious  than iodine.   It is  given  in doses of
from  ten grains to half a drachm, either in powder, or in solution in some
bitter infusion.   In consequence of the variable state in which it  exists in
the shops, as to the amount of water of  crystallization which it contains,
the dose cannot  be  indicated with  precision.  It is on  this account that
the salt is most conveniently administered in  the dried  state.  {See Sodae
Carbonas Exsiccatus.)   When  taken in an overdose it acts as a corrosive 
tart i.            Sodas Carbonas.—Sodas Sulphas.            675

and irritant poison. The best antidotes are fixed oils, acetic acid, and lemon
juice.  This salt is used, solely as  a  chemical agent, in preparing Quiniae
Sulphas, Ed., and Antimonii Oxidum, Ed.
   Off. Prep. Aqua Carbonatis Sodae  Acidula, Dub.;  Ferri Carbonas Sac-
charatum, Ed.; Ferri Snbcarbonas,  U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.; Liquor Sodae
Chlorinatac, U.S., Lond.; Magnesiae  Carbonas, Lond., Ed.;  Pilulae Ferri
Carbonatis, U. S.; Pil. Ferri Composita?, U. S.,  Lond., Dub.; Sodae Bi-
carbonas, U. S.,  Lond.,, Ed., Dub.;  Sodae  Carbonas  Exsiccatus,  U. S.,
Lond., Ed.,. Dub.; Sodae et Potassae  Tartras,  U..S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.;
Sodae Phosphas,  U. S., Ed.,  Dub.; Sodae Sulphas, Lond.           B.


       SODjE  SULPHAS.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                         Sulphate  of Soda.

   Vitriolated soda,  Glauber's salt; Sulfate de soude, Fr.;  Schwefelsaures Natron, Glau-
bersalz. Germ.; Sol fa to di soda, Ital; Sulfato de soda, Sal de Glaubero, Span.
   This salt is included among  the Preparations by the  three  British Col-
leges, a formula for obtaining it being given; but in the United States Phar-
macopoeia, it is inserted only in the Materia Medica list, where it properly
stands as a substance obtained on a  large scale.
   Sulphate of soda, in  small quantities, is extensively diffused in nature, and
is obtained artificially in several chemical operations.   It exists in solution
in many mineral  springs, among which may be mentioned those of Chel-
tenham and Carlsbad; its ingredients are present in sea-water; and it is found
combined with sulphate of lime, constituting a distinct mineral.  As an arti-
ficial product, it is formed in  the processes for ohtaining muriatic acid and
chlorine, and in the preparation of muriate  of ammonia, from sulphate of
ammonia and common salt.  It may also be procured from sea-water.
   Preparation.  The  British Colleges agree in obtaining sulphate of soda
from the salt left  after the distillation of muriatic acid.   This residuary salt,
as is explained under muriatic acid,  is  sulphate of soda*, but  it generally con-
tains an excess of sulphuric  acid, which must  be neutralized with soda or
removed. The London College dissolves two pounds of the salt in two pints
(Imperial measure) of  boiling water, and  saturates the excess  of acid with
carbonate of soda.  The solution is then  evaporated to  a pellicle, strained,
and set aside to crystallize.  The supernatant liquor  being poured off, the
crystals  are dried. The Edinburgh College dissolves  two pounds of the
salt in three pints (Imp. meas.) of boiling water, saturates the excess of
acid with powdered white marble, boils the  liquid and  when neutral filters
it, washes the insoluble matter with  boiling water, which is  added to the
original  liquid, concentrates  the solution to a pellicle, and sets it aside to
cool and crystallize.   In the Dublin Pharmacopoeia, the salt is directed to
be dissolved in a sufficient quantity of boiling water, and the solution, after
filtration and due evaporation, is allowed to  crystallize by slow cooling.
   In the above processes, the London College converts the excess of acid
in the salt into an additional portion  of  sulphate of soda;  while the Edin-
burgh College  gets rid  of the excess, by converting it into the insoluble
sulphate of lime.   The Dublin process makes no provision for removing
the excess of acid.
   Immense quantities  of sulphate of soda are now obtained in Great Britain
and France by the process of decomposing common salt by sulphuric acid,
for the purpose of being manufactured into soda-ash and carbonate of soda;
and, so far from the generated muriatic  acid being a product of value, its 
676
Sodae Sulphas.
PART I.
absorption in a convenient way, so as to avoid the nuisance of its escape into
the atmosphere in a gaseous state, is the sole aim of the manufacturer. (See
Acidum Muriaticum.)
   The residuum  of the process for obtaining chlorine by the action of sul-
phuric acid, water, and deutoxide  of manganese on common salt, is a mix-
ture of sulphate of soda and sulphate of protoxide of manganese.  (See Aqua
Chlorinii.)  Large quantities of this residuum are formed in manufacturing
chlorinated lime (bleaching salt), and the sulphate of soda in it, roughly pu-
rified, supplies a  small part of the consumption of this salt in making soda-
ash and carbonate of soda.  (See Sodae Carbonas Impura.)
   In the process  for  obtaining muriate of ammonia from sulphate of am-
monia and common  salt, water is decomposed, and a double decomposi-
tion takes place, resulting in the formation of sulphate of soda and muriate
of ammonia.   By exposing the mixed salts to heat, the muriate of ammonia
sublimes, and  the sulphate of soda is left behind. (See Ammoniae Murias.)
   In some of  our Northern States, particularly Massachusetts, a portion of
Glauber's salt is  procured  from sea-water in the winter  season.  The cir-
cumstances under which it is formed, have been explained in a paper " On
the Preparation of Glauber's and Epsom Salt and Magnesia  from Sea-
water," by Mr.  Daniel  B.  Smith, published in the fourth volume of the
Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.  The constituents of a
number of salts  exist in sea-water; and the  binary order in which these
constituents will  precipitate during evaporation, depends on  the tempera-
ture.   During the prevalence  of rigorous cold, sulphate of soda  is the least
soluble  salt which  can be  formed out of the acids  and  bases present, and
consequently it separates in the form of crystals.
   Properties.  Sulphate of soda is a colourless salt, possessing a cooling,
nauseous, very bitter  taste, and crystallizing with great facility in six-sided
striated prisms.   When recently prepared, it is beautifully transparent; but
by exposure to the air it effloresces,  and the  crystals become  covered with
an opaque white  powder.  By long  exposure it undergoes  complete efflo-
rescence, and  falls to  powder with loss of more than half its weight.  It is
soluble  in three times its weight of cold water, and in its own weight of
boiling  water, but is  insoluble in  alcohol.  Subjected to heat, it dissolves
in its water of crystallization,  then dries, and afterwards,  by the application
of a red heat,  melts, with the loss of 55£  per cent, of its weight.  Occasion-
ally it contains an  excess  of acid or  alkali, which may be discovered by
litmus or turmeric paper.  The presence of common salt may be detected
by sulphate of silver;  that of iron by ferrocyanuret of potassium  or tincture
of galls.  This salt is not subject to adulteration.   It is  incompatible with
carbonate of potassa, chloride of calcium, the salts of baryta, nitrate of silver
if the solutions  be strong, and acetate  and subacetate  of  lead.  It con-
sists of  one eq. of sulphuric acid 40-1, one of soda 31*3, and ten of water
90 = 161*4.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Sulphate of soda, in doses  of from half an
ounce to an ounce, is  an  efficient cathartic; in smaller doses, largely diluted,
an aperient and diuretic.   When in an effloresced  state, the dose must be
reduced one-half.  It  is  much less used  than formerly, having been almost
entirely superseded by sulphate of magnesia, which is less  disagreeable to
the palate.  Its nauseous  taste, however, may be readily disguised by the
admixture of a little lemon-juice or cream of tartar,  or the addition of a few
drops of sulphuric acid.   Sulphate of soda is the principal ingredient in the
artificial Cheltenham  salts.   These consist of 120 grs. of sulphate of soda,
66 grs.  of suphate of magnesia,  10 grs.  of chloride of sodium,  and half a 
part i.          Sodas Sulphas.—Sodii Chloridum.             677

grain of  sulphate of iron, and  constitute, according to Dr. Paris,  a very
efficacious purgative.  The only use of sulphate of soda in the arts is to
make carbonate of soda, and as  an ingredient in some kinds of glass.  It has
no officinal preparations.                                           B.


             SODII CHLORIDUM.  U.S., Lond.

                        Chloride of Sodium.

   Off. Syn.   SOD^E MURIAS. Ed., Dub.
   Muriate of soda, Sea salt, Common sail; Chlorure de sodium, Ilydro-chlornte de soude,
Sel marin, Fr.; Chlornatrium, Kochsalz, Germ.; Salt, Dan., Swed.; Cloruro di sodio, Sal
comune, Ital; Sal, Span.
  This mineral production, so necessary to mankind, is universally distri-
buted  over the globe, and is the most abundant of the native soluble salts.
Most animals have an instinctive relish for it; and from its frequent presence
in the  solids and fluids of the animal economy, it may be supposed to per-
form an important part in nutrition and assimilation.
  Natural State.   Common salt exists in nature, either in the solid state
or in solution. In the solid state, called rock salt, fossil salt, or sal gemmae,
it is often found forming extensive  beds,  and even entire mountains, from
which it  is extracted in blocks or masses by mining operations.  Its geolo-
gical  position is very constant, occurring almost  invariably in secondary
formations, associated with clay and gypsum.   In solution it occurs in cer-
tain springs and lakes, and in the waters of the  ocean.   The principal salt-
mines in the world  are found in Poland,  Hungary, and Russia;  in  various
parts  of  Germany, particularly  the Tyrol;  in  England in the county of
Cheshire; in Spain; in various  parts of Asia and Africa; and in Peru, and
other countries of South America.  In the United  States there are no salt-
mines, but numerous saline springs, which either flow naturally, or are pro-
duced  artificially by sinking shafts to various depths, in places where salt
is known to exist.   These are  found principally in Missouri, Kentucky,
Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and  New  York.  In the last men-
tioned State the springs are the most productive; the chief ones being situated
at Salina, Montezuma, and Galen.  In Virginia,  an important salt region
exists, extending fifteen  miles  on each side of the great Kanawha river.
Rock salt is always transparent or translucent; but it often exhibits various
colours, such as red, yellow, brown, violet, blue, &c, which are supposed
to be derived from  iron and manganese.
  Extraction.   Mines of salt are worked in two ways.  When the salt is
pure,  it is merely dug out in blocks and thrown into  commerce.   When
impure it is dissolved in water, and extracted afterwards from the solution by
evaporation.  When the salt is  naturally in solution, the mode of extraction
depends upon  the  strength of the brine, and the  temperature of the place
where  it  is found.   When  the  water  contains from fourteen to fifteen per
cent, of salt, it is extracted by evaporation in large iron boilers.   If, how-
ever, it contains only  two, three, four, or five per cent.,  the salt is obtained
in a different manner. If the climate be warm it is procured by spontaneous
evaporation, effected by  the heat of the sun;  if temperate, by a peculiar
mode  of spontaneous evaporation to be mentioned presently, and the subse-
quent application of artificial heat.
  Sea  water is a weak saline solution, containing 2*7 percent, of salt, which
is extracted by the agency of solar heat in warm countries.   Salt thus ob-
tained, is  called bay salt.   The extraction is conducted in Europe princi-
                                 58* 
678
Sodii Chloridum.
part i.
pally on the shores of the Mediterranean, the waters of which are Salter
than those of the open ocean.   The  mode in which it is performed is by
letting in the sea-water into shallow dikes, lined  with clay, and  capable,
after being filled, of being shut off from the sea.  In this situation the heat
of the sun gradually concentrates the water, and the salt is deposited.   In
temperate climates, weak brines are  first concentrated in buildings, called
graduation  houses.  These are rough wooden structures, open on the sides,
ten or eleven yards high, five  or six  wide, and three or four hundred long,
and  containing an oblong  pile of brushwood somewhat smaller than  the
building itself.   The brine is  pumped up into troughs full of holes, placed
above the faggots, upon which it is  allowed to fall; and in  its descent it
becomes minutely  divided.   This operation, by greatly increasing the sur-
face of the brine, promotes its evaporation; and being repeated several times,
the solution  is at last brought  to the  requisite degree of strength, to permit
of its final concentration in iron boilers by artificial heat.   Sometimes, to
save fuel, the last concentration is performed by allowing the brine to trickle
down a number of vertical ropes, on the surface of which the salt is  de-
posited in the form of a crust.
  Properties.  Chloride of sodium is white, without odour, and of a pecu-
liar taste, called saline.  It is  usually  crystallized  in  cubes; but by hasty
evaporation  it often assumes  the  form  of hollow  quadrangular pyramids.
When pure  it undergoes no change in the air, but when contaminated with
chloride of magnesium, as not unfrequentiy happens, it is deliquescent.  It
dissolves in  somewhat less than three times its weight of cold water,  and is
scarcely more soluble in boiling water.    In weak alcohol it is very soluble,
but sparingly so in  absolute alcohol. Exposed to a gradually increasing heat,
it first decrepitates from the presence of interstitial moisture, next melts, and
finally volatilizes in white fumes without decomposition.  It is decomposed
by  several of the acids, particularly the sulphuric and nitric, which  disen-
gage vapours of muriatic acid; by carbonate of potassa with  the assistance
of heat; and by the nitrates of silver and the protoxide of mercury.
  Several varieties of common salt are distinguished in commerce; as stoved
salt, fishery salt, bay salt, &c; but they are characterized by modifications
in the size and compactness of the grains, rather than by any essential  dif-
ference in composition.
   Composition.   Common salt, in  its pure state, consists of one eq. of
chlorine 35-42, and one of sodium 23-3=58-72.  It contains no water of
crystallization.  When in solution it is  by some supposed to  become the
muriate of soda in  consequence of the decomposition of water, the hydrogen
and oxygen of which severally convert the chlorine and sodium into muriatic
acid and soda.   The  common salt of commerce, besides pure chloride of
sodium, contains, generally speaking, insoluble matter, and usually more or
less of the sulphates  of  lime  and magnesia, and chlorides of calcium  and
magnesium.   When pure it is not precipitated  by carbonate of soda, chlo-
ride of barium, or ferrocyanuret of potassium.   Chloride of calcium is
generally present  in  very small amount; but  the  chloride of magnesium
sometimes amounts to 28 parts in 1000.  Sulphate of lime is usually pre-
sent, constituting variously from 1  part to 23£ in 1000; and sulphate of mag-
nesia is sometimes present and sometimes absent.   To  separate the earths,
a boiling solution of carbonate of soda must be  added, as long as any preci-
pitate is formed.   The earths  will fall as carbonates, and must be separated
by  filtration, and sulphate of soda and  chloride of sodium will remain in
solution.  The sulphate of soda may then be decomposed by the  cautious
addition of chloride of barium which will generate chloride of sodium,  and
insoluble sulphate of baryta. 
part i.            Sodii Chloridum.—Solidago.                679

   Medical Properties and Uses.   Chloride of sodium, in small doses, acts
as a stimulant  tonic and anthelmintic; in larger ones as a purgative and
emetic.  It certainly promotes digestion, and the almost universal animal
appetency for it, proves it to be a salutary stimulus in health.  When taken
in larger quantities than usual with food, it is useful in some forms of dys-
pepsia, and, by giving greater tone to the  digestive  organs in  weakly chil-
dren, may correct the disposition to generate worms. On the sudden occur-
rence of haemoptysis, it is usefully resorted to as a styptic, in  the dose of a
teaspoonful, taken dry, and often proves successful in  stopping the flow of
blood.   Externally  applied in solution it is stimulant, and may be  used
either locally or generally. Locally it is sometimes  employed as a fomenta-
tion in sprains and bruises; and as a  general external application, it forms
the salt-water bath, a valuable remedy as  a tonic and excitant in depraved
conditions of the system, occurring especially in children, and supposed to
be  dependent on the scrofulous diathesis.   A pound  of salt  dissolved  in
four gallons of water, forms a solution of about the strength of sea-water,
and suitable for a bath.  It is frequently used as an ingredient in stimulating
enemata.  The dose, as  a tonic, is from ten grains to a  drachm; as a cathar-
tic, though seldom used for that purpose, from two drachms to half an ounce.
In doses of from half an ounce to an ounce, dissolved in  four  or five times
its weight of water, it frequently proves a prompt and efficient emetic, in-
vigorating  rather than  depressing  the powers  of the  system.   When
employed as a clyster, it may be  used in the amount  of from  one to two
tablespoonfuls dissolved in a pint of water.
   The uses of common salt in domestic economy as a condiment and anti-
septic are well known.  In agriculture it  is sometimes used as a manure,
and in the arts is employed to prepare muriate of ammonia, as also to  form
sulphate of soda, with a view to its conversion afterwards into  carbonate  of
soda.  It is used as  a chemical agent in preparing the biniodide of mercury
of the Edinburgh College.
   Off. Prep.  Acidum  Muriaticum,  Dub., Lond.;  Acidum  Muriaticum
Purum, Ed.; Aqua Chlorinii, Dub., Ed.; Hydrargyri Chloridum  Corro-
sivum,  U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Hydrargyri Chloridum  Mite,  U. S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Liquor Sodae  Chlorinatae, Lond.;  Plumbi Chloridum,
Lond.; Pulvis Salinus Compositus, Ed., Dub.; Sodae Murias Purum, Ed.;
Sodae Sulphas,  Lond., Ed., Dub.; Calomelas Praecipitatum, Dub.   B.

                 SOLIDAGO. U.S. Secondary.

                            Golden-rod.

   " The leaves of Solidago odora." U. S.
   Solidago.  Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat.  Ord.  Compositae
Asteroideae, De Candolle, Asteraceac, Lindley.
   Gen.Ch.  Caly x imbricated, scales closed.  Radical florets about five,
yellow. Receptacle naked, punctate.   Pappus simple pilose. Nuttall.
  This is a very abundant genus, including, according  to  Eaton's enumera-
tion, upwards of sixty  species belonging to this country.  Of these the
S. odora only is  officinal.   The S.  Virgaurea, which is common  to the
United States and Europe, was formerly  directed  by the Dublin  College;
but was omitted in the last edition of their Pharmacopoeia.  It is astringent,
and has been supposed to possess lithontriptic virtues.
   Solidago odora. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2061; Bigelow, Am. Med.  Bot.
i. 187.  The sweet-scented golden-rod has a perennial creeping root, and a 
6S0
Solidago. — Spigelia.
PART I.
 slender, erect, pubescent stem, which rises two or three feet in height. The
 leaves are sessile, linear lanceolate, entire, acute, rough at the margin, else-
 where smooth, and, according to Bigelow, covered with pellucid dots. The
 flowers are of a deep golden-yellow colour, and are arranged in a terminal,
 compound, panicled raceme, the branches of  which spread almost horizon-
 tally, are each accompanied by a small  leaf, and support the flowers  on
 downy pedicels, which put forth from the upper side of  the peduncle, and
 have small linear bractes at their base.   The  florets of the ray are ligulate,
 oblong, and obtuse;  ihose of the disk funnel-shaped, with acute segments.
   The plant grows in woods and fields throughout the  United States, and
 is in flower from August to October.   The leaves, which are  the officinal
 portion, have a fragrant odour, and a warm, aromatic, agreeable taste.  These
 properties depend on a volatile oil, which may be separated by distillation
 with water.   It is of a pale greenish-yellow colour, and lighter than water.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Golden-rod  is aromatic, moderately stimu-
 lant and carminative, and, like other substances of the same class, diaphoretic
 when given in warm infusion.  It may be used to relieve pain arising from
 flatulence, to allay nausea, and to cover the taste or correct the operation  of
 unpleasant or irritating medicines.  For these purposes it may be given  in
 infusion.  The volatile oil dissolved  in alcohol is  employed  in the Eastern
 States.   According to Pursh, the  dried flowers are used as a pleasant and
 wholesome substitute for common tea.                             W.


                  SPIGELIA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                              Pinkroot.

   "The  root of Spigelia Marilandica." U.S., Ed.  "Spigelia Marilan-
 dica.  Radix." Lond.
   Off. Syn. SPIGELIA MARILANDICA.  Radix. Dub.
   Spigelie du Maryland. Fr.; Spigelie, Germ.; Spigelia, Ital.
   Spigelia.   Sex. Syst.  Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Gentianae,
 Juss.; Spigeliaceae, Martius, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx five-parted.   Corolla funnel-shaped, border five-cleft,
 equal.  Capsule didymous, two-celled, four-valved, many-seeded. Nuttall.
   There are two  species of Spigelia which have  attracted attention as an-
 thelmintics, the S. anthelmintica of  South America and  the West Indies,
 and the S. Marilandica of this  country.  The former is an annual plant,
 used only in the countries where it grows, the latter is much employed both
 in this country and in Europe.
   Spigelia Marilandica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 825;  Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
 i.  142; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 75.  The  Carolina pink  is an herbaceous
 plant with a perennial root, which sends off numerous  fibrous  branches.
 The stems, several of which rise from the same root, are simple, erect, four-
 sided, nearly  smooth, and from twelve to twenty inches high.  The leaves
 are opposite,  sessile, ovate lanceolate, acuminate,  entire, and smooth, with
 the veins and margins slightly pubescent.   Each stem terminates in a spike,
 which leans to one side, and  supports from four to twelve flowers Avith very
 short peduncles.  The calyx is persistent, with five long, subulate, slightly
 serrate leaves, reflexed in the ripe fruit.   The corolla is funnel-shaped, and
much longer  than  the  calyx, with the tube inflated in the middle, and the
border divided into five acute, spreading segments.  It is of a rich carmine
colour externally,  becoming  paler at the base, and orange-yellow within.
The edges of the segments are slightly tinged with green.  The stamens, 
PART I.
Spigelia.
681
though apparently very short, and  inserted into the upper part of the tube
between  the segments, may be traced down its internal surface to the base.
The anthers are  oblong, heart-shaped; the germ superior, ovate; the style
about  the length  of the corolla, and terminating in a linear fringed stigma
projecting considerably beyond  it.  The capsule is double, consisting of two
cohering, globular, one-celled portions, and containing many seeds.
   The plant is a native of our Southern and  South-western Slates, being
seldom if ever found north of the Potomac.   It grows in rich soils on the
borders of woods, and flowers from May to July.  The root is the part
recognised as officinal in the United States Pharmacopoeia.  The drug was
formerly collected in  Georgia and the neighbouring States  by the Creek
and Cherokee Indians, who disposed of it to the white traders.  The whole
plant was gathered and dried, and came to  us  in bales or casks.   After
the emigration of the  Indians, the supply of spigelia from this source very
much diminished, and has now nearly if not  entirely failed.   The conse-
quence was for a  time a great scarcity and increase in the price of the drug:
but a new source of supply was opened from the Western and South-western
States, and it  is now again plentiful.  As we receive spigelia at present, it
is chiefly if not exclusively in the root, without the stem and leaves.   We
have been informed that most of it comes in casks or bales from St. Louis,
by the way of New Orleans.   That contained in casks is to be preferred,
as less liable to be damp and  mouldy.
   Properties. Pink-root consists of numerous slender, branching, crooked,
wrinkled fibres, from  three to six inches long, attached to a knotty head or
caudex, which exhibits traces of the stems of former years.  It is of a brown-
ish or yellowish-brown  colour  externally, of a faint smell, and a sweetish,
slightly bitter, not very disagreeable taste.  Its  virtues are extracted by boil-
ing water.   The  root, analyzed by M. Feneulle, yielded a fixed and vola-
tile oil, a small quantity of resin, a bitter substance supposed to be the active
principle, a mucilaginous saccharine matter, albumen,  gallic acid, the ma-
lates of potassa and lime, &c, and woody fibre. The principle upon which
the virtues  of the  root are thought to depend, is brown, of a bitter nauseous
taste, like that of  the purgative matter of the leguminous plants, and when
taken internally produces vertigo and a kind of intoxication.
   The stalks of the dried plant are oval below the  first pair of leaves, and
then  become obscurely  four-sided.  The leaves, when good, have a fresh
greenish colour,  and  an odour somewhat like that  of  tea.   In taste they
resemble the root, and afforded to  M. Feneulle nearly the same principles.
The quantity, however, of the bitter substance  was less, corresponding
with  their  inferior efficacy.   This circumstance should cause their rejec-
tion from the  shops, as the inequality  in power of the two portions of the
plant would lead to uncertainty in the result, when they are both employed.
The root alone is  wisely directed by the Pharmacopoeias.
   The roots are sometimes mixed with those of other plants,  particularly of
a small vine which twines round the stem of the Spigelia.  These are long,
slender, crooked,   yellowish,  thickly  set with short capillary fibres, and
much smaller  and lighter coloured than the pink-root.  They should be
separated before the latter is used.  The activity of spigelia  is somewhat
diminished  by time.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Pink-root is generally considered among
the most  powerful anthelmintics.  In the ordinary dose it usually produces
little sensible effect on the system; more largely given it acts  as a cathartic,
though unequal and uncertain in its operation; in overdoses  it excites  the 
682
Spigelia.—Spiraea.
PART I.
circulation, and determines to the brain, giving rise to vertigo, dimness of
vision, dilated pupils, spasms of the facial muscles, and sometimes even to
general convulsions.  Spasmodic movements of the eyelids have been ob-
served among the most common attendants of its narcotic action.  The death
of two children who expired in convulsions was attributed by Dr. Chalmers
to the influence of spigelia.  The narcotic effects  are said to be less apt to
occur Avhen the medicine purges, and to be  altogether obviated by combin-
ing it with cathartics.  The danger from its employment cannot be great, as
it is in very general use  in the United States, both in regular and domestic
practice, and  we never hear at present of serious consequences.  Its effects
upon  the nervous system  have been erroneously conjectured to depend on
other roots sometimes mixed with the genuine.  The vermifuge properties
of spigelia were first learned from  the Cherokee Indians. They were made
known to the medical  profession by Drs. Lining, Garden, and Chalmers of
South Carolina.   The remedy stands at present in this country at the head
of the anthelmintics.   It  has  also been  recommended in infantile remit-
tents and other febrile diseases; but is entitled to little confidence in these
complaints.
  It may be given in substance or infusion.  The dose of the powdered root
for a child three or four years old, is from ten to twenty grains, for an adult
from one to two drachms, to be repeated morning and  evening for several
days successively, and then followed by a brisk cathartic.  The practice of
preceding its use by an emetic has been generally abandoned.  It is fre-
quently given in combination with calomel.   The infusion, however, is the
most  common fonn of administration.  (See Infusum Spigeliae.)  It  is
usually combined with senna or some  other cathartic, to  ensure its action
on the bowels.  A preparation generally kept in the shops and  much pre-
scribed by physicians, under the name  of worm tea, consists of pink-root,
senna, manna, and savine, mixed together, in various proportions, to suit
the views of different individuals.
   Off. Prep.  Infusum Spigelise, U. S.                            W.


                   SPIRAEA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                             Hardback.

   " The root of Spiraea tomentosa." U. S.
   Spiraea.  Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx spreading, five-cleft, inferior. Petals five, equal, round-
ish.  Stamens numerous,  exserted.  Capsules three to twelve, internally
bivalve, each  one to three-seeded. Nuttall.
   Spiraea tomentosa.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1056; Rafinesque, Med. Flor.
vol. ii. This  is an indigenous shrub, two or three feet high, with numerous
simple, erect,  round, downy, and purplish  stems, furnished with alternate
leaves closely set upon very short footstalks.  The leaves are ovate lanceo-
late, unequally serrate, somewhat pointed at both ends,  dark green on their
upper surface, whitish and tomentose beneath.  The flowers are of a beau-
tiful red or purple colour, and disposed in terminal, compound, crowded
spikes or racemes.
  The hardhack flourishes in low grounds, from New England to Carolina,
but is most abundant in the Northern States.  It flowers in July and August.
All parts of it are medicinal.  The root, though designated in  the Pharma-
copoeia, is, according  to Dr. A. W. Ives, the least valuable  portion.   The
taste of the plant is bitter  and powerfully astringent.  Among its constitu- 
PART I.
Spiraea.—Spongia.
683
ents  are tannin, gallic acid, and bitter extractive.   Water extracts its sensi-
ble properties and medicinal virtues.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Spiraea is tonic and astringent, and may
be used in diarrhoea, cholera infantum, and other complaints in which astrin-
gents are  indicated.   In  consequence of its tonic powers it is peculiarly
adapted to cases of debility; and, from the same cause, should not be given
during the existence of inflammatory action, or febrile excitement.  It is
said  to have been employed by the aborigines of our country; but was first
brought to the notice of the medical profession by Dr. Cogswell of Hartford,
in Connecticut.  It is said to be less apt to  disagree with  the stomach than
most other astringents.
   The form in which it is best administered is that of an  extract, prepared
by evaporating the  decoction of the leaves, stems, or root.  The  dose is
from five to  fifteen grains, repeated  several  times a day.   A decoction  pre-
pared by boiling an ounce of the plant in a pint of water, may be given in
the dose of one or two fluidounces.                                W.


                      SPONGIA.  U.S.,  Ed.
  "Spongia officinalis." U. S., Ed.
  Off. Syn. SPONGIA OFFICINALIS. Dub.
  Eponge, Fr.; Badeschvvamm, Germ.; Spugna, Ital; Esponja, Spann Portug.; Isfung,
Arab.
  The sponge is now generally admitted to be an animal.  It is  charac-
terized as "a flexile, fixed, torpid, polymorphous animal, composed either
of reticulate fibres, or masses of small  spires interwoven  together, and
clothed with a gelatinous flesh  full of small mouths  on its  surface,  by
which it absorbs and ejects water."   More than  two  hundred and fifty
species have been described by naturalists, of which several are probably
employed, though the Spongia officinalis is the only one designated in  the
Pharmacopoeias.  They inhabit the bottom of the sea, where they are fixed
to rocks  or other solid bodies; and are most abundant within the  tropics.
They are collected chiefly in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and in those
of the East and West Indies. In the Grecian Archipelago many persons
derive their support altogether from diving for sponges.   When first col-
lected  they are enveloped in a gelatinous coating, which forms part of  the
animal, and is separated by washing with water.   Large quantities of  the
coarser kinds are imported  from the  Bahamas; but the finest and most
esteemed are brought from the Mediterranean.
  Sponge,  as found in commerce, is in  yellowish-brown masses of various
shape and size, light, porous, elastic, and composed of fine,  flexible, tena-
cious fibres, interwoven in the form of cells and meshes.  It usually contains
numerous minute fragments of coral or stone, or small shells, from which it
must be freed before it can be used for ordinary purposes.  Sponge is pre-
pared by macerating it for several days  in cold water, beating it in order to
break up the concretions which it contains, and dissolving what cannot thus
be separated of the  calcareous matter by muriatic acid diluted  with thirty
parts of water.   By this process, it  is rendered perfectly soft, and fit for
surgical use.   It may be bleached by steeping it in  water impregnated with
sulphurous acid, or by exposure in a moist state to the  action of chlorine.
When intended for surgical purposes,  the  softest,  finest, and  most elastic
sponges  should  be  selected;  for forming burnt sponge,  the coarser will
answer equally well. 
684
Spongia.—Stannum.
PART I.
   According to Mr. Hatchett, the chemical constituents of sponge are gelatin,
coagulated albumen, common salt, and carbonate of lime.   The presence of
magnesia, silica, iron, and phosphorus  has also been detected; and iodine
and bromine combined  with sodium  and potassium are among the ingre-
dients.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.   Sponge,  in  its unaltered  state,  is not
employed as a medicine;  but in consequence of its softness, porosity, and
property of imbibing liquids, it is very useful in surgical operations.  From
the same qualities  it may be advantageously applied over certain ulcers, the
irritating sanies from which it removes by absorption.  Compressed upon a
bleeding vessel, it  is sometimes useful for promoting the coagulation of the
blood, especially in hemorrhage from the nostrils.   In the shape of sponge
tent it is also useful for  dilating sinuses.   This is prepared by dipping
sponge into melted wax,  compressing it between  two flat  surfaces till the
wax hardens, and then cutting it into  pieces of a proper form and size.
By the heat of the body the wax becomes  soft, and the sponge expanding
by the imbibition of moisture, gradually dilates the wound or ulcer in which
it may be placed.  Reduced  to the state of charcoal by heat,  sponge has
long been used as a remedy in goitre.  (See  Spongia Usta.)  Its efficacy in
this complaint, which was formerly considered very doubtful by many phy-
sicians,  has been generally admitted since the discovery of iodine.
   Off. Prep.  Spongia  Usta, £7. £., ZM>.                          W.

             STANNUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                                Tin.

   Etain, Fr.; Zinn, Germ.; Stagno, Ital; Estanno, Span.
   Tin is one of those  metals  which have been known from  the earliest
ages.   It exists in  the earth  generally as an oxide (tin stone and wood tin),
rarely as a sulphuret (tin pyrites), and is by no means generally  diffused.  It
is  found in England, Spain,  Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary, in Europe;
in the island of Banca and the  peninsula of Malacca in Asia;  and in Chili
and Mexico.  A valuable  tin ore has  been lately discovered in the  United
States, at Jackson, New Hampshire.   The Cornwall mines are the most
celebrated and productive, but  those  of Asia furnish the purest tin.   The
metal is extracted from  the native oxide.   When  this  occurs  in its purest
state, under  the form of detached roundish grains, called  stream tin, the
reduction is effected  simply by heating  with charcoal.   When  the  oxide is
extracted from mines, called mine tin, it requires to be freed, by pounding
and washing, from the  adhering  gangue; after which it is  roasted to drive
off sulphur, arsenic, and antimony, and finally reduced in furnaces by means
of stone coal. The metal, as thus obtained, is not pure, and requires to be
subjected to a gentle heat, whereby the  pure tin enters first into fusion, and
is  thus separated from the impurities,  which consist of tin united with cop-
per, arsenic, iron, and  antimony.  The pure metal thus  obtained, is the
grain-tin of the English;  while the impure residue, after being fused, con-
stitutes block-tin.
   Properties. Tin is a malleable, rather soft metal, of a silver white colour,
and possessing considerable brilliancy. It occurs in the shops, beaten out into
thin leaves, called  tinfoil.  It undergoes but a superficial tarnish in the air.
Its taste is  slight, and when rubbed it exhales a peculiar smell.   Its ductility
and tenacity are small, and when bent to and fro, it emits a crackling noise,
which is characteristic of this metal.  Its sp. gr. is 7*29, melting point 442°, 
part I.              Stannum.—Staphisagria.                 6S5

equiv.  number 58*9, and symbol Sn.   It forms three oxides, a protoxide,
sesquioxide, and deutoxide.   The protoxide is of a grayish-black colour,
and consists of one eq. of tin 58-9, and one of oxygen 8=66-9.  The ses-
quioxide is gray, and is composed  of two eqs. of tin 117-8, and three of
oxygen 24 = 141-8.  The deutoxide is of a white colour, and constitutes the
native oxide.  It consists of one eq. of tin 58-9, and two of oxygen 16=74-9.
  The tin  of commerce is often impure, being  contaminated with other
metals, introduced  by fraud, or present in consequence of the mode of ex-
traction from the ore.   A high specific gravity is an indication of impurity.
When its colour has a bluish  or grayish cast, the presence of copper,  lead,
iron, or antimony may be suspected.   Arsenic renders it whiter, but at the
same time harder than natural; and lead, copper, and iron cause it to become
brittle.  Pure tin is converted by nitric acid into a white powder (deutoxide),
without being dissolved. Boiled with muriatic acid, it forms a solution which
gives a white precipitate with ferrocyanuret of potassium.   A blue precipi-
tate with this test indicates iron; a brown one, copper; and a violet-blue one,
both iron and copper.  If lead be present, a precipitate will be produced by
sulphate of magnesia.  The Malacca and Banca tin, and the English grain-
tin are the purest kinds  found in commerce.   Block tin and the metal ob-
tained  from  Germany are  always of inferior quality.  The common tin of
the shops has a density  of about 7-56.
   Uses.  Tin enters into the composition of bronze, bell-metal, pewter, and
plumbers' solder.  It is used also in making tin-plate, in silvering looking-
glasses, and in  forming the  solution  of  bichloride  of  tin,  a combination
essential to the perfection of the scarlet dye.  It is employed in fabricating
various vessels and instruments, useful in domestic economy and the arts.
Being  unaffected by weak acids, it forms a good material for vessels intended
for boiling operations  in pharmacy.  For its medical properties, see Pulvis
Stanni.
   Off. Prep.  Pulvis Stanni, U.S.,Ed., Dub.                     B.


                 STAPHISAGRIA. Lond., Ed.

                             Stavesacre.

   " Delphinium Staphisagria. Semina." Lond.   " Seeds of Delphinium
Staphisagria." Ed.
   Off. Syn.  DELPHINIUM STAPHISAGRIA.  Semina. Dub.
  Staphisaigre, Fr.;  Stephanskraut,  Lausekraut,  Germ.;  Stufisagria, Ital;  Abarraz,
Span.
  Delphinium.  See DELPHINIUM.
  Delphinium  Staphisagria. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii.  1231;  Woodv. Med.
Bot. p. 471. t. 168. Stavesacre is a handsome annual or biennial plant, one
or two feet high, with a simple,  erect, downy stem, and  palmate, five or
seven-lobed  leaves supported on hairy footstalks.   The  flowers are bluish
or purple, in terminal racemes, with  pedicels twice as long as  the flower,
and bracteoles inserted  at the base of the  pedicel.   The  nectary  is four-
leaved  and shorter than the petals, which are five in number, the uppermost
projected backward so as to form a  spur which encloses two spurs of the
upper leaflets of  the nectary.   The seeds  are contained  in straight, oblong
capsules.  The plant  is  a native of the South of Europe.
  Properties.  Stavesacre seeds are large, irregularly triangular, wrinkled,
externally brown, internally whitish and oily.   They have a slight but dis-
agreeable odour, and an  extremely acrid, bitter, hot, nauseous taste.  Their
       59 
686
Staphisagria.—Slatice.
PART I.
virtues are extracted by water and alcohol.   Analyzed by MM. Lassaigne
and Feneulle, they yielded a brown and a yellow bitter principle, a volatile
oil, a fixed oil, albumen, an azotized substance, a mucilaginous  saccharine
matter,  mineral salts,  and a  peculiar vegetable alkali  called delphine or
delphinia, which exists  in  the  seeds  combined with an  excess  of malic
acid.   It is white, pulverulent, inodorous, of a bitter acrid taste, fusible by
heat and  becoming hard and  brittle upon cooling, slightly soluble in cold
water, very soluble in alcohol  and ether, and capable of forming salts with
the acids.  It is obtained by boiling a decoction of the seeds with magnesia,
collecting the precipitate, and  treating  it with alcohol, whieh dissolves the
delphinia and yields it upon evaporation.   According to M. Couerbe, this
substance consists of three distinct  principles—one  of  a resinous nature
separated from its solution in diluted  sulphuric acid by the addition of nitric
acid, another distinguished  by its insolubility in ether, and named by M.
Couerbe staphisain, and the  third soluble  both in alcohol and  ether, and
deserving to be considered as pure delphinia. (Journ. de Pharm. xix. 519.)
  Medical Properties and Uses.  The  seeds  were  formerly used  as an
emetic and cathartic, but  have been abandoned  in consequence  of the vio-
lence of their action. Powdered and  mixed with lard  they are employed in
some  cutaneous diseases, and to destroy  lice in the hair.   An infusion in
vinegar has been applied to  the same purpose.   Dr. Turnbull states that he
has employed a  strong tincture with advantage  as an embrocation in rheu-
matic affections.  In some countries  the seeds are used to intoxicate fish in
the same manner as the Cocculus Indicus.  Delphinia is highly poisonous
in small  doses, exerting its  effects chiefly on the nervous system.  This,
at least, was the statement made in relation to  it before the appearance of
Dr. Turnbull's work, On the  Medical Properties  of the Ranunculacex.
According to this author, pure  delphinia may be given to the extent of three
or four grains a day, in doses of half a grain each, without exciting vomit-
ing, and without producing much intestinal irritation, though it  sometimes
purges.    In most  instances it  proves  diuretic, and gives  rise to sensations
of heat and tingling in various parts of the body.  Externally employed, it
acts like veratria, and is applicable to  the  same complaints; but, according
to Dr. Turnbull, produces more redness and burning, and less tingling than
that substance.  He has  employed it  in  neuralgia, rheumatism, and para-
lysis, and in the last complaint considers  it  preferable to veratria.  It  may
be applied by friction,  in the form  of ointment or  alcoholic solution, in
proportions varying  from ten  to thirty grains of the alkali to an ounce of
the vehicle; and the friction should  be continued till a pungent sensation
is produced.                                                     W.


                  STATICE. U.S. Secondary.

                         Marsh Rosemary.

   " The root of Statice Caroliniana." U. S.
   Statice.  Sex. Syst.  Pentandria   Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord.   Plumbagi-
naceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx one-leaved, entire, plaited,-scariose.  Petals  five.  Seed
one, superior. Nuttall.
   Statice Caroliniana.  Walter, Flor. Car. 118; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
 ii. 51.  This is considered by Nuttall, Torrey, and some other botanists, as
 a mere variety of the Statice Limonium  of Europe.  Pursh, Bigelow, and
 others  follow Walter in considering it as a distinct  species.  It is an huh- 
PART I.
<S7« tice.—Stillingia.
687
genous maritime plant, with a perennial root, sending up annually tufts of
leaves, which are obovate or cuneiform, entire,  obtuse, mucronate, smooth,
and supported on long footstalks.  They differ from the leaves of the S.
Limonium in being perfectly flat on the margin, while the latter are undu-
lated.  The flower-stem is round, smooth, from  a few inches to a foot or
more in height, sending off near its summit numerous alternate subdividing
branches, which terminate  in spikes, and form altogether a loose panicle.
The flowers are small, bluish-purple, erect, upon  one side only of the com-
mon peduncle,  with  a mucronate scaly bracte  at the base of each,  a  five-
angled, five-toothed calyx, and spatulate, obtuse petals.
  The marsh rosemary grows in the salt marshes along  the seacoast, from
New England  to  Florida,  and  flowers in August and  September.   The
root, which is the officinal portion, is large, spindle-shaped or  branched,
fleshy, compact, rough, and of a purplish-brown  colour.  It is  bitter  and
extremely astringent  to the taste, but is without odour.   Mr. Edward Par-
rish, of Philadelphia, found it to contain tannic acid, gum, extractive, albu-
men, volatile oil, resin, caoutchouc, colouring  matter, lignin, and various
salts, among which were common salt  and  the  sulphates  of soda and mag-
nesia.   The proportion of tannic acid was 12-4 per cent. (Am. Journ. of
Pharm. xiv. 116.)
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Statice is  powerfully  astringent,  and in
some parts of the United States, particularly in  New England, is  much em-
ployed.  It may be  used for all  the purposes for which  kino and catechu
are given;  but its chief popular application is  to  aphthous  and  ulcerative
affections of the mouth and fauces.  Dr. Baylies  of Massachusetts found it
highly useful in cynanche maligna,  both as an internal and local remedy.
It is employed in the form of infusion or decoction.                W.

                STILLINGIA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                           Queen's-root.

  " The root of Stillingia  sylvatica."  U. S.
  Stillingia.   Sex. Syst. Monoecia  Monadelphia.—Nat.  Ord. Euphor-
biaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Male.  Involucre hemispherical, many-flowered, or wanting.
Calyx tubular, eroded. Stamens two and three, exserted.   Female.  Calyx
one-flowered, inferior. Style trifid. Capsule three-grained. Nuttall.
  Stillingia sylvatica.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 588.   This is an indigenous
perennial plant, with herbaceous stems, and alternate, sessile,  oblong or
lanceolate oblong, obtuse, serrulate leaves, tapering at the base, and accom-
panied with stipules.   The male and  female flowers are distinct upon the
same plant.  They are yellow, and arranged in the form of a spike, of which
the upper part is occupied by the male, the  lower by the female flowers.
The male florets are scarcely longer than the bracteal scales.
  The plant grows in pine barrens, from Virginia to Florida, flowering in
May and June.   When wounded, it  emits a milky juice.   The root, which
is the part used, is large, thick, and woody.  We are not acquainted with its
precise properties; but understand that  it is much employed in the Southern
States.   It is said to  be purgative and alterative; and probably possesses
more or less of  the acrid quality common to the Euphorbiaceae.  It is used
in lues venerea, obstinate cutaneous affections, and other  complaints  which
are  usually treated with sarsaparilla.                               W. 
688         Stramonii Folia.—S. Radix.—S. Semen.      part i.
             STRAMONII FOLIA.  U.S., Lond.

                       Stramonium Leaves.

   "The leaves of  Datura  Stramonium."  U.S.  "Datura  Stramonium.
Folia." Lond.
   Off. Syn.  STRAMONIUM. Herb of Datura Stramonium. Thornap-
pie. Ed'.; STRAMONIUM. DATURA STRAMONIUM.  Herba. Dub.

                 STRAMONII  RADIX.  US.

                        Stramonium Root.

   " The root of Datura Stramonium." U. S.

                 STRAMONII  SEMEN.  U.S.

                        Stramonium Seed.

   " The seeds of  Datura Stramonium." U. S.
   Off. Syn.  STRAMONII SEMINA. Datura Stramonium.  Semina.
Lond.; STRAMONIUM.  DATURA STRAMONIUM.  Semina. Dub.
   Thornapple; Stramoine, Pomme epineuse, Fr.; Stechapfel, Germ.; Stramonio, Ital;
Estramonio, Span.
   Datura.  Sex.  Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Solanaeea;.
   Gen. Ch.   Corolla funnel-shaped, plaited.  Calyx tubular, angular, deci-
duous.  Capsule four-valved.  Willd.
   Datura Stramonium. Willd. Sp. Plant, i.  1008;  Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. i. 17; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 197. t. 74.  The thornapple is an annual
plant, of rank and vigorous growth, usually about three feet high, but in a
very rich soil sometimes rising six feet  or more.   The root is large, whitish,
and furnished with numerous fibres.   The stem is erect, round, smooth,
somewhat shining, simple below, diehotomous above, with numerous spread-
ing branches.  The leaves,  which stand on short round footstalks in  the
forks of the stem, are five or six inches long, of an ovate triangular form,
irregularly sinuated and toothed at the  edges, unequal at the  base, of a dark-
green colour on the upper surface, and  pale beneath. The flowers are large,
axillary, solitary,  and peducled; having a tubular, pentangular, five-toothed
calyx,  and a funnel-shaped  corolla with a long tube,  and a waved  plaited
border, terminating in five acuminate teeth. The upper portion of the calyx
falls with the deciduous parts of the flower, leaving its  base,  which becomes
reflexed, and remains attached to the fruit.  This is a large, fleshy, roundish
ovate, four-valved, four-celled capsule, thickly covered with sharp spines,
and containing numerous  seeds attached to a longitudinal receptacle in the
centre of each cell.  It opens at the summit.
   Dr. Bigelow describes two varieties of this species  of Stramonium, one
with  green stems  and white flowers; the other with  a dark reddish stem,
minutely dotted with green,  and purplish flowers striped with deep purple
on the inside.  The latter variety, however, is considered by most botanists
as a distinct species, being the D. Tatula of Linn.  The properties of both
are the same.
   It  is  doubtful to what country this plant  originally belonged.  Many
European botanists refer it to North America, while we in return trace it to
the old continent.  Nuttall considers it as having originated  in  South Ame- 
part i.      Stramonii Folia.—S. Radix.—S. Semen.          689

rica  or Asia; and it  is probable that its  native country is  to be found in
some portion of the East.   Its seeds, being retentive of life, and easily ger-
minating, are taken in the earth put on shipboard fop ballast from one coun-
try to another, not unfrequentiy springing up upon the passage, and  thus
propagating the plant in all regions which have any commercial connexion.
In the United States it is found everywhere in the vicinity of cultivation,
frequenting  dung-heaps,  the  road-sides  and  commons, and  other places
where a rank soil is created by the deposited refuse of towns  and villages.
Its flowers  appear from  May to July or August, according to the latitude.
Where the plant grows abundantly, its vicinity may be detected by the rank
odour which it diffuses to some distance  around.   All  parts of it possess
medicinal properties.  The herbaceous portion is directed by the  Edinburgh
College; the herb and seeds by that of Dublin; the leaves and seeds by the
London  College; and the leaves, root, and seeds by the Pharmacopoeia of
the United States.  The leaves may be gathered at any time  from  the ap-
pearance of the  flowers  till the autumnal frost.   In the common language
of this country, the plant is most known by the name of Jamestown weed,
derived probably from its having been first observed in the neighbourhood
of that old settlement in Virginia.  In Great Britain it is called thornapple.
   1. The fresh leaves when bruised emit a fetid narcotic odour, which  they
lose upon drying.   Their taste is bitter and nauseous.   These  properties,
together with their  medical  virtues, are imparted to water  and  alcohol.
Water distilled  from them,  though  possessed  of their odour  in a slight
degree, is destitute of their active  properties.  They contain, according to
Promnitz, 0-58 per cent, of gum,  0-6 of extractive, 0-64 of green starch,
0-15 of albumen, 0-12 of resin, 0-23 of saline matters, 5*15 of  lignin, and
91-25  of water.   The  leaves, if  carefully dried, though  they lose their
odour, retain their bitter taste.
   2. The seeds are small, kidney-shaped, flattened on  the sides, of a  dark
brown almost black colour, inodorous, and of the bitter nauseous  taste of the
leaves, with some degree of acrimony.   They were minutely analyzed by
Brandes, who found, besides  a peculiar alkaline principle called daturia, a
glutinous matter,  albumen, gum, a  butyraceous substance, green wax, resin
insoluble in ether, fixed oil,  bassorin, sugar, gummy extractive, orange-
coloured extractive, and various saline and earthy substances.  According to
Brandes, daturia exists in the seeds combined with an excess of malic acid.
Chemists, however, have failed in obtaining such a principle by the process
given by Brandes; and Berzelius states that the daturia of Brandes has been
ascertained, even by that chemist  himself,  to be nothing more  than phos-
phate of magnesia. (Traite de Chimie, vi. 310.)   But Geiger  and  Hesse
succeeded in isolating an alkaline principle, to which the same name has
been given,  and  which  Trommsdorff has repeatedly procured by  their
process.
   As described  by Geiger and Hesse, daturia  crystallizes in  colourless,
inodorous, shining prisms, which, when first applied to the tongue, are bit-
terish, but ultimately have a flavour like that of tobacco.   It is dissolved by
280  parts of cold,  and 72 of boiling water,  is very soluble in alcohol, and
less  so in ether.   It has been  shown to have a poisonous  action upon ani-
mals, and strongly dilates the pupil.  It was procured from  the seeds in the
same manner as hyoscyamia from those of Hyoscyamus Niger.   (See
Hyoscyamus.)  The product  is exceedingly small.   In the most favour-
able case, Trommsdorff got only ^'5 of one per cent. (Annal. der Pharm.
xxxii.  275.)  Mr. Morries obtained a poisonous empyreumatic oil  by the
destructive distillation of stramonium.
                                 59* 
 690         Stramonii Folia.—S. Radix.—& Semen.      part i.

   Medical Properties and Uses. Stramonium is a powerful narcotic.  When
 taken in quantities sufficient to affect  the system moderately, it usually pro-
 duces more or less cerebral disturbance, indicated by vertigo,  headache, dim-
 ness or perversion of vision, and confusion of thought, sometimes amounting
 to slight delirium or a species of intoxication.  At the  same time peculiar
 deranged sensations are  experienced  about the fauces, oesophagus, and tra-
 chea, increased occasionally to a feeling of suffocation, and often attended
 with nausea.   A disposition to sleep is sometimes, but not  uniformly pro-
 duced.  The pulse is not materially affected.  The bowels are rather relaxed
 than confined, and the secretions  from the skin and kidneys not unfrequentiy
 augmented.   These effects pass off in five or six hours, or in a shorter period,
 and no inconvenience is subsequently experienced.  (Marcet, Greding, fyc.)
 Taken in poisonous doses, this narcotic produces cardialgia, excessive thirst,
 nausea and vomiting, a sense of  strangulation, anxiety and faintness, partial
 or complete blindness with dilatation of the pupil, vertigo, delirium some-
 times of a furious sometimes of a whimsical character, tremors of the limbs,
 palsy, and ultimately stupor  and convulsions.  From all these symptoms
 the patient may recover; but in numerous  instances they have terminated in
 death.  To evacuate the stomach by emetics or the stomach  pump is the
 most effectual means of affording relief.
   Though long  known as a poisonous and  intoxicating herb, stramonium
 was first introduced  into regular practice  by Baron Storck of Vienna, who
 found some advantage from its use in mania  and epilepsy.   Subsequent ob-
 servation has confirmed  his estimate of the remedy; and numerous cases are
 on record in which benefit has accrued from  it in these complaints.   It can
 be of use,  however, only in those cases which depend solely  on irregular
 nervous action.   Other diseases in which it has been found beneficial are
 neuralgic and rheumatic affections,  dysmenorrhcea, syphilitic pains, cancer-
 ous sores, and spasmodic asthma.  In the last complaint it has acquired con-
 siderable reputation.   It is employed only during  the paroxysm, which it
 very often greatly alleviates or altogether subverts.  The practice was intro-
 duced into Great Britain from the East Indies, where the natives are in the
 habit of smoking the dried root  and  lower part of the stem of the Datura
ferox, in the paroxysms of this  distressing complaint.   The same parts of
 the D. Stramonium were substituted and found equally effectual.  To pre-
 pare the roots for use, they are  quickly dried, cut into pieces, and beat so
 as to loosen the texture.   The dried leaves answer the same purpose.  They
 are smoked by means of a common tobacco-pipe.  These and other narcotic
 leaves have also been used in the shape of cigars.   The smoke produces a
 sense of heat in the  lungs, followed  by copious expectoration, and attended
 frequently with  temporary vertigo  or  drowsiness,  and sometimes with
 nausea.   The remedy should never  be used in plethoric  cases, unless pre-
 ceded by ample depletion, and in no  case where  there is a determination to
 the head.  Dangerous and even fatal consequences are said  to have resulted
 from its incautious or improper use; and General Gent, who was instrumental
 in introducing the practice into England, is  said at last to have fallen a vic-
 tim to it. (Pereira's Mat.  Med.)  Stramonium  has sometimes been given
 by the stomach in the same complaint.  It is used by Dr. II. D. W. Pawl-
 ing in the treatment of delirium tremens, and, as represented in the inaugural
 dissertation of his pupil Dr. G. W. Holstein, with great success.   Dr. Pawl-
 ing employs a decoction of the leaves.
   Externally the medicine is used advantageously as an ointment or cata-
 plasm in irritable ulcers, inflamed tumours, swelling of the mammae, and
 painful hemorrhoidal affections.  By  American surgeons it is very frequently
 applied to the eye, in order to produce dilatation of the pupil, previously to 
part i.  Slramonii Folia.—S. Radix.—S. Semen.—Styrax.   691

the operation for cataract; and is  found equally efficacious with belladonna.
For this purpose the extract, mixed with lard, is generally rubbed over the
eyelid, or a solution of it dropped into the eye.
   Of the  parts of the  plant employed, the seeds are the most powerful.
They may be given in  the dose of a grain twice a day; and an extract made
by evaporating the decoction,  in  one quarter or half of the quantity.   The
dose of the powdered leaves is two or three grains.  The inspissated juice
of the fresh leaves, which is the officinal extract, is  more commonly pre-
scribed than any other preparation, and may be administered  in the quantity
of  one grain.  (See Extractum  Stramonii.)  There is  also an  officinal
tincture to which the reader is referred.  Whatever preparation is used, the
dose should be gradually increased till the narcotic operation becomes evi-
dent, or relief from the symptoms of the disease is obtained.  The  quantity
of  fifteen or twenty grains of the powdered leaves, and a proportionate
amount of the other preparations, have often been given daily without un-
pleasant effects.
   Off. Prep, of the Leaves.  Extractum Stramonii Foliorum,  U. S., Dub.;
Unguentum Stramonii, U. S.
   Off. Prep, of the Seeds.  Extractum  Stramonii Seminis, U. S., Lond.,
Ed.; Tinctura Stramonii, U. S.                                  W.

                  STYRAX. U.S., Lond., Ed.

                               Storax.

   "The concrete juice of Styrax officinale." U.S.   "Styrax  officinale.
Balsamum." Lond.  " Balsamic exudation  of Styrax officinale." Ed.
   Off. Syn.   STYRAX OFFICINALE. Resina. Dub.
   Slorax, Fr., Germ ; Slorace. Ital; Estoraque, Span.
   Styrax.   See BENZOINUM.
   Styrax officinale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 623; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 291.
t.  101.   This species of Styrax is a tree which rises from fifteen  to twenty-
five feet in height, sends off many branches, and is covered with  a rough
gray bark.  The leaves are alternate, petiolate, entire, oval, pointed, bright-
green  on their upper  surface,  white with a cotton-like down upon  the
under, about two inches in length, and an inch and a half in breadth.   The
flowers are united  in clusters of three  or  four  at the extremities of the
branches.  They are white, and  bear considerable resemblance to those of
the orange.
   This tree is a native of Syria and other parts of the Levant, and has be-
come naturalized in Italy, Spain, and the South of France, where, however,
it does not yield balsam.   This circumstance has induced some naturalists
to doubt whether the Styrax officinale is the real source of storax; and, as
the Liquidambar styraciflua of this country affords a  balsam closely analo-
gous  to that under consideration, Bernard de Jussieu conjectured  that the
latter might be derived from  another species  of the same  genus, the L.
orientale of Lamarck, which is more abundant in Syria than Styrax.
   Storax is obtained in Asiatic Turkey by making incisions  into the trunk
of the tree.   Several kinds  are mentioned ia  the books.   The  purest is the
storax in grains, which is in  whitish, yellowish-white, or reddish-yellow
tears, about the size of a pea,  opaque, soft, adhesive, and capable of uniting
so as to form a mass.  Another variety, formerly called  storax calamita, from
the circumstance, as is  supposed, that it was  brought wrapped  in the leaves
of a kind of reed, consists of dry and  brittle masses, formed of yellowish 
692
Styrax.
PART I.
agglutinated tears, in the interstices of which is a brown or reddish matter.
The French writers call it storax amygdaloide. Both this and the preceding
variety have a very pleasant odour like that of vanilla.  Neither of them,
however, is brought to our markets.
   A third variety, which is sometimes  sold as  the storax calamita, is in
brown or reddish-brown masses of various shapes, light, friable, yet possess-
ing a certain degree of tenacity, and softening  under the teeth.   Upon ex-
posure, it becomes covered upon the .surface with a white efflorescence of
benzoic acid.  It evidently consists of saw-dust, united either with a por-
tion of the balsam, or with other analogous substances.   As found in the
shops of this  country, it is  usually in the state of  a coarse, soft, dark-
coloured powder, mingled  with occasional light  friable lumps of  various
magnitude, and containing very little of the balsam.  When  good, it should
yield, upon pressure  between hot plates, a brown, resinous fluid, having
the odour of storax.
   Another variety, found in our market, is a semi-fluid adhesive matter, called
liquid storax, which is brown or almost black upon the surface exposed to
the air, but of a slightly greenish  gray  colour  within, and of  an odour
somewhat like that of the Peruvian  balsam, though less agreeable.   It is
kept in jars, and is the most employed. What is the source of liquid storax
is not certainly known.  Some suppose it to be derived by decoction from
the young branches of the Liquidambar styraciflua; but some of the genu-
ine juice of this  plant,  brought from New Orleans, which we have had an
opportunity of inspecting, has an  odour entirely distinct  from that of the
substance under consideration.   According to Landerer, who resides in
Greece, liquid storax is obtained in the islands of Cos and Rhodes, from
the bark and young twigs of the Styrax officinale, by subjecting them to
pressure.  The  plant, according to the same authority, grows also on the
mainland of Greece, but in that situation does not yield balsam.
   General Properties.  Storax has a fragrant odour and aromatic taste. It
melts with  a moderate  heat, and  when the  temperature is  raised takes  fire
and burns with a white flame, leaving a light spongy carbonaceous residue.
It imparts its odour to water, which it renders yellow and milky.   Its active
constituents are dissolved by alcohol and ether.   Newmann obtained from
480 grains  of storax 120 of watery extract; and from an equal quantity 360
grains of alcoholic extract.   Containing volatile oil and resin, and yielding
benzoic acid by distillation, it is entitled to be ranked as a  balsam.  Besides
these ingredients, Reinsch found in storax calamita, gum, extractive, lignin,
a matter extracted by potassa, water, and traces of ammonia.  Simon found,
in liquid storax, cinnamic acid and a resinous substance which he considered
identical with the styracine of Bonastre.
   Medical  Properties and  Uses.   This balsam is a stimulant expectorant,
and was  formerly recommended  in  phthisis, chronic catarrh, asthma, and
amenorrhoea; but it is very  seldom used at present, except as a constituent
of the compound tincture of benzoin.  Liquid storax has been recommend-
ed in  gonorrhoea and leucorrhoea as equally effectual with copaiba, and less
disagreeable.   From ten to twenty grains  may be given  twice a day, and
the dose  gradually increased.
   Off. Prep.  Extractum Styracis, Ed.: Styrax Purificata,  U. S., Lond.,
Dub.; Tinctura  Benzoini Composita, U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.      W. 
PART I.
Succinum.
693
                 SUCCINUM.  U. S., Lond., Dub.

                                Amber.
   Succin, Ambre jaune, Karabe", Fr.; Bernstein, Germ.; Ambra gialla, Succino, Ital;
 Succino, Span.
   Amber is a kind of fossil resin, derived, probably, from extinct coniferae,
 occurring generally in small detached masses, in alluvial deposits, in differ-
 ent parts of the world.   It  is found chiefly in  Prussia, either on the sea-
 shore, where it is  thrown up by the Baltic, or underneath the  surface, in
 the alluvial formations  along the coast.   It occurs,  also, in considerable
 quantities near Catania, in  Sicily.   It is  most frequently associated with
 lignite, and sometimes  encloses insects and parts of vegetables.  In the
 United States, it was found in Maryland, at  Cape Sable,  near Magothy
 river, by Dr. Troost.  In this locality it is associated  with iron pyrites and
 lignite.   It has  also been discovered in New Jersey.  The amber con-
 sumed in this country, however, is  brought from the ports of the Baltic.
   Properties.  Amber is a brittle solid, generally in small irregular masses,
 permanent  in the air, having a homogeneous texture and vitreous fracture,
 and susceptible of a fine polish.  It becomes negatively electric by friction.
 Its colour is generally yellow, either light or deep; but occasionally it is
 reddish-brown, or even  deep brown.  It has  no taste, and is  inodorous
 unless when heated, when it  exhales  a peculiar, aromatic, not unpleasant
 smell.  It is usually translucent, though occasionally transparent or opaque.
 Its sp. gr. is about  1-07.  Water and  alcohol  scarcely act  on it.  When
 heated in the open air, it softens, melts at 548°,  swells, and at last inflames,
 leaving,  after combustion, a small portion of ashes.   Subjected  to distilla-
 tion in a retort furnished with a tubulated receiver, it yields, first, a sour
 yellow liquid;  and afterwards a thin yellowish oil, with a yellow crystalline
 sublimate, which  is deposited  in the neck of the retort and the upper part
 of the receiver.  In the mean  time  a considerable  quantity of combustible
 gas is given off, which must be allowed to escape from the tubulure of the
 receiver.  By continuing the heat the oil gradually deepens in colour, until,
 towards the end of the distillation, it becomes black and of  the consistence
 of pitch.  The oil  obtained is called oil of amber; the  crystalline  subli-
 mate is of an acid nature, and is denominated succinic acid.   As thus ob-
 tained it is  impure, being contaminated with the oil.
   Resinous substances,  particularly  copal, are  sometimes fraudulently
 mixed with amber.   They may be  detected  by  the difference in  their
 colour and  fracture, and by their not emitting the peculiar odour of amber
 when thrown upon hot iron.
   Composition.   According to Berzelius, amber consists  of 1. a volatile
 oil of  an agreeable odour  in small quantity; 2. a yellow resin, intimately
 united with a volatile oil, very soluble in  alcohol, ether, and the alkalies,
 easily fusible, and resembling ordinary resins;  3. another resin, also com-
 bined  with  volatile oil, soluble in ether  and the alkalies, sparingly soluble
 in cold, but more soluble in boiling alcohol; 4.  succinic acid;  5. a bitumin-
 ous  principle,  insoluble in  alcohol, ether,  and  the alkalies, having some
 analogy to the  lac resin of John, and constituting more than  four-fifths  of
 the amber.  It also contains a strongly odorous, bright yellow substance,
 which hardens  by time, but preserves in part its odour. The  ultimate con-
 stituents  of  amber are hydrogen 7*31, carbon  80-59, oxygen 673, ashes
 (silica, lime, and alumina,) 3-27=97-90.  (Drassier,  quoted in  Pereira's
Elem. of Mat. Med.) 
694
Succinum.—Sulphur.
PART I.
  Pharmaceutical Uses, fye.   Amber was held in high  estimation by the
ancients as a  medicine; but at present is employed  only in pharmacy and
the arts.   In pharmacy it is used to prepare succinic acid and oil of amber.
(See Acidum Succinicum and Oleum Succini.)  In the arts, it is made into
ornaments, and employed in preparing varnishes.   When put to the latter
use it requires to be first subjected to roasting, whereby it is rendered solu-
ble in a mixture of linseed oil and oil of turpentine.  This solution forms
amber varnish.
   Off. Prep.   Acidum Succinicum, Dub.; OJeum Succini, U. S., Lond.,
Dub.                                                           B.

                 SULPHUR.  U. S.,  Lond.,  Ed.

                              Sulphur.

  " Sublimed sulphur." U. S.   " Sulphur (sublimatum)." Lond.
   Off. Syn. SULPHUR SUBLIMATUM. Dub.

               SULPHUR  LOTUM.  U.S.,  Dub.

                         Washed Sulphur.
  " Sublimed sulphur, thoroughly washed  with water."  U. S.
   Off. Syn.  SULPHUR  SUBLIMATUM. Ed.
   Rrimstnne; Soufre, Fr.; Schwefcl, Germ.; Zolfo, Ital; Azufre, Span.
  The officinal forms of sulphur are the sublimed, the washed, and (he pre-
cipitated.   The sublimed sulphur is  designated in the  United States and
London Pharmacopoeias by the single word Sulphur; the washed sulphur,
in the United States  and Dublin nomenclature, as Sulphur Lotum.  The
London College has  dismissed washed sulphur as an officinal preparation,
and the Edinburgh College, adopting a faulty and confused  nomenclature,
recognises  only the  washed sulphur,  calling it " Sulphur Sublimatum,"
under the  Preparations, and " Sulphur"  in the Materia Medica list.   Sub-
limed and washed sulphur  will be noticed  in  this  place; the precipitated
sulphur, in Part 11, under the " Preparations."
  Natural States.  Sulphur is very generally disseminated throughout the
mineral kingdom, and is almost always present, in minute quantity, in ani-
mal and vegetable matter.   Among vegetables,  it is particularly abundant in
the cruciform plants, as, for example, in  mustard.  It occurs in  the earth,
either native or in combination.   When native  it is found in masses, trans-
lucent or opaque, or in the powdery form,  mixed with various earthy im-
purities.   In combination, it is usually united with certain metals, such as
iron, lead, mercury, antimony, copper, and zinc, forming compounds called
sulphurets.  Native sulphur is most abundant in  volcanic countries, and is
hence called volcanic sulphur.   The  most celebrated mines of it are found
at Solfaterra in  the kingdom of Naples, in Sicily,  and in the Roman States.
It occurs also, in small quantities, in different localities in the United States.
  Extraction, <y-c.  Sulphuris obtained either from sulphur earths,  or from
the native  sulphurets of iron and  copper,  called  iron and copper pyrites.
The sulphur earths are placed  in earthen pots, set in oblong furnaces of
brick-work.  From the upper and lateral part of  each pot proceeds a tube,
which communicates with the upper part of another pot, placed outside the
furnace, and perforated near its bottom to allow the melted sulphur to flow
out into the vessel containing water, placed beneath.  Fire being applied,
the sulphur rises in  vapour, leaving the impurities behind, and being con-
densed again, flows  from the perforated pot into  the vessel containing the 
PART I.
Sulphur.
695
water.  Sulphur, as thus obtained, is called crude sulphur, and  contains
about one-twelfth of its weight of earthy matter.   For purification, it is
generally melted in a  cast iron vessel.   When the fusion is complete,  the
impurities subside, and the purer sulphur is dipped  out and poured into
cylindrical wooden moulds, which give it the form  of solid cylinders, about
an inch in diameter, called in commerce roll sulphur or cane brimstone.
The dregs of this process constitute a very impure kind of sulphur, known
by the name of sulphur vivum in the shops.
  The above process purifies the sulphur but  imperfectly.  At the same
time it causes a  considerable  loss;  as the dregs, just  alluded to,  contain a
large proportion of sulphur.   A more eligible mode of purification consists
in distilling the crude  sulphur from a large cast iron still, set in brick-work
over a furnace, and furnished  with an iron head.  The head has two lateral
communications, one with a chamber of brick-work, the other with an iron
receiver, immersed in water,  which is constantly renewed to keep it of  the
proper temperature.   When  the tube between the still and receiver is shut,
and that communicating with the chamber  is open, the  sulphur condenses
on its walls in the form of an impalpable powder, and constitutes sublimed
sulphur ox flowers of sulphur.  If, on the other hand, the  communication
with  the chamber  be closed and  that with the receiver opened, the sulphur
condenses in the latter in  the liquid form, and,  when cast in cylindrical
wooden moulds, forms the roll sulphur of commerce.
   The extraction of sulphur  from the sulphuret of iron is performed by dis-
tilling it in stone-ware cylinders.  Half  the sulphur  contained  in the sul-
phuret is volatilized by the heat, and conducted, by means of an adopter,
into vessels containing water,  where it condenses.  The residue of  the
mineral is employed  for making sulphate of iron, or green vitriol, by  ex-
posure to air and moisture.   In the Island of Anglesea, large  quantities
of sulphur are  obtained from copper pyrites in the process for  extracting
that metal.   The  furnaces in which the  ore is roasted are connected by
horizontal flues with chambers,  in  which the  volatilized sulphur is con-
densed.   Each  chamber is furnished with a door, through which the  sul-
phur is withdrawn once in six weeks.
   According to  Berzelius, a very economical method of extracting sulphur
from iron pyrites is practised in Sweden, which saves the expenditure of
 fuel.  The pyrites is introduced into furnaces with long horizontal chim-
 neys, of which  the part next  to the furnace is of brick-work, while the  rest
 is formed of wood.  The pyrites is kindled below, and continues to burn of
itself; and the heat generated causes  the stratum immediately above the part
kindled to give  off half its sulphur, which becomes condensed in  flowers in
the wooden chimney.   As the fire advances, the iron and the other half of
the sulphur enter  into combustion, and, by the increase of  heat thus gene-
rated, cause  the volatilization of a fresh  portion of sulphur.  In this man-
ner, the process continues until the whole of the pyrites is consumed.  The
 sulphur thus obtained is pulverulent and very impure, and  requires to be
 purified by distillation from  iron vessels.
   Crude sulphur is employed by the manufacturers of sulphuric acid, and,
 as it is very variable  in quality, it becomes important to ascertain its exact
 value.  This may be done by drying a given weight of it, and submitting it
 to combustion.  The weight  of the incombustible residue, added to that lost
 by desiccation,  gives  the amount of impurity.
   Crude sulphur comes to this country principally from Trieste, Messina in
 Sicily, and the  ports of Italy, being imported for the use of the sulphuric
 acid  manufacturers.  Roll sulphur and the flowers are usually brought from
 Marseilles. 
696
Sulphur.
PART I.
   Properties.  Sulphur is an elementary non-metallic brittle solid, of a pale
 yellow colour, permanent in the air, and exhibiting a crystalline texture and
 shining fracture.  It has a slight taste, and a perceptible smell when rubbed.
 When pure, its  sp. gr. is about 2; but occasionally, from impurity, it is as
 high as 2 35.  Its equiv. number is  16*1, and symbol S.   It is a bad con-
 ductor of heat, and becomes negatively  electric by friction.  It is insoluble
 in water, but soluble in alkaline solutions, petroleum, the  fixed and volatile
 oils, and, provided it be in a finely divided state, in alcohol and ether. Upon
 being heated, it begins  to volatilize at about 180°, when its peculiar odour
 is perceived; it melts at 225°, and at 600°, in close vessels, boils, and rises
 in the  form of  a  yellow vapour, which may be condensed again, either in
 the liquid or pulverulent state, according as the temperature of the recipient
 is above or  below  the melting point of the sulphur.   If heated in  open ves-
 sels,  sulphur takes fire at about  the  temperature of 300°, and burns with a
 blue flame,  combining with the oxygen of the air, and giving rise  to a pe-
 culiar gaseous acid, called sulphurous acid.   The combinations of  sulphur
 are numerous, and among the most powerful agents  of chemistry.  With
 oxygen it forms four acids, the hypo sulphur ous, sulphurous, hyposulphuric,
 and sulphuric, with hydrogen, sulphohydric acid (hydrosulphuric acid or
 sulphuretted hydrogen), and with the  metals,  various sulphurets.   Many
 of its combinations are analogous to  acids and bases, and are susceptible of
 combining  with each other, forming compounds analogous to  salts, and
 hence called by  Berzelius sulpho-salts.
   Sulphur,  when  obtained  by roasting the native sulphurets, sometimes
 contains arsenic, and is  thereby rendered poisonous.  Volcanic sulphur is
 not subject to this impurity.  The common English roll sulphur is sometimes
 made from iron pyrites,  and is then apt to contain orpiment (sesquisulphuret
 of arsenic).  This impurity may be detected by heating the suspected sulphur
 with  nitric acid.  The arsenic, if present, will be converted into arsenic acid;
 and  the nitric solution,  diluted  with water,  neutralized with carbonate of
 soda, and acidulated with muriatic acid, will give a yellow precipitate of per-
 sulphuret of arsenic with a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen.  Sulphur, when
 perfectly  pure, is  wholly volatilized  by heat, and soluble, without residue,
 in oil of turpentine.
   The  above remarks apply to sulphur generally; but in its pharmaceutical
 states of sublimed and washed sulphur, it presents modifications which re-
 quire to be noticed.
   Sublimed sulphur, usually called flowers of sulphur (flores sulphuris),
 is in the form of a  crystalline powder of a fine yellow colour.   It is  always
 contaminated with a little sulphuric  acid which is formed  during  its subli-
 mation, at the expense of the  oxygen of the air contained in the subliming
 chambers.  It is on this account that this form  of sulphur always reddens
litmus;  and  if the  acid  be  present in considerable quantity, it sometimes
 cakes.  It may be freed  from all acidity by careful ablution with hot water,
 when it becomes washed sulphur.
   Washed sulphur is placed in the list of the Materia Medica in the U. S.
Pharmacopoeia, with an explanatory  note, that it is sublimed sulphur tho-
roughly washed  with water.   The Dublin and Edinburgh Colleges include
it among the Preparations.   The process of the Dublin College is to pour
warm water  on  sublimed sulphur, and  to continue  the washing as long as
the water, when poured off,  continues to be impregnated with acid, which
may be  known by  the test of litmus.   The sulphur is then dried on bibulous
paper.  The Edinburgh College directs the sublimation of "sulphur," and
the washing of the powder obtained with boiling water, until it is freed from
acid taste.   The sulphur here meant is evidently not the "sulphur" of the 
PART I.
Sulphur.— Tabacum.
697
Materia Medica list of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia; as this is defined to
be a pure sulphur, free from  acidity.   Washed sulphur has the general
appearance of sublimed sulphur.   If properly prepared it does not affect
litmus, and undergoes no change by exposure to the atmosphere.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphur is laxative, diaphoretic, and resol-
vent.   It evidently passes off by the pores  of the skin; as is shown by the
fact that silver worn in the pockets of patients under a course of it, becomes
blackened with a coating of sulphuret.   The stools which it occasions are
usually solid, and it is gentle in its  operation, unless it contain a good deal
of acid, when it causes griping; and the liability of the sublimed sulphur to
contain acid, renders it less eligible  for exhibition than the washed sulphur,
from which all acidity is removed.   The diseases in which sulphur is prin-
cipally used are hemorrhoidal affections, chronic rheumatism and catarrh,
atonic gout, asthma, and other affections of the respiratory organs unattended
with acute inflammation.  It  is also  much  employed, both internally and
externally, in cutaneous affections,  especially in scabies, for the cure of
which  it is considered a specific.  In these affections, as well as  in chronic
rheumatism, it is sometimes applied as an air  bath, in the form of sulphurous
acid gas, the head  being guarded from its effects.   The dose of sulphur is
from one to three drachms, mixed with syrup or molasses, or taken in milk.
It is often combined  with bitartrate  of potassa, and with magnesia.
   Sulphur is consumed  in the  arts, principally  in the manufacture of gun-
powder and sulphuric acid.
   Off. Prep, of Sulphur. Emplastrum Ammoniaci cum Hydrargyro, Lond.,
Ed.; Emplast. Hydrargyri, Lond.; Ferri Sulphuretum, Ed., Dub.; Hy-
drargyri Sulphuretum Nigrum, U. S., Lond., Dub.; Hydrargyri Sulphure-
tum Rubrum, U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Potassae Sulphas cum Sulphure,
Ed.; Potassii Sulphuretum,  U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.;  Sulphur Lotum,
Dub.;  Sulphur Praecipitatum, U. S.;  Sulphuris Iodidum, U. S.; Unguen-
tum Sulphuris, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Unguent. Sulphuris Compositum,
 U. S.,  Lond.
   Off. Prep, of Sulphur Lotum. Potassae Sulphureti Aqua, Dub.   B.

                 TABACUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                              Tobacco.

   "The leaves of Nicotiana Tabacum."  U.S., Ed.  "Nicotiana Taba
cum. Folia exsiccata." Lond.
   Off. Syn.   NICOTIANA  TABACUM. Folia. Dub.
   Tabac, Fr.; Tabak, Germ.; Tobacco, Ital; Tabaco, Spau.
   Nicotiana. Sex.  Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Solanaceae.
   Gen. Ch.   Corolla funnel-shaped, with  the border  plaited. Stamens in-
clined.  Capsules two-valved, two-celled. Willd.
  Nicotiana Tabacum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1014; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
ii. 171; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 208. t. 77.  The tobacco is an annual plant,
with a large fibrous  root,  and an erect, round, hairy, viscid stem, which
branches near the top, and rises from three  to six feet in height.  The leaves
are numerous, alternate, sessile and somewhat decurrent, very large, ovate
lanceolate, pointed, entire, slightly viscid, and of a pale green colour.  The
lowest are often two  feet long,  and four inches broad.  The jlowers are dis-
posed in loose terminal panicles, and are  furnished with long, linear, pointed
bractes at the divisions  of  the  peduncle.   The calyx  is bell-shaped, hairy,
somewhat viscid, and divided at its summit into five pointed segments.  The
        60 
698
Tabacum.
PART I.
tube of the corolla is twice as long as the calyx, of a greenish hue, swelling
at top into an oblong cup, and ultimately expanding info a five-lobed, plaited,
rose-coloured border.   The whole  corolla is  very viscid   The filaments
incline to one side, and support oblong anthers.   The pistil consists of an
oval germ, a slender style longer than the stamens, and a cleft stigma.  The
fruit is an ovate, two-valved, two-celled capsule, containing numerous reni-
form seeds, and opening at the summit.
  Although the original locality of this plant is  not settled to the satisfaction
of all botanists, there is good reason to believe  that it is a native of tropical
America, where it was found by the Spaniards  upon their arrival.   It is at
present cultivated in most parts of the world, and nowhere more abundantly
than within the limits of the United States.  We seldom, however, see it
north of Maryland.  Virginia is, perhaps, the region of the  world  most
celebrated for its culture.  The young shoots, produced from seeds thickly
sown in beds, are  transplanted into the fields during the month of May, and
set  in rows  with  an  interval of  three  or four feet  between the  plants.
Through the whole period of its growth, the crop requires constant atten-
tion.   The development of  the leaves is promoted by removing the top of
each plant, and thus preventing it from running into flower and seed.   The
harvest is in August. The ripe plants having been cut  off above their roots,
are  dried under cover, and then stripped of their  leaves,  which are  tied  in
bundles, and packed in hogsheads.
  Two varieties of this species are mentioned by authors, one with narrow,
the  other with broad leaves; but they do not differ materially in properties.
Great diversity in  the quality of tobacco  is produced  by difference of soil
and mode of cultivation; and several varieties are  recognised in commerce.
Other species of Nicotiana are also cultivated, especially the N. rustica and
N. paniculata, the former of which is said to have been the first introduced
into Europe, and is thought  to have been cultivated by the aborigines of this
country, as it is naturalized  near the borders of some of our small northern
lakes.  The N. quadrivalvis of Pursh affords tobacco  to the Indians of the
Missouri and  Columbia rivers;  and the  N. fruticosa, a native of  China,
was probably cultivated in  Asia before the discovery  of  this continent by
Columbus.
  Properties.  Tobacco, as it occurs in commerce, is of a yellowish-brown
colour, a strong narcotic penetrating odour  which  is less obvious in the
fresh leaves, and  a bitter nauseous and acrid taste.  These  properties are
imparted to water and  alcohol.  They are destroyed  by long boiling; and
the  extract is therefore feeble or inert. An elaborate analysis of tobacco was
made by Vauquelin, who discovered in it, among other ingredients, an acrid,
volatile, colourless principle, slightly soluble in water, very soluble  in alco-
hol, and supposed to be the  active principle of the leaves.  It was separated
by a complicated  process, of which, however, the most important step was
the  distillation  of tobacco juice with potassa.   In the results of this  distilla-
tion Vauquelin recognised alkaline properties, which he ascribed to the pre-
sence of ammonia, but which were in part at least dependent upon the acrid
principle alluded to.  To this principle,  which was supposed to be the ac-
tive constituent of tobacco, the name of nicotin  was given; but its alkalinity
was not ascertained till a subsequent period.   Another substance was ob-
tained by Hermstadt by simply distilling water from tobacco, and allowing
the  liquid to stand for several days.   A white crystalline matter rose to the
surface, which, upon being removed, was found  to have  the odour of tobacco,
and to resemble it in effects.  It  was fusible, volatilizable, similar to the
nicotin of Vauquelin in solubility, and without alkaline  or acid properties. 
PART I.
Tabacum.
699
It was called nicotianin by Hermstadt, and appears to partake of the nature
of volatile oils.  Two German chemists, Posselt and Reimann, subsequently
analyzed tobacco, and ascertained the alkaline nature of its active principle,
which, however, neither they nor Vauquelin obtained in a state of purity.
According to these chemists, 10,000  parts of the fresh leaves contain 6
parts of an alkaline principle, which  they call nicotin, 1  of the nicotianin of
Hermstadt, 287 of slightly bitter extractive, 174 of gum mixed with a little
malate of lime, 267 of green resin,  26 of albumen, 104-8 of a substance
analogous to gluten,  51 of malic acid, 12 of malate of ammonia, 4-8 of sul-
phate of potassa, 6-3 of chloride of  potassium, 9-5 of potassa,  which was
combined in the leaves with malic and nitric acids,  16-6 of phosphate of lime,
24-2 of lime which had been combined with malic acid, 8-8 of silica, 496-9
of lignin, traces of starch, and 8828 parts of water.  (Berzelius, Traite de
Chimie.) The nicotin obtained by Vauquelin and by Posselt and Reimann
was a colourless, volatile liquid; and, as subsequently ascertained by MM.
Henry and Boutron,  was in fact an aqueous solution of the alkaline principle
in connexion with ammonia.   It was reserved for these chemists to obtain
nicotin, or nicotia, as it should now  be called, in  a state of purity. It exists
in tobacco combined  with an acid in  excess, and in this  state is not volatile.
The following is the  process employed by the last  mentioned chemists. Five
hundred parts of smoking tobacco were exposed to distillation in connexion
with about 6000 parts of water and 200 parts of caustic soda, the heat applied
being at first very moderate, and afterwards increased to the  boiling point.
The product of the distillation was received in a vessel  containing about 30
or 40 parts of sulphuric acid, diluted with three times its weight of water;
and the process was continued till nearly one-half of the liquid had  come
over.  The product, in which care was taken to preserve a slight excess of
acid, was evaporated to about 100 parts, and was then allowed to cool.   A
slight deposit which had  formed was  separated by filtration, an excess of
caustic soda was added, and the liquid  again distilled.  A colourless very
volatile acrid liquor  now  came over, which, being concentrated under the
receiver of an  air-pump,  lost the ammonia which accompanied it, and as-
sumed a syrupy consistence  and more or  less of the colour of amber.  In
this liquid, after a few days, minute crystalline plates formed; but, in conse-
quence of their great affinity for moisture,  it was difficult to isolatethe crys-
tals.   This product  was pure nicotia.
  Nicotia. (Nicotina. Nicotin.)   As  usually obtained, this is a colourless
or nearly colourless  liquid; heavier than water; remaining liquid at 22° F.;
of little smell when  cold; of an exceedingly acrid burning taste, even when
largely diluted; entirely volatilizable, and, in the  state of vapour, very irri-
tant to the nostrils, with  an odour recalling that  of tobacco;  inflammable;
soluble in water, alcohol, ether, and oil of  turpentine;  strongly alkaline in
its  reaction; and  capable of forming  crystallizable  salts  with the acids.
These salts are deliquescent, have a burning and acrid taste, and, like  the
salts of ammonia, lose a portion of their base by beat.   Nicotia contains a
much larger proportion of nitrogen  than the other organic alkalies.   In its
action on the animal system, it is one of the most virulent poisons known.
A drop of it in the state of concentrated solution  was sufficient to destroy a
dog;  and small birds perished at the approach of  a tube containing it. Tan-
nin forms with it a compound of but slight solubility, and might be employ-
ed as a counterpoison.   It exists in  tobacco in small  proportion.   Henry
and Boutron found different varieties  of tobacco  to give products varying
from 3-8 to 11-28 parts in 1000.   It has been found in the  seeds, and in
very small proportion in the  root.   (See  Journ. de Pharm.  xxii. 689.)
There can be little doubt that tobacco owes its activity  to this alkali. 
700
Tabacum.
PART I.
   Nicotianin is probably  the odorous  principle of tobacco.  Posselt and
Reimann prepared it by distilling six pounds of the fresh leaves with twelve
pounds of  water, till one half of the liquid  passed over, then  adding six
pounds more of water, and again distilling, and repeating this process three
times. The nicotianin was obtained to the amount of eleven grains, floating
on the surface of the water.  It was a fatty substance, having the smell  of
tobacco-smoke, and an aromatic  somewhat bitter taste.   It was volatilizable
by heat, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and not affected by
the dilute acids, but dissolved by the solution of potassa.   This was not
obtained by MM. Henry and Boutron.  According to  Landerer, it does
not exist in the fresh  leaves, but is generated in  the drying process.   It
produces sneezing when applied to the nostrils, and a grain of it swallowed
by Hermstadt, occasioned giddiness and nausea.
   When distilled  at  a temperature above  that of boiling  water,  tobacco
affords an  empyreumatic  oil, which Mr. Brodie has proved to be a most
virulent poison.   A single drop  injected into the rectum of a  cat occasioned
death in about five minutes, and double the quantity administered in the
same manner  to a dog was  followed by the same result.  This oil is of a
dark brown colour, of an acrid taste, and has a very peculiar smell, exactly
resembling that of tobacco pipes which  have been much used.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Tobacco unites with the powers of a
sedative narcotic, those of an emetic and diuretic; and produces these effects
to a  greater or less extent to whatever surface it may be  applied.  In addi-
tion, when snuffed up the nostrils, it excites violent sneezing and a copious
secretion of mucus; when chewed, it irritates the mucous membrane of the
mouth,  and increases the flow of saliva; and, when injected into the  rec-
tum, it sometimes operates as a  cathartic.  Moderately taken, it quiets rest-
lessness, calms mental and  corporeal inquietude,  and produces a state of
general languor or repose, which has great charms  for those habituated to
the impression.   In larger quantities, it gives rise to confusion of the head,
vertigo,  stupor, faintness,  nausea, vomiting, and  general debility of the
nervous and circulatory functions, which, if increased, eventuates in alarm-
ing and even fatal prostration.   The symptoms of its excessive action are
severe retching, with  the most distressing and  continued  nausea, great
feebleness of pulse, coldness of the skin, fainting, and sometimes convul-
sions.   It probably operates both through the medium of the nervous sys-
tem, and by entering  the circulation.  As  its local action is  stimulant, we
can thus account for the fact, that it excites the  functions of the kidneys,
at the same time  that it reduces the nervous  and  secondarily the arterial
power.   The  experiments of Brodie lead to the inference that the function
of the heart is affected by tobacco, through the  medium of the nervous
system; for in a decapitated animal in which the circulation was sustained
by artificial respiration, the  infusion  injected into the rectum  did  not
diminish the action of the heart; while on  the contrary this organ almost
immediately ceased to contract when an equal  dose of the poison was ad-
ministered  to a healthy animal.   Mr. Brodie observed  a  remarkable differ-
ence between the  operation of  the infusion  and  that of  the empyreumatic
oil. After death  from the former the heart was  found completely quiescent,
while it continued to act with  regularity for a considerable  time after appa-
rent death from  the latter.   We may infer from this fact, either that there
are two poisonous principles in  tobacco, or  that a new narcotic product is
formed  during its destructive  distillation.   In cases  of  poisoning from
tobacco, the indications are, after the evacuation of the poison,  to support
the system by external and  internal stimulants, and to  allay irritation of
stomach by the moderate use of  opiates. 
PART I.
Tabacum.
701
  The use of tobacco was adopted by the Spaniards from the American
Indians.   In  the year 1560, it was introduced into France by the ambas-
sador of that country at the  court of Lisbon, whose name—Nicot—has
been perpetuated in the  generic title of the plant.  Sir Walter Raleigh is
said  to  have introduced the  practice  of  smoking into England.  In  the
various  modes of smoking, chewing, and snuffing, the drug is now exten-
sively consumed in every country on  the globe.   It must have  properties
peculiarly adapted to the propensities of  our nature, to  have thus sur-
mounted the first repugnance to its odour and taste, and to have become the
passion of so many millions.   When employed in excess,  it enfeebles  the
digestive powers, produces emaciation and general debility,  and lays  the
foundation of serious  disorders of the nervous system.  Dr.  Chapman in-
forms us that he has met with several instances of mental disorder closely
resembling delirium tremens, which resulted from its abuse, and which sub-
sided in a few days after it had been abandoned.
  Its remedial employment is less extensive  than might be inferred from
the variety of its powers.  The excessive and distressing  nausea which it
is  apt  to occasion, interferes with its  internal use; and it is  very seldom
administered  by the stomach.  As a narcotic it is employed chiefly to pro-
duce relaxation in spasmodic affections.   For this purpose, the infusion or
smoke of tobacco, or  the leaf in substance in the shape of a suppository, is
introduced into the rectum in  cases of  strangulated hernia, obstinate consti-
pation from spasm of the bowels, and  retention of urine from  a spasmodic
stricture of the urethra.   For a similar purpose, the  powdered tobacco, or
common snuff,  mixed with simple cerate, as recommended by the late Dr.
Godman, is sometimes  applied to the  throat and breast in  cases of croup;
and  Dr. Chapman has  directed the smoking of  a cigar in the same com-
plaint, with decided benefit.   One of the  worst cases  of spasm of the rima
glottidis which Ave have  seen, and which resisted powerful depletion by the
lancet, yielded  to the application of a tobacco cataplasm to the throat.  A
similar application to the abdomen is highly recommended in painters' colic.
Tetanus is said to have been cured by baths made with the  decoction  of the
fresh leaves.  The relaxation produced  by smoking, in  a  person  unac-
customed to it, was very happily resorted to by Dr.  Physick, in a case of
obstinate and long continued dislocation of the jaw; and the same remedy
has  frequently  been  found useful in the  paroxysm of spasmodic asthma.
Tobacco has been highly recommended,  in the form  of cataplasm,  in
articular gout and rheumatism; and has been employed in the same way,
as well as by injection,  in cases of obstinate verminose affections.  As  an
emetic, it is seldom or never  employed, unless in the  shape of a cataplasm
to the epigastrium, to assist  the  action of internal medicines, in cases of
great insensibility of stomach.   As a diuretic it was used by Fowler in
dropsy and dysury, but the  practice  is  not often imitated.   There is  no
better errhine than tobacco, for the ordinary purposes for which this class of
medicines is employed.   As a sialagogue, it is beneficial in rheumatism of
the jaws, and often relieves toothache by its anodyne action. It is also used
externally  in the shape of cataplasm, infusion,  or ointment, in cases of
tinea capitis,  psora, and  some other cutaneous affections.   The empyreu-
matic oil mixed with simple ointment,  in the proportion of  twenty drops to
the ounce, has  been applied with advantage, by American  practitioners, to
indolent tumours and ulcers;  but in consequence of its liability to  be ab-
sorbed, and to produce unpleasant effects  on the  system, it should be used
with great caution.   This remark is applicable to all the modes of employ-
ing tobacco;  particularly to the  injection of the  infusion  into the rectum,
                                 60* 
702                  Tabacum.— Tamarindus.              parti.

which has in several instances  caused the death of the patient.  It is even
more dangerous than a proportionate  quantity introduced into the stomach;
as, in the latter case, the poison is more apt to be rejected.  Even the  ex-
ternal application of the leaves or powder is not without danger, especially
when the cuticle is removed.  A case of death is on record occurring in a
child eight years old, in  consequence of the  application of the expressed
juice of the leaves to the head  for the cure of  tinea capitis.
  Five or six grains of powdered tobacco will generally act as an emetic;
but the remedy is not given in this shape.   The infusion used in dropsy
by Fowler, was  made in the proportion of an ounce to a  pint of boiling
water, and given in the dose of sixty or eighty drops.   The officinal infu-
sion, which is employed  for injection, is much weaker.  (See Infusum Ta-
bad.)  A wine and an ointment of tobacco are  directed by the United States
Pharmacopoeia.
   Off. Prep. Enema Tabaci, Lond.; Infusum Tabaci,  U.S., Lond., Ed.,
Dub.; Vinum Tabaci, U. S., Ed.; Unguentum Tabaci,  U. S.      W.

              TAMARINDUS. U.S.,  Lond., Ed.

                             Tamarinds.

   " The preserved fruit of Tamarindus Indica."  U. S.   " Tamarindus
indica. Leguminis Pulpa."  Lond.   " Pulp of  the  pods of Tamarindus
indica." Ed.
   Off. Syn.   TAMARINDUS  INDICUS.  Leguminis  pulpa.  Dub.
   Tamarins, Fr.; Tamarinden, Germ.; Tamarindi, Ital; Tamarindos, Span.
  Tamarindus.   Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Triandria.—Nat. Ord. Fabaces
or Leguminosae.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx four-parted.  Petals three.  Nectary with two short
bristles under the filaments.   Legume filled with pulp.  Willd.
   Tamarindus Indica.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 577;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
448. t. 161.   The tamarind tree is the only species of this genus.  It rises
to a great height, sends off numerous spreading branches, and has a beauti-
ful appearance.  The trunk is  erect, thick, and covered with a rough, ash-
coloured bark.  The leaves are alternate and pinnate, composed of many
pairs of opposite leaflets, which are almost sessile, entire, oblong, obtuse,
unequal at their base, about half an inch long,  a sixth of an inch broad,
and of a yellowish-green colour.  The flowers, which are in small lateral
racemes, have a yellowish  calyx, and  petals which are also yellow,  but
beautifully variegated with red veins.   The fruit is a broad, compressed,
reddish ash-coloured pod, very much curved, from two to six inches long,
and with numerous brown, flat, quadrangular seeds, contained in cells formed
by a tough membrane.   Exterior to this membrane is a  light-coloured acid
pulpy matter, between   which and  the shell are several tough ligneous
strings, running from the stem to the extremity of the pod, the attachment
of which they serve to strengthen.  The shells are very fragile, and easily
separated.
   The Tamarindus Indica appears to  be a  native of the East and  West
Indies,  of Egypt, and Arabia, though  believed  by  some authors to have
been imported into America.   De Candolle  is doubtful  whether  the East
and West India  trees are of the same species.  The  pods of the former are
much larger than those of the latter, and contain  a greater number of seeds.
At least such is the statement  made by authors, who inform us that East
India tamarinds contain six or seven  seeds, those from the West Indies 
parti.              Tamarindus.— Tanacetum.               703

rarely more than three or four.  We have found, however, in a parcel of
the latter which we have examined, numerous  pods with from  eight to ten
seeds, and the number generally exceeded four.   The fruit is  the officinal
portion.
  Tamarinds are brought to us chiefly, if not exclusively, from  the West
Indies, where they are prepared by placing the  pods, previously deprived of
their shell,  in layers in  a cask, and pouring boiling  syrup over them.  A
better mode, sometimes practised, is to place them in stone jars, with alter-
nate layers  of powdered  sugar.  They are said to be occasionally prepared
in copper bctilers.
  Properties.  Fresh tamarinds,  which are  sometimes, though rarely,
brought to this country, have an agreeable sour taste, without  any mixture
of sweetness.  As we usually find them, in the preserved state, they form
a dark-coloured adhesive mass, consisting of syrup mixed with  the pulp,
membrane, strings, and seeds of the pod, of a sweet acidulous taste.  The
seeds should  be  hard, clean,  and not swollen, the  strings tough and en-
tire, and the smell without mustiness.   From  the analysis of Vauquelin it
appears, that in  100 parts of the pulp of tamarinds, independently of the
sugar added to them, there are 9*40 parts  of citric acid, 1-55 of tartaric acid,
0*45 of malic acid, 3*25 of bitartrate of potassa, 4*70 of gum, 6*25 of
jelly, 34*35 of parenchymatous matter,  and 27*55 of water;  so that the
acidity is chiefly owing to the presence of citric acid.   It is said that copper
may sometimes be detected in preserved tamarinds, derived from the boilers
in which they are occasionally prepared.  Its presence may be ascertained
by the reddish coat which it imparts to the  blade of a knife immersed in
the tamarinds.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Tamarinds  are laxative and refrigerant,
and infused in water form a highly grateful drink in febrile diseases.  Con-
valescents often find the  pulp a pleasant addition to their diet, and useful by
preserving the bowels in  a loose condition.   It is  sometimes prescribed in
connexion with other mild cathartics,  and is one  of the ingredients of the
confection of senna.  Though frequently prescribed with the infusion of
senna to cover the taste of that medicine,  it is said to weaken its  purgative
power;  and the same observation has  been made of its influence upon the
resinous cathartics in general.   From a drachm to an ounce or more may
be taken at a dose.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Cassiae, Lond., Dub.;  Confectio Sennae, U. S.,
Lond.,  Dub.; Infusum Sennae, Dub., Ed.; Tamarindi Pulpa, U. S.
                                                               W.

               TANACETUM.  U.S. Secondary.
  " The herb of Tanacetum vulgare."  U. S.
  Off. Syn.  TANACETUM  VULGARE.  Folia. Dub.  .
  Tanaisie, Fr; Gemeincr Rheinfarrn, Wurmkraut, Germ.; Tanaceto, Ital, Span.
  Tanacetum.  Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord. Compositae-
Senecionideae, De Candolle; Asteraceae, Lindley.
  Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Pappus somewhat marginate. Calyx imbri-
cate, hemispherical. Corolla rays obsolete, trifid. Willd.
  Tanacetum vulgare. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii.  1814;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
66. t. 27.  This is a perennial herbaceous plant, rising two or three feet in
height.   The stems are strong, erect, obscurely hexagonal, striated, often 
704
Tanacetum.— Tapioca.
PART I.
reddish, branched towards the summit, and furnished with alternate, doubly
pinnatifid leaves,  the divisions of which are notched or deeply serrate.  The
flowers are yellow,  and in dense terminal corymbs.   Each flower is com-
posed of numerous  florets, of which those constituting the disk are perfect
and five-cleft,  those of the ray very few, pistillate,  and  trifid.   The calyx
consists of small, imbricated, lanceolate leaflets, having a dry scaly margin.
The seeds are small, oblong, with five  or six ribs, and crowned by a mem-
branous pappus.
   Tansy is cultivated in our gardens, and grows wild in the roads and in old
fields;  but was introduced from Europe, where  it is indigenous. It is in
flower  from July to September.  The leaves are  ordered  by the Dublin
College; but the  flowers and  seeds  are not less effectual, and all are in-
cluded in the directions of the United States Pharmacopoeia.
   There is a  variety of the plant with curled leaves, which is said to be
more grateful to the stomach than that  above described, but has less  of  the
peculiar sensible  properties  of the herb, and is  probably less  active as a
medicine.
   The odour of tansy is strong, peculiar, and fragrant, but much diminished
by drying; the taste is warm, bitter, somewhat acrid, and aromatic. These
properties are imparted to water and alcohol.  According to Peschier,  the
leaves  contain volatile  oil, fixed dil, wax or stearin, chlorophylle, yellow
resin, yellow colouring matter, tannin and gallic acid, bitter extractive, gum,
lignin, and a peculiar acid which he calls tanacetic,  and  which precipitates
lime, baryta, oxide  of lead,  and  oxide  of copper.   The medical virtues of
the plant depend on the bitter extractive and volatile oil.   The latter,  when
separated by distillation, has a greenish-yellow colour, with the flavour of
the plant, is  lighter  that water, and deposits camphor upon standing.   The
seeds contain the  largest proportion of  the bitter  principle, and the least of
volatile oil.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Tansy has the medical properties common
to the aromatic bitters.   It has been recommended in intermittents, hysteria,
amenorrhoea, and as a preventive of arthritic paroxysms; but at present,
it  is chiefly used as an anthelmintic,  and in this country is scarcely em-
ployed, for  any purpose, in regular practice.  The seeds are said  to  be
most effectual  as a vermifuge.  The dose of the powder  is  from  thirty
grains  to a drachm two or three  times a day;  but the infusion  is more fre-
quently administered.  A fatal case of  poisoning with half an ounce of  oil
of tansy is recorded in the Medical  Magazine for November, 1834.   Fre-
quent and violent clonic spasms were  experienced,  with much disturbance
of respiration; and the action of the heart gradually became weaker till death
took place from its entire suspension.   No inflammation of the stomach or
bowels  was discovered upon dissection. (Am. Journ. of the Med. Sci. xvi.
256.)                                                           W.

                      TAPIOCA.  U.S., Ed.

                               Tapioca.

   "The fecula of the root of Jatropha Manihot."  U. S.  "Fecula of the
root of  Janipha Manihot."  Ed.
   Jatropha.   Sex. Syst.  Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat.  Ord.  Euphor-
biaceae.
   Gen. Ch.    Male.   Calyx none, or  five-leaved.   Corolla monopetalous,
funnel-shaped.  Stamens ten, alternately shorter.  Female. Calyx none. 
part I.             '          Tapioca.
705
 Corolla five-petaled, spreading.  Styles  three, bifid.  Capsule three-celled,
 Seed one.  Willd.
   Most if not  all  of the species of Jatropha are  impregnated, like other
 plants of the natural family of Euphorbiaceae, with an acrid, purging, poi-
 sonous principle.  The seeds of the J. Curcas, which are known in Europe
 by the name of purging nuts, or Barbadoes nuts, have  properties closely
 similar to those of the Croton  Tiglium and Ricinus communis.  They are
 blackish, oval,  about eight lines long, flat on one side, convex on the other;
 and the two sides present a slight longitudinal prominence.  Four or five of
 these seeds slightly roasted, and  deprived of their envelope, are sufficient to
 purge actively; and in a large  dose they are capable of producing fatal con-
 sequences.  Their active principle is said to reside exclusively in the embryo.
 Upon pressure they yield an oil which  has all the properties of the croton
 oil.  We are not aware that they are employed in this country.   The only
 species of Jatropha acknowledged as officinal in our Pharmacopoeia is the J.
 Manihot, which yields the tapioca of the shops.  A  number of botanists,
 following Kunth, place this plant in a new genus separated from Jatropha,
 and named Janiplm, from the Indian designation of another species of the
 genus.  The following is the generic character of Janipha given by Lindley,
 from A. de Jussieu.  " Flowers monoecious. Calyx campanulate, five-parted.
 Petals none.   Male.  Stamens ten; filaments unequal, distinct,  arranged
 around a disk.   Female.   Style one.  Stigmas three, consolidated into a
 rugose mass. Capsule three-coccous."
   Jatropha Manihot.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 562.  Janipha Manihot. Cur-
 tis's Bot. Mag. 3071.  This  is  the cassava plant of the West Indies, the
 mandioca or tapioca of  Brazil.  It is  a  shrub about six or eight feet in
 height, with a very large, white, fleshy, tuberous root, which often weighs
 thirty pounds.   The stem is round, jointed, and furnished at its upper part
 with alternate petiolate leaves, deeply divided into three, five, or seven oval
 lanceolate, very acute lobes, which are somewhat wavy upon their borders,
 of a deep green colour on their upper surface, glaucous  and whitish beneath.
 The flowers are in axillary racemes.
   The Jatropha Manihot is a native of South America, and is cultivated
 extensively in the West Indies, Brazil, and other parts of Tropical America,
 for the sake of  its root, which is  much employed as an article of food.  The
 plant is of quick growth, and  the root arrives at  perfection in about eight
 months.   There are two varieties, distinguished by the names of sweet and
 bitter.  The root  of the former may be  eaten with impunity; that of the
 latter, which is  most extensively cultivated, abounds in an acrid milky juice,
 which renders it highly poisonous if eaten in the recent state.   By MM.
 Henry and Boutron-Charlard, it has been ascertained that the bitter cassava
 owes its poisonous properties to the presence of hydrocyanic acid. (Journ.
 de Pharm. xxii. 119.) Both varieties contain a large proportion of starch.
 The root is prepared for use by  washing, scraping, and grating or grinding
 it into a pulp, which, in the case of the  bitter variety, is submitted to pres-
 sure so as to separate the deleterious juice.  It is  now in the state of meal
 or powder, which is made into  bread, cakes, or puddings.  As the poisonous
 principle is volatile, the portion which may have  remained in the meal is
entirely dissipated by the  heat  employed in cooking.   The  preparation
denominated tapioca among us is obtained from the expressed juice.  This,
upon standing, deposits a powder, which, after repeated washings with cold
 water, is nearly pure starch. It is dried by exposure to heat, which renders
it partly soluble in cold water,  and enables it to assume  the consistence by 
706                    Tapioca.— Taraxacum.               parti.

which it is characterized.  When dried without heat, it is pulverulent, and
closely resembles the fecula of arrow-root.
   Tapioca is in the form of irregular, hard, white, rough grains, possessing
little taste, partially soluble in cold water, and affording a fine blue colour
when iodine is added to its filtered solution.  The partial solubility in cold
water is owing to the rupture of the starch-granules by heat.  Examined
under the microscope, the granules appear partly broken, partly entire.  The
latter are mullar-shaped, about the two-thousandth of an inch in diameter,
more uniform in size than the granules  of most other varieties of fecula,
with a distinct hilum  which is surrounded by rings, and cracks in a stellate
manner.   The tapioca meal, called sometimes Brazilian arrow-root, and by
the French moussache, is the fecula dried  without  heat.  Its granules are
identical with  those already described.   Being nutritious, and at the same
time easy of  digestion,  and destitute  of all irritating properties,  tapioca
forms an excellent diet for the sick  and  convalescent.  It is prepared for
use by boiling it in water.   Lemon juice and sugar will usually be found
grateful additions; and in low states of disease or cases of debility, it may
be advantageously impregnated with wine and nutmeg or other aromatic.
   A factitious  tapioca is found in the shops, consisting of very small, smooth,
spherical grains, and supposed to be prepared from potato starch.  It is sold
under the name of pearl tapioca.                                  W.


               TARAXACUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed.

                             Dandelion.

   " The root of Leontodon Taraxacum." U. S.  "Leontodon Taraxacum.
Radix."  Lond.  "The root of Taraxacum Dens-leonis." Ed.
   Off. Syn. LEONTODON  TARAXACUM. Herba. Radix. Dub.
   Pissenlit, Dent de lion, Fr.; Lovvenzahn, Germ.; Tarassaco, Ital; Diente de  leon,
Span.
   Leontodon. ■ Sex. Syst. Syngenesia iEqualis.—Nat. Ord. Compositae-
Cichoraceae, De Candolle; Cichoraceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Calyx double.  Seed-down stipitate, hairy.
Willd.
   Leontodon  Taraxacum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1544;  Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 39. t. 16. Taraxacum Dens-leonis. De  Cand. Prodrom. vii. 145. The
dandelion is an herbaceous plant, with  a  perennial, fusiform root.  The
leaves, which  spring immediately from the root, are long, pinnatifid, gene-
rally runcinate,  with  the  divisions toothed,  smooth, and  of a fine green
colour.   The  common name of the plant was derived from the fancied re-
semblance of its leaves to the teeth of a lion.  The flower-stem rises from
the midst  of the leaves, six inches or more in height.   It  is erect, simple,
naked, smooth, hollow, fragile, and  terminated by a large golden-coloured
flower, which  closes in the evening, and expands with the returning light of
the sun.  The  calyx is smooth and double, with the outer scales bent down-
wards.  The florets are very numerous, ligulate, and toothed at their extre-
mities.  The receptacle is convex and  punctured.  The seed-down is stipi-
tate, and at the period of maturity, is disposed in a spherical form, and is so
light and  feathery as to be easily borne away by the  wind, with the seeds
attached.
   This species  of Leontodon grows spontaneously in most parts of the
globe.   It, is abundant in this country,  adorning our grass-plats and pasture
grounds with its bright yellow flowers, which, in moist places, show them- 
PART I.
Taraxacum.
707
selves with the first opening of spring, and continue to appear till near the
close of summer.   All parts of the plant contain a milky bitterish juice,
whieh exudes when they are broken or wounded.   The leaves, when very
young, and blanched by the absence of light during their growth, are ten-
der and  not-unpleasant to the taste, and  on the continent of Europe are
sometimes used as a salad.  When older and of their natural  colour, they
are medicinal,  and have been adopted as  officinal by  the  Dublin  College.
The other authorities  recognise only the root, which is  by far the most
efficacious part.  It should  be full grown when collected, and should be
employed in the recent state, as it is then most active.  It does not, how-
ever, as stated by Duncan, lose nearly all its bitterness by drying;  and the
root dug up in the warmer seasons might, if dried with care, be employed
with propriety in the succeeding winter.   The juice of the root is thin and
watery in the  spring;  milky, bitter, and spontaneously coagulable  in the
latter part of summer and autumn; and sweet and less bitter in the winter,
when affected by the frost.  The months of July, August, and September
are, therefore, the proper period for collecting it.
   The fresh full-grown root of the dandelion is several inches in length,
as  thick as the little  finger,  or  thicker, round and  tapering, somewhat
branched, of a light brown colour externally, whitish within, having a yel-
lowish ligneous cord running through its  centre, and abounding in a milky
juice.  In the  dried state it is much shrunk, wrinkled longitudinally, brittle,
and when broken presents  a  shining somewhat resinous fracture.  It  is
without smell, but has  a sweetish, mucilaginous, bitterish, herbaceous taste.
Its active properties are yielded to water by boiling, and do not  appear to be
injured in the  process.   The milky juice, examined by John, was found  to
contain  bitter extractive, gum, caoutchouc, saline matters, a trace of resin,
and a free acid.  Besides these ingredients, starch, or inulin,  and  saccha-
charine  matter exist in the root.   A crystallizable principle has been ex-
tracted from the juice of the root by M. Pollex, who has named it taraxacin.
It is bitter and somewhat acrid, fusible but not volatile, sparingly soluble  in
cold water, but very soluble in boiling water, alcohol, and ether.  It is obtained
by boiling the milky juice in distilled water, filtering the concentrated liquor,
and allowing it to evaporate spontaneously in a warm place. The taraxacin
crystallizes, and may be purified  by repeated solution and crystallization
in alcohol or water. (Pharm. Journ.  and Transact, i. 425.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Taraxacum is slightly tonic, diuretic, and
aperient; and is thought to have a specific action upon the liver, exciting it
when languid to secretion, and resolving its chronic engorgements.   It has
been much employed in Germany, and  is a popular remedy with many
practitioners in this country.  The diseases to which it appears to be espe-
cially applicable, are  those connected  with derangement of the  hepatic
system,  and of the digestive organs generally.  In congestion and chronic
inflammation  of the liver and spleen, in cases of suspended  or  deficient
biliary secretion, and in  dropsical affections  dependent on obstruction  of
the abdominal  viscera, it is capable of doing much good, if employed with a
due regard to the degree of excitement.   Our own  experience  is decidedly
in its favour.   An  irritable condition  of  the stomach  and bowels, and the
existence of acute  inflammation,  contra-indicate  its  employment.  It  is
usually given in the form of extract or decoction. (See  Decoctum Taraxaci
and Extractum Taraxaci.)   Bitartrate of potassa is  sometimes added  to
the decoction  when an  aperient effect is desired; and  aromatics will occa-
sionally be found useful in correcting a tendency to griping or flatulence.
   Off. Prep. Decoctum Scoparii Compositum, Lond.;  Decoctum Taraxaci,
U. S., Ed., Dub.; Extractum Taraxaci,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  W. 
703
Terebinthina.
PART I.
                  TEREBINTHINA.  U.S.

                          Turpentine.

  " The juice of Pinus palustris, and other species of Pinus." U. S.


     TEREBINTHINA CANADENSIS. U.S., Lond.

                      Canada  Turpentine.

  "The juice of Abies balsamea."  U.S.   "Pinus  balsamea. Resina
liquida." Lond.
 . Off. Syn. BALSAMUM  CANADENSE.  Fluid resinous exudation of
Abies balsamea;  Canada balsam.  Ed.; BALSAMUM CANADENSE.
PINUS BALSAMEA. Resina liquida.  Dub.

        TEREBINTHINA CHIA. Lond., Ed., Dub.

                       Chian Turpentine.

  " Pistacia Terebinthus. Resina  liquida."  Lond., Dub.   " Liquid re-
sinous exudation of Pistacia Terebinthus." Ed.


         TEREBINTHINA VENETA. Ed., Dub.

                       Venice Turpentine.

  " Liquid  resinous exudation  of  Abies  Larix."  Ed.  " Pinus Larix.
Resina Liquida." Dub.


       TEREBINTHINA  VULGARIS. Lond., Dub.

                Common European Turpentine.

  " Pinus sylvestris. Resina liquida."  Lond., Dub.
  Terdbenthine, Fr.; Terpentin, Germ.; Trementina, Ital, Span.
  The  term turpentine is now generally applied to certain vegetable juices,
liquid or concrete, which consist of resin combined with a peculiar essential
oil, called oil of turpentine.  They are generally procured  from differ-
ent species of pine, fir, or larch, though other trees afford products which are
known by the same general title, as for  instance the Pistacia Terebinthus,
which yields the Chian turpentine.  Some of the French writers extend the
name of turpentine to other juices consisting of resin and essential oil, with-
out benzoic or cinnamic acid, as copaiba, balm of Gilead, &c.  We shall
describe particularly, in this place, only the officinal turpentines.  A brief
botanical view of the plants from which they are respectively derived, will
be in accordance with the plan of the work.  It is proper first to observe
that  the original genus Pinus of Linnaeus has been divided into the three
genera, Pinus, Abies, and Larix, which are now very generally recognised,
though Lindley unites the two latter in his Flora Medica. 
part i.                     Tcrebinthina.                       709

   Pinus.  Sex. Syst.  Monoecia  Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord.  Pinaceae  or
Coniferae.
   Gen. Ch. Flowers monoecious.  Males.  Catkins racemose, compact, and
terminal;  squamose; the scales  staminiferous at the  apex.  Stamens two;
the anthers one-celled.  Females.  Catkins or cones simple, imbricated with
acuminate scales.   Ovaries two. Stigmas glandular.   Scales of the cone
oblong, club-shaped, woody; umbilicato-angular at the apex.   Seeds  in
pairs, covered with a sharp-pointed membrane.  Cotyledons digitato-partite.
Leaves two or  many, in the same sheath.  (Pereira's Mat. Med.  from
Bot. Gall.)
   1. Pinus palustris.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv.  499.—P.  Australis.  Mi-
chaux,  N.  Am. Sylv.  iii. 133.  "Leaves in  threes, very long;  stipules
pinnatifid, ramentaceous, persistent;  strobiles subcylindrical,  armed  with
sharp prickles."
   This is a very large indigenous  tree, growing in dry sandy soils, from the
southern part  of Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico.  Its mean  elevation is
sixty or seventy feet, and the diameter of its trunk about fifteen or eighteen
inches for two-thirds of this height.   The leaves are about a foot in length,
of a brilliant green colour, and united in bunches at the ends of the branches.
The names by which the tree is known  in the  Southern States, are long-
leaved pine, yellow pine, and pitch pine; but the first is most appropriate, as
the last two are applied also to  other species.  This  tree furnishes by far
the greater proportion of turpentine, tar, &c, consumed in the United States,
or sent from this to other countries. (See Pix Liquida.)
   2. Pinus Taeda.  Willd.  Sp.  Plant, iv. 498;  Michaux, N.Am. Sylv.
in. 156.  " Leaves in  threes, elongated, with elongated sheaths; strobiles
oblong-conical, deflexed, shorter than the leaf; spines  inflexed."
   This is the  loblolly, or old field pine of the Southern States.  It is abun-
dant in  Virginia, where it occupies the lands which  have been  exhausted
by cultivation.  It exceeds eighty feet in height, has a trunk two or three
feet  in diameter, and expands  into a wide-spreading  top.  The leaves are
about six inches long, and of a light green colour.  It yields turpentine  in
abundance, but less fluid than that  which flows from the preceding species.
   3. Pinus sylvestris.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 494;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
1. t. 1;  Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. p. 125.  " Leaves in pairs, rigid; stro-
biles ovate-conical, of the length of the leaves; scales echinate."
   This species of pine, when of full size, is eighty feet high, with  a trunk
four or  five feet in  diameter.   It inhabits the  northern and mountainous
parts of Europe.  In Great  Britain it is called the wild pine, or Scotch fir;
the latter name having been  applied to it from its  abundance in the moun-
tains of Scotland.  It yields a considerable proportion of the common Euro-
pean turpentine.
  Besides the pines  above described, various others yield medicinal pro-
ducts.  The Pinus maritima (Pinus Pinaster of Aiton and Lambert), grow-
ing in the  southern and maritime parts  of Europe, yields much  of the
turpentine, pitch, and tar consumed in France, and is  admitted among the
officinal plants in the French Codex.  From the branches  of the  Pinus
Pumilio,  which inhabits the  mountains  of Eastern and  South-eastern
Europe, a  terebinthinate juice exudes spontaneously, called Hungarian
balsam.   The Pinus Cembra, or Siberian stone-pine  of the  Alps and Car-
pathian  mountains, is said to afford the product called  Carpathian balsam;
and the seeds both of that species, and the Pinus Pinea, or stone-pine of the
South of Europe and North of Africa,  are used in  Europe in desserts,
under the  name of pine nuts.   The  Pinus rigida or pitch pine of this
       61 
710
Terebinthina.
part i.
country, and probably others besides  those mentioned are sometimes em-
ployed in the preparation of tar.
  Abies.  See PIX ABIETIS.
  Abies balsamea. Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 554.—A. balsamifera, Michaux,
N.  Am.  Sylv. iii.  191.—Pinus balsamea. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 504.
" Leaves  solitary, flat, emarginate or entire, glaucous beneath, somewhat
pectinate, sub-erect  above, recurved spreading; cones  cylindrical, erect;
bractes abbreviate, obovate, conspicuously mucronate, sub-serrulate."
  This  is the American silver fir, ox balm of Gilead tree inhabiting Canada,
Nova Scotia, Maine, and the mountainous regipns further to the south. It is
an elegant tree, seldom rising more than forty feet in height, with a tapering
trunk, and numerous  branches which diminish  in length  in proportion to
their height, and form an almost  perfect pyramid.   The leaves are six or
eight lines long, inserted in rows on the sides and tops of the branches, nar-
row, flat, rigid, bright green on their upper surface, and of a silvery white-
ness beneath.   The cones  are large, erect, nearly cylindrical, of a purplish
colour, and covered with a resinous exudation which gives them a glossy,
rich, and beautiful appearance.  It is from this tree that the Canada balsam
is obtained.
  Several other species of  Abies  are officinal.   The A. excelsa of Europe,
and A.  Canadensis of the  United States, have already  been described as
the sources respectively of Burgundy and Canada pitch.  (See Pix Abietis,
and Pix Canadensis.) The A. Picca (Abies pectinata of  De Candolle, A.
taxifolia of the  French Codex, Pinus Picea of Linnaeus), or European
silver fir, growing in the  mountainous regions  of Switzerland, Germany,
and Siberia, yields the Strasburg turpentine, which is much used in some
parts  of Europe.  The Abies nigra (Pinus nigra), or black spruce of this
country yields a product, which, though not  recognised  by the Pharmaco-
poeia, is considerably employed.   The substance  alluded to is the essence
of spruce, prepared from  the  young branches, by boiling them  in  water,
and evaporating the decoction.  It is a thick  liquid, having the colour and
consistence of molasses, with a bitterish, acidulous,  astringent taste.  It is
much used in  the preparation of the beverage commonly known  by the
name of spruce beer, which is a pleasant and wholesome drink in summer,
and useful in long sea-voyages as a preventive of scurvy.*
  Larix. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Pinaceae  or Co-
niferae.
   Gen. Ch. As in Abies, except that  the Cotyledons are simple,  and never
lobed; the Cones lateral; the Leaves, when first expanding, in tufted fascicles,
becoming somewhat solitary by the elongation of the new branch.  (Pereira's
Mat. Med. from Bot. Gall.)
   Larix europaea. De Cand. Flor. Fr. 2064.—Abies Larix. Lamb. Illustr.
t. 785.  f. 2.—Pinus Larix. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 503; Woodv. Med. Bot.
p. 7. t. 4.   " Leaves fascicled, deciduous; cones ovate-oblong; margins of
the scales reflexed, lacerated;  bractes panduriform."
   The  European larch is  a large tree inhabiting the  mountains of Siberia,
Switzerland, Germany, and the East of France.  It yields the Venice tur-
pentine of commerce, and a peculiar  sweetish substance, called in France
Briancon manna, which exudes  spontaneously, and concretes  upon its
bark.   When the larch forests of Russia take fire, a juice exudes from the

  * The following is the formula usually followed.  Take of essence of spruce half a
pint; pimento bruised, ginger bruised, hops, each, four ounces; water three gallons.  Boil
tor five or ten minutes; (hen strain, and add of warm water eleven gallons; yeast a pint;
molasses six pints.  Mix and allow the mixture to ferment for twenty-four hours. 
part i.                    Terebinthina.                         711

trunk during their combustion, which concretes, and is  called Orenburgh
gum.  It is wholly soluble in water. (Lindley, Flor. Med.)
  Pistacia.   See MASTIC HE.
  Pistacia Terebinthus. Willd.  Sp. Plant, iv. 752; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
29. t. 12.   This is a small tree with numerous spreading branches, bearing
alternate, pinnate leaves, which consist of three or four pairs of ovate lanceo-
late, entire, acute, smooth, and shining leaflets, with an odd one at the end.
The male and female flowers are dioecious, small, and in branching racemes.
This is a native of Barbary and Greece, and flourishes in the islands of Cy-
prus and Chio, the latter of which has given its name to the turpentine ob-
tained  from the tree.
   We shall treat of the several varieties of turpentine under distinct heads.

                       1. White Turpentine.
   Terebenthine de Boston, Fr.
  The common  American  or white turpentine (Terebinthina, U.S.)  is
procured  chiefly from  the  Pinus palustris, partly  also from the Pinus
Tasda, and perhaps some other species inhabiting the Southern States.  In
former times, large quantities were collected in New England; but the tur-
pentine trees of that section of the Union  are said  to be nearly exhausted;
and our commerce is almost exclusively supplied from North Carolina, and
the south-eastern parts of Virginia.   The following  is the process for ob-
taining the turpentine as described by Michaux. During the winter months,
excavations of the capacity of about three pints are  made in the trunk of the
tree three or four inches from the ground.  Into these the juice begins  to
flow about the middle of March,  and  continues to flow throughout the warm
season, slowly at first, rapidly in the middle of summer, and more slowly
again in the autumnal months.   The liquid is  removed from these excava-
tions as they fill, and  transferred into  casks, where  it  gradually thickens,
and ultimately acquires a soft solid consistence.  Very large quantities are
thus annually procured, sufficient not only to supply the whole consumption
of this country, but also to furnish a valuable export.
   White turpentine, as found in our shops, is yellowish-white, of a peculiar
somewhat aromatic odour, and a warm, pungent, bitterish taste. It is some-
what translucent, and of a consistence which varies with the  temperature.
In  the middle of summer it is almost semi-fluid and very adhesive, though
brittle; in the winter it is often so firm and hard, as to be incapable of being
made  into pills without heat.   Exposed  to the air  it  ultimately becomes
perfectly hard and dry.  In the recent state it affords about seventeen per
cent, of essential oil.   It is apt  to contain small pieces  of bark,  wood,  or
other impurity.

                 2. Common European Turpentine.
   Terebenthine de Bordeaux, Terebenthine commune, Fr.;  Gemeiner Terpentin, Germ.;
Trementina comnne, Ital; Trementina comun, Span.
   This is the Terebinthina Vulgaris of the London  Pharmacopoeia.   It is
furnished by several species of pine; but chiefly by the  Pinus sylvestris
and Pinus maritima (P. Pinaster of Aiton).  From the latter tree, it is ob-
tained largely in the maritime districts of the Southwest of France, especially
in the  department of the Landes, and is exported from  Bordeaux.  Hence
it is called in commerce Bordeaux turpentine.  The process  for  procuring
it consists simply in making incisions into the trunk, or  removing portions
of the bark, and receiving the juice which flows out in small troughs, or in
holes dug at the foot of the tree.  It is purified by heating, and filtering it 
712
Terebinthina.
PART I.
 through straw, or by exposing it to the sun in a barrel, through holes in
 the bottom of which the melted turpentine escapes.  Thus prepared, it is
 whitish, turbid, thickish, and  separates, upon standing,  into two parts, one
 liquid and transparent, the other of a consistence and appearance like those of
 thickened honey.  As found in European commerce it often consists wholly
 of this latter portion.   It speedily hardens upon exposure to the air in thin
 layers.  The most liquid specimens  are completely solidified by the addi-
 tion of one part of magnesia  to thirty-two of the turpentine. (Guibourt,
 Journ. de Pharm. xxv. 499.)   It is  scarcely  ever given internally, but
 furnishes large quantities of oil of turpentine and resin.  We  do not import
 it into this country. The substance which the French call galipot or barras,
 is that portion of the turpentine which concretes upon the trunk of the tree
 when  wounded, and is removed during  the winter.  (Thenard.)   This,
 when purified by melting with water and straining, takes  the  name of yel-
 low or white pitch, or Burgundy pitch.   When turpentine has been de-
 prived of its oil by distillation, the resin which remains is called rosin, and
 sometimes  colophony,  from the Ionian city  of that name,  where it was
 formerly prepared.   It  is the yellow  resin {resina flava)  of the former
 London Pharmacopoeia.  White  resin  (resina alba) is prepared  by incor-
 porating this, while in fusion, with a  certain proportion of water.  Tar (Pix
 Liquida) is the turpentine extracted  from  the wood by a slow combustion,
 and  chemically altered by the heat.   Common pitch (Pix Nigra or Resina
 Nigra) is the solid residue left after the evaporation by boiling of the liquid
 parts of tar. (See these titles respectively.)

                       3. Canadian Turpentine.
   Canada balsam,  Balsam of fir; Baume de Canada, Fr.; Canadischer Balsam, Cana-
 discher Terpentin, Germ.; Tremenlina del Canada, Ital.
   This is  the product of the Abies balsamea, and  is collected in Canada
 and  the State of Maine.   It is procured, according to Michaux, by breaking
 the vesicles which naturally form upon  the trunk and branches, and receiv-
 ing their liquid contents in a bottle.  When fresh, it is colourless or slightly
 yellowish, transparent, of the consistence of thin honey, very tenacious, of a
 strong agreeable odour, and  a bitterish,  somewhat acrid taste.   By time and
 exposure it becomes more yellow and thicker, and at last assumes a solid
 consistence.  It is usually brought into  market in bottles, and  is kept in the
 shops under the name of Canada balsam or balsam of fir.   In Europe, it
 is sometimes called balm of Gilead, from its  supposed resemblance to that
 celebrated  medicine.  The term balsam, as at present understood, is impro-
 perly applied to it;  as it contains no benzoic acid, and is in fact a true tur-
 pentine, consisting chiefly  of  resin and essential  oil.   Bonastre  obtained
 from 100 parts of Canada turpentine,  18-6 parts of volatile  oil, 40-0 of resin
 easily dissolved by alcohol,  33-4 of sub-resin  of difficult  solubility in that
 fluid, 4-0 of caoutchouc similar to sub-resin, and 4-9 of bitter extractive and
 salts, besides traces of acetic acid.  There is reason to believe that Strasburg
 turpentine is sometimes sold for it in the shops.

                        4.  Venice Turpentine.
   Terebenthine de meleze, Terebenthine  de  Venise, Fr.;  Venetianischer Terpentin,
 Germ.; Trementina di  Venezia, ItaJ.; Trementina de  Venecia, Span.
   This turpentine received its  name from the circumstance that it was for-
merly an extensive  article of Venetian commerce.  It is procured in Switzer-
land, and the French province  of Dauphiny,  from the Larix  Europaea  or
larch, which grows abundantly upon the Alps and the Jura mountains.  The 
part i.                      Terebinthina.                       713

peasants  bore holes into the trunk about two  feet from the ground, and
conduct the juice by means of wooden gutters  into small tubs, placed at a
convenient distance. It is afterwards purified by filtration through a leather
sieve.  Genuine Venice Turpentine is a viscid  liquid, of the consistence of
honey, flowing with difficulty, cloudy or imperfectly transparent, of a yel-
lowish or slightly greenish colour, a strong not disagreeable odour, and a
warm bitterish and very acrid taste.   It  does not readily concrete on ex-
posure, is not solidified by one-sixteenth  of magnesia, and is entirely solu-
ble in alcohol. (Guibourt, Journ. de Pharm.  xxv. 500.)  What is sold
under the name of Venice turpentine,  in our shops, is usually quite brown,
and is said to be a factitious substance, prepared by dissolving  rosin in oil
of turpentine.  Dr. A.  T. Thomson  states  that much of the  Venice tur-
pentine of the shops of London  is obtained  from America.  It  is probably
the same preparation as that which passes under the name in this country.

                        5. Chian Turpentine.
   Terebenthine de Chio, Fr.; Cyprischer Terpentin, Germ.; Tremmtina Cipria, Ilal.
   This variety of turpentine is  collected chiefly in the island  of Chio or
Scio, by  incisions made during the summer in the bark of the Pistacia Te-
rebinthus.  The juice, flowing from the  wounds, falls upon smooth stones
placed at the foot of the tree, from which it is scraped with small sticks, and
allowed to drop into bottles.  The annual product of each tree is  very small;
and the turpentine, therefore, commands a high price even in the place where
it is procured.  Very little of it  reaches this country.   It is  said to be fre-
quently adulterated  with  the other turpentines.   It is  a thick, tenacious
liquid, of a  greenish-yellow colour, a  peculiar  penetrating odour more
agreeable than that of  the other substances  of  the  same class,  and a mild
taste without  bitterness or acrimony.   It leaves a glutinous residue when
treated with strong alcohol. (Guibourt.)  On exposure to the air it speedily
thickens, and ultimately becomes concrete and hard, in consequence of  the
loss of its volatile oil.
   Besides the turpentines mentioned, various others  are noticed in books
on materia medica, though not found in the shops of this country.   There
is the Strasburg turpentine,  much used in France, and  obtained from  the
Abies Picea (Abies pectinata of De Candolle), or European silver fir, which
grows  on the mountains  of Switzerland and Germany, and bears a close
resemblance, as well in its appearance as its product,  to the  Pinus bal-
samea of Canada; the Damarra turpentine, which speedily concretes into
a very hard resin,  and is derived from the Pinus Damarra of Lambert,
the Agathis Damarra of Richard, growing in the East  India islands; and
the Dombeya turpentine,  a glutinous, milky-looking fluid of a strong odour
and taste, derived  from the Dombeya excelsa,  the Araucaria Dombeyi of
Richard, which inhabits  Chili,  and is said to be identical with the  Norfolk
Island pine.   These, with one or two other turpentines  scarcely known or
having a doubtful claim to the title, are all that belong properly to this class
of vegetable products.
   General Properties.  The turpentines resemble each  other in odour and
taste, though distinguished by shades  of difference.   Liquid at first, they
become thick and gradually solid by exposure, in consequence partly of the
volatilization, partly of the oxidation of their essential oil.   They are ren-
dered more liquid or softened by heat, and at a  high temperature take fire,
burning with a white flame and much smoke.  Water extracts only a minute
proportion of their volatile oil.   They are almost wholly soluble in alcohol
and ether, and readily unite with the fixed oils.   They yield by distillation
                                 61* 
714                    Terebinthina.—Testa.                parti.

a  volatile oil, well known as the oil of turpentine, and leave a residue
consisting  exclusively of resin.  (See  Oleum Terebinthinas and Resina.)
A minute proportion of succinic acid passes over with the oil.  From the
experiments of M. Faure, of Bordeaux, it appears, that some of the liquid
turpentines, like  copaiba, may be solidified by the addition of magnesia
(Journ. de Chim. Med. 1830, p. 94.); and,  according to M. Thierry, the
same result is obtained by the addition of one part of hydrate of lime to
thirty-two parts of the common European turpentine.  (Journ. de  Pharm.
Seme Serie, i. 315.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.   The effects of the turpentines upon the
system are dependent entirely on their essential oil.  They are stimulant,
diuretic,  anthelmintic, and in large doses laxative.  When taken internally,
or applied to the skin, they communicate a violet odour to the urine,  and if
continued for some time produce an  irritation of the mucous membrane of
the urinary passages, amounting frequently  to strangury.  The last effect
is less apt to be experienced when they operate upon the bowels.  Externally
applied they aet as rubefacients.   Their medical virtues were known  to the
ancients.  At present they are less used than formerly, having been super-
seded by their volatile oil.  They are, however, occasionally prescribed in
leucorrhoea, gleet, and other chronic diseases of the urinary passages; in piles
and chronic inflammations or ulcerations of the bowels; in chronic catarrhal
affections; and in various forms of rheumatism, especially sciatiea and lum-
bago.  The white turpentine is usually employed in this country.
   They may be given in the shape  of pill made with powdered liquorice
root; or in emulsion with gum Arabic or yolk of egg, loaf sugar, and water;
or in electuary formed with sugar or  honey.   Their dose is from a scruple
to a drachm.   In the quantity of half an ounce or an ounce, triturated with
the yolk  of an egg, and mixed with half a pint of mucilaginous liquid, they
form an excellent injection in cases of ascarides, and of constipation attended
with flatulence.
   Off. Prep.   Ceratum  Resinae Compositum, U. S.;  Emplastrum  Cantha-
ridis Comp.,  Ed.; Emplastrum Galbani Comp., U. S., Lond.; Oleum Te-
rebinthinae, Dub.; Unguentum Elemi, Lond.; Unguentum Infusi  Cantha-
ridis,  Ed.                                                       W.


                          TESTA.  U.S.

                            Oyster-shell.

   " The shells of  Ostrea edulis."
   Off. Syn.  TESTAE. Lond.
   Ecaiiles des  huitres, Fr.; Austerschalen, Germ.; Gusci della ostriche, Ital; Cascaras,
Span.
   The common oyster is the Ostrea  edulis of naturalists, an animal  belong-
ing to the class Vermes, order Testacea.  It is found in many parts of the
world, and  is particularly abundant on our own coast, and  in the bays of our
large rivers.  It consists of a soft pulpy portion, comprising the vital organs
of the animal, enclosed in a hard  bivalve shell, of  the nature of mother-of-
pearl.  The flesh of the oyster forms a very digestible and nutritious article
of food, particularly suited to convalescents;  but the shell only is officinal.
   Properties. Oyster-shells  are too familiarly known to require description.
They are made up, like other mother-of-pearl shells, of alternate layers of
earthy matter, and animal matter of the nature of coagulated albumen.  Ac-
cording to the analysis of Bucholz and Brandes, their exact constituents are 
parti.                Testa.— Tolutanum.                    715

carbonate of lime 98-6, phosphate of lime 1*2, animal matter 0*5, alumina
(accidental) 0-2=100-5.  Thus it appears that the animal matter is present
in but small amount.   When calcined or burnt, the animal matter and car-
bonic acid are dissipated, and the shells are converted into a species of lime,
called oyster-shell lime.
   Crab stones (crabs' eyes) and  crabs' claws are both forms of carbonate
of lime, resembling oyster-shell in containing a small proportion of animal
matter.   They were  formerly  officinal in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia,
but were  very properly omitted  upon  the recent revision of that  work.
They will be noticed in the Appendix.
   Pharmaceutical Uses.   Oyster-shells require to be reduced to an impal-
pable powder, before they are fit  for medicinal employment;  and their pre-
paration in this way constitutes their sole pharmaceutical use.   When thus
prepared,  they form  the Testa Praeparata, under which head their medi-
cinal properties will be noticed.
   Off. Prep.  Testa Praeparata, U. S., Lond.                       B.


                     TOLUTANUxM.  U.S.

                         Balsam of Tolu.

   " The juice of Myroxvlon Toluiferum. Richard."  U. S.
   Off. Syn. BALSAMUM TOLUTANUM. Myroxylon peruiferum. Bal-
samum concretum. Lond.; BALSAMUM TOLUTANUM. Concrete bal-
samic exudation of Myrospermum toluiferum." Ed.; TOLUIFERA BAL-
SAMUM.  Resina. Dub.
   Balsam of Tolu; Baume de Tolu, Fr.; Tolubalsam, Germ.; Bnlsamo  del Tolu, Ital;
Balsamo de Tolu, Span.
   Myroxylon.  See MYROXYLON.
   Till recently, the tree  from  which  this balsam is derived, retained the
name of Toluifera Balsamum, given  to it by Linnaeus; but it is  now ad-
mitted that the genus Toluifera was formed upon insufficient grounds; and
botanists agree in referring the Tolu balsam tree to the Myroxylon, or Myro-
spermum  of De Candolle. Ruiz, one of the authors of the Flora Peruviana,
considers it identical with the Myroxylon Peruiferum; and his opinion has
been adopted by some other writers. M. Achille Richard, however, thinks it
a distinct species, and has appropriately denominated it Myroxylon  Toluife-
rum, a title which is recognised in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States.
Sprengel and Humboldt also consider it a distinct species of Myroxvlon.
According  to  Richard, who  had an opportunity of examining specimens
brought from  South America by Humboldt, the leaflets of the M. Peruife-
rum are thick, coriaceous, acute, and  blunt at the  apex, and all equal  in
size; while in the M. Toluiferum the leaflets are thin, membranous, obo-
vate,  with a  lengthened  and  acuminate apex,  and the terminal one is
longest.  The M. Peruiferum is found in Peru and the southern  parts  of
New  Granada;  the M. Toluiferum grows in Carthagena,  and  abounds
especially in the neighbourhood of Tolu.  The wood of the  latter species,
according to Humboldt, is of a deep red colour, has a delightful balsamic
odour, and is much used  for building.   It is not  improbable,  that  the two
balsams known  in the shops by the respective names of Peru and  Tolu,
differ more in  the mode by which they are procured, than in  the character
of the trees which afford them.
   The balsam of Tolu is  procured by making incisions into the trunk  of
the tree.   The juice as it exudes is received in vessels of various kinds, in 
716
Tolutanum.— Tormentilla.
PART I.
which it is  allowed to concrete.  It is brought from Carthagena in  cala-
bashes or baked earthen jars of a peculiar shape,  and  sometimes  in  glass
vessels.
   Properties.  As first imported, it has a soft, tenacious consistence, which
varies considerably with the temperature.  By age it  becomes hard and
brittle like resin.  It is shining, translucent, of a reddish or yellowish-brown
colour, a highly fragrant odour, and a warm, somewhat  sweetish and  pun-
gent, but  not disagreeable taste.  Exposed to heat, it melts, inflames, and
diffuses an agreeable odour while burning.  It is entirely dissolved  by  alco-
cohol and the essential oils.   Boiling water extracts its benzoic acid.  Dis-
tilled with water it affords a small proportion of volatile oil; and if  the heat
be continued, benzoic  acid sublimes.  Mr. Hatchett  states, that when dis-
solved in the smallest quantity of solution of  potassa, it loses its own  cha-
racteristic odour, and  acquires that of the clove-pink.  Its ingredients are
resin, benzoic and cinnamic acids, and volatile oil, the proportions of which
vary in different specimens.  Fremy discovered in  it cinnamic acid, but
was wrong  in  supposing that it contained no benzoic  acid, as has been
proved by M. Deville.  (Journ. de Pharm. xxvii. 638.)   Guibourt observed
that it contains more benzoic acid, and  is less  odorous in the solid form;
and thinks that the acid is  increased at the expense  of the oil.   Tromms-
dorff obtained  88  per cent, of resin, 12 of acid, and only 0-2 of volatile
oil.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Balsam of Tolu is a stimulant tonic, with a
peculiar tendency to the pulmonary organs.  It is given with some advantage
in chronic catarrh and  other pectoral complaints, in which a gently stimu-
lating expectorant is demanded;  but should not be prescribed until after the
reduction  of inflammatory action.  Independently of its medical  virtues,
its pleasant  flavour renders it  a popular  ingredient in expectorant  mix-
tures.  Old and obstinate coughs are said to be sometimes greatly relieved
by the inhalation of the vapour proceeding from an ethereal solution of this
balsam.
   From ten to thirty grains may be given at a dose, and frequently repeat-
ed.  The best form of administration is that of emulsion, made by  triturat-
ing the balsam with mucilage of gum Arabic and loaf sugar, and afterwards
with water.
   Off. Prep. Syrupus Tolutanus, Lond.; Tinctura  Benzoini  Composita,
U. S., Lond., Dub.; Tinctura Tolutani, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   W.


       TORMENTILLA.  U.S. Secondary, Lond., Ed.

                             Tormentil.

   " The root of Potentilla Tormentilla."  U. S., Ed.  " Potentilla Tormen-
tilla. Radix."  Lond.
   Off. Syn. TORMENTILLA OFFICINALIS.  Dub.
  Tormcntille, Fr.; Tormentillwurzel, Germ; Tormentilla, Ital; Tormentila, Span.
  Potentilla.  Sex.  Syst.  Icosandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosacea?.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx with a concave tube, a four or  five-cleft limb, and four
or five bractlets. Petals four or five.  Stamens numerous. Carpels  numer-
ous, with  a  lateral  style, on a  procumbent, persistent,  capitate, juiceless
receptacle. Seed appended.  Herbs or undershrubs,  with  compound  leaves,
stipules adnate to  the  petiole, and white, yellow, rarely red  flowers.  (De
Candolle.)
  Potentilla Tormentilla.   Sibthorp. Ft.  Ox. 162; Lindley, Flor. Med. 
PART I.
Tormentilla.— Toxicodendron.
717
 225.— Tormentilla erecta.  Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1112; Woodv. Med. Bot.
 p. 503. t. 181.—T. Officinalis.  Smith, Flor. Brit.  The tormentil, or sept-
 foil, is a small perennial plant, very  common throughout Europe.   The
 stems, which rise about six or eight  inches in height, from a woody root,
 are slender, more or less erect, branching towards the top, and furnished
 with sessile leaves, which  on the stalk usually consist of seven, on the
 branches of five, digitate, elliptical, villous, deeply serrated leaflets, three of
 which are larger than the others.  The flowers are small, yellow, and soli-
 tary upon  axillary  peduncles.  All parts of the plant are  astringent, espe-
 cially  the root, which is the part employed.  It is gathered in spring.
   Properties.  The root of tormentil is cylindrical or roundish, rather larger
 above than  at the lower extremity, an inch or two in  length, about  as thick
 as the finger, knotty, sometimes contorted, brown or blackish  externally,
 and reddish within.  It has a slight aromatic odour, and  a very astringent
 taste.   Tannin is an abundant constituent.   There is also a red colouring
 principle, soluble in alcohol, but insoluble  in water.   Besides  these ingre-
 dients, Meissner found resin,  cerin,  myricin, gummy  extractive,  gum,
 extractive, lignin, water, and a trace of volatile  oil.   The root is said to be
 used for tanning leather in the Orkneys and Western Islands of Scotland,
 and for staining leather red by the Laplanders.   It yields all its  medical
 virtues to boiling water.
   Medical  Properties and Uses. Tormentil is a simple and powerful astrin-
 gent, applicable to all cases of disease in which this class of medicines is in-
 dicated. We seldom, however, employ it in this country, having indigenous
 plants of equal virtue.   It may be given in substance, decoction, or extract.
 The dose of the powder is from  thirty  grains to a drachm.
   Off. Prep. Decoctum Tormentillae,  Lond.;  Pulvis Cretae Compositus,
 Lond.                                                          W.


        TOXICODENDRON. U. S., Secondary, Lond.

                            Poison-oak.

   " The leaves of Rhus Toxicodendron."  U. S.  " Rhus  Toxicodendron.
 Folia."  Lond.
   Off. Syn. RHUS TOXICODENDRON. Folia. Dub.
   Sumac ven&neux. Fr; Gift-Sumach, Germ.; Albero del veleno, Ital,
   Rhus. See RHUS  GLABRUM.
   Admitting, as appears generally to be done at present, that the Rhus Toxi-
 codendron and Rhus radicans of Linnaeus, are mere varieties of the  same
 plant, there  are three indigenous  species of Rhus which possess poisonous
 properties—the one above mentioned, the R. Vernix, commonly known by
 the name of swamp sumach or poison sumach,  and the R. pumilum of the
 Southern States. Though the first only is designated in the Pharmacopoeia,
 we shall briefly describe the three species, as their medical effects are pro-
 bably similar, and their operation upon the system such that the plants should
 be known to every practitioner.
   1. Rhus radicans.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 1481; Bigelow,  Am. Med. Bot.
 iii. 17.—R.  Toxicodendron.  Pursh, Ft. Am. Sept. p. 205.  Though Elliott
and Nuttall consider the  R. radicans and R. Toxicodendron as distinct spe-
cies, the weight of  botanical  authority is on the  other side, and Bigelow
declares that he has  " frequently observed individual  shoots from the  same
stock, having the characters of both varieties."   The difference, however,
in their appearance, is  sufficiently striking  to have led to the  adoption of 
718
Toxicodendron.
PART I.
different common names, the R. radicans being usually called poison vine,
and the R. Toxicodendron, poison oak.   The  former has a climbing stem,
rising to a great height upon trees, rocks, and other objects, to which it ad-
heres by strong rooting fibres, which it throws out from its sides. The leaves,
which  stand upon long footstalks, are ternate, with broad ovate or rhomboi-
dal, acute leaflets, smooth and  shining on  both  sides, sometimes  slightly
hairy on the veins beneath, entire, or irregularly lobed  and toothed.  The
flowers are small, greenish-white, dioecious, and  grow in  lateral, usually
axillary panicles, or compound racemes.  The male  flowers have  five sta-
mens, and the rudiments of a style; the female, which  are of only half the
size and on a different plant, have abortive stamens, and a short erect style,
standing on a roundish germ, and terminating in three  stigmas.  The fruit
consists of roundish,  pale-green or whitish berries.
  The R. Toxicodendron, or poison-oak, has the form  of a shrub from one
to three feet high, with leaflets angularly  indented,  and  pubescent beneath.
But this character of the foliage  is probably not constant;  and the stunted
growth may be owing to peculiarities of situation.  Dr. Bigelow states that
the young plants of the R. radicans do not put forth rooting  fibres until they
are several years old, and that they are influenced in this respect by the con-
tiguity of supporting  objects.
  This species of Rhus grows in woods, fields, and  along fences from Ca-
nada to Georgia.  It flowers in June and  July.  When wounded, it emits a
milky juice, which becomes black on exposure to the air, and leaves upon
linen or other cloth a stain, which cannot  afterwards be removed by washing
with soap and water, or by alcohol either hot or cold,  but deepens by age.
It has been proposed as an indelible ink.   Ether dissolves it.
  The juice applied  to the skin frequently produces inflammation and vesi-
cation; and the same  poisonous property is possessed by a volatile principle
which  escapes from the plant itself, and produces in persons who come into
its vicinity an exceedingly troublesome erysipelatous  affection, particularly
of the face. Itching, redness, a sense of burning, tumefaction, vesication, and
ultimate desquamation, are some of the attendants of this poisonous action.
The swelling of the face is sometimes so great as almost  entirely to obliterate
the features.   The effects are experienced soon after  exposure, and usually
begin to decline within a week.   A light cooling regimen, with saline pur-
gatives, and the local use of cold lead water, are the best remedies.  All per-
sons are not equally liable to the affection, and the great majority are wholly
insusceptible of it from any ordinary exposure.
  2. Rhus Vernix.  Willd. Sp.Plant, i.  1479; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.l
96.  The swamp sumach is a beautiful  shrub or small tree, usually ten or
fifteen  feet high, but  sometimes rising thirty feet.   The bark of the trunk is
dark gray, of the branches lighter, of the  extreme twigs and petioles beauti-
fully red. The leaves are pinnate, with four or five  pairs of opposite leaflets,
and  an odd  terminal  one.   These  are  oblong or oval, entire or  slightly
sinuated, acuminate,  smooth, and except  the one at the  end, nearly sessile.
The flowers, as in the preceding species, are dioecious. They are very small,
greenish, and arranged in  loose  axillary  panicles.  The berries are small,
roundish, and greenish-white.
  The tree grows in swamps and low grounds, from Canada to Carolina,
and flowers in June  and July.   It is thought to be  identical with  a species
of Rhus which grows in Japan, and furnishes a fine black  varnish, much
used in  that country. Dr. Bigelow found  that the  opaque whitish juice
which exudes from  our native plant when wounded, and  which  becomes
permanently black on exposure, may be  made to afford a brilliant, glossy,
durable varnish, by boiling it sufficiently before applying it. 
parti.           Toxicodendron.— Tragacantha.              719

  The Rhus Vernix produces much more powerfully than the R. radicans,
the poisonous effects already described.   Persons coming within  its in-
fluence are much more apt to be  affected  with  the poison, and generally
suffer more severely.  The whole body is  sometimes enormously swollen,
and the patient for many days scarcely able to move;  but the  complaint
almost always spontaneously subsides without destroying life.   As  in  the
former instance, the susceptibility  to the influence of the poison is exceed-
ingly various, and some persons  may handle  the plant with perfect  im-
punity.
  3. Rhus pumilum. Michaux, Flor. Americ. i.  182.  This is a southern
species, growing in  upper Carolina, and  not more than a  foot  in height.
It is characterized by its pubescent branches and petioles; its pinnate leaves,
with many pairs of oval, nearly acuminate, incised dentate  leaflets, downy
beneath; and by its silky fruit.  According to Pursh it is the  most poisonous
of the genus.
   It is probable that  all parts of the Rhus radicans (R. Toxicodendron) are
possessed of active properties; but the leaves only  are directed in the Phar-
macopoeia, under the title of Toxicodendron.  These are inodorous, have a
mawkish acrid taste, and yield their virtues to water.   The presence of
tannin and gallic acid has been detected in them; but  they have not been
accurately analyzed.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  These leaves appear to be stimulant and
narcotic, producing when  swallowed more or less irritation of the stomach
and bowels, and promoting the secretory function  of the skin and kidneys.
Orfila found them to act in the manner of the acrid poisons, and to produce
a stupifying effect upon the nervous system.  They were successfully  used
by Du Fresnoy, in France, in the  cure of obstinate cutaneous diseases.   Dr.
Anderson of Hull in England, effected cures with the  medicine in several
cases of palsy.  A sense of heat  and pricking,  with irregular  twitchings,
were excited by it in  the affected parts.  Dr. Horsfield, and other physicians
of this country, have used  it in consumption and dropsy, but not with any
very encouraging success.
   The dose of the leaves recommended by Dr. Anderson, was  half a grain
or a grain three times a day; but this is much too small.  Dr. Duncan  gave
it in larger doses, with little other  than  a laxative effect.   Dr. Horsfield
administered a teacupful of the strong infusion  without  disadvantage.   In
France the extract is recommended in doses of fifteen or twenty grains, re-
peated two or three times a day, and gradually  increased to one or  two
drachms.  Some of Du Fresnoy's patients took an ounce without effect
The probability is, that the active principle is volatile, and that the extract
is less efficient than the leaves themselves.  The risk of experiencing the
poisonous effects  of the plant upon the system, will probably prevent its
extensive employment as a remedy, unless it should prove much more useful
than the trials hitherto made give us reason to expect.              W.


            TRAGACANTHA. U. S., Lond., Ed.

                            Tragacanth.

   "The  concrete  juice of Astragalus verus."  U.S.   "Astragalus verus.
 Succus concretus."  Lond.  "Gummy exudation from Astragalus gummi-
fer and probably A.  verus, and other species." Ed.
   Off. Syn.  TRAGACANTHA  GUMMI.  ASTRAGALUS CRETI-
CUS. Gummi. Dub.
   Gomme Adraganthe, Fr.; Tragant, Germ.; Dragantc, Ital; Gomo  tragacanto, Span. 
720
Tragacantha.
PART I.
   Astragalus.   Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria.—Nat. Ord.  Fabaceae
 or Leguminosae.
   Gen. Ch.   Legume  two-celled, more  or less gibbous, with the lower
 suture turned inwards.  Carina blunt.  Loudon's Encyc. of Plants.
   Numerous species belonging to this genus yield a gummy matter having
 the properties of tragacanth.  The drug known in commerce by that name
 was at first  erroneously supposed to be obtained  from the A. Tragacan-
 tha  of Linnaeus (A. massiliensis of Lamarck), which grows in the South
 of Europe and  North of Africa, and is now said to yield no gum.   It was
 afterwards ascribed, on  the authority of Tournefort, to a species (A. Creti-
 cus of Lamarck) which grows in Crete and Ionia;  and on that of Olivier to
 the A. verus, which inhabits Asia Minor,  Armenia, and  Northern Persia.
 Labillardiere described a species by the name of A. gummifer,  which he
 found  growing  on Mount Libanus in Syria, and from which  tragacanth
 exudes, though  not that of commerce.  Sieber denies that any one of these
 species yields the  officinal tragacanth, which he ascribes to the A. aristatus
 growing in Anatolia, especially upon  Mount  Ida, where the gum is most
 abundantly collected.   This plant,  however,  is not  the A.  aristatus of
 Villars,  which, according  to Sibthorp, furnishes tragacanth  in  Greece.
 (Merat and De  Lens.)   Professor Lindley has lately received two speci-
 mens of plants,  said to be those which furnish tragacanth in Turkistan, one
 of which proves to be the A. gummifer of Labillardiere, which was said to
 yield a white variety, and the other a  new species which he calls A. stro-
 biliferus, and which was said to yield a  red and inferior  product.   The
 fact seems to be, that the commercial drug is collected from various sources;
 and it is affirmed that all the species of Astragalus with thorny petioles are
 capable of producing it.   These  form a natural group, and so closely re-
 semble each other, that  botanists have found some difficulty in distinguish-
 ing them.  As  the A.  verus  is  designated in  the  Pharmacopoeia of  the
 United States, and that of the London College, we shall briefly describe it.
   Astragalus verus. Olivier, Voy. dans VEmpire Ottoman, v. 342. pi. 44.
 This is a small shrub, not more than two or three feet high, with a stem an
 inch in thickness, and numerous very closely crowded branches,  covered
 with imbricated  scales, and spines which are the remains of former petioles.
 The leaves, which are little  more than half an inch long, consist of several
 pairs of opposite, villous, stiff, pointed leaflets, with a midrib terminating in
 a sharp yellowish  point.  The flowers are papilionaceous,  small,  yellow,
 axillary, aggregate,  and  furnished  with   cottony bractes.  This species
 yields the gum  collected in Persia, and thence transmitted southward to
 India through Bagdad and Bassora, northward to Russia, and westward to
 Aleppo.
   Tragacanth exudes spontaneously during the summer from the stems and
branches,  hardening as it exudes, and assuming various forms according to
the greater or less  abundance of the juice.
  Properties.  It  is in tortuous, vermicular filaments, rounded or flattened,
rolled up or extended, of a  whitish or yellowish-white colour, somewhat
translucent, resembling horn in appearance.  Sometimes the pieces are irre-
gularly oblong or roundish, and of a slightly reddish colour.  It is hard and
more or less fragile, but  difficult of pulverization, unless exposed to a freez-
ing temperature, or  thoroughly dried, and powdered in a heated  mortar.
The  powder is very fine and white.   Tragacanth has  no smell, and very
little taste.  Its sp. gr. is 1-384.   Introduced into water it absorbs a certain
proportion of that liquid, swells very much, and forms a soft adhesive paste,
but does not dissolve.  If agitated with an additional quantity of water, this 
PART I.
Tragacantha.— Triosteum.
721
paste forms a uniform mixture;  but in the course of one or  two days the
greater part separates, and is deposited, leaving a portion dissolved in the
supernatant fluid.   Tragacanth is  wholly insoluble in alcohol.   It appears
to be composed of two different  constituents, one soluble in  water and re-
sembling  gum Arabic, the other  capable of swelling in  water, but not dis-
solving.   The former is said to differ from gum Arabic in affording no pre-
cipitate with silicate of potassa or sesquichloride of iron. (Pereira's Mat.
Med.)  The  latter, which, according to Bucholz,  constitutes 43 per cent.
of tragacanth, is ranked by some among the peculiar proximate principles
with the title of tragacantltin.   It is  probably identical with  bassorin.   It
has the property of becoming blue with iodine, which is not  the case with
bassorin; but this property is ascribed to the presence of a small quantity  of
insoluble starch.   According to M. Guerin,  100 parts of tragacanth contain
53-3 parts of arabin or pure gum, 33-1 of bassorin and insoluble starch, and
11-1 of water, and yield when burned 2-5 parts of ashes.  To separate the
soluble entirely from the insoluble part,  requires  agitation  with  separate
portions of water, which are to be decanted and filtered;  and  the process  is
to be continued till water  ceases  to dissolve any  thing. Berzelius considers
tragacanth as  a variety of mucilage. (See Linum.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Tragacanth is demulcent, but on account
of its difficult solubility, is not often given internally.  The great viscidity
which it imparts  to water, renders it useful for  the suspension of heavy in-
soluble powders; and it is also employed in pharmacy to impart consistence
to troches, for which it answers  better than gum Arabic."
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Opii, U. S., Lond., Dub.; Mucilago  Tragacanthae,,
Ed., Dub.; Pulvis Tragacanthae Compositus, Lond.               W.


                TRIOSTEUM.   U.S. Secondary.

                             Fever-root.

   " The root of Triosteum perfoliatum."  U. S.
   Triosteum.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Caprifo-
liaceae.
   Gen. Ch.   Calyx five-cleft, persistent,  nearly the length of the corolla;
segments linear, acute.  Corolla tubular, five-lobed, sub-equal, base, nectari-
ferous, gibbous. Stigma somewhat five-lobed, capitate. Berry three-celled,
three-seeded,  crowned with the calyx. Nuttall.
   Triosteum perfoliatum.  Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 990; Bigelow, Am. Med.
Bot. i. 90; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 59.   This plant is indigenous and peren-
nial.   Several stems  usually rise from the  same root.   They are simple,
erect, round, hairy, fistulous, herbaceous,  and from one to four  feet high.
The leaves are  opposite, large, mostly connate, oval,  acuminate, entire,
abruptly narrowed at the base, and pubescent on their under surface.   The
flowers are of a dull  puiple  colour, axillary, sessile, rarely solitary, some-
times in pairs, generally in triplets or five  together in the form of whorls.
The germ  is inferior, and  the style projects beyond the corolla, into  the tube
of which the stamens are inserted.  The berry is oval and of a deep orange
colour, and contains three hard, bony  seeds.
  The fever-wort, fever-root,  or wild ipecac,  as  this plant is variously
called, though not very abundant, is found in most parts of the United States,
preferring a limestone soil and shady situations.  Its flowers appear in June.
The  whole  plant has a bitter taste; but the root is most active,  and is the
only officinal part.
       62 
722             Triosteum.— Triticum Hybernum.         part i.

  It is horizontal, long, about three quarters of an inch in diameter, thicker
and tuberculated  near the origin of the stem, of a yellowish or brownish
colour externally, whitish within, and furnished with fibres which may be
considered as branches of the main root.  When dry it is brittle and easily
pulverized.  It has a sickening  odour and a bitter nauseous taste.  Both
water  and alcohol take up its active properties, which are retained in the
extract.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Fever-root is cathartic,  and in large doses
emetic.  The  late Professor  Barton  observed it also to  produce a diuretic
effect.  The bark of the root is the part which has been usually employed.
In the quantity of twenty or thirty grains it ordinarily acts upon  the bowels;
and may be  given alone or in combination with calomel at  the  commence-
ment of fevers.  The extract may be given  in half the dose.        W.


    TRITICUM HYBERNUM.  Seminum farina.  Dub.

                           Wheat Flour.

  Off. Syn. FARINA. Triticum hybernum.  Seminum Farina. Lond.;
FARINA. Flour of the seeds of Triticum vulgare.  Ed.
  Farine de fromcnt, Fr., Waizenmehl, Germ.; Farina di frumento, Ital; Flor del trigo,
Acemite. Span.
  Triticum.  Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Graminaceae.
  Gen. Ch.   Calyx  two-valved, solitary, transverse, many-flowered, on a
flexuose, toothed receptacle.  Rees's Cyclopaedia.
  Triticum hybernum. Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 477.—T. vulgare,  var. 0.
hybernum.  Kunth,  Gramin., 438.  The common winter  wheat has a
fibrous root, and one or more erect,  round, smooth, jointed  stems, which
rise from three to five feet in height, and are furnished with linear, pointed,
entire, flat,  many-ribbed, rough, somewhat  glaucous leaves,  and jagged
bearded stipules.   The flowers are in a solitarv, terminal, dense, smooth
spike,  two or three inches long.  The calyx is four-flowered, tumid, even,
imbricated, abrupt, with a short compressed  point.   In the upper part of the
spike it is more elongated; and in this situation the corolla is more or less
awned.  The grain is imbricated in four rows.
  The native country of wheat is unknown;  but its cultivation is supposed
to have spread from Sicily over Europe.  It is now an object of culture in
almost all countries which enjoy a temperate climate.  Sown in the autumn,
it stands the  winter, and ripens its seeds in the following summer.  Numerous
varieties  have been produced by cultivation, some of which are usually de-
scribed as distinct species.   Among  these may perhaps  be ranked  the T.
aestivum, or spring wheat, distinguished by its long beards, and the T. com-
positum, or Egyptian wheat, by its compound  spikes.  It is asserted that
the latter changes, in Great Britain, into the common single-spiked wheat.
(Loudon's Encyc.)  The seeds  are  too well known to need  description.
They are prepared for use by grinding and  sifting, by  which the interior
farinaceous part is separated from the husk.  The former is divided accord-
ing to its fineness into different portions, but so far as regards its medical
relations may be considered under one head, that of farina ox flour.  The
latter is called bran,  and  constitutes  from 25 to 33 per  cent, according to
the variety of  wheat.
   Flour is  white, inodorous, and nearly insipid. Its chief constituents are
starch, gluten, albumen, saccharine matter,  and gum, the proportions of
which are by no means constant.   Vauquelin obtained, as  an average pro- 
PART I.
Triticum Hybernum.
723
duct, from eight varieties of flour which he examined, 10*25 per cent, of
water, 10-80 of gluten (including coagulated  albumen), 68-08 of starch, 5-61
of sugar, and 4-11 of gum.  The ashes of wheat, which amount only to
about 0-15 percent., contain, according to Henry, superphosphates of soda,
lime, and magnesia.  The gummy substance found in wheat flour  is not
precisely identical with  ordinary gum; as it contains nitrogen, and does not
yield mucic acid by the action of nitric  acid.  The starch, which is  by far
the most abundant ingredient, is much employed in a separate state.  (See
Amylum.)  The gluten, however, is not less important; as it  is to the large
proportion of this principle which wheat flour contains, that it owes  its su-
periority over that of other grains for the preparation of bread. The gluten
here alluded to is the substance first noticed as a distinct principle by Bec-
caria.   It is the soft viscid fibrous mass which remains, when wheat flour,
enclosed in a linen bag,  is exposed to the action of a stream of water,  and at
the same time pressed with the fingers till the liquor comes away colourless.
But this has been  ascertained to consist, in fact, of two different substances.
An Italian chemist, of the name of Taddei, found that by boiling it in alcohol
a portion was dissolved, while another portion remained unaffected.  Con-
sidering these as distinct  principles, he gave the name of gliadine to the
soluble, and zymome to the insoluble portion. But he had been anticipated
in his experiments by the  German chemist  Einhof, who appears to have
established the fact, that the part of the glutinous mass left behind  by alcohol
is identical with vegetable albumen, while  the dissolved portion only is
strictly entitled  to the  appellation of gluten, which  had been previously
conferred on  the whole mass.   As these two principles  are contained in
numerous vegetable products, and as they are frequently referred to in this
work, it is proper that  they should be briefly noticed.   They both contain
nitrogen, and  both, when left to themselves in a  moist state, undergo  putre-
faction.   From  these circumstances, and from  their  close resemblance to
certain proximate animal principles in chemical habitudes and relations, they
are sometimes called,  in works on chemistry, vegeto-animal substances.
They  are separated from  each  other, as they exist in the  mass  originally
denominated gluten, by boiling this mass with successive portions of alcohol,
till the liquid, filtered while yet hot,  ceases  to become turbid on cooling.
The gluten dissolves, and may be obtained by adding water to the solution,
and distilling  off the alcohol.  Large cohering  flakes float in the liquor,
which, when  removed, form a viscid elastic mass, consisting of the sub-
stance in question with  some slight impurity. The part left behind by the
alcohol is the albumen in a coagulated state.
   Pure gluten, sometimes called vegetable fibrin, is a pale yellow, adhesive,
elastic substance, which by drying becomes of a deeper yellow colour and
translucent.  It is almost insoluble in water, and quite insoluble in ether and
in the oils both fixed and volatile.  Hot alcohol dissolves it much more readily
than cold; and from its solution in ordinary alcohol at the boiling temperature,
it is precipitated unchanged when the liquor cools. It is soluble in the dilute
acids, and in caustic alkaline solutions,  in consequence of forming soluble
compounds with the acids and alkalies.  With the earths and metallic oxides
it forms nearly insoluble compounds, which are precipitated when the earthy
or metallic salts are added to the solution of gluten in liquid potassa.  Corro-
sive sublimate precipitates it from its acid as well as alkaline  solutions, and
added  in solution to moist gluten, forms with it a compound, which, when
dry, is hard, opaque, and incorruptible.  Gluten  is also precipitated by infu-
sion of galls.   It bears a close resemblance to animal fibrin.  Its name ori-
ginated in its adhesive property.  Gluten exists in most of the farinaceous
grains, and in  the seeds  of some leguminous plants. 
724
Triticum Hybernum.
PART I.
   Vegetable albumen is destitute of adhesiveness, and when dried, is opaque,
and of a white, gray, or brown colour.  Before coagulation, it is soluble in
water, but insoluble in alcohol.   By heat it coagulates and becomes insolu-
ble in water.  It is dissolved by the solutions of the caustic alkalies.  Most
of the acids, if added to its solutions in excess, precipitate compounds of the
acids respectively with  the albumen,  which, though soluble in pure water,
are insoluble in that liquid when acidulated.  It is not, however, precipitated
by an excess of the phosphoric or acetic acid.  Its relations with the earthy
and metallic salts are similar to those of gluten.   Corrosive sublimate pre-
cipitates it from its solutions, except from those in phosphoric and acetic
acids, and when added in  a state of solution to moist albumen, forms with it
a hard, opaque compound. It is also precipitated by infusion of galls.  This
principle derived its name from its very close resemblance to animal albumen.
It is associated with gluten in most of the farinaceous grains, is a constituent
of all the  seeds which form a milky emulsion with water, and exists in all
the vegetable juices which coagulate by heat.
  The mixture of gluten and albumen which constitutes the gluten of Bec-
caria, exercises an important influence over starch, which, with the presence
of water and the aid of a moderate heat, it converts partly into gum and partly
into sugar. The production of saccharine matter in the germination of seeds,
and in the formation of malt, which is  an example of germination, is thus
accounted for.  The gluten itself becomes  aeid in the process, and loses the
property of reacting on  starch.
  It is now  thought by many chemists that vegetable albumen  is identical
in all respects with  animal albumen, and the  gluten of vegetables with
animal fibrin; and that both these principles,  as  well as another named
casein, found  also both  in the animal  and vegetable kingdoms, consist of a
principle named protein, combined with a  very small  proportion of mineral
substances, such as sulphur, phosphorus, &c.  Protein consists of carbon,
hydrogen, nitrogen, and  oxygen; and  its formula, according to Liebig, is
C4SH36NB014.   It is procured by dissolving any one of the substances above
named in a  strong solution of potassa, heating for some time to 120°, and
precipitating with acetic acid. (Turner's Chemistry, 7th Lond. Ed.)
  It is scarcely necessary to state, that bread is formed by making flour into
a paste with water, with the addition of yeast, setting it aside to ferment, and
then exposing it to the heat of an oven. The fermentation excited by the yeast
is accompanied with the extrication of  carbonic acid  gas, which, being re-
tained by the tenacity of the gluten, forms innumerable little cells through the
mass, and thus renders the bread light.  It is important to recollect thatcom-
mon salt is always added;  as this ingredient is incompatible with some of the
substances which are occasionally directed to be made into  pills with the
crumb of bread.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Wheat flour in its unaltered state is seldom
used in medicine.   It is sometimes sprinkled on the skin in erysipelatous
inflammation, and  various itching or burning eruptions, particularly the
nettle-rash; though rye flour is generally preferred for this purpose.
  In the state of bread it is much  more employed.  An infusion of toasted
bread in water is  a pleasant, somewhat nutritive drink, very well adapted to
febrile  complaints.   Within our experience, no drink has been found more
grateful in such  cases than this infusion,  sweetened with a little molasses,
and flavoured by lemon-juice.   Boiled with milk, bread constitutes the com-
mon suppurative poultice, which  may be  improved by the  addition of a
small proportion of perfectly fresh lard.  Slices of it steeped in lead-water,
or the  crumb mixed with the  fluid and confined within a pieee of gauze, 
part i.          Triticum Hybernum.— Tussilago.             725

afford a convenient mode  of applying this  preparation to local inflamma-
tions.   The  crumb—mica panis—is, moreover,  frequently used to give
bulk to  minute doses of very active medicines administered in  the form of
pill.  It should be recollected, however, that it contains common salt, which
is incompatible with certain substances, as, for example, the nitrate of silver.
   Bran is sometimes used  in decoction, as a demulcent in catarrhal affections
and complaints of the bowels.   It has,  when  taken in substance, laxative
properties, and is used by some persons habitually and with great advantage
to prevent  costiveness.  Bran bread, made  from the unsifted flour,  forms
an excellent laxative article of diet in some dyspeptic cases.   The action
of the bran is probably altogether mechanical, consisting in the irritation
produced  upon the mucous membrane of the stomach and bowels  by its
coarse particles.
   Off. Prep.  Cataplasma Fermenti, Lond., Dub.                 W.


                      TUSSILAGO. Lond.

                              Coltsfoot.

   " Tussilago Farfara." Lond.
   Off. Syn.  TUSSILAGO FARFARA. Folia. Flores.  Dub.
   Tussilage, Pas d'&ne, Fr.; Gemeiner Huflattig,  Germ.;  Tossilagine, Ital.; Tusilago,
Span.
   Tussilago. Sex. Syst.  Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord.  Compositae-
Eupatoriaceae, De Candolle; Asteraceae,  Lindley.
   Gen. Ch. Receptacle  naked.   Pappus simple.   Calyx scales equal, as
long as  the disk, submembranaceous.   Florets of the ray ligulate or tooth-
less. Willd.
   Tussilago Farfara.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1967; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
45. t. 18.   Coltsfoot is a perennial herb, with a creeping root, which early
in the spring sends up several leafless, erect, simple, unifloral scapes  or
flower-stems, five or six inches  high,>nd furnished with appressed  scale-
like bractes of a brownish-pink colour.  The flower, which stands singly at
the end  of the scape, is large, yellow, compound, with hermaphrodite florets
in the disk, and female florets in the ray.  The latter are numerous, linear,
and twice the length of the former.  The leaves do not make their appear-
ance until after the flowers have blown.  They are radical, petiolate,  large,
cordate, angular and toothed at the margin, bright  green upon their upper
surface, white and downy  beneath.
   The plant  grows spontaneously both in Europe and North America.  In
this country it is found upon the banks of streams in the Middle and North-
ern States,  and flowers in April.   The whole of it is directed by the London
College, the leaves and flowers  only by that of Dublin.  The leaves  are
most frequently employed. They should be gathered after their full expan-
sion, but before  they have attained  their greatest magnitude.  (London
Dispensatory.)
   The flowers have an agreeable odour, which they retain after desiccation.
The dried root and leaves  are inodorous, but have a rough bitterish mucila-
ginous taste.   Boiling water extracts  all  their virtues.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Coltsfoot exercises little sensible influence
upon the human system. It is, however, demulcent, and is sometimes used
in chronic coughs, consumption, and other  affections  of the lungs.  The
expectorant properties which it was formerly thought to possess are not ob-
                                62* 
726
Tussilago.— Ulmus.
PART I.
vious.   The leaves were smoked by the ancients in pulmonary complaints;
and in some parts of Germany they are at the present time said  to be sub-
stituted for tobacco.  Cullen states  that he found the expressed juice of the
fresh leaves, taken  to the extent of some ounces every day,  beneficial in
several cases of scrofulous sores; and a decoction of the dried leaves, as re-
commended by Fuller, answered a similar purpose, though it often failed to
effect a cure.
  The usual form of administration is that of decoction.   An ounce or two
of the plant may be boiled in two pints of water to  a pint, of which a tea-
cupful may be given several times a day.                           W.

                         ULMUS. Lond.

                             Elm Bark.

  " Ulmus campestris.   Cortex."  Lond.
  Off. Syn. ULMUS CAMPESTRIS.  Cortex interior. Dub.
  Ecorce d'orme, Fr.; Ulmenrinde, Germ.; Scorza del olmo, llal; Corteza de olmo,
Span.
  Ulmus.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria  Digynia.—Nat. Ord.  Ulmaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft.  Corolla none.  Capsule (samara) compressed,
membranaceous. Willd.
  Ulmus campestris. Willd. Sp. Plant, i.  1324; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
710. t. 242. This species of elm is characterized by its doubly serrate leaves,
unequal at their base, by its  nearly sessile, clustered, pentandrous flowers,
and its smooth fruit.  It is a large tree, with strong spreading branches, and
a rough,  cracked bark.  It is  a native of Europe, where the wood is highly
esteemed for certain purposes in the arts.
  The inner bark of its young branches,  which is the officinal  portion, is
thin, tough, of a brownish-yellow colour,  inodorous,  and  of a mucilaginous,
bitterish, and very slightly astringent taste.  It imparts to water its taste and
mucilaginous properties.   The tincture of iodine indicates the presence of
starch, and Davy found somewhat more than two per cent, of tannin. A pecu-
liar vegetable principle called ulmin or ulmic  acid, now believed to  be a
constituent of  most barks, was first  discovered in the matter-which sponta-
neously exudes from the bark of the  European elm.   It is a dark-brown
almost black  substance, without  smell  or taste, insoluble in cold water,
sparingly soluble in boiling water which it colours yellowish-brown,  soluble
in alcohol, and readily dissolved by alkaline  solutions.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  The bark  of the European elm is  demul-
cent, and very feebly  tonic and astringent, and is said also to be diuretic. It
has been recommended in cutaneous affections of the leprous and herpetic
character; but is not at present very highly esteemed.  It is usually given
in the form of decoction, and must be long  continued  to produce beneficial
results.
   Off. Prep. Decoctum Ulmi, Lond., Dub.                       W.

                          ULMUS.  U.S.

                        Slippery Elm Bark.

   " The inner bark of Ulmus fulva."  U. S.
   Ulmus. See ULMUS. Lond.
   Ulmus fulva. Michaux, Flor. Americ. i. 172.—Ulmus rubra.   F. An-
 drew Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii.  89.   The slippery elm, called also red 
PART I.
Ulmus.
727
elm, is a lofty tree, rising fifty or sixty feet in height, with a stem fifteen or
twenty inches in diameter.   The  bark  of the trunk is  brown, that of the
branches rough  and whitish.   The leaves  are oblong ovate, acuminate,
nearly equal at the base, unequally serrate, pubescent  and very rouob  on
both sides, four or five inches  in length by two  or three in  breadth, and
supported on short footstalks.  The buds, a  fortnight before their develop-
ment, are covered with a dense russet down.   The flowers which appear
before the leaves, are sessile, and  in clusters  at the extremity of the young
shoots.   The bunches of flowers are surrounded by scales, which are downy
like the buds. The calyx also is downy.  There is no corolla.  The stamens
are five in number, short, and of a pale rose  colour.  The fruit is a mem-
branaceous capsule or samara, enclosing in the middle  one  round seed,
destitute of fringe.
   This species of elm  is indigenous, growing in all parts of the United
States north of Carolina, but most abundantly west of the  Alleghany moun-
tains.   It flourishes in open, elevated situations, and requires a firm, dry
soil.  From the white elm,  U. Americana, it is distinguished by its rough
branches, its larger, thicker, and  rougher leaves,  its downy buds, and the
character of its flowers and seeds.   Its period of flowering is in April.  The
inner bark is the part used in medicine, and is brought to  the shops separated
from the epidermis.
   It is in long, nearly flat pieces, from one to two  lines in thickness, of a
fibrous  texture, a tawny colour which is reddish  on the inner surface, a
peculiar sweetish not unpleasant odour, and a highly mucilaginous  taste
when chewed.  By grinding, it is reduced to a light, grayish-fawn coloured
powder.  It abounds in mucilaginous  matter, which it readily imparts to
water.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  Slippery elm bark is  an excellent demul-
cent, applicable to all cases in which this class of medicines is employed.
It is  especially recommended in dysentery, diarrhoea, and diseases of the
urinary passages.   Like the bark of the common European elm, it has been
employed in leprous and herpetic eruptions; but neither in these, nor in any
other complaints, does  it probably exert any greater powers than such as
belong to the demulcents generally.  Its mucilage is highly nutritious;  and
we are  told that it has proved sufficient for the support of life in the absence
of other food.   The  instance  of a soldier is mentioned, who lived  for ten
days in the woods on this bark and sassafras; and  the  Indians are said to
resort to it for nutriment in extreme emergencies.
   It is usually employed as a drink in the form of infusion. (See Infusum
Ulmi.)   The  powder may be  used, stirred in hot water, with which  it
forms a mucilage, more or  less  thick according to the proportion added.
The  bark also serves as an emollient application,  in cases of external in-
flammation.  For this purpose the powder may be formed into a poultice
with hot water, or the bark itself may be applied, previously  softened  by
boiling.  Dr. McDowell, of Virginia, has recommended the use of slippery
elm bark for the dilatation of fistulas and stricture.  (Med. Examiner, i. 244,
from the West. Jour, of Med. and Phys. Sci.)
   Off. Prep. Infusum' Ulmi, U.S.                               W. 
728
Uva Passa.
PART I.
                       UVA PASSA.  U.S.

                              Raisins.

  " The dried fruit of Vitis vinifera."  U. S.
  Off. Syn. UVA. Vitis vinifera. Baccae exsiccatas demptis acinis. Lond.;
VVM PASS.E. Dried fruit of Vitis vinifera. Ed.;  VITIS  VINIFERA.
Fructus siccatus. Dub.
  Raisins sees, Fr.; Rosinen, Germ.;  Uve passe, Ital: Pasas, Span.
  Vitis.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Vitaceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Petals cohering at the apex, withering.   Berry five-seeded,
superior.  Willd.
   Vitis vinifera. Willd. Sp. Plant, i.  1180; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 144. t.
57.  The vine is too well known  to require description.   This particular
species is distinguished by the character of its leaf, which is lobed, sinuated,
and naked or downy.  The leaves and tendrils are somewhat astringent, and
were formerly used in diarrhoea, hemorrhages, and other morbid discharges.
The juice which flows from  the stem  was also thought to be possessed of
medicinal virtues, and the prejudice still lingers  among the vulgar in some
countries.  The  unripe fruit has a harsh sour taste, and yields  by expression
a very acid liquor, called verjuice, which was much esteemed by the an-
cients as a refreshing drink, when diluted with water.   It contains malic and
tartaric acids, and another called by some chemists racemic  acid, by Ber-
zelius paratartaric acid, from its  resemblance to the tartaric, with which
it agrees in composition, though differing from it in properties.  The grape,
when quite ripe, is among the most pleasant and grateful fruits brought upon
the table,  and is admirably adapted, by its refreshing properties, to febrile
complaints.  If largely taken, it proves diuretic and  gently laxative.   The
ripe fruit differs  from the unripe in  containing more sugar and less acid,
though never entirely destitute of  the latter.
  The  plant is supposed to have been derived originally from Asia;  but it
has been cultivated in Europe and  Northern Africa from the  remotest anti-
quity, and is now spread over  all the temperate civilized regions of the
globe.  The fruit is exceedingly  influenced by soil  and  climate, and the
varieties which  have resulted from culture  or situation are innumerable.
Those which yield the raisins of commerce are confined to the basin of the
Mediterranean.
  Raisins are prepared either by partially cutting the stalks of the bunches
before the grapes are  perfectly ripe, and allowing them to  dry  upon the
vine;  or by picking them in  their mature state, and steeping them for a
short time previously to desiccation in an alkaline ley.  Those cured by the
first method are  most highly esteemed.
  Several varieties of raisins are known in commerce.  The best of those
brought to this country are the Malaga raisins, imported from Spain.  They
are large and fleshy, of a purplish-brown colour, and  sweet agreeable taste.
Those  produced in Calabria are  similar.   The Smyrna  raisins are also
large,  but of  a  yellowish-brown  colour, slightly musky odour, and less
agreeable  flavour.  They are originally brought from the coast  of Syria.
The Corinthian raisins, or currants as they are commonly  called in this
country, are small, bluish-black, of a fatty appearance, with a vinous odour,
and a sweet slighly tartish taste.  Their  name was  derived  from the city
in the vicinity of which they were formerly cultivated;  at present they are 
PART I.
Uva Passa.— Uva Ursi.
729
procured chiefly from Zante, Cephalonia, and the other Ionian Islands.  In
the older Pharmacopoeias they are distingushed  by the title of uva? passae
minores.
  Raisins contain a larger proportion of sugar  than recent grapes.   This
principle, indeed, is often so abundant that it effloresces on the surface, or
concretes  in separate masses within the substance of the raisin.  The sugar
of grapes differs slightly from that  of the cane, and is said to be identical
with that  produced by  the action of sulphuric acid upon  starch.  It is less
sweet than common  sugar, less soluble in cold water,  much less soluble in
alcohol, and forms a syrup of less consistence.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  The  chief medical  use of raisins  is to
flavour demulcent beverages.   Taken in substance they are gently laxative;
but are also flatulent and difficult of digestion, and when largely eaten some-
times produce unpleasant effects, especially in children.
   Off. Prep. Decoctum  Althaeae, Dub., Ed.;  Decoctum  Guaiaci,  Ed.;
Decoctum Hordei Compositum, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Cardamomi
Composita, Lond., Ed.; Tinctura Quassiae Comp., Ed.; Tinctura Rhei et
Sennae,  U. S.;  Tinctura Sennae Comp.,  Lond., Ed.               W.


             UVA URSI. U.S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.

                             Uva Ursi.

  " The leaves of Arbutus Uva Ursi."  U. S.   "Arctostaphylos Uva  ursi.
Folia."  Lond.   "Leaves  of Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi." Ed.  "Arbutus
Uva Ursi. Folia." Dub.
  Busserole, Raisin d'ours, Fr.; Barentraube,  Germ.;  Corbezzolo, Uva Ursina, Ital;
Gayuba, Span.
  Arbutus. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Ericaceae.
   Gen.  Ch. Calyx  five-parted.  Corolla ovate, with a mouth, pellucid at
the base.  Berry five-celled.  Willd.
  Arbutus Uva Ursi.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, ii. 618; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
i. 66.—Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi. Sprengel, Syst. ii. 287.—The uva  ursi,
or bearberry, is  a low evergreen shrub, with  trailing  stems, the young
branches  of which rise obliquely upwards for a few inches.   The leaves
are scattered, upon short petioles, obovate, acute at the base, entire, with a
rounded  margin, thick, coriaceous,  smooth, shining, and of a deep green
colour on their upper  surface, paler and covered  with a network of veins
beneath.  The flowers, which stand on short reflexed peduncles, are col-
lected in small  clusters at the ends  of the branches.   The calyx is small,
five-parted, of a reddish  colour, and persistent.  The corolla is ovate or
urceolate, reddish-white, or white with  a red lip, transparent at the  base,
contracted at the mouth, and divided at the margin into five short reflexed
segments.   The stamens are ten, with  short filaments and  bifid  anthers;
the germ round, with a style longer  than  the stamens, and a simple stigma.
The fruit  is a small, round, depressed, smooth, glossy, red berry, containing
an insipid mealy pulp,  and five cohering seeds.
  This humble but hardy shrub  inhabits the northern  latitudes of Europe,
Asia,  and America.  It is also found in  the lofty mountains of Southern
Europe, such as the Pyrennees and  the Alps; and, on  the American conti-
nent, extends from Hudson's Bay as far  southward as New Jersey, in some
parts of which it grows in great  abundance.  It prefers a barren soil, flou-
rishing on gravelly hills, and elevated sandy plains.  The leaves are the only 
730
Uva Ursi.— Valeriana.
PART I.
part used in medicine.  They are imported from Europe;  but are also col-
lected within our  own limits; and the market of Philadelphia is supplied
to a considerable extent from New Jersey.  They should be  gathered  in
autumn, and the green leaves only selected.
 _ In Europe the uva ursi is  often adulterated with the leaves of the Vac-
cimum Vitis Idaea, which are wholly destitute  of its peculiar properties,
and may be distinguished by their rounder shape, their revolute edges which
are sometimes slightly toothed, and the appearance of their under surface,
which is dotted, instead of being reticulated as in the genuine leaves.  Leaves
of the Chimaphila umbellata may sometimes be found among the uva ursi
as it exists in our markets.   They may be readily detected by their greater
length, their cuneiform lanceolate shape, and their serrate edges.
   The leaves of the uva ursi are inodorous when fresh, but acquire a smell
not unlike that of hay when  dried and powdered.   Their taste is bitterish,
strongly astringent, and ultimately sweetish.   They  afford a light  brown,
greenish-yellow  powder.   Water extracts their active  principles,  which
are also  soluble  in officinal alcohol.   Among their ingredients  are  tannin,
bitter extractive, resin, gum,  and  gallic acid;  and the tannin is so abundant
that they are used for tanning in some parts of Russia.   Neither this prin-
ciple nor gallic acid exists in the leaves of the Vaccinium Vitis Idaea.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Uva  ursi is  astringent and tonic, and is
thought by some to have a specific direction  to  the urinary organs, for the
complaints of which it is chiefly used.   Others  deny that it possesses any
peculiar tendency of this kind, and ascribe all its effects to its  astringent and
tonic action.   It alters the colour of the  urine, and its astringent principle
has been detected  in that secretion.   It probably, therefore, exerts a direct
influence on the kidneys and urinary passages.  Though  known  to the
ancients, it had passed into almost entire  neglect, till its use was revived by
De Haen about the middle  of the last century.   It has acquired some repu-
tation as an antilithic,  and  has  undoubtedly been serviceable in  gravel,
partly, perhaps,  by a direct action on  the kidneys, partly by  giving  tone to
the digestive organs, and preventing the  accumulation of principles  calcu-
lated to produce a secretion or precipitation of calculous matter. In chronic
nephritis it is also a popular remedy, and  is particularly recommended when
there is reason to conjecture the existence of ulceration in the  kidneys, blad-
der, or urinary passages.  Diabetes, catarrh of the bladder, incontinence of
urine, gleet, leucorrhoea, and menorrhagia, are also among the diseases  in
which it has occasionally proved  serviceable; and testimony is not wanting
to its beneficial effects in phthisis pulmonalis.  The dose of  the powder is
from a scruple to a  drachm,  to be repeated three or four times a day; but
the form of decoction is usually preferred. (See Decoctum Uvae  Ursi.)
   Off. Prep. Decoctum  Uvae  Ursi, U. S., Lond.; Extractum  Uvae Ursi,
Lond.                                                           W.


                VALERIANA.   U. S.,  Lond., Ed.

                              Valerian.

   "The root of Valeriana officinalis." U. S., Ed.  " Valeriana Officinalis.
(Sylvestris.) Radix." Lond.
   Off. Syn. VALERIANA  OFFICINALIS. Radix. Dub.
   Valeriane, Fr.; Wilde Baldrianwurzel, Germ.; Valeriana silvestre, Ital; Valerian sil-
vestre, Span. 
PART I.
Valeriana,
731
  Valeriana.  Sex. Syst.  Triandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Valerian-
aceae.
  Gen. Ch.  Calyx very small, finally enlarged into a feathery pappus.
Corolla monopetalous,  five-lobed, regular,  gibbous  at  the base.  Capsule
one-celled.  (Loudon's Encyc. of Plants.)   Stamens exserted, one, two,
three, and four. (Nuttall.)
   Valeriana officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 177; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
77. t. 32.  The officinal, or great wild valerian is a large handsome her-
baceous plant, with a perennial root, and an  erect, round, channeled stem,
from two to four feet high, furnished with opposite pinnate leaves, and ter-
minating in flowering branches.   The leaves of the  stem  are attached  by
short broad sheaths, the radical leaves are larger and  stand on long foot-
stalks.  In the former the leaflets are lanceolate and partially dentate, in the
latter elliptical and deeply serrate.   The flowers are  small, white or rose-
coloured, odorous,  and  disposed  in  terminal corymbs, interspersed with
spear-shaped pointed bractes.  The  number of stamens in this species  is
three.   The fruit is a  capsule  containing one oblong ovate, compressed
seed.
  The plant is a  native of Europe, where it grows either in damp  woods
and meadows, or on dry elevated  grounds.  As  found in these  different
situations, it presents characters so distinct as to have  induced some bota-
nists to make two varieties.   Dufresne makes four, of which three  prefer
marshy situations.  The variety which affects a dry soil (sylvestris, L. Ph.)
is not more than  two feet high, and is distinguished  by its narrow leaves.
It is superior to the others in medicinal virtue.
   The root, which is the officinal  portion, is collected in spring before the
stem begins to shoot, or in the autumn when the leaves decay.   It  should
be  dried quickly, and kept in a dry place.   It  consists  of numerous, long,
slender, cylindrical  fibres, issuing  from a tuberculated  head or rhizoma.
As brought to this country it  frequently has portions of the stem attached.
The best comes from England.
   Properties.  The colour of the root is externally yellowish or brown, in-
ternally white.  The powder is yellowish-gray.  The odour, which in the
fresh root is slight, in the dried is strong and highly characteristic, and though
rather pleasant to many persons, is very disagreeable to others.  Cats are
said to be strongly attracted by it. The taste is at first sweetish, afterwards
bitter and  aromatic. Valerian yields its active properties to water and alco-
hol.   Trommsdorff found it to consist of 1-2 parts of volatile oil; 12*5 of a
peculiar extractive matter, soluble in water, insoluble in ether and alcohol,
and precipitated by metallic solutions; 18*75 of gum;  6*25 of a soft odorous
resin; and  63 of lignin.   Of these  constituents  the most  important is the
essential oil, in which the virtues of  the root chiefly reside.  It is of a pale
 greenish colour,  of the  sp. gr. 0*934, with  a pungent odour of valerian, and
an  aromatic taste. It becomes yellow and viscid by exposure. Trommsdorff
 has ascertained that it contains a peculiar volatile acid, upon which the name
of  valerianic acid has been conferred.  This, when separated from the oil,
is a colourless liquid, of an oleaginous consistence, having an odour analo-
gous to that of valerian, and a very strong, sour,  disagreeable taste.  It is
soluble in thirty parts of water, and in all proportions in ether and alcohol.
It combines with salifiable bases, forming soluble salts, which retain, in  a
diminished degree,  the odour of the acid.  (Journ.  de Pharm. xx. 316.)
Valerianic acid is obtained by distilling the impure  oil from carbonate  of
magnesia, decomposing by sulphuric  acid the valerianate of magnesia which
remains, and again distilling. 
 732               Valeriana.— Veratrum Album.           parti.

   The roots of the Valeriana Phu and V. dioica are said to be sometimes
 mingled with those of the officinal plant;  but the adulteration is attended
 with no serious consequences; as, though  much weaker than  the  genuine
 valerian, they possess similar properties.   The same cannot be said of the
 roots of several of the Ranunculaceae, which, according to Ebermayer, are
 sometimes fraudulently substituted in Germany.   They may be readily de-
 tected by their want of the peculiar odour of the officinal root.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Valerian is gently stimulant, with an espe-
 cial direction to the nervous system, but without narcotic effect.  In large
 doses it produces a  sense of heaviness and dull pain in  the head, with
 various other effects indicating nervous disturbance.   It is useful in cases of
 irregular nervous action, when not connected with inflammation or an  ex-
 cited condition of the system.  Among the complaints in which it has been
 particularly recommended, are hysteria, hypochondriasis, epilepsy, hemi-
 crania, and low forms of fever attended with restlessness, morbid vigilance,
 or other nervous disorder.  It has also been used in intermittents combined
 with Peruvian bark.  At best,  however, it is an uncertain remedy.  It may
 be given in powder or infusion.   In the latter form, it is said by Professor
 Joerg of Leipsic, who has experimented with it, to be less apt to irritate
 the alimentary canal  than when  administered in  substance.  The dose of
 the powder is from thirty to ninety grains, repeated three or four times a
 day.   The  tincture  is  also officinal.   As the virtues  of valerian reside
 chiefly in the volatile  oil, the medicine should not be given in decoction or
 extract.  The distilled water is used on  the continent of Europe; and the
 volatile oil is occasionally substituted with advantage for the root.  The
 dose of the oil is four or five drops.
   Off. Prep. Infusum Valerianae, U. S., Lond., Dub.; Tinctura Valerianae,
 U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tinctura Valerianae Ammoniata,  U. S.,  Lond.,
 Ed., Dub.                                                      W.


                 VERATRUM ALBUM.  U.S.

                          White  Hellebore.

  " The rhizoma of Veratrum album."  U. S.
  Off. Syn.  VERATRUM.  Veratrum  album.   Radix.  Lond.; VERA-
 TRUM.  Rhizoma of Veratrum  album.  Ed.;  VERATRUM ALBUM.
 Radix. Dub.
  Ellebore blanc, Fr.; Weisse Niesswurzel, Germ.; Eleboro bianco, Ital; Veratro bianco,
 Span.
  Veratrum. Sex. Syst. Polygamia Monoecia.—Nat. Ord.  Melanthaceae.
  Gen. Ch. Hermaphrodite. Calyx none. Corolla six-petaled. Stamens
 six.  Pistils three.  Capsules three, many-seeded.  Male. Calyx none. Co-
 rolla six-petaled. Stamens six. Pistils a rudiment.  Willd.
  Botanists who reject the class Polygamia of Linnaeus, place this genus
in the class and order Hexandria Trigynia, with  the following character.
 " Polygamous.  Corolla six-parted, spreading, segments sessile and without
glands. Stamens inserted upon the receptacle. Capsules three, united, many-
 seeded." Nuttall.
  Veratrum album.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 895; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 754.
 t. 257.  This is an herbaceous plant, with a perennial, fleshy, fusiform root
or rhizoma, yellowish-white externally,  pale  yellowish-gray within, and
beset with long cylindrical  fibres  of a grayish colour,  which  constitute the
true root. The stem is three or four feet high, thick,  round,  erect, and fur-
J 
PART I.
Veratrum Album.
733
nished with alternate leaves, which are oval, acute, entire, plaited longitudi-
nally, about ten inches long by five in breadth, of a yellowish-green colour,
and embrace the stem at their base.  The flowers are greenish, and arranged
in a terminal panicle.
   The white hellebore is a native of the mountainous regions of continental
Europe, and abounds in the Alps  and Pyrennees.   All parts of the plant
are said to be acrid and poisonous; but the root (rhizoma) only is officinal.
This is brought to us from Germany in the dried state, in pieces from one
to three inches long by an inch or less in mean  diameter, cylindrical or  in
the  shape  of  a  truncated  cone, internally  whitish,  externally blackish,
wrinkled, and  rough with  the  remains of the fibres which have been cut
off near their origin.   Sometimes  the fibres continue  attached to the root.
They are numerous,  yellowish, and of the size  of a crow's quill.   White
hellebore deteriorates by keeping.
   Properties.  The  fresh root has  a disagreeable odour, which is lost by
drying.   The taste is at first sweetish, afterwards bitterish, acrid,  burning,
and durable.  The powdered root is grayish.   Analyzed by Pelletier and
Caventou, white  hellebore was found  to contain  an  oily  matter consisting
of olein,  stearin, and a volatile acid;  supergaltate of veratria, a yellow
colouring matter, starch,  gum, lignin, silica, and various  salts of lime and
potassa.  The medicinal properties of the root reside in the veratria, which
was first discovered in the seeds of the Veratrum Sabadilla, and probably
exist in other  plants belonging to the same family.   For an  account  of
Veratria, see Sabadilla, p. 610, and the article Veratria, among the Prepa-
rations.   Simon believes that he has found  two new vegetable alkalies  in
white hellebore, one of which  is called barytina, from being precipitated,
like baryta, from its solution in acetic or phosphoric acid  by sulphuric acid
or the sulphates;  the other jervina, from the  Spanish name for  a poison
obtained from  the  root of white hellebore.  (Pereira's  Mat. Med., from
Pharm. Cent.  Blalt. 1837, s.  191.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.   While  hellebore is a violent emetic and
cathartic, capable of producing dangerous and fatal effects when incautiously
administered.  Even in small doses it  has  sometimes occasioned  severe
vomiting, hypereatharsis  with bloody stools, and  alarming symptoms  of
general prostration.  Like many other acrid substances, it appears, in small
doses, to be a general stimulant to the secretions. Applied externally upon
a portion  of the surface denuded of the cuticle, as upon ulcers for example,
it gives rise  to griping pain in the bowels, and sometimes violent purging.
When snuffed  up  the  nostrils, it occasions great irritation with violent
sneezing, and its  use  in this way is not free from  danger.  It was employed
by the ancients in dropsy, mania, epilepsy, leprosy, elephantiasis, and other
obstinate disorders, not without occasional advantage; but  the severity of its
operation  has led  to its general  abandonment as an internal  remedy.  It is
sometimes used as an errhine, diluted with some mild powder, in cases  of
gutta serena and  lethargic affections; and  in the shape of decoction, or  of
ointment prepared by mixing the pulverized root with  lard, has been found
beneficial  as an external  application in the  itch, and in other cutaneous
eruptions.   From the resemblance of its operation to that  of the eau medi-
cinale d'Husson,  so celebrated for the cure of gout, it has  been conjectured
to be the chief constituent of that remedy—a reputation which his also been
enjoyed by colchicum.  A mixture of the wine of white hellebore and the
wine of opium, in the proportion of three parts of the former to one of the
latter, was introduced into use by Mr. Moor, of London, as a substitute for
       63 
 734           Veratrum Album.— Veratrum  Viride.      parti.

 the eau medicinale, and has been considerably employed in gouty and rheu-
 matic affections.
   In whatever way white hellebore is used, it requires cautious manage-
 ment.  It has been given in doses varying from one grain to a scruple.  Not
 more than two grains should  be administered at first.   When employed as
 an errhine it should be mixed with five or six parts  of  pulverized liquorice
 root or other inactive powder.   Ten or twelve  grains  of the  mixture may
 be snuffed up the nostrils at one time.  Veratria acts  in a similar  manner
 with  the white hellebore, but is much more powerful.  From one-twelfth
 to one-sixth of a grain may be given in the form of pill or alcoholic solu-
 tion,  and repeated three or four times in the twenty-four hours, till it nau-
 seates or purges. For an account of its practical applications, the redder is
 referred to Veratria, among the Preparations in the second part of this work.
   Off. Prep.   Decoctum Veratri,  Lond., Dub.;   Unguentum Sulphuris
 Compositum, Lond.; Unguentum Veratri Albi, U. S., Lond., Dub.; Vinum
 Veratri Albi, U. S., Lond.                                       W.

                 VERATRUxM  VIRIDE.  U.S.

                        American Hellebore.

   " The rhizoma of Veratrum viride."  U. S.
   Veratrum.  See VERATRUM  ALBUM.
   Veratrum viride.  Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 896; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot.
 ii. 121. The American hellebore, known also by the names of Indian poke,
 poke  root, and  swamp hellebore, has a perennial, thick, fleshy root or rhi-
 zoma, the upper portion of which is tunicated, the  lower solid and beset
 with  numerous whitish fibres or radicles.   The stem is  annual, round,
 striated, pubescent,  and solid, from three to six feet in  height, furnished
 with green bright leaves, and terminating in a  panicle  of greenish-yellow
 flowers. The leaves gradually decrease in size as they  ascend. The lower
 are from six inches to a foot long, oval, acuminate, plaited, nerved, and pu-
 bescent; and embrace the stem at their base, thus  affording it a sheath for
 a considerable portion of its length.   Those  on  the upper part of the stem,
 at the origin of the flowering  branches, are oblong lanceolate.  The panicle
 consists of numerous  flowers  distributed in racemes  with downy peduncles.
 Each flower is  accompanied with a downy pointed bracte much longer than
 its pedicel.  There is  no calyx, and the corolla is divided into six oval acute
 segments, thickened on the inside  at their  base, with  the three alternate
 segments longer than the others. The six stamens have recurved filaments,
 and roundish two-lobed anthers. The germs are three, with recurved styles
 as long as the stamens.   Some of the flowers have  only the rudiments of
 pistils.  Those on the upper  end of the branchlets are barren,  those on the
lower portion fruitful.   The fruit consists of three cohering capsules, sepa-
rating at top, opening on the inner side, and containing flat imbricated seeds.
  This indigenous species of Veratrum is found from Canada to Carolina,
inhabiting swamps,  wet meadows, and the banks of mountain streamlets.
 Early in the spring, before the stem rises, it bears a slight resemblance to
the Symplocarpus fatidus, with which it is very frequently associated, but
the latter sends  forth no stem.  From May to July is the season for flower-
ing.   The root should be collected in autumn, and should not be kept longer
than one year, as it deteriorates by time.
  The root of the American hellebore has a bitter acrid  taste, leaving a per-
manent impression in the mouth and fauces.  In  sensible properties it bears 
part i.      Veratrum Viride.— Verbascum Thapsus.         735

a close resemblance to white hellebore; and from this circumstance, as well
as from the strong botanical affinity of the two plants, it is highly probable
that it contains veratria.  The experiments of Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Worth-
ington,  of  Philadelphia,  go to  strengthen this probability.   (See Amer.
Journ. of Pharm. ix. 181. and x. 89.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  American hellebore resembles its Eu-
ropean congener in its effects upon the system, though asserted by Dr. Os-
good  to be wholly destitute of cathartic properties.  In addition to its emetic
action, which is often violent and long continued, it is said to increase most
of the secretions, and, when freely taken, to exercise a powerful  influence
over the nervous system, indicated by faintness, somnolency, vertigo, head-
ache, dimness of vision,  and dilated pupils.   According to Dr. Osgood, it
reduces the frequency and force of the pulse,  sometimes, when taken in full
doses, as low as thirty-five strokes in the minute. It may be safely substituted
for the European root in most cases in which the latter is employed; and is
highly recommended as a substitute  for colchicum by Dr.  'Fully of New
Haven.  Gouty, rheumatic, and neuralgic affections  are those to which it
appears best adapted.  For an account of what may be said upon the medical
properties and applications of the American hellebore, the reader is referred
to a paper by Dr. Charles Osgood, of Providence, in the American Journal
of the Medical Sciences, vol. xvi. p. 296.   It may be used in substance,
tincture, or extract.  Dr. Osgood states the dose in which it will generally
prove emetic at from four to six grains of the powder, one or two fluidrachms
of a tincture made in the proportion of six ounces of the fresh root to a pint
of alcohol, and one or two  grains of an extract made by inspissating  the
juice  of the root.  The medicine, however, should,  in most cases, be given
in doses insufficient to vomit.                                    W.


           VERBASCUM  THAPSUS. Folia. Dub.

                          Mullein Leaves.

   Verbascum.   Sex. Syst. Pentandria  Monogynia.—Nat. Ord.  Scrophu-
lariaceae.
   Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Corolla rotate, five-lobed, unequal. Stamens
declined, bearded.  Stigma  simple.  Capsule two-celled, valves  inflected,
many-seeded.  Nuttall.
   Verbascum Thapsus.  Willd.  Sp. Plant, i. 1001; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.
202. t. 75.  This is a biennial plant, with an  erect, round, rigid, hairy stem,
which rises from three to six feet in height, and is irregularly beset with large
sessile, oblong or oval, somewhat pointed leaves, indented at the margin,
woolly on both sides, and decurrent at the base.  The flowers  are yellow,
and disposed  in a long, close, cylindrical, terminal spike.
   The mullein is common throughout the United States,  growing along the
road-sides and in neglected  fields,  and  springing up  abundantly  in newly
cleared places, at the most remote distance from cultivation.  It is  neverthe-
less considered by many botanists as a naturalized plant, introduced originally
from Europe, where it  is also abundant.  It  flowers from June to August.
The leaves and flowers  have been employed; but the former only are directed
by the Dublin College.   Both have a slight, somewhat narcotic smell, which
in the dried flowers becomes agreeable.  Their taste is mucilaginous, herba-
ceous, and bitterish, but very feeble.  They impart their virtues to water by
infusion.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Mullein leaves are demulcent and emollient, 
736               Verbascum  Thapsus.— Vinum.           part i.

and are thought to possess anodyne properties, which render them useful in
pectoral complaints.  On the Continent of Europe, an infusion of the flowers,
strained in order to separate the  rough hairs, is considerably used in mild
catarrhs.  Dr. Home found  a decoction of the leaves useful in  diarrhoea.
The infusion or decoction may be  prepared  in the proportion of an ounce
of the leaves to a pint of water, and given in the quantity of four fluidounces.
The leaves are also employed externally, steeped in  hot water, as a feebly
anodyne emollient.   An ointment is prepared from them in the recent state,
and used for the same purposes.   It may be made in the same  manner as
ointment of stramonium, by boiling  the leaves in lard.  It will  be  found
advantageous to moisten them with water previously to the boiling.   W.


                          VINUM.  U.S.

                                Wine.

   " Sherry wine." U. S.
   Off. Syn.  VINUM  XERICUM. Lond.  VINUM ALBUM. Sherry.
Ed.;  VINUM ALBUM HISPANUM. Dub.
   Vin, Fr ; Wcin, Germ ; Vino, Ital, Span.
   Wine is the fermented juice of the grape, the fruit of the Vitis vinifera of
botanists, an important plant, the description of which will be found under
another head.  (See Uva Passa.)  The juice of sweet grapes consists of a
considerable quantity of grape sugar, a peculiar matter of the nature of fer-
ment or yeast, and a small  portion of extractive, tannic  acid, bitartrate of
potassa, tartrate of lime, common salt, and sulphate of potassa;  the whole
dissolved or suspended in a large quantity of water.  Sour grapes contain,
in addition, a peculiar acid isomeric with the tartaric, called paratartaric
acid.  Grape juice, therefore, embraces all the ingredients essential to the
production of the vinous fermentation,  and  requiies only the influence of
the atmosphere and a proper temperature to convert  it into wine.   The
theory of the vinous fermentation, and the agency of sugar in the process,
have been explained under Alcohol.
   Preparation.  Though the art of making wine varies in different countries,
yet it is regulated  by general rules which require to be observed.  When
the grapes are ripe, they are gathered,  and  trodden  under foot in wooden
vessels with perforated bottoms,  through which the juice, called  the must,
runs into a vat placed beneath.   The temperature  of the air being about 60°,
the fermentation gradually takes place in the must, and becomes fully estab-
lished  after a longer or shorter period.   In the  mean time, the must be-
comes sensibly warmer, and emits a large quantity of carbonic acid, which,
creatine" a kind of effervescence, causes the more  solid parts to be thrown to
the surface in a mass of froth having a hemispherical shape called the head.
The liquor, from  being  sweet, becomes vinous,  and  assumes a deep red
colour if the product of red grapes.  After a while the fermentation slackens,
when it becomes necessary to accelerate it by thoroughly mixing the contents
of the  vat.  When the liquor has acquired a strong vinous taste, and become
perfectly clear, the wine is considered formed, and is racked off into casks.
But even at this stage of the process, the fermentation is not completed, but
continues for several months  longer.  During the whole of this  period, a
frothy  matter is formed, which,  for  the first few days, collects round the
bung, but afterwards precipitates  along with colouring matter  and tartar,
forming a deposit which constitutes the wine-lees.
   Division  and Nomenclature.  Wines,  according to  their colour, are 
PART I.
Vinum.
737
divided into the red and white; and, according to their taste and other quali-
ties, are either spirituous, sweet, dry, light, sparkling, still, rough, or acidu-
lous.   Red wines are derived  from the must of black grapes,  fermented
with their husks; white wines, from white grapes, or from the juice of black
grapes  fermented  apart from their skins.   The other  qualities  of wines
above enumerated, depend on the relative proportions of the constituents of
the must,  and on the  mode in which the fermentation is conducted.   The
essential ingredients of the must as a  fermentable liquid, are water, sugar,
and a ferment.  If the juice be very saccharine, and contain sufficient ferment
to sustain the fermentation, the conversion of the sugar into alcohol will pro-
ceed until checked by the production of a certain amount of the latter, and
there will be formed a spirituous or generous wine.   If, while the juice is
highly saccharine, the ferment be  deficient  in quantity, the  production of
alcohol will be less and the redundancy of sugar proportionably greater, and
a sweet wine will be formed.  When the sugar and ferment are in consider-
able amount, and in the proper relative  proportions for  mutual decomposi-
tion, the wine will be strong-bodied and sound,  without any  sweetness or
acidity, and of the kind called dry.  A small portion of  sugar can give rise
only to a  small  portion of alcohol, and consequently the less  saccharine
grapes will  generate a comparatively weak, or light wine, which will  be
sound  and stable in its constitution, in  case the ferment is not in excess, but
otherwise liable to pass into the acetous fermentation and become acescent.
In case the wine is bottled before  the fermentation is fully completed, the
process will continue slowly in the bottles, and the carbonic acid generated,
not having vent, will impregnate  the wine,  and render  it effervescing and
sparkling.  The rough or astringent wines owe their flavour to  a portion
of tannic acid derived from the husks of the grape; and the acidulous wines,
to the  presence of carbonic acid or an unusual proportion of tartar. Several
of the above qualities often co-exist.  Thus a wine may be spirituous and
sweet, spirituous and rough, rough and sweet, light and  sparkling, &c.
   Wines are made in many countries, and are known in commerce by vari-
ous names according to their source.   Thus, Portugal produces port and
lisbon:  Spain,  sherry, saint lucar, malaga, and tent; France, champagne,
burgundy, hermitage, vin  de  Grave, sauterne, and  claret;  Germany, hock
and moselle; Hungary, tokay; Sicily, marsala or Sicily  madeira, and lissa;
the Cape of Good Hope, constantia; Madeira and the  Canaries, madeira
and  teueriffe.   In the United  States, a  small portion of wine is made, for
the most part of inferior  quality.   The best is  manufactured  near Vevay,
a Swiss settlement on the banks of the Ohio.   The consumption of this
country is accordingly supplied almost entirely from abroad; and  the wines
most extensively imported are madeira, teneriffe, sherry and port, and the
claret wines of France.
   Properties.  Wine,  considered as the name  of  a  class, may be charac-
terized  as a spirituous  liquid, the result of the fermentation of grape-juice,
and containing colouring matter, and some other substances, which are either
combined or intimately blended with the spirit.   All its other qualities vary
with the nature of each particular wine.  It will not be necessary  to  de-
scribe all the wines that have been enumerated; but only such as are com-
monly  used  for medicinal purposes.   Under this denomination may be
included the officinal  wine sherry, together with madeira, teneriffe, port,
and claret.
   Sherry is of a deep  amber colour, and when good possesses  a dry aro-
matic flavour  and fragrancy, without  any acidity.  It  ranks among  the
stronger white wines, and contains between 19 and 20 per cent, by measure
                                 63* 
738
Vinum.
PART I.
of alcohol of sp. gr. 0*825.  The United States and British Pharmacopoeias
now agree in indicating it as the officinal wine.   It is prepared  in the vici-
nity of Xeres in Spain, and hence its English name sherry.   This wine is
supposed to have been the sack  of Shakspeare, so called from the word sec
(dry), in allusion to its being a dry wine.  Its  dryness or freedom from
acidity is said to arise from the use of lime in its  manufacture.
   Madeira is the strongest of the white wines in general use. It is a slightly
acid wine, and, when  of  proper age and in good condition, has a nutty,
rich, aromatic flavour.  As it occurs in the market, however, it is  of very
variable quality, on  account both of the less care taken in  its manufacture
than formerly, and of the  adulterations and mixtures to which it is subjected
after importation.  The madeira consumed in this  country is generally much
better  than that used  in England, its adulteration being practised to a less
extent with us, and our climate  being  more favourable to the improvement
of the  wine.
   Teneriffe is a  white wine, of a slightly acid  taste,  and, when of good
quality, of a fine aromatic flavour.   Its average strength is about the same
as that of sherry.   It  is made  from the same grape  as  madeira, to which
it bears a close resemblance.
   Port is of a deep purple colour, and, in its new state, is a rough, strong,
and slightly sweet wine.  When kept a certain length of time in bottles, it
deposits a considerable portion  of its  astringent matter, loses the greater
part of its sweetness, acquires more flavour, and retains its  strength.  If too
long kept, it deposits the  whole of its astringent  and  colouring matter, and
becomes deteriorated.   Considerable quantities of brandy are usually added
to it, which causes its heating quality  on the palate.  It is the strongest of
all the wines in common use.
   Claret, called in France, vin de Bordeaux, is also  a red wine, and from
its moderate strength is ranked as a light wine.   It has a deep  purple co-
lour, and when good a delicate taste, in which the vinous flavour is blended
with slight acidity and astringency.   The most esteemed kinds are the
Medoc clarets, called  Chateau-Lafite, Chdteau-Margaux, and Chdteuu-
Latour.  Another celebrated variety  is the Chateau-Haut Brion of the
Pays  de Grave.   Claret is the only French wine extensively consumed in
the United States.  It is made in large  quantities  in the country around Bor-
deaux, from which port it is shipped.
  Adulterations.   Wines are  very frequently adulterated, and  counterfeit
mixtures are  often palmed upon  the public as genuine wine.  Formerly the
wine dealers  were in the habit of putting litharge into wines that had be-
come  acescent.  The oxide of lead formed with  the  acetic acid acetate of
lead, which, being sweet,  corrected the defect of  the wine, but at the same
time rendered it  poisonous.  At the  present day, however, this criminal
practice is  wholly abandoned.   The adulteration  is readily detected  by sul-
phuretted hydrogen, which causes a black and flocculent precipitate.  Mr.
Brande assures us, that among the numerous samples of wine of suspected
purity which he had examined, he had not found one containing any poison-
ous ingredient fraudulently introduced.   Lead, in minute quantity, accord-
ing to  this  writer, may often  be detected in wines; but it is  derived invaria-
bly from shot in the bottle, or some analogous source.   Spurious mixtures,
frequently containing very little  of the fermented  juice of the grape, which
are sold for particular wines, may not be poisonous; but are notwithstanding
highly pernicious in their effects upon the stomach,  and always produce
mischief and  disappointment,  when depended   on as therapeutic  agents.
The wines most frequently imitated are port and madeira; and cider is gene- 
PART I.
Vinum.
739
rally the chief ingredient in the spurious mixtures.  English port is some-
times made of a small portion of real port mixed with cider, juice of elder
berries, and brandy, coloured and rendered  astringent with logwood and
alum.   In  the  United States,  of  latter years,  the cheapness of genuine
wines has left little motive for manufacturing  these factitious imitations.
   Composition.   Wines consist mainly of water and alcohol.  They con-
tain, besides, sugar, gum,  extractive, colouring matter, tannic, malic, and
carbonic acids,  bitartrate  of potassa (tartar), tartrate of lime, volatile  oil, and
cenanthic ether.  The volatile oil has never been isolated, but  is  supposed
to be the cause of the delicate flavour and odour of wine, called tbe bou-
quet.  Cenanthic ether (osnanthate of ether, asnanthate of oxide of ethule),
was discovered by Pelouze and Liebig. It is obtained towards  the end of the
distillation of wine on the  great scale for making brandy.   It forms only
about one-ten thousandth part of the wine.   It is a mobile, oily, colourless
liquid, having the peculiar unpleasant smell  which is  perceived in  a bottle
which has  contained wine.   Its sp. gr. is 0.862, and boiling point 435°.  Its
formula is ClsH1803-=C14Hl30<((Bnanihic acid) + C4HsO(ether). CEnanthic
ether  must not be confounded with the volatile oil upon which  the bouquet
of wine is supposed to depend.  The other ingredients of wine, above enu-
merated, are  not to be  supposed  present in every wine.   Thus sugar  is
present  in sweet wines, tannic  acid in rough wines, and carbonic  acid  in
those that  effervesce.   Malic acid exists  in minute  proportion  in  some
wines, and is absent in others.  The different kinds  of wine  derive their
various qualities from the mode of fermentation, the  nature  of the  grape,
and the soil and climate in  which it may have grown.  The alcohol  in pure
wine is that which results from the vinous fermentation, and is intimately
united  with the  other ingredients of the  liquor; but with almost  all the
wines of commerce a  portion of  brandy is  mixed, the state  of union  of
which is probably different from  that of  the natural  alcohol of the wine.
By the  custom-house regulations in England, ten per cent, of brandy may
be added to wines after importation;  but to good wines  not more  than four
or five per cent, is added.
   The  intoxicating ingredient in all wines is the alcohol which they contain;
and hence their  relative strength  depends upon the quantity  of this sub-
stance entering into their composition.  The alcohol, however, naturally in
wine, is so blended with its other  constituents, as to be in a modified state,
which renders  it less intoxicating and less injurious than the  same quantity
of alcohol separated by  distillation and diluted with water.   Mr.  Brande
published in 1811 a very interesting table, giving  the  percentage by mea-
sure of alcohol of sp. gr. 0825 in different kinds of wine.   Similar tables
have since been published  by M. Julia-Fontenelle, and Dr. Christison. An
abstract of their results is given in the  following table, the proof spirit  of
Dr. Christison's  table (0.920) being reduced, for the sake of comparison,
to the standard of 0.825, the density of the spirit, adopted by Mr. Brande.
The  results  of Julia-Fontenelle are distinguished by the letter  J.;  those
of  Dr.  Christison by the letter C.   The rest are Mr. Brande's.

Table of the  Proportion  by Measure of Alcohol  (sp. gr.  0-825) con-
                 tained in 100 parts of different Wines.
Lissa, (mean)	25-41	Port	, mean	22*96
Raisin wine, (mean)	25-12		weakest	1900
Marsala, [Sicily madeira]			strongest (C.)	20-49
(mean) -	25*09		mean (C.)	18 68
Port, strongest	25*83		weakest (C.)	16-80
 
740	Vinum.		PART 1.	
White port, (C.) -	17-22	Rousillon (mean) -	-	18*13
Madeira, strongest	24-42	Claret, strongest	-	17*11
mean -	22-27	mean	-	1510
weakest	19-24	weakest	-	12-91
strongest (C).	20-35	ditto (J.)	-	14*73
Sercial madeira	21-40	vin ordinaire (C.)	-	10*42
Ditto (C.) -	18-50	Chateau-Latour, 1825, (C		.)9-38
Sherry, strongest -	19-81	first growth, 1811,	(C.)	9-32
mean -	19-17	Malmsey madeira -	-	16-40
weakest	18-25	Ditto (C.) -	-	15-60
strongest (C.)	19-31	Lunel -	-	15-52
mean (C.)	18-47	Ditto (J.)	-	1810
weakest (C.) -	16-96	Sheraaz	-	15 52
Amontillado (C.)	15-18	Ditto (C.) . -	-	15-56
Teneriffe -	19-79	Syracuse	-	15-28
Ditto (C.)	16-61	Sauterne	-	14-22
Colares - - - -	19-75	Burgundy (mean) -	-	14-57
Lachryma Christi -	19-70	Hock (mean)	-	12-08
White constantia -	19.75	Nice	-	14-63
Red constantia	18-92	Barsac -	-	13-86
Lisbon - - - -	18-94	'Pent ...	.	13-30
Ditto (C.) -	19-09	Champagne (mean)	-	12-61
Bucellas -	18-49	Ditto (J.)	-	12-20
Red madeira (mean)	2035	Red hermitage	-	12-32
Cape muschat	18-25	Vin de Grave (mean)	-	13-37
Cape madeira (mean)	20-51	Frontignac (Rives Altes'		12-79
Grape wine - - -	18-11	Ditto (J.)	-	21-80
Calcavella (mean) -	18-65	Ditto (C.)	-	12-29
Vidonia - - - -	19-25	Cote rotie	-	12-32
Alba flora -	17*26	Tokay	-	9-88
Zante - - - -	17*05	Rudesheimer, first qual.	>(c*)	10-14
Malaga - - - -	17*26	inferior, (C.)		8 35
White hermitage -	17*43	Hambacher, first quality, (C/		8-88
   By the above table it is perceived that, with one or two exceptions, Dr.
Christison found less  alcohol in wines than Mr. Brande.  Dr. Christison
considers it a mistake to suppose that wines become stronger by being kept
a long time in cask.  His experiments appear to prove the reverse.  While,
however, the wine  is not rendered more alcoholic by age, its flavour is im-
proved, and its body or apparent strength is increased.
   Besides the grape, a number of other fruits yield a juice susceptible of the
vinous fermentation.  The infusion of malt,  also, is capable of undergoing
this process, and becomes converted into  the different kinds of  porter  and
ale.   The product in all these cases, though not commonly called a wine, is
nevertheless a vinous liquor, and maybe classed among the wines properly
so called.  The following is a list of these vinous liquors, together with the
percentage of alcohol which they contain, as  ascertained by Mr. Brande:—
Currant  wine,  20-55;  gooseberry wine, 11-84; orange  wine, 11*26; elder
wine, 8*79; cider, from 5*21 to 9*87; perry,  7*26; mead, 7-32; Burton ale,
8-88; Edinburgh ale, 6-20;  brown stout, 6-80;  London porter, 4-20; small
beer,  1*28.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Wine is consumed in most civilized coun-
tries;  but in a state of health it is at least useless, if not absolutely pernicious. 
PART I.
Vinum.
741
The degree of mischief which it produces, depends very much on the cha-
racter of the  wine.   Thus the light wines of France are comparatively in-
nocuous; while the habitual use of the stronger ones, such as port, madeira,
sherry, &c, even though  taken in moderation, is always injurious, as hav-
ing a tendency  to induce gout and apoplexy, and other  diseases dependent
on plethora and over-stimulation.  All wines, however, when used habitually
in excess, are productive of bad consequences.  They weaken  the stomach,
produce  disease of the liver, and give rise  to dropsy, gout, apoplexy, tre-
mors, and not unfrequentiy  mania.   Nevertheless,  wine  is  an important
medicine, productive of the best effects in certain diseases and states of the
system.   As an article of the materia medica, it  ranks  as  a stimulant  and
antispasmodic.   In the convalescence from protracted fever, and in sinking
of the vital powers,  it is frequently the best remedy that can be employed.
In certain stages of typhoid fevers, and in extensive ulceration and gangrene,
this  remedy, either alone, or conjoined with bark or opium, is often our main
dependence.   In low febrile affections, if  it increase the fulness and lessen
the frequency of the pulse, mitigate delirium, and  produee a tendency to
sleep, its further use may be deemed proper; but, on the contrary, if it render
the pulse quicker, augment the heat and thirst, produce restlessness, or in-
crease delirium, it should  be immediately laid aside as injurious.  In some
convulsive diseases,  as for example tetanus, wine, liberally given, has been
found useful.
   Wine, when used medicinally, should be sound, and good of its kind; for
otherwise it will disagree  with the stomach, and prove rather detrimental
than useful.  The individual wine selected for internal exhibition must be
determined by the nature of the disease, and the  particular object in view.
Sherry, when in good condition, is a fine wine, and, being  free from all
acid, is to be preferred whenever the stomach is delicate, or has a tendency
to dyspeptic acidity. Unfortunately, however, it is of very unequal quality.
Good madeira is the most generous of the white wines, particularly adapted
to the purpose of resuscitating debilitated  constitutions, and  of sustaining
the sinking energies of the system in old age.   The slight  acidity, how-
ever, of pure madeira causes it to disagree with  some  stomachs, and ren-
ders it an improper wine for gouty persons.  Teneriffe  is a good variety of
white wine for medicinal use, being of about a medium strength, and agree-
ing very well with most stomachs.  Port is generally used in cases of pure
debility, especially when  atfended with a  loose  state of the  bowels unac-
companied by inflammation.   In  such cases, it  often  acts as a powerful
tonic as well as stimulant, giving increased activity to all the functions,
especially  digestion.   Claret is much less heating, and is often useful on
account of its aperient and diuretic qualities.
   All the  acid and  acidulous wines are  contra-indicated  in the gouty and
uric acid diathesis, as  they are very apt to convert the existing predisposi-
tion  into disease.   They  are useful, however, in what  is  called  the phos-
phatie diathesis, their acidity tending to prevent the deposition  of the earthy
phosphates.
   The quantity of wine which may be given with advantage  in disease, is
necessarily very variable.   In low fevers,  it may  be administered to the ex-
tent  of a bottle or more in twenty-four hours, either pure, or in the form of
wine-whey.  'Phis is made by adding from a gill  to half a pint of wine to a
pint of boiling milk, straining without pressure to separate the curd which
is formed, and sweetening the  clear whey with loaf sugar.    Wine-whey
forms a peculiarly safe and grateful stimulus in  typhoid fevers and other
febrile  affections, which,  after  depletion, may tend to  a state of deficient 
742
Vinum.— Viola.
PART I.
action and be accompanied with a dry skin.  Under these circumstances, it
often acts as a diaphoretic, and, if used of moderate strength, without stimu-
lating the system in any marked degree.
  Pharmaceutical  Uses.   Wine is employed as a menstruum to extract
the virtues  of several plants, and the preparations  thus formed are called
vinous tinctures  or medicated wines.   Tartar emetic is the only mineral
substance prepared in a  similar manner.  (See Vinum  Antimonii.)  For
the peculiar powers of wine as a menstruum for medicinal substances, see
 Vina Medical a.                                                  B.

                    VIOLA. U.S. Secondary.

                                Violet.

   " The herb of Viola pedata." U. S.

              VIOLA  ODOR AT A.  Flores.  Dub.

                    Flowers of the Sweet  Violet.

   Off. Syn.  VIOLA.  Flowers of Viola odorata.  Ed.
   Violette odorante, Fr.; Wohlriechendes Veilclien, Germ.; Vioktta, Ital; Violeta, Span.
   Viola. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Violaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx  five-leaved. Corolla five-petaled, irregular, horned at
 the back. Anthers cohering.  Capsule  superior, three-valved, one-celled.
   This genus includes numerous species, of which, though perhaps all or
 nearly all are possessed of analogous properties, two only are recognised as
 officinal, the V. odorata, by the  Edinburgh and  Dublin Colleges, and the
 V. pedata, by our National  Pharmacopoeia.  The  V.ovata,  an indige-
 nous species, has been recommended as  a remedy for the bite of the rattle-
 snake.  (See a  paper  by Dr. Williams  in  the Am. Journ. of the Med.
 Scien. xiii.  310.)
   Viola odorata. Willd.  Sp.  Plant, i. 1163; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 251. t.
 89.   This is a small, pretty,  creeping plant, the  runners of which are fur-
 nished with fibrous roots, and send up annually tufts of leaves and flowers.
 The leaves  are heart-shaped, crenate, and supported on  long petioles.  The
 flowers  are  at  the  summit of  delicate, quadrangular,  channeled,  radical
 peduncles.   The leaves  of the calyx are  shorter than the petals, which
 are obovate, obtuse, unequal,  and  of a bluish-purple or deep violet colour,
 except at the claws which are whitish.   The  two lateral petals are spread-
 ing and bearded towards  the base, the inferior furnished with a large spur,
 and the two upper reflected.  In the centre are the stamens with very short
 filaments, and anthers slightly cohering by an  orange-coloured membranous
 expansion.
   The sweet violet is a native of Europe, growing in  woods,  hedges, and
 other shady  places.   It is cultivated in gardens both for its  beauty and for
 medical use; and has been introduced into this country. It is valued chiefly
 for its flowers, which appear  in April and May.
   The flowers of this species of violet,  besides their beautiful colour, have
 a peculiar agreeable odour, and a very slightly bitter taste.  These proper-
 ties they yield to boiling water; and their  infusion affords a very delicate
 test for acids and alkalies, being reddened by the former, and rendered green
 by the latter.  Their odour is destroyed by desiccation; and the degree to
 which they retain their  fine  colour, depends upon the care  used in collect- 
PART I.
Viola.
743
ing and drying them.   They should be gathered before being fully blown,
deprived of their calyx, and rapidly dried, either in a heated room, or by
exposing them to a current of very dry air.   The flowers of other species
are often mingled with them, and, if of the same  colour, are equally  useful
as a chemical test.
   In the root, leaves, flowers, and  seeds of the V. odorata, M. Boulay has
discovered a peculiar alkaline principle, bearing some resemblance to emetia,
but possessing distinct properties.  He calls it violine; but violia is its proper
title in accordance with the nomenclature adopted in this work.  It is white,
soluble in alcohol, scarcely soluble in water, and forms salts with the acids.
It exists in the plant combined with malic acid,  and  may be obtained by
treating with distilled water the  alcoholic  extract of the dried root, decom-
posing by means  of magnesia the malate of violia  contained in the solution,
and extracting the alkali from the  precipitated matters by alcohol, which
yields  it on evaporation.   To obtain it entirely pure, a more complicated
process is necessary.  Orfila has ascertained that it is exceedingly active and
even poisonous.  It is  probably contained in most of the other species of
Viola.
   Viola pedata.  Willd. Sp.  Plant, i. 1160.  Curtis, Bot. Mag. 89.  This
is an indigenous species, without stems, glabrous, with many-parted often
pedate leaves, the  segments of which  are linear lanceolate, obtuse,  and
nearly entire.  The  flowers are large and of a beautiful blue colour, often
more or less variegated.  The divisions of the calyx  are linear and  acute.
The stigma is large, compressed at the sides,  obliquely truncate  and per-
forate at the apex. The plant grows in dry sandy  hills and fields, and rocky
woods, from New England to Carolina, and flowers in May and June.
   Medical Properties, fyc. of the  Violets.  The herbaceous parts of differ-
ent species of violet are mucilaginous, emollient,  and slightly laxative;  and
have been used in pectoral, nephritic, and  cutaneous affections. Much was
formerly thought of the Viola tricolor or pansy,  as a remedy in the  crusta
lactea.   A decoction in  milk of a handful of the fresh, or half a drachm of
the dried herb was taken  morning  and  evening, and a poultice made with
the same decoction was applied to the affected part.    Cures in numerous
instances are said to have been effected by this treatment persevered in for
some time.   Our own Viola pedata is considered a useful expectorant and
demulcent in pectoral complaints.  (Bigelow.)
   In Europe, a syrup prepared from the fresh flowers of the Viola odorata
is much employed as an addition to demulcent drinks, and as a laxative for
infants. (See Syrupus  Violas.)  The seeds were formerly considered  useful
in gravel, but are not now employed. The root, which has a bitter, nauseous,
slightly acrid taste,  acts in  the dose of thirty grains or a drachm as an emetic
and cathartic.   It is  probable  that the  same property is possessed by the
roots of all the violets, as it is known to be by several species of lonidium,
which  belong to the same natural  family.  The existence in small propor-
tion of the emetic principle, upon which the powers  of the root probably
depend, in  the leaves and  flowers, accounts for the expectorant properties
long attributed to these parts of the plant.
   Off. Prep.  Syrupus Violae, Ed.                                W. 
744                           Wintera.                       part i.
                 WINTER A.  U.S.  Secondary.

                           Winter's Bark.

   " The bark of Wintera aromatica—Drymis  Wintera (De Candolle).'"
 U.S.
   Off. Syn.   WINTERA  AROMATICA.  DRYMIS AROMATICA.
 Cortex. Dub.
   Ecorcc de Winter, Fr.; Wintersche Rinde, Germ.; Corteceia Vinterana, Ital; Corleza
 Winterana, Span.
   Drymis. Sex.  Syst.  Polyandria Tetragynia.—Nat. Ord.  Magnoliaceae,
 Juss.; Winteraceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx with two or three deep divisions.  Corolla with two or
 three  petals, sometimes  more numerous.  Stamens with the filaments thick-
 ened at the summit, and anthers having two separate cells.   Ovaries from
 four to eight, changing into the same number of small, many-seeded berries.
 A. Richard.
   Drymis Winteri.  De Cand.  Prod. ii. 78;  Foster,  Gen. p. 84. t. 42.—
 Wintera aromatica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1239;  Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 647.
 t. 226.  This is  an  evergreen tree, varying very much in  size, sometimes
 rising forty or fifty feet in height, sometimes not more than six or eight feet.
 The bark of the trunk is gray, that of the branches  green and smooth.  Its
 leaves are alternate, petiolate, oblong, obtuse, somewhat coriaceous, entirely
 smooth, green on their upper surface, of a pale bluish colour  beneath, with
 two caducous stipules at tbetr base.  The flowers are small, sometimes soli-
 tary, but more frequently in clusters  of three or four, upon  the summit of a
 common peduncle about an inch in length, simple, or divided into as many
 pedicels as there are flowers.  The tree  is  a native  of the  southern part of
 South America, growing along the Straits of Magellan, and  extending as far
 north  as Chili. According to Martius it is found also in Brazil.  The bark
 of the tree was brought to England, in the latter part of the sixteenth century,
 by Captain Winter, who attended Drake in his voyage round the world, and
 while in the Straits had learned its aromatic and medicinal properties.  Since
 that period it has  been occasionally employed in  medicine.
   It is  in quilled pieces,  usually a foot  in length, and an  inch or more in
 diameter, appearing as if scraped or rubbed on the outside, where the colour
 is  pale yellowish  or reddish-gray, with red  elliptical spots.    On the inside
the colour is that  of cinnamon, though sometimes blackish.  The pieces are
 sometimes flat and very large.  The  bark is two  or three lines in thickness,
hard and compact,  and when broken exhibits on the exterior part of the
 fracture a grayish colour, which insensibly passes into reddish or yellowish
 towards the interior.  The  powder  resembles in colour that of Peruvian
bark.   The odour is aromatic, the taste spicy, pungent, and even  burning.
   Winter's bark was found by M. Henry to contain resin, volatile oil, co-
louring  matter, tannic acid, several  salts of potassa, malate  of lime, and
oxide  of iron.  The presence of tannic acid and oxide  of iron serves to
distinguish it essentially from the canella alba, with which it is often con-
founded.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   It is a stimulant aromatic tonic, and was
 employed by Winter as a remedy for scurvy.  It  may be used for simi-
lar purposes with cinnamon or  canella alba,  but is  scarcely  known in the
medical practice of  this country.   The dose of the  powder is about half a
drachm.                                                         "• 
part i.            Xanthorrhiza.—Xanthoxylum.            745
             XANTHORRHIZA.  U.S.  Secondary.

                            Yellow-root.

   " The root of Xanthorrhiza apiifolia." U. S.
   Xanthorrhiza.  Sex. Syst. Pentandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Ranun-
 culaceae.
   Gen. Ch.  Calyx none. Petals five. Nectaries five, pedicelled.  Capsides
 five to eight, one-seeded, semibivalve. Nuttall.
   Xanthorrhiza apiifolia. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1568; Barton, Med. Bot. ii.
 203.—A', tinctoria.  Woodhouse, N. Y. Med. Repos. vol. v.  This is  an
 indigenous shrub, two or three feet in height, with a horizontal root, which
 sends off numerous  suckers.  The stem is  simple, rather thicker  than a
 goose-quill, with a smooth  bark, and bright yellow wood.  The leaves,
 which stand  thickly at the upper part of the stem, are compound, consist-
 ing of several ovate lanceolate, acute, doubly serrate leaflets, sessile upon a
 long petiole,  which embraces the stem at its base.   The flowers are small,
 purple,  and disposed in  long, drooping, divided racemes,  placed immedi-
 ately below the  first leaves.   The  nectaries  are obovate and bilobed,  the
 styles usually about six or eight in number.
   The yellow-root grows in  the interior of the Southern and in the Western
 States.  Nuttall says that it is abundant on the banks of the Ohio.  It flowers
 in April.  The  root is the part directed by the Pharmacopoeia; but the bark
 of the stem possesses the same virtues.
   The  root is from three inches to a foot in length, about half an inch in
 thickness, of a  yellow colour, and  of a  simple  but extremely bitter taste.
 It imparts its colour and taste to water.   The infusion is not affected by a
 solution of the  sulphate of iron.  By the late Professor Barton the bark of
 the root was  considered more bitter than  its ligneous portion.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Xanthorrhiza possesses properties closely
 analogous to  those of columbo, quassia,  and the other simple tonic bitters;
 and may be  used  for the same purposes, and in the same manner.  Dr.
 Woodhouse  employed it in the  dose of two  scruples, and found it  to lie
 easily upon the stomach.                                        W.


             XANTHOXYLUM.  17. fif.  Secondary.

                            Prickly Ash.

   " The bark of Xanthoxylum fraxineum."  U.  S.
   Xanthoxylum.   Sex. Syst. Dicecia  Pentandria.—Nat. Ord.  Terebin-
 taceae, Juss.; Xanthoxylaceae, Lindley.
   Gen.  Ch. Male. Calyx five-parted. Corolla none. Female. Calyx five-
 parted.  Corolla none. Pistils five.  Capsules five, one-seeded.  Willd.
  Xanthoxylum fraxineum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 757; Bigelow, Am. Med.
 Bot. iii. 156.   The  prickly ash  is a shrub from five to ten feet in height,
 with alternate branches,  which are covered  with strong,  sharp, scattered
 prickles.  The  leaves are alternate and pinnate, consisting of four or five
 pairs of leaflets, and an odd terminal one, with a common  footstalk,  which
 is sometimes  prickly on the back, and sometimes unarmed.  The leaflets are
 nearly sessile, ovate, acute, slightly serrate, and somewhat downy on their
under  surface.  The flowers, which are small  and greenish, are disposed in
sessile umbels near the origin of the young shoots.   The  plant is polyga-
        64 
746
Xanthoxylum.—Zincum.
PART I.
mous, some shrubs bearing both male  and perfect flowers, others  only
female.  The number of stamens is five, of the pistils three or four in the
perfect flowers, about five  in the pistillate.   Each fruitful  flower is fol-
lowed by as many capsules  as it had germs.   These capsules are stipitate,
oval, punctate, of  a greenish-red colour,  with two valves,  and one oval
blackish seed.
   This species of Xanthoxylum is  indigenous, growing in woods  and in
moist shady places,  throughout the Northern,  Middle, and Western States.
The  flowers appear in April and May, before  the foliage.  The leaves and
capsules have an aromatic odour recalling that of the oil of lemons.  The
bark is the officinal portion.
   This, as found in the  shops, is in  pieces more or less quilled, from one
to two lines in  thickness, of a whitish colour, interHally somewhat shining,
with  an ash-coloured epidermis, which in some specimens is partially or
wholly removed,  and in  those  derived from the  small  branches is armed
with strong prickles.  The bark is very light, brittle, of a farinaceous frac-
ture, nearly or  quite inodorous, and of  a  taste which  is at first sweetish
and slightly aromatic, then bitterish, and ultimately acrid.  The acrimony
is imparted to  boiling water  and alcohol, which extract the virtues of the
bark.  Its  constituents, according to Dr. Staples, besides fibrous substance,
are volatile  oil, a greenish fixed oil, resin, gum, colouring  matter, and a
peculiar crystallizable  principle  which he calls xanthoxylin, but of which
the properties are not  designated. (Journ. of the Phil. Col.  of Pharm. i.
165.)
   Dr. Bigelow states that  the  Aralia spinosa, or angelica tree, which
grows in the Southern States, is  occasionally confounded with the X.fraxi-
neum, in consequence,  partly,  of being sometimes called  like the latter
prickly ash. Its bark, however, in appearance and flavour, is entirely dif-
ferent from  the xanthoxylum.
   Medical  Properties and  Uses.  Xanthoxylum is stimulant, producing
when swallowed a sense  of heat in the stomach, with more or less general
arterial excitement, and a tendency to diaphoresis.  It is thought to  resem-
ble mezereon and guaiac in  its  remedial action, and is given in the same
complaints.  As  a  remedy in chronic  rheumatism, it enjoys  considerable
reputation  in this country.   The  dose of the  powder is from ten grains to'
half a drachm,  to be repeated three or four times a  day.  A decoction pre-
pared by boiling an ounce in three pints of water down to a quart, may be
given in the quantity of  a pint, in divided doses, during the twenty-four
hours.
   The powder has  sometimes been employed  as a  topical irritant, and the
bark is a popular  remedy for toothache.                           W.

               ZINCUM. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.

                                Zinc.

   Speltre; Zinc, Fr.; Zink, Germ.; Zinco, Ital, Span.
   Zinc occurs native in two principal states; as a sulphuret, called blende,
and as a carbonate or silicate, denominated calamine. It is found in various
parts of the world,  but most abundantly in Germany, from which country
the United States are principally supplied. The metal is extracted generally
from calamine.   This is  roasted and mixed with charcoal powder, and the
mixture heated  in iron cylinders  placed horizontally  over a furnace.   When
the reduction of  the zinc commences,  iron  receivers  are adapted  to the 
PART I.
Zincum.
747
opening of the cylinder to receive the volatilized metal as it condenses.  The
metal is then melted and run into moulds, and forms speltre, or the  zinc of
commerce.  In this state it is not pure, but contains iron, and traces of lead,
cadmium, arsenic,  copper, sulphur, and charcoal.   To purify it from these
substances, it must be  subjected to  a second distillation in a crucible, fur-
nished with  a tube passing through its  bottom and  open at both ends; its
upper extremity  reaching a little more than half way up the interior of the
crucible, and its lower end terminating above a vessel of water.   The impure
zinc being placed  in the crucible, the cover luted on, and  the fire applied,
the pure zinc is volatilized, and  passing down the  tube  by a descending
distillation, condenses in the water below.
   Properties. Zinc has a bluish-white colour, a peculiar taste  and a percep-
tible smell when rubbed.  Its texture is laminated and its fracture crystalline.
Its malleability and ductility are not very  great.   When perfectly pure, it
may be reduced to thin leaves at ordinary temperatures;  but the zinc of
commerce requires to be heated to a  temperature between 212° and 300° to
render it laminable,  when  it may be conveniently reduced to the form of
sheets.   The  softness  of zinc is peculiar,  as is shown by the circumstance
that it clogs the  file when the  attempt  is made to reduce  it to filings; and
hence, if it be desired to have it in the divided form, it is necessary to submit
it to fusion,  and  to triturate it at the moment of solidification.  Its sp. gr. is
about 7*1, its equivalent number 32-3, and symbol Zn.  Subjected to heat,
it fuses at 773°.    At full redness it boils,  and in close vessels may be dis-
tilled over;  but in  open ones it takes fire,  and burns with  a dazzling white
flame, giving off dense white fumes.  It dissolves  in most  of the acids with
disengagement of hydrogen, and precipitates all the metals either in the
metallic state or in that of oxide.  It  forms but one well characterized oxide
(a protoxide), and  but one sulphuret.  A peroxide was obtained by Thenard,
but its properties and composition are unknown.  The protoxide is officinal,
and  will be described under another head.  (See Zinci Oxidum.)
   Zinc of good quality dissolves in dilute sulphuric acid, with the exception
of a scanty grayish-black residuum.  If absolutely pure it would be wholly
dissolved.   The solution  is colourless, and yields  white  precipitates with
ferrocyanuret  of potassium and hydrosulphate  of  ammonia.   Ammonia
throws down from this  solution a  white  precipitate, which is wholly dis-
solved when the alkali is added in excess.   If copper be present the solution
will be rendered blue by the ammonia;  and if iron be an impurity it will be
thrown down by this alkali, but not  redissolved by its excess.
   Zinc is extensively employed in the arts.  It is  the best metal that can be
used, in conjunction with  copper, for  galvanic combinations.   Combined
with tin and mercury, it forms the  amalgam for  electrical machines.  Its
solution in dilute sulphuric acid furnishes the readiest method for obtaining
hydrogen.  With copper it forms the useful alloy called brass, and in the
form of sheet zinc it is employed to cover the roofs  of  houses.   It should
never be used for culinary vessels, as it is soluble in the weakest acids.
   Pharmaceutical Uses.   Zinc is never used in  medicine in the metallic
state; but is  employed in  this state to form the officinal preparations, acetate,
sulphate, and chloride  of zinc.  In combination, it forms  a number of im-
portant medicinal preparations, a list  of  which,  with  the synonymes, is
subjoined.
   Zinc is employed medicinally,—
  I.  Oxidized.
       Zinci Oxidum,  U. S., Ed.; Zinci Oxydum,  Lond., Dub.
          Unguentum Zinci Oxidi, U. S.; Unguentum Zinci, Lond., Ed.;
                  Unguentum Zinci Oxydi, Dub. 
748
Zincum.—Zinci Carbonas.
part i.
 II.  COMRINED WITH CHLORINE.
       Zinci Chloridum, U. S.
III.  Oxidized and combined with acids.
       Zinci Acetas, U. S.
         Zinci Acetatis Tinctura, Dub.
       Zinci Carbonas, U. S.; Calamina, Lond.; Zinci Carbonas Impurum,
                  Calamina, Dub.; Anglice Calamine.
         Zinci Carbonas  Praeparatus,  U. S.; Calamina Praeparata, Lond.,
                  Ed.; Zinci Carbonas Impurum Praeparatum, Dub.
            Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis, U. S.; Ceratum Calamines, Lond.,
                  Ed.; Unguentum Calamines, Dub.; Anglice, Turner's
                  cerate.
       Zinci Sulphas,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
         Liquor Aluminis Compositus, Lond.                      B.


                  ZINCI  CARBONAS.  U.S.

                        Carbonate of TAnc.

  " Native impure carbonate of zinc."  U. S.
  Off. Syn.  CALAMINA. Lond.; ZINCI CARBONAS IMPURUM.
CALAMINA. Dub.
  Calamine; Lapis calaminaris, hat; Carbonate de zinc, Calamine, Fr.; Galmei, Germ.;
Ginllamina, Pietra calaminaria, Ital; Calamina,  Span.
  The term calamine  is applied  by mineralogists indiscriminately to two
minerals, scarcely distinguishable by their external characters, the carbonate
and silicate of zinc. The term, however, in the pharmaceutical sense, refers
to the native carbonate only.  The silicate is sometimes called electric ca-
lamine.
  Properties, tyc.  Carbonate of zinc is found in various localities, but occurs
most abundantly in Germany and  England.  It is found also in  the United
States.  It usually occurs in compact or earthy masses, or concretions, of a
dull appearance, readily scratched  by the knife, and breaking with an earthy
fracture; but sometimes it is found crystallized.  Its colour is very variable;
being, in different specimens, grayish, grayish-yellow, reddish-yellow, and
when impure, brown, or brownish-yellow. Its sp. gr. varies from 3-4 to 4-4.
Before the blowpipe, it does not  melt, but becomes yellow and  sublimes.
When  of good quality, it is almost entirely soluble in the dilute mineral
acids, emitting a few bubbles of carbonic acid, unless it has been  previously
calcined.  If soluble in sulphuric  acid,  it can contain but little carbonate of
lime, and no sulphate of baryta. Ammonia, added to the sulphuric solution,
throws down the  oxide, and takes  it up  again when added  in excess. If
copper be present the ammonia will strike a blue colour, and in case  of the
presence of iron, the alkali will throw down the sesquioxide, not soluble in
an excess of the precipitant.   Carbonate  of zinc is distinguished from the
other variety of calamine (silicate) by dissolving in warm nitric acid without
gelatinizing, and by not being rendered electric by heat.
  Impurities.  According  to  Mr. Robert Brett, calamine,  as sold in the
English shops, frequently contains  only  traces of zinc.  He analyzed six
specimens and found them to contain from 78* to 87*5 per cent, of sulphate
of baryta, the rest consisting of sesquioxide of iron, carbonate of lime, sul-
phate (sulphuret?)  of lead, and mere traces  of zinc!   AVhen acted on by
muriatic acid, the spurious calamine, in powder, evolved sulphuretted hydro-
gen, and was only in  small part dissolved,  the great bulk of it remaining 
 part i.             Zinci Carbonas.—Zingiber.                749

 behind as sulphate of baryta. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm. ix. 173,  from the
 Brit. Annals of Med.)   Even  the best calamine of the  shops is impure,
 containing iron and copper, and various  earthy matters.  That which has
 been calcined to render  it more readily pulverizable, contains  little or no
 carbonic acid, and, therefore, is not entitled  to the name of carbonate.  In
 view of these facts,  it would probably be an improvement  if this prepara-
 tion were expunged  from the Pharmacopoeias, and the pure carbonate, ob-
 tained by precipitation, substituted for it.
   Composition.  The crystallized variety is anhydrous, and consists of one
 eq. of carbonic acid 22-12, and one of protoxide of zinc 40-3=62-42.   The
 compact and earthy varieties are said to contain one eq. of water.
   Pharmaceutical Uses.  Calamine requires to be  brought to a state of
 impalpable powder before it can be used in medicine, and in this state it
 forms the Prepared Carbonate of Zinc, under which head its medical  pro-
 perties will be noticed.
   Off. Prep.  Ceratum  Calamines,  Lond.;  Zinci Carbonas Praeparatus,
 U. S., Lond., Dub.                                              B.

              ZINGIBER.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.

                               Ginger.

   " The rhizoma of Zingiber officinale." U.S., Ed.   " Zingiber officinalis.
 Rhizoma." Lond.  " Amomum Zingiber.  Radix." Dub.
   Gingembre, Fr.; Ingwer, Germ.; Zenzero, llal; Gengibre, Span.
   Zingiber.  Sex. Syst.  Monandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Scitaminea?,
 R. Brown; Zingiberaceae, Lindley.
   Gen. Ch.  Flowers spathaceous.  Inner limb of the corolla with one lip.
 Anther double, with a simple recurved  horn  at the end.   Germen inferior.
 Style enclosed in the furrow formed by the anther.   Loudon's Encyc. of
 Plants.
   Zingiber officinale.  Roscoe, Trans.  Linn. Soc.  viii. 348;  Amomum
 Zingiber. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 6; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 731. t. 250.  The
 ginger plant has a biennial or perennial, creeping, tuberous root or rhizoma,
 and an annual stem, which rises two or three feet in height, is solid, round,
 erect, and enclosed in an imbricated membranous sheathing.   The leaves
 are lanceolate, acute, smooth, five or six inches long  by about  an inch in
 breadth, and stand alternately on the sheaths of the stem.  The scape or
 flower stalk rises by the  side of the stem from six inches to a  foot high,
 like it is clothed with oval acuminate  sheaths, but is without leaves,  and
 terminates in an oval, obtuse, bracteal, imbricated spike.  The flowers are
 of a dingy yellow colour, and appear  two or three at a time  between the
 bracteal scales.
   The plant is a native of Hindostan, and is cultivated  in all parts of India.
 It is also cultivated in the West Indies,  whither it was transplanted from the
 East.   The flowers have  an aromatic smell,  and the stems,  when bruised,
 are slightly fragrant;  but  the root is  the portion in which the virtues of the
 plant reside.  This is fit to be dug up when a year old.  In the West Indies,
 the ginger crop is gathered in January  and  February after the stems have
 withered.   After having been properly cleansed, the root is scalded in boil-
 ing water, in order to prevent germination, and is then rapidly dried. Thus
 prepared, it constitutes the ordinary ginger of commerce, or black ginger, as
it is sometimes called, from the darkish  colour which it acquires in the pro-
                                 64* 
750
Zingiber.
PART I.
cess. It is imported into this country almost exclusively from Calcutta, and
is known to the  druggists by the name of East India ginger.   In Jamaica
another variety is prepared by selecting the best roots, depriving  them of
their epidermis,  and drying them separately and carefully in the sun.  This
is called in the books  white ginger, and is most highly valued.  It reaches
us from England, where  it is said to undergo some further preparation, by
which  its appearance is improved.   It is  usually called in  our  markets
Jamaica ginger.   The  root is  also brought  immediately from the West
Indies  in a recent state and sold by the confectioners.  A preserve is made
from ginger by selecting  the roots while young and tender, depriving them
of their cortical covering, and boiling them in syrup.  This is occasionally
imported from the East and West Indies.   When good it is translucent and
tender.
   The recent root is from one to four inches long, somewhat flattened on its
upper  and under surface,  knotty, obtusely and irregularly branched or lobed,
externally of a light ash  colour,  and  marked with circular rugae, internally
fleshy  and yellowish-white.   It  sometimes germinates when kept in the
shops.
   The common, East India, or black ginger, is of the same general shape,
but has a dark ash-coloured wrinkled epidermis, which being removed in
some  places, exhibits patches of an almost black colour, apparently the
result  of exposure.  Beneath the  epidermis is a brownish, resinous, almost
horny  cortical portion. The interior parenchyma is whitish and somewhat
farinaceous.   The  powder is of a  light yellowish-brown colour.  This
variety is most extensively used  throughout the country.
   The Jamaica or white ginger differs in being entirely deprived of epi-
dermis, and  white, or yellowish-white on the outside.  The pieces are
rounder, and thinner, in consequence  of the loss  of substance in their
preparation.   They afford when  pulverized  a beautiful  yellowish-white
powder, which is brought from  Liverpool in jars.  This variety is  firm
and  resinous, and has more of the  sensible  qualities  of ginger than the
black.   There is reason to believe that  a portion at least of the white
ginger of commerce has  been subjected to  a bleaching process, by which
not only the  exterior, but also the interna] parts are rendered whiter  than
in the  unprepared root.  Trommsdorff found, in a specimen which he ex-
amined, evidences of  the presence of chlorides, sulphates,  and lime; and
concluded  that the  bleaching was effected by chlorine, or the chloride of
lime and sulphuric acid.   Having macerated some black  ginger in water,
deprived it of the  cortical portion,  treated it  for twenty-four hours with
sulphuric acid diluted with  nine times its weight of water, and finally
placed it in a mixture of chloride  of lime and water in which it was  allowed
to remain for two days, he found it,  upon  being washed and dried, to  pre-
sent an appearance  closely resembling that of the finest white ginger,  both
on the surface and internally. (Annal. der Pharm. xvii. 98.)  According
to Brande, ginger is often washed in whiting and water; and Pereira states
that it  is sometimes bleached by exposure to the fumes of burning sulphur.
   General Properties. The odour of ginger is aromatic and penetrating, the
taste spicy, pungent, hot, and biting.   These properties gradually diminish,
and  ultimately disappear when the root is long exposed.   The virtues of
ginger are extracted by water and alcohol.  Its constituents,  according to
M. Morin, are a volatile oil of a greenish-blue colour; a resinous matter, soft,
acrid,  aromatic, and soluble in ether and  alcohol; a sub-resin insoluble in
ether;  a little osmazome; gum; starch;  a vegeto-animal matter; sulphur;
acetic  acid; acetate of potassa;  and lignin.  The peculiar flavour  of the 
PART I.
Zingiber.
751
root  appears to depend  on the essential oil,  its pungency  partly on the
resinous or resino-extractive principle.  A  considerable  quantity of very
pure white starch may be obtained from it.
  Those pieces of ginger which are very fibrous, light and friable, or worm-
eaten, should be rejected.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Ginger is a grateful stimulant and car-
minative, and is often given in dyspepsia,  flatulent colic, and the feeble
state of the alimentary canal attendant upon  atonic gout.  It is an excellent
addition to bitter infusions and  tonic powders, imparting to them an agree-
able, warming,  and cordial operation upon the stomach.  When chewed it
produces  much irritation of the mouth, and a copious flow of saliva; and
when snuffed up the nostrils, in the state of powder, excites violent sneez-
ing.   It is sometimes used as a local remedy in relaxation of the uvula, and
paralysis of the tongue and fauces.  Externally applied, it acts as a rube-
facient.  It may be given in powder or infusion. The dose of the former
is from ten grains to a scruple or more. The infusion may be prepared by
adding half an ounce of the powdered  or bruised root to  a pint of boiling
water, and may be given in the dose of one  or two fluidounces.
   Off. Prep. Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum, U. S., Ed., Dub.;  Con-
fectio  Opii, Lond., Dub.; Confectio  Scammonii, Lond., Dub.;  Infusum
Sennae, Ed., Lond., Dub; Pilulae Gambogiae Compositae, Dub., Lond.;
Pil. Hydrargyri Iodidi, Lond.; Pil. Scillae Compositae, U. S., Lond., Ed.,
Dub.; Pulvis Aromaticus, U. S., Ed., Dub.;  Pulvis  Cinnamomi Compo-
situs, Lond.;  Pulvis  Jalapae  Comp.,  Lond.;  Pulvis Rhei Comp., Ed.;
Pulvis Scammonii Comp., Lond., Dub.; Syrupus  Rhamni, Lond.,  Ed.;
Syrupus Zingiberis, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura Cinnamomi Comp., U. S.,
Lond.; Tinct.  Rhei Comp., Lond.; Tinct.  Zingiberis, U. S., Lond., Ed.,
Dub.; Vinum Aloes, U. S., Ed., Dub.                           W. 
PART  II.
                      PREPARATIONS.

   The preparation of medicines, which constitutes the art  of Pharmacy,
comes within the peculiar province of the apothecary. It is for his guidance
that the various formulae of the Pharmacopoeia have been arranged, and to
him that their directions are especially addressed.
   A few general observations, therefore, of an explanatory nature, calculated
to facilitate the progress of the pharmaceutic student, will not be  misplaced
under the present head.  The duty of the apothecary is to obtain a supply
of good medicines,  to preserve them with care, to prepare them properly for
use, and to dispense them.  Our remarks will embrace each of these points.
   The substances obtained from the mineral and animal kingdoms, and those
furnished by the chemical manufacturer,  are of a nature to admit of no gene-
ral precepts as to their proper condition,  which would not be suggested by
the common  sense of the purchaser.   He must receive them as offered,  and
judge of their fitness for his purposes by  his knowledge of the peculiar pro-
perties of each.  The same remark applies  to vegetable substances from
abroad; but with respect to indigenous plants,  the apothecary is frequently
called upon to exercise his judgment in relation to their collection and desic-
cation, and will derive advantage from some  brief practical  rules upon the
subject.
   Collecting and Drying of Plants.  The proper mode of proceeding varies
according to  the nature of the part used.   The different parts of plants are
to be gathered at the period when the peculiar juices of the plant are most
abundant in them.  In the roots of annual plants this happens just before the
time of flowering; in the roots of biennials,  after the vegetation of the first
year has ceased; and in those of perennials, in  the spring before vegetation
has commenced. They should be washed, and  the small fibres, unless they
are the part employed, should be separated from the fleshy solid part, which
is to be cut in slices previously to being  dried.  Bulbs are to be gathered
after the new bulb is perfected, and before it has begun to vegetate, which is
at the time  the leaves decay. Barks, whether  of the root, trunk, or branches,
should be gathered in the autumn or early in the spring.  The dead epider-
mis, and the  decayed parts, are to be separated. Of some trees, as the slip-
pery elm, it  is the  inner bark  only that  is preserved.  Leaves are to be
gathered after their  full development, before the fading of the flower.  The
leaves of biennial plants do not attain their perfect qualities until the second
year.  Flowers should in general be gathered at the time of their expansion,
before or immediately after they have fully opened; and some, as the Rosa
Gallica, while in the  bud.   Aromatic herbs are to be gathered  when in
flower.  Leaves, flowers, and herbs are to be  gathered in clear dry weather,
in the morning, after the dew is  exhaled.   Stalks and twigs are  collected
in autumn; seeds at the period of their full maturity. 
part ii.          Collecting and Drying of Plants.            753
  Vegetables should be dried as rapidly as is consistent with their perfect
preservation.  Fibrous roots may be dried in the sun or in a room in which
a heat of from 65° to 80°  is maintained.  Fleshy roots may be cut in trans-
verse slices, dried in the open air till the moisture is nearly evaporated, and
then placed in a stove heat not exceeding 100°, till perfectly dry and hard.
Bulbs must have  the outer  membranes peeled off, and be cut in transverse
slices and dried in a heat  not  exceeding 100°.   Barks, woods, and twigs
readily dry in thin layers  in the open air. Leaves which are dry and thin do
not require  a  heat exceeding 60° or 70°; those which are succulent may be
exposed, by carefully and slowly raising the heat, to a temperature of 100°.
Flowers must be  dried carefully and rapidly in the shade; those of the most
delicate texture  and odour requiring the greatest care.
  The following  table, taken  from the Edinburgh Dispensatory, presents
the amount yielded by 1000 parts of the vegetables respectively mentioned,
after being dried.
Roots of Angelica Archangelica   263
        Aspidium Filix Mas     500
        Inula Helenium   -   -   187
        Valeriana sylvestris   -   316
Bark of the Oak.....410
           Elder   ....   292
           Elm    ....   375
Twigs of Solanum Dulcamara     308
Leaves of  Atropa Belladonna  -   140
          Conium maculatum    185
          Datura Stramonium    110
Leaves of Digitalis purpurea -   180
          Hyoscyamus niger   135
          Melissa officinalis -   220
          Salvia officinalis   -   220
Tops of Mentha piperita -   -   215
Flowers of Anthemis nobilis -   338
         ' Borago officinalis -    96
          Lavandula vera   -   510
          Sambucus Ebulus-   256
Petals of Papaver Rhceas -   -    84
         Rosa rubra  -  -   -   330
   Preservation, of Medicines.  The proper preservation of medicines is an
 object of the greatest importance  to the apothecary.   The aromatic gums
 and resins, and in general all the parts of vegetables, should be kept secluded
 from  the light and as much as possible from the air, in perfectly dry rooms.
 Boxes or barrels, with close covers, will serve for holding roots and barks,
 after  they have been thoroughly dried.   Roots and bulbs, such as liquorice
 and squill, which are to be preserved fresh, should be buried in dry sand.
 Leaves and floivers should be kept  in tin canisters or in light boxes lined
 with  lead, tin, or zinc.   The apothecary should regulate his  purchases of
 perishable drugs by the demand which he finds for them, so as frequently to
 renew them.  He should frequently examine  the condition of every article,
 and on the slightest appearance of mouldiness, or of  the attack  of insects,
 should clean  them,  and again  dry them perfectly in a  heat of from 70°
 to 100°.   This examination and re-drying, which  should  be made  several
 times a year in respect to the articles which are  most subject to change, should
 be made  early in the spring of all the roots and barks and leaves in the shop;
 and those of which the sensible properties have become impaired should be
 rejected.
  Drugs frequently require to be garbled, as it is termed, before they are in
 a proper stale for use.  Senna is  to be separated from the stalks and legumes;
 lichen from moss, leaves, and sticks; myrrh from bdellium, <fcc; gum Sene-
 gal from Bassora gum and a terebinthinate resin; flaxseed from clover seed;
 seneka from  ginseng;  spigelia from  the stems, and both  it and serpentaria
from the  adhering dirt.  Seroons of cinchona should  be examined, and the
barks  assorted before they are put by for use.    Gums and gum-resins should
be garbled, and the clear transparent tears preserved separately.
  IVeights and Measures.   A precise acquaintance with the  recognised 
754        Weights and Measures.—Specific Gravity.    part ii.

measures of weight and capacity is essential to the operations of the apothe-
cary.  The weights used by him  in compounding medicines, are the troy
pound and its divisions; those by which he buys and sells, the pound avoir-
dupois and its divisions.   The former contains  5760 grains, the latter 7000
grains, so that 11 troy pounds are nearly equivalent to 9 pounds avoirdupois.
The troy pound contains  12  ounces  of 480 grains; the avoirdupois pound
16 ounces of 437s grains, eleven of the former being nearly equal to twelve
of the latter.   The troy ounce is divided for the use of the apothecary, into
8 drachms of  60 grains each, and  the drachm into 3  scruples of 20 grains
each. The United States and British Pharmacopoeias  all recognise the troy
weights, and whenever in this work any  term is used expressive of weight,
it is to be understood as being of this denomination.
  The measures used by the apothecary, in this country, are the wine pint
and the gallon.  The wine pint contains 28*875 cubic inches.  The weight
of a pint of distilled water at 62°  Fahrenheit and 30° of the barometer, is
7289-7 grains, or 1 pound 3 ounces 1 drachm 29-7 grains troy, or 1 pound
289-7 grains avoirdupois.  The gallon is divided into 8 pints, the pint into
16 fluidounces, the fluidounce into 8 fluidrachms, and the fluidrachm into
60 minims.  The weight of a fluidounce of water is 455| grains, being 18
grains more than an avoirdupois ounce.  A drop is generally though incor-
rectly considered as equivalent to the minim.  Drops vary in size according to
the nature of the fluid, and the size and shape of the lip from which they fall.
A drop of water nearly equals a minim.   A fluidrachm of antimonial wine
will make, on an average, about 72 drops, one of laudanum  120 drops, and
one of alcohol 138 drops.  For a table  showing the relative value of minims
and drops, see the Appendix. Measures are employed, both by the United
States and British Pharmacopoeias,  to express the quantity of liquids  in
nearly all their formulae.
  Fluids are to  be dispensed  from  graduated measures, of which those hold-
ing from a fluidounce to a pint are hollow inverted cones; and those holding
a fluidrachm,  and graduated to every five  minims,  are  cylindrical.  For
smaller quantities  than five minims, a slender tube holding a fluidrachm may
be used, having the aliquot parts  divided off and marked with a diamond.
Care should be  taken to verify these instruments.   The following approxi-
mate measures are used in prescribing medicines, viz.  a  wineglassful con-
taining two fluidounces, a tablespoonful containing  half a fluidounce, a
dessertspoonful  two fluidrachms, and a teaspoonful a fluidrachm.
   Specific Gravity.   The specific gravity of fluids affords  one of the best
tests of their purity.   The instrument commonly used by  the apothecary
for ascertaining  this is Baume's hydrometer. This is a glass bulb loaded at
one end and drawn out at the other into a tube on which the scale is marked.
That used for aleohol is graduated by  loading it until it sinks to the foot of
the stem (which is marked zero)  in a  solution of one  part of salt in nine
parts of water.   It is  then put into  water, and  the place to which it sinks
marks 10° of the scale, which is constructed from these data.   The hydro-
meter for liquids heavier than water is made by loading it, so that in distilled
water it shall  sink to nearly  the top of the  stem.  The place to which it
sinks in a solution of 15 parts of  salt  in 85 parts of  water is then marked
as 15°, and the  scale divided off.  For a table exhibiting the value of these
scales in specific gravities, see the Appendix.
   The hydrometers commonly imported are so carelessly made that scarcely
any two will agree, and little dependence is to  be placed on their accuracy.
A more certain  method consists in weighing the liquid at a uniform temper-
ature in a bottle, the capacity of which, in grains of distilled  water,  has 
part n.     Specific Gravity.—Mechanical Division.          755
been previously ascertained.  If a bottle is selected which will hold exactly
1000  grains of water at 60°, the weight in grains  of the quantity of any
liquid which it will hold will be the specific gravity of that liquid.  Such
bottles are sold in the shops.   If one is not attainable, an ordinary vial may
be used, and  the specific gravity obtained by dividing the  weight of the
liquid examined by the  weight of the water.
  Gay-Lussac's centesimal alcoholmeter is a very useful instrument, being
graduated so as to indicate the percentage of absolute alcohol in any mixture
of spirit and water.
  The specific gravity  of a solid is ascertained by  first weighing it in air
and then in water, and dividing the former weight by the difference between
the two.
  Mechanical Division.  One of the simplest means of preparing medi-
cines, is their reduction, by mechanical means, to a state of minute division.
This includes the various operations of  pulverization, levigation, grinding,
filing, rasping, sifting, bruising,  slicing, &c.
  The principal drugs which are sold in the state of powder, are pulverized
by persons who pursue  that occupation for a livelihood.  The apothecary,
therefore, is chiefly interested in knowing the loss sustained in this process.
The following statement has been abbreviated from a table prepared by MM.
Henry and Guibourt.  One thousand  parts of the substances  mentioned
yielded,  when pulverized—
Roots.				Vegetable Products	
Jalap ...	940	Cinnamon	890	Aloes	960
Rhubarb	920	Angustura	825	Tragacanth -	940
Columbo	900	Leaves,		Opium	930
Liquorice root	900	Hemlock	800	Gum Arabic	925
Valerian	860	Savine	800	Scammony -	915
Elecampane -	850	Digitalis	790	Catechu	900
Gentian	850	Belladonna	785	Liquorice (extract)	810
Florentine orris	850	Senna -	720	Animal Substances	
Rhatany	850	Henbane	530	Castor	'900
Calamus	640	Flowers.		Spanish flies	850
Virginia snakeroot	800	Chamomile	850	Mineral Substancet	-.
Ipecacuanha	750	Saffron	800	Red oxide of mercury	980
Squill (bulb)	820	Fruits.		Red sulphuret of mer-	
Barks-		Mustard	950	cury	950
Cinchonia, pale	875	Black pepper	900	Arsenious acid	950
--------, red	880	Nux vomica	850	Sulphuret of antimony	950
--------, yellow -	900	Colocynth	500	Tin - - -	825
  For the greater part of those drugs that are powdered in the shops, iron,
brass, glass, or Wedgwood mortars are to be used; the two former for hard
substances requiring repeated  blows; the latter for those which are friable
and can be reduced to powder  by trituration.   The interior surface of the
mortar should be concave and nearly spherical, and care should  be taken
not to impede the operation by overloading and  clogging the pestle.   In
powdering acrid substances,  the mortar should be covered with a board
perforated in the centre for the pestle, or with a large piece of pliable leather
tied round the top of the mortar and the  handle of the pestle, so as to allow
of the free motion of the latter.  The operator should guard himself against
the  fine particles of very acrid substances,  by standing with his back to a
current of air, and covering his nostrils  with a wet cloth.  Various  means
are  used to facilitate the operation of powdering.  All vegetable substances
must be carefully  and thoroughly dried.  Resins, gum-resins, and gums,
must be powdered in cold frosty weather.   Tragacanth and  nux vomica 
 756              Separation of Solids from Liquids.       part ii.

 must be dried in a stove heat, and powdered while hot. The fibrous roots, as
 liquorice and marshmallow, should be previously shaved into thin transverse
 slices.  Agaric is to be powdered by beating it into a paste with water, then
 drying and triturating it.  Cloves and the aromatic seeds may be ground in
 a hand mill and afterwards triturated.  Squill and colocynth, the comminu-
 tion of which is sometimes aided by soaking them in mucilage of tragacanth
 and then drying, are best powdered in a dry atmosphere, after being tho-
 roughly dried in a stove heat.   Camphor  requires the addition of a few
 drops of alcohol.  The efflorescent salts may be obtained in the state of fine
 powder by exsiccation, and those which  are insoluble in alcohol, may be
 precipitated by it, in an impalpable powder, from their aqueous solutions.
   Care should be taken in powdering, previously to separate  the inert por-
 tions and impurities, and to mix intimately the whole of the powder which
 is reserved for use. The central woody fibre of ipecacuanha and other roots,
 the virtues of which reside in the bark, is  to be rejected. The first portions
 of those barks to which lichens and the dead epidermis adhere, are inert; as
 are also the last particles of the fibrous roots and barks.  The outer coat of
 the aromatic  seeds is to be reserved, and the inner albuminous part rejected
 as inodorous.
   In the operation of powdering, the fine  particles are to be separated from
 time to time by sifting.  Fine sieves should  be made of that sort of raw silk
 called bolting cloth; coarser ones  of wire,  hair cloth, or gauze. Valuable or
 aromatic powders should be passed through box sieves, which are  sieves
 provided with covers  for the top  and bottom, that shut up so as to prevent
 all waste.
   Ivory, horn, nux vomica, wood, and iron, are prepared for pharmaceutic
 purposes by filing or  rasping; guaiacum wood by turning in a lathe;  roots,
 stalks, and leaves, by cutting with a large  pair of shears, such as is used by
 the tinplate workers;  or with a large knife fixed in a frame at one end, and
 furnished with a long handle at the other.   Tin and zinc are granulated by
 melting them, and strongly agitating whilst  they are cooling; carbonate of
 potassa by stirring the concentrated solution with a rod  as it hardens.
   Earthy insoluble substances are conveniently reduced to powder by levi-
 gation.  This is performed by moistening them with alcohol or  water, and
 rubbing them on  a hard flat stone with a muller or rubber of the same mate-
 rial.  The powder may be rendered impalpable by agitating it with a large
 quantity of water, and pouring off the liquid to settle, after tbe coarser parti-
 cles have subsided.   The fineness of the powder  depends on its specific
 gravity, and the length of time which elapses before the liquid from which it
 subsides is drawn off.  This  last operation is termed elutriation, and the
thick pasty mass which remains, is usually dropped on an absorbent surface,
and  dried in  the shape of small cones.  Vanilla, mace, and other oily aro-
matic substances, may be rubbed to powder with sugar; magnesia and white
lead, by friction on a wire or hair sieve.
   Separation of Solids from Liquids.  This is another mechanical opera-
tion which is frequently resorted  to in practical pharmacy.   It includes the
processes of  decantation, filtration, straining, expression,  clarification, &c.
  Solids may be separated from fluids, when there exists no chemical action
between them, by being allowed  to subside.  The supernatant liquid may
then be carefully poured off;  or it may be drawn off by  a syphon; or sepa-
rated by filtering.   Either the last operation, or expression by a stronger
force, is necessary to  separate the whole of  the liquid.
  Jars larger  at bottom than at the top, and  furnished with a lip for pour-
ing, are sold in the shops, and will be found very useful for precipitations. 
part ii.         Separation of Solids from  Liquids.             151
   When the powder subsides very slowly, the precipitation may be greatly
 hastened by  the  addition of a small quantity of the solution of gelatin.
 Gelatinous precipitates, such as alumina, must be filtered to clear them from
 the adhering liquid.
   The most convenient material for a filter is unsized paper.  This is to be
 folded into a cone and placed in a glass  funnel.   It will  serve for filtering
 tinctures, wines, saline solutions, watery infusions, and essential oils.  In
 some cases it may be necessary to place a small cone of  the same material
 outside of the large one, in order to strengthen it.   When the liquid is too
 viscid to pass readily through paper, a cotton or woollen bag of a conical
 shape may be used.  Acids may be filtered through a layer of fine siliceous
 sand, supported  in the neck of a glass funnel by pieces of glass gradually
 decreasing in size.  Castor oil, syrups, and oxymels may be readily filtered
 through coarse paper made entirely of woollen shreds.  Melted fats, plasters,
 resins, and wax,  may be strained, through muslin stretched over a square
 frame or a hoop.  Small sieves of  fine bolting  cloth serve  for  straining
 emulsions,  decoctions, and  infusions; and a temporary strainer  for these
 purposes may be made by fastening a piece of muslin between the upper and
 lower parts of a common pill box, and  then cutting off  the ends so as to
 leave the rim  only of the box around the muslin.  The filtration of viscid
 substances is facilitated by heat.  Filtration through bone  black is practised
 for  muddy or dark coloured  liquids.
 Much inconvenience is often experienced
 in the filtration  of hot saturated saline
 solutions,  by the  cooling of the liquid
 and consequent crystallization of the salt
 in the filter and neck of the funnel. To
 obviate this, the tin apparatus represent-
 ed in the wood  cut has been contrived
 by Professor Hare.  The vessel is filled
 with hot water, which is kept at a boil-
 ing  heat by a spirit lamp placed under
 the  cavity having the shape of an in-
 verted funnel.  A glass funnel with a
 filter is placed in the other cavity, and
 the  liquid passes  through rapidly.   In
 filtering alcoholic  solutions, it is neces-
 sary to protect the liquid from the flame
 of the lamp, and  for this  purpose  the
 partition  underneath has been  added.
 No apothecary should be without this useful apparatus.  Frames of various
 sizes for holding funnels and filters will be found very useful; the wood cut
 represents the one commonly used.   The efflo-
 rescence of saline solutions  on the  edge of the
 filtering paper may be prevented by dipping it in
 melted tallow or lard.
   The filtration  of liquids which are altered by
 exposure to the air, requires much caution.  A
 very simple method of accomplishing it, is to in-
 sert a slender tube of glass into the funnel, long
enough to reach below the neck, while the upper
part  is nearly as  high as the top of the funnel.  The space between the
tube and  the neck must be filled with bits of glass and fine sand, so  as to
form a good filtering bed;  the  liquid  is  to be poured  in, and the ton of
      65                                                         L
 
758      Separation of Liquids.—Application of Heat,   part ii.
the funnel covered with a plate of glass.  If this be luted on, and the funnel
luted into the neck of a bottle, the process will be performed with perfect
accuracy.
   Expression is required to separate the last portions of tinctures  or infu-
sions from  the dregs.  A screw press is used for this purpose.   The sub-
stance  to be pressed is put into a cylinder  of strong  sheet tin, the  sides of
which  are pierced with small holes.   This is placed on a square tray of tin
having a lip for pouring.  A  block  of  wood fits into the cylinder and is
placed on the top, and the whole is put  under the screw press, the pressure
of which is gradually brought to bear upon it.
   This press is to be used for expressing the juices of fresh plants, which,
previously  to being pressed,  must be well  beaten in a mortar, and water
added  to those which are hard and dry.
   The expressed oils are  obtained by bruising the seeds which  contain
them,  and enclosing the bruised mass  in  strong bags which are placed in
a firm  hollow frame and subjected to  strong  sudden pressure by driving
up a wedge.   Expressed oils  are clarified from mucilage by boiling them
with water.
   Liquids  in general are rendered clear by the addition of some coagulable
substance,  such as milk or an  aqueous solution of ichthyocolla.  The white
of an egg, beaten up with water, will coagulate  by a gentle heat, and clarify
any liquid  with  which it has been mixed.  The vegetable acids will clarify
many  of the expressed juices of plants.
                              Separation of Liquids. Liquids which have
                           no chemical affinity, and differ in specific gra-
                           vity, may be separated by allowing them to re-
                           main at rest in the separating funnel represented
                           in the annexed figure, and then drawing off the
                           heavier fluid.  Another very convenient method
                           of separating fluids is by means of the separa-
                           tory figured in the wood cut in  the  margin.
 V  \JJ        iHrbn   '^'ie ^ast c'roPs °f tne  heavier fluid  may be
  ^-__s          \v~r      drawn off by means of  this instrument.
                              Application of Heat.  The most efficient and
                            economical means of obtaining heat is a subject
              of great importance to the  pharmaceutist, on account of the
              variety of processes in which  it  is required.
                With the small furnaces, which are now made of fire clay,
              of various patterns and sizes, almost all the operations of the
              laboratory which require  heat, can be  performed.  The fuel
              used is charcoal, although anthracite will  burn in those of a
              larger size, and is  to be preferred where a uniform heat is ne-
              cessary for  several hours.  The apothecary should  be  pro-
              vided with a complete set of these useful utensils, including
              one with a dome for a reverberatory furnace.  By adding a
              pipe  several feet in length to this, and urging the fire with a
              pair of double bellows, the heat may be raised to that of an air
              furnace.   A small pipe of sheet iron with  a cone at the lower
              end, as in the  figure, to  fit on the furnace, will be found an
              excellent  means of obtaining  an intense heat in those of the
              smallest size.   For operations  on  a  smaller scale, the most
              convenient means of obtaining  heat is by an alcoholic lamp.
              Alcohol burns without smoke or smell, and is almost as cheap
              a fuel as oil, to which it  is on every other account preferable.
 
PART II.
Application of Heat.
759
The annexed figures represent the usual forms of spirit lamps.   The larger
one  will  be  found very
useful  in heating spatulas
for spreading plasters. For
supporting the substance to
be heated,  iron tripods of ^^V3
various heights  and sizes
must be provided.  These
should be  furnished with
sets  of concentric rings as in  the figure, for
vessels of different sizes. A very convenient
support is the stand and ring figured in the
wood  cut,  which will answer either for  a
spirit lamp, or a small  furnace made from  a
black  lead  cru-
cible as in  the
figure.
   The tempera-
ture required in
pharmaceutical
processes,    sel-
dom exceeds  a
red  heat;   and
the  vessels  used
are  crucibles of
silver,    porce-
lain, Wedgwood
ware, black lead,
and fire clay (Hessian  crucibles).  Silver  is used for the fusion of potassa,
porcelain for nitrate of silver, and black lead and Hessian  crucibles for
the  metals, glass of antimony, sulphuret of potassium,  and  the ordinary
operations which require a great heat.  They are each  liable to objections;
silver  fuses too readily;  porcelain and Wedgwood ware do not bear sudden
changes of temperature; black lead, which bears these changes, is  destroyed
by saline substances, and  burns  in a current of air;  and the  Hessian cru-
cibles are so porous as to absorb and waste much of the fused substance.
The crucibles should be covered with a lid  or an inverted crucible, and should
be supported at a little  distance from the bottom of the grate, and surrounded
and covered with ignited coals.  Liquefaction is performed in open earthen,
copper, or iron vessels, and  care must be taken not to raise the  heat so as
to char or inflame the  substance.
   A sand bath is an indispensable part of the  pharmaceutic apparatus.  It
is usually an iron pot or a shallow vessel of sheet iron capable of holding
sand to the depth of four or six inches.  It serves to regulate the action of
the  heat on vessels which do not bear a rapid change of temperature.   It is
sometimes heated to a red heat, as in preparing
the  mineral acids, though more frequently used
for the evaporation of  saline solutions and vege-
table juices.  The water bath is  to be used in
all cases in  which a heat  above that  of  boiling
water would be injurious.  A very convenient
one, figured in the wood cut, consists of two copper vessels, the  upper one
of which is well tinned.  Where a temperature above that of boiling water
 
760
Application of Heat.
PART II.
 and not exceeding  228° is required, the water bath may be filled  with a
 saturated solution of common salt.
   The common still and worm, the vessels in general use for distillation, are
 too well known to  need description.  A convenient still or alembic for small
                       operations, which may be heated by a spirit lamp, is
                       figured in the wood cut.  The top of the head is kept
                       filled with cold water, and all  escape of vapour is
                       prevented by having an inner ledge to the still, and
                       filling the space in which the head fits with water.
                       The condensation of  all the vapour is secured by
                       adapting a worm or a long tube to the  apparatus.
                       The boiler of this still may hold one or two gallons,
                       and  it will be found a very useful means of recover-
                       ing the alcohol in making alcoholic extracts.  It may
                       easily be converted into a water bath by fitting on
                       the top of the boiler a vessel of convenient form.
                         For the extrication and  condensation or absorp
 tion of  gaseous fluids, a retort and a series of three necked (or  Woulfe's)
 bottles are used.  The bottles are partly filled with water and become satu-
 rated in succession.  As the  tubes which convey the gas are plunged nearly
 to the bottom of the liquid in the bottles, there is danger, when the operation
 is complete, and a vacuum formed in the retort, of the water being driven
 by the atmospheric pressure in the last bottle, back through the whole series,
 so as to fill the retort.   To prevent this, safety tubes must be fitted to the
 retort and the  bottles.  Those for the bottles are straight tubes, dipping a
 small depth into the liquid; that for the retort is the common Welter's tube
 of safety.  When  the common glass retort and receiver are used for the
 distillation  of fluids, care should  be  taken not to apply the luting until the
 atmospheric air is expelled.  The chief objects to be aimed at are to keep
                               the body of the retort hot,  and the neck
                               and receiver cool.  A hood of pasteboard
                               or tin, as represented in the figure, will
                                much facilitate the former;  and the latter
                               will be gained by keeping the neck and
                               receiver wrapt  in wet cloths, on  which
                               a stream of cold water is kept running.
                               This  may  be  conveniently  done by
                               means of a syphon, made by dipping one
 end of  a strip of cotton or woolen cloth in a vessel of  water, and allowing
 the other end to hang down upon cloths bound loosely around the receiver
 or the neck of the retort.
   When the object of distillation is  to preserve the  residuum, and this is
 liable to injury from heat, as  is the case with vegetable extracts, the opera-
 tion is best performed in vacuo.  For this purpose the still and recipient are
 made so as to form an  air-tight apparatus, and  the latter is furnished with a
 stop cock, which is kept open until the  whole of the atmospheric air is
 expelled by the vapour.  It is then closed, and a vacuum formed and main-
 tained in the recipient by surrounding it with cold water.  The distillation
 is carried on in this manner at a much lower temperature than ordinary.
   The vapours of some volatile solids have the property of condensing into
 the solid form, either in mass, or in  a  state of the  most minute division.
 The operation  in which this occurs, is called sublimation.  When the pro-
 duct is compact, it is called a sublimate, when slightly adhering, it is called
flowers.  The operation is generally performed in a sand bath; and the
tcru
#=- 
 part ii.                        Lutes.                             761

 apparatus consists of two vessels  fitting each other, one being inverted over
 the other.  The shape, size, and depth of  the vessels, and the degree of
 heat to be applied, are regulated by the nature of the  substance operated on.
   Lutes.   The most precious material for the chemist is glass, the trans-
 parency, insolubility, and hardness of which fit it for almost every purpose.
 It is often necessary to strengthen it by means  of lutes, which will bear a
 heat at which glass would soften;  and the  application of lutes  for this pur-
 pose, and for securing the junctures of tubes and vessels, is also an impor-
 tant part of the pharmaceutic art.  Those lutes which are required for coating
 vessels exposed to a great heat, are made of Stourbridge clay.  The clay is
 made into a paste  with water mixed with chopped  straw, and successive
 coats applied as they become dry.  Earthenware  vessels may be rendered
 impervious to air or vapours, by brushing over them a thin  paste made of
 slaked lime and a solution  of  borax containing an ounce to the half pint.
 This is allowed to dry, and the vessel is then coated with slacked lime and
 linseed oil, beaten till the mixture becomes plastic.   Earthenware retorts
 thus coated, may be safely used more than once, the  coating being renewed
 every time.
   Fat lute is applied to the joinings of apparatus to  prevent the escape  of
 corrosive vapours.   It is  made like glazier's putty, pipe clay being substi-
 tuted for whiting.   It will bear a considerable heat, and great care must be
 taken that  the  part  where it  is applied be perfectly dry.   If it is  to be
 exposed to heat, slips of moistened bladder must be  wrapped round it and
 secured with twine.
   Roman cement and plaster of Paris may be applied  in the same manner as
 fire clay. When used for securing the joinings of apparatus, a coating of oil
 or wax will render them air-tight.
   A very useful lute is formed by beating the white  of an egg thoroughly
 with an equal quantity of water, and mixing it with some slaked lime in  the
 state of fine powder, so as to form  a thin paste. This  must be spread imme-
 diately on slips of muslin and  applied to the cracks or joinings intended to
 be luted.   It soon hardens,  adheres strongly, and will bear a heat approach-
 ing  to redness without injury.  A  leak in this lute is readily stopped by  the
 application of a fresh portion.   Solution of glue, or any liquid albuminous
 matter may be used in place of the white of  eggs.
   An excellent cement for surfaces of  iron, consists of one part of sulphur,
 two of sal ammoniac, and eighty of iron filings, mixed together  and slightly
 moistened.   It  is rammed or caulked into the joints, and solidifies perfectly
 in time.
   White lead ground in oil, is  an excellent cement for broken glass.  Spread
 upon linen, it forms a good  coating for  a cracked surface, but dries slowly.
   Strips.of bladder macerated  in  water adhere well to glass, and are very
 useful.
   A  mixture  of whiting  and paste  or gum  water, spread upon strips of
 paper, forms an excellent  luting for joinings not exposed to acrid vapours or
 a great heat.
   A useful lute  is formed  by spreading  a solution of glue on strips of cloth,
 and coating them, after they are applied, with dryino-  oil.
   Linseed meal beaten into a uniform mass  with milk, lime-water, rye paste,
 or thin glue, and applied in thick masses, adheres well; and  when dry will
 resist most vapours.
   Cap cement is made of six parts of resin, one part of yellow wax, and one
of Venetian red.  It is a very useful cement for fastening metals or wood to
glass, and for rendering joints impervious to water.  Soft cement is used for
                                 65* 
762                Lutes.—Chemical Operations.          part ii.

the same purposes, and is made of yellow wax, melted with half its weight
of turpentine, and coloured with a little Venetian red. It is very useful for
rendering the stoppers of bottles perfectly air-tight.
   Chemical Operations. Some of the chemical processes conducted by the
apothecary, have been explained in the former part of this introduction.  It
remains to notice some others in constant or frequent use. Infusion is the
subjecting of a substance containing soluble principles  to the  action of a
menstruum, which is  usually water.  Hot  infusions are made  by pouring
boiling water on the substance, and allowing it to remain  in a covered vessel
till cold.   Cold infusions  are  made with cold  water, and  require  several
hours to attain their full strength.   Maceration is  the  term employed to
denote the action of liquids  upon medicines,  when allowed to remain upon
them for some time, at a heat of from 60° to 90°.  Digestion is the name
given to the same operation, when conducted at a temperature  of between
90° and 100°.  It is commonly performed in glass bottles or flasks, and a
common fire or stove heat is employed.  Decoction, or boiling, is sometimes
employed in extracting the virtues of plants, but is often disadvantageous, as
most of the proximate principles of  vegetables are altered by it, especially
when long continued.  Where it is practised, the ebullition should generally
be continued for a few  minutes only, and the liquid be allowed to  cool
slowly in a close vessel.
   From the solutions of vegetable principles  obtained by these different pro-
cesses, extracts are prepared by slow evaporation, so as to  inspissate the
liquid.  This process should, as has already been mentioned, be always
conducted at a heat not exceeding that of boiling water.   Evaporation at a
gentle  heat is also performed  for the concentration of saline solutions, in
order to promote  their crystallization.  The  proper degree of concentration
is attained, if a drop of the liquid on a cold  glass  plate deposits crystals.
The slower the evaporation and the cooling, and the greater the quantity
operated on, the larger will be the crystals.
   Water which is saturated with any salt is still capable of dissolving other
salts.  It is in this way, by washing  crystals  of impure salts with their own
saturated  solutions, that the crystals  are purified.   Fine  silky crystals,
which retain their mother  water by  capillary attraction, must be dried by
strong expression in a linen bag.  The finest silky crystals may be entirely
freed from their adhering liquid by placing them in a funnel which fits
closely to one of the necks of a double mouthed bottle, and fitting a tube to
the other, through which air is drawn.  The current of air, in passing through
the funnel, carries the  water with it, and dries the crystals perfectly.
   Lixiviation is a process  used for separating a soluble from  a porous inso-
luble body.  It consists in  placing the substance to be lixiviated in a vessel,
the  bottom of which  is covered with straw, &c, pouring water upon it,
allowing the water to remain until saturated,  and then drawing it off through
an opening at the bottom of the vessel. It is found that if fresh water be poured
on without disturbing  the  mixture in the vessel, it  does not mix with the
liquid already there, but percolates the solid particles, driving the saturated
liquid before it; so that, for example in lixiviating wood  ashes, if a gallon of
water had been poured upon the ashes, and allowed to become saturated with
the alkali, we shall obtain by this mode of proceeding, a gallon of strong ley,
and  immediately  thereafter the water will become almost tasteless.  This
fact has been applied to the service of the pharmaceutist, and has led the way
to some valuable improvements in the mode of extracting  the medicinal quali-
ties  of plants.
   The operation  is called  by the  French the method of displacement. 
PART II.
Chemical  Operations.
763
6fe
The figure in the margin represents Boullay's filter,
constructed on this principle. It consists of a long
tin vessel, nearly cylindrical, but narrower at the
lower end, which has a funnel shaped termination,
for the purpose of being inserted in the neck of a
bottle. A metallic plate pierced with holes, like a
cullender, and having a handle in the  centre, fits
accurately  in  the lower  part of  the cylinder.
Upon  this, previously covered with a thin layer
of carded  cotton, is  placed the substance upon
which it is intended to operate, and which should
be coarsely powdered or  mashed in  a mill.   It
must  then  be  saturated  with the menstruum,
which is done by pouring  on the liquid from time
to time until it will absorb no  more, and  then  al-
lowing them to remain for a few hours in contact.  On the top  <£""""  ~~~*\
of the powder is placed  another similarly pierced plate, and  p***^^
fresh portions of the menstruum are gradually and successively
added, until all the sensible  properties are extracted. The first
portion, that with which the powder was  mixed, flows off very
highly concentrated, while the next is much  less  so, and the
successive  infusions  rapidly  become weaker.  A stop-cock
near the lower  end of the  instrument, as represented in the
second figure, will be convenient for regulating the discharge
of the fluid.  A single example will show the value  of this
process.   The Messrs. Boullay, by subjecting four ounces of
 bruised cinchona to  displacement with  half a pint of water,
 and then adding four half pints in succession,  obtained the fol-
lowing results:
        1st  Half pint       yielded       3 drs. 48 grs. dry extract.
        2d    Do.            "          1 dr.    5 grs.    Do.
        3d    Do.            "                 15 grs.    Do.
        4th   Do.            "                  9 grs.    Do.
        5th   Do.            "                  7 grs.    Do.

   Cylinders  14 inches long by 2£ in width  at the base, 14  inches by 4,
 and  17 by 6, are convenient sizes for  ordinary  use.  When it is  wished
 to operate upop a fine powder, it will be found advisable
 to increase the height of the column of liquid by making
 the top of the cylinder air-tight, and  inserting a tin tube
 several feet long, which must  be  kept filled with the
 liquid.  All the substantial advantages  of this  method
 may, however, be generally obtained without pressure,
 by  using the filter  of Boullay.   For  operating upon
 small quantities of a  substance, an adapter or the broken
 neck  of a  retort may be used  by loosely stopping the
 lower and smaller end with a piece of cotton.
   Soubeiran  has adapted to Boullay's filter a receiver of
 tin, from which the filtered liquor may be drawn off by
 a stop-cock at the most dependent part. An apparatus
 of this kind is represented  in the margin.
   Precipitation is sometimes mechanical, as  in the pro-
 cess of levigating and elutriating the carbonate of lime,
 and sometimes  chemical, as in the  preparation of this salt by decomposing
 
 764                     Chemical Operations.               part ii.

 chloride of calcium.   When a precipitant is directed to be added until no
 further precipitation  takes  place, the fact may be ascertained by taking a
 drop of the liquid on a glass plate, and trying it with the precipitant.  The
 formation  of  a precipitate is often much assisted by agitation or by heat.
 The separation of the supernatant liquid from the precipitate is most effect-
 ually accomplished by means  of a syphon.  When the liquid  is a saline
 solution, it is  necessary to wash the precipitate until the water exhibits  no
 trace of the salt.  In doing this, great care must  be  taken to select the
 purest and clearest water, and the ultimate  drying of the precipitate  must
 be performed  in a filter, or on a porous stone.
  The apparatus  figured in the margin  is very
 convenient for procuring a constant and gentle
 stream of  water  in  the washing of precipitates,
 and  in clearing crystals of the impurities of their
 mother water.  It consists of a syphon  having
 legs of equal length,  one of which is inserted in
 an air-tight bottle nearly filled  with water,  and
 the other dips into the funnel.   A straight open
 tube is also inserted in the bottle, the lower end
 of which is about half an inch or an inch above
 the end of the syphon.  It is  obvious that the
 water will  run from the syphon no longer than
 till the water in the funnel is level with the end
 of the straight tube.
  The operations which require a heat greater  than that used in digesting,
 are liquefaction, fusion, calcination, ustulation, incineration, distillation,
 and sublimation.
  Liquefaction is the melting of  those substances that become soft previ-
 ously to fusion, as wax, tallow, plasters, &c.  The heat employed is always
 below that at which charring takes place.
  Fusion is the melting of those substances which pass immediately from
 the solid to the fluid state.   It is employed in pharmacy in preparing the
 nitrate of silver and caustic potassa for casting into cylinders.   The former
 must be melted in a porcelain, the latter in an iron crucible.  The moulds
 in which they are cast are formed of two  thick  plates of cast iron, with
 semi-cylindrical grooves that fit accurately to each other.  Fusion is also
 used in preparing the glass of antimony.
  Calcination is  a term applied to  the changes produced in mineral  sub-
 stances by  intense heat, not attended with fusion and leaving a solid residue,
 and is often synonymous with oxidation.  The term ustulation is restricted
 to the metallurgic operations of  roasting ores, to drive off  the volatile mat-
 ters, as arsenic, Sic.   Calcination is often used to  express the ustulation or
 burning of  carbonate  of magnesia.   This is  to be performed in an earthen
 vessel at a  red heat.   Exposure to the heat of a potter's  furnace during the
burning of  the kiln, is an excellent mode of performing the operation.  More
 commonly, the magnesia is burnt in an iron pot, which is objectionable, as
the heat soon oxidates the iron, and the oxide scales  off and mixes with the
magnesia, which is seldom free  from iron when prepared in this way.
  Incineration, as the  name expresses, is the  operation  of burning sub-
stances for  the sake of their ashes.  It is  performed in obtaining  the phos-
phate of lime—the Cornu Ustum of the London Pharmacopoeia.  The bones
are burnt in an open fire until all the inflammable matter is consumed.
  Distillation and sublimation  have  already been spoken of.  The former
is used for separating a more volatile liquid, as  ether or alcohol, from one
 
 part ii.               Dispensing of Medicines.                 765

 less so; for impregnating a liquid with the volatile principles of plants, to
 the exclusion of other  principles, as in the preparation of aromatic spirits
 and waters; and for separating, by means of aqueous vapour, the essential
 oils and volatile proximate principles of the  vegetable kingdom.  The first
 process is termed rectification.  When the second process is repeated with
 the same liquid and a fresh quantity of the  plant, the operation is  termed
 cohobation.   In submitting the  solid parts  of vegetables to distillation in
 the two latter  processes, it will be  found  advisable to expose them to the
 action  of vapour on a grate or in a basket, so as to preserve  them from
 touching the bottom of the still, where they would be liable to be heated so
 as to become  empyreumatic.  Distillation is also used  for obtaining  the
 volatile products which result from the  decomposition by heat of substances
 of animal or vegetable origin.  The oils which aie obtained in this manner
 are called empyreumatic oils.  Sometimes the result is an acid, as the suc-
 cinic acid, and sometimes the volatile alkali, as in the destructive distillation
 of animal substances.
   Dispensing of Medicines. A large portion of the operations  of the apo-
 thecary is performed in  the shop extemporaneously.  In dispensing medi-
 cines from the counter, he is continually called  upon to put his previous
 knowledge in practice, and often to substitute  extemporaneous for the regular
 officinal formulae.  There is no part of his  business which requires for its
 proper performance so much ready knowledge and so accurate a judgment.
 A few directions, suggested by running  the eye over the list of preparations
 of the Pharmacopoeia, may be found useful.
   It may sometimes be necessary for the apothecary to make extemporane-
 ously an aromatic water, which is not usually kept in the shops.   In this
 case, he is to prepare it by rubbing a drop  of essential oil with one or two
 grains of carbonate of magnesia, for every fluidounce of water, and filtering.
   It is sometimes desirable to apply plasters  prepared from the narcotic
 herbs.  These  may be made extemporaneously by mixing the soft extracts
 of the plant with about an equal weight of  melted adhesive plaster, keeping
 the mixture soft, and stirring it until the moisture is evaporated.  The most
 suitable material on which to spread plasters  is soft white  leather.   A mar-
 gin of half an inch should be allowed to remain around the plaster.  The plas-
 ter iron or spatula may be heated  over the large spirit lamp, figured in page
 759. A skilful apothecary will be able to spread
 the plaster uniformly and evenly, without over-
 heating it so as to penetrate  or corrugate the
 leather. A convenient instrument for determin-
 ing the size  and preserving a straight  edge,
 consists of two squares  made of tin and gra-
 duated to inches, as in the annexed figure:  or
 pieces of paper may be cut out and pasted on
 the leather, so  as to enclose a space of the
 required dimensions. The plaster should first
 be melted on a piece of brown paper, and then
transferred to the leather, in order to prevent
its being applied at loo great a heat.
   Decoctions and infusions are often ordered in prescriptions in the quantity
of a few ounces.   A very convenient vessel  for preparing them  in  is the
common nursery lamp, which consists  of  a  cylindrical vessel, open at the
side for a spirit lamp, and at the top to receive a tea pot or tin boiler.
   Infusions and decoctions may be kept during the hot weather, and for many
months, by straining them while hot, and pouring them at  once into bottles

'' ti.i,i,iii,i,i.
'■|'mi i111 i>i > I■ I < i
-TT-T1 
766                  Dispensing of Medicines.              part ii.

provided with accurately ground stoppers. The bottle must be entirely filled,
the stopper being made to displace its own bulk of the liquid.   A common
bottle with a perforated cork stopper may be used, provided the hole be in-
stantly closed, and the cork covered with sealing wax. The hotter the liquid
and the freer from air bubbles, the better will the  infusion be preserved.
   The neutral mixture is known to be saturated perfectly, when it does not
affect litmus  paper either in  its blue state or when reddened by acid.  For
preparing this and the effervescing draught, it is advisable to keep in the shop
a solution of carbonate of potassa, containing an  ounce  to the pint.  The
silica which this salt  contains precipitates after a  few weeks,  and leaves  a
perfectly clear solution, whereas that prepared at  the time it is to be used,
always becomes turbid after  being saturated.  The carbonic acid which is
extricated on preparing the neutral mixture, combines at first, without effer-
vescence, with the remaining carbonate and forms a bisalt.  This circum-
stance may lead, unless the solution be  tested, to  the supposition that the
mixture is saturated.
   Powders are often  mixed  together with difficulty, by means of a pestle
and mortar, on account of their differing greatly in weight, or of their softness
                      and compressibility.   In these cases, frequent  stirring
                      with a pallet  knife becomes necessary to produce  a
                      perfect mixture.   In  dividing powders into doses, it
                      is very desirable  to fold the packages neatly and of  a
                      uniform size. The powder folder represented in the
                      figure  is very useful for this  purpose.  It may be made
                      of mahogany or  other hard wood.
   It is important to the apothecary to ascertain the best means of combining
substances which have no affinity for each other.   This can often be done by
means of a third substance.  Water can be saturated with camphor by means
of  carbonate of magnesia, and an aqueous mixture of any strength may be
made with it, by triturating the camphor with magnesia and shaking the mix-
ture before using it.   Camphor softens the gum-r.esins and solid  fats and oils,
and may be rendered  permanently miscible with water in considerable quan-
tity, by trituration  with a fifth part of myrrh. In preparing oily  emulsions in
which gum Arabic or gum and sugar are the medium, a  sufficient quantity of
water must be added to convert them into a  thick mucilage before adding the
oil, which must then  be thoroughly mixed with  it, and  the remaining water
added gradually with  great care. Sulphuric ether is rendered more soluble in
water by trituration with spermaceti.  The mixture should be filtered to sepa-
rate the superfluous spermaceti. Mixtures that contain the resinous tinctures,
should also contain syrup, with which the tincture should first be mixed, and
the water then added very gradually.  If a mixture contains laudanum and
a fixed oil, the former should be first mixed  with the syrup, and the oil after-
wards incorporated, and lastly the water.  The mixture will not otherwise
be  uniform.
   In ordering pills, care must be taken to avoid the use of deliquescent salts,
and to deprive those  which are efflorescent  of their water of crystallization.
The mass must be thoroughly incorporated  previously to being divided; and
this is particularly important when extracts  of different degrees of hardness
enter into the composition.   A section of the mass should be throughout of
uniform colour and consistency. Pills are to be rolled and preserved in pow-
dered liquorice root, which ought to be  kept for use in a tin box with a per-
forated lid, like a pepper box.   When pills are of too  soft  a consistence,  a
little liquorice powder may be  incorporated  with them to render them more
firm.  Pills,  into the  composition of which gum  Arabic  enters, should be
 
part ii.             Dispensing of Medicines.                  767

softened with syrup and not with water, as  the latter renders the mass dif-
ficult to roll.
   The proper cleanliness of his vessels, is an object of great importance to
the apothecary. Open vessels, as mortars and measures, are easily cleansed,
and should be  wiped dry immediately after being washed.   Fats  and resins
are easily removed by pearlash, or tow and damp ashes, or sand. Red pre-
cipitate and other metallic substances,  may be removed by a little nitric or
muriatic acid.   Bottles may be cleansed  from the depositions which accu-
mulate on their sides and bottom from long use in the shop, by a few shreds
of grocers' paper and a little clean water.  They are to be shaken so  as to
give the paper and water a centrifugal motion, which effectually removes the
dirt from the sides.   They maybe freed from oil by means of a little strong
nitric acid, after the action of which water will thoroughly clean them. Long
sticks, with sponge or dry cloth at the end,  should be provided  for  wiping
dry the interior of flasks and bottles.  A  wire, bent at the end into a sort of
hook, will be  found useful for getting corks out of bottles.   A loop of twine
will also be found a very convenient means of effecting the same  object.
When the glass stopper of a bottle is fast, it may often be loosened by gently
tapping its sides alternately with the handle of a pallet knife.  Sometimes a
drop  or two of oil,  alcohol, or water, will soften  or dissolve the  cementing
substance.  It will  sometimes answer to wrap the stopper in a cloth, insert
it in a crevice or hole in a table or door, and twist the bottle gently and dex-
terously.   Sometimes the stopper may be  loosened  by quickly  expanding
the neck in the flame of a lamp, and tapping the stopper before the beat has
reached it.  When the  stopper of a bottle containing caustic alkali adheres
in consequence of  the neck not  having been wiped thoroughly dry, it is
almost impossible to loosen it, and the neck must be cut off.
   The apothecary should be provided with pallet knives of wood, hone, and
horn, as  well  as of steel.   It should be an invariable rule to clean every
knife and graduated measure immediately  after it is used, and  to put the
dirty mortars apart from those which are clean. Too much particularity and
order in all the minute details of the shop cannot be practised. The counters
and scales should be cleaned once a day, and brushed as often as they  become
dusty.   The  bottles  should  be replaced as  soon after being taken down
and used as possible, and should on no account be changed from their accus-
tomed place on the shelf.  For the proper preservation of leaves, flowers,
aromatic powders,  calomel, and other medicines to which  light is injurious,
the bottles should be coated with tin foil or black varnish.
   No apothecary should be destitute  of a set of troy weights;  as without
them he will  find it difficult to comply with the  officinal  directions for the
preparation of his  medicines.  In dispensing medicines,  no vial or parcel
should be suffered to leave the shop without its appropriate label; and this,
in the case of prescriptions, should  always be the  physician's direction as
to the manner of taking it, and not the name of the medicine, unless  it be
so directed by him.  The prescription  or a  copy of it should be retained and
numbered, and the  same number  marked on the bottle or parcel.  Every-
thing connected with the shop, and the dispensing and putting up of medi-
cines and parcels, should be characterized  by neatness, accuracy, system,
and competent knowledge.
   The apprentice who desires to  qualify himself for  his business should
carefully study Turner's Elements of  Chemistry, and Faraday's invaluable
treatise on Chemical Manipulation, which may be termed the hand-books of
his profession.                                              D. B. S. 
 768                General Officinal Directions.            part ii.

                    General  Officinal Directions.

   As all the processes of the United States and British Pharmacopoeias are
 either described or fully detailed in the following pages, it is proper that the
 prefatory explanations of the several Pharmacopoeias should be introduced
 in this  place, in order that the reader may be prepared to understand the
 precise signification of the terms employed.
   The Pharmacopoeias recognised in this work unite in the use of the troy
 or Apothecaries' pound, and its divisions of ounces, drachms, scruples, and
 grains, for the expression of weights.   Upon this subject the United States
 Pharmacopoeia has the  following note, to which the attention of Apotheca-
 ries  is  particularly  invited.  "It is highly important that those engaged
 in preparing  or  dispensing  medicines should be  provided  with  Troy
 weights of  all denominations;  but, when these  are not to be had,  the same
 end  may be attained by calculating the Avoirdupois pound at 7000 Troy
 grains, and  the Avoirdupois  ounce at 437*5  grains, and making the re-
 quisite  allowance.  Thus  42*5 grains  added  to  the Avoirdupois  ounce
 will make it equal to the Troy ounce, and 1240 grains deducted  from the
 Avoirdupois pound  will reduce it to the Troy pound."   As the  common
 weights of the country  are  the avoirdupois weights, and every apothecary
 is in  possession of  the lower  denominations of the Apothecaries' weight,
 viz. grains, scruples, and drachms,  there can be no difficulty in complying
 with  the  officinal directions.   Both in the  United  States and  British
 Pharmacopoeias,  the quantity of fluids is generally indicated by the liquid
 measure,  consisting of the gallon and  its  divisions of pints, fluidounces,
 fluidrachms, and minims.  It is highly necessary that the apothecary should
 understand that this distinction is rigidly observed in all the details which
 follow,  and that whenever the simple terms pound, ounce, and  drachm are
 employed, they must be considered as belonging  to the  denomination of
 troy weight.  This  caution is the more necessary, as these terms are often
 confounded with the corresponding divisions of liquid measure,  viz. the
 pint,  fluidounce, and fluidrachm.  (See tables of weights  and measures in
 the Appendix.)
   The  London and Edinburgh Colleges, in the last edition of their Phar-
 macopeias, have adopted the imperial gallon and its divisions, instead of
 the ivine gallon which  they before  employed.  In the United States and
 Dublin  Pharmacopoeias the wine gallon is still retained.  This discrepancy
 is very  unfortunate, as no one denomination of the imperial measure corre-
 sponds  exactly with  the same denomination of the wine measure;  and the
 formulae, therefore, of the London and Edinburgh Colleges, so  far as mea-
 sures are  concerned, when  they agree in terms with those of the United
 States and Dublin Pharmacopoeias,  differ  from them in reality;  while in
 other cases, though  differing in terms, they may be  quite or very nearly
 identical.   It  is very important that the apothecary should bear  this dis-
 tinction in mind; and, when he has occasion to carry into effect one of the
 London or Edinburgh formula?, that he should make the due allowances. He
 will find, among the  Tables in the Appendix of this work, a statement of the
 relative  value of the  several denominations of the imperial and wine mea-
 sures, and by consulting  this statement will be enabled to  convert the for-
 mer into the latter  without difficulty.  The measures kept in his shop should
 be graduated according to the divisions of the wine gallon;  as this is recog-
nised  by our own officinal standard.
  In the Pharmacopoeia of the United States, and in those of the Edin-
burgh and Dublin Colleges, when the specific gravity of a body is given,
i 
part ii.            General Officinal Directions.               769

it is considered to be at the temperature of 60° of Fahrenheit; in the Lon-
don Pharmacopoeia, at 62°.
  The United  States and London Pharmacopoeias explain the term gentle
heat as signifying a temperature between 90° and  100°.   The Dublin Col-
lege employs the terms superior, medium, and inferior heat, the first signi-
fying a temperature between 200°  and 212°, the second between 100° and
200°, and the third between 90° and 100°.  Fahrenheit's scale  is referred
to by all the officinal standards.
  Maceration, according to the Dublin  College, is performed at a tempera-
ture between 60° and 90°, digestion at their '■'•inferior heat."
  The London College directs that acid, alkaline,  and metallic preparations,
and salts of every kind, be kept in stopped glass bottles, which,  for certain
substances, should be of black or green glass; the Dublin College, that mor-
tars, measures, funnels, and other vessels in which medicines are prepared,
should be made of materials containing  neither copper nor lead.  Earthen
vessels, therefore, glazed with  lead, are improper.
  Whenever, in the United States and London  Pharmacopeeias, an acid
or an alkali is directed to be saturated, the point of saturation is to be ascer-
tained by means of litmus or turmeric.   For this purpose litmus or turmeric
paper is usually employed, the latter being rendered brown by the alkalies,
the former being reddened by the acids, and having its blue colour restored
by  the alkalies. (See Lacmus and Curcuma.)  The London College directs
that, unless otherwise ordered, bibulous paper should be used both for filter-
ing liquors and drying crystals.
  Filtration by displacement,  or Percolation.  In relation to this process,
the following directions are given in the  United States Pharmacopoeia.
"The kind of  filtration commonly called displacement, which is employed
in many of the processes of this Pharmacopoeia, is to be effected in the fol-
lowing manner, unless otherwise specially directed.   A hollow cylindrical
instrument is to be used, somewhat conical towards the inferior  extremity,
having a funnel-shaped termination so as to admit of being inserted into the
mouth of a bottle, and provided internally, near the lower end, with a trans-
verse partition  or diaphragm pierced with numerous minute holes, or, in the
absence  of such a partition, obstructed  with some insoluble  and inert sub-
stance, in  such a manner that a liquid poured into the  cylinder may perco-
late slowly.  (See page 763.)   The substance to be acted upon, having been
reduced to a coarse powder, and mixed with enough of the  menstruum to
moisten it thoroughly, is, after a maceration of some hours, to be introduced
into the  instrument, and slightly  compressed upon the diaphragm.   Any
portion of the  macerating liquid which  may not have  been absorbed by the
powder, is afterwards to be poured upon the mass in ihe  instrument, and
allowed  to percolate.  Sufficient of the menstruum is then to  be gradually
added to drive  before it, or displace, the liquid contained in the mass; the
portion introduced is in like manner to be displaced by another portion; and
so  on till the required  quantity of  filtered liquor is obtained.   If the liquor
which first passes should be turbid, it  is to be again introduced into the
instrument.  Care must be taken that the powder be not, on  the one hand,
too coarse or loosely pressed,  lest it should allow  the liquid to pass too
quickly, nor, on the other, too fine or compact,  lest it should offer an un-
necessary resistance.   Should the  liquor flow too rapidlv, it is to be returned
to the instrument, which is then to be  closed beneath for a  time, in order
that the finer parts of  the  powder may subside,  and  thus  cause a  slower
percolation."
       66 
770               General Officinal Directions.            part ii.
           The Edinburgh College gives directions  for percolation  under
         the head of Tinctures.  According to  that  College,  " the solid
         materials,  usually in coarse or moderately fine powder, are moist-
         ened with a  sufficiency  of the  solvent to form a thick pulp; in
         twelve hours, or frequently without any delay, the mass is  put
         into a  cylinder of glass, porcelain, or tinned iron, open at both
         ends, but obstructed at the lower end by a piece of calico or  linen,
         tied tightly over it as a filter (see figure  in  the margin);  and
         the pulp being packed by pressure,  varying as to degree with
         various articles, the remainder of the solvent is poured into  the
         upper part of the  cylinder, and allowed gradually  to percolate.
         In order to obtain the portion of the fluid  which is  kept in  the
         residuum,  an  additional quantity of the solvent is poured into  the
         cylinder, until the  tincture which has  passed through, equals in
         amount the spirit originally prescribed."
  The advantages of the process of percolation or displacement are, that  the
active soluble  principles of medicinal substances,  are  in general extracted
by it more speedily, thoroughly, and economically than by any other mode;
that  concentrated solutions of these principles are more easily obtained; and
that  no portion of the impregnated menstruum need be lost by remaining in
the solid mass.  It is, however,  liable to the objection that considerable
experience and skill are necessary to carry it properly into effect, and that,
if improperly performed, it must often result in preparations very different
from those contemplated in the formulae.   It should not, therefore, be  re-
sorted  to in the fulfilment of officinal  directions,  when any alternative is
given, unless by individuals who have acquired the requisite skill by much
practice.   Hence, both the United States and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias,
when directing displacement in any particular case, frequently give another
mode of accomplishing the same object,  better adapted to inexperience in
the operator.
  The sources of failure in this process are chiefly an improper degree of
comminution in the substance  to be acted upon, and an improper condition
of the mass after it has been introduced  into the instrument.  If the material
be in too fine a powder, it resists or obstructs the passage of the fluid; if
too coarse, it allows the fluid  to pass  too rapidly, and  at  the  same  time
opposes  its cohesion to the  solvent power  of the menstruum.   If merely
bruised,  especially,  if fibrous pieces of some length are intermixed, it causes
the fluid to make irregular channels and  thus to act upon it partially.  An
improper packing of the material occasions similar inconveniences.  If too
compact it impedes, if too loose it injuriously facilitates the passage of the
solvent, and if not uniform, it produces  an irregular flow which necessarily
vitiates the result.  The liquid,  finding  an easier passage at one  part  than
another,  flows  more rapidly in that direction, and  thus makes channels by
which it may in great  measure or wholly escape, with little  influence upon
the mass.   Besides, the uniform  progression by which each  superadded
portion displaces that immediately beneath it is broken, the successive layers
become intermingled, and thus one of the peculiar advantages of the process
is lost.   The  following observations  may be of some use in assisting the
operator to avoid these consequences.
  The solid material should in general  be in the  state of a uniform coarse
powder,  to which it is  most conveniently brought by grinding in a common
coffee-mill.  If its  texture,  however, be very hard, firm, and  not easily
permeable by moisture, as  in  certain barks, woods, and ligneous roots, it
should be rather finely powdered.  If, on  the contrary, the texture be loose 
part n.            General Officinal Directions.               771

and spongy, and especially if the material be disposed to swell up and form
a viscid mass with water, so as  to  impede percolation, as in  the  case of
gentian and squill, it may be advisable merely to bruise it in a mortar; though
care should be taken to do this as equably as  possible;  and the substances
which require this treatment when water is used, may come under  the ge-
neral rule with another solvent, as alcohol  or ether.
   It is generally advisable, before introducing the material into the instrument,
to mix it with a  portion of the solvent, and allow it to stand for some time
in another vessel.  It thus becomes  more penetrable and more easily acted
on by the menstruum, admits of a more uniform packing, and, if liable to
swell with water, undergoes this expansion where it cannot have the effect
of checking percolation.  The quantity of liquid should be sufficient to form
a  soft pulp-like  mass with the  powder.  In general, a weight about  half
that of the solid material  will be sufficient, though a  much larger quantity
may be used if on any account deemed advisable.   The  maceration may
continue on the  average about twelve  hours; but a much shorter time will
often answer.   It has sometimes  been recommended to perform this pre-
liminary maceration in the displacement filter, its lower orifice being closed
for a time.  With some substances  this may be done without disadvantage,
but  in all those instances in which the material is liable to swell consider-
ably with water, and thus to choke the passage, the maceration should take
place in another vessel.
   The packing  of the material in the instrument is that part of the  process
which most requires experience  in  the operator, and about which the least
precise rules can  be given.  When mixed with a considerable portion of
fluid, it will often subside of itself into  the proper state; but generally it re-
quires some shaking or pressure, and the degree of the latter must be in pro-
portion to the looseness of texture in the material; reference, however, being
always had to  its disposition to swell with water.  Certain substances in
which this property is  found, such  as gentian and rhubarb,  must not be
pressed compactly, when water is the solvent.   As the percolation advances,
and  portions of the substance acted on are dissolved, the mass often becomes
too loose, and requires to be again  pressed down.  Substances which are
apt to form with the menstruum an adhesive and impermeable mass, such
as the resins and gum-resins, may be advantageously mixed, in  the state of
coarse powder,  with about half their weight of perfectly clean white sand,
as suggested by Mr. Duhamel.  (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. x. 15.) The
sand separates the particles of the mass, and allows the menstruum a readier
access.
   After the moistened material has  been properly packed, the upper surface
should be made  quite level,  and  then covered with a circular disk of tin or
filtering paper pierced with numerous minute holes;  and,  if the disk be of
paper, it should be kept in its place by pieces of  glass rod.  The solvent
is thus made to  enter into the mass equably, and  prevented from  forming
partial passages  by bearing  upon one or a few points.   The liquid is now
to be introduced in successive portions, as stated in the officinal directions
above given, and in the general account of the process  given at page 763.
   The fluid which first passes is generally turbid.  This should be returned
into the instrument; and the same thing should be done with the  portions
which pass successively, until the liquid comes away perfectly clear. If the
percolation be too rapid, pressure may be  made upon the upper diaphragm
so as to render the mass  more  compact, or the instrument may be closed
below for a time, as  stated in the  officinal  directions.  Hence the advantage
of having  a  stop-cock  near the lower end for regulating the discharge.
When the percolation is too slow it may be increased by the pressure  of  a 
772                 General Officinal Directions.           part ii.

column of liquid, and this plan may sometimes be advantageously resorted
to when the powder is very fine, or large masses of material are operated
upon.  (See page 763.)  When the object is to keep up a constant supply
of the percolating fluid, it may be accomplished  by filling a long-necked
bottle  or matrass with  the  fluid, and  inverting it over the filtering instru-
ment, with its mouth beneath the surface of the liquid in the latter.
   Hot liquids may be  used  in the process as well  as  cold, and are some-
times preferable when the substance yields its active principles more largely
at an elevated temperature.  But there is often an  inconvenience in employ-
ing hot water; as it dissolves  or renders  glutinous substances not affected
by cold water, which are not  requisite, and  may even be injurious  in the
preparation, and tend to embarrass the process, by filling up  the interstices
of the mass, and thus rendering it less permeable.
   The first portion of  filtered liquid is very  strongly impregnated, and the
portions which subsequently come away, are successively less so.   It is
sometimes  desirable to obtain  the whole of the particular solvent employed.
This end may be very nearly attained by adding,  at the close of the process,
enough of  another liquid to supply the place of  that retained in the mass.
It was  Boullay's idea that the whole of  the  liquid  contained in the moist
material might be thus driven  out of it or  displaced by  the one added, with-
out  any admixture  of  the two.   This, however, has been ascertained not
to be exactly true;  and, however carefully the  process may be conducted,
some mixture will take place.   Hence it  is recommended, when one liquid
is added in order to displace another, to introduce  first a shallow layer of the
same liquid with that contained in the mass.  In some instances, the solvent,
if consisting of two liquids, is resolved into these in the process.  Thus when
myrrh is subjected to  percolation with proof spirit, the first liquid  which
comes away is anhydrous alcohol holding the oil  and resin of the myrrh in
solution.
   There are very few  substances to which  the  mode of filtration by dis-
placement  will  not be  found applicable, if due attention be paid to the cir-
cumstances which require variations in the process.
   Distillation.   In the preface to the last edition of the Edinburgh Phar-
macopoeia, the following remarks are made in relation  to this process. "In
the process of distillation, complete success cannot be  easily attained, espe-
cially on the small scale, without the substitution of a different apparatus for
the  retort  and  receiver commonly used.   In all  operations, except where
inorganic acids  are to  be distilled, it is greatly preferable to use a globular
mattrass(a), to which  is fitted with a cork a tube (be) cut obliquely
lower end (b), curved  above at a  somewhat acute  angle, and fitted
other end to a refrigeratory.   This refrigeratory consists of a long n 
PART II.
Aceta.
773
cylinder (df) slightly inclined to the horizon, and of a tube(ce) which passes
along the centre of the cylinder, and is fixed at each end, so that the space
between them is  air-tight;  and by means of a funnel (gh)  entering at the
lower end of this  interspace, and an exit tube (di) from its upper extremity,
a stream of cold  water may be kept constantly running, by which refrige-
ration and the  condensation of vapours within  the inner tube are far more
effectually accomplished  than  by any other mode  that  has hitherto been
devised."   The object of the oblique ending of the tube at b, is to prevent
any of the fluid which may be driven against it, during the ebullition, from
passing along the tube.  The  inner tube  of  the refrigeratory should be
made of glass or block-tin, the outer may  consist  of  glass, brass, copper,
or common tinned iron.  The end e of the central tube is either straight, or
curved  downward so that it may be inserted into a bottle, when the liquid
distilled is very volatile.  By connecting the funnel with a cistern by means
of a syphon, and allowing  the water to flow out from the bent tube di into
a bucket or sink, the  distillation may be  allowed to go on for a long  time
without supervision.   Dr.  Christison states that a refrigeratory  with the
outer tube a foot long, and an inch and a quarter in diameter, will be suffi-
cient  to condense the whole vapour from  a matrass holding two pints of
alcohol  briskly boiling.                                           W.


                              ACETA.

                              Vine oars.
                                   o
  Under this title, in the United States Pharmacopoeia, are included  both
Distilled Vinegar and those preparations usually denominated Medicated
 Vinegars.   The  latter are  infusions or solutions of various medicinal sub-
stances in vinegar or acetic acid.   The advantage of vinegar as a menstruum
is that, in  consequence of the acetic acid which it contains, it will dissolve
substances not readily soluble or altogether  insoluble in water alone.   It is
an excellent solvent of the vegetable alkalies, which it converts into acetates,
thereby modifying in some measure, though not injuriously, the action of
the medicines  of which they are ingredients.  As ordinary vinegar contains
principles which  promote its decomposition, it should be purified by distilla-
tion before being  used as a  solvent.  Infusions prepared with it, even in this
state, are apt to spoil  in a short time; and  a portion of  alcohol is usually
added to contribute to their preservation.  A small quantity of acetic ether
is said to result from this addition; and, on the  continent of Europe,  the
place of the alcohol is frequently supplied  by  an equal amount of concen-
trated acetic acid.   In  consequence of their liability to change, the medi-
cated vinegars should  be made in small quantities, and kept but for a short
time.                                                            \V.
  ACETUM  DESTILLATUM.  U. S., Lond., Ed;  Acetum Dis-
tillatum. Dub.  Distilled Vinegar.
  " Take  of Vinegar a gallon.  Distil the Vinegar, by means of a sand-bath,
from a glass retort into a glass  receiver.   Discontinue  the process when
seven pints shall have been distilled, and keep  these  for use." U. S.
  The London process is  the same  as that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
The  Edinburgh  process is as follows.  " Take of Vinegar (French by
preference) eight parts: distil over  with a  gentle heat, seven parts: dilute
the  product, if necessary, with distilled water till  the  density is  1-005."
The  Dublin College  distils wine vinegar.   The first tenth which comes
                                 66* 
774                            Aceta.                        part ii.

over is rejected, the next seven-tenths are the " distilled vinegar," having
the sp. gr. 1-005, and two-tenths are left behind in the retort.
   Vinegar is a very heterogeneous liquid, containing colouring matter, gum,
sugar, alcohol, &c; and the object of its distillation is to  purify it.  (See
Acetum.)  The first portion which  distils contains  alcohol and  pyroacetic
spirit (acetone), these being  the  most  volatile  ingredients; next the acetic
acid comes over much purified, but  weaker than it exists in the vinegar, on
account of its being less volatile than water; and if the distillation be stop-
ped when the pure vinegar ceases to come over, there will be found in the
retort a liquid of a deep  brown  colour, very sour and empyreumatic, and
containing free tartaric and malic acids, bitartrate of potassa, and other sub-
stances.  This statement explains why the last portion is not distilled. The
proportion preserved is seven-eighths according to the U. S.,  London, and
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, and seven-tenths according to the  Dublin. The
residuary liquid in the retort, if diluted with an equal  bulk  of hot water,
may be made to yield, by a fresh distillation, a quantity of weak acetic acid,
equal to  the residuary liquid, and of about the  strength and purity of offi-
cinal distilled vinegar.
   Wine  vinegar  furnishes a  stronger distilled vinegar than malt or  cider
vinegar.   The Dublin College gives 1*005 as  the density of distilled  vine-
gar; but the product of different vinegars is by no means necessarily of the
same strength or density.  The Edinburgh College, assuming that distilled
vinegar will have the sp. gr. of at least 1*005, directs that its density, when
above that number, shall be reduced to it.  When brought  to this standard,
the College states  that 100 minims of it neutralize 8  grains of carbonate
of soda.  In the U. S. and London Pharmacopoeias, the strength  of distilled
vinegar is indicated exclusively by its saturating power.  According to our
national  standard, a fluidounce (455 grains) is saturated by about 35 grains
of the crystals of bicarbonate of potassa;  and by the  London College 100
grains of it are stated to be saturated by 13 grains of  the crystals of car-
bonate of soda.   The saturating  power of the different officinal distilled
vinegars indicates the following proportions of dry acetic acid per cent;—
U. S. Pharmacopoeia 3-9, London 4-6, Edinburgh 3-07.  Considering the
ordinary pharmaceutical uses of distilled vinegar, variations in its strength,
limited as  they are by the qualities  of different vinegars, are not important.
Its purity is the point of importance.  If, however, precision be  attempted,
the saturating power and not the density must be indicated; and directions
should be given  for bringing a distilled vinegar which varies  from the
standard of saturating power, to that  standard by the addition either of
pure acetic acid, or  of distilled water.   The reason  why density cannot
be  depended upon, is that the specific gravity is not  in proportion to the
strength.  If the  vinegar  contain a good deal  of alcohol and  pyroacetic
spirit, the  distilled product will be  light, but  not necessarily weak.   This
remark applies particularly to distilled wine  vinegar.   The Dublin College
removes in part  the  ambiguity of density as  an indication of strength, by
rejecting the  first tenth which distils over; but by this rejection, the more
agreeable and aromatic part of the vinegar is lost.
   The different Pharmacopceias, except  the  Edinburgh, direct the distilla-
tion of vinegar to be conducted in glass vessels; but it is generally distilled
in a copper alembic furnished with  a pewter worm  as a refrigerator.  The
use of these  metals,  however, is hazardous, on account of the danger of
metallic  impregnation.  Mr. Brande has suggested  that  the refrigerator
might be made of very thin silver, a metal not acted on by acetic acid of any
strength.  If this cannot be  procured,  the  head and  worm should be of 
PART II.
Aceta.
775
glass or earthenware.   Empyreuma is effectually prevented by distilling by
means of steam.
  Properties.  Distilled vinegar is a limpid, colourless liquid, of a weak
acetous  taste and smell, less agreeable than  those  of common vinegar.  It
is wholly volatilized by heat.  It is not a perfectly pure solution of acetic
acid in water;  but contains a portion of organic matter which rises in the
distillation.  It is on account of  the partial decomposition of this impurity,
that distilled vinegar, when saturated with an alkali, is  liable  to become of
a reddish or brownish colour.  When distilled in  metallic vessels, it is apt
to contain traces of  copper,  lead,  and tin.   Copper is detected,  after
saturating with ammonia, by the addition of ferrocyanuret of  potassium,
which   produces  a  brown cloud;  lead  by  iodide of potassium,  which
occasions  a yellow  precipitate; and tin by a solution of chloride of gold,
which causes a purplish appearance.   The two latter metals are discovered
also by  sulphuretted hydrogen, which occasions a dark-coloured precipitate.
The non-action of this gas proves the absence of metals generally.   Distil-
led vinegar should not have an empyreumatic taste nor a sulphurous smell.
As usually prepared, however, it is somewhat empyreumatic.  Malt vinegar
contains a small proportion of  sulphuric acid; but  when it is distilled, this
acid does not come  over.  If, however, sulphuric  acid should be  accident-
ally present in distilled vinegar, it may be detected by chloride of barium or
acetate of lead.  If muriatic acid be present, it may be shown  by a preci-
pitate being formed  with nitrate of silver; and if nitric acid be an impurity,
the vinegar will  possess the  property, by  digestion, of dissolving silver,
which may be detected afterwards by muriatic acid.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   The medical properties of distilled vine-
gar are  the same as  those of common vinegar (See Acetum); but the former
being purer, and not liable to spontaneous decomposition, is preferable for
pharmaceutical purposes.  It is employed as the basis,  with but few excep-
tions, of the two classes of preparations called " Vinegars" and " Oxymels."
   Off. Prep.  Emplastrum Ammoniaci,  Lond., Ed.; Hydrargyri Acetas,
Dub.;   Liquor Ammonias Acetatis,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.;  Oxymel,  Dub.;
Plumbi Acetas, Dub.;  Plumbi Subacetatis Liquor, Dub.;  Potassas Acetas,
Dub.;   Sodas  Acetas,  Dub.;  Syrupus Allii, U. S.; Unguentum  Plumbi
Compositum, Lond.                                               B.
   ACETUM CANTHARIDIS. (Epispasticum.) Lond.   Acetum
Cantharidis, Ed.   Vinegar of Spanish Flies.
   " Take  of  Spanish  Flies, in powder, two ounces;  Acetic Acid  a pint
(Imperial  measure).  Macerate  the  Spanish Flies with the Acid  for eight
days, occasionally shaking.  Finally express and filter."  Lond.
   " Take of Cantharides, in powder, three ounces; Acetic Acid five fluid-
ounces; Pyroligneous Acid fifteen fluidounces;  Euphorbium,  in coarse
powder, half an  ounce.  Mix the acids, add the powders,  macerate for
seven days, strain and  express strongly, and filter the liquor." Ed.
   This preparation is intended  exclusively for external  use, as a  speedy
epispastic.   It is  said,  when lightly  applied by a brush, to act as a rubefa-
cient; and  when rubbed  freely upon  the skin for  three minutes,  to be fol-
lowed, in  two or three hours, by full vesication.   The pain produced by
the application, though more severe, is also  more transient than that which
results from the blistering cerate.   From experiments  made by Mr. Red-
wood, it may  be inferred that the preparation proves epispastic  chiefly if
not exclusively in consequence of its acetic acid, and that it contains little
of the active principle of the flies. (Lond. Pharm.  Transact. Oct. 1841.)
                                                                 W. 
776
Aceta.
PART II.
   ACETUM COLCHICI.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Vinegar  of
 Colchicum.
   " Take of [dried] Colchicum Root, bruised, two ounces; Distilled Vine-
 gar two pints; Alcohol a fluidounce.  Macerate the Colchicum Root with
 the Distilled Vinegar, in a close glass vessel, for seven days;  then express
 the liquor, and set it by that the dregs may subside; lastly, pour off the clear
 liquor, and add the Alcohol.
   " Vinegar of Colchicum may also be  prepared by macerating the Col-
 chicum Root, in coarse powder, with a pint of  Distilled Vinegar for two
 days, then putting the mixture into an apparatus for displacement, gradually
 pouring in Distilled Vinegar until the quantity of filtered liquor equals two
 pints, and lastly adding the Alcohol.
   " In the above  processes, Diluted Acetic Acid may be substituted for
 Distilled Vinegar."  U. S.
   The London and Edinburgh Colleges direct an ounce of the fresh bulb,
 sixteen fluidounces of distilled vinegar, and a fluidounce of proof spirit; the
 Dublin College, an ounce of the fresh bulb, a pint of distilled vinegar, and
 a fluidounce  of proof spirit;  all macerate for three days,  and proceed  as
 directed in the first  process of the  U.S. Pharmacopoeia,  except that the
 Edinburgh College filters the expressed liquid, instead of clarifying it by
 rest and decantation.  The resulting preparations  may be considered  as
 identical with each other, and with the American; as the dried bulb of our
 shops is probably not on an average much stronger than the fresh bulb  in
 Europe, and the  proof  spirit of the  British Colleges  is equivalent to little
 more  than half its bulk  of our officinal alcohol.
   Vinegar is an excellent solvent of  the active principle of colchicum; and
 the organic alkali of the latter loses none of its efficacy by combination with
 the acetic acid of the former.   The use of the alcohol is simply to retard the
 spontaneous decomposition to which this, like most of the  other medicated
 vinegars, is liable.
   Medical Uses.  This preparation has been extolled as a diuretic in dropsy;
 and may be given in gout,  rheumatism, and neuralgia; but the wines of
 colchicum are usually preferred.  It is recommended by Scudamore to be
 given in connexion with magnesia, so as to neutralize the acetic acid of the
 menstruum.  The dose is from thirty drops to two fluidrachms.     W.

   ACETUM OPII.  U.S., Ed., Dub.  Vinegar of Opium.  Black
 Drop.
   " Take of Opium, in coarse powder, eight ounces; Nutmeg, in coarse
powder, an ounce and a half; Saffron half an ounce; Sugar twelve ounces;
 Distilled vinegar a sufficient quantity.  Digest the Opium, Nutmeg,  and
 Saffron with a pint and a half of Distilled  Vinegar, on a sand-bath, with a
gentle heat, for forty-eight hours, and strain.  Digest  the  residue with an
equal  quantity of Distilled Vinegar,  in the same manner,  for twenty-four
hours.  Then put the whole into an  apparatus for displacement, and return
the filtered liquor,  as it passes, until it comes away quite clear.  When the
filtration shall have ceased, pour Distilled Vinegar gradually upon the ma-
terials remaining in the instrument, until the whole quantity of filtered liquor
equals three pints.  Lastly, add the Sugar, and, by means of a water-bath,
 evaporate to three pints  and four fluidounces.
   " In the above process, Diluted Acetic Acid may be substituted for Dis-
tilled Vinegar."  U.S.
   "Take of Opium four ounces; Distilled Vinegar  sixteen fluidounces.
Cut the Opium into small fragments, triturate it into a pulp with a little of the
Vinegar, add the rest of the Vinegar, macerate in a closed vessel for seven 
part ii.                        Aceta.                             777

days, and agitate occasionally.  Then strain and express strongly, and filter
the liquor."  Ed.
   The  Dublin process is essentially the same as the Edinburgh, which was
adopted from it.
   The  vinegar of opium has been introduced  into the Pharmacopoeias as
an imitation  of, or substitute for a preparation  which has been long in use
under the name of Lancaster or Quaker's black drop, or simply black drop.
The formula of the first  edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia was so deficient
in precision, and  consequently so uncertain in  its  results, that it was aban-
doned in the second edition; but, as this objection was obviated in a process
by Mr. Charles Ellis published in the American Journal of Pharmacy (vol.
ii. page 202), and as the  preparation  continued  to  enjoy a considerable
degree  of professional and  popular favour, it was deemed proper to restore
it to its officinal rank at  the last revision of the Pharmacopoeia.   The U. S.
formula above given is essentially that of Mr. Ellis.   It is, we think, pre-
ferable  to the Edinburgh and Dublin formula.   In the latter we cannot but
suspect that there is some waste of opium; as Dr. Montgomery, in his ob-
servations on  the Dublin Pharmacopoeia, states  that twenty drops are equi-
valent to thirty of the common tincture of opium, though, in the preparation
of the latter, somewhat  less than one-third the quantity of opium is used.
As common distilled vinegar is often very weak, it  would be best to employ
white wine vinegar, as directed by Mr.  Ellis.   The chief advantage of the
black drop over laudanum is,  probably, that the  meconate of morphia is
converted by the acetic acid into the acetate; though this has not been  posi-
tively proved.   In the original process published by Dr. Armstrong, who
found it among the  papers of a relative of the proprietor in England, ver-
juice, or the juice of the  wild crab, was employed instead of vinegar. Other
vegetable acids also favourably modify the narcotic operation of opium; and
lemon juice has  been employed in a  similar manner with vinegar or ver-
juice, and perhaps not less advantageously.*
   The vinegar of opium  may sometimes be advantageously used when opium
itself, or the  tincture, in  consequence of peculiarity in the disease or in the
constitution of the patient, occasions so much headache, nausea, or nervous
disorder, as to render  its employment inconvenient if not impossible.  It
exhibits all the anodyne  and soporific properties of the narcotic, with less
tendency to produce  these  disagreeable  effeets, at least in many instances.
It is of about double the strength of laudanum, six and a half minims con-
taining  the soluble parts of about one grain of opium, supposing the drug to '
be  completely exhausted by the menstruum.   The dose may be  stated at
from seven to ten drops  or minims.                                 W.
   ACETUM  SCILLA.   U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.    Vinegar  of
Squill.
   " Take of Squill, bruised, four ounces; Distilled Vinegar two pints; Alco-
hol a fluidounce.  Macerate the Squill with the Distilled Vinegar, in a close

  * The  following is the formula given in the first edition of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.
"Take of Opium half a pound; Vinegar three pints; Nutmeg, bruised, one ounce  and a
half; Saffron half an ounce.  Boil  them to a proper consistence; then add Sugar four
ounces;  Yeast one Jluidounce.  Digest for seven weeks, then place  in the open air until
it becomes a syrup; lastly, decant, filter, and bottle it up, adding a little sugar to each
bottle."   The boiling to a proper consistence, the digestion  in the open air until a  syrup
is formed, und  the addition  of a little sugar to each bottle, are all indefinite directions,
which must lead to uncertain results.  Independently of this want of precision, the point
in which the old process chiefly differs from that at present  officinal, is that in the former
fermentation is  induced by the  addition of yeast.  But fermentation is of very doubtful
value in the process;  at least its advantages have not bcen*proved. 
778
Aceta.
PART II.
glass vessel, for seven days; then express the liquor, and set it by that the
dregs may subside; lastly, pour off the clear  liquid, and add the Alcohol.
   "Vinegar of Squill may also be prepared  by macerating the  Squill,  in
coarse powder, with a pint of Distilled Vinegar for two  days, then putting
the mixture into an apparatus for  displacement,  gradually pouring in Dis-
tilled Vinegar until the  quantity of filtered liquor equals  two pints, and
lastly adding the alcohol.
   "In the above processes, Diluted Acetic Acid may be substituted for Dis-
tilled Vinegar." U.S.
   The  London College  directs fifteen ounces of recently dried squill, six
pints (Imperial measure)  of distilled vinegar, half a pint  (Imp. meas.) of
proof spirit, and maceration with a gentle heat for twenty-four hours.  The
Edinburgh College directs five ounces of dried squill, two pints (Imp.
meas.) of distilled vinegar, three fluidounces of proof spirit, and maceration
for seven days.  The Dublin College takes half a pound of recently dried
squill, three pints of distilled vinegar,  and four fluidounces of rectified
spirit; and macerates for seven days.
   In the United States process by displacement, the whole of the vinegar em-
ployed  in the maceration, and introduced with the squill into the instrument,
should be allowed to enter the mass, before the fresh  portion of vinegar is
added.   The preparations  of the several Pharmacopoeias are so nearly the
same that, for all practical purposes, they may  be considered identical. The
proportion of alcohol is rather less in  the United States formula,  than in
either of the others.   In the  formula of the French Codex there is none;
but the vinegar is stronger than ours.   The only object of the alcohol is to
retard the decomposition of the vinegar of squill; while its presence is medi-
cally injurious by rendering the preparation too stimulating.  It is best, there-
fore, to prepare the vinegar of squill frequently, and in small quantities, so as
to require little alcohol for its preservation.  In the preparation of the oxy-
mel and syrup of squill,  for which purpose the vinegar is  chiefly used in
this country, it should be employed without alcohol.  The vinegar of squill
deposits, upon  standing, a precipitate which  consists,  according  to Vogel,
of citrate of lime and tannic acid.
   Medical Uses.  This  preparation has all the properties of the squill in
substance, and is  occasionally prescribed as  a diuretic and expectorant in
various  forms of dropsy and of pulmonary  disease;  but the oxymel and
syrup are usually preferred, as they keep better and are less unpleasant to
the taste.  The dose is from thirty minims  to two fluidrachms; but the latter
quantity would be  apt to produce vomiting.  It should be given in cinnamon-
water, mint-water, or some other  aromatic liquid calculated to conceal its
taste and obviate its nauseating effect.
   Off. Prep. Mistura Cascarillae Composita, Lond.  Oxymel Scillae, U. S.,
Lond., Dub.; Syrupus  Scillae, U. S., Ed.                        W.

   ACIDUM ACETICUM  CAMPHORATUM. Ed., Dub.   Cam-
phorated Acetic Acid.
   " Take of Acetic Acid six fluidounces [six fluidounces and a half, Ed.~\\
Camphor half an ounce;  Rectified Spirit a  sufficient quantity.  Reduce
the camphor to powder by means  of the spirit; then add the acid, and dis-
solve."  Dub.
   The use of  the alcohol is simply to facilitate the  pulverization  of the
camphor, and a few drops are sufficient.  Acetic acid in its  concentrated
state readily dissolves camphor.  In this preparation, the whole of the cam-
phor is taken up by the  acid.   In consequence  of the powerful chemical 
PART II.
Aceta.—Acida.
779
agency of the solution, and its extreme volatility, it should be kept in glass
bottles accurately fitted with ground stoppers.
   Camphorated acetic acid is an exceedingly pungent perfume, which,
when snuffed up the nostrils, produces a strongly excitant impression, and
may be beneficially resorted to in cases of fainting or nervous debility. It is
an officinal substitute for Henry's aromatic spirit of vinegar.
   At Apothecaries' Hall, in London, an Aromatic vinegar is prepared by
dissolving the oils of cloves, lavender, rosemary,  and calamus, in highly
concentrated acetic acid.   It is used for  the  same purpose as  the officinal
camphorated acetic  acid, being dropped  on sponge  and kept  in smelling
bottles.  A similar preparation may be made extemporaneously by adding
to a drachm of acetate of potassa contained in a stoppered bottle,  three drops
of one or more of  the aromatic volatile oils, and twenty drops of sulphuric
acid. (Pereira's Mat. Med.)
   A preparation called Marseilles vinegar, or thieves' vinegar (vinaigre
des quatres  voleurs),  consisting  essentially of vinegar impregnated with
aromatic substances, v/as  formerly esteemed a prophylactic   against  the
plague and other contagious diseases.  It is said  to have derived its  name
and reputation  from the  circumstance, that four thieves, who, during the
plague at Marseilles, had plundered  the  dead bodies with impunity, con-
fessed, upon the condition  of a pardon, that they owed their safety to the
use of it.  The aromatic acetic acid of the former Edinburgh  Pharmaco-
poeia was intended as  a  simplification of this nostrum.  It was made by
macerating for a week an ounce of rosemary, an ounce of sage, half an
ounce of lavender, and half a drachm of cloves, with two pounds of distilled
vinegar,  then expressing the  liquor and filtering.   Origanum  was  after-
wards substituted for sage, and thirty fluidounces of acetic acid  for the two
pounds of distilled vinegar.  In the last edition of the  Pharmacopoeia the
preparation has been abandoned.   In  the present  state of knowledge, it is
hardly necessary  to observe, that neither the original nostrum, nor its
substitute, has any other power of protecting the system against disease, than
such as may depend on its slightly stimulant properties, and its influence
over the imagination.                                            W.


                             ACIDA.

                               Acids.

   Acids, in chemical classification, are those compounds which are capable
of uniting in definite proportions with alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides,
with the effect of producing a combination, in which the properties of its
constituents  are mutually destroyed.  Such combinations are said to be neu-
tral,  and are denominated salts.  Most acids have  a sour taste, and possess
the power of changing vegetable blues to red; and, though these properties
are by no means constant, yet they afford a ready means of detecting acids,
applicable in practice to most cases.   The above explanation of the nature
of an acid is that usually given; but, according to strict definition, acids are
compounds having a  strong electro-negative energy, and, therefore, possess-
ing a powerful affinity for electro-positive compounds, such as  alkalies,
earths, and metallic oxides.  It is this antagonism in the electrical condition
of these two  great  classes of chemical compounds  that  gives rise  to their
mutual affinity, which is so much the stronger,  as  their contrast in this
respect is greater.  In the majority of cases, the electro-negative compound
or acid  is an oxidized body, but by no means necessarily so.   When it
does not contain oxygen,  this element is usually replaced  by hydrogen. 
780
Acida.
PART II.
These peculiarities in composition have given rise to the division of acids
by some writers  into oxacids  and hydracids.   Vegetable acids, for the
most part, contain both oxygen and hydrogen.
   A small number only of the acids are used in medicine; but among these
are to be found examples of the three kinds above mentioned.        B.

   ACIDUM ACETICUM.  U. S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.  Acetic Acid.
   " Take of Acetate of Soda, in powder, a pound;  Sulphuric Acid half a
pound; Red Oxide  of Lead a  drachm.   Pour the  Sulphuric Acid into a
glass retort, and gradually add  the Acetate of  Soda; then, by means of a
sand-bath, distil with a moderate heat, into a glass receiver, till  the residuum
becomes dry.   Mix the resulting liquid with the Red Oxide of Lead, and
again distil, with a moderate heat, to dryness."  U. S.  The sp. gr. of this
acid is 1*06, and 100 grains of  it saturate 83-5 grains of  crystallized bicar-
bonate of potassa.
   " Take  of Acetate of Soda two pounds; Sulphuric Acid nine ounces;
Distilled Water nine fluidounces [Imperial measure].  Add the Sulphuric
Acid, first mixed with the  Water,  to the Acetate of  Soda put  into a  glass
retort; then let the acid distil from  a sand-bath.  Care is to be taken that
the heat be not too great towards the end." Lond. The  specific gravity of
this acid is 1-048, and 100 grains of it saturate 87 grains of crystallized car-
bonate of soda.
   " Take of Acetate  of Potassa one hundred parts;  Sulphuric Acid fifty-
two parts.  Put the acid into a tubulated retort,  and, at different intervals of
time, add the Acetate of Potassa, waiting after each addition until the mix-
ture becomes cool.   Lastly, with a  moderate heat, distil  the acid until the
residuum is dry.   The specific  gravity of  this acid is 1-074."  Dub.
   " Take  of Acetate of Lead any convenient quantity;  heat it gradually
in a porcelain basin, by means  of  a bath  of oil or fusible metal (8 tin, 4
lead, 3 bismuth), to  320° F.; and stir  till  the fused mass concretes again:
pulverize this when cold, and heat  the powder again to 320°, with frequent
stirring, till the  particles  cease  to accrete.   Add six  ounces of the powder
to nine fluidrachms  and a half of Pure Sulphuric  Acid, contained in a
glass matrass;  attach a proper tube  and refrigeratory,  and  distil  from a
fusible metal bath with a heat of 320° to  complete dryness.    Agitate the
distilled  liquid with a few grains of Red Oxide of Lead to remove a little
sulphurous acid, allow the vessel to rest a few  minutes, pour off the clear
liquor and redistil it.   The density is commonly from 1-063  to 1-065, but
must not exceed 1-0685." Ed.
   These processes are intended to furnish  a strong acetic  acid.  The United
States, London, and Dublin formulae  are similar, consisting in the decom-
position of the acetate of soda or of potassa by sulphuric acid.   A sulphate
of the alkali is  formed, and the disengaged acetic acid distils over.   The
acetate of soda, however,  is on several accounts the best salt for decomposi-
tion.   Its  advantages are, its uniform composition in the  crystallized state,
its giving rise to a residuary salt (sulphate of soda) easily  washed out of the
retort, and the abundance in which it can be obtained from  the manufacturers
of pyroligneous acid.  (See Sodae Acetas.)   On the other hand, acetate of
potassa is a deliquescent salt,  and, therefore,  liable  to contain a variable
quantity of water, and to yield  an  acid of variable strength.   Besides, the
residue of the process (sulphate of  potassa) is not so easily removed from
the retort.  In either process, the acetic  acid is apt to pass over contaminated
with a small quantity of sulphurous acid, which, however, may be removed
by a redistillation from a little red oxide of lead, as is directed in the U. S.
process. In the Edinburgh process, acetate of lead is first freed from water of 
PART II.
Acida.
781
crystallization by heat, and then distilled with sulphuric  acid which  com-
bines with the protoxide of lead, and sets free the acetic acid which distils
over.  As a boiling temperature is not convenient for drying, nor sufficient
for decomposing the acetate of lead, the requisite temperature  is  obtained
by a bath of oil or fusible metal.  The red oxide of lead removes the sul-
phurous acid by combining with it in such a way as, by a transfer of oxy-
gen from the oxide to the acid, to form sulphate of protoxide of lead.  This
process, when carefully  conducted, furnishes an  acid  of the  maximum
strength, consisting of one  eq. of dry acid, and one of water.
  Before proceeding  to compare the different officinal  acetic acids  as to
density, it is necessary to explain the nomenclature adopted in the several
Pharmacopoeias, which is  somewhat confused.  All these acids  may be
arranged in three divisions, according as  their density is high, low, or inter-
mediate. The following table presents a view of their names and densities.
Acetic Acid.	U.S.	Lond.	Ed.	Dub.
"1 Highest off. 1 strength. [ Intermediate f strength. 1 J	Aeidum Accti-cum. Sp. gr. 1*06. Acidum Aceti-		\cidnm Aceti-cum. Sp. gr. 1-0G3 to 1-065. Acidum. Pyrolig-neum. Sp. gr. 1-034.	Acidum Acetic cum. Sp. gr. 1-074.
		Acidum Aceti-cum. Sp.gr. 1*048.		
	cum Dilutum.			
  Thus it  is perceived that  the name "Acidum  Aceticum" means in  the
Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia the acid of maximum strength, and in the other
Pharmacopoeias, the  acid diluted  with water  in various  degrees.  The
strong acid was injudiciously adopted, as an officinal preparation,  by  the
Edinburgh  College.  It is too powerful for convenient medicinal employ-
ment, and unnecessary in the formulas for camphorated acetic acid, vinegar
of Spanish flies, and creasote mixture, the  only ones  in which it  is em-
ployed by the College.  Its density is given with great want of precision.
This is stated to vary commonly from 1*063 to  1*065, but must not exceed
1*0685!  In other words, the acid may vary in strength from purity to con-
taining 3 per cent, of water.   The intermediate acid varies  in  density, as
seen by the table, according  to the following numbers—1*074 Dub., 1*06
U. S., 1*048 Lond., 1*034 Ed.  Dr. Christison considers the name "Acidum
Aceticum"  as belonging only to the strongest acid, and objects to its appli-
cation to the intermediate acid (injudiciously called pyroligneous acid by  the
Edinburgh  College), because it contains water of dilution.  It is impossible
to attain entire  precision in pharmaceutical  nomenclature,  and hence  the
simple name  of an acid may be conventionally applied to it when not of full
strength, just as the name "Acidum Hydrocyanicum" is applied to medici-
nal prussic  acid by the Edinburgh College, without meaning the anhydrous
acid.  The weak acid (Acidum Aceticum Dilutum) is peculiar to the U. S.
Pharmacopoeia, and will be noticed in  the next article.
  The specific gravity of acetic acid increases with the strength up to the
density of  1*0735  (maximum), after  which it  decreases until it reaches
1-0635, the density  of the strongest acid.  The following table, condensed
      67 
782
Acida.
PART II.
from one given by Pereira, on the authority of Mohr, as containing the most
recent experiments, exhibits the sp. gr. of acetic acid of different strengths.
The officinal and commercial acids are noted opposite to their several densi-
ties, and the corresponding number in the column on the left gives the per-
centage of protohydraled acid in each.
Per cent.		I er cent.	
of acid.	Specific Gravity.	of acid.	Specific Gravity.
100 99	../|/.e > Acetic acid, Ed.	39 37	1-050 English pyroligneous acid 1-048 Acetic acid, Lond.
97 90	1068 1-073	32	1042 ) Scotch pyroligneous acid ( (strongest).
80	1-0735 Maximum.density.	30	1040
70	1-070	25	1-034 Pyroligneous acid, Ed.
60	1067	20	1-027
54	1-063	10	1-015
50	1060 Acetic acid, U.S.	5	1-006
40	1-051	4	1 005 Distilled vinegar. Ed.,Dub.
  The maximum density here given on the authority of Mohr (1-0735), is
considerably lower than that fixed by Mollerat (1-079), and agrees best
with the determination of Dr. T. Thomson (1-0713), which  is still lower.
Up to the specific gravity 1-062, the density of acetic acid is  a pretty accu-
rate index of strength;  but  above that specific gravity, two  acids of dif-
ferent strengths may coincide in density.   Thus, by the table, it is seen that
an acid weighing 1-063 may be either the strongest possible liquid acid, or
an acid containing only 54 per cent, of such acid.   The ambiguity may be
removed by diluting tbe acid with a portion of  water, when, if the density
be increased, the given specimen is the stronger acid of the two having the
same density.  A note referring to the Dublin acetic acid is excluded  from
the table, on account of its density being given at a higher number (1-074)
than  even the maximum of Mohr.   The density of English and Scotch
pyroligneous  acid (pure acetic acid from wood) is given on the  authority
of Dr,  Christison.
   The process adopted in the French  Codex for obtaining  acetic acid, is
the  distillation to  dryness of the acetate of copper  (crystals of Venus).
The distillation must be performed in  a stoneware retort, and is  described
in detail by Thenard.   The  water of crystallization of the salt being evapo-
rated before the acid  begins  to  rise, there is a  deficiency  of the former
liquid,  necessary to hold the elements  of the acetic acid together.  Accord-
ingly, a part of the acid is  decomposed, being resolved into water, and  a
compound called pyroacetic spirit or acetone, which  gives  to the acid  a
peculiar fragrant smell.   Pyroacetic spirit is a colourless,  volatile, inflam-
mable liquid, of  a  peculiar  penetrating smell, and pungent  taste like that
of peppermint.  Its sp.. gr. is 0-7922 and boiling point 132°.   It is miscible
with water, alcohol, and ether in all proportions.   Its formula is C3H:,0.
   Properties.  The acetic acid of the United States, London and Dublin
Pharmacopoeias is a colourless, inflammable, volatile liquid, having an acrid
taste, and fragrant, pungent smell.   It unites in all proportions with water,
and dissolves to a certain extent in alcohol.   It is  incompatible with the
alkalies and alkaline earths, both pure and carbonated, with metallic oxides,
and most  substances acted on by  other acids.   It is wholly volatilized by
heat, and yields  no precipitate with chloride of barium or nitrate of silver. 
PART II.
Acida.
783
The presence of copper, lead, or tin, may be detected by neutralizing the
acid with  ammonia,  and testing successively with ferrocyanuret of potas-
sium, iodide of potassium, and sulphuretted hydrogen, in the manner ex-
plained  under Acetum  Destillatum.   This officinal acid consists  of the
strongest liquid acetic acid, diluted with a variable quantity of water.  As
is shown by the table just given, the  United States acid contains  50 per
cent, of water of dilution, and the London,  63 per cent.  The dilution of
the Dublin acid cannot be estimated from Mohr's table, but calculated from
Mollerat's  results, it contains 33^ per  cent,  of  water.  The  saturating
strength of the United States and London acids is given under their respec-
tive formulas.   The  corresponding acid of the Edinburgh College, called
pyroligneous acid by the College, is described  at page 14.
   Protohydrated acetic  acid (Acidum Aceticum, Ed., glacial acetic acid,
or radical vinegar) is a colourless, volatile,  inflammable liquid, possessing
a corrosive taste, and an  acid, pungent, and  refreshing smell.   At the tem-
perature of about 40° it becomes a crystalline solid.  Its  sp. gr. is 1-063.
The anomaly of its having first an increasing and then a decreasing density
upon dilution with water, has been already noticed.  Acetic acid possesses
the property of dissolving a number  of substances, such as volatile oils,
camphor,  gluten, resins  and gum-resins, fibrin, albumen, &c.  As it attracts
humidity from the atmosphere, it should be  preserved in well-stopped bot-
tles.  Its  combinations with salifiable bases are called acetates.  It consists
of one eq. of dry acid 51*48,  and one of water 9=60-48.  The dry acid is
composed of carbon, hydrogen,  and oxygen, and its formula is C4H303.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Acetic acid acts  as a stimulant and rube-
facient.   Owing to  its  volatility and  pungency, its vapour  is  frequently
applied  to the nostrils as an excitant in syncope, asphyxia, and headache.
When employed in this manner, it is generally added to a small portion of
sulphate of potassa, so  as to moisten the  salt, and the mixture is put in
small glass bottles with  ground  stoppers.   The concentrated acid  is only
used externally, and acts as a rubefacient, vesicant, or caustic, according to
the length of time it is applied.   It is  sometimes employed as a substitute
for cantharides, where a speedy blister is desired; as,  for example, in croup,
sorethroat, and other cases of internal inflammation.   It may  be applied by
means of blotting paper or cambric moistened with the acid.   It is  a good
application to warts  and corns, the vitality of which  it frequently destroys.
It is also  a  valuable remedy  in scaldhead.   The  different officinal acetic
acids are  necessarily different in their medical applications. For producing
a blister, the Edinburgh acid is unnecessarily strong, and the London, too
weak.
   Off. Prep.   Acetum  Cantharidis,  Lond.;  Acidum Aceticum  Camphora-
tum, Dub.; Acid. Acet. Dilut., U. S.; Extractum Colchici Aceticum, Lond.;
Morphia?  Acetas, U.S., Lond.; Oxymel, Lond.; Plumbi Acetas,  Lond.;
Potassa; Acetas,  U. S.,  Lond.
   Off. Prep,  of Acidum  Aceticum,  Ed.   Acetum Cantharidis;  Acidum
Aceticum Camphoratum; Mistura  Creasoti.                          B.

   ACIDUM ACETICUM DILUTUM. U. S. Diluted Acetic Acid.
   " Take of Acetic Acid  half a pint; Distilled  Water five pints.  Mix
them."
   The acid resulting from the above formula is  peculiar to the United States
Pharmacopoeia.  The object  of having this preparation, is to possess a weak
solution of pure acetic acid,  which may be  substituted for distilled vinegar
in all formulae  in which nicety is required.  Distilled  vinegar  contains a 
784
Acida.
PART II.
 portion of organic matter, which is always darkened or precipitated when
 this acid is saturated with an alkali, an occurrence which does not take place
 when the diluted  acetic acid  of our Pharmacopoeia is employed.   As  the
 Acidum Aceticum (U. S.) contains  50 per cent, of the strongest liquid acid,
 it is easy to determine by calculation that  the  Diluted Acetic Acid will
 contain 4*54 per cent, of the  same acid.   Fifteen parts by weight of  the
 London acetic acid, mixed  with  eighty-five of water,  will form  an acid
 having, according to  Mr. Phillips, the strength of distilled vinegar, and
 containing about 4*6 per cent,  of dry acid.
   Off.Prep.   Liquor Ammonise Aeetatis, U.S.                    B.

   ACIDUM  BENZOICUM.   U. S., Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.  Benzoic
 Acid.
   " Take of Benzoin,  in coarse powder, a pound.  Put the Benzoin, pre-
 viously thoroughly mixed  with an equal weight of fine sand, into a  suitable
 vessel, and, by means of a  sand-bath, with  a  gradually  increasing heat,
 sublime until vapours cease to rise.  Deprive the sublimed matter of oil  by
 pressure in bibulous paper, and again sublime." U. S.
   The London College proceeds exactly as  above directed, except that it
 does not mix the benzoin with sand before subliming.
   The Edinburgh College puts a convenient quantity  of benzoin into a
 glass matrass, and completes the process in the same manner.
   According to the  Dublin process, five parts  of benzoin, triturated with
 one part of fresh quicklime,  are boiled in one hundred and thirty parts of
 water for half an hour, the mixture being constantly stirred with  a rod.  After
 having cooled, the clear liquor is decanted, and  the residue is  boiled with
 seventy parts of  water, which is also  decanted  when cold.  The  liquors
 having been mixed are  evaporated  to one-half, and  filtered through paper;
 and  one part of muriatic acid is gradually added. The precipitate produced
 is separated from  the  supernatant liquid, washed with a small quantity of
 cold water, dried with a gentle heat, and submitted  to sublimation in a pro-
 per apparatus.
   Of the two processes above  described, the first is most simple and easy.
 The acid, which exists in the benzoin combined with resin, is volatilized by
 the heat, and condensed in the upper  part of the  apparatus.   Unless the
 temperature is  very carefully regulated, a portion of the resin is decomposed,
 and  an oily substance generated, which rises with the acid and gives it a
 brown colour, from which  it cannot be entirely freed by bibulous paper; and
 this  result sometimes takes place even with the greatest caution.  The pro-
 cess for subliming benzoic acid is usually conducted in a glazed earthen ves-
 sel, surmounted by a cone  of paper, or  by another vessel  with a small open-
 ing at  top, and a band of paper pasted round the place of junction.  After the
 heat has been applied for an hour,  the process should be  suspended  till the
 condensed acid is removed  from the upper vessel or paper  cone, when it may
 be renewed, and the acid again removed, and thus  alternately till coloured
 vapours rise.   Mohr, after many experiments, recommends  the following
 plan as unobjectionable.  He  considers  the  addition of sand useless, and
 even injurious  by favouring  the  production of empyreumatic  substances.
 In a round cast-iron pot, eight or nine inches in diameter and two inches
 deep, a pound or less of coarsely powdered benzoin is placed, and uniformly
 strewed over the  bottom.   The top of the pot is closed  by   a sheet  of
bibulous  paper, which  is  secured  to the sides by paste.   A  cylinder  of
 thick paper in the form of  a hat, just large  enough to fit closely around the
sides of the pot, is then placed  over it,  and in like manner secured by paste. 
PART II.
Acida.
785
A moderate heat is now applied by means of a sand-bath, and continued for
three or four hours.   The vapours pass through the bibulous paper, which
absorbs the empyreumatic oil, and are condensed in the inside of the hat
in brilliant white flowers, having an agreeable odour of benzoin.  (Annul.
der Pharm. xxix.  178.)   The remaining acid of the benzoin may be ex-
tracted, if deemed advisable, by treating the residue of the balsam with lime
or carbonate of soda.  From the mode of preparing  benzoic acid by subli-
mation, it was formerly called flowers of benzoin.
   By the Dublin process, the acid is extracted from the benzoin by com-
bining it with a salifiable base, and is subsequently precipitated by an acid.
It is purified  by sublimation,  which gives it the peculiar silky lustre which
distinguishes it.   The process of  the Dublin College is essentially that of
Scheele.   Carbonate of soda  may be substituted for the lime, and sulphuric
for the muriatic acid employed by  the Dublin College, and the precipitated
benzoic acid  may be purified by dissolving it in boiling water, which  will
deposit it upon cooling.  This was formerly the process of  the Edinburgh
College.  Both processes afford a purer product than that obtained by sub-
limation, but not preferable in a medicinal point of view; as the small quan-
tity of oil present in the sublimed acid adds  to its stimulant properties,  and
at the same time renders it pleasant to the smell.
   Several other modes of extracting the  acid have been recommended by
different chemists.   The following is the process of Stolze.  One part of
the balsam is dissolved in three parts  of alcohol, the solution filtered  and
introduced into a retort, and  the acid saturated  by carbonate  of soda  dis-
solved in a mixture of eight parts of water and three of alcohol.  The alcohol
is distilled off; and the benzoate of soda contained in the residuary liquid
is decomposed by sulphuric acid, which precipitates the benzoic acid.  This
is purified by solution in boiling water, which lets fall  the acid when it cools.
   By the above process Stolze obtained  18 per cent, of acid from benzoin
containing 19-425 per cent.   By the process of Scheele (that of the Dublin
College) he obtained 13-5 per cent.; by  the agency of carbonate of soda, as
in the former Edinburgh process, 12 per cent.; by sublimation only 7*6 per
cent.  Nevertheless, Mr. Brande says that the last process is on the whole
the most economical.  According to this author, good benzoin affords by
sublimation from  10 to 15 per cent,  of  the  acid contaminated with empy-
reumatic oil, and about 9 per  cent,  of the purified acid.
   Properties. Sublimed benzoic acid is in white, soft, feathery crystals, of
a silky lustre, and not pulverulent.  From solution the acid crystallizes in
transparent prisms.   When quite  pure  it is inodorous;  but prepared by
sublimation from  the balsam, it has a  peculiar agreeable  aromatic  odour,
dependent on the presence of an oil, which may be separated by dissolving
the acid in alcohol, and precipitating it with water.  Its taste  is warm, acrid,
and acidulous.  It is unalterable in the air, but at 230° melts, and at a some-
what higher  temperature  rises in  suffocating vapours.  It is inflammable,
burning without residue.  It is very sparingly soluble in cold, but is dissolved
by about twenty-four parts of boiling water,  which deposits it upon cooling.
It is soluble in alcohol, and in concentrated sulphuric and nitric acids, from
which  it is precipitated by water.  The fixed oils  also dissolve it.  It is
entirely dissolved by solution of potassa, and precipitated from the solution
by muriatic acid.  Its solution reddens litmus paper, and it forms salts with
salifiable bases; but its acid properties are not powerful.  From the expe-
riments of Wiihler and Liebig it may be inferred, that benzoic acid is com-
posed of a peculiar hypothetical body, called benzule, and oxygen; and in
the uncombined state it always contains water.  Benzule  consists of four-
                                  67* 
786
Acida.
PART II.
 teen equivalents of carbon 85-68, five of hydrogen 5, and two of oxygen
 16=106-68.  The crystallized acid contains one equiv. of benzule 106-68,
 one of oxygen 8, and one of water 9 = 123*68.  It cannot be deprived of its
 water by heat, but  sometimes loses it in combination.   Benzoic acid  is a
 characteristic  constituent of the balsams, and  has  been found in various
 other vegetable, and some animal products.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Benzoic  acid  is  irritant to the mucous
 membrane, and  stimulant to the system, and has been thought to be expec-
 torant; but it is seldom used internally except as a constituent of one or two
 officinal preparations.  It has recently been proposed by Dr. Alexander Ure
 as a remedy for uric  acid depositions in the urine, and for the chalk-like
 concretions, consisting of urate of soda,  in the  joints of gouty individuals.
 It is supposed to operate by converting the uric into hippuric acid, and con-
 sequently the  insoluble urates into soluble hippurates.  Either benzoic acid
 or one of its salts may be employed for this purpose.  A  convenient mode
 is to give the acid with four parts  of phosphate of soda, or one part and a
 half of biborate of soda, which enable it to be  readily dissolved by water.
 The dose is  from 10 to 30 grains.   It is an ingredient in some  cosmetic
 washes, and has been employed  by way of fumigation as a remedy in affec-
 tions of the skin.
   Off. Prep.  Tinctura Opii Ammoniata, Ed.;  Tinctura Opii Camphorata,
 U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Unguentum Sulphuris Compositum, U. S.
                                                                W.

   ACIDUM HYDROCYANICUM.  U.S.,  Ed. Acidum  Hydro-
 cyanicum Dilutum. Lond.  Acidum Prussicum.  Dub. Hydrocy-
 anic Acid.  Prussic Acid.  Cyanohydric Acid.
   " Take of Ferrocyanuret of Potassium two  ounces; Sulphuric acid  an
 ounce and a half;  Distilled  Water a sufficient  quantity.  Mix the acid
 with  four fluidounces of  distilled water, and pour the mixture, when cool,
 into a glass retort.  To this add the  Ferrocyanuret of Potassium, previously
 dissolved in ten  fluidounces of Distilled Water.   Pour eight fluidounces of
 Distilled Water  into a cooled receiver, and, having attached this to the  re-
 tort, distil, by means of a sand-bath, with a moderate heat, six fluidounces.
 Lastly, add to the product five  fluidounces of Distilled Water, or as much
 as may be sufficient to render the Hydrocyanic Acid of  such strength, that
 12-7  grains of nitrate of silver, dissolved in distilled water, may  be accu-
 rately saturated  by 100 grains of the acid.
   " Hydrocyanic Acid may be prepared, when wanted for immediate use,
 in the following manner.
   "Take of Cyanuret of Silver fifty grains and a half; Muriatic Acid
forty-one grains;  Distilled  Water  a fluidounce.   Mix  the Muriatic Acid
 with  the Distilled Water, add the Cyanuret of Silver, and shake the whole
 in a well-stopped vial.  When the  insoluble matter has subsided, pour  off
 the clear liquor, and keep it for use.  Hydrocyanic Acid should be kept in
 closely  stopped  bottles, from which the light is  excluded."  U. S.
   The  processes of the  London College for medicinal  hydrocyanic acid,
 and for that extemporaneously obtained, are the same as those  of the U.  S.
 Pharmacopoeia;  the latter having been adopted from the former.
   " Take  of Ferrocyanide of  Potassium  three ounces;  Sulphuric Acid
 two fluidounces; Water sixteen fluidounces [Imp. meas.].  Dissolve the salt
 in eleven fluidounces of the Water, and put the solution in a matrass with a
 little  sand: add the acid, previously diluted with five fluidounces of the water
 and allowed to cool: connect the matrass with a proper refrigeratory: distil 
PART II.
Acida.
787
with a gentle heat, by means of a sand-bath or naked  gas  flame, till four-
teen fluidounces pass over, or till the residuum begins to froth up.   Dilute
the product with distilled water till it measures sixteen  fluidounces." Ed.
  "Take of Cyanuret [Bicyanuret] of Mercury an ounce; Muriatic Acid
seven fluidrachms;  Water eight fluidounces.   From a glass retort, distil
into a refrigerated receiver, eight  fluidounces, to  be kept in a well stopped
bottle, in a cool and dark place. The specific gravity of this acid is  0-998."
Dub.
   Hydrocyanic acid was admitted  as an officinal into the French Codex in
1818, into the first edition of the  United States Pharmacopoeia in  1820,
into the Dublin Pharmacopoeia  in 1826, into  the London in  1836, and
into the Edinburgh in 1839.   It is now made by  two  officinal  processes,
__from the  ferrocyanuret of potassium in  the U. S., London,  and Edin-
burgh  Pharmacopoeias, and from the bicyanuret of mercury  in the Dub-
lin. It is also obtained  by an  extemporaneous  process,  when  wanted
for immediate use, in the U. S. and London Pharmacopoeias,  by  decom-
posing the cyanuret of silver.   When  ferrocyanuret of potassium  is de-
composed by sulphuric acid,  the  residue in the retort is bisulphate of
potassa, mixed with a compound  of two eqs. of cyanuret of iron and one
of cyanuret  of potassium (Everitt's salt).  Two  eqs.  of  ferrocyanuret,
2(FeCy+2KCy), react with six eqs. of liquid sulphuric acid, 6(SO;-f-HO),
 and produce three eqs.  of hydrated bisulphate  of  potassa,  3(KO,2SO:;-j-
 HO), together with one eq. of Everitt's salt, 2FeCy+KCy,  which  remain
 in the retort, and three eqs. of hydrocyanic acid, 3HCy, which distil over.
 Everitt's salt, so named from its discoverer, called biferrocyanuret of potas-
 sium by Dr. Pereira,  is yellow according to Mr.  Everitt; but Dr. Pereira,
 who prepared it with the greatest care, always found it white.  Its constitu-
 tion (2FeCy-|-KCy) is precisely the converse of that  of ferrocyanuret of
 potassium (FeCy-f 2KCy).
    The rationale of the U. S. and London process for obtaining hydrocyanic
 acid extemporaneously is exceedingly simple.  The reacting materials are
 single equivalents respectively of cyanuret of silver and muriatic acid.  These,
 by double decomposition, generate hydrocyanic acid which dissolves in the
 water,  and  chloride of silver which subsides, and  from which the acid is
 poured off when clear.  (See Argenti Cyanuretum.)   As the cyanuret of
 silver is obtained from hydrocyanic acid, it seems, at first view, a useless
 procedure to expend the acid to make the cyanuret,  with the intention of
 decomposing this afterwards  to  get  the  acid.  But the extemporaneous
 process is useful  to country practitioners; because  the  acid will not gene-
 rally keep.   A portion of hydrocyanic acid, if kept by a practitioner, may
 spoil on his hands, before he has occasion to use it; but if he supplies him-
 self with a portion of cyanuret of silver, he may readily at any moment ob-
 tain a small portion of the acid, by following the directions of the  formula.
    The Dublin process  is that of  Gay-Lussac, with the use of a certain
 amount of water of dilution. Two equivalents of hydrogen from two equiva-
 lents of muriatic acid  form two equivalents of hydrocyanic acid with the two
 equivalents  of cyanogen in the bicyanuret of mercury, while the two equi-
 valents of chlorine form  one equivalent of bichloride of mercury, or corrosive
 sublimate, with the one equivalent of mercury.  The  Dublin College uses
 a little  more than the equivalent quantity of muriatic  acid, to ensure the
 complete decomposition of the bicyanuret.                        „„,„„:„
    The French Codex of 1837 gives the following process for  M'ocyamc
 acid, in place of the three formerly contained ™ ^^^V^ Re-
 ret of mercury thirty parts; muriatic acid  (sp.  gr. 1*17) tiventy par 
          788                            Acida.                        part ii.

          duce the bicyanuret to powder, and introduce it into a small tubulated glass
          retort, placed over a furnace. Adapt to its neck a tube, about 13 inches long,
          and half an inch in diameter, and filled one-half with pieces of marble,  and
          the remainder with chloride of calcium. To this tube, arranged nearly hori-
          zontally, adapt a smaller one, bent at a right angle, and plunging into a gra-
          duated tube, surrounded with a mixture of common salt and  pounded  ice.
          The apparatus being thus arranged, and the junctures well luted, add the
          muriatic acid; and, having allowed the action to take place for a few mo-
          ments in the cold, apply the heat gradually and cautiously.  When the action
          is over, drive forward any acid which may have condensed in the large tube,
          by means of a live coal brought near to it,  and passed along its whole length.
          The quantity of  acid found in the graduated tube is  mixed with either six
          times its  bulk, or eight  and  a half times  its weight of distilled water.  In
          case the acid is weighed, the operator must carefully avoid its deleterious
          vapours.
            The above process is Gay-Lussac's, and, therefore, the same in principle
          as the Dublin.   In the first part of it, Gay-Lussac's strong acid is obtained
i          in the graduated  tube,  and this is afterwards diluted to a given extent with
          water.  We have not  found it stated what is the saturating strength of the
          Codex acid; but, from the method of preparation, we should  suppose it to
          be much stronger than is safe for a medicinal acid.  The object of the marble
          and chloride of calcium is  to detain, the former muriatic acid, the latter
          water; so that it is probable that the acid in  the graduated tube, if not anhy-
          drous, is at least pretty strong.
            Another process for obtaining medicinal hydrocyanic acid, proposed  by
          Dr. Clarke, and adopted by Mr. Laming, is by the reaction of tartaric acid
          on cyanuret of potassium in solution.   Mr. Laming's  formula is as follows.
          Dissolve twenty-two grains of  the cyanuret in six fluidrachms of distilled
          water, and add to this solution fifty grains of crystallized tartaric acid dis-
          solved in three  fluidrachms  of rectified  spirit.  Crystallized bitartrate of
          potassa precipitates, and each fluidrachm of the clear decanted liquor con-
          tains one grain of pure hydrocyanic acid.  (Pereira, Elem. Mat. Med.) The
          reaction in this process takes place between two equiv.  of tartaric acid, one
          of cyanuret of potassium, and one of water.  The water is decomposed, and
          the tartaric acid, potassium, and oxygen unite to form  the bitartrate, and the
          cyanogen and  hydrogen to form  the hydrocyanic acid.  Although Dr. Pe-
          reira considers this process to have several advantages, yet he very properly
          objects to it  on account of the trouble and expense of obtaining the cyanuret
          pure, and  its liability to undergo spontaneous decomposition. (See Potassii
          Cyanuretum.)
            Liebig  recommends  the decomposition of cyanuret of potassium with
          liquid sulphuric acid. In this case the products  of the  double decomposition
          are sulphate of potassa and hydrocyanic acid.  Any cyanate of potassa pres-
          ent as an impurity is at the same time decomposed, and the ammonia result-
          ing from the cyanic acid unites  with  the sulphuric  acid,  so as to form a
          supersulphate.   The mode of proceeding is to  distil  one part of the cya-
          nuret  dissolved in two  parts of  water, with one part of sulphuric acid,
          diluted with  three parts of water.   The hydrocyanic acid obtained  is much
          stronger than the medicinal acid; but it may be reduced to any desired stand-
          ard, by ascertaining its strength bv nitrate of silver, and then adding the pro-
          per  proportion of distilled water, as determined by an obvious calculation.
            The processes, thus far given, are intended to furnish a dilute  hydro-
          cyanic acid for  medicinal purposes.  The methods of obtaining the anhy-
          drous or pure acid are somewhat different.  Vauquelin's process is to pass 
PART II.
Acida.
789
 a current of hydrosulphuric  acid gas over the bicyanuret of mercury con-
 tained in a  glass tube, connected with a receiver  kept cold  by a  freezing
 mixture of  ice and salt.   The first third only of the tube  is filled with the
 bicyanuret; the remaining two-thirds being occupied, half with carbonate of
 lead, and half with chloride of calcium.  The hydrocyanic acid being gene-
 rated in the first  third of the tube, is driven  forward by a gentle heat into
 the  refrigerated receiver.  By passing through the  carbonate of lead and
 chloride of calcium, it is successively freed from any traces of hydrosulphuric
 acid  or water.  Gay-Lussac's process for the anhydrous acid is essentially
 the same as that by which the strong acid is procured in the graduated tube,
 in the French Codex process. (See preceding page.)  Another process for the
 anhydrous acid, less expensive than the above, is that of Gautier, the details
 of which are thus given by Berzelius.   The ferrocyanuret of potassium is
 fused without  access of air, whereby it is converted  into a mixture of cya-
 nuret of potassium and carburet of iron.   The  mass obtained,  after being
 pulverized and placed in a flask,  is slightly moistened with water, and acted
 on with muriatic  acid, added by small portions at a time.  By a double de-
 composition between the cyanuret and muriatic apid, chloride of potassium
 and  hydrocyanic acid  are formed.   The flask is  then plunged into  hot
 water, which causes  the hydrocyanic  acid to be disengaged in the form of
 vapour.   This is passed through a tube containing chloride of calcium, and
 finally received in  a small flask,  kept cool by a freezing mixture, where it
 is condensed.  Berzelius inclines to give the preference to this process over
 all others for obtaining the anhydrous acid; as the salt employed is cheap,
 and  as the temperature of the hot water, while it  is competent to volatilize
 the hydrocyanic acid,  is not sufficient to drive over any muriatic acid.
  Properties of the Medicinal Acid.  Hydrocyanic acid, in the dilute  state
 in which it  is used in  medicine, is  a transparent, colourless, volatile liquid,
 possessing a taste  at  first  cooling, afterwards  somewhat  irritating, and  a
 peculiar smell. It imparts a slight and evanescent  red colour to litmus.  If
 it redden litmus strongly and permanently, the fact shows the presence of
 some acid impurity.   It is liable to undergo decomposition if exposed to
 the light, but is easily kept if the bottle containing it is covered with black
 paint, or black paper. The French generally use bottles of blue glass. Its
 most usual impurities  are sulphuric and muriatic acids; the former of which
 may be detected by evaporating a small portion of the suspected acid, when
 this   impurity  will remain; and  the latter by precipitating with nitrate of
 silver, when so much  of the precipitate as may be chloride of silver will be
 insoluble in boiling nitric acid, while the cyanuret of silver is readily solu-
 ble.   The presence of these impurities in slight amount is injurious,  only
 in so far as  they render the strength of the acid uncertain;  for they appear
 to confer the advantage  of rendering  it less  liable to decomposition.  Dr.
 Christison states  that the acid prepared from the ferrocyanuret of potassium
 will  keep for years, and its stability has been supposed to  be owing to the
 presence  of a trace of sulphuric acid.   Mr. Barry, of London, adds a small
 portion  of muriatic acid to all his medicinal  hydrocyanic  acid,  in order to
 preserve it.  (Pereira.)   In opposition to the idea that the mineral acids are
 the preservative agents, Dr. Christison remarks that he has known medici-
 nal  hydrocyanic acid  from ferrocyanuret of potassium to keep perfectly
 well,  although  nitrate of baryta, added to it, did not produce the slightest
 muddiness.   If lead be present, it may be detected by means of hydrosul-
phuric acid gas, which will cause  a blackish discoloration or precipitate.
Hydrocyanic acid is incompatible in prescriptions with nitrate of silver, the
salts  of iron  and copper, and most of the salts of mercury. 
790                            Acida.                        part ir.

  The medicinal acid  is of different strengths, as ordered by the different
pharmaceutical authorities.  Formerly its  strength was indicated  by its
specific gravity, which is  lower in proportion  as it is  stronger; but this
mode of estimate has been  generally abandoned, on account of the difficulty
of applying it in  practice.   The  Pharmacopoeias now, with  the  exception
of the Dublin, rely on the  saturating  power as an  index of strength.  Ac-
cording to the United  States and London formula, 100 grains of the acid
must accurately saturate  12*7 grains of nitrate of silver, dissolved in distilled
water, and produce a precipitate (cyanuret of silver) which,  when  washed
and dried, shall  weigh ten  grains, and be wholly soluble in  boiling nitric
acid.   An acid of this strength contains two  per cent, of pure  anhydrous
acid.   The test of entire  solubility  in boiling  nitric  acid, applied  to the
precipitate obtained by nitrate of silver, is intended to verify its nature; for
if the hydrocyanic acid contain muriatic acid, part of this precipitate would
be chloride of silver, not soluble in the boiling acid. The Edinburgh acid
is directed to contain about 3-22 per  cent, of anhydrous acid.   The  mode
laid down by the College for testing its strength by nitrate of silver, admits
of a variation in this particular; the stronger allowable acid being one-tenth
stronger than the weaker.  The Dublin  acid, according to Dr. Barker,
contains 1*6 per cent, of the anhydrous acid,  as  deduced from the propor-
tion of red oxide of mercury which it is capable of dissolving.  The hydrocy-
anic acid of the French Codex is evidently much stronger than any of these
acids;  but its saturating power  and  percentage  of anhydrous acid are not
given in that work.
   Properties of the Anhydrous Acid.  Hydrocyanic acid, perfectly free
from water, is .a colourless, transparent, inflammable liquid, of extreme vola-
tility, boiling at 80°, and congealing at 5°.   Its sp. gr.  as a liquid is 0-6969,
at the temperature of 64°; and as a vapour 0-9423.  Its taste is at first cool-
ing, afterwards burning, with an  after-taste in the throat like that of bitter
almonds; but from its extremely poisonous nature, it must  be tasted with
the utmost caution.  Its odour is so strong as to produce immediate headache
and giddiness; and its  vapour so deleterious that it cannot be inhaled without
the Greatest danger.  Both water and alcohol dissolve it readily.   It is much
more prone to  undergo decomposition than the dilute acid.   In  the course
of a few hours it sometimes begins to assume a reddish-brown colour, which
becomes gradually deeper,  till at length the acid  is converted into a black
liquid,  which exhales  a strong smell  of ammonia.  It is a very weak acid in
its  chemical  relations, and reddens litmus  but  slightly.   It does not form
solid compounds with metallic oxides, but a cyanuret of  the metal, the ele-
ments of water being exhaled.   Though a product of  art, it  exists in some
plants.  It is, however, a matter of doubt, in  many cases in which  it is
extracted from  vegetables, whether it is an  educt  or a  product.  (See
Amygdala Amara.)
   Composition, <y-c.   Hydrocyanic  acid consists of one eq. of cyanogen
26-39,  and  one of hydrogen  1=27-39; or in volumes,  of one  volume of
cyanogen and one volume of  hydrogen without condensation.   Cyanogen
is a colourless gas, of a strong and penetrating smell, inflammable, and burn-
ing with a beautiful bluish-purple flame.  Its  sp. gr. is 1-8157.   It was dis-
covered in  1815, by Gay-Lussac, who considers it  a  compound radical,
which, when acidified by hydrogen,  becomes hydrocyanic acid.   It consists
of two equiv. of carbon 1224,  and  one of nitrogen  14-15=26-39;  or in
volumes, of two volumes of  carbon  vapour,  and  one volume of nitrogen,
condensed into one volume.  The ultimate  constituents of hydrocyanic acid
are, therefore, two eq. of carbon, one of nitrogen, and  one of hydrogen. 
part ii.                       Acida.                            791

  Hydrocyanic acid, in a dilute state, was discovered in 1780 by Scheele,
who correctly stated its constituents  to be carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen;
but the  peculiar way in which they  are combined was first ascertained by
Gay-Lussac, by whom  also the anhydrous acid was first obtained.
  Medical and Toxicological Properties.  Hydrocyanic acid is one of the
most deadly poisons known, proving, in many cases, almost instantaneously
fatal. One or two drops of the pure acid are sufficient to kill a vigorous dog
in a few seconds.  Notwithstanding its tremendous energy as a poison, it has
been ventured  upon in a dilute  state as an anodyne and antispasmodic.
Though occasionally resorted to as a remedy previously to 1817,  it did not
attract much attention  until that year, when Magendie published his obser-
vations on its  use in diseases of the chest, and  recommended  its employ-
ment to the profession.  When given in medicinal doses gradually increased,
it produces the following symptoms in different cases:—peculiar bitter taste;
increased secretion  of saliva; irritation  in the throat; nausea; disordered
respiration; pain in the head; giddiness; faintriess; obscure vision and ten-
 dency to sleep.  The pulse is sometimes quickened, at other  times reduced
 in  frequency.  Occasionally salivation and ulceration of the mouth are pro-
 duced.   It has been  most highly recommended and extensively used in
 complaints of the respiratory organs, and is supposed to exert  a control
 over pulmonary inflammation, after  the excitement has been diminished by
 blood-letting; and there is no doubt that in some instances  it has been found
 beneficial  under such  circumstances.  In tuberculous phthisis,  though at
 one time boasted of as a remedy, it has no  power  whatever, except as a
 palliative for the cough.   In the various affections of the chest, however,
 attended with dyspnoea or  cough,  such as  asthma,  hooping cough, and
 chronic catarrh,  its use has often been decidedly beneficial, by allaying irri-
 tation  or relaxing spasm.   In hypertrophy of the  heart, and aneurism of
 the aorta, it has also  been used  with advantage.  In various affections of
 the stomach, characterized by pain and spasm, and sometimes attended with
 vomiting, but unconnected with inflammation, and supposed to depend upon
 a  disordered condition of the  nerves of the organ,  hydrocyanic acid has
 proved beneficial in the hands of several practitioners.   It  has  also been
 administered as an anodyne in  several painful affections,  as cancer, tic
 douloureux, &c, but  with doubtful  advantage.  Sometimes it is used exter-
 nally,  diluted with water, as a wash  in cutaneous  diseases.   Dr. A. T.
 Thomson, from his personal experience, insists particularly on its efficacy
 in allaying the itching and tingling in impetiginous affections.
    The dose of medicinal hydrocyanic acid is from one to six or eight drops,
 dissolved  in distilled water, or  mixed with gum water  or  syrup.   It re-
 quires  to  be administered with  the  greatest  caution, on account of the
 minuteness of the dose, and the great variableness  in strength of the acid
 as found in the shops. The proper plan, therefore, is to begin with a small
 dose, one drop  for example, and gradually  to increase the  quantity, until
 some obvious impression is produced.   If  giddiness, weight at the top of
 the head,  sense  of tightness at the stomach, or faintness come on, its use
 should be discontinued.  In all  cases in which a fresh portion of medicine
 is used, the dose should be lowered to the  minimum, lest the new sample
 might  prove stronger than  that  previously  employed.  When resorted to
 as a lotion, from thirty minims to a fluidrachm may be dissolved in a fluid-
 ounce  of  distilled water.
    Hydrocyanic acid is so rapidly fatal as a poison that physicians have sel-
 dom an opportunity to treat its  effects.  When not  immediately fatal, the
  symptoms produced are sudden loss of sense, trismus, difficult and rattling 
792
Acida.
PART II.
 respiration, coldness of the extremities, a smell of bitter almonds proceed-
 ing from the mouth, smallness of the pulse, swelling of the neck, dilatation
 and immobility and sometimes contraction of the  pupils, convulsions, &c.
 The  antidotes and remedies most to be relied on, are chlorine, ammonia,
 cold  affusion, and  artificial respiration.   Chlorine in the form of chlorine
 water, or weak solutions of chlorinated lime or soda, may be exhibited in-
 ternally, or applied externally.   When chlorine is not at  hand, water of
 ammonia, largely diluted,  may be given, and the vapour  arising from it
 cautiously inhaled.  A case is  related in the Dublin Med. Journal,  for
 Nov. 1835, of poisoning  by this acid, in  which the diluted aromatic spirit
 of ammonia applied to the mouth, although not swallowed on account of
 the teeth being clenched, and the solid carbonate assiduously applied to the
 nostrils,  produced  speedy  beneficial effects.  Cold affusion was first pro-
 posed in L828  by Herbst, who  strongly recommended it  from his own
 experiments, which were  subsequently confirmed by Orfila.  Its efficacy
 has been more  recently (1839) strongly supported by the  experiments of
 Dr. Robinson and M. Lonyet, who quickly resuscitated rabbits, apparently
 dead  from hydrocyanic acid, by pouring on their head and spine, a stream
 of water artificially refrigerated.
   After death from suspected poison, it is sometimes necessary,  in medico-
 legal  investigations, to ascertain whether the event was caused by this acid.
 If death  has taken place a long time, it would be needless to search for so
 volatile and decomposable a poison; but it has been recognised in one instance
 seven days  after death.  The best test, in ordinary cases, is a solution of
 nitrate of  silver, which gives a  white curdy precipitate  of cyanuret of
 silver, distinguishable from the chloride by its  exhaling the peculiar odour
 of prussic acid  on  the addition of muriatic acid.  In cases in which  the
 liquid, supposed to  contain the poison, is disguised by colouring and animal
 matter, M.  Ossian Henry recommends that it should be distilled into a
 pure  weak solution of the  nitrate; when,  if the suspected acid be present,
 cyanuret of silver will be  precipitated.   In order to  render it certain that
 the precipitate is the cyanuret, in cases where its  quantity is minute,  M.
 Henry recommends that it be converted into the  ferrocyanuret of sodium,
 which salt can be readily recognised by its forming characteristic precipitates
 with the  sesquisalts of iron and the  sulphate of copper.  The conversion
 is effected by heating the cyanuret moderately with half its weight of com-
 mon salt, which generates chloride of silver, and cyanuret of sodium.  This
 latter  is then taken up by water, and the solution filtered.  To this is added
 a small portion of the fresh  hydrated oxide of iron, obtained by precipitating
 a solution of sulphate of iron by  potassa.   The solution is  again filtered,
 and moderately heated.  Ferrocyanuret of sodium is thus formed, the least
trace of which  strikes a blue colour with the  sulphate  of  sesquioxide of
iron,  and a brown  one with  the sulphate  of  copper.  (Amer. Journ. of
Pharm. ix.  236, from the Journ. de Pharm.)
   Off. Prep. Argenti Cyanuretum, U. S., Lond.;  Hydrargyri Bicyanidum,
Lond.                                                           B.

   ACIDUM MURIATICUM DILUTUM.  U. S., Ed. Dub. Aci-
dum Hydrochloricum Dilutum.  Lond. Diluted Muriatic Acid.
   " Take of Muriatic Acid four fluidounces; Distilled Water twelve fluid-
ounces.  Mix them in a glass vessel.  The specific gravity of this acid is
 1*046."  U.S.
   The London and Edinburgh directions are the same as those of the U. S.
Pharmacopoeia.  The U. S. and London diluted acids are identical; but the 
part ir.
Acida.
793
Edinburgh muriatic acid having a density of 1*17, instead of 1*16 (U. S.,
Lond.), the diluted acid of that College is somewhat stronger, and is stated
to be 1*050.  The Dublin College mixes ten  'measures of Muriatic Acid
with  eleven of Distilled Water,  and states the density of the acid to be
 1*080.
   It is convenient to have an officinal diluted muriatic acid, and, at present,
all the Pharmacopoeias give a formula for it.  The acids of the U. S., Lon-
don, and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias virtually agree in strength; that of the
Dublin College is nearly twice as strong.  For an account of the  medicinal
properties  of muriatic acid, see Acidum Muriaticum.   The  dose  of the
diluted acid is from  twenty to sixty drops, of  the  Dublin acid1, about half
this quantity, mixed  with water or other  convenient vehicle.   The Dublin
 College employs this acid, as a chemical agent, in the preparation of Calcis
Phosphas Prsscipitatum.                                         B.
   ACIDUM NITRICUM  DILUTUM.  U. S.r Lond.,  Ed., Dub.
Diluted Nitric Acid.
   "Take of Nitric Acid  a fluidounce; Distilled Water  nine fluidounces.
Mix them in a glass vessel. The specific gravity of this acid is 1*08."  U. S.
   The London  formula is the same as  that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
   " Mix together one fluidounce of  Pure Nitric Acid (D. 1*500), and nine
fluidounces of Distilled Water.  If the Commercial  Nitric  Acid  of D.
 1*390 be used, one fluidounce and five fluidrachms and a half are required.
 The density of  this diluted acid is 1*077."  Ed.
   " Take  of Nitric  Acid by measure,  three  parts;  Distilled Water, by
measure, four parts.  Mix, avoiding the noxious  vapours-   The specific
 gravity of  this acid is 1*280." Dub.
   At present all the  Pharmacopoeias embrace Diluted  Nitric  Acid, for con-
 venience in prescribing.   The acids of the  U.  S., London, and Edinburgh
 Pharmacopoeias are of the same strength, being for equal volumes with the
strong acid, a little more than one-tenth its strength.  The acid of the Dubliu
College is somewhat less than half as strong as the concentrated acid, and
is, therefore, nearly five times as strong as the  other officinal  acids.
   The medicinal properties  of the diluted acid are the same as those of the
strong acid.  (See Acidum Nitricum.)  The dose of the weaker acid is from
twenty to forty drops three times a  day, sufficiently reduced  with water at
the time of taking it; of the stronger (Dublin acid), from five  to ten drops.
   Diluted nitric acid is used by the Dublin College,  as a chemical agent
merely, in preparing Calomelas Praecipitatum,  Hydrargyri Acetas, and Hy-
drargyri  Oxydum Nitricum. A diluted  nitric acid is used by the Edinburgh
College for preparing the red oxide of  mercury;  but it is directed to have
the density  of 1*280, and is, therefore,'not the officinal diluted acid of the
College.
   Off. Prep.  Argenti  Nitras  Fusum,  Dub.;  Argenti Nitratis  Crystalli,
Dub.; Bismuthi Subnitras, Dub.; Plumbi Nitras, Ed.              B.
   ACIDUM NITROMURIATICUM. U. S., Dub.  Nilromuriatic
Acid.
   " Take of Nitric Acid four fluidounces; Muriatic Acid eight fluidounces.
Mix them in a glass  vessel,  and, when  effervescence has ceased, keep the
product in a well-stopped glass bottle, in a cool and dark place."  U.  S.
   The Dublin formula need not be given; as it is the original of that now for
the first time introduced into the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia.
   Nitromuriatic acid is the  aqua  regia of the earlier chemists, so called
from its property of dissolving gold. Nitric and muriatic acids, when mixed
        68 
794
Acida.
part ii.
together,  mutually decompose  each other.  The quantities  necessary  to
render the decomposition complete, are  one equivalent  of each.   One eq.
of hydrogen of the muriatic acid forms water with one eq. of oxygen of the
nitric acid, which consequently becomes nitrous acid, and  chlorine is set
free.   The preparation, therefore, after the reaction is over,  is a solution of
nitrous acid and chlorine in water.
   As the acids, considered dry, must be used  in  the  proportion of their
equivalents, it is easy to calculate  in what  proportion the officinal acids of
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia must be mixed, so as  to contain equivalent quan-
tities of the dry  acids.   Thus 67*7 parts of the  U. S. nitric acid, and 114*4
parts of the U.  S. muriatic acid, contain respectively one eq. of dry acid.
It hence follows that the U. S. officinal acids, for complete  decomposition,
must be mixed in this proportion, or in the ratio of 10 to  17 nearly; and
the mixture will contain, by calculation, somewhat  less than 20  per  cent.
of free chlorine, assuming that none is  lost by effervescence.  This  ratio
by weight, turned into volumes, would be 1 measure of nitric acid to 2-19
measures of muriatic acid.   But the formula calls for  1 measure  of nitric
acid  to 2 measures of muriatic acid, and hence it is evident that  the nitric
acid  is used in an  amount, somewhat more than sufficient to  decompose the
whole of the muriatic acid.  These calculations, of course, apply also to the
Dublin nitromuriatic acid, the slight difference between the officinal density
of the Dublin and U. S. nitric  acid (1-49 to 1-5) not affecting sensibly the
result.
   The affinity of  chlorine and nitrous acid  for water being much  less than
that of muriatic and nitric acids for the same liquid, the mixture of the strong
acids is always attended with the production of effervescence.   To prevent
the loss of chlorine, Dr. Duncan recommends the immediate dilution of the
mixture with an equal quantity of  water.   On account  of these objections
to the use of the strong acids, it is  best to  employ good ordinary acids of
commerce.  The  strength of these may be stated  as  averaging 1-15 for
muriatic, and  1*34 for nitric acid; and the proportions in which they should
be mixed is about 26 parts by weight of the former to 25 of the latter.  The
mixture contains about  15 per  cent, of chlorine.  The  decomposition, in
this case, takes place slowly, and the resulting solution of chlorine may be
kept without inconvenience.
  Properties.  Nitromuriatic acid has a golden-yellow colour, and emits the
smell of chlorine.   It possesses the power of dissolving gold and platinum,
owing, solely, it is generally supposed, to  the  presence of chlorine;  but,
according to Millon, the action does not  take place without the presence of
nitrous acid.  It requires to be kept in a cool, dark place, on account of its
liability to lose its chlorine by heat, or to have  it converted, by the action
of light, into muriatic acid, in consequence of the decomposition of water.
On account of its  liability to decomposition, it should not be made by the
apothecary  until  it is  wanted for use, and  then only  in the  quantity
ordered; the formula being introduced, merely as a guide for the proportions.
The nitric  and  muriatic acids, as sold in the shops, are  sometimes so
weak that when mixed  they will not readily act on gold-leaf.   When this
is the case, their solvent power may be rendered effective by  the addition of
a little sulphuric acid, which, by its superior attraction  for  water, concen-
trates the other acids, and produces an immediate action, accompanied by
the evolution of chlorine.*

  * For further information in relation to nitromuriatic acid, the reader is referred to a
paper in the third volume of the Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, by
Duniel B. Smith, President of the College. 
part ii.
Acida.
795
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  Nitromuriatic  acid  was brought into
notice as a remedy, in consequence of the favourable report of its efficacy
as an external  remedy in hepatitis, made by Dr. Scott, formerly of Bom-
bay.  When thus  employed, it produces a tingling sensation in the skin,
thirst, a peculiar taste in the  mouth, and  occasionally soreness of the gums
and plentiful ptyalism;  and  at the same time stimulates  the liver, as is
evinced by an increased flow of bile.  It is  used  either by  sponging, or  in
the form of hath.   When applied in  the former way, the acid is first diluted
so as to have the  acidity of strong vinegar.  When used as a bath, three
gallons  of water contained in a deep, narrow, wooden tub, may be acidulated
with six fluidounces of the acid.  In this the  feet  and legs are to be  im-
mersed  for twenty minutes, or half an hour.  The  bath  may be employed
at first daily, and afterwards  twice or thrice  a week; and the sponging may
be used at the same time.  The bath is said to be effective in promoting the
passage of biliary calculi. The acid may be used  also internally, principally
in hepatic and syphilitic diseases.  The dose in  this case  is three or four
drops, sufficiently diluted with water.                             B.

   ACIDUM  PHOSPHORICUM  DILUTUM.  Lond.  Diluted
Phosphoric Acid.
   " Take of Phosphorus an  ounce; Nitric Acid four fluidounces; Distilled
Water  ten fluidounces.   Add the Phosphorus  to  the  Nitric Acid mixed
with the Water in a glass retort placed in a  sand-bath; then apply heat until
eight fluidounces are distilled.  Put  these  again into the retort, that eight
fluidounces may distil, which are to  be rejected.  Evaporate the remaining
liquor in a platinum capsule  until only two ounces and six drachms remain.
Lastly,  add to the acid,  when it is cold,  as much distilled water as  may be
sufficient to  make it  accurately measure  twenty-eight fluidounces." Lond.
The specific gravity of this acid is 1*064.  One hundred grains of it saturate
forty-two grains of carbonate of soda.  Imperial measure is to be understood
in this formula.
  The  process for this new officinal of the London College  may be thus
explained.   Phosphorus, when added to strong  nitric acid, decomposes it
with explosion  and rapid combustion; but when distilled with the diluted
acid the action takes place  slowly,  the  phosphorus gradually  melts and
becomes oxidized, and nitric oxide is evolved.  Before, however, the whole
of the phosphorus is acidified, the nitric acid will have distilled over; and
hence the necessity of returning it into the retort, as directed by the College,
in order to complete the  acidification of  the phosphorus.   When  this has
been completed, all remains  of nitric acid are driven off by the evaporation
in the platinum capsule; and the residue, which contains all the phosphoric
acid that can be generated from  an  ounce of phosphorus,  is brought to a
standard degree of dilution,  by the addition of sufficient distilled  water to
make  it measure  twenty-eight fluidounces. (See Acidum Nitricum and
Phosphorus.)
  Phosphoric acid may be obtained more economically than by the above
process, by decomposing phosphate of lime (earth of bones) by sulphuric
acid, saturating the superphosphate formed with carbonate of  ammonia,
which generates phosphate  of ammonia in  solution with  precipitation  of
phosphate of lime, and finally decomposing the phosphate  of ammonia by
a red heat in a platinum  crucible.  The ammonia is  thus expelled, and the
solid residuum will be the phosphoric acid.  Wackenroder has given another
process  for medicinal phosphoric acid, which requires the  use of  alcohol, 
796
Acida.
PART II.
and is, therefore, ineligible. (See Amer. Journ. of Pharm. for July, 1842.)
Platinum vessels  are necessary in  the  different processes for  preparing
phosphoric acid, because this acid, when concentrated, acts on glass.
   Properties.   Diluted phosphoric  acid is a  colourless, inodorous, sour
liquid, acting strongly on litmus, and possessing powerful acid  properties.
Although evaporated so as to become dense,  it is not powerfully corrosive
like the  other  mineral  acids.  From its saturating power  it is  shown  to
contain 10-5 per cent, of real phosphoric acid.   With chloride of barium
and nitrate  of silver  it forms precipitates, (the phosphates  of baryta and
silver,) which are readily soluble in nitric acid.  If the tests mentioned give
a precipitate not soluble in this acid,  they prove the presence—the chloride
of barium, of sulphuric acid or a sulphate;  the nitrate of  silver, of muriatic
acid or a chloride.   If carbonate of soda causes a precipitate, phosphate of
lime, or some other phosphate insoluble in water, is  probably held  in solu-
tion.   When the diluted acid is evaporated to dryness  and  heated to red-
ness, it becomes a transparent, white, brittle, fusible  solid, formerly called
glacial phosphoric acid, now denominated metaphosphoric acid, and con-
sisting of one eq.  of phosphoric acid and one of water.   Phosphoric acid,
considered dry, consists of one eq. of phosphorus 31-4, and five of oxygen
40=71-4.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Diluted phosphoric acid, like the other
mineral acids, is deemed tonic and refrigerant.   It is  preferable in point of
flavour to the diluted sulphuric acid,  and is less apt to disturb the digestive
functions.   Various powers have  been ascribed to it,  such as allaying pain
and spasm, strengthening the  sexual organs, preventing the morbid secretion
of  bony matter, as in exostosis and  ossification, and  correcting phosphatic
deposits in the urine, on the ground of its power of dissolving phosphate of
lime.  It has been recommended in  leucorrhoea, when the secreted fluid is
thin and acrid, in hysteria, and diabetes.  In  the latter disease Dr. Paris found
it to allay the thirst more effectually  than any other acid  drink.  The dose
is  from twenty drops to  a teaspoonful, diluted with water.            B.

   ACIDUM  SUCCINICUM.  Dub.   Succinic Acid.
   " Take of Amber reduced to coarse powder, and of pure sand, each, one
part.   On the application of heat gradually  increased, an acid liquor, an oil,
and the acid in the crystallized form  will distil over.   The latter should be
received on bibulous  paper, and exposed to a strong pressure to  expel the
oil, and again sublimed.   By  filtration through bibulous paper, the oil may
be obtained separate from the acid liquor." Dub.
   The above formula has for its object to  obtain the  oil of amber,  as well
as succinic acid; but our remarks will be  confined, in this place, to the acid,
the oil being described under another head.  (See Oleum Succini.)  Am-
ber contains succinic acid ready formed, associated with volatile oil, certain
resins, and other substances.  (See Succinum.)   When  distilled, it swells
considerably, and a yellow liquid first comes over; after which the succinic
acid sublimes, and  condenses  in needles in the neck of the retort and on the
sides  of the receiver.  At last the matter suddenly ceases to swell, and the
process is finished; for after this time, very little succinic acid is disengaged,
but a  thick and dark coloured  oil rises, which renders the acid impure.  The
College directs  the admixture of sand, to prevent the  inconvenience of the
amber swelling too much by the heat.
  Several processes have been proposed to  purify succinic acid.  The best
is that of Morveau, which consists in dissolving the acid in twice its  weight 
PART II.
Acida.
797
of nitric acid, and evaporating  the solution  to dryness.  In this way the
oil is decomposed, while the succinic acid remains unaltered.  This is then
washed in a little ice-cold water, next dissolved in boiling water, and crys-
tallized.
  Properties. Succinic acid, when pure, is a white, transparent solid, crys-
tallizing in prisms,  and having  a somewhat acrid taste.  It reddens litmus
strongly.  It exists in the resins of certain coniferae, and is a product of the
oxidation of stearic and margaric acid.  In the form of succinate of ammo-
nia, it is used, in analysis, to precipitate sesquioxide of iron.  Exposed to
heat it  melts,  and above the  boiling point of water is  partly sublimed and
partly decomposed.   It dissolves in five times its weight of cold, and twice
its weight of boiling water.  It is soluble also in cold alcohol,  and much
more so in boiling alcohol.   When anhydrous it consists of four eqs. of
carbon 24-48, two of hydrogen 2, and three of oxygen 24= 50-48 (C4H303).
It differs, therefore, from acetic acid,  only in containing one eq. less of hy-
drogen.  The sublimed acid consists of  two eqs. of dry  acid and one of
water 2(C4H203) +HO.
  Succinic acid  is at  present never used  in medicine,  and ought to be ex-
punged from the officinal catalogue.  Since our last edition, it has been aban-
doned by the Edinburgh College.                                  B.

   ACIDUM SULPHURICUM AROMATICUM. U.S,Ed.,Dub.
Aromatic Sulphuric Acid.   Elixir of Vitriol.
  " Take of Sulphuric Acid three fluidounces and a half; Ginger, bruised,
an ounce;  Cinnamon, bruised, an ounce and a half; Alcohol two pints.
Add the Acid  gradually to the Alcohol,  and digest,  in a close  vessel, for
three days; then add  the Ginger and Cinnamon, and macerate for a week;
lastly, filter through paper." U. S.
  " Take of Sulphuric Acid (commercial) three fluidounces and a half; Rec-
tified Spirit a pint and a half [Imp. meas.];  Cinnamon, in moderately fine
powder, an ounce  and a  half; Ginger, in moderately  fine powder, an
ounce.  Add  the acid gradually to the spirit, let the mixture digest at a
very gentle heat  for three days in a closed vessel; mix the powders, moisten
them with  a little of the acid spirit, let the mass  rest for twelve hours, and
then put it into a percolator and  transmit  the rest of the acid spirit.   This
preparation may also  be made by digesting the powders for six days in the
acid spirit, and then straining the liquor." Ed.
  The Dublin process is substantially the same  as those  of  the U. S. and
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, and therefore need not be  copied.
  The original of the formulas here  given for elixir of vitriol was the pro-
cess contained in the former Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, which was adopted,
with slight alteration, in the  U. S. and Dublin standards.  The present
formula of the Edinburgh College differs from their original one, in sub-
stituting for the  weights of the acid and spirit, the nearest equivalent  mea-
sures, and  in  giving  the alternative  of preparing by displacement.   The
same substitution was made in the formula when it was first adopted in the
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and hence the two formulas are virtually the  same.
The only difference is in the proportion of the spirit, which is 32  wine
fluidounces in the U.  S. formula, and  30  Imperial fluidounces in the Edin-
burgh.  This  circumstance makes the U. S. preparation somewhat weaker
in acids than the Edinburgh, because more diluted with spirit.
  Properties.   Aromatic sulphuric acid is a reddish-brown liquid, of  a pe-
culiar aromatic odour, and, when sufficiently diluted, of a grateful acid  taste.
It has been supposed  by some  to be a kind  of ether, its  main ingredients
                                 68* 
798
Acida.
PART II.
justifying such a suspicion; but  the late Dr. Duncan, who originally held
this  opinion, satisfied  himself that the alcohol and sulphuric acid, in the
proportions here employed, do not produce a  single particle of ether.  It
must, therefore, be viewed merely as  sulphuric acid diluted with alcohol,
and containing the essential oils of ginger and cinnamon.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This valuable  preparation, commonly
called  elixir of vitriol, is a simplification  of  the acid elixir of Mynsicht.
It is tonic and astringent, and  affords the most agreeable mode of adminis-
tering sulphuric acid.   It  is very much employed in debility with  night
sweats, in loss of appetite, and in the convalescence from fevers, especially
those of the  intermittent type.  It is often  given in conjunction with cin-
chona, the taste of which  it serves to cover,  and,  by increasing the  solu-
bility of the febrifuge principles of the  bark, appears to increase its efficacy.
(See Infusum Cinchonas Compositum.)   In haemoptysis  and other hemor-
rhages, when not attended  with obvious  inflammation, it frequently proves
useful in stopping the flow of blood.   The dose is  from ten to thirty drops
in a  wineglassful of water, repeated two  or three times a day.   Care  must
be taken that the teeth are not injured by the acid.
  Off. Prep. Infusum Cinchonae Compositum, U.  S.                B.

  ACIDUM  SULPHURICUM DILUTUM.  U.S.,  Lond.,  Ed.,
Dub.   Diluted Sulphuric  Acid.
  "  Take of Sulphuric Acid a fluidounce; Distilled Water thirteen fluid-
ounces.  Add the Acid gradually to the  Water, in  a glass vessel, and  mix
them.   The specific gravity of this acid  is 1*09."  U. S.
  " Take of Sulphuric Acid a fluidounce and a half; Distilled Water four-
teen fluid'ounces and a half. Add  the Acid gradually to the Water, and mix
them."  Lond.
  " Mix together one fluidounce of Sulphuric Acid and thirteen fluidounces
of Water.   The density of this preparation is  about 1-090." Ed.
  "Take of Pure Sulphuric Acid one part; Distilled Water seven parts.
Gradually add the Acid to the Water.  The specific gravity of  this acid is
1*084."  Dub.
  This preparation is sulphuric acid, diluted to such an extent  as to make
it convenient for prescription.   The  U. S. and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias
agree in making the strong acid to the water as one to thirteen in volume,
equivalent nearly to one to seven in weight, the ratio adopted by the Dublin
College.  There is, accordingly,  a virtual agreement in  the strength and
density of the acid by these three processes; but unfortunately the formula
of the London College gives  an  acid considerably stronger.  The coinci-
dent processes  afford an acid containing about 13  per cent, of the strong
liquid acid;  while the London acid contains 16 per cent., and has a specific
gravity  as high  as 1-11.   According  to Mr. Phillips, a fluidrachm (Imp.
meas.) of the London acid contains about ten grains of the strong acid, and
will  saturate twenty-eight  grains  of crystallized  carbonate of soda.  The
strong acid is added gradually to the water, to guard against the too sudden
production of heat, which  might cause the fracture of the vessel.  During
the dilution, when commercial sulphuric acid  is used,  the liquid becomes
slightly turbid, and in the course of a few days deposits a  grayish-white
powder, which is  sulphate of lead, and from which the diluted acid should
be poured off for use.   This noxious salt is thus got rid of, but sulphate of
potassa, another impurity in the strong acid, still remains in solution.   '1°
avoid these impurities, the Dublin College directs the dilution of pure sulphu-
ric acid.  The presence of a small portion of sulphate of potassa will do no
i 
PART II.
Acida.
799
harm; but if it should be fraudulently introduced into the strong acid to in-
crease its specific gravity, its amount may be  ascertained by saturating the
acid, after dilution, with ammonia, and expelling, by a red heat, the sulphate
of ammonia formed.  Whatever sulphate of potassa is present will remain
behind.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Diluted sulphuric acid is tonic, refrige-
rant, and astringent.  It is given in low typhoid  fevers,  and often with
advantage.   In the convalescence from protracted fevers, it often acts bene-
ficially as a tonic, exciting the appetite and  promoting digestion.  As an
astringent,  it is employed in colliquative sweats, passive hemorrhages, and
diarrhoeas  dependent on a relaxed  state of the mucous  membrane of the
intestines.   In calculous affections  attended with phosphatic sediments, it
is the  proper remedy, being preferable to muriatic acid,  as less apt, by
continued use, to disorder the  stomach.  Externally it is used as an ingre-
dient in gargles for ulcerated sorethroat and for checking excessive ptyalism,
and as a wash  for cutaneous eruptions and ill-conditioned ulcers.  The dose
is from  ten to  thirty  drops three times a day, in a wineglass or two of plain
or sweetened water.  It is added with advantage to infusions of  cinchona,
the organic alkalies  of which it  tends to hold in solution.   As it is apt to
injure the teeth,  it is best taken by  sucking it through a quill.  It is much
less used in the  United States than the elixir of vitriol, which  possesses
nearly the  same medical properties.   An elegant form for  giving it is the
compound  infusion of roses.  (See Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum, and
Infusum Rosae Compositum.)
   Diluted  sulphuric acid is used as a  chemical agent to prepare Acidum
Citricum, Lond., Ed.,  Dub.;  Acid. Tartaricum,  Lond., Ed.;  Aconitina,
Lond.;  Antimonii Sulphuretum  Praecipitatum, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Strychnia, U. S., Lond.;  Veratria,  U. S., Lond.
   Off. Prep. Infusum Rosae Compositum, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Mor-
phiae Sulphas, U. S.; Quininae Sulphas, Dub.; Zinci Sulphas, Lond.   B.

   ACIDUM SULPHURICUM PURUM. Ed., Dub.  Pure  Sul-
phuric Acid.
   "If Commercial  Sulphuric Acid contain nitrous  acid, heat eight fluid-
ounces  of it with between ten and fifteen grains of sugar,  at a temperature
not quite  sufficient  to boil  the acid, till the  dark colour at first produced
shall have  nearly or altogether disappeared.   This process  removes nitrous
acid. Other impurities  may be removed by distillation, which on the small
scale is easily managed by boiling  the acid with a few platinum chips in a
glass retort by means of a sand-bath or gas flame, rejecting the first half
ounce." Ed.
   " Take  of Commercial  Sulphuric Acid a  pound.   Put the  acid into a
retort of flint  glass, attach a receiver of the same kind, and with the junc-
tures of the vessels left open, let heat be applied to the retort until one-twelfth
part of the  liquor shall have distilled over: this, as it contains water, should
be  rejected.   The  receiver being again applied, the residuum is  to be dis-
tilled to dryness.   A few slips of  platinum put into the acid in the retort,
will restrain the ebullition, which  otherwise would be too violent.   The
specific gravity of this acid is 1-845.  Let the acid be kept in well closed
vessels." Dub.
   The object of these processes  is the purification of commercial sulphuric
acid.  This acid contains the sulphates of lead and potassa, amounting not
unfrequentiy to three or four per cent.; and  nitrous acid is almost always
present.  The salts  mentioned, not being volatile, are effectually got rid of 
800
Acida.
PART II.
by distillation, as directed in the formulae.  The manner of conducting the
distillation is explained at page 48, under the head of Acidum Sulphuri-
cum.  The mode of detecting nitrous acid  is pointed out at page 46.  If
present in the commercial acid, the Edinburgh College directs, before dis-
tilling it, that it should be heated with a small proportion of sugar, according
to the plan of Wackenroder.  The acid impurity and sugar mutually de-
compose each other, and the products are dissipated by the heat. The acid
is at first rendered dark and  opaque, but  gradually becomes pale yellow, if
kept for two hours near  the boiling point.   Nitrous  acid is hurtful to  the
sulphuric, when the latter  is  used to obtain muriatic acid, which  conse-
quently becomes contaminated with chlorine.  Hence the Edinburgh Col-
lege uses pure sulphuric acid in the formula  for preparing muriatic acid. If
the commercial sulphuric acid contain arsenic, it should not be distilled, but
rejected.  The tests for this impurity are given at page 47.
   It is, perhaps, an advantage to have an officinal pure sulphuric acid. The
least danger of introducing lead into the system, when exhibiting the pre-
parations containing  sulphuric acid, should be carefully avoided.  It is true
that the commercial  acid, upon  dilution,  lets  fall the  sulphate of lead; but
can we be certain that the precipitate is always removed  from the prepara-
tion into which the acid enters?   Wrhen the acid is required as a mere che-
mical agent, or for forming sulphates, the commercial acid is sufficiently pure.
   There is a want of precision in the  nomenclature of the officinal  sul-
phuric acids  in the  Edinburgh and  Dublin Pharmacopoeias.  The Edin-
burgh College  adopts  the names " Acidum  Sulphuricum"  and " Acidum
Sulphuricum Purum," and translates them in three ways in the formulas,—
" commercial sulphuric acid," " pure sulphuric acid," and  " sulphuric acid."
The last name is ambiguous, and  may mean  either the commercial or pure
acid.   The Dublin  College adopts  the names  " Acidum  Sulphuricum
Venale" and " Acidum Sulphuricum Purum," but,  in  the formulas, fre-
quently uses the indefinite term " Acidum Sulphuricum." We shall assume
that the indefinite expressions  of both Pharmacopoeias mean  the commer-
cial acid.
   According to the views here taken, pure sulphuric  acid should be used,
especially in forming " diluted  sulphuric acid" and  " aromatic sulphuric
acid."  In neither of these  preparations is it employed by the  Edinburgh
College, and only  to form the  diluted acid by  the Dublin.   Where a
dilute acid is required as a chemical agent, and not as  a medicine, it  might
be directed, in  the formula, to be formed by the addition of a determinate
quantity of water to  the commercial acid.  The Edinburgh College  consi-
ders it necessary to use the " pure sulphuric acid," though acting merely as
a chemical agent, in preparing Acidum Aceticum and Acidum Muriaticum
Purum.
   Off'. Prep.  Acidum Sulphuricum Dilutum, Dub.                 B.

   ACIDUM TANNICUM.  U. S.  Tannic Acid.   Tannin.
   " Take of Galls, in powder, Sulphuric Ether, each, a sufficient quantity.
Put into a glass adapter, loosely closed at its lower end with carded cotton,
sufficient powdered Galls to fill about one half of it, and  press the powder
slightly.   Then fit the adapter accurately to the mouth of a receiving ves-
sel, fill it with the  Sulphuric Ether, and  close the  upper orifice  so as to
prevent the escape  of the ether by evaporation.  The  liquid which passes
separates into two  unequal portions, of  which the lower is much smaller
in quantity and much denser than the upper.  When the ether ceases to
pass,  pour fresh portions upon the Galls, until the lower stratum of  liquid 
PART II.
Acida.
801
in the receiver no longer increases. Then separate this from the upper, put
it into a capsule, and evaporate with a moderate heat to dryness.   Lastly,
rub what remains into powder.
   " The upper  portion of liquid  will  yield  by distillation  a  quantity of
ether, which,  when washed with water,  may be  employed in a subsequent
operation." U. S.
   This  is the  process of M. Pelouze.  It may be conducted in  an ordinary
displacement apparatus.   The sulphuric ether employed should be that of
the shops,  containing a small proportion  of water, which is necessary to the
success of  the operation.   Should  the ether contain no water, it should be
washed with  this fluid, which answers the  double purpose of depriving  it
of alcohol, and rendering it sufficiently hydrous.   To obtain the tannic acid
quite pure, the lower stratum  may be washed with ether after the separation
of the upper, and evaporated in a vacuum with sulphuric acid.   The expla-
nation of the  process first  given was that the water in the ether  dissolves
the tannic  acid to the exclusion of all the other principles  of  the galls, and
forms a saturated solution, which separates from  the ether, and constitutes
the lower stratum in the receiver.  From  the experiments of M.  Beral, there
is  reason to believe that the tannic acid is not merely dissolved by the water,
but forms with it and a portion of the ether, a definite compound, which is
essentially liquid, and is decomposed during the evaporation;  the ether and
water escaping, and the solid tannic acid being left behind.  The upper and
larger stratum in the receiver consists  of  ether, holding  colouring matter
with a small proportion of gallic and tannic acids in solution.  From 30 to 35
per cent, of tannic  acid may be obtained from galls by this process, if pro-
perly conducted.*
   For practical purposes it is unnecessary to  obtain the tannic acid quite pure.
It is probably  sufficiently so when  extracted by the following simple pro-
cess of Leconnet, given in Christison's Dispensatory. The powder  of galls
is  macerated in a bottle, with just enough ether to moisten it, for  twenty-four
hours, and then  expressed in a powerful press; and the process of maceration
and expression is repeated, in the same way, until the powder is exhausted.
The liquors are  mixed, the  ether  distilled off, and the residue  dried by
means of  a vapour-bath.   It is stated that  60 per cent, of tannic acid, but
very slightly coloured, may be  got in this way.  As gallic acid exists but
in very small  proportion in galls, being chiefly produced by the reaction of
atmospheric air  upon tannic acid in the process for extracting it, very little
of that principle is  found in the ethereal  extract, and the amount of  colour-
ing matter  taken up by the ether, will scarcely interfere with the medicinal
efficacy of the preparation.
   The term tannin was originally applied  to a principle or principles  ex-
isting in many vegetables, having a very astringent  taste, and the property
of producing a white flocculent precipitate with the  solution of  gelatin, and
a black precipitate with the salts of the  sesquioxide of iron.  As obtained,
however, from different plants, tannin was found to exhibit some difference
of properties,  and chemists have recognised two kinds, one existing in oak
bark, galls, &c, distinguished by producing a bluish-black precipitate with
the salts of the  sesquioxide  of iron, and  the other existing in  Peruvian
bark,  catechu, &c, and  characterized  by  producing a greenish-black or
dark olive  precipitate with  the same salts.   The former  is the one which

  * The various circumstances in which the process is lijble to vary in  consequence  of
difference in  the  character of (he menstruum, have been detailed and explained in a paper
by Dr. Robert Bridges, contained  in the Am.  Journ. of Pharmacy, vol. 14, page 40, to
which the reader is referred. 
802
Acida.
PART II.
has received most attention, and from an examination of which the charac-
ters of tannin have generally been given.  It is the substance described in
this article.  It will probably be found that the latter is essentially distinct
from  the tannin of galls,  and probably  different in different vegetables.
One striking peculiarity of the tannin of galls is its facility of conversion
into  gallic acid, which  is wanting in some at least of the other varieties.
Since the publication of the experiments of M. Pelouze in relation  to tannin,
this substance has been  universally admitted to rank with the acids, and is,
therefore,  now  generally denominated tannic acid.   Dr. Kane  calls the
ordinary variety procured from galls,  for the  sake of distinction, gallo-
tannic acid.
  Properties.   Pure tannic acid is solid, uncrystallizable, white or slightly
yellowish, inodorous, strongly astringent  to  the  taste without bitterness,
very soluble in water, much less  soluble  in  alcohol and ether, especially
when anhydrous, and insoluble in the fixed and  volatile oils.  It may be
kept unchanged in  the solid state;  but its  aqueous solution,  when exposed
to the air, gradually becomes turbid, and deposits  a crystalline matter, con-
sisting chiefly of gallic acid.  During the change, oxygen is absorbed, and
an equal volume of carbonic acid disengaged.   Exposed to heat, it  partly
melts, swells up, blackens, takes fire, and burns with a brilliant flame.  Its
solution reddens litmus, and it combines with most of the salifiable  bases.
With potassa it forms a compound  but slightly  soluble, and is  therefore
precipitated by this alkali or its carbonates from a solution which  is not too
dilute, though  a certain  excess of alkali  will cause the precipitate to be
redissolved.   Its combination with  soda  is much more soluble; and  this
alkali affords no precipitate unless  with  a very  concentrated solution of
tannic acid.  With ammonia its relations are similar to those with potassa.
Baryta, strontia, lime, and  magnesia, added in the state of  hydrates, form
with it compounds  of little solubility.   The same is the case with most of
the  metallic  oxides, when  presented, in the state of salts, to a solution of
the  tannate of potassa.  Many of the metallic salts are precipitated by tan-
nic  acid even  in the  uncombined state, especially  those of lead, copper,
silver, uranium, chromium, mercury, and the protosalts of tin.   With the
sesquisalts of iron it forms a black  precipitate, which is a compound of
tannic acid  and the  sesquioxide of iron, and  is the basis of ink.   It does
not disturb the solutions of the pure protosalts  of iron.   Several of the
alkaline  salts precipitate it from its aqueous  solution, either  by the forma-
tion of insoluble compounds, or by  simply abstracting the solvent.  Tan-
nic acid  unites with  all the vegetable  alkalies, forming compounds which
are  for the  most part of a whitish colour and but very slightly soluble in
water; though they are soluble in the vegetable acids, especially the acetic,
and in alcohol, and in this latter respect differ  from most of the compounds
which tannic acid forms with other vegetable principles.   On account of
this property of tannic acid, it has been employed as a test of the  vegetable
alkalies;  and it  is so  delicate, that  it will  throw  down  a  precipitate from
their solution even when  too  feeble  to be disturbed by ammonia.   It has
an affinity  for  several  acids, and  when  in  solution  affords precipitates
with the sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, phosphoric, and  arsenic acids, but  not
with the oxalic, tartaric, lactic, acetic, or citric.   The precipitates are com-
pounds  of tannic acid with the respective acids mentioned, and are soluble
in pure water, but  insoluble in water with an excess of acid.  Hence, in
order to  ensure precipitation, it is  necessary to add the acid in excess to
the  solution  of  tannic acid.   It precipitates also  solutions of starch, albu-
men, and gluten, and  forms with gelatin an insoluble compound,  which is 
PART II.
Acida.—Aconitina.
803
the basis of leather.  Its  ultimate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen; and its formula, according to Liebig, is C18H8013, or C18H509+3HO.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Tannic acid, being the chief principle of
vegetable astringents, is capable of exerting on the system the same effects
with this class of medicines, and may be given in the same complaints.  It
has an advantage over the astringent extracts in the comparative smallness
of its dose, which renders it less apt to offend an irritable stomach.   In
most of the vegetable astringents, it is associated with more or less bitter
extractive, or other principle which modifies its operation, and renders the
medicine less applicable  than it otherwise would be,  to certain cases  in
which there is an indication  for pure astringency without any tonic power.
Such is particularly the ease with the active hemorrhages; and tannic  acid,
in its separate state, is in these cases preferable to  the native  combinations
in which it ordinarily exists.   Dr. Porta, an Italian physician, employed it
with great  success in the treatment of uterine hemorrhage, and published
the results of his experience in 1827.  M. Cavalier afterwards used it suc-
cessfully in the  same complaint, and found it effectual  also in a case of
bleeding from the rectum.  It has  been highly recommended by Dr. Char-
vet for checking excessive  sweats.  There is no doubt that it would  be
found a useful remedy in most forms of hemorrhage, after a sufficient  re-
duction of  arterial action by depletory  measures.  In  diarrhoea  also it
would probably  be more  beneficial than ordinary astringents, as less liable
to irritate  the stomach  and bowels.  It  may be given  in the dose of  from
two to five  grains.  The only disadvantage which has  been experienced
from it, when taken in excess, is obstinate constipation.            W.


                      ACONITINA. Lond.

                             Aconitina.
   " Take of Aconite Root, dried and bruised, two pounds; Rectified Spirit
three gallons [Imperial measure]; Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Solution  of Am-
monia, Purified Animal  Charcoal,  each, a sufficient quantity.  Boil  the
Aconite with a gallon of  the  Spirit, for an hour, in a retort with a receiver
fitted to it.  Pour off the liquor,  and again boil the residue  with another
gallon of the Spirit and with the spirit recently distilled, and pour  off the
liquor also.  Let the same be done  a third time.   Then press the Aconite,
and having mixed all the liquors and filtered them, distil the spirit.  Evapo-
rate the remainder to the proper consistence of an extract.  Dissolve this in
water and filter.   Evaporate the solution with a gentle  heat, to  the consist-
ence of syrup.  To this add of Diluted Sulphuric Acid, mixed with dis-
tilled water, sufficient  to  dissolve  the aconitina.  Next drop  in Solution
of Ammonia, and dissolve the precipitated aconitina in Diluted Sulphuric
Acid,  mixed as before with water.   Then mix in  the  Animal Charcoal,
occasionally shaking for a quarter of an hour.   Lastly  filter,  and  having
again dropped in Solution of Ammonia so as to precipitate the Aconitina,
wash and dry it." Lond.
   The name adopted by the London College for the alkaline principle ex-
tracted from  aconite is objectionable, as of unnecessary length, and not in
accordance with  the general nomenclature of the vegetable alkalies. Aconitia
is a preferable name.   The  principle probably exisis in the plant combined
with a vegetable acid, forming a soluble salt.   In the above process, this is
first extracted by alcohol,  then taken up from the alcoholic extract by water,
and afterwards converted into a sulphate by the addition of dilute sulphuric 
804
Aconitina.
PART II.
acid.   The sulphate  is  decomposed by  ammonia which precipitates the
aconitia, and this is purified by being once more combined with sulphuric
acid, then decolorized by animal charcoal, and again precipitated by ammo-
nia.  Care is requisite,  in conducting the process, not to add too great an
excess of the water of ammonia, which diminishes the product, probably by
dissolving the aconitia.
   Properties.  Aconitia, when freshly precipitated, is said to be white and
in the form of a hydrate; but it speedily parts  with its water, and  forms a
brownish, brittle mass. (Soubeiran, Trait, de Pharm. ii. 716.)  It is thought
not to be crystallizable.  Obtained by evaporating its alcoholic solution, it is
described as  being in  the form of a transparent, colourless mass, having a
glassy lustre.  In powder, it is white with a yellowish tinge. It is inodorous,
and of a bitter and acrid taste,  producing a benumbing impression  on the
tongue. The acrimony,  however, is ascribed by some to a distinct principle
associated with it, from which it may be freed by repeated solution in dilute
acids and subsequent  precipitation.  It is unalterable in the air, and fusible
by a gentle heat.   At a high temperature it is decomposed and entirely dis-
sipated.  It is sparingly soluble  in water, requiring for solution 150 parts
of cold and 50 of boiling water. (Phillips.)  Alcohol and  ether dissolve it
readily.  It neutralizes the acids; but its salts are not crystallizable.   That
it contains  nitrogen is proved by the evolution of  ammonia,  when it is de-
composed by heat.  A spurious substance has sometimes been sold under
the same name, which was nearly or quite inert.   It wanted  some of the
properties above mentioned as characteristic of aconitia.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.   This vegetable principle exercises  a
powerful influence over the animal economy. One fiftieth of a grain dissolved
in alcohol destroyed a sparrow  in a few minutes, and the same quantity ad-
ministered  to an elderly female is said to  have nearly proved fatal.  It is not
used internally as  a remedy; but Dr. Turnbull has advantageously resorted
to its external application.  According to this writer, it produces in the  skin
a sensation of heat and prickling, followed by numbness  and a feeling of
constriction;  and  the  effect continues, according  to the quantity applied,
from two to twelve hours or more.   He  found it not to act as a rubefacient,
or at least but slightly so.  Applied very  much diluted and in minute quan-
tity to the eye, it causes  contraction of the pupil, with,an almost intolerable
sense of heat and tingling.  The affections in which Dr. Turnbull employed
it with benefit, were neuralgia,  gout, and rheumatism.  He recommends it
either in alcoholic solution, in the proportion of a  grain to a  fluidrachm, or
in the form of an ointment, made by rubbing  up  two grains of the alkali
first with six drops of alcohol and then with a drachm  of lard.  These  pro-
portions are sufficiently large to begin with, but may be gradually increased
to four or five, or even eight grains to the drachm.   The preparation  should
be applied by friction over the part affected, which should be continued till
the peculiar sensation above described is produced,  and may be repeated
three or four times, or more frequently, during the day.   No good  can be
expected unless the sensation alluded to  be experienced in a  greater  or less
degree.   Care should be taken  not to apply the medicine to an abraded sur-
face, or to a mucous membrane, for fear of dangerous constitutional effects.
It is very seldom  used, and all  its beneficial  effects can  be  obtained from
safer and cheaper  preparations  of aconite.                         W. 
PART II.
AUtherea.
805
                           ^THEREA.

                              Ethers.

  Ethers are peculiar, fragrant, sweetish, very  volatile, and inflammable
liquids, generated by the action of acids on  alcohol.  Their composition
varies with the acid employed in their  formation.  Sometimes this merely
acts on the alcohol as a chemical agent, without entering  into the composi-
tion of the ether generated; in which case the ether  consists  of water and
etherine.   In  other  instances the acid employed unites with water and
etherine (the ether just mentioned), or with etherine simp'y.   On the basis
of these differences of composition, the medicinal ethers may be divided into
three kinds: 1. those consisting of water and etherine; 2. those consisting
of an acid, water, and etherine; and 3. those composed of an  acid and ethe-
rine  only.   Sulphuric ether is  an example of tbe first kind, hyponitrous
ether of the second, and muriatic ether of the third.   In medicine,  the sul-
phuric and hyponitrous ethers, and their modifications, are those most com-
monly employed; though  occasionally the  acetic and muriatic have been
used.
  Ethers, from their extreme inflammability, should never be decanted in the
vicinity of flame.  Hence it is prudent not to pour them out near a lighted
candle.   They should be kept in accurately stopped bottles in a cool place;
otherwise they are liable to considerable loss  by evaporation.         B.
  LIQUOR  ^THEREUS  SULPHURICUS.  Dub.  Sulphuric
Ethereal Liquor.   Unrectified Sulphuric Ether.
  " Take of Rectified Spirit and of Sulphuric Acid, each, thirty-two ounces.
Pour the Spirit into a glass  retort adapted  to bearing a  sudden  heat, and
then pour on the acid in a continued stream;  mix them gradually, and let
twenty fluidounces of the liquor be distilled, with a sudden and sufficiently
strong heat, into a receiver kept cold.   If sixteen ounces of  rectified spirit
be poured upon the acid remaining in the retort, Sulphuric Ethereal Liquor
will again come over by distillation."  Dub.
  The preparation obtained by  this process is sulphuric ether contaminated
with alcohol, water, sulphurous acid, and oil of wine.  In this state it is
proper only for external use.  For internal exhibition, it requires to be freed
from these impurities, when it becomes a distinct preparation, called rectified
sulphuric ether, or, simply, sulphuric ether.   This is described in the next
article, in  which its properties and composition, and the theory of its forma-
tion are given.
  Off. Prep. iEther Sulphuricus, Dub.                            B.

  AETHER  SULPHURICUS. U. S., Lond., Ed,, Dub.  Sulphuric
Ether.  Ether.
  "Take   of Alcohol four  pints; Sulphuric Acid  a pint;  Potassa  six
drachms;  Distilled Water three fluidounces.  To two pints of the Alcohol,
in an open vessel, add gradually fourteen fluidounces of the  Acid,  stirring
them frequently.  Pour the mixture, while still hot,  into  a tubulated glass
retort, placed upon a sand-bath, and connected by a long adapter with a re-
ceiver kept cold by ice or water; then raise the heat quickly until the liquid
begins to boil.   When about  half a pint of ethereal liquid  shall have passed
over, introduce gradually into the retort the remainder of  the Alcohol, pre-
viously mixed  with two fluidounces of  the Acid, taking care  that the mix-
ture shall enter in a continuous stream, and in  such  quantity as shall supply
       69 
806
AZtherea.
PART II.
the place, as nearly as possible, of the liquid which distils over. This may
be accomplished by connecting a vessel containing the alcoholic liquid with
the retort, by means of a  tube provided with a stop-cock to regulate the
discharge, and passing  nearly to the bottom of the  retort, through a cork
accurately fitted into the tubulure.   When all  the Alcohol  has been thus
added, continue the distillation  until about three pints  shall  have passed
over, or until white vapours shall appear in the retort.
  " To the product thus obtained add the potassa previously dissolved  in
the Distilled  Water, and shake them frequently.  At the  end of twenty-four
hours, pour off from the alkaline solution the supernatant ether, introduce it
into a retort,  and, with a gentle heat, distil until two pints shall have passed
over, or until the distilled liquid shall have the specific  gravity of  0-750."
U.S.
  "Take of Rectified Spirit fifty fluidounces; Sulphuric Acid ten fluid-
ounces.  Pour twelve fluidounces of  the Spirit gently over the Acid con-
tained in an open vessel, and then stir them together briskly and thoroughly.
Transfer the  mixture immediately into a glass  matrass connected with a
refrigeratory, and raise  the heat quickly to about  280°.  As soon as the
ethereal fluid begins to  distil over,  supply fresh spirit through a tube into
the matrass  in a continuous stream, and in  such quantity  as to equal that
of the fluid which  distils over.   This is best accomplished by connecting
one end of the tube with a graduated  vessel containing the  spirit,—passing
the other end through a cork fitted  into  the  matrass,—and having a stop-
cock on the tube to regulate the discharge.  When forty-two [fluid] ounces
have distilled over, and the whole spirit has  been added, the process may
be stopped.   Agitate the impure ether with sixteen  fluidounces of a satu-
rated  solution  of muriate  of lime, containing about half an ounce of lime
recently slaked.  When all odour of sulphurous acid has  been thus removed,
pour off the  supernatant liquor, and distil it with a gentle heat so  long as
the liquid which passes over has a density not  above 0-735.   More ether
of the same strength is  then to be obtained from the  solution of muriate of
lime.   From  the residuum of both distillations a  weaker ether  may be
obtained in small quantity, which must be rectified  by distilling it gently
again." Ed.
  " Take of Rectified Spirit three pounds; Sulphuric  Acid two pounds;
Carbonate of Potassa, previously ignited, an  ounce.   Pour two pounds of
the spirit into a glass retort, add the acid to it, and mix.   Afterwards place
it on sand, and raise the heat so that the liquor may quickly boil,  and the
Ether pass into a receiver  cooled with ice or water.  Let the liquor distil
until some heavier portion begins to pass  over.  To the liquor which re-
mains in the retort, after the heat has subsided, add  the remainder of the
Spirit, that Ether may distil in the  same manner.  Mix the distilled  liquors,
then pour off the supernatant portion, and add to it the Carbonate of Potassa,
shaking them frequently during an  hour.  Lastly, distil the  Ether from  a
large retort, and keep it in  a stopped vessel."  Lond.   The  specific gravity
of this ether is 0-750.
  " Take of Sulphuric Ethereal Liquor twenty fluidounces;  Carbonate of
Potassa, dried and powdered, two  drachms.  Mix them, and from a very
high retort, distil, by a very gentle heat, twelve fluidounces into a  receiver
kept cold.   The specific gravity of the liquor is 0-765." Dub.
  The object of these processes is  to obtain a pure sulphuric ether.  The
Dublin formula is intended to purify the  unrectified sulphuric ether (sul-
phuric ethereal liquor), which is officinal only with that College.   In the
other processes the ether is formed and purified at one operation. 
PART II.
AUtherea.
807
  The preparation of sulphuric ether embraces two stages, its generation,
and its  subsequent rectification  to  remove  impurities.   The formulas all
agree in obtaining  it by the action of sulphuric acid on alcohol.  In the
U. S. process,  which is  adopted,  with modifications,  from that  of the
French  Codex, half the alcohol  taken is mixed with seven-eighths of the
acid, and while still hot from the reaction, distilled from a glass retort,  by
a heat quickly applied, into a  refrigerated  receiver.  When the distilled
product equals  one-fourth of this portion of the alcohol, the remainder of
it, mixed with the reserved eighth of the acid, is allowed to enter the retort
in a continuous stream, the supply being so regulated as to equal the  amount
of the liquid which distils over.   By a complicated reaction which will be
explained presently, the acid converts the alcohol  into ether, and  were .it
not that the acid becomes  more and more  dilute as  the process proceeds, it
would be  able to etherize  an unlimited  quantity  of alcohol.   Although
the acid, before it becomes too dilute,  is  capable  of determining  the de-
composition  of a  certain  amount of alcohol, yet  it is not expedient to
add  this amount at once;  as a considerable portion of it would  distil over
with the ether undecomposed.  The  proper way of proceeding,  therefore,
is that indicated in the formula; namely,  to  commence the process with
the use of  part of  the aleohol; and, when the decomposition is fully estab-
lished, and a portion of ether has distilled, to add the remainder in a  gradual
manner, so as to replace  that which,  every moment during the progress of
the distillation, is disappearing by its conversion into ether.   As, however,
the acid in the retort has already become somewhat weaker, it is  considered
advantageous to mix a small portion of acid with the alcohol which is thus
gradually added.   When  a  portion  of ether  has distilled,  equal to about
three-fourths of the alcohol  employed, or when white  vapours appear in
the retort,  the process is discontinued.   These vapours indicate the  com-
mencement of a  series of reactions  different from those which generate
the ether.
   The Edinburgh process for the generation of  the ether, is the same, in
its general features, with that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.   Less than a
fourth of the alcohol is placed in the distilling vessel, previously thoroughly
mixed with the whole of the acid, which forms one-fifth of the bulk of the
alcohol,  instead of one-fourth as in  the U. S. formula.  As soon as  the
ether begins to distil by a quick heat, the remainder of the alcohol is added
in a continuous stream  as in the U. S. process, and the distillation is con-
tinued until a  quantity of ether  has come over, equal to  somewhat less
than  six-sevenths of the bulk of all the alcohol.   The  ether is condensed
by means  of Liebig's  excellent  refrigeratory,  described and  figured at
page  772.   In this  process, it is perceived that no acid is  reserved to be
mixed with  the  portion of alcohol gradually added to the distilling ves-
sel, and a  much smaller  proportion  of the spirit is mixed  with it at  the
commencement of the distillation, than in the  U.  S. formula.
   The  quantities of the alcohol and  acid, in  the London formula, are in-
conveniently taken in weights instead of measures.  The improvement of
adding the reserved portion  of alcohol gradually is not adopted;  but the old
method is  pursued of performing  a  second distillation  with this  alcohol,
added to the residue in the retort.
   The Dublin College generates the ether, and rectifies it by separate for-
mulas, giving  the  crude  and rectified product  different  officinal  names.
The process of the College for generating the ether is given in the last article,
and, being substantially the same as  that of the London College, need not
be particularly explained. 
808
AUtherea.
PART II.
  The appearance of white vapours  in the retort, or the passing over of a
heavier portion  in the distillation, is the signal  for discontinuing the pro-
cess.   If it were continued afterwards, the  boiling point would  gradually
rise, very little ether would be obtained,  and at the  temperature of 320°
there would be generated, in consequence of new reactions, sulphurous
acid, oil of wine, olefiant gas, and a large quantity of resino-carbonaceous
matter,  blackening and rendering thick the residuary liquid;  all products
which arise from the decomposition of a portion  of sulphuric acid, alcohol,
and ether.  Notwithstanding  the process  may be stopped in time, yet the
ether obtained is contaminated with sulphurous  acid, oil of wine, alcohol,
and water; and  hence its  purification  becomes  necessary.   This is con-
ducted in various ways,  according  to the  different Pharmacopoeias.   The
U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs for this purpose an aqueous solution of potassa,
the London and Dublin  Colleges carbonate of potassa, and  the Edinburgh
a saturated solution of chloride of calcium (muriate of lime), to which a
portion  of recently  slaked lime has  been added.  In all cases, the  crude
ether is agitated with the purifying agent, and submitted to a new distilla-
tion at a gentle heat, called the rectification.
  The purifying substances are potassa for sulphurous acid  and water, and
water for alcohol in the  U. S. formula; carbonate of potassa  for acid and
water in the London and  Dublin processes; and lime for acid, and a satu-
rated solution of chloride of calcium for  alcohol  and water, in  the  Edin-
burgh.   The Edinburgh substances for purifying are stated by Dr. Christi-
son to be convenient, and  to act perfectly  and promptly.  The chloride of
calcium  solution, after having been used, yields,  on distillation, a further
portion  of ether of  the officinal density;  and by concentrating it, filtering
while hot, and separating crystals of  sulphite of lime which form on cool-
ing,  the  chloride may be recovered for future operations.   In the London
and Dublin processes, the ether is distilled from the purifying agent;  in the
U. S. and Edinburgh, after having been poured off from it.  In either case,
this distillation,  which is performed at a  gentle  heat, completes  the purifi-
cation; as the ether is the most volatile substance  present, and as the process
is stopped before the whole of the liquid comes over.
  The  process  for  forming ether  is conducted  with  most  advantage on a
large scale.  At Apothecaries' Hall,  where the  operation is performed in
this  way, the apparatus employed is thus described by  Mr. Brande.  It
" consists of a leaden still, heated by means of high-pressure steam carried
through  it in a contorted leaden pipe.   A  tube enters the upper part of the
still, for the purpose of suffering alcohol gradually to run into the acid. The
still-head is of pewter, and is  connected, by about six feet of tin pipe, with
a very capacious condensing-worm, duly cooled by a current  of water. The
receivers are of pewter, with glass lids, and have  a side tube to connect them
with the delivering end of the worm-pipe."  (Manual of Chemistry.)
  Properties. Sulphuric ether is a colourless very limpid liquid, of a strong
and sweet odour, and hot pungent taste.   As prepared for medicinal use, it
usually reddens litmus slightly, though this is not a property belonging to
the pure substance; but if it reddens litmus strongly, it shows that the ether
has been imperfectly prepared or  too long kept.   When perfectly pure it has
the sp. gr. of 0-713, boils at 95°, and  is  said to freeze at 46° below zero.
But according to Dr. J.  K. Mitchell, of this city, it is not in  the slightest
degree affected by this cold.  The officinal strength of the U.  S. and London
ether is 0*750; of the Dublin, 0*765; of the Edinburgh, 0*735,  or under. That
sold in the shops varies  from  0*733 to 0-765.   Its sp. gr.,  as directed by
the French Codex,  is 0-758.   For medicinal purposes, its  density should 
part ii.                       A^lherea.                         809

not be  greater than 0-750.   According to Dr. Christison, it should not
exceed  0-735; because, according  to  this  writer, commercial ether is
generally of this density, and may be obtained of such purity without diffi-
culty.   It is a very volatile liquid, and when of the sp. gr. 0-720, boils at
about 98°, and forms a vapour which has the density of 2-5817.  Its ex-
treme volatility causes it to evaporate speedily in  the open  air, with the
production of  a considerable degree of cold.  When good it evaporates from
the hand without leaving a disagreeable odour.  Its inflammability is very
great, and the  products of its combustion are water and carbonic acid.  In
consequence of this property, the greatest caution  should  be used not to
bring it in the vicinity of flame, as, for example, a lighted candle, for fear
of its taking fire.  One of the. great advantages of using steam as a source
of heat is, that it obviates, in  a great  measure, the danger of  its accidental
inflammation.   When  too  long  kept,  it undergoes decomposition, and
is converted  in part into acetic acid.   It dissolves iodine and  bromine,
and sulphur and  phosphorus  slightly.  The latter  substance  is generally
exhibited in ethereal solution.  (See Phosphorus.)   Its solvent power over
corrosive sublimate makes it a useful  agent in  the manipulations for detect-
ing that poison.   It is also a solvent of volatile and fixed oils,  many resins
and balsams,  tannic acid, caoutchouc, and  most of the  organic vegetable
alkalies.  It does not dissolve  potassa and  soda, in  which respect it differs
remarkably from  alcohol.   Water dissolves a tenth  of its volume of ether,
and reciprocally ether  takes up about the  same proportion of water.  It
unites in all proportions with alcohol.
  Impurities and Tests.  The impurities found in ether, besides acids and
fixed  substances, are alcohol,  water, and oil of wine.   Acids are detected
by litmus and  removed by agitation with potassa, and fixed substances, by
their remaining upon the evaporation of the ether.  Alcohol is an admissible
impurity in the officinal ethers; for it is contained  in the Edinburgh ether,
which has the lowest density of them all.   If, however,  it is present in too
large a quantity, the density of the ether will be too high.  It  may be sepa-
rated  by washing the ether as it is called, that is, agitating it with  twice
its bulk of water, which will unite with the alcohol, forming a heavier stra-
tum after rest, from which the  ether may be poured off.  The  ether, by this
treatment, dissolves  about a tenth of its bulk of water, from which it may
be purified by agitation  with fresh burned lime, and subsequent distillation.
An easy method for detecting and measuring any alcohol which may be
present in ether, is that advised by the Edinburgh College,  namely, to agi-
tate it, in a minim measure, with half its volume of concentrated solution of
chloride of calcium.  This will remove the adulteration, and  the reduction
of the volume of the ether, when it rises to the surface, will indicate its
amount.  Oil of wine may be discovered by the ether becoming milky upon
being mixed with water.
  Composition, and Theory of its Production.  Sulphuric ether consists
of four eqs. of carbon, five of  hydrogen, and one of oxygen,  and its empi-
rical formula is C4H50.  In volumes  it consists of four volumes of carbon
vapour, five volumes of hydrogen, and half a volume of oxygen, condensed
into one volume of ether vapour.  Its proximate constituents  are generally
considered to be one eq, of etherine and one of water; or in volumes, one
volume  of etherine vapour  and one volume of aqueous vapour, condensed
into one volume.   This view makes it a hydrate of etherine (C4H4+HO).
The sp. gr. of its vapour, calculated on this constitution in volume, is 2-5817,
which is very  near 2-586, the  number obtained by experiment.  By some
69* 
810
AUtherea.
PART II-
chemists, however, the constituents of the etherine, together with the hy-
drogen  of the alleged water, are supposed to form a peculiar hypothetical
radical, consisting of C4HS, to which the name of ethule has been given. On
this view, ether is an oxide of ethule (C4H5-f-0).   By  this statement of the
composition of sulphuric ether, it is perceived that it contains no sulphuric
acid, contrary to what its name  would imply.   The fact is, that it is called
sulphuric ether, merely in allusion to the agency of the  acid usually em-
ployed in  its preparation; but  an  identical  ether may be obtained by the
action  of other  acids on alcohol.   In allusion to the water which it is sup-
posed  to contain, it is sometimes called hydric ether.   For the properties
of etherine see page 63.
   With a view to determine in what manner sulphuric acid acts upon alcohol
in order to convert it into ether, it is necessary that a comparison should be
instituted between  the  composition of the two latter.   It has already been
stated  under Alcohol, page 62, that this liquid may be  viewed as consisting
of one eq. of etherine and two of water; and ether, according  to one view of
its composition, is composed of one eq. of etherine and one of water. It thus
appears that alcohol, to be converted into ether, requires only to lose one eq.
of water, that is, half the water present  in it.  On this view etherification
would consist merely in  the abstraction from alcohol  of half the  essential
water  which it contains.  The agent in effecting this abstraction is evidently
the sulphuric acid, which is known to have a strong affinity for water; but
its action is not direct as originally supposed, but intermediate, as was first
pointed out by  Mr. Hennell.   This chemist found that when two eqs. of
sulphuric acid and one of alcohol were merely mixed, the acid lost a portion
of its  saturating power, and a new acid was formed, to which he gave the
name  of sulphovinic acid (the etherosulphuric acid of Liebig.)  In view of
its composition  it may be called a bisulphate  of alcohol, or, which is the
same  thing, a bisulphate of ether  with one eq. of water, that is,  a double
sulphate of ether and  water.   When  one eq. of this acid is heated it is de-
composed;  two eqs. of sulphuric acid with one eq. of water remain in the
retort, while one eq. of ether distils over.
   If the original proportion of acid and alcohol continued  the same through-
out the whole of the distillation, all the alcohol would be resolved into water
and ether; but, during the progress of the process, the  alcohol is constantly
diminishing, and of course the relative excess of the acid becoming greater;
and at last a point of  time arrives  when  the excess of acid is so great that
the generation of ether ceases.   As these results depend  upon the relative
deficiency of the alcohol, while the  acid remains  but slightly changed in
 amount, it is  easy to understand why it is  advantageous to add alcohol
gradually  to  the distilling vessel  during the  progress of the distillation;
 for by  this  addition,  the proper proportion of the alcohol  to the acid is
 maintained.   But  the  decomposing power of  the acid has  its limit; as it
 becomes at last too dilute to act upon the alcohol, although towards the close
 of the distillation a considerable portion of water distils over  with the ether.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Ether is a powerful diffusible stimulant,
 though  transient in its  operation.   It is  also esteemed antispasmodic and
 narcotic.  Its vapour when breathed from a bladder in which a few teaspoon-
 fuls have been put, produces a  transient intoxication, resembling that caused
 by respiring nitrous oxide, but dangerous if carried too far.   In some stages
 of low fevers attended with subsultus tendinum, ether sometimes proves
 beneficial  as a stimulant and antispasmodic.   In these  cases it is frequently
 conjoined with laudanum.   It is useful also in nervous  headache unattended
 with vascular fulness,  some states of hysteria, and generally  in nervous and 
part ii.                        AUtherea.                        811

painful diseases which are unaccompanied by inflammation.  In  catarrhal
dyspnoea, and spasmodic asthma, its vapour may be inhaled with advantage
by holding in the mouth a piece of sugar, to which  a  few drops of ether
have been previously added.  In nausea it is given as a cordial, and  in cramp
of the stomach and flatulent colic it sometimes acts with singular efficacy.
It is also useful, given alone, or mixed with oil of turpentine, in  relieving
the pain or spasm caused by the passage of biliary calculi.   According to
Mr. Brande,  a small teaspoonful of ether  mixed with  a glass of white wine,
is often an effectual remedy for allaying  the  distressing symptoms of sea-
sickness.   When  externally applied  it may act either as a stimulant  or
refrigerant.   If its evaporation be repressed, it operates as a powerful rube-
facient, and may even  vesicate; but when this is allowed to take place freely,
it is refrigerant in consequence  of the cold which it produces.  In  the latter
way it is sometimes employed in strangulated hernia, dropped on the tumour
and allowed to evaporate.  Dr. A. T. Thomson has found ether sometimes
to produce immediate relief when dropped into the  ear in earache.  For
external use, the unrectified ether may be employed.  The dose of sulphuric
ether is from fifty drops to a teaspoonful, to be repeated  frequently when
the full effect of the remedy is  desired.   WThen used  habitually  the dose
must be much larger,  to produce a given  effect.  It may be perfectly incor-
porated with water or any aqueous mixture, by rubbing it up with sperma-
ceti, employed in the proportion of two  grains for each fluidrachm of the
ether.  The  ether  and spermaceti are to be rubbed together in a mortar,
until the latter is  perfectly dissolved; and to the solution thus  formed the
water or mixture is to be added, while the whole is constantly stirred.  The
incorporation being finished, the operation is completed by passing the
mixture through a piece of muslin  to separate the  spermaceti.  (Durand,
Journ.  of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. iv. 202.)
   Sulphuric  ether is used in  the preparation of Morphiae Acetas, U. S.
   Off'. Prep.  Spiritus iEtheris Sulphurici, Ed.; Spiritus iEtheris Sulphu-
rici Compositus, U. S., Lond.                                     B.

   OLEUM jETHEREUM.  U.S.,  Lond.    Liquor  ^Ethereus
Oleosus. Dub.  Ethereal Oil.  Heavy Oil of  Wine.
   "Take of Alcohol two pints;  Sulphuric Acid three pints;  Solution of
Potassa half a fluidounce; Distilled  Water a fluidounce.  Mix  the Acid
cautiously with the Alcohol, allow the mixture to stand twelve  hours, then
pour it into a large glass retort, to which a receiver kept cool by ice or water
is adapted, and distil by means  of a sand-bath until a black froth rises, when
the retort is  to be removed immediately from  the sand-bath.  Separate the
lighter  supernatant liquid in the receiver  from  the heavier, and expose it to
the air  for a day; then add to it  the Solution of Potassa  previously mixed
with the  Distilled Water, and  shake  them together.  Lastly, separate the
Ethereal Oil as soon as it shall have subsided.  The  specific gravity of this
liquid is 1-096."  U.S.
   "Take of Rectified Spirit two pounds; Sulphuric Acid four pounds; So-
lution of Potassa, Distilled Water, each, a fluidounce [Imperial measure], or
as  much as may be sufficient. Mix the Acid cautiously with the  Spirit.  Let
the liquor distil  until a black  froth arises; then immediately remove the
retort from the fire.   Separate the lighter  supernatant liquor from the heavier
one, and expose the former to  the air for a day.  Add  to it the Solution of
Potassa first mixed with Water, and  shake them together.   Lastly, when
sufficiently washed, separate the Ethereal Oil which subsides." Lond. The
specific gravity of this oil is 1-05. 
 812                           AStherea.                       part ii.

   " Take what remains in the retort after the distillation of Sulphuric Ether.
 Distil down to one-half with a moderate heat." Dub.
   When alcohol is distilled with a large excess of sulphuric acid,  the same
 products are generated as those mentioned in the last article as being formed
 towards the close of  the distillation of ether.  These were stated to be sul-
 phurous acid, oil of wine, defiant gas, and carbonaceous matter.  In the
 U. S.  process such an excess of sulphuric acid is employed, for the purpose
 of obtaining the oil.   The product of the  distillation is in two  layers, a
 heavier one, consisting of water holding sulphurous  acid in solution, and a
 lighter,  formed of ether containing the oil of wine.   The lighter liquid is
 separated and exposed for twenty-four hours to the air, in order to  dissipate
 the ether by evaporation; and  the  oil, which is left,  is shaken with a solu-
 tion of potassa to deprive it of all traces of water or acid;  after which, as
 soon as it subsides, it is to be separated.   The London process is substan-
 tially the same as that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  The differences are, that
 the London College omits to direct a prolonged contact between the alcohol
 and acid, and dispenses with a refrigerated receiver.   The Dublin formula
 is altogether  defective.  By distilling the  residue  of the sulphuric ether
 process  " down to one-half with a moderate  heat,"  the oil of wine is no
 doubt obtained; but it is mixed with various substances,  for its separation
 from which no directions are given in the formula.
   The nature and mode of formation of heavy oil  of wine  are  not well
 understood.   It has  been explained in the  preceding article, that, in the
 early stage  of the distillation of a  mixture of sulphuric  acid  and alcohol,
 sulphovinic acid, or double sulphate of ether and water is formed.   During
 its progress this is decomposed so as to yield ether.   When, however, the
 alcohol is distilled  with a large  excess of sulphuric  acid, this same com-
 pound is decomposed so as to form a small quantity of the heavy oil of wine,
 now considered to be a double  sulphate of ether and etherine, having the
 formula C4H50,S03+C4H4,S03.   It is conceived to  be generated from two
 eqs. of sulphovinic acid  (double sulphate of ether and water), which  are
 resolved into one eq.  of the oil, two of sulphuric acid, and three of water.
 When the heavy oil of wine is gently heated with four parts of water, it is
 resolved into sulphovinic acid  which dissolves,  and etherine  which floats
 on the surface, and which, when thus obtained in a separate state,  is called
 etherole or light oil of wine.  This, when left for a long time at a low tem-
 perature, deposits crystals, called oil of wine camphor, concrete oil of wine,
 and sometimes, in disregard of precision of nomenclature, etherine.
   Properties.  The officinal ethereal oil (heavy  oil of wine) is a yellowish
 liquid, possessing an oleaginous consistency,  a peculiar and  slightly acrid
 odour, and  rather sharp and bitter taste.  It boils at 540°.   Its sp. gr. is,
 according to the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, 1*096, according to the London Col-
 lege, after Mr. Hennell's results, 1*05.  By  Dumas and Serullas its density
 is stated to be  as high as 1*133, which is probably the more correct num-
ber for the pure oil.   It is sparingly soluble  in  water, but readily so in
 alcohol and ether.  It is devoid of  acid reaction,  the sulphuric acid present
in it being completely neutralized by the ether and etherine united with it.
 The sulphuric acid present is not precipitated by the usual reagents, because
they furnish a second base,  which, replacing the  etherine,  forms one of the
double salts of sulphovinic acid,  all of which are soluble in  water and hy-
 drous  alcohol.   The   process by which  it  is formed yields  but  a  small
 product, being only about one part in weight to thirty-one of the alcohol
employed, even when performed on the  large scale;  and  when conducted 
PART ii.
AElherea.
813
 on the small scale of the Pharmacopoeias, the product is only one part of
 the oil to  about seventy-five of the alcohol.  The light oil of wine is a
 colourless  oily liquid,  having an aromatic  odour.   Its sp. gr. is  between
 0-917 and 0-920,  boiling point 536°, and  freezing point 31° below zero.
 It communicates a greasy stain to paper.  The concrete oil  crystallizes in
 long, transparent,  brilliant,  tasteless prisms, soluble in alcohol and  ether,
 insoluble in water, fusible at 230°,  boiling  at 500°, and having the sp. gr.
 of 0-980.
   Composition.  The officinal oil of wine has already been stated to be a
 double sulphate of ether and etherine.  If the elements of one eq.  of water
 be added to  its constituents, it becomes a  sulphate of ether,  and Dumas
 appears  to consider this to be its true composition.   The light oil  of wine,
 the etherine in the above compound, is of course composed of C4H4.   The
 concrete oil  is polymeric with this.  The  discrepancies in the densities
 given by different authors  for the officinal oil of wine, no doubt arise from
 its containing  more  or less  of  this  concrete oil, which  would necessarily
 lower its specific gravity.
   The officinal oil is not used in medicine in a separate state, but forms
 an ingredient of the compound spirit of sulphuric ether,- or Hoffmann's ano-
 dyne.
   Off. Prep. Spiritus iEtheris  Sulphurici Compositus, U. S., Lond.   B.
   SPIRITUS ^ETHERIS  SULPHURICI.  Ed.  Spirit of Sul-
 phuric Ether.
   " Take  of Sulphuric Ether  a pint;  Rectified  Spirit two pints.   Mix
 them.  The density of this  preparation ought to be  0-809."  Ed.
   This preparation is merely ether diluted with twice its volume of alcohol.
 When prepared with materials of proper strength, its sp. gr.  is 0*809.  Its
 medical properties are  similar to those of ether.   The dose is  from one to
 three fluidrachms, given with a sufficient quantity  of water.
   Off. Prep.   Tinctura Lobeliae jEtherea.  Ed.                     B.
   SPIRITUS ^ETHERIS SULPHURICI COMPOSITUS.  U.S.,
 Lond.  Compound Spirit of Sulphuric Ether.  Hoffmann's Ano-
 dyne Liquor.
   " Take  of Sulphuric Ether  half a pint; Alcohol a pint; Ethereal Oil
 three fluidrachms.  Mix them." U. S.
   " Take of Sulphuric Ether eight fluidounces;  Rectified  Spirit sixteen
fluidounces;  Ethereal Oil three fluidrachms.  Mix  them."  Lond.
   Compound spirit of sulphuric ether  is a volatile liquid, having a burn-
 ing,  slightly sweetish taste, and the. peculiar odour  of ethereal  oil.  Its
 sp. gr. is 0-816, according to the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia.   When pure it is
 wholly volatilized  by heat and devoid of acid reaction.   It becomes  milky
 on being mixed with water, owing  to the precipitation of the ethereal oil;
 but this change does not prove  its goodness, as the same property may be
 given to  the spirit of sulphuric ether, by  the addition of various oils.   One
 of the authors has been  informed by Dr.  Hotchkiss,  that castor oil  is  some-
 times added  to the latter  preparation, in order to give  it the character of
 Hoffmann's anodyne, of becoming milky when diluted with  water.   This
 sophistication may be detected, as ascertained by Mr.  Wm. Procter, Jun.,
 by mixing the suspected preparation with water, drawing a piece of paper
 over the  surface of the liquid to absorb the oily globules, and exposing the
 paper to  heat.  If  the globules  are castor oil, the greasy stain  will be per-
 manent, if oil of wine,  the stain will disappear.
   Medical Properties.  This preparation is intended as a substitute for the 
814                           AEtherea.                      part ii.

anodyne liquor of Hoffmann,  which  it closely  resembles.   In the last
edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia it has been made exactly after the Lon-
don formula.   In addition to the stimulating and antispasmodic qualities of
the ether which it contains, it possesses anodyne  properties, highly useful
in nervous irritation, and want of sleep from this cause.   These additional
virtues it  derives from the officinal or heavy oil of wine, which is a more
important substance than is generally supposed.  Mr. Brande supposes that
the only effect of it, in the preparation  under  notice, is to alter  the flavour
of the sulphuric ether. In this opinion he is certainly in error.   Dr. Hare,
in his Chemical Compendium,  reports  the opinion of Drs. Physick and
Dewees in favour of the efficacy of the officinal oil of wine, dissolved in
alcohol, in certain disturbed states  of the system,  as a tranquillizing and
anodyne remedy.  Such indeed are the generally  admitted effects of Hoff-
mann's anodyne, when made with a due admixture of the ethereal oil; but
a preparation very deficient in  oil  is often improperly sold for  it,  which,
instead of  milky, becomes merely opalescent when mixed with  water.  It
is on  many occasions  a useful  adjunct to laudanum, to prevent the nausea
which is excited by the latter in certain habits. Its dose is from half a flui-
drachm to two fluidrachms, given in water sweetened with sugar.     B.

   JETHER  NITROSUS. Dub.   Nitrous  Ether.  Nitric Ether.
Hyponitrous Ether.
   " Take of Purified  Nitrate of Potassa, dried and coarsely powdered, a
pound and a half; Sulphuric Acid a pound; Rectified Spirit nineteen fluid-
ounces.   Put the Nitrate of Potassa into a tubulated retort, placed in a bath
of cold water, and pour on it,  by degrees and at  intervals, the  Sulphuric
Acid  and Spirit, previously mixed, and cooled after their mixture. Without
almost any external heat, or at most a  very gentle one (as of warm water
added to the bath), the ethereal liquor will begin to distil without the appli-
cation of fire.   In a short  time, the heat in the retort will increase spon-
taneously, and a considerable ebullition  will  take place,  which must be
moderated by reducing the temperature of the bath with cold water.   The
receiver must also be kept cold with water or snow, and furnished with a
proper apparatus for transmitting the highly elastic vapour (bursting from
the mixture with great violence  if  the heat be  too  much increased) through
a pound of Rectified Spirit contained in a cooled bottle.
   " The ethereal liquor, thus spontaneously distilled, is to be received into
a bottle with a ground glass stopper;  and then must be added by degrees
(closing the bottle after each addition) as much very dry and powdered car-
bonate of  potassa as will suffice  to saturate the  excess of acid, using litmus
as the test.   This is effected by the addition of about a drachm of the salt.
In a short time the Nitrous Ether will rise to the surface, and is to be sepa-
rated  by means of a funnel.
   "If the ether be required very pure, distil it again to one-half, from a
water-bath at a temperature  of 140°.  Its specific gravity is 0-900." Dub.
   The Dublin is the only Pharmacopoeia, commented on in this work, which
embraces  among its preparations  hyponitrous ether (called also nitrous
and nitric ether) under a distinct name; but  the  Edinburgh College pre-
pares  it as the first  step  in the process for sweet spirit of nitre.   The
mutual reaction of nitric acid and alcohol is so violent, that the formation of
this ether has justly been regarded as a process of difficulty.   The method
adopted by the Dublin College was contrived by Wolfe, and is commended
by Pelletier, as well adapted for  obtaining this  ether with facility and safety.
The  alcohol is not mixed  directly with  nitric acid, but with the materials 
PART II.
AEtherea.
S15
necessary for generating it.   Upon the addition of the mixture of sulphuric
acid and alcohol to the nitre, this salt is decomposed, and the disengaged
nitric acid gradually reacts  upon the alcohol, and generates  the ether in
question.  The heat evolved upon  mixing the materials is so considerable,
that the application of extraneous heat is unnecessary and even hazardous.
Indeed, as the action  advances, the temperature  of the mixture must be
moderated by the application of cold water. The violent action arises from
the vast quantity  of gases  and vapours suddenly given off.  These are
nitrogen, nitrous and nitric oxides, carbonic acid, and the vapours of water,
nitrous acid, and  hyponitrous ether itself.  Notwithstanding the  cold em-
ployed,  a portion of the  ether escapes condensation in the receiver, and
hence the Dublin College, to save this portion, directs a cooled bottle  to be
connected with it, containing a pound of alcohol, into which the uncondensed
ether is allowed  to  pass.   The alcohol thus impregnated is subsequently
employed in the Dublin  formula for sweet spirit of nitre.  (See Spiritus
AStheris Nitrici.)  The ether condensed  in  the receiver is  not  pure, but
contains a little nitrous,  nitric, and  acetic acids.  To remove these, the
ethereal product is shaken with carbonate of  potassa, which has the effect
of saturating them.
   Hyponitrous ether  is prepared by Thenard according to the  following
process.  Equal weights  of alcohol and nitric  acid, contained in a retort
having a capacity double their volume, are distilled,  by a moderate  heat,
into a Wolfe's apparatus of five bottles, the first of which is empty, and the
four others half filled with saturated brine.   Each bottle is placed in an
earthen pan containing a mixture of ice and salt.  The apparatus being thus
arranged, a few live  coals are placed under the retort, whereupon  the liquid
enters quickly into ebullition.  The fire must then be immediately  with-
drawn, and the ebullition moderated, by allowing some water pressed from
a  sponge to flow over the retort.  The process is terminated when the
spontaneous  ebullition ceases; at which time the liquid in the retort forms
a little more than a third of  the quantity of alcohol and acid employed.  In
the first bottle, a large quantity of yellow liquid  will be found, consisting of
much weak alcohol, of ether, and  nitrous, nitric, and  acetic acids; in the
second,  a pretty thick stratum of ether, containing a little acid and alcohol,
and swimming on the surface of the brine;  in the third, a very thin stratum
of the same nature as that in the second, and so on for the rest.  The several
layers of ether are then separated by means of a funnel, mixed together, and
redistilled, with a moderate heat, into a refrigerated receiver.  The first pro-
duct is the ether, which, to  be perfectly pure  and devoid of acidity, must be
allowed to  remain in a bottle for half an hour, in contact with  powdered
lime.   From 500 parts of alcohol and 500 of acid, Thenard obtained 100
of excellent ether.
   Liebig recommends the following process for obtaining this ether in a
state of  purity.   One part of starch and ten  of nitric  acid (sp. gr. 1*3) are
introduced into a capacious  retort,  which is  connected with  a  two-necked
bottle by means of a wide tube two or three  feet long,  bent at right angles,
and reaching to its bottom.   This bottle contains a mixture of two parts of
alcohol of 85 per cent, and  one of water, and is surrounded with cold water.
The second neck is  connected, by means of  a long and  wide tube, with a
good cooling apparatus.  (See page 772.)   The retort  is heated by a water-
bath, and, by the reaction of the starch and  nitric acid, pure hyponitrous
acid is disengaged, which, passing through the alcohol, forms with its ether
hyponitrous ether, which distils in a continuous stream.  It is then  freed
from alcohol by means of water, and from  water by standing over chloride 
816
AEtherea.
PART II.
 of calcium.  This process is stated to be very productive. (Turner's Chem-
 istry, 7th Ed. p. 849.)
   Dr. Hare has devised an ingenious process for obtaining  this ether, in
 which  he avails himself of a hyponitrite  ready  formed.  When nitre is
 exposed to heat, as in the process for obtaining oxygen from it, about one-
 third is converted into hyponitrite of potassa.  This may be obtained sepa-
 rate by crystallizing the nitrate from it.   Fourteen parts of ihe hyponitrite,
 thus procured, are dissolved in seven parts of water, and mixed, in a tubu-
 lated retort, with eight parts of alcohol.  The beak of the retort is made
 tapering and bent downwards, and enters a tube, occupying  the axis and
 descending through the neck of an inverted bell glass, so as to terminate
 within  a tall vial.   Both the tube and vial  are kept cold by ice and water.
 Seven parts of sulphuric acid, diluted with its weight of water, are gradually
 added  to the retort, and the ether is distilled by means of a water-bath, kept
 blood-warm. (Trans, of the Amer. Phil. Soc, vii. 277;  also Proceedings
 of the Society, ii. 143, Jan. 1842.)
   Theory of the Production of Hyponitrous  Ether,  fyc.   In the pro-
 cess of Dr. Hare, the hyponitrous acid, ready formed, is liberated from a hy-
 ponitrite in contact with alcohol, with the ether of which the acid unites.  In
 Liebig's process hyponitrous acid is formed by the agency of starch, by which
 two eqs. of oxygen are detached  from  each  eq. of nitric acid, and is passed
 into alcohol contained in a separate vessel. When nitric acid is mixed directly
 with the alcohol, the reaction is different.   Here one eq.  of nitric acid, by
 reacting with one eq. of alcohol, forms one eq. of hyponitrous acid, one eq. of
 aldehyd, and two eqs. of water.   Thus N05-f C4H6Oa=N03-f C4H4Oa+
 2HO.   The hyponitrous acid, as soon as formed, reacts with  a second eq.
 of alcohol, so as to form one eq. of hyponitrous ether, with separation of one
 eq. of water. It  has, however, been shown by Dr. Golding Bird that, when
 an excess of alcohol is used, oxalhydric (saccharic) acid is first formed, and
 that when the formation of the hyponitrous ether has nearly ceased, aldehyd
 makes  its  appearance in the  distilled product,  and simultaneously oxalic
 acid in  the contents of the retort,  before which time the  latter cannot be dis-
 covered.   All these  products result from the oxidizing action  of the nitric
 acid upon the  alcohol, increasing the  proportion  of oxygen  in the sub-
 stances formed, either by removing hydrogen, or by abstracting this element
 and adding directly to the oxygen at the same time. The reader who may
wish to pursue this subject,  is referred  to the interesting paper of Dr. Bird,
 contained in the Lond.  fy Ed. Phil. Mag. xiv. 324, for May  1839.
  Properties.   Pure hyponitrous ether is  pale yellow,  has  the smell of
 apples and Hungary wines, boils at 62°  (below 65° Hare), and has the sp.
gr. of 0-947 at 60°.   The density of its vapour is 2-627.  Litmus is not
affected by it.   When mixed with an  alcoholic solution of potassa, hypo-
nitrite of potassa and alcohol are formed, without producing a brown colour,
showing the absence of aldehyd.   It is soluble in 48 parts of water, and in
all proportions in alcohol  or rectified spirit.  It  is highly inflammable,
and burns with a white flame without residue.  The impure ether obtained
by the ordinary  processes boils at 70°, and has the density of 0-886 at 40°.
The officinal specific gravities of it are 0-900 Dub., 0-899 Ed. (See the next
article for the Edinburgh ether.)   Mixed with an alcoholic solution of po-
tassa, it becomes dark brown, with production  of aldehyd resin.  This
discoloration shows the presence  of aldehyd.  When kept it becomes acid
in a short time, as shown by litmus, and nitric  oxide  is  given  off, which
often causes the  bursting of the bottle.   Its tendency to become acid is ren-
dered greater by the  action of the  air, and depends on the absorption of oxy- 
PART II.
AZtherea.
817
gen by the aldehyd, whieh thereby becomes acetic acid.  These facts show
the propriety of preserving this ether in small, strong bottles, kept full and in
a cool place.  Hyponitrous ether consists, as already explained, of one eq.
of hyponitrous acid and one of ether, and its formula is C4HsO + N03.  It
is, therefore, improperly called nitrous and nitric ether.  In its pure or
concentrated state it is never used in  medicine.   Diluted with alcohol (rec-
tified spirit) it forms the spirit of nitric ether, or sweet spirit of nitre, de-
scribed in the next article.                                        B.
   SPIRITUS  iETHERIS NITRICI. U.S.,  Lond., Ed. SriRrrus
jEthereus  Nitrosus. Dub.   Spiritus Nitri Dulcis.   Spirit  of
Nitric Ether.  Sweet Spirit of Nitre.
   "Take of Nitrate of Potassa, in coarse powder, two pounds; Sulphuric
Acid a pound and a half; Alcohol nine pints and a half; Diluted Alcohol
a pint; Carbonate of  Potassa an ounce.   Mix the Nitrate of Potassa and
the Alcohol in a large  glass retort, and, having gradually poured in the Acid,
digest with a gentle heat for two hours;  then raise the heat and distil a gal-
lon.   To the distilled liquor add the  Diluted Alcohol and Carbonate of Po-
tassa, and again distil  a  gallon." U. S.
   " Take of Rectified Spirit three pounds; Nitric  Acid four ounces.   Add
the Acid  gradually to the Spirit and mix them; then distil thirty-two  fluid-
ounces [Imperial measure]."  Lond.
   " Take of  Rectified  Spirit two pints  and six fluidounces [Imperial
measure]; Pure Nitric  Acid  (D. 1-500)  seven fluidounces [Imp. meas.].
Put  fifteen fluidounces of the Spirit, with a  little clean sand, into a  two-
pint  matrass,  fitted with a cork, through which  are passed a safety-tube
terminating an inch above the Spirit, and another tube leading to a  refrige-
ratory.   The safety-tube being filled with Pure Nitric Acid, add through it
gradually three fluidounces and a half of the acid.  When the  ebullition
which slowly rises is  nearly over, add the rest of the acid gradually, half a
fluidounce at  a time,  waiting tilt the ebullition  caused by each portion is
nearly over before adding more, and cooling the refrigeratory with a stream
of water, iced in summer.  The ether thus distilled over, being received in
a bottle, is to be agitated first  with a little milk of lime, till it ceases to red-
den litmus paper, and then with half its volume of concentrated solution of
muriate of lime.  The pure hyponitrous ether thus obtained, which should
have a density of 0-899, is then to be mixed with the remainder of the Rec-
tified Spirit, or exactly four times its volume.
   " Spirit of Nitric Ether ought not to be kept long, as it always undergoes
decomposition, and becomes  at length strongly  acid.   Its density by this
process is 0-847." Ed.
  "Add to the matter  which remains after the distillation of Nitrous Ether,
the Rectified Spirit employed in that  operation  for condensing the  elastic
vapour, and distil till the residuum be dry, with the superior heat of a water-
bath.   Mix the distilled liquor with the alkaline liquor which remains after
the separation of the Nitrous Ether, and add, moreover, as much well dried
Carbonate of Potassa as shall  be sufficient to saturate the predominant acid.
This is made evident by the test of litmus.  Lastly, distil as long  as any
drops come over by the  medium heat of a water-bath.  The specific gravity
of this liquor is 0*850.
  " Nitrous Ethereal Spirit may also be prepared by adding  gradually two
ounces of Nitric Acid to a pint of Rectified Spirit, and distilling twelve
ounces with a proper apparatus  and the application of a gentle heat."  Dub.
  The officinal spirit of nitric ether  is a mixture, in variable proportions,
       70 
818
AZtherea.
PART II.
of hyponitrous ether and  alcohol (rectified  spirit).  Hyponitrous ether is
always generated by the reaction of nitric acid and alcohol; and  it matters
not whether the  alcohol be mixed  with nitric acid  directly,  or with the
materials for generating it, namely, nitre and  sulphuric acid.   When the
materials  for  forming the  ether contain an  excess of alcohol, this distils
over with the ether, and forms the preparation  under consideration.
   The processes  of  the Pharmacopoeias differ  considerably.   The U. S
and  Dublin Pharmacopoeias obtain  the  requisite nitric acid by using the
materials for generating it;  while the London and Edinburgh Colleges mix
the acid ready formed with the alcohol.  The London and Edinburgh pro-
cesses, however,  differ in one important particular, namely, that while the
London College  distils the  nitric acid with an  excess of alcohol, which
comes over in large proportion with the  ether, forming, at once, the sweet
spirit of nitre; the Edinburgh College forms a concentrated, almost pure,
hyponitrous acid  in the distillation, and dilutes  it with a determinate quan-
tity of alcohol.
   The United States formula is modeled after a recipe communicated by
Mr. John  Carter, manufacturing chemist,  to the Philadelphia College of
Pharmacy, and recommended for adoption by a committee of that body. It
is in fact the Dublin process for obtaining hyponitrous  ether, explained in
the preceding article, with the  use  of alcohol in excess.  The nitre and
alcohol being mixed in  the retort, the sulphuric acid is gradually added, and
a gentle heat applied.   Nitric acid is set free, and by reacting with a  part
of the alcohol produces the hyponitrous  ether, as explained in  the last
article.   Upon the subsequent increase of the  heat, the ether  and the re-
mainder of the alcohol distil over as  the sweet  spirit of nitre.  The distilled
product, however, contains some acid, and hence is rectified by a distilla-
tion from carbonate of potassa.   The diluted alcohol  is added before  com-
mencing this distillation,  to enable  the operator  to obtain a quantity of
distilled product equal to that procured at first,  without distilling to dryness,
which would endanger the  production of empyreuma.  The alcohol and sul-
phuric acid are successively added to the nitre, and not previously mixed; as
by the latter plan, the sulphuric acid would be converted in part into sulpho-
vinic acid, and the risk  would be run of generating some  sulphuric ether.
The retort should be  of such a capacity as to be  capable  of holding twice
the amount of the materials employed.
   The above process, as conducted by Mr. Carter on a large scale, is  per-
formed in  a copper still of about twenty  gallons  capacity, and  furnished
with a pewter head and worm.   The materials for the  first distillation are
18 pounds of purified nitre,  12  gallons of alcohol of 34° Baume (0-847),
and  12 pounds of sulphuric acid; and 10 gallons are drawn off.  The dis-
tilled product is then  mixed with a gallon of diluted alcohol, and rectified by
a new distillation from lime or a carbonated alkali;  the same quantity being
distilled as at first.   When large quantities of this preparation are thus ob-
tained, the several portions require to be mixed in a large glass vessel, to
render the whole of uniform strength; as the portion which first comes over
in the rectification is  strongest in hyponitrous  ether.   Previous  to the re-
distillation, the head and worm  must be washed  thoroughly with water, to
remove a little acid which comes over in  the  first distillation. (Journ. of
the Phil.  Col. of Pharm. i. 308.)
   A similar process to the above for making sweet spirit of nitre,  is adopted
in the principal laboratories of Philadelphia.  As the use of metallic vessels
is attended with some risk, it would be an improvement in  the above  pro-
cess, if an earthenware still and worm were employed, as is done at Apolhe- 
PART II.
AEtherea.
819
caries' Hall, London;  the still being heated by the slow application of steam
to its outer surface.
   In order to understand the process of the Dublin  College for  preparing
sweet spirit of nitre, it will be necessary to revert to their  formula for  ob-
taining hyponitrous ether, explained in the last article.   The residue of
this process consists of sulphate of potassa, free nitric acid not consumed
in the generation of the ether, and certain products resulting from the oxi-
dation of the alcohol by the nitric acid, as mentioned in the last article.  To
this  residue is added  the  pound of alcohol, which  had been employed in
the process for the purpose of absorbing the ether which escapes conden-
sation in the receiver.   Of course, after this addition, all the conditions are
fulfilled which are necessary for  the  generation of sweet spirit of  nitre,
namely, nitric acid in contact with more alcohol than is necessary to form
ether. Accordingly, upon distillation, the ether comes over mixed with a cer-
tain  proportion of alcohol, forming the sweet spirit of nitre.   But at the same
time, a portion of acid is distilled over, to separate which the product is  redis-
tilled from an alkaline  carbonate at a medium heat (between 100° and 200°)
as long as any drops  come over.   To save the  alkaline solution used in
purifying the ether described in the last article, it is directed to be applied, as
far as it will go, to the purpose of saturating the free acid of this preparation.
   From the explanations here and previously given, it is obvious that  the
formulae for hyponitrous ether and sweet spirit of nitre of the Dublin College
form in fact but one process; and whenever it is desirable  to  obtain nitric
ether, it is no doubt expedient to use the residue and part of the products of
the process, for  procuring sweet spirit of nitre, provided the latter prepara-
tion  can be obtained from  them of good quality.  But when it is recollected
that  the residue  is loaded with newly-formed acids, and  that  the quantity
of free nitric acid in it cannot be estimated, it may be well doubted whether
this  process of the Dublin College is an eligible one.   As hyponitrous acid
is never employed in medicine in a pure state, and has very few uses, it is
an objection to this formula that it requires the preparation of another sub-
stance which may not be wanted.   It is, no doubt,  on this account that the
College has appended to this process for sweet spirit of  nitre,  another  for-
mula, similar to that of the London College, by which it may be obtained
independently of any other product.
   In the  London process, nitric  acid, ready  formed, is  mixed  with  the
alcohol; the proportion of acid to the spirit being as 1 to 9 in weight.  The
proportion of nitric acid to the alcohol in the U. S. formula, is nearly the same
as that in the London process, if we  suppose that the nitre, by its decom-
position, yields  a pound and a quarter of acid,  which is about  the quantity
obtained in practice. This coincidence may be assumed with the greater con-
fidence, as the preparation obtained by the two processes has the same spe-
cific gravity. The proportion of sweet spirit of nitre drawn off to the alcohol
employed is a little over two-thirds in the London formula, and five-sixths
in that of the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia.   When the distillation is pushed too
far,  the product is high-coloured,  specifically heavier than it should be,
very acid  so as  to act  strongly on litmus  paper, decomposes  the alkaline
carbonates with effervescence,  and  contains  aldehyd,  which gives  it  a
pungent odour. (Dr. Golding Bird).   The impurities arising from a  distil-
lation carried too far are, according to Dr.  Bird, entirely avoided by follow-
ing the directions of the London Pharmacopoeia. The residue of the process,
if further distilled, will yield a small additional portion of sweet nitre, nearly
pure, of higher  specific gravity than  the officinal portion;  but, afterwards,
on continuing the process, the hyponitrous ether ceases to come over,  and 
820
AEtherea.
PART II.
about the same time aldehyd appears  in the distilled product, and in the
residue oxalic acid, which seems to replace the oxalhydric acid, formed at an
earlier stage of the reaction.  (See last article.)  Admitting Dr. Bird's results,
it is probable  that the sweet spirit of  nitre which  comes over in the first
distillation of the U. S. process  will contain aldehyd; as one-fourth more of
liquid is drawn over than is distilled in the London process.  Supposing
this to  be  the  case, it is presumable that it would be separated, together
with any contaminating acid, by the second  distillation  with carbonate of
potassa.
   The  Edinburgh process for  sweet spirit of nitre, consists of two steps;
first, the formation of hyponitrous ether, and,  secondly, its dilution with
four times  its volume of alcohol.  Dr.  Christison, commenting on this
process, states that it may be conducted with safety  and despatch,  when the
precautions are attended to  which are enjoined  by the Edinburgh College.
The conditions for success  are  to add  no more spirit at first than what is
necessary to commence the action; to wait  until the ebullition thus arising
shall cease; to add the rest of the acid  in small successive portions; to let
the acid drop from the height of about an inch into the spirit; to have some
clean sand in the bottom of  the matrass; and to employ a refrigeratory, such
as that  figured  at page 772.  Should the ebullition  increase too rapidly, it
may be repressed by blowing cool  air  across the matrass.  The presence
of the   sand prevents  the dangerous succussions arising from the sudden
liberation of ethereal vapour.   The ethereal  product is first agitated  with
milk of lime to separate acid, and then with half its volume of a concentrated
solution of chloride of calcium, to remove water and alcohol.   The density
given for this hyponitrous ether is 0-899, which is lower than that of the pure
ether.   The last step in the process is to mix  this ether with the prescribed
quantity of aleohol, which  gives  a sweet spirit of nitre of the-density of
0-847.  The hyponitrous ether of this process may be presumed to  measure,
on an average, 7f fluidounces, and, consequently, the sweet spirit of nitre
obtained from  it, 38 f fluidounces.  The degree of dilution was  fixed, so
as to make it eonform in ethereal strength with  the same preparation of the
former Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.   The preparation is intended to contain
one-fifth of its  volume of ether,  and is probably  twice or thrice as strong as
the sweet spirit of nitre of the U. S.  and  London Pharmacopoeias.  For
making this preparation, Dr. Christison prefers the  present plan  of the
Edinburgh College, of diluting  the pure ether to a  determinate degree, on
the ground  that it secures a pure and  uniform  preparation.   Many years
ago the same plan was proposed by Dr. Hare.
  Properties.   Spirit of nitric  ether is a colourless volatile  liquid, of a
fragrant ethereal odour, and pungent,  aromatic, sweetish acidulous taste.
The Edinburgh  preparation is  yellow.  If perfectly pure it  is devoid of
acid reaction, but it generally reddens litmus  slightly.  Its officinal  sp. gr.
is 0-834 U. S., Lond.; 0-847 Ed.; and 0-850 Dub.  High density is not
necessarily an index of deficient strength, as  it  may arise, as  in the Edin-
burgh preparation, from containing a large proportion of the pure ether. If
heated  by means of a water-bath, the U.  S. sweet spirit of nitre begins to boil
at 160°.  It mixes with water and alcohol in all  proportions.  It is very in-
flammable, burning with a whitish  flame, and,  when evaporated, produces
much cold.
  Impurities and Tests.   Sweet spirit of nitre,  when the product of a dis-
tillation too long continued,  at first contains aldehyd, which afterwards be-
comes acetic acid by the absorption of oxygen—rapidly if the preparation be
insecurely kept. The presence of aldehyd may be detected by its imparting a 
PART II.
AEtherea.
821
pungent odour  and acrid flavour, and by the preparation containing  it as-
suming a yellow tint on the addition of a weak solution of potassa, owing
to the formation of aldehyd resin.   It is  probable  that this impurity is not
often in large amount, being replaced by its product the acetic acid.   As
aldehyd appears to be the chief source of impurity in sweet spirit of nitre,
and as it is detected by producing a characteristic colour with a  solution of
potassa, it would seem easy to  make  this test  available as an index when
the distillation  should be  discontinued.  For if the distilled product were
made to pass through a  small portion of this alkaline solution, it would
probably give indications of the first appearance of aldehyd, and thus enable
the operator to stop the distillation in time.  Acetic acid, as well as any
others (usually nitrogen acids) that may happen to be present, may be dis-
covered by the  taste, by their acting on litmus strongly, and by their decom-
posing the alkaline carbonates or bicarbonates with effervescence.  These
acids  often operate injuriously by their chemical reactions with other sub-
stances, when  associated  in mixtures.   Thus  they liberate iodine  from
iodide of potassium, gradually decolorize infusion of roses, and, in the  com-
pound mixture of iron, hasten the conversion of the  protoxide  into  the
sesquioxide of iron. To obviate these effects, Mr. Harvey, of Leeds, keeps
the sweet spirit of nitre standing on crystals of bicarbonate of potassa, and
states that if the preparation be of full strength, no appreciable portion of
the alkali will be dissolved. (Pharm.  Journ. and Trans. Jan.  1842.)   A
deep olive colour  being produced with the sulphate of protoxide of iron,
shows the  presence of a nitrogen oxide  or acid, and  a blue tint with tinc-
ture of guaiacum, passing through various shades of green, a nitrogen acid.
   Other impurities which are often fraudulently added to sweet spirit of nitre,
are water and alcohol. These may be detected in the Edinburgh preparation,
as stated by the College, by agitating it with twice its volume of a concen-
trated solution of chloride of calcium.   If the sweet spirit of nitre be of full
strength, 12 per cent, of ether  will slowly separate, which is twelve-twen-
tieths of the quantity present.   The test acts by taking up the alcohol and
water; and if less ether separate, it shows the presence of too much of  the
former substances.  This test is hardly applicable to the U. S. and London
preparation,  which is much weaker than the Edinburgh.  Dr.  Christison
states that the London sweet spirit of nitre, when subjected to this test,  has
never yielded in his trials more than four per cent, of ether.  Sometimes it
yields none. Specific gravity is no criterion of the goodness of the prepara-
tion as obtained by any formula.  The addition of water  will raise its den-
sity; so will the addition of hyponitrous  ether.  A high density, in connec-
tion with deficient ethereal qualities,  would, of course, show the presence
of free acids, an excess of water, or both.  A specific gravity lower than the
U. S. and London standard, would probably indicate the presence of alcohol
stronger than it should be, which might be either in proper amount  or in too
large proportion.
   The fraudulent dilution of sweet spirit  of nitre with alcohol and water  is a
great  evil, considering the extensive use of the medicine, and its valuable re-
medial powers  when pure.  We have been informed on good authority, that
it is variously diluted, according to the  views of the vender, with twice,
thrice, and  even four times its weight of alcohol and water.  In some shops
it is stated  that a  strong and a weak preparation are kept, to suit the views
of customers as to price.   Some of the wholesale druggists are in the  habit
of diluting it, either upon the plea that the physician's prescriptions  are
written in  view of the  use of a weak preparation, or for the  purpose of
affording it at  a  low price.  All these evils  would be  corrected, if  the
                                  70* 
822
AZtherea. —Alcohol.
PART II.
different manufacturing chemists  in the Union would comply with the re-
commendation  of the Philadelphia  College of Pharmacy, and  adopt for
preparing it the formula of the United  States Pharmacopoeia.  A uniform
preparation being in this way furnished to  the druggists, all that  would be
necessary on their part, would be carefully  to abstain from weakening it by
the admixture of alcohol and water.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Sweet spirit of nitre is diaphoretic, diu-
retic, and  antispasmodic.  It is deservedly much esteemed as a medicine,
and is extensively employed in febrile affections, either alone, or in conjunc-
tion with tartar emetic, for the purpose of promoting the secretions, especially
those of sweat and urine.  It often proves a grateful stimulus to the  stomach,
relieving nausea and removing flatulence, and not unfrequentiy allays rest-
lessness and promotes sleep.   On account of its tendency to the kidneys, it
is  often conjoined with  other diuretics,  such as  squill, digitalis, acetate of
potassa, nitre, &c, for the purpose of promoting their action in  dropsical
complaints.   The late Dr. Duncan praised  a combination of it  with a small
portion of aromatic spirit of ammonia, as eminently diaphoretic  and diuretic,
and well suited to  certain  states  of  febrile  disease.   The  dose is about a
teaspoonful, given every two or three hours in a portion of water.  When
used as a diuretic, it should be given  in larger doses.                 B.

                           ALCOHOL.

                     Preparations of Alcohol.

   ALCOHOL DILUTUM. U.S. SpiritusTenuior.  Lond., Ed.,
Dub.   Diluted Alcohol.  Proof Spirit.
   " Take  of Aleohol, Distilled Water, each, a pint. Mix them.  The specific
gravity of Diluted Alcohol is 0*935." U. S.
   "Take of Rectified Spirit two pints [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water
a pint [Imp. meas.].   Mix them.  The density of the product should be
0*912." Ed.
   The London and Dublin Colleges have  placed diluted alcohol or proof
spirit in the list  of the Materia  Mediea.   The  Edinburgh  College has
ordered the strongest diluted  aleohol, its  density being 0-912, which is 7
over proof.  It contains 52 per cent, of absolute aleohol, and is considerably
stronger than the  corresponding spirit of the former Edinburgh Pharmaco-
poeia.   The London  College directs  its sp. gr. to be 0*920.  When of this
strength,  it contains 49 per cent,  of pure alcohol, and may be formed by
mixing five measures  of their rectified spirit with three of distilled water at
the temperature of 62°.  In the Dublin Pharmacopoeia, it is ordered of the
sp. gr. 0*919, and the statement is made in a note, that spirit of almost the
same specific gravity may be formed  by mixing five and a quarter measures
of the rectified spirit of that work with three of distilled water.   Such a
spirit will contain a little more than  49 per cent, of absolute  alcohol, and
will agree very nearly in strength with the corresponding spirit of the Lon-
don College.  The diluted alcohol of the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia has the sp.
gr. 0*935, and contains only 42 per  cent,  of absolute alcohol.  It, there-
fore, forms the  weakest officinal proof spirit.
   Medical and Pharmaceutical Uses.  The medicinal effects  of alcohol in
a diluted and modified state, as it  exists in brandy and other ardent spirits,
have been detailed under other heads.   (See Alcohol and Vinum.)  As a
pure diluted spirit, however, consisting solely of alcohol and water in deter-
minate proportions, its use is exclusively pharmaceutical.  It is employed 
PART II.
Alcohol.—Alumen.
823
 as an addition to some of the distilled waters  and preparations of vinegar,
 in order to preserve them from decomposition; as a menstruum for extract-
 ing the virtues of some plants, preparatory to their  being brought  to  the
 state of extracts and syrups; and in preparing many of the  spirits.  But
 it is in forming the tinctures that diluted alcohol  is principally employed.
 Many of these are formed with the officinal alcohol (rectified  spirit),  but
 the majority, with diluted alcohol (proof spirit) as the menstruum.   As  the
 latter contains more than half its weight of water, it is well fitted for acting
 on  those vegetables, the virtues of which are partly  soluble in water and
 partly in alcohol. The apothecary, however, is, on no account, to substitute
 the commercial proof spirit for diluted alcohol, even though it should be  of
 the same strength.  On this point, the authors of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia
 have  very correctly remarked, that " almost all  the spirit which is sold
 under the  name of proof spirit, is contaminated with empyreumatic oil,
 and unfit for medical use."   But when it is recollected how variable the so
 called proof spirits are in strength, the objection to their  use  in pharmacy
 becomes still stronger.  Thus, according to Mr. Brande, gin contains 51*6
 per cent, of alcohol of 0-825;  and the per centage of the same alcohol is
 53-39 in brandy, 53-68 in rum, 53-90 in Irish whisky, and 54*32 in Scotch
 whisky.  The alcohol on which these results are based already contains 11
 per cent, of water.                                                B.


                            ALUMEN.

                      Preparations of Alum.

   ALUMEN EXSICCATUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed.   Alumen Sic-
 catum. Dub.  Dried Alum.
   " Take of Alum any quantity. Melt it in an earthen or iron vessel over
 the fire, and continue the heat till it becomes dry;  then rub it into powder "
 U.S.                                                       V
   " Melt Alum in an earthen vessel over the fire; then increase the heat
 until ebullition has ceased."  Lond.
   The Edinburgh and Dublin processes agree with that of the U. S. Phar-
 macopoeia.  When alum is heated, it quickly dissolves in its water of crys-
 tallization, which, if the heat be continued, is gradually driven off; and the
 salt swells up exceedingly, so as to make it expedient to  use a vessel, the
 capacity of which is at least equal to three times the bulk of the alum ope-
 rated  on.    When  the boiling up has ceased, it is a sign  that all the water
 has been driven off.
  Properties.  Dried alum is in the form of an opaque white powder, pos-
 sessing a more  astringent taste than the crystallized salt.  Before pulveriza-
 tion, it is a light, white, opaque, porous mass.  During the exsiccation, it
 loses  from 41 to 46 per cent, of its weight in dissipated water.  If, how-
 ever, the heat be strongly urged, some of the acid is driven off, and the loss
 becomes still greater.  Dried alum resists the action of water  for a long
 time,  showing that the process to which it has been subjected has altered
 its state of aggregation.  In composition, it differs from crystallized alum
 merely in  the absence of water.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Dried alum has occasionally been given
 in obstinate  constipation, with the effect of gently  moving the bowels, and
 of affording great relief from pain.  (See Alumen.) The dose is about half
 that of alum.  Its principal me.dical use is as a mild escharotic for destroy-
ing fungous  flesh.                                                B# 
824
Alumen.—Ammonia.
part ii.
   LIQUOR ALUMINIS COMPOSITUS. Lond.  Compound So-
 lution of Alum.
   " Take of Alum, Sulphate of Zinc, each, an ounce;  boiling Water three
pints [Imperial measure].  Dissolve the Alum and Sulphate of Zinc  to-
 gether in the Water, and afterwards strain." Lond.
   This was formerly called  aqua aluminosa Bateana, or Bates's alum
 water.   It is a powerful astringent solution, and is employed for cleansing
 and stimulating foul ulcers, and as an injection in gleet and leucorrhoea.  It
 is also sometimes employed as a  collyrium in  ophthalmia after  depletion;
 but when used in this way it must be diluted.  A convenient formula is half
 a fluidounce of the solution mixed with six and a half  fluidounces of rose
 water.                                                           B.


                            AMMONIA.

                    Preparations  of Ammonia.

   AMMONITE  BICARBONAS.  Dub.  Bicarbonate of Ammonia.
   " Take of Water of Carbonate of Ammonia  any quantity.  Expose it,
 in a suitable apparatus, to a stream of carbonic acid gas, evolved during the
 solution of white marble in Diluted Muriatic Acid, until the alkali is satu-
 rated.  Then let it rest to form crystals, which are to be dried without heat,
 and kept in  a closely stopped vessel." Dub.
   This salt is officinal only in the Dublin Pharmacopoeia.  The process by
 which it is formed consists in saturating the  sesquicarbonate (officinal car-
 bonate) with carbonic acid, whereby this salt becomes a bicarbonate.  The
 sesquicarbonate consists of three eqs. of acid and two of ammonia; and, by
 gaining one eq. of carbonic acid, becomes a bicarbonate, consisting of four
 eqs. of acid  and two of ammonia.  These proportions reduced to their lowest
terms give for the composition of  this bisalt, two eqs. of carbonic acid and
one of ammonia.   The crystallized salt contains two eqs. of water.
   Bicarbonate of ammonia, as prepared by this process, is in the form of
crystals, which have a faint ammonical taste and smell,  and are permanent
in the air.  It is less soluble in water than the sesquicarbonate, requiring
eight times  its weight of that liquid to dissolve it.  It possesses, though in
an inferior degree,  the medical properties of the latter salt.  As it furnishes
the practitioner with the means of prescribing ammonia  in a convenient and
palatable form, Dr. Barker deems its introduction into the officinal list of
the Dublin College a valuable improvement.   It ought to have been shown,
however, in what respect the  Dublin preparation differs from  the bicarbo-
nate, obtained by exposing the  sesquicarbonate to  the  air;  for if they be
identical, it  cannot be necessary to  resort to  the Dublin formula for pre-
paring this  bisalt.   The dose of bicarbonate of ammonia is from six to
twenty-four  grains, dissolved in cold water, as hot water decomposes it.  B.
   AMMONITE  CARBONAS. U.S.,  Ed.,  Dub.   Ammonije Ses-
quicarbonas. Lond.    Carbonate  of Ammonia.  Mild  Volatile
Alkali.
  "Take of Muriate  of Ammonia a pound; Chalk, dried, a pound and a
half.   Pulverize them separately; then mix them thoroughly, and sublime
with a gradually increasing heat."  U. S.
  " Take of Muriate of Ammonia, pulverized and well dried, Dried Carbo-
nate of soda, each, one part.   Put the mixture into an earthenware retort,
and  with a  heat gradually increased, sublime the Carbonate of Ammonia
into a refrigerated receiver." Dub. 
PART II.
Ammonia.
825
   The London and Edinburgh processes are the same as that of the U. S.
 Pharmacopoeia.
   In the above processes, by the reciprocal action of the salts employed, the
 carbonic acid unites with the ammonia, generating carbonate of ammonia,
 and the muriatic acid with the lime or soda, so as to form water and chloride
 of calcium, or the same liquid and chloride of sodium.  The carbonate and
 water sublime together as a hydrated carbonate of ammonia, and the residue
 is chloride of calcium in the U. S., London,  and Edinburgh processes, and
 chloride of sodium, or common salt, in the Dublin.  In conducting the pro-
 cess, the retort should be of earthenware, and have a wide cylindrical neck;
 and the receiver should be cylindrical, to facilitate the  extraction of the sub-
 limate.  The relative quantities of chalk and muriate  of ammonia for mu-
 tual decomposition, are 50-62 of the former and  53-57 of the latter, or one
 eq. of each.  The Pharmacopoeias use a great excess of chalk.  An excess
 is desirable to ensure  the perfect decomposition of the muriate of ammonia,
 any redundancy of which would sublime along with the carbonate, and ren-
 der it impure.   The employment of carbonate of soda, in the Dublin pro-
 cess, affords a produet of greater whiteness, but is objectionable on the score
 of expense. The proportions of the muriate and alkaline carbonate, directed
 by this College, correspond almost precisely with the equivalents; but in
 practice, the quantity of carbonate of soda is found insufficient.
   Carbonate of ammonia is obtained on a large scale, generally by sublim-
 ing the proper materials from an iron pot into  a large earthen or leaden
 receiver.  Sulphate of ammonia may be substituted  for the muriate with
 much economy, as  was shown by Payen.  Large quantities of this carbo-
 nate  are manufactured indirectly from gas  liquor and  bone spirit;  the
 ammoniacal products in these liquors being successively converted into sul-
 phate, muriate, and carbonate of ammonia.  (See  Ammoniae Murias.)  The
 salt as first obtained has a slight odour of tar, and leaves a blackish carbo-
 naceous  matter when dissolved in acids.   Hence it requires to be refined,
 which is effected in iron pots, surmounted with leaden heads.
  Properties.  Carbonate (sesquicarbonate) of ammonia, recently prepared,
 is in white, moderately  hard, translucent masses, of a fibrous and crystalline
 appearance, a pungent ammonical smell, and  a sharp penetrating taste.  It
 possesses an alkaline reaction, and when held under a piece of turmeric
 paper changes it to brown, owing to the escape  of monoearbonate of am-
 monia.  When long or carelessly kept, it gradually passes into the state of
 bicarbonate, becoming opaque and friable, and falls to powder.  It is soluble
 without residue in about four times its weight of cold  water, and is decom-
 posed by boiling  water with effervescence.  According  to  Dr. Barker
 (Observations  on the Dublin  Pharmacopoeia), it dissolves abundantly in
 diluted alcohol, as  also in heated aleohol of the sp. gr. 0-836, with effer-
 vescence of carbonic  acid.  When heated on a piece of glass, it  should
 evaporate without residue, and if turmeric paper  held over it undergoes no
 change, it has  passed into bicarbonate.  When  saturated with nitric  acid,
 neither chloride of barium nor nitrate of  silver causes  a precipitate.   The
 non-action of these tests shows the absence of sulphate and muriate of am-
 monia.  It is decomposed by acids, the fixed alkalies and their earbonates,
 lime-water and  magnesia, solution of chloride of  caleium, alum, acid salts,
 such as bitartrate and bisulphate of potassa, solutions of iron (except the tar-
 trate of iron and potassa), eorrosive sublimate, the acetate  and subacetate of
lead, and the sulphates of iron and zinc.
  Composition.  It consists of three eqs. of carbonic acid  66*36, two  of
ammonia 343,  and  two  of water 18 = 118-66; or which comes to the same 
826
Ammonia.
PART II.
thing, of one eq. of bicarbonate 61*39, and one of monoearbonate 39-27,
combined with  the  same quantity of  water.   The medicinal carbonate of
ammonia  is, therefore, when perfect,  a hydrated  sesquicarbonate, as it is
called by the London  College.   Dalton and Scanlan, however, have ren-
dered it probable  that it  is a double salt; for when treated with a small
quantity of  cold water, monoearbonate is dissolved  and bicarbonate left.
When converted into bicarbonate  by  exposure to  the air, each  eq. of the
medicinal salt loses one eq. of monoearbonate, a  change which  leaves the
acid and base in the proper proportion to form  the bisalt.   The mutual
decomposition of the salts employed in its preparation, would generate, if
no  loss occurred,  the  monoearbonate, and not the sesquicarbonate.   The
way in  which the latter salt is  formed may be  thus explained.  By the
mutual  decomposition  of  three eqs. of muriate of ammonia and of chalk
respectively, three eqs. of carbonate of ammonia, three of water, and three of
chloride of calcium are generated. During the operation, however, one eq. of
ammonia and one of water, forming together oxide of ammonium, are lost;
so that there remain to be sublimed, three eqs. of carbonic acid, two of am-
monia,  and two of water; or, in other words,  the exact constituents of the
hydrated  sesquicarbonate.   When  this is re-sublimed in the  process of
refining, two eqs. of the salt lose one  eq. of carbonic acid, and become one
eq. of 5-4 carbonate of ammonia.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.   Carbonate of ammonia is stimulant, dia-
phoretic,  antispasmodic, powerfully  antacid,  and in large  doses emetic.
Under certain circumstances it may prove expectorant; as  when,  in the last
stages of phthisis, it facilitates, by increasing the  muscular power, the ex-
cretion of the sputa.  As  a stimulant, it is  exhibited principally  in typhus
fever, and very frequently  in connexion  with wine  whey.  Its principal
advantage, in this disease, is its power to increase the action of the heart
and arteries  without unduly exciting the brain.  It is employed, with a view
to the same  effect, and as an antacid, in certain stages of atonic gout, and in
the derangements of the stomach supervening  on  habits of irregularity and
debauchery.  As a diaphoretic, it is resorted to in gout and chronic rheuma-
tism, particularly the latter, in conjunction with guaiac.  In  diabetes it has
been recommended by Dr. Barlow in  England, and Bouchardat in  France.
In cases of scrofula attended with languid circulation  and dry skin, it is said
to produce excellent effects.  It is very seldom used as an emetic;  but is sup-
posed to act with advantage, in this way, in some cases of paralysis. As an
external application, it is  rubefacient,  and may  be  employed  in several
ways.   Reduced to fine powder, and  mixed with  some mild ointment, it is
useful in local rheumatism.  One  part of it, incorporated with three parts
of extract of belladonna, forms  a plaster very efficacious in relieving local
and spasmodic pains.  Coarsely bruised, and scented with oil of lavender,
it constitutes the common smelling salts, so much used as a nasal stimulant
in  syncope  and hysteria.   The  dose as a stimulant, is  from  five to ten
grains, every two, three, or four hours, in the  form of pill, or dissolved in
some aqueous vehicle;  and as an  emetic, thirty grains, to  be  repeated if
necessary, and  assisted by free dilution.  It should never be given in pow-
der, on account of its volatile nature.  Pills of it may be made up  with some
vegetable extract, as of chamomile for example, and should be dispensed in
a wide-mouthed vial, and not in a box.
   Carbonate of ammonia  is used as a chemical agent in preparing Zinci
Oxidum, U. S., Lond., Ed., and Ferrum Tartarizatum, Ed. It is sometimes
emploved to make effervescent draughts, with lemon juice or tartaric acid.
   Off, Prep,   Cuprum Ammoniatum, U.S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Liquor 
PART II.
Ammonia.
827
Ammoniae Acetatis, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Liquor Ammoniae Sesqui-
carbonatis,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Potassae Bicarbonas,  Ed.; Spiritus  Am-
monias. Dub.                                                    B.
  LIQUOR AMMONIA SESQUICARBONATIS.  Lond.  Au-
moni,2e Carbonatis Aqua. Ed., Dub.  Solution of Sesquicarbonate
of Ammonia.   Solution of Carbonate of Ammonia.
  " Take of Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia four ounces; Distilled Water  a
pint [Imperial  measure].  Dissolve  the Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia in
the  Water, and  strain."  Lond.
  "Take of Carbonate of Ammonia four parts;  Distilled W"ater fifteen
parts. Dissolve the Carbonate of Ammonia in the Water, and filter through
paper.  The specific gravity of this solution is 1*090." Dub.
  The Edinburgh solution is of the same strength  as the  London.
  This prepartion may be viewed as a saturated aqueous solution of car-
bonate of ammonia.   The wine pint of water, formerly ordered by the Lon-
don College, was not, according to Mr.  Phillips, sufficient to  dissolve the
salt. The pint now directed is the Imperial (20 fluidounces), and is adequate
for that purpose.  This  preparation is very properly omitted in the United
States Pharmacopoeia; as it is liable to change by  keeping.  The dose is
from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, given in any bland liquid.
  This solution is used  by the London College in  preparing the tartrate of
potassa and  iron.
  Off. Prep. Ammoniae Bicarbonas, Dub.; Linimentum Ammoniae Sesqui-
carbonatis, Lond.; Pilulae Cupri Ammoniati, Ed.                  B.
  AMMONIA   HYDROSULPHURETUM.  Dub.   Hydrosul-
phuret of  Ammonia.  Solution of Hydrosulphate of Ammonia.
  " Take of Sulphuret of Iron, in coarse powder, five parts; Sulphuric
Acid  seven  parts; Water thirty-two parts; Water of Caustic Ammonia
four parts.   Put the  Sulphuret  into a retort;  then gradually pour on the
Acid, previously diluted with the Water, and in a suitable apparatus, trans-
mit the gas  evolved through the Water of Ammonia.   Towards the end of
the process, apply a gentle heat to  the retort."  Dub.
  This  preparation is a solution of hydrosulphate of ammonia in water,
and is formed by passing a stream of hydrosulphuric acid gas (sulphuretted
hydrogen)   through a  portion of water of ammonia, usually contained in a
Wolfe's  bottle.  The hydrosulphuric acid is generated by the action of dilute
sulphuric acid  on sulphuret of iron.  The water yields its oxygen to the
iron forming protoxide of iron, with which the  sulphuric acid combines;
while the hydrogen of the water,  uniting with the sulphur,  generates the
hydrost'nhuric acid.
  Properties.  Solution of hydrosulphate of ammonia is a liquid of a green-
ish-yellow colour, very fetid smell, and acrid, disagreeable taste.   It is cha-
racterized by giving coloured precipitates with neutral metallic solutions, for
which it is much used as a test.   It is decomposed by acids,  which cause
the escape of hydrosulphuric-acid with effervescence, and the deposition of
sulphur.   The  salt present in it appears  to be a bihydrosulphate, consisting
of two eqs.  of hydrosulphuric acid 34-2,  and one of ammonia 17-15=51*35.
  Mtdical Properties and Uses.  This  preparation acts on the system as a
sedative, lessening the action of the heart and arteries in  a remarkable de-
gree, and producing  nausea, vomiting, vertigo, and  drowsiness.  It has
been used in diabetes mellitus, in which disease it was proposed as a remedy
by Dr. Cruickshank, for the purpose of lessening the morbid appetite which
often attends that affection, and has been employed by Dr.  Rollo and others. 
828
Ammonia.
PART II.
 The dose is from five to six drops in a tumblerful of water three or four times
"a day, to be  gradually increased until giddiness is produced.  This solu-
 tion has been expunged from the U. S. and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias.  B.

   LIQUOR  AMMONITE.  U.S., Lond.   Ammonijb  Aqua.  Ed.
 Ammonia Caustics Aqua.  Dub.  Aqua  Ammonia.   Solution of
 Ammonia.    Water of Ammonia
   " Take of Muriate of Ammonia, in fine  powder, Lime, each, a pound;
 Distilled Water a pint; Water nine fluidounces. Break the Lime in pieces,
 and pour the Water upon it in an earthen or iron vessel; then cover the ves-
 sel, and set it aside till the Lime falls into powder and becomes cold.  Mix
 this thoroughly with the Muriate of Ammonia in a mortar, and immediately
 introduce the mixture into a glass retort.  Place the retort upon a sand-bath,
 and adapt to it  a receiver, previously connected, by means of a glass tube,
 with a quart bottle containing the Distilled  Wrater.   Then apply heat, to be
 gradually increased till the  bottom of the  iron vessel  containing the sand
 becomes red-hot; and continue the process so long as ammonia comes over.
 Remove the liquor contained in the quart bottle, and for every fluidounce of
 it add three and a half fluidrachms of Distilled Water,  or so much as may
 be  necessary to raise its  specific gravity to 0*96.   Keep  the solution in
 small bottles well stopped.
   " Solution of Ammonia may  also be prepared by mixing  one part, by
 measure, of  Stronger Solution  of Ammonia with  two parts  of  Distilled
 Water." U.S.
   " Take of Hydrochlorate [Muriate] of Ammonia ten  ounces; Lime eight
 ounces; Water two pints [Imperial  measure].   Put the Lime slaked with
 Water into a retort;  then add  the Hydrochlorate of Ammonia broken into
 small pieces, and the remainder of  the Water.  Distil fifteen fluidounces
 [Imp. meas.] of Solution  of Ammonia." Lond.   The specific gravity of
 this Solution is 0-960.
   "Take of Muriate of Ammonia, in powder, three parts;  Lime, recently
 burnt, two parts; Water ten parts. Pour one part of the Water, previously
 heated,  on the  Lime, placed in  an earthen vessel,  and cover it.   Dissolve
 the salt in the  remainder of the Water, also heated.   When  the  lime has
 fallen into  powder and become  cool, put it into a retort, and add to it the
 saline solution also cold.   Then distil five  parts with a medium heat into
 a refrigerated receiver. The specific gravity of this Solution is 0-950." Dub.
   The  Edinburgh  process includes the formation of Liquor Ammoniee
 Fortior  and this preparation at one operation. The process has been quoted
 at length and explained at page 82. (See Liquor Ammoniae Fortior.)  The
 Liquor Ammoniae of this College is directed to have the sp. gr. 0-960.
   The object of the above processes  is to obtain a weak aqueous solution of
 the alkaline gas ammonia.  The muriate of ammonia is decomposed by the
 superior affinity of the lime for  its acid, ammonia  is  disengaged, and the
 lime, combining with the acid, forms chloride of calcium and  water.  The
 ammonia is either evolved from the dry materials and passed into water, by
 which it is absorbed,  as in the U.S.  and Edinburgh processes, or distilled
 over in connexion with water,  as directed by the London and Dublin Col-
 leges.   The lime is  slaked  to render it pulverulent, in which  state it acts
 more  readily on  the  muriate of ammonia.  The receiver directed in the
 United  States  process is intended to retain any water  holding  in solution
 undecomposed muriate, or the oily matter sometimes contained in this salt, as
 well as other impurities, which may be driven over by  the heat; while the
 pure gas passes forward through the  glass tube into the bottle containing the 
PART II.
Ammonia.
829
distilled water, which  should not more than half fill it, on account of the
increase of bulk which it acquires during the absorption of the gas.   The
tube should continue down to near the bottom of the bottle, and pass through
a cork, loosely fitting its mouth.  To prevent the regurgitation of the  water
from the bottle into the receiver, the latter should be furnished with a Wel-
ter's tube of safety.  Large  bottles are  improper for keeping the water of
ammonia obtained; as, when they are partially empty, the atmospheric air
contained within them  is apt to furnish a little carbonic acid to the ammonia.
   In the process  of the London Pharmacopoeia, which was  very  much
changed in the revision of 1836, a given measure of water of ammonia is dis-
tilled over from the materials employed.  The muriate of ammonia, instead
of being pulverized, is directed to be broken into  small pieces,  in  order to
avoid the loss of gas which the  powdered form of the salt is apt to occasion
from the too sudden extrication of the ammonia.   The  present is a decided
improvement on the last London process.   Time  is saved in conducting it,
the boiling of part of the water is omitted, straining the mixed  solution is
dispensed with, and a larger  proportional amount of water of ammonia
is obtained from the materials.   By the old process  Mr. Phillips states  that
"at least fifty measures of a mixed solution of ammonia and chloride of cal-
cium were subjected to distillation in order to procure twelve  measures of
product.  In the present Pharmacopoeia the  same quantity is  obtained by
heating only thirty-two measures of the mixed solution."
   The general plan of  the Dublin process is the same as that of the London.
The differences consist in heating the portions of water intended to slake the
lime and dissolve the muriate, and in adding  the  saline solution instead of
the solid salt to the lime.   Dr. Barker objects to the Dublin formula that the
ammonia is apt to be generated  in the retort faster than the water present can
take it up,  which  circumstance causes  a loss.  He, therefore, believes it
would be an improvement to direct that  part of  the water should be placed
in the receiver. Another objection to the formula is the use of heated water;
for cold water will readily slake  lime,  and dissolve powdered muriate of
ammonia.
   The proportion  of lime varies in the different formulae. The equivalent
proportions are 5357 of salt and  28*5 of lime, a quantity of  the latter only
a little more than half the weight of the former.  By comparing these num-
bers with those expressing the proportions of the ingredients employed, it will
be seen that all the Pharmacopoeias use an excess of lime, the excess being
leastin the Dublin.  The earth  is  most in excess in the U. S. and Edinburgh
processes, where equal parts are used, and Mr. Phillips alleges that its bulk is
an inconvenience by requiring large vessels; but Dr.  Hope contends that the
excess of lime is useful by accelerating the disengagement of the ammonia,
and  by rendering  a less  elevated temperature necessary. The excess of
lime, to the extent directed  by  the Dublin College, is stated by Dr. Barker
to be necessary to compensate for the  impurities in ordinary lime.   The
use of no more  lime than is absolutely required  to produce complete de-
composition,  has the incidental  advantage of rendering the residual solution
of chloride of calcium  less impure; an  object of some importance where it
is reserved for purification, as is done by the Dublin College.
  The three Pharmacopoeias  which include  Liquor  Ammoniae  Fortior
(U.S., London, and Edinburgh) give directions for its dilution  so as to
bring it to the strength  of Liquor Ammoniae.   This is effected  by mixing
one measure of the stronger preparation with two measures of distilled water,
(U. S., Lond.,) or with two and a half measures (Ed.).   By dilution to this
extent the stronger solution is brought uniformly to the sp. gr. of 0-960; the
      71 
830
Ammonia.
PART II.
Edinburgh solution requiring more water, because more concentrated. (See
page 83.)
  Properties.  The properties of " Stronger Solution of Ammonia" have
already been indicated.  (See Liquor Ammoniae Fortior.)  Those of the
officinal solution of ammonia, described in this place, are the same in kind,
but weaker in degree.  Its sp.  gr. in  the U. S.,  London, and  Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeias  is  the same, 0 960;  in the  Dublin, 0*950.  When of the
density 0*960, 100 grains of it saturate  30 grains  of officinal sulphuric
acid.  It is incompatible with acids, and with acidulous and most earthy and
metallic salts; but it does not decompose the salts of lime, baryta, or strontia,
and those of magnesia only  partially.  If precipitated by lime-water, the
ammonia is partly carbonated.   When saturated with nitric acid it should
give no precipitate with carbonate of ammonia or nitrate of silver.   A pre-
cipitate with the former shows earthy matter; with the latter, muriatic acid
or a chloride.
   Composition.  Water is capable of absorbing  670 times its volume of
ammoniacal gas  at 50°, and increases  its  bulk about two-thirds.  But the
officinal solution of ammonia is by no means a saturated one.  Thus  the am-
monia contained in the U. S.,  London, and  Edinburgh preparation is about 10
per cent.; in the Dublin, about 12| per cent.  For the percentage of ammonia
in the Liquor Ammoniae Fortior, see that title.   The following table, con-
structed by Sir H. Davy, gives the percentage of ammoniacal gas in aqueous
solutions of different specific gravities.
Specific	Ammonia	Specific	Ammonia	Specific	Ammonia
Gravity.	per cent.	Gravity.	per cent.	Gravity.	per cent.
0-8750	3-2-50	0-9326	17-52	0-9545	11-56
08875	29-25	0-9385	1588	0 9573	10-62
0-9000	26-00	09435	14 53	0-9597	10-17
0-9054	25-37	0-947£	1346	0-9619	9 60
0-9166	22 07	0-9513	12-40	0 9692	950
09255	19-54				
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Solution of ammonia, usually called water
of ammonia, is stimulant, sudorific, antacid, and rubefacient.  It stimulates
more particularly the heart and arteries, without unduly exciting the brain.
It is rarely used internally, other ammoniacal  preparations being preferred,
the dose of which is larger and more easily  managed.  As a stimulant, it is
occasionally employed in paralysis, hysteria, syncope, asphyxia, and similar
affections,  with a view to rouse the vital powers.  In the same complaints
it is often applied to the nostrils with advantage. As an antacid, it is one of
the best remedies in heartburn, and for the relief of sick headache when de-
pendent on acidity of stomach. In these cases it acts usefully also by stimu-
lating the stomach.  Externally applied,  it  may be made to act  either as a
rubefacient or vesicant.  As a rubefacient it is employed united with oil in the
form of volatile liniment. (See Linimentum Ammoniae.)  As a vesicant it
is applied  by means of a piece of linen wet with it.  As such  it has the
advantages over cantharides of acting more speedily, and of not affecting
the  urinary  organs.  (See Liquor Ammoniae Fortior, and Linimentum
Ammonias Compositum.)  The dose is  from ten to thirty drops, largely
diluted  with  water to prevent its  caustic effect on the mouth and throat.
When swallowed in an over-dose, its  effects are those of a corrosive poison.
The best antidotes are vinegar and lemon-juice, which act by neutralizing the 
PART II.
Ammonia.
831
 ammonia,  and must be promptly applied to be useful.  The consecutive
 inflammation must be treated on general principles.
   Pharm. Uses.  To prepare Aconitina, Lond.; Calcis Phosphas Pracipi-
 tatum,  Dub.;  Ferri Oxidum Hydratum,  U.S.; Morphia,  U.S., Lond-
 Morphiae Acetas, Ed.; Morphia? Hydrochloras, Lond.; Quiniae Disulphas'
 Lond.; Strychnia, U. S., Lond.; Veratria, U. S., Lond., Ed.
   Off. Prep.  Ammoniae Hydrosulphuretum, Dub.; Hydrargyrum Ammo-
 niatum,  U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.; Linimentum Ammoniae, U. S., Lond.,
 Ed., Dub.; Linimentum  Camphorae  Compositum, Lond.,  Dub.;  Lini-
 mentum Hydrargyri Compositum, Lond.                           B.

   LIQUOR  AMMONIA .ACETATIS. U.S., Lond.   Ammonia
 Acetatis Aqua. Ed, Dub.  Spiritus Mindereri.   Solution of
 Acetate of Ammonia.   Spirit of Minder er us.
   " Take  of Diluted Acetic Acid two pints; Carbonate of Ammonia,  in
 powder, a  sufficient quantity.   Add the Carbonate  of Ammonia gradually
 to the Acid until it is saturated." U. S.
   " Take  of Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia four ounces and  a half,  or as
 much as may be sufficient; Distilled Yinegar four pints [Imperial measure].
 Add the Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia to the Vinegar to saturation." Lond.
   " Take of Distilled Vinegar (from French Vinegar in preference) twenty-
four fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Carbonate of Ammonia an ounce.
 Mix them and dissolve the  salt.   If the solution has any bitterness, add by
 degrees a little  Distilled Vinegar till that taste be removed.   The density of
 the Distilled Vinegar should  be  1-005, and that of the Aqua Acetatis Am-
 moniae 1*011." Ed.
   " Take of Carbonate of Ammonia one part.  Add gradually, and with
 frequent agitation,  as much warm Distilled Vinegar as may be necessary to
 saturate the ammonia,  namely, about thirty parts.   The saturation  may
 be ascertained by means of litmus." Dub.
   This preparation is an aqueous solution of acetate of ammonia.  The pro-
 cess by which it is formed constitutes a case of single elective affinity.  The
 acetic acid  decomposes the  carbonate, combines with the ammonia, forming
 the acetate  of ammonia, and disengages the  carbonic acid with effervescence.
 The  British Colleges  employ  distilled  vinegar, while,  according to the
 United States Pharmacopoeia, the saturation is effected with a pure acetic
 acid, diluted to a  determinate extent with distilled  water.  (See  Acidum
 Aceticum Dilutum.)   The use of the acid in the latter  form  is a decided
 improvement; for besides furnishing the solution of  the acetate of uniform
 strength, a  result which cannot be attained by the employment of distilled
 vinegar, unless it be carefully brought to a given density, it avoids the pro-
 duction  of a brownish solution, which uniformly follows the use of the latter,
 especially when it  has been condensed in a metallic  worm.  The quantity
 of carbonate of ammonia necessary to saturate a given weight of the acid of
 average  strength, cannot be  laid down with  precision, on  account of the
variable quality of this salt.   The preparation, when made with the diluted
acetic acid  of the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia, contains 6 per cent, of acetate of
ammonia.  The addition of the salt to the acid, as directed in the U. S. and
London  Pharmacopoeias, is more convenient than the contrary order; as the
point of saturation  is thus more  easily attained.   This point is best ascer-
tained by the alternate use  of turmeric and litmus paper;  and  it is a  good
rule to allow rather a slight  acidity to prevail, which will be due to carbonic
acid dissolved  in the liquid, and will  disappear as soon as this acid is dis-
sipated by time. 
832
Ammonia.
part ir.
  Properties.  Solution of acetate of ammonia, when made of pure mate-
rials, is a limpid  and colourless liquid.   Its taste is  saline and resembles
that of a mixture of nitre and sugar.   If it contain an excess of alkali, its
taste is bitterish.   It should not be made in large quantities at a time, as its
acid becomes decomposed, and a portion of carbonate of ammonia is gene-
rated.  As formerly prepared, under the name of spiritus Mindereri, it was
made from the impure carbonate of ammonia, containing animal oil, which
modified the preparation  by giving rise to a portion  of ammoniacal soap.
When  pure it is not coloured by hydrosulphuric acid, nor precipitated by
nitrate  of silver or chloride of  barium.   When evaporated to  dryness, the
residue  is wholly dissipated by heat, with the smell of ammonia.   It is
incompatible with acids, the fixed alkalies and their carbonates, lime-water,
magnesia, sulphate of magnesia, corrosive sublimate, the sulphates of  iron,
copper, and zinc, and nitrate  of silver.   When it contains free carbonic  acid,
it produces with the acetate or subacetate of lead, a precipitate of carbonate
of lead, which being mistaken for  the  sulphate,  has  sometimes led to the
erroneous conclusion that sulphuric acid was present in the distilled  vinegar,
when this has been employed.  Acetate of ammonia,  the salt in solution in
this preparation, is difficultly crystallizable, and very deliquescent.   It may
be obtained  by sublimation from a mixture of equal parts of dry acetate of
potassa or of lime, and muriate of ammonia. It consists of one eq. of acetic
acid 51*48, and one of ammonia 17*15=68-63.   When crystallized it con-
tains seven eqs. of water 63.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Solution of acetate of ammonia is a valu-
able diaphoretic, much employed in febrile and inflammatory diseases.  Ac-
cording to the indications to be answered by its use, it is variously combined
with nitre and antimonials, camphor and opium.  If,  instead of promoting
its determination to the skin by external warmth, the patient walk about in
a cool air, its action will be directed to the kidneys.   It is sometimes used
externally as a discutient.  Mr. Brande speaks of it  as an excellent appli-
cation in mumps, applied hot upon a piece of flannel.   Mixed in the quan-
tity  of  a fluidounce with seven  fluidounces of rose-water, and two  flui-
drachms of  laudanum, it forms a useful collyrium in chronic ophthalmia.
Dr. A.  T.  Thomson has used it as  a lotion with good effect in porrigo
affecting the scalp.   The dose is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce and
a half,  every three or four  hours, mixed with water and sweetened with
sugar.   It  proves sometimes  very grateful to febrile patients, when  pre-
scribed  with an equal measure of carbonic acid water.               B.

  SPIRITUS AMMONLE.  U.S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.   Spirit of
Ammonia.
  " Take of Muriate of Ammonia, in fine powder, Lime, each, a pound;
Alcohol twenty fluidounces;  Water nine fluidounces. Slake  the lime with
the Water, mix it with the Muriate of Ammonia, and proceed in the man-
ner directed  for  Solution of Ammonia, the Alcohol being introduced  into
the quart bottle instead of Distilled Water.  When all  the ammonia has
come over, remove the liquor contained in the quart bottle, and keep it in
small bottles well stopped."  U. S.
  " Take of Rectified Spirit two pints  [Imperial measure];  fresh-burnt
Lime twelve ounces [a pound]; Muriate of Ammonia, in very fine powder,
eight ounces; Water six fluidounces and a half [imp. meas.].   Let  the
Lime be slaked with the  Water in an iron or earthenware vessel, and cover
the vessel till the  powder be cold, mix the Lime and Muriate of Ammonia
quickly and thoroughly in a mortar, and transfer the mixture at once into a 
PART II.
Ammonia.
833
glass retort;  adapt to the retort a tube which passes nearly to the bottom of
a bottle containing- the Rectified Spirit; heat the retort in a sand-bath gra-
dually, so long as any thing passes over, preserving the  bottle  cool.   The
bottle should  be large enough  to  contain  one-half more than the  spirit
used." Ed.
  " Take of Hydrochlorate [Muriate] of Ammonia ten ounces; Carbonate
of Potassa sixteen ounces;  Rectified Spirit, Water, each, three pints [Im-
perial measure].  Mix them, and distil three pints [Imp. meas.]."  Lond.
  "Take of Rectified Spirit three pints;  Carbonate of Ammonia, coarsely
powdered, three ounces and a half.  Mix them, and dissolve the salt with
a medium heat;  then filter the solution."  Dub.
  The spirit of ammonia of the  U.  S. and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias is  a
solution of ammonia in rectified spirit; that of the London and Dublin Col-
leges, a solution  of monoearbonate of ammonia in the  same menstruum.
The proportions of the  ingredients of the  United Stales formula are so
adjusted as to  give a preparation, containing between  10 and 11 per cent, of
ammonia, and capable of saturating  about 30 per cent, of officinal sulphuric
acid.   Accordingly, it  agrees, as it was intended it should, in ammoniacal
strength with  the U.S. Liquor Ammoniae.  Its sp.  gr. is 0*831, or there-
abouts.   The Edinburgh spirit may be roughly estimated to  be less than
one-third  as strong as that of the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia; for the ammonia
extricated from the same  quantity of muriate  of ammonia, is passed into
three times  as much rectified spirit.   The density of the  Edinburgh  spirit
of ammonia is "about 0-845."   As rectified spirit becomes lighter by the
absorption of  ammoniacal gas, it is  evident that the alcoholic menstruum
gains water  as well as ammonia  in the distillation.  This addition of  water
to the product is prevented by the intermediate receiver, used in the  U. S.
process, and consequently the spirit  of ammonia obtained has a less specific
gravity than that of rectified spirit.   In the London  process a  double de-
composition takes place between the muriate of ammonia and  carbonate of
potassa, resulting in the formation of the monoearbonate of ammonia which
distils  over  with the spirit, and chloride  of  potassium which remains
behind in solution.  This process is somewhat wasteful, as part of the car-
bonate formed remains undissolved in the receiver, in  an  imperfectly crys-
talline state, the  spirit not  being capable of dissolving  the whole  which
comes over.   The Dublin process consists in merely dissolving the offici-
nal carbonate  in heated rectified  spirit.  The officinal carbonate is  a ses-
quicarbonate;  and during its solution in the spirit, just  so much carbonic
acid  is disengaged  with  effervescence,  as  to  convert it into monoearbo-
nate, of which thirty grains dissolve in each fluidounce.   The  spirit thus
obtained, therefore,  contains the  ammonia, carbonated to  the same extent in
which it exists in the London preparation.
  Properties.   The U. S.  spirit of  ammonia, formerly called ammoniated
alcohol, is a transparent colourless liquid, having a strong ammoniacal odour,
and acrid taste. When good it does not effervesce with diluted muriatic acid;
but  if old or  carelessly kept, it  is apt to be partially  carbonated, as shown
by this test.    It, however,  absorbs carbonic acid more slowly than Liquor
Ammoniae.  The Edinburgh preparation has similar properties with those
above given.  The London and Dublin  spirits have a weaker odour  of
ammonia.   The former has the officinal density 0-860.   Both effervesce
with acids.  Though carbonated, they are more pungent and alkaline than
if they contained the sesquicarbonate; as the ammonia present in them  is
combined with one-third less of carbonic acid.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Spirit of ammonia is stimulant and anti-
                                 71* 
834
Ammonia.
PART II.
spasmodic, and is given in hysteria, flatulent colic, and nervous debility.
It is, however, not much used;  the aromatic spirit, which  is pleasanter and
has similar properties, being preferred.  The dose of the U. S. preparation
is from ten to thirty drops in a wineglassful of water;  of the Edinburgh,
somewhat larger.   The  dose of the carbonated spirit is still larger—from
thirty drops to  a teaspoonful, properly diluted.  All these spirits dissolve
resins, gum-resins, camphor, and the volatile oils;  but the caustic are more
active solvents than the carbonated preparations.   The Edinburgh College
use their spirit for making the  aromatic and fetid  spirits of ammonia, and
the ammoniated tinctures, as is seen by the list subjoined.
   Off. Prep.   Spiritus Ammoniae  Aromaticus, Ed.;  Spiritus Ammonias
Foetidus, Ed.; Tinctura Castorei Ammoniata,  Ed.; Tinct. Guaiaci Ammo-
niata, Ed.;  Tinct.  Opii Ammoniata, Ed.;  Tinct. Valerianae Ammoniata,
Ed., Dub.                                                       B.
   SPIRITUS AMMONIA AROMATICUS, U. S, Lond., Ed.,
Dub.  Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia.
   " Take of Muriate of Ammonia^ue ounces; Carbonate  of Potassa eight
ounces; Cinnamon, bruised, Cloves, bruised,  each, two drachms; Lemon
Peel four ounces; Alcohol, Water, each, five pints.  Mix them and distil
seven pints and a half."  U. S.
   The London formula is the original  of the above, and, therefore, need
not be given.
   " Take of Spirit of Ammonia eight fluidounces; Volatile Oil of Lemon
Peel a fluidrachm;  Volatile Oil of Rosemary a fluidrachm and a half.
Dissolve the Oils in the Spirit by agitation." Ed.
   " Take of Spirit of Ammonia two pints; Essential  Oil of Lemons two
drachms;  Nutmegs, bruised,  half an  ounce; Cinnamon Bark, bruised,
three drachms.  Macerate in a covered vessel for three days, shaking occa-
sionally; then distil a pint and a half."  Dub.
   The London and U. S. aromatic spirit of ammonia is made oh the same
plan as the London carbonated simple spirit; namely, by impregnating the
menstruum with monoearbonate of ammonia, formed by double decomposi-
tion between muriate of ammonia and carbonate of potassa.  Thus the product
is  a spirituous solution of the monoearbonate,  impregnated with aromatics.
From the relation between the muriate of ammonia and the quantity of liquid
distilled, it will be found that this aromatic  spirit is only one-fourth as ammo-
niated as the corresponding simple spirit. This aromatic spirit is also weaker
in the density of the alcohol present in it; for, while in the corresponding sim-
ple spirit the distilled product is just equal to  the rectified spirit employed,
in the aromatic spirit it is half as much again; the proportional excess being
water. Hence it is that the aromatic spirit  of this process is so much heavier
than the  corresponding simple spirit; the former having the specific gravity
0-914, the latter 0-860, as determined by the London College.  The aromatic
spirit of  the Edinburgh College is  a mere  solution  of certain volatile oils
in the caustic, simple spirit of that College.  The  omission to distil is a de-
fect in this process; for if the volatile oils  contain impurity, the preparation
will be coloured and turbid.  The Dublin College make the preparation by
distilling their carbonated simple spirit with the aromatics.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.  Aromatic spirit of ammonia is fitted to
fulfil the same indications as the simple spirit; but is much more used, on
account of its grateful taste and smell.   It is advantageously employed as  a
stimulant antacid in sick headache.   The  dose is from twenty to sixty drops
or more, sufficiently diluted with water. This spirit is compatible with sul- 
PART II.
Ammonia.—Antimonium.
835
phate of magnesia, and may be usefully added  to aperient draughts of that
salt, to render them less offensive to the stomach.
   Off\ Prep. Tinctura Colchici Composita, Lond.; Tinct. Guaiaci Ammo-
niata, U. S., Dub., Lond.; Tinct. Valerianae Ammoniata, U. S., Lond.  B.
   SPIRITUS AMMONIiE FOZTIDUS.   Lond., Ed., Dub. Fetid
Spirit of Ammonia.
   "Take  of Hydrochlorate [Muriate] of  Ammonia ten ounces; Carbonate"
of Potassa sixteen ounces; Rectified Spirit, Water, each, three pints [Im-
perial measure]; Assafetida five ounces.   Mix  them;  then  with a slow fire
distil three pints." Lond.
   " Take of Spirit of Ammonia ten fluidounces and a half [Imp. meas.];
Assafetida half an ounce.  Break the Assafetida into small fragments,  di-
gest it in the  Spirit for twelve hours, and  distil over ten  fluidounces and a
half by means of a vapour-bath heat." Ed.
   " Take of Spirit of Ammonia  two pints;  Assafetida an ounce and a
quarter.   Macerate in a close  vessel for three  days, shaking occasionally;
then pour off the clear liquor, and distil a pint and a half." Dub.
   This preparation differs from spirit of ammonia only  in containing a
small proportion of the volatile oil of assafetida, which has little other effect
than  to communicate  an unpleasant odour and  taste to the spirit.   It  is
colourless at first, but becomes brownish with age.   It is given in hysteria
in doses of from thirty drops to a fluidrachm.                       W.

                         ANTIMONIUM.

                    Preparations of Antimony.

   ANTIMONII OXIDUM. Ed.   Oxide of Antimony.   Sesqui-
oxide of Antimony.
   "Take of  Sulphuret of Antimony, in fine powder,four ounces; Muri-
atic Acid  (commercial) a pint [Imperial measure];  Water five pints [Imp.
meas.].  Dissolve the Sulphuret in the Acid with the aid of a gentle heat;
boil for half an hour; filter; pour the fluid into the Water; collect  the preci-
pitate on a calico filter; wash it well with cold water, then with a weak
solution of Carbonate of Soda, and again with cold water till the water ceases
to affect reddened litmus paper. Dry the powder over the vapour bath." Ed.
   This is a new officinal of the Edinburgh College.  It is formed precisely
on the same principles as the powder of Algaroth, described in  the next
article.   As the object of the process is to obtain a pure oxide, the precipi-
tate is washed with a weak solution of carbonate of soda to remove sesqui-
chloride, and afterwards with water to separate any remains of alkali.  The
soda removes the sesquichloride, by forming with it sesquioxide of anti-
mony and chloride of  sodium.  Sesquioxide of antimony is  a snow-white
heavy powder, permanent in the air, insoluble in water, but readily solu-
ble in muriatic or  tartaric acid, or in a boiling solution of bitartrate of po-
tassa.  When heated  in close vessels, it becomes yellow, fuses at a full red
heat, and finally sublimes in crystalline  needles.   When cooled from a
state of fusion, it forms a fibrous crystalline mass. Heated in open vessels,
it suddenly becomes  red-hot,  and,  by the absorption of oxygen, changes
into antimonious acid, which differs from the oxide in  being insoluble  in
muriatic acid, less fusible, and not volatile.  This oxide is  the active ingre-
dient of all the medicinal preparations of antimony.  It is frequently impure
from containing  antimonious  acid, in which  case it will not  be entirely
soluble in muriatic acid.   When antimonious acid is  substituted  for it,  the
fraud njay be detected by the spurious preparation  being entirely insoluble 
836
Antimonium.
PART II.
in muriatic acid.   It consists of two eqs. of antimony and three of oxygen
(2Sb + 30).
   Medical Properties.   This oxide possesses the general therapeutic pro-
perties of the antimonials.  It deserves more attention  than has been paid
to it, and its effects, comparatively  with  tartar emetic, should be carefully
studied.  It is probable that its sedative operation would be found the same,
with less nausea and disturbance  of the stomach.  Unfortunately, like anti-
monial powder, it is very unequal in its effects.   The dose is from three to
ten grains, repeated every two or three hours, and given in powder with
syrup or molasses, or in  pill made up with confection of roses.       B.
   ANTIMONII  OXYDUM NITROMURIATICUM.  Dub.   Ni-
tromuriatic Oxide of Antimony.  Powder of Algaroth.
   " Take of Prepared Sulphuret of Antimony twenty parts; Muriatic Acid
one hundred parts; Nitric Acid one part.  Add  the Sulphuret gradually to
the Acids, previously mixed in a glass vessel, avoiding  the vapours.   Di-
gest with a heat gradually increased, until the effervescence cease, and then
boil for  an hour.   Receive the cooled and  filtered liquor in  a gallon of
water.   Wash the Oxide of Antimony, after  it has subsided, repeatedly, in
a sufficiently large quantity of water, until the liquor poured off be perfectly
free from acid, as known by the test of litmus.   Lastly, dry the oxide on
bibulous paper."  Dub.
   The object of this process is to obtain the  oxychloride of antimony,
consisting of the sesquioxide and sesquichloride, and formerly  called pow-
der of Algaroth.   When sesquisulphuret of antimony is dissolved, by the
aid of  heat, in muriatic acid,  a double  decomposition takes place, resulting
in the formation  of sesquichloride  of antimony (butter  of  antimony)  and
hydrosulphuric acid (sulphuretted hydrogen), which by its evolution causes
the effervescence.  When the sesquichloride is poured into a large quantity
of water, the greater part of it is converted  into muriatic acid  and sesqui-
oxide,  the former remaining in solution with a little  of the  undecomposed
sesquichloride, the latter falling  in  union with  the remainder of it, as a
white flocculent precipitate, constituting the oxychloride of antimony, or
powder of Algaroth.  The precipitate is  washed for the purpose of freeing
it from adhering muriatic acid.  The heat should be app'ied moderately at
first, for  fear the materials  should unduly swell;  but towards the close of
the process it  should be increased, to ensure the  complete action of the acid.
The small  portion  of nitric acid  used  by the College  is  not necessary to
assist the muriatic acid in dissolving the sesquisulphuret; but it acts usefully
by decomposing any remains  of hydrosulphuric acid which may exist in
the solution, and which, by its presence, would impair the whiteness of the
oxychloride, when precipitated in the next step  of the  process  by the wa-
ter.  The employment of nitric acid, for  the purpose of giving whiteness
to the  product, originated with the late  Dr. Perceval of Dublin.   There
exists a  defect in  the  formula; inasmuch as the ingredients are taken in
parts, which are relative  quantities, while the water is directed in the abso-
lute quantity of a gallon.
  Properties.  Oxychloride of antimony  is a white powder, having a crys-
talline  appearance  if left long in contact  with the solution from which it is
precipitated.   When exposed to a red  heat,  it enters into fusion, and forms
a yellow liquid, which,  on cooling, concretes  into a grayish  crystalline
mass of  a  pearly  aspect.  It consists mainly of sesquioxide, being com-
posed of nine  eqs. of sesquioxide 1378*8 and two of sesquichloride 470*92
=1849.72. (Malaguti and Johnston.) 
PART II.
Antimonium.
837
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The powder of Algaroth  was formerly
used in medicine, but, owing to its unequal operation, has been  laid aside.
It is employed in pharmacy  in the preparation of tartar emetic, for which
purpose it is placed among the preparations of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia.
It is also applied to the same use in  the United States and Edinburgh Phar-
macopoeias, but without being recognised under a  distinct name, being
formed as the  first step of the process adopted for preparing tartar emetic in
those works.  The name given to this oxide by the Dublin College is very
exceptionable.  It is not formed on correct chemical principles; neither has
it any pharmaceutical convenience to recommend it.
   Off. Prep.  Antimonii et Potassae  Tartras,  Dub.                  B.

   ANTIMONII  ET POTASSAE  TARTRAS.  U.S.   Antimonii
et PoTASsiE Tartras sive Tartarum  Emeticum.  Dub.   Anti-
monii  PoTASSIO-TARTRAS.  Lond.  ANTIMONIUM   TARTARIZ ATUM.
Ed.   Tartrate  of Antimony  and  Potassa.   Tartarized Anti-
mony.  Tartar Emetic.
   " Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in fine powder, four ounces; Muriatic
Acid twenty-five ounces; Nitric Acid two drachms;  Water a gallon. Hav-
ing mixed  the Acids together in a glass vessel, add by degrees the Sulphu-
ret of Antimony, and digest the mixture, with a gradually increasing heat,
till effervescence ceases;  then  boil for an  hour.  Filter the liquor when  it
has become cold, and pour it into the Water.   Wash the precipitated pow-
der frequently with water, till  it is entirely freed from acid, and then dry it.
Take of this powder two ounces; Bitartrate  of Potassa, in very fine pow-
der, two ounces and a half; Distilled Water eighteen fluidounces.  Boil
the Water  in a glass vessel;  then add the powders previously mixed toge-
ther, and boil  for an hour; lastly, filter the liquor while hot, and set it aside
to crystallize.   By further evaporation, the liquor may be made to yield an
additional quantity of crystals, which should be purified by a second crys-
tallization." U.S.
   " Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in fine powder, four ounces; Muri-
atic Acid (commercial) a pint [Imperial measure]; Water five pints [Imp.
meas.].  Dissolve the Sulphuret in  the Acid with the aid of a gentle heat;
boil for half an hour;  filter;  pour the liquid into the Water; collect the pre-
cipitate on a calico filter, wash it with cold water till the  water ceases to
redden litmus paper, dry the  precipitate over the vapour-bath.   Take of
this precipitate  three ounces; Bitartrate of  Potash, four ounces and two
drachms; Water twenty-seven fluidounces [Imp. meas.].   Mix the pow-
ders, add  the  Water, boil for an hour, filter, and set  the liquid  aside to
crystallize.  The mother-liquor, when concentrated, yields more  crystals,
but not so free of colour, and, therefore, requiring a second crystallization."
Ed.
   " Take  of  Nitromuriatic  Oxide  of Antimony/owr parts; Bitartrate of
Potassa, in very fine powder, five parts; Distilled Water thirty four parts.
Boil the Water in a glass vessel; then gradually throw into it  the Oxide and
Bitartrate of Potassa, previously mixed, and boil for half an hour; then filter
the liquor through paper, and crystallize by slow cooling."  Dub.
   " Take of Sesquisulphuret of Antimony, rubbed  to powder,  Nitrate of
Potassa, powdered,  each, two pounds; Bitartrate of Potassa,  powdered,
fourteen ounces; Hydrochloric [Muriatic] Acid four fluidounces [Imperial
measure]; Distilled Water a  gallon [Imp. meas.].  Mix the Sesquisulphuret
of Antimony, accurately, with the Nitrate of Potassa; the Hydrochloric Acid
being then  added, and the powder spread upon an iron plate, ignite it. Rub 
838
Antimonium.
PART II.
what remains, when it is cold, to very fine powder, and wash it frequently
with boiling water until it is free from taste.   Mix the powder thus prepared
with the Bitartrate of Potassa, and boil for half an hour in a gallon of Distilled
Water.   Strain the liquor while yet hot,  and set it aside that crystals may
form.   These being removed and  dried, let the liquor again evaporate that
it may yield crystals."  Lond.
  This preparation is a double salt, consisting of tartrate of potassa, united
with tartrate of the sesquioxide of antimony.  The principle of its  forma-
tion is exceedingly simple, being merely the saturation  of the excess of acid
in the bitartrate (cream of tartar) with sesquioxide of antimony.  The offi-
cinal processes all consist in  boiling a mixture of cream of tartar and some
form of sesquioxide with water.  The U. S., Edinburgh, and  Dublin Phar-
macopoeias now all agree in using the form of sesquioxide called oxychloride
of antimony, or powder of  Algaroth,  which  is officinal  under a distinct
name only in  the Dublin  Pharmacopoeia, where it is  called  nitromuriatic
oxide of antimony.  (See  Antimonii Oxydum Nitromuriaticum, under
which title it is described.)   In the U.  S. and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias,
the same substance is formed as the first step of the tartar emetic process.
The  London College employs for making tartar emetic, the crocus of and-
mony.  This substance was  used for  the same  purpose in the former Edin-
burgh Pharmacopoeia; but upon the last revision of that work, the oxychlo-
ride was judiciously substituted for it.
  The Pharmacopoeias which use the oxychloride, agree in the same general
plan of making it.  The sesquisulphuret of antimony is dissolved in from five
to six times its weight of muriatic  acid; assisted by a hundredth of nitric
acid in the U. S. and Dublin  formulas,  but without this acid in the Edin-
burgh.  The solution  is thrown into a large quantity of  water, equal to
about 25 or 30  times the weight of the sulphuret  employed,  and the oxy-
chloride is precipitated.  This is mixed with from  one and  a quarter to
about one and a half times its weight of  cream of tartar,  and boiled from
half an  hour to an hour, with about eight times its weight of distilled water;
and the liquor obtained is filtered while  hot and set aside to crystallize.  By
further evaporation the mother-liquor may be made to yield a second crop
of crystals, which, not being  free  from colour, must be purified by a second
crystallization.   When no more crystals can be obtained, the liquor which
is left contains, according  to Knapp, a gummy salt which consists of tar-
trate of potassa, united to the tertartrate of sesquioxide of antimony.   If
this liquor be boiled with a fresh portion of oxychloride, as long as this is
taken up,  it will furnish an additional quantity  of  crystals of tartar emetic;
and,  finally, if the new mother-liquor be saturated with  carbonate of potassa,
it will furnish a fresh portion of the antimonial salt, after which the liquor is
entirely exhausted. (Journ.  de Pharm.  xxvi. 136, from the Annal. der
Pharm.)   The oxychloride,  as  its name imports,  contains  a  portion  of
sesquichloride.   This is decomposed during the boiling, by means of the
elements of water, into sesquioxide, which  goes to form the tartar emetic,
and muriatic acid which serves to hold in solution iron and other metallic
impurities, which otherwise would fall and contaminate the crystals.  Hence
it is that the pure sesquioxide is not so well  fitted for making tartar emetic
as the oxychloride, in which the oxide is usefully associated with some ses-
quichloride.
  In the London formula, the crocus is  not prepared by a separate formula,
but formed in the first part of the process.  It is generated during the defla-
gration  of equal  weights of sesquisulphuret of antimony,  and nitrate  of
potassa.  The nitric acid of the  nitre is  decomposed, nitrogen and nitric 
PART II.
Antimonium.
839
oxide being  given  off, and by furnishing oxygen to part of the sesquisul-
phuret, converts its constituents into sulphuric acid and sesquioxide of anti-
mony.  The sulphuric acid then combines  with the potassa of the nitre, to
form  sulphate of potassa; while the  sesquioxide  unites or  mixes with the
undecomposed portion of the sesquisulphuret to constitute the crocus.  From
its constituents, therefore, the  crocus may be called  an oxysulphuret of
antimony; but its composition is not uniform.  The London formula is pecu-
liar in directing the addition to the materials for deflagration, of a portion of
muriatic  acid, the  object of which is to neutralize some free potassa,  and
either to  prevent the  formation of a portion of sulphuret of potassium, or
immediately to decompose it, if formed, with the result of forming chloride
of potassium. (Phillips.)  The product of the deflagration is reduced to a very
fine powder, and washed to remove the sulphate of  potassa and chloride of
potassium.  The old plan of  fusing  this  product,  before reducing it to
powder, is very properly avoided; as the fused crocus, from the difficulty of
making it fine, is not readily soluble in the bitartrate of potassa.  Crocus of
antimony, as obtained by this process, is in the  form of a saffron-brown pow-
der, and contains only about f ths of its weight of sesquioxide, the rest being
sesquisulphuret, which is not available in the process, for forming the tartar
emetic. By  an approximate calculation, it may  be assumed, from the quanti-
ties of sesquisulphuret of antimony and  nitre  taken in the  formula, that 9
ounces of the washed crocus will be obtained, which is boiled with a little
more than one and half times its weight of cream of tartar, and the solution
filtered while hot.   On the supposition that 9 ounces of crocus are formed,
the quantity of  water directed is  large, being  about 16 times the weight of
the former.   This amount may be necessary on account of the large pro-
portion of insoluble sesquisulphuret of antimony present in the crocus.
   Having given a sketch of the several officinal formulas,  and of  the pro-
 portions employed, it maybe useful to present them in a tabular form. The
 sesquioxide is reduced to a common quantity,  and the measures of  water in
 the U. S., London, and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias are converted  into the
 nearest corresponding weights.
1 AUTHORITY.	Form of Sesquioxide employed.	Proportion Proportion of of Cream of Sesquioxide. | Tartar.		Proportion of Water.
U. S. Pharm. Dublin do. ftdinb. do, London do.	Oxychloride. " Do. Do. Crocus.	4 4 4 4	5 5 5-7 6-2	34 34 33 65
  It is seen by the table that the proportions of the U. S. and Dublin Phar-
macopoeias are  identical.   The proportion of  cream of tartar increases,
somewhat, in the Edinburgh formula, and still more in  the  London.   It
must be admitted, however, that  the  quantity of crocus  generated by the
London process  is not precisely  known,  and may have been  under-esti-
mated.  If so, the proportion of cream of tartar is given at too high a num-
ber.
  In judging of the relative eligibility of these processes, several circum-
stances are to be taken into view.   The cream  of tartar should not be  in
excess;  as in that case  it is apt to crystallize upon cooling with the tartar
emetic formed.  To avoid such a result it is better to have a slight excess of
antimonial oxide; and we are assured  by Dr. Barker that the proportion  of 
840
Antimonium.
PART II.
 4 of oxide to 5 of cream of tartar (U. S. and Dublin proportion) furnishes
 such an excess.   According to Dr. Christison, however, the excess is  too
 great; for upon making the experiment he found that there was  a slight
 excess of antimonial oxide, even when using the larger proportion of cream
 of tartar directed in the  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.   No rule is applicable
 to the determination of the proper proportion of water, except that it should
 be sufficient to dissolve the tartar emetic formed.  The London Pharma-
 copoeia employs a large quantity, and the probable reason why it is neces-
 sary has been suggested.  The hot filtration directed may be conveniently
 performed by means of the tin apparatus, devised by Dr. Hare for  filtering
 liquors  at the point of ebullition.  (See page 757 for a figure of this appa-
 ratus.)   The U. S. and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias boil  for an hour; the
 London and Dublin, for half an  hour.   In all  cases  the salt should  be
 obtained in well  defined crystals, unmixed with those of  cream of tartar,
 as  the  best  index of its  purity.   The practice  of some  manufacturing
 chemists, of boiling the filtered liquor to  dryness, whereby an impure mass
 is obtained, consisting in  part only of the  antimonial salt, is  very repre-
 hensible.
   The London College formerly used the glass of antimony for making tar-
 tar emetic, but have very properly laid it aside, on account of the difficulty
 of procuring it, and its liability  to be  mixed with glass of lead.   On the
 last revision  of their Pharmacopoeia, they  substituted the crocus,  using a
 process which is  characterized  by Mr.  Phillips  as economical and easy
 of execution.  Its economy,  compared  with the Edinburgh oxychloride
 process, is called in question by Dr. Christison, who tries it by the test  of
 the relation of the cream of  tartar expended to the sesquisulphuret employed.
 But here Dr. Christison has inadvertently made a miscalculation in assuming
 that 4 to 4| is in the proportion of 100 to 125.  The true ratio between the
 sesquisulphuret and cream of tartar in the Edinburgh formula is  as the
 numbers 100 to 106;  while the ratio  of the same substances in the London
 process is as 100 to 58.  Thus,  with the same expenditure of sesquisul-
 phuret,  the London College uses less cream of tartar, and consequently
 obtains less tartar emetic.   But in  making this comparison, the cost of all
 the materials  must be  taken into  consideration; and if the  London College
 uses a portion of nitre, and nearly twice as  much sesquisulphuret  as the
 Edinburgh College; on the other hand, it must be recollected that the latter
 College uses  nearly 17 times  as much muriatic acid as the former. Though
 the use  of the crocus may not be objectionable on the score of expense, yet
we think that the London College  would have made a better choice,  if they
had substituted for the glass,  the oxychloride rather than the crocus. The
 preference  is given to  the oxychloride by  Berzelius; and M. Henry, an
 eminent pharmaceutist of Paris, after an elaborate comparison of the differ-
 ent processes in use for preparing  tartar  emetic, declares in  favour  of the
one in which this oxide is employed.   This testimony in  favour  of the
Dublin process induced the revisers of our national Pharmacopoeia to adopt
it  in 1830, and the Edinburgh College have judiciously substituted it for
the crocus process, in their revision of 1839.
   The French Codex uses  the glass of antimony in preparing tartar emetic,
 and as the formula is somewhat peculiar, it may be useful to give it. Accord-
ing to the Codex, 300  parts of cream of  tartar, in  coarse powder, and 200
 parts of the glass, in very fine powder, are boiled, in a silver or copper basin,
with 2000 parts of water for  half an hour, agitating continually, and replacing
the water as it evaporates. The liquor is allowed to cool without filtering, and
the crystals which form are removed, and washed repeatedly, by decantation, 
PART II.
Antimonium.
841
with the mother-liquor.  This is then  filtered, and  evaporated  to dryness,
and the residue exhausted by boiling water.   The solution thus obtained is
then filtered, and allowed to crystallize by cooling.  The crystals obtained
are all dissolved anew in boiling  water, and the solution, after having  been
clarified with white of egg, is filtered, concentrated so as to mark 25°, and
allowed to crystallize by slow cooling.
   It has been already mentioned that M. Henry prefers the use of the oxy-
chloride (powder of Algaroth) for making tartar emetic;  in other words, the
Dublin process. He has thought, however,  that it was susceptible of some
improvements,  and has given a process on a large scale, which  he prefers.
As this  formula may be useful to the manufacturing  chemist, we subjoin it,
turning the French weights into  the nearest apothecaries' weights and mea-
sures.  Take of prepared sulphuret of antimony, in very fine powder,  three
pounds four ounces;  muriatic acid, marking 22° (sp. gr.  1-178), eighteen
pounds and  a half; nitric acid two ounces and a half.   Introduce the sul-
phuret into a glass matrass, of a capacity double the volume of the mixture
to be formed, and add to it from  three to five pounds of the acids previously
mixed, so that  the sulphuret  may be thoroughly penetrated  by them, then
add the remainder of the acids.   Place the matrass on a sand-bath, and heat
the mixture gradually to ebullition,  avoiding the vapours, which are disen-
gaged in large  quantity.  Continue the heat, until the vapours given off are
so far  deprived of sulphuretted hydrogen as not to  blacken white  paper
moistened with solution of acetate of lead; after which allow the liquor to
cool, and to remain  at rest  until it has become clear.  Decant the  clear
liquid, and to obtain the portion  of it which may be retained by the moist
residue, mix this with a small portion of muriatic acid, and  again decant.
Mix the decanted liquids, which consist  of  a solution of sesquichloride of
antimony, and  add them to a large quantity of water, in order that the oxy-
chloride may be precipitated; taking care, during their addition, to stir con-
stantly in order that the precipitated powder may be more minutely divided,
to facilitate  its  subsequent washing.   To determine whether the water has
been sufficient  to decompose the whole of the sequichloride, a part of the
supernatant liquid, after the subsidence of the powder, is to  be added to a
fresh portion of water;  and if a precipitate takes place, more water must be
added  to  the mixture, so as to  obtain  the  largest possible quantity of the
oxychloride. The precipitation being completely effected, wash the powder
repeatedly with water, until  this no longer affects litmus, and then place it
on linen to  drain for twenty-four hours. The quantity of nitromuriatic oxide
thus obtained will be about three pounds and a half in the moist state, or two
pounds nine ounces when dry.   Assuming it to be this quantity, mix it with
three pounds eleven ounces of cream of tartar, in fine  powder, and add the
mixture to two gallons and five  pints of boiling water, contained in an iron
kettle.  Concentrate the liquor rapidly until it marks 25° of Baume's hydro-
meter for salts, and then filter.   By  repose, the liquor  furnishes a crop of
very pure crystals, which require only to be dried.  The mother waters are
treated  in the  following manner.  Saturate the excess of acid with chalk,
filter, and concentrate to 25°.   By cooling, a second  crop of crystals will
be obtained; and by proceeding in a similar manner,  even a third crop.  But
these crystals are somewhat  coloured, and must be purified by recrystalli-
zation.
   With regard to  the above  process, it may be  observed, that  the propor-
tions of the cream of tartar and oxychloride must be adjusted according to
the numbers given, on the assumption that the latter is dry; but it by no means
follows that the whole of the oxide should be dried.  To proceed thus would
       72 
842
Antimonium.
PART II.
cause a waste of time.  The mode of proceeding is to weigh  the whole  of
the moist oxide, and afterwards to weigh off a small part of it, and to ascer-
tain how much this loses in drying.  Then by a calculation it is easy to de-
termine how much of the moist oxide must be taken, to be equivalent  to a
given weight of the dry.
   Tartar emetic is not usually prepared by the  apothecary, but made  on a
large scale  by the manufacturing chemist.  Different processes are pursued
in different manufactories;  and it is not material what plan is adopted,  pro-
vided the crystals of the antimonial salt are carefully purified.  In an exten-
sive manufactory in London, antimony ash is employed for boiling with the
cream of tartar, and  it is stated to form  the cheapest  material for  making
tartar emetic.  (Pereira, Mat. Med.)  The antimony ash is  formed by
roasting sesquisulphuret of antimony, and consists principally of sesquioxide
and undecomposed sesquisulphuret. (Seepage 105.)
   Properties, fyc.   Tartrate  of antimony and  potassa was discovered in
1631 by Adrian de Mynsicht.  It is in the form of transparent, colourless
crystals, which possess a nauseous, metallic, styptic taste, and have usually
the form of rhombic octohedrons, the lateral  planes of which are striated.
When  prepared from the oxychloride,  it  crystallizes in tetrahedrons, and
the crystals are often an  inch or  more in diameter.   As  it occurs in the
shops it is in the form of  a white  powder, resulting from  the pulverization
of the crystals.  The crystals, when exposed to the air, effloresce slightly
and become white  and opaque. They are insoluble in alcohol, but dissolve
in proof spirit or  wine. (See Vinum Antimonii.)   They are soluble in
about fifteen parts  of water at 60°, and  in between two and three parts of
boiling  water.   The late Dr.  Perceval,  of Dublin, alleged that  good tartar
emetic dissolves in twelve parts of water; and this statement agrees nearly
with the result of  Brandes, who  found  it  to be soluble in 12-65 parts of
water at 70°.   Its  aqueous solution slightly reddens litmus, and undergoes
decomposition  by  keeping.  When the  salt is calcined in close vessels it
yields  a pyrophorus, consisting  of an alloy of antimony and  potassium.
It is incompatible with acids, with alkalies and their carbonates, with some
of the  earths  and  metals,  with  chloride of calcium, and  with acetate  and
subacetate of lead.   It is incompatible also with astringent vegetable infu-
sions and decoctions, such as  of rhubarb, cinchona, catechu, galls, &c; but
these substances, unless galls  be an exception, do not render it inert, though
they lessen its activity to a greater or less extent.
   Characteristics  and  Tests  of Purity.  Tartar emetic,  when pure,  ex-
hibits its appropriate crystalline  form.   A crystal or two, dropped into a
solution of hydrosulphuric acid,  will become  covered  with  an  orange-
coloured deposit of sesquisulphuret of antimony. Entire solubility in water
is not a character  belonging exclusively to the pure salt; for, according to
Mr. Hennell, tartar emetic may contain ten per cent, of uncombined cream
of tartar, and yet be wholly soluble in the  proper  proportion of water.
(Phillips.)   This  being the  case, the  character, given in the U.S.  and
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, of entire solubility in twenty parts of water is
not to be depended upon.   A dilute solution is not precipitated by chloride of
barium or nitrate of  silver, nor rendered blue by ferrocyanuret of potassium.
A solution, containing one part of tartar emetic in forty of water, is  not dis-
turbed by an equal volume of a solution  of eight parts of acetate of lead in
thirty-two  of water, and fifteen of acetic acid.   This test is adopted in the
U. S.  Pharmacopoeia from the Edinburgh,  and is intended  to show the
absence of uncombined bitartrate of potassa; for when the acidulated acetate
is used as here directed, it does not form the white tartrate of lead, except 
PART II.
Antimonium.
843
with the tartaric acid of the bitartrate, when this happens to be present as an
impurity.   The acidulated acetate is  a delicate test of this impurity, capa-
ble of detecting one per cent, of it in tartar emetic; but Dr. Christison finds
difficulties  in  using it which render it  too  precarious for practice.  Mr.
Hennel's method of detecting uncombined bitartrate, is to  add  a few drops
of a solution of carbonate of soda to a boiling solution of the antimonial salt,
and if the  precipitate formed is  not redissolved,  no bitartrate is present.
{Phillips.)
   The impurities  found in tartar emetic are, uncombined cream  of tartar
from faulty preparation or fraudulent admixture, tartrate of lime, iron, sul-
phates, and chlorides.  The mode of detecting  cream of tartar has been
indicated above.   Tartrate of lime is derived from cream of tartar, which
always contains this impurity.  It is apt to form on the surface of the crys-
tals of tartar emetic in crystalline tufts, which are easily brushed off.   Iron
is sometimes present, especially when the antimonial salt has been prepared
from glass  of antimony.   It is detected by a  blue colour being immediately
produced by ferrocyanuret of potassium, added after a little acetic  acid.  If
the blue colour be slowly produced, it may arise from  reactions on the iron
of the ferrocyanuret itself.   If nr.ich  iron be present, the  solution of the
tartar emetic will  be yellow  instead of colourless.  Sulphates  are detected
by chloride of barium.  The presence of a chloride  is shown by a precipi-
tate being  produced by nitrate of silver, added to a dilute solution. Accord-
ing to Serullas, tartar emetic, except when well crystallized, and  all the
other antimonial preparations, usually contain a minute portion of arsenic,
derived from the native sesquisulphuret of antimony, which  almost  always
contains this dangerous metal.  (For the mode of detecting it,  see Acidum
Arseniosum.)   Tartar emetic is sometimes sold  in powder to conceal its
imperfections.   It should never be bought in this state by the  apothecary,
but always in crystals, in which state the salt is pure, or  very nearly so,
and entirely free from arsenic.   Its powder  is perfectly white, and when
yellowish-white, iron is probably present.   It is  said that some  druggists
ignorantly prefer a tartar emetic which is yellowish-white in powder.
   It has been already stated in general terms, that tartar emetic in solution
is incompatible  with acids and alkalies, and with some of the earths; but
this salt is so important,  that some details in regard  to the effects  of par-
ticular reagents, included under these titles, seem to be necessary.   Muriatic
and sulphuric acids, added to a solution of the antimonial salt, not too dilute,
throw down a white precipitate of subchloride or subsulphate of antimony
mixed with cream of tartar,  which is redissolved by an excess of the pre-
cipitant.   Nitric acid  throws down a subnitrate,  which is taken  up by an
excess of it.  This effect  of nitric acid  is given by  the London College as
a character of good tartar emetic; but is certainly not very distinctive.  When
caustic potassa  is added to  a tolerably concentrated solution of the antimo-
nial salt, it produces at first no effect, then a precipitate of sesquioxide, and
afterwards the solution of this precipitate, if the addition of the  alkali be
continued.  Lime-water acts in a weaker solution, and throws down a white
precipitate, consisting of a mixed tartrate of lime and antimony.  Carbonate
of potassa affects still weaker solutions,  throwing down a white precipitate
of sesquioxide;  but this test does not act in solutions containing less than a
quarter of  a grain of the antimonial salt to  the fluidounce.  Carbonate of
ammonia also precipitates a solution of tartar emetic, throwing down a pure
sesquioxide; and Dr. Barker, of Dublin, has proposed this method of ob-
taining the oxide, when wanted as a medicine.   To these reagents  may be
added the infusion of galls, which, when fresh and strong,  causes a dirty,
yellowish-white precipitate of tannate of the  sesquioxide of antimony. 
844
Antimonium.
PART II.
   Composition.  Tartar emetic consists of two eqs. of tartaric acid 132-96,
one of potassa 47-15,  one of sesquioxide of antimony 153-2, and three of
water 27=360-31.  It is evident that it contains tartaric  acid and potassa
in the  precise proportions to  form bitartrate of potassa or cream of tartar;
and accordingly,  it may be viewed as a compound of one eq. of cream of
tartar,  and one of antimonial  sesquioxide.   The excess of acid in the bi-
tartrate may be considered as  united with the sesquioxide; and in that view
it is  a  double  salt, composed  of the tartrate  of potassa united with the tar-
trate of the sesquioxide of antimony.  The name, therefore, of the U. S.
and Dublin Pharmacopoeias is correct.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Tartrate of antimony and potassa is the
most important  of the antimonials, and  is capable of fulfilling numerous
indications in disease.  Its general action is that of a  sedative upon  the
circulation; while, on  the contrary, it excites most of the  secretions.   Ac-
cording to the  dose,  and the  peculiar circumstances under  which  it is
administered,  it acts variously, as an  alterative, diaphoretic,  diuretic, ex-
pectorant, purgative, and emetic.  In minute doses, it is employed either
alone,  or conjoined with calomel, with a view to its alterative effects,  and
has been found useful  in diseases of the skin.  In small doses, mostly asso-
ciated  with saline remedies, such as nitre  or sulphate of magnesia, and as-
sisted  by copious  dilution, it is frequently resorted to in febrile complaints,
for the purpose of producing perspiration, which is often copiously induced,
especially if the remedy creates nausea.  If the surface be exposed to cool
air, so as  to constrict  the pores, the  tendency will be to the kidneys, with
the effect of producing an increased flow of urine.   On the principle of ex-
citing  the secretions, it proves useful, on many occasions, in pulmonary and
bronchial  disease  as an expectorant; and with  a view  to  its action in this
way, it is frequently conjoined with squill, ammoniac, and  similar remedies.
In full doses,  it acts as an emetic, and as such is characterized by certainty,
strength,  and permanency of operation.   It remains longer in the  stomach
than ipecacuanha, produces more frequent and longer continued efforts to
vomit, and exerts  a more powerful impression upon the system generally.
The nausea and attendant prostration are often  very considerable.  As an
emetic, its use is  indicated where the  object is not merely to evacuate the
stomach, but to  agitate and compress the liver and other abdominal viscera.
By the extension of its action to the duodenum, it often causes copious dis-
charges of bile,  and hence forms an appropriate remedy  in those diseases,
in which there is  an accumulation of that secretion.  It is employed as an
emetic in  the commencement of fevers, especially those of an intermittent or
bilious character, in jaundice, hooping cough, and croup, and in several dis-
eases of the nervous system, such as mania, amaurosis, tic douloureux, &c.
In efforts  to reduce  old  dislocations, its relaxing power over the muscles,
when acting as a nauseant, is taken advantage of,  in order to facilitate the
operation.   As an incidental effect to its diaphoretic and  emetic operation,
tartar emetic often produces purging.   Taking advantage of  this tendency,
practitioners are frequently in the habit of adding it to purgatives, the opera-
tion of which  it  promotes in a remarkable degree.   It is contra-indicated in
diseases of great debility, in the advanced stages of febrile affections, and in
fevers  attended with extreme  irritability of stomach.
   Of late years,  on the continent of Europe, and to a certain extent in Great
Britain and this  country, tartar emetic  has been given in  large doses, with
a view to  its sedative,  or as it is usually termed, controstimulant  operation.
This practice originated with Rasori, professor of clinical medicine at Milan,
who published his views in 1800.   The principal diseases in which it  has 
PART II.
Antimonium.
815
been thus used, are peripneumony, pleurisy, bronchitis, acute rheumatism,
especially of the joints, articular dropsies, chorea, hydrocephalus, and apo-
plexy.   The medicine is directed in doses, varying from a  grain to two
grains or more, every two hours, dissolved  in a small quantity of water;
the patient being restricted in the use of drinks whilst under its operation.
It is stated that when the remedy is thus given in diseases of high action,
it seldom produces vomiting, an effect  which the authors of the  practice
wish to avoid.  The power of the system to bear large doses of tartar emetic
during the existence of acute disease, was considered by Rasori to depend
upon the coexistent high morbid excitement, and the capability  of bearing
them was expressed by the term tolerance. It is in peripneumony especially
that the  controstimulant practice has most advocates.  It is admitted to have
the effect of lowering the force and frequency of the pulse and the  rapidity
of the respirations; and in not a few instances, it produces marked remedial
effects.  In pleurisy and bronchitis,  the good effects of  the same practice
are less decided.  Though we are disposed to admit the controlling influence
of tartar emetic, when thus exhibited, in the diseases named, yet we by no
means think that its use should  supersede blood-letting,  or even form our
chief reliance.  In  cases, however, in which blood-letting, both local and
general,  has no effect, or has been carried as far as the  circumstances of the
case will permit,  tartar emetic,  administered on the controstimulant plan,
may be  found  useful.  If the tolerance cannot be otherwise established,
laudanum may  be conjoined  with  the antimony, in order to  bring it about.
In the treatment of articular dropsies, the decided  benefit derived from large
doses of tartar emetic, is fully shown  by M. Gimelle, who has reported
twenty-eight successful cases in support of the practice.  The medicine  was
gradually increased  from four grains to sixteen or twenty daily, and, gene-
rally, the tolerance was established on the first day.  The effusion  was ab-
sorbed in a space of time varying from eight to sixteen days.  (Amer. Journ.
of Med.  Sci. N. S., i. 520,  from the Bull. Gen. de Therap.)
   Externally, tartar emetic is sometimes employed as a counter-irritant,
mixed with lard or cerate, or sprinkled in  very  fine powder on adhesive
plaster.  (See Unguentum Antimonii.)   It causes, after a longer or shorter
interval, a burning sensation, accompanied by a peculiar and painful pustular
eruption. This mode of producing counter-irritation is  exceedingly service-
able in  a number of diseases; but particularly in  deep-seated  pains, spinal
irritation, hooping cough, and chronic inflammation of the chest threatening
consumption.   Care must be taken,  when the salt is applied by means of a
plaster,  that the pustular inflammation does not  proceed  too far; as in  that
event, it produces deep  and very painful ulcerations,  difficult to heal.  It
acts  by destroying the skin and subjacent cellular tissue in spots, but with-
out being ordinarily absorbed.
   Tartar emetic is generally given  in solution,  and in an amount which
varies with the  intention in view in its administration.  Its dose as an altera-
tive, is from the thirty-second to the twelfth of a grain; as a diaphoretic or ex-
pectorant from the twelfth to the sixth of a grain; and as a nauseating sudorific,
from a quarter to half a grain; in each case, repeated once every one, two,
or four hours.   If required to act as a purgative, a grain may be dissolved
in half a  pint of water with an ounce of Epsom salt, and two tablespoonfuls
of the solution given every two or three hours.  As an emetic,  the full dose
is from two  to three grains,  though it is usually given in divided portions
of a grain dissolved  in a tablespoonful of water, evervten  or fifteen minutes
until it vomits, the operation  being aided by warm water, or warm chamo-
mile tea.   It is  often conjoined with  ipecacuanha, in the proportion of  one
                                  72* 
€46
Antimonium.
PART II.
or two grains to twenty of the vegetable emetic.   For convenient adminis-
tration in small doses, the Pharmacopoeias order it dissolved in wine. (See
Vinum Antimonii.)   It is given very conveniently to  children in dilute
aqueous solution, which,  being nearly tasteless, is readily taken by them.
  Effects as a Poison.  The effects produced by a poisonous dose of tartar
emetic are an  austere metallic taste;  nausea;  copious vomiting; frequent
hickup; burning pain in the stomach; colic;  frequent stools and tenesmus;
fainting;  small,  contracted, and  accelerated  pulse;  coldness  of the skin;
sometimes intense heat; difficult respiration; loss of sense; convulsive move-
ments; very painful cramps in the legs;  prostration; and death.  To these
effects is sometimes added  difficulty of deglutition.  Vomiting and purging
in a few instances do not take place;  and when they are absent, the other
symptoms are aggravated.   These are the  effects  produced on the healthy
economy; but it has been  fully proved  that the doses which  in a  state of
health would prove fatal,  are sometimes borne without danger in certain
morbid states of the system, attended  with internal acute inflammation.
  In  treating a case of poisoning by tartar emetic, if it is found that the
patient has not vomited, immediate  recourse must be had to tickling the
throat with a feather, and the use of abundance of warm water.  Usually,
however,  the vomiting is excessive and distressing, and here it is necessary
to use remedies calculated to decompose the poison,  and to allay the pain
and irritation. To effect the former object, astringent decoctions and infusions,
such as of bark and common tea, are recommended as antidotes.  These, how-
ever, act but imperfectly, according to the experiments of M. Toulmouche,
who found that a decoction of cinchona had  usually no power in lessening
the emetic effect of this  antimonial, though it had the property of decom-
posing the excess of the salt over a certain definite amount.   (Arch. Gen.
Seme Ser.,  ii.  363.)   Similar observations have  been  made  by Dr. Clut-
terbuck. (Pereira.)   The decoction of galls  acts  more decidedly; but M.
Toulmouche accords the  preference to the galls given in substance, as an
antidote in poisoning by tartar  emetic.  It no doubt acts  by the tannic acid
which it contains, and which forms, with the antimonial salt,  the insoluble
and probably inert  tannate of antimony.  To stop the vomiting and relieve
pain, laudanum should be  given, either by the mouth or injection, and to
combat consecutive inflammation, bleeding, both local and general, and other
antiphlogistic measures should be resorted to.
   After death from  suspected  poisoning by tartar  emetic, it is necessary to
search for the  poison in the body.  The substances in the stomach should
be digested in water, acidulated with a little muriatic and tartaric acid.  The
former acid will serve to coagulate some organic matter; the latter to give com-
plete solubility to the antimony.  The solution obtained, after having been
filtered, is subjected to a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, which will throw
down the orange-red sesquisulphuret of antimony, distinguishable from the
sulphuret of arsenic and all other precipitates by its  forming with hot muriatic
acid a solution,  from which, when  added to  water, a white curdy precipi-
tate of oxychloride  of antimony is thrown down.  Sulphuretted hydrogen is
by far the most delicate test for tartar emetic.
   Sometimes  the  antimony  cannot be found in the stomach and bowels,
and yet may exist in other parts.  When  it leaves the alimentary canal, it
has been  found by Orfila, especially in the liver and kidneys and their secre-
tions.  The mode of extracting the antimony, recommended by Orfila, is
to  carbonize the dried  viscera with concentrated  pure nitric, acid in a por-
celain capsule, to boil the charred mass obtained for half  an hour with muri-
atic acid, assisted  with a few drops of nitric acid, to filter the  liquor, and 
PART II.
Antimonium.
847
introduce it into Marsh's apparatus.  Antimoniuretted hydrogen will  be
formed, which, being inflamed, will deposit tbe antimony on a cold surface
of porcelain, as a black stain, distinguishable from the similar stain produced
by arsenic by  its less volatility, and by its forming with hot muriatic acid,
a solution which affords a white  precipitate when added to water. (See
Arch. Gen., Seme Ser., vii. 511.)
  Off. Prep.  Syrupus Scillae Compositus, U.S.;  Unguentum Antimonii,
U. S„ Lond., Ed., Dub.; Vinum Antimonii, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  B.
  VINUAI ANTIMONII.  U.S.   Vinum  Antimonii Potassio-
tartratis. Lond.; Vinum Antimoniale. Ed.   Liquor  Tartari
Emetici.  Dub.  Antimonial Wine.
  " Take of Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa a scruple;  Wine [Sherry]
ten fluidounces.  Dissolve the  Tartrate  of Antimony and Potassa in the
Wine." U.S.
  The London and Edinburgh  Colleges direct two scruples of the  salt to
be dissolved in a pint [Imperial measure] of Sherry Wine.   The Dublin
College dissolves one scruple of the salt in eight fluidounces of boiling dis-
tilled  water, and adds two fluidounces of Rectified Spirit.
  In the first edition of the United States Pharmacopoeia, the proportion of
tartar emetic was four grains to  the fluidounce of wine.  In the revision of
1830, the quantity was  reduced to two grains;  and, as this is very nearly
the proportion directed by the British Colleges, the highly important  object
has been accomplished,  of uniformity in  the strength of this very popular
preparation.  The seeming discrepancy between the formula of the London
and Edinburgh,  and that of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, will  disappear when
it is considered that the imperial pint, adopted by the two British Colleges,
contains twenty fluidounces, each very nearly equal to the fluidounce  of the
ordinary apothecaries' measure.  The U.S. officinal  name was adopted as
most  convenient, sufficiently expressive, and in accordance with the nomen-
clature of several other metallic preparations, such as Emplastrum Ferri,
Mistura Ferri Composita, 8fC.
  Difficulty is often  experienced in effecting a solution of tartar emetic in
wine;  and  precipitation  is very apt to occur after the solution has been
effected. These results  are attributable either to impurity in the  antimonial
salt, which  frequently contains bitartrate of potassa  and various insoluble
substanees, or to inferiority in  the character of the wine, which holds in
solution vegetable principles that form insoluble compounds with the sesqui-
oxide of antimony.   Dr. Paris stales that he has seen the decomposition of
the tartar emetic so complete, that no traces of the salt could be detected in
the supernatant liquid.   The difficulty is not avoided  by the plan,  at one
time directed, of first dissolving the antimonial  in  water, and then adding
the wine; for even allowing that the solution may be accomplished, the same
ingredients are present,  and their mutual  reaction must ultimately result in
the same effects.  The proper course is to select perfectly pure crystallized
tartar emetic, and sound Sherry or Teneriffe wine, which make a permanent
solution.  To obviate the risk of decomposition and consequent  inequality
of strength, the  Dublin  College directs water  and rectified spirit in about
the proportions in which these  exist in  the wines just mentioned.   The
only objection to this menstruum is the want of colour, which renders the
preparation  liable to be confounded with less active liquids.
  The advantages of antimonial  wine are, that it affords the means of admi-
nistering minute doses of tartar emetic, and is more permanent than an aque-
ous solution of that salt,  which is liable to  spontaneous decomposition. It is 
848
Antimonium.
PART II.
usually administered in  small doses as a  diaphoretic or expectorant, or as
an emetic in infantile cases.  Where a considerable quantity of tartar emetic
is requisite, it should always be given in extemporaneous aqueous solution.
The dose of the wine as an expectorant or diaphoretic, is from ten to thirty
drops, given  frequently;  as an emetic  for children, from thirty drops to a
fluidrachm, repeated every fifteen minutes till it operates.           W.
  ANTIMONII SULPHURETUM PRAEPARATUM. Dub. Pre-
pared Sulphuret of Antimony.
  " Take of Sulphuret of Antimony any quantity.  Reduce it to powder,
and separate for use the impalpable particles, in the manner directed for the
preparation of Chalk."  Dub.
  Sulphuret of antimony in mass is placed in the Materia Medica list of all
the Pharmacopoeias noticed in this work.   But for use  in medicine, and for
some pharmaceutical processes,  it requires to be in powder, and the above
process is  intended to  effect this  purpose.   But it is  hardly  necessary to
have a distinct formula  to indicate the mode of proceeding, and accordingly
this  preparation has been expunged  from the U. S. and Edinburgh Phar-
macopoeias.  It was not included in the London.
  Properties. Prepared sulphuret of antimony is in the form of an insoluble
powder, without taste or smell; usually of a dull blackish colour,  but,  when
perfectly pure, reddish-brown.   By exposure to air, it absorbs, according to
Buchner, a portion of oxygen, and becomes partially converted into sesqui-
oxide.  Its impurities and composition are mentioned under another head.
(See Antimonii Sulphuretum.)
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This preparation is very uncertain in its
operation; being sometimes without effect, at other times, if it meet with acid
in the stomach, operating with extreme violence by vomiting and purging.
The effects usually attributed to it are those of a diaphoretic and  alterative;
and the diseases in which it has been principally used, are scrofula, glan-
dular obstructions, cutaneous diseases, and chronic rheumatism.   It is not
employed by physicians in the United States, its use in this country being
exclusively confined to  veterinary practice.   The dose is from ten to thirty
grains, given in powder or bolus.
  Off. Prep.   Antimonii Oxydum Nitromuriaticum,  Dub.;  Pulvis Anti-
monialis, Dub.; Sulphur Antimoniatum Fuscum, Dub.              B.
  ANTIMONII  SULPHURETUM   PR^CIPITATUM.  U.S.
Antimonii  Oxysulphuretum.  Lond.   Antimonii Sulphuretum
Aureum.  Ed.   Sulphur Antimoniatum Fuscum. Dub.  Precipi-
tated Sulphuret of Antimony.   Oxysulphuret of Antimony.
  " Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in fine powder, six ounces; Solution
of Potassa four pints;  Distilled Water, Diluted Sulphuric Acid, each, a
sufficient quantity.   Mix the Sulphuret of Antimony with  the Solution of
Potassa and twelve pints of Distilled Water, and boil  them over a gentle
fire for three hours, constantly stirring, and occasionally adding Distilled
W'ater so as to preserve  the same measure.   Strain the liquor immediately
through a double linen cloth, and drop  into it, while yet hot,  Diluted Sul-
phuric Acid so long as it produces a precipitate; then wash away the sulphate
of potassa with hot water, dry the Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony, and
rub it into a fine powder."  U. S.
  "Take of Sesquisulphuret of Antimony, powdered, seven ounces; Solu-
tion of Potassa/owr pints [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water  two gallons
[Imp. meas.]; Diluted Sulphuric Acid a sufficient quantity.  Mix the Ses-
quisulphuret of Antimony, Solution of Potassa, and Water together, and 
PART II.
Antimonium.
849
boil with a slow fire for two hours, frequently stirring, Distilled Water being
often added, that it may fill about the same measure.  Strain the liquor, and
gradually drop into it  as much Diluted Sulphuric Acid as may be sufficient
to throw down the Oxysulphuret of Antimony; then wash away the sulphate
of potassa with water, and dry what remains with a gentle heat."  Lond.
  " Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in fine powder, an ounce; Solution of
Potash eleven fluidounces [Imperial measure];  Water  two pints [Imp.
meas.].  Mix the Water and Solution of Potash, add the Sulphuret, boil for
an hour,  filter immediately, and precipitate the liquid,  while hot, with an
excess of Diluted Sulphuric Acid.  Collect the precipitate on a calico filter,
wash  it thoroughly with water, and dry it with a gentle heat."  Ed.
  " Take of Prepared Sulphuret of Antimony one part;  Water of Caustic
Potassa eighteen parts; Diluted Sulphuric Acid eleven parts, or a sufficient
quantity.  Add the Sulphuret of Antimony to the Water of Caustic Potassa,
and boil  for an hour.   Strain the hot  liquor through a double linen cloth,
and drop into it the  Diluted Sulphuric Acid.  Wash away the sulphate of
potassa with warm water.  Dry the Brown Antimoniated Sulphur, and rub
it into fine powder." Dub.
  As  the theory of the formation of the precipitated sulphuret of antimony
is intimately connected with that of the production of the substances called
kermes mineral and golden sulphur, we shall first describe  the latter pre-
parations as introductory to our account of the former.
  Kermes  mineral, according to Thenard, may be obtained by treating the
sesquisulphuret of antimony in three  ways; 1st with a boiling solution of
the carbonated alkalies, 2d with a  boiling solution of the caustic alkalies,
and 3d with the carbonated  alkalies  at  a red  heat.  These several pro-
cesses give brown powders, which  vary in their shade of colour, and which,
though usually considered as identical, differ in composition.  The kermes
obtained  by means of the carbonated alkalies is an oxysulphuret,  that is, a
mixture of sesquioxide of antimony with  hydrated sesquisulphuret; while
the product, when either the caustic alkalies, or the carbonated alkalies at
a red  heat are used, is essentially a hydrated sesquisulphuret, though con-
taining occasionally a little oxysulphuret.
  In  France the process  by the use  of the carbonated alkalies in solution
is preferred for preparing kermes;  and the alkali  selected is  soda as giving
a handsomer product.  The formula of Cluzel is to boil for half an  hour one
part of pulverized sesquisulphuret of antimony with twenty-two or twenty-
three  parts of crystallized carbonate of soda, in two hundred  and fifty parts
of water, to filter the liquor, and receive it in warm earthen pans, which must
be covered, and allowed to cool slowly.   At the end of twenty-four hours,
the kermes is deposited.  It is then collected on a filter, washed with boiled
water, cooled without contact of air,  dried at the  temperature of  77°, and
kept in bottles well stopped.   This formula is substantially the same with
that given in the French Codex of 1837.
  The rationale of the formation of kermes  by this process is as follows.
A portion of the carbonate of soda is converted  by a transfer of  carbonic
acid, into caustic soda and sesquicarbonate.  By a double decomposition
taking place between  a part  of the sesquisulphuret of  antimony and  the
caustic soda, sesquioxide of antimony, and sulphuret of sodium are formed.
The sesquioxide then  dissolves in the  solution of  the remaining carbonate
of soda, and the undecomposed portion of the sesquisulphuret in that of the
sulphuret of sodium.   The sesquioxide and sesquisulphuret,  being both
more  soluble in these  menstrua hot than  cold, precipitate together as  the
liquid cools, and constitute this variety of kermes.  When thus obtained, it 
850
Antimonium.
PART II.
is light, velvety, of a dark reddish-purple colour, brilliant in the sun, and of
a crystalline appearance. It consists, according to M. Henry, jun., of sesqui-
sulphuret of antimony 62*5,  sesquioxide 27*4, water 10, and soda a trace;
proportions which correspond most nearly with two eqs. of sesquisulphu-
ret, one of sesquioxide, and six of water.   In consequence of the presence
of a considerable amount of sesquioxide of antimony  in this variety of
kermes, it must be far more active than the other kinds which contain com-
paratively little of this oxide.   It ought, therefore, to be preferred for medi-
cal use.
  Kermes, when obtained by means of the caustic alkalies, may be formed
by boiling for a quarter of an  hour, two parts of the sesquisulphuret of anti-
mony with one part  of caustic potassa dissolved in twenty-five or thirty
parts of water, filtering the liquor, and allowing it to cool; whereupon the
kermes precipitates.   In this process, one portion of the sesquisulphuret,
by reacting with a portion of the potassa, gives rise to sesquioxide of anti-
mony and sulphuret  of potassium.  A second portion dissolves in the solu-
tion  of sulphuret of potassium formed, and a third forms an insoluble com-
pound with a part of the sesquioxide.   The remainder of the sesquioxide
unites  with the potassa, forming  a compound, which,  being but  sparingly
soluble, is  only in part dissolved.   The hot filtered liquor, therefore, con-
tains this compound dissolved  in water, and  sesquisulphuret of  antimony
dissolved in the solution of sulphuret of potassium.   By refrigeration, the
sesquisulphuret in a hydrated state  falls  down, free  or  nearly free from
sesquioxide, this  latter  being still held in solution by means  of the caustic
alkali with which it  is united.
  Kermes  is obtained by the third method, that is, in the dry way, by rub-
bing together  two parts of sesquisulphuret of antimony  and one of the
potash of commerce, fusing  the mixture in a crucible by a red heat, re-
ducing the fused mass  to powder, and boiling it with water.  As the liquor
cools the kermes is deposited.   The rationale of its formation  is nearly
the same with that of the second variety  of kermes.   An  inferior kermes,
prepared in the dry way and intended for use in veterinary medicine, is
directed  in the French Codex  to be prepared  by fusing  together, well
mixed, 500 parts of sesquisulphuret of  antimony,  1000  of carbonate of
potassa, and 30 of washed sulphur, reducing the fused mass to powder, and
boiling it with  10,000 parts of water.  The  liquor, upon  cooling, lets fall
the kermes, which must be washed with care and dried.
  Kermes  mineral is an insipid, inodorous  powder, of different shades of
brown. By the action of air and light it gradually becomes lighter coloured,
and  at last  yellowish-white.  It first came into use as a remedy in France
about the beginning  of the last century.   Its mode of preparation was pos-
sessed as a secret by a  French surgeon named La Ligerie.   In  1720, the
recipe was purchased by the  French government and made public.
   Golden sulphur is formed  by the addition of an acid to the liquor which
remains after the precipitation of the kermes.  According to the directions
of the French Codex, acetic  acid is employed  for  this purpose.   The
liquor, when caustic potassa  has been used, consists at first  chiefly of ses-
quisulphuret of antimony, dissolved in solution of sulphuret of potassium,
but in  part also of sesquioxide, dissolved in  solution  of potassa.   By the
action of the air on the liquor, however, the sulphuret of potassium passes
to a  higher state of sulphuration; and consequently, the addition of an acid,
while it throws down the sesquisulphuret and sesquioxide of antimony with
disengagement of sulphuretted hydrogen, will precipitate at  the same time
the excess of sulphur  in the sulphuret of potassium.  Agreeably to  this 
part ii.                   Antimonium.                        851

explanation, golden sulphur is a mixed sesquisulphuret and sesquioxide of
antimony containing more or  less sulphur.   It is in the form of a powder
of a golden yellow colour.   It may be worth while  to  mention that the
kermes liquor, after the use of the carbonated alkalies, gives but little golden
sulphur;  while the liquors resulting from the two other processes yield it
in abundance.
   M. Musculus (Journ. de Pharm. for May, 1836) recommends the fol-
lowing process for  preparing golden  sulphur and kermes mineral by the
method of displacement.  He takes 6 parts of slaked lime, 4 of carbonate
of potassa or of dried carbonate of soda, 2 of finely powdered sesquisulphu-
ret of  antimony, 1 of flowers of sulphur, and 8 of well washed and  dried
sand.  These are accurately  mixed and put into  a glass or  stoneware dis-
placement apparatus, the bottom  of which is covered with little pebbles, or
coarsely  powdered glass.  (See page  763.)  The mixture being covered
with a layer of sand, cold water is poured upon it until the liquor which
passes is no longer precipitated by muriatic acid.   The liquor obtained is
then diluted with pure water, and treated with muriatic acid, which throws
down  the golden sulphur.  This is  carefully washed and dried, and amounts
to about the  quantity  of sesquisulphuret  employed.   In  preparing  the
kermes the same  method is pursued, except that the sulphur is omitted and
 the liquor obtained precipitated by a solution of bicarbonate of soda.
   M.  Boullay, who repeated  the above process, speaks of it with commen-
dation, as enabling the apothecary  to operate on a small scale, and without
the employment of heat.-  The golden sulphur was very handsome, but the
kermes was heavy and imperfect in colour.   These defects in the latter, he
found  might be remedied by using exclusively the dried carbonate of  soda,
and by diluting the liquid with an equal volume of river water, deprived of
 air by boiling before precipitating.  The kermes thus obtained was  abun-
dant, light, and of a very intense and  beautiful colour.   The editors of the
 Annalen der Pharmacie also repeated the process with good results.   They
remark,  however, that it is indispensable that the sand employed should be
 free from iron.
   From the explanations which have  been given, the  reader is prepared to
 understand that the method of preparing the precipitated sulphuret of anti-
 mony of the United States and British Pharmacopoeias, combines the pro-
 cess for  forming the kermes mineral by means of a caustic alkali, with that
 for obtaining golden sulphur; for while the  refrigeration of the solution act-
 ing alone would cause  the  precipitation of this  variety of kermes, which
 contains little or no antimonial oxide,  the sulphuric acid added would  throw
 down  more or less  of  the golden sulphur.  But the question here  arises
 how far  this golden sulphur would be identical with that obtained from the
 mother-liquor of kermes which has been some time made.   From the ex-
 planations given above iii  relation to golden sulphur, it may be inferred as
 probable that the precipitate  by acids, if thrown  down immediately  while
 the solution is  hot as directed by the Pharmacopoeias, and before the air has
 had time to act, would  consist exclusively of sesquisulphuret and sesqui-
 oxide; but if thrown down from the  kermes mother-liquor, would contain
 more or  less free sulphur, according as the  liquor had been  more or less
 subject to the influence  of the air.   If these views be  admitted, then the so
 called golden sulphur must be a very variable preparation as to the free sul-
 phur  it  contains,  dependent  upon the  greater  or less  change which the
 kermes  liquor may have  undergone,  before being used  for furnishing the
precipitate.
   Properties of the Precipitated  Sulphuret.  This substance  is a  bright 
852
Antimonium.
PART ii.
orange-coloured insoluble powder, tasteless when pure, but having usually
a slightly styptic taste.   The greater portion of it is not readily acted on by
dilute  acids.   When it  contains no  free  sulphur it is wholly  soluble in
nitro-muriatic  acid, with  the  escape  of sulphuretted  hydrogen.   If free
sulphur be present, it will be left behind.  If it effervesce with diluted sul-
pliuric acid, its  adulteration with chalk may be  suspected.  Recently pre-
pared it is completely soluble in the officinal solution of potassa, but as it
is found in the shops, a white residuum is  usually left undissolved.  When
boiled  with a solution of cream of tartar, about  12 per cent, of sesquioxide is
dissolved.  Exposed to heat it takes fire, burning with a greenish-blue flame
and giving off sulphurous acid, while the metal remains behind in the slate
of a grayish oxide.  Precipitated sulphuret of antimony, as  analyzed by
Mr. Phillips,  consists, in  the 100 parts, of sesquisulphuret 76-5, sesqui-
oxide 12,  and water 11*5; corresponding most nearly with  five eqs. of
sesquisulphuret, one of sesquioxide, and sixteen of water.   It usually, how-
ever, contains a portion of free  sulphur, as shown by the action of nitro-
muriatic acid.  Its active ingredient is the  sesquioxide;  and in reference to
its presence,  the London College calls the preparation oxysulphuret of anti-
mony.   The Edinburgh College names it incorrectly, golden sidpliuret of
antimony; this name being properly applicable to the precipitate produced
by the  sole action of acids, and not to it  when obtained by the action of
acids and  refrigeration conjointly.
  Medical Properties. The precipitated sulphuret is alterative, diaphoretic
and emetic.   It is, however,  an uncertain medicine,  as  well from the want
of uniformity in its composition, as from its liability to vary in its action
with the  state of the stomach.   It is seldom given alone, but  generally in
combination with calomel and guaiac, in the form of Plummer's  pill, as an
alterative  in  secondary  syphilis and  cutaneous eruptions, or  conjoined
with henbane or hemlock in chronic rheumatism.  (See Pilulae Hydrargyri
Chloridi Compositae.)  During its use the patient should abstain from acidu-
lous drinks.  Its dose as an alterative is from one to two grains twice a day
in the form of pill; as an emetic, from five grains to a scruple.   The kermes
obtained by means  of the carbonated  alkalies, as it contains between two
and three times as much  sesquioxide as the  precipitated sulphuret, is a
more active preparation,  and  must be used  in  a smaller dose.  This latter
is sometimes  used in large  doses as an antiphlogistic in peripneumony and
other inflammations of the  chest.
   Off.  Prep.  Pilulae Hydrargyri Chloridi Comp., Lond., Ed., Dub. B.
  PULVIS  ANTIMONIALIS.  Ed., Dub.    Pulvis Antimonii
Compositus.  I^ond.   Antimonial  Powder.   Compound Powder
of Antimony.
  " Take of  Sesquisulphuret  of  Antimony,  powdered,  a pound; Horn
shavings two pounds.   Mix,  and throw them into a red-hot crucible, and
stir constantly until vapour ceases to arise.  Rub the residue to powder, and
put it into a proper crucible.   Then  apply heat, and raise it  gradually to
redness, and  keep it so  for two hours.  Rub the residue into a very fine
powder." Lond.
  " Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in coarse powder, Hartshorn shavings,
equal weights.  Mix them, put them into  a red-hot iron pot, and stir con-
stantly till  they acquire  an ash-gray colour, and  vapours no longer  arise.
Pulverize the product, put it  into a crucible with a perforated  cover, and
expose this to a gradually increasing heat till a white  heat is  produced,
which  is to be maintained  for two hours.  Reduce the  product  when cold
to fine  powder." Ed. 
PART II.
Antimonium.
853
  The Dublin College use the proportions of the London formula, taking
their prepared sulphuret, but treat the materials in the manner directed in
the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.
  This preparation consists mainly of bone-phosphate  of lime, or bone-
earth, mixed  with  antimonious acid, and is intended to furnish a substitute
for the celebrated empirical remedy of Dr. James, an English physician who
died in 1776, and after whom the original  composition was called James's
powder.   Dr. Pearson, of London,  found the genuine powder, on analysis,
to consist of phosphate of lime'and  oxidized antimony,  and, guided by his
results, devised the formula adopted by the British Colleges for producing
an imitation of it.  By burning the  materials directed, while they are con-
stantly stirred, the sulphur is expelled in the form of sulphurous acid,  and
the antimony oxidized; while the hartshorn, which is of the nature of bone,
has its animal matter converted into charcoal.   By the subsequent  calcina-
tion, the  charcoal  is dissipated,  leaving only the phosphate of lime mixed
with the  oxidized antimony.  This  mixture constitutes the antimonial pow-
der.  The only material  difference  between the processes of the Colleges
is that the London and Dublin use  two parts of horn shavings  to  one of
sulphuret; while the Edinburgh College employs equal weights, which are
also the proportions adopted in the  French Codex.  The use of  the larger
proportion of horn is said to obviate the inconvenience of the vitrification of
part of the antimony; but the late Dr. Duncan alleged that the product thus
obtained  did not correspond so well with James's powder, as analyzed by
Dr. Pearson, as when the smaller proportion was employed.
   In consequence  of the variable nature of antimonial powder, as obtained
in the processes of the Colleges  by the agency of fire, Mr. Chenevix pro-
posed to  form it in the humid way, by dissolving equal weights of oxychlo-
ride of antimony (powder of Algaroth) and  precipitated phosphate  of lime
in the smallest possible  quantity of muriatic  acid, and  precipitating  this
solution by adding it to diluted water of ammonia.  The  solvent power of
the muriatic  acid  being destroyed by its union with the ammonia,  the ses-
quioxide of antimony and phosphate of lime are thrown down in determi-
nate proportions,  and in a state of intimate  mixture.  This precipitate,  Mr.
Chenevix states, is soluble in any acid  capable of dissolving its  constituents
separately.  On the other hand, 28 per cent, of James's powder,  and about
44  percent, of the London Antimonial powder, resist the action of all acids.
It is hence evident that Mr. Chenevix's powder  would prove far more active
than those for which  it  is proposed as a  substitute.  This objection to it
might be  obviated by increasing the proportion of phosphate of lime;  but
still it is  liable to  the defect, according to  Mr. Brande, of becoming horny
or gritty, and of being difficult to pulverize.
  Properties, Composition, and Tests.   This preparation is a tasteless,
inodorous, gritty powder, of a dull-white colour.  As often prepared it is inso-
luble in water; but usually a small portion, consisting of antirnonite and super-
phosphate of lime, dissolves in boiling distilled water. Its composition varies
exceedingly,  a circumstance which forms a strong objection to it as  a medi-
cine. When  entirely insoluble in boiling water, it probably contains  nothing
but antimonious acid and phosphate of  lime; for when its soluble constitu-
ents are absent, the sesquioxide is absent also.  The best samples, as stated
by the  Edinburgh College, are  formed of " a mixture chiefly of antimonious
acid and  phosphate of lime, with some sesquioxide of antimony, and a little
antirnonite of lime."  To these  ingredients  may be added superphosphate
of lime,  which was found in small  quantity by Dr. D. Maclagan of Edin-
burgh.   This writer obtained in his experiments about 50 per cent,  of anti-
       73 
854
Antimonium.
PART II.
monious acid, 45 of phosphate of lime, nearly 4 of sesquioxide, and not
quite 1 of antimonite and superphosphate of lime.  In testing the goodness
of the preparation, the first step is to act on it with boiling  distilled water.
If any antimonite should be dissolved, the solution will form  with  sulphu-
retted hydrogen  an orange-coloured precipitate of bisulphuret of antimony;
if superphosphate be present, nitrate of silver will throw down phosphate of
silver.  What remains of the powder, unacted on by the  distilled water, is
next digested with muriatic acid, which  will dissolve the phosphate of lime,
and also sesquioxide of antimony if present, and leave a residue which is
the antimonious  acid.  If sesquioxide is present in the muriatic solution, it
will be  precipitated by sulphuretted hydrogen,  as an orange-coloured ses-
quisulphuret, and  from the filtered solution, water of ammonia will throw
down the phosphate of lime.   In this way all the ingredients of antimonial
powder may be detected and separated.   It might  be supposed that the
muriatic solution would be more readily tested for the presence of sesqui-
oxide by the action of  water, which is known to cause a  white precipitate
of the oxide in  this solution;  but there appears to be some  ambiguity in
relation to the action of water.   The Edinburgh College, in  their formula
of tests,  state that the  muriatic solution of the residue, after the action of
water, does  not become turbid by dilution;  but, according to Dr. Barker and
Dr. Pereira, this effect sometimes takes  place.  These different results may
be explained by  the different qualities of the preparation.  A small quantity
of sesquioxide may be in the muriatic solution, and yet not be precipitated
by water; while  a larger  quantity will be so precipitated.  On the other hand
a precipitate may be produced with water,  without its proving the presence
of sesquioxide; for unless the antimonial  powder be most carefully exhausted
by the distilled water, before being subjected to the acid, the muriatic solu-
tion may contain antimonite of lime which, like the sesquioxide, gives it the
property of becoming turbid with  water.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This preparation is stated to be alterative,
diaphoretic, purgative, or emetic, according to the dose in which  it may be
given.  Until within a few years it was frequently used in febrile diseases,
with a view to its diaphoretic effect.  According to Dr. A. T. Thomson, it
is advantageously given in acute  rheumatism, conjoined with  camphor,
calomel, and opium, and  with calomel and  guaiac in  several cutaneous
affections.   The estimation in which this  preparation is held is very vari-
ous.  The late Dr. Duncan characterized  it as  one of the best antimonials
we possess; yet he acknowledged that  its effects are  very unequal, either
from idiosyncrasy, or variations in its composition.  Dr. Thomson found it
sometimes to answer his expectations, but as often to disappoint them. Mr.
Brande admits its activity sometimes, and  entire inertness at others, differ-
ences which he  attributes to the presence or absence of sesquioxide of anti-
mony.   Upon the whole it appears that,  whatever  may  be the occasional
efficacy of this medicine, it is too variable in its composition,  from circum-
stances in its preparation scarcely within the control of the pharmaceutical
chemist, to make it a safe remedy.  No  therapeutical effect can be expected
from it, which  cannot be more certainly and  safely produced  by tartar
emetic;  and it seems to  be the sentiment of some of the best practitioners,
that antimonial  powder  may very well be dispensed with as a remedy.
Considerations of this  kind caused it to be omitted from the U. S. Pharma-
copoeia upon the revision of 1830.
   The dose of antimonial  powder  as a diaphoretic, is from three to eight
grains every third or fourth hour, given in the form of pill.  In larger doses 
PART II.
Antimonium.—Aqua.
855
it is purgative or emetic.  It is impossible, however, to give precise direc-
tions as to the dose;  as  it sometimes proves violently emetic in moderate
doses, and at other times produces no obvious effect, even  in doses of 100
grains.                                                            B.

                               AQUA.

                                Water.

   AQUA DESTILLATA.  U. S., Lond., Ed.  Aqua Distillata.
Dub.   Distilled Water.
   " Take of Water ten gallons.  First  distil tioo  pints, and  throw  them
away; then distil tight gallons.  Keep the distilled Water in glass bottles."
U.S.
   The London formula is the same as the above.
   " Take any convenient quantity of spring Water; distil  it from a proper
vessel, rejecting the first twentieth part, and preserving the first half of the
remainder."  Ed.
   " Take of Water twenty pounds.  Put it into a glass  retort, and having
rejected the first pound  which comes over, distil  a  gallon with a moderate
heat." Dub.
   The purest natural water is  not sufficiently pure for some pharmaceutical
purposes; and hence the necessity of the  above  processes for its distillation.
It is best to reject  the first portion which comes over, as this  may contain
carbonic acid and other volatile impurities; and the last  portions of the
water ought not to be distilled, lest it should pass over with an empyreu-
matic taste. The Dublin College directs the distillation to be conducted in a
glass retort; but it is usually performed with the ordinary still and condenser,
and such an apparatus is evidently contemplated in the  United States and
London formulae.   Mr.  Brande  states that  distilled  water often  derives
from the still a foreign flavour, which it is difficult to avoid. He, therefore,
recommends that a  still and  condenser  be exclusively  kept for distilling
water; or, where this cannot be done, that steam be driven through the con-
densing pipe for half an hour, for the purpose of washing it out before it is
used; the worm-tub having been previously emptied.
   Properties, fyc.  Distilled  water, as usually obtained, has  a  vapid and
disagreeable  taste.  It is not perfectly pure; water, to be so, requiring  to be
distilled in silver vessels.  The properties of pure water have  already been
given under the head of Aqua.   Distilled water should undergo no change
by sulphuretted hydrogen, or  on the addition of tincture of soap, subacetate
of lead, chloride of barium, oxalate  of ammonia, nitrate of silver, or  lime-
water. It is uselessly employed in some  formulae, but is essential in others.
As a general  rule, when small  quantities of active remedies are to be given
in solution, and in the   preparation  of collyria, distilled water  should be
employed.   The following list contains the  chief substances which require
distilled water as a solvent;—tartar  emetic, corrosive sublimate, nitrate of
silver, chloride of  barium, acetate and subacetate of lead,  the sulphates of
iron and zinc, sulphate of quinia, and the sulphate, muriate, and acetate of
morphia.                                                          B. 
856
Aquae Medica lie.
PART II.
                  AQUJE MEDICATE.  U.S.

                         Medicated Waters.

   Under this head are included, in the United  States Pharmacopoeia, all
those preparations consisting of water impregnated with some medicinal
substance, which  are not arranged in any other class.  Among them are the
Distilled  Waters  of  the  British Pharmacopoeias, which therefore require
some notice in the present place.
   Aque  Destillat^e. Lond.    Aqum Distillate.  Dub.   Dis-
tilled Waters. Ed.
   " Distilled waters may be prepared from fresh, and generally also from
dried, vegetables.  In the latter case only half the weight of material should
be used.  They may also be prepared, for the most part, by agitating the
volatile oils of  the plants with water and filtering the solution.  But dis-
tilled waters obtained  in  this way have  seldom so  fine  a flavour as  those
obtained from the plants themselves." Ed.
   Many vegetables impart to water  distilled from them  their peculiar fla-
vour, and more or less of the  medical properties by which they are distin-
guished.  The distilled waters chiefly used  are those prepared from aroma-
tic plants, the volatile oil of which rises with the aqueous vapour, and is
condensed with it in the receiver.  But as water is capable of holding  but a
small proportion of the oil in solution, these preparations  are generally fee-
ble,  and are employed  rather as pleasant  vehicles  or corrugents  of  other
medicines, than with  a view to any remediate action of their own.
   In the preparation  of  the distilled  waters, dried plants are  sometimes
used, because the  fresh are not to be had  at all seasons;  but the  latter, at
least in the instances  of herbs and flowers, should be preferred if attainable.
Flowers which lose their odour by desiccation may be preserved by incor-
porating them intimately with one-third of their weight of common sail, and
in this state, according to M.  Decroizilles,  afford distilled waters of very
delicate flavour.
   It is necessary to observe certain practical rules in conducting  the pro-
cess  of distillation.   When the  substance employed  is dry,  hard, and
fibrous, it should  be  mechanically divided, and macerated in water  for a
short time previously to the operation.   The  quantity of materials should
not bear too large  a proportion  to the capacity of the alembic, as the water
might otherwise boil over into the receiver.   The water should  be brought
quickly to the state of ebullition, and continued  in that state till the end of
the process.  Care should be taken to leave sufficient water  undistilled to
cover the whole of the vegetable matter, lest a portion of the latter, coming
in contact with the sides of the vessel, might be decomposed by the  heat,
and yield empyreumatic products.  Besides, when the operation is urged
too vigorously or carried too far, a  slimy matter is apt to form,  which ad-
heres to the sides  of the alembic above the  water, and is  thus exposed to
igneous decomposition.   To obviate these  disadvantages, the heat may be
applied by means  of an oil-bath regulated by a thermometer, or of a bath of
solution of chloride of calcium,  by which any  temperature may be obtained
between 212° and 270°, according to the strength of the solution; or, when
the process is conducted upon a large scale,  by means of steam  introduced
under pressure  into a  space  around  the still.   If any volatile oil float upon
the surface of the distilled water, it should be separated.
  But, however carefully the process may be conducted, the distilled waters 
PART II.
Aquae Medicatse.
857
prepared from plants always have at first an unpleasant smoky odour.  They
may be freed from this by exposure for a short time to the air, before being
enclosed in well-stopped bottles, in which they should be preserved.   When
long kept, they are apt to form a viscid  ropy matter, and  to become sour.
This result has been ascribed to other principles, which rise with the oil in
distillation, and promote its decomposition.   To prevent this decomposition,
the Ijondon College orders proof spirit, and the Edinburgh rectified spirit, to
be added to the  water employed in the process of distillation.  For the same
purpose, the Dublin College directs half an ounce of rectified  spirit to be
added to each pound of the distilled water.   But this addition is inadequate
to the  intended object.   A better plan is  to redistil  the waters; as, when
thus purified, it is said that they  may be kept for several years unchanged.
   Robiquet considers the mucosity which  forms in distilled waters as the
result of a vegetative process, to which the  presence of air is essential. '  He
has found that,  so long as the water is covered with a layer of essential oil,
it undergoes no change; but that the oil is  gradually altered by exposure to
the air, and as soon as it disappears, the water begins  to be decomposed.
He states that camphor exercises the same  preservative influence over  the
distilled  waters by resisting the vegetation, and  that those  in which  the
odour of camphor is  developed  keep better on this account.  Finally, he
has observed that  the  more distilled water  is charged with volatile oil, the
more abundant is the mucosity, when it  has begun to form.  Robiquet
unites  with Henry and Guibourt.  and with  Virey, in recommending that all
these waters, when intended to be kept  for a considerable time, should be
introduced, immediately after distillation, into bottles of a size proportionate
to the  probable consumption of the water when brought into use; and  that
the bottles  should  be quite filled, and then sealed or otherwise well stopped,
so as entirely to exclude the air.  Thus  treated, they may be preserved
without change for many years.  (Journ. de Pharm. xxi. 402.)
   Another mode of preparing the distilled waters is to substitute the volatile
oil, previously  separated from the plant, for the plant itself in the process.
This mode  is  directed by the  London and Dublin Colleges in several in-
stances.   It is  said to afford a more permanent product than the preceding;
but does not always preserve the flavour of the plant.
   In relation to most of the aromatics, the United States Pharmacopoeia  dis-
cards altogether the process by distillation, and directs that water should be
impregnated with  the volatile oil  by trituration with carbonate of magnesia,
and subsequently filtered.  This is by far the most simple and easy process;
and the resulting preparation is in all respects equal to that obtained by  dis-
tillation from the oil.   The aromatic solution is pure and permanent, and is
perfectly transparent, the carbonate of magnesia being separated by  the fil-
tration.  The carbonate of magnesia  is preferable to  the pure earth; as the
latter sometimes gives a brownish colour to the liquid, and  requires to be
used in larger proportion.  A minute quantity, moreover, of the magnesia is
dissolved, and,  attracting carbonic acid from the air, becomes a carbonate, and
is precipitated  in a flocculent form.   Besides, it would  prove incompatible
with small quantities of sulphate  of morphia and certain metallic salts given
in minute doses, as bichloride of mercury and nitrate of silver.   The object
of the  magnesia or its carbonate is simply to enable the oil to be brought to
a state of minute division, and  thus presented with a larger  surface to the
action  of the solvent.   Chalk and sugar  answer a similar purpose; but the
latter, by being dissolved with  the oil, renders the preparation impure.
   We  are pleased to find that  the London College, in the edition of their
                                  73* 
858
Aquae Medicatas.
PART II.
 Pharmacopoeia for 1836, recognise the above mode of preparing the distilled
 waters.   After directions for preparing them severally by distillation, they
 state that " Several of the Distilled Waters  may be prepared  in a very
 short time, when wanted for more speedy use, by carefully rubbing a drachm
 of any distilled oil with a drachm of Carbonate of Magnesia, and  then with
four pints [Imperial measure]  of  Distilled  Water,  and finally filtering the
 liquor."                                                          W.
   AQUA  ACIDI  CARBONICI.    U. S.   Carbonic  Acid  Water.
 Artificial Seltzer Water.
   " By means of a forcing pump, throw into a suitable receiver, nearly filled
 with Water, a quantity of Carbonic Acid equal  to five times the bulk of the
 Water.   Carbonic Acid is  obtained from Marble by means of dilute Sul-
 phuric Acid." U. S.
   This preparation,  which is peculiar  to the United States Pharmacopoeia,
 consists of  water highly charged with  carbonic acid.   Water is found to
 take up its volume of this acid under the pressure of the atmosphere; and
 Dr. Henry ascertained that precisely the same volume of the compressed
 gas is absorbed under a higher pressure.  From this law, the bulk taken up
 is constant, the quantity being different in proportion as there is more or less
 driven into a  given space.  As the space occupied by a gas is inversely as
 the compressing  force, it follows that the quantity of the acid forced into the
 water will be directly as the pressure.   A double pressure will force a dou-
 ble quantity into a given space, and, therefore, cause a double quantity to be
 absorbed; a treble pressure will drive a treble quantity into  the same space,
 and cause its absorption;  and  so on for higher pressures, the bulk of the
 compressed gas absorbed always remaining the same.   From the principles
 above laid down  it follows,  that, to saturate water with five times its volume
 of carbonic acid,  as directed in the formula,  it must be subjected to a pres-
 sure of five atmospheres;  and this is about the strength of the carbonic acid
 water manufactured in the United States.
   Carbonic acid water is familiarly called in  this country " mineral water,"
 and " soda water;" the latter name, originally applied to  the  preparation
 when it contained a  small portion  of  carbonate of soda, being from habit
 continued since the alkali has been omitted.  As  it is largely consumed,
 both as an agreeable  beverage and as a  medicine, it will be proper to give a
 sketch of the  apparatus usually employed in  its  preparation.  This consists
 of a generator, gasometer, forcing pump, reservoir or fountain, and refrige-
 rator.  The generator is usually formed of a wooden tub  somewhat like a
 churn, into which the dilute sulphuric acid is put.  On this is luted a small
 cylindrical wooden vessel,  through the bottom of which passes a wooden
 stirrer.   This vessel  is filled with marble powder, which, by the movement
 of the stirrer, is  made gradually to  fall  into  the acid below, generating the
 carbonic acid, which by a lead pipe is  conducted into the gasometer.  This
 is a large cylindrical tub,  in  which another is inverted suspended by a
 pulley.   As  soon as the gasometer is  full,  which should have five or six
 times the capacity of the reservoir, the  operation of condensing the gas into
 the latter is commenced.  This is effected by a condensing pump-, the cham-
 ber of which  is made to communicate, by leaden tubes on opposite  sides,
 with the gasometer and reservoir.   The latter,  usually called the fountain,
 is a very  strong cylindrical  copper  vessel, with hemispherical extremities,
 tinned on the inside, and, before receiving the carbonic acid,  nearly filled
 with water.   When  the water has been duly charged with  the acid gas, it
 is drawn  off as it  is wanted, by means  of a stop-cock connected with a tube 
part ii.                    Aquae Medicaids.                      859

which passes to the bottom of the reservoir.   The tube may be of any de-
sired length, so as to draw off the  water at a distance from the reservoir.
The apparatus  is usually placed  in the cellar, and the tube  from the reser-
voir is made to pass through the floor and counter of the shop, and to ter-
minate in a stop-cock, by means of  which the carbonic acid water may be
drawn off at pleasure.   In order to have the liquid cool in summer, the  tube
from the cellar generally terminates in a strong metallic vessel of convenient
shape, placed under  the counter and  surrounded with ice, and from this
vessel a separate tube penetrating the counter  proceeds.
   The acid gas for ,the impregnation of the water is  always obtained from
marble dust by the action of sulphuric acid; these being the cheapest mate-
rials  for the purpose.   Chalk may also be used, but  is objectionable on ac-
count of its communicating an unpleasant smell to the  carbonic acid.   When
sulphuric acid is  employed, sulphate of lime is formed, which interferes
with the action of the acid;  and hence it is necessary to stir the mixture  to
render the decomposition of the carbonate complete.
   Properties.  Carbonic acid water is a sparkling liquid, possessing an agree-
able, pungent,  acidulous taste.   It reddens litmus feebly, and is precipitated
by lime-water.   Being impregnated with a large quantity of the acid gas
under the influence of pressure, it effervesces strongly  when freed from
restraint.  Hence, to  preserve its briskness, it should  be kept in strong well
corked bottles, placed inverted in a cool place.  Several natural waters are
of a similar nature;  such as these  of  Seltzer, Spa,  and Pyrmont;  but the
artificial water has the advantage of a stronger impregnation with the acid gas.
Carbonic acid water, when pure, is not discoloured by sulphuretted hydrogen
or solution  of ammonia, and yields no precipitate with sulphate of soda  or
ferrocyanuret of potassium.   It should be  made with every precaution  to
 avoid metallic impurity.   Hence the  necessity of having the reservoir  or
fountain well tinned  on the  inner surface.  Even with  this precaution,  a
slight metallic impregnation is not always avoided, especially  in the winter
season, when the water is less consumed as a  drink, and, therefore, allowed
 to remain longer in the reservoir.  Glass fountains are sometimes used with
advantage at this season;  and  a patent has been taken out for a stoneware
fountain enclosed in tinned copper, which has been found to answer a good
 purpose. When leaden tubes are employed to convey the water, it is liable
 to be contaminated with this metal, which renders it deleterious.   A case
 of colica pictonum occurred to one of the  authors, arising from the daily use
 of the first draught of carbonic acid water from a fountain furnished with
 tubes of lead.   Tin  tubes are sometimes employed,  enclosed in lead ones
 to give them strength.
    Carbonic acid, formerly called fixed air, is a colourless gas, of a slightly
 pungent odour and acid taste.  It reddens litmus feebly, and combines with
 salifiable bases, forming salts called carbonates, from which it is expelled by
 all the strong acids.   It extinguishes flame, and is quickly fatal to animals
 when respired.  All kinds of fermented liquors, which are brisk or sparkling,
 such as champagne, cider, porter, &c, owe these properties to its presence.
 Its sp. gr. is 1*52.   In 1823 it  was liquified by Faraday by a pressure of
 36 atmospheres, and in 1836 solidified by Thilorier, by taking advantage
 of the cold generated by the  sudden  gasefaction of  the liquid acid, when
 freed from pressure.   It is composed of one eq. of carbon 6*12, and two of
oxygen 16=22*12.
    Carbonic acid gas has been used by Professor Mojon, of Geneva, as  an
 injection in dysnienorrhoea with the most soothing effects.   It is applied by
means of a flexible tube, inserted into the .vagina, and proceeding from a 
860
Aquae Medicatae.
part ir.
 bottle containing pieces of chalk and dilute sulphuric acid.  The application
 is continued for five minutes, and repeated several times a day. (Am. Journ.
 of the Med. Sci. xxii. 469, from the Bull. Gen. de Therap.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Carbonic acid water is diaphoretic, diu-
 retic, and anti-emetic.  It forms a very grateful drink to  febrile  patients,
 allaying thirst,  lessening nausea and gastric distress, and promoting the
 secretion of urine.   The quantity taken  need only be regulated by the rea-
 sonable wishes of the patient.  It also forms a very convenient vehicle for
 the administration of magnesia, the carbonated alkalies, sulphate of magnesia,
 and  the saline cathartics  generally;  rendering these medicines less unplea-
 sant  to the palate, and, in irritable states of the  stomach, increasing the
 chances  of  their being retained.  When used for this purpose, six or eight
 fluidounces will be sufficient.                                      B.
   AQUA  ANETHI. Lond., Ed.   Dill Water.
   " Take of Dill [fruit], bruised, a pound and  a half; Proof Spirit seven
fluidounces; Water two gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil a gallon." Lond.
   The Edinburgh College  takes the same  quantity of dill  and of water,
 with three fluidounces of rectified  spirit, mixes, and distils a gallon.
   This is seldom if ever used in the United States.                 W.
   AQUA  CAMPHORJE. U.S.  Mistura Camphors.  Lond., Ed,,
 Dub.  Camphor Water.
   "Take of Camphor two drachms; Alcohol forty minims; Carbonate of
 Magnesia a drachm;  Distilled Water two pints.  Rub the Camphor first
 with the Alcohol, afterwards with  the  Carbonate of  Magnesia, and lastly
 with the Water  gradually added; then filter through paper." U. S.
   The  London College takes half a drachm of camphor, ten minims of
 rectified  spirit, and a pint [Imperial measure] of water; rubs the camphor
 first with the spirit, and then with the  water gradually added; and strains
 through linen.  The Dublin College orders a scruple of camphor, ten drops
 of alcohol, a pint of warm water, and, instead of the carbonate of magnesia,
 half an ounce of sugar; and  completes the process as directed in the  U.S.
 Pharmacopoeia.   The Edinburgh College directs a scruple of camphor and
 half an ounce of sugar, well rubbed together,  to be beat, with half an ounce
 of blanched sweet almonds, into a smooth pulp; a pint [Imp. meas.] of water
 to be gradually added, and the mixture to be strained.
   In all these  processes the object is to effect a solution of the camphor.
 Water is capable of dissolving but a small proportion of this principle; but
 the quantity varies  with the method employed.   The London preparation
 is very feeble.   Made according to  the  Edinburgh and Dublin processes,
 one  pint of  the water contains less  than  twenty  grains of camphor;  while
 our own officinal preparation contains about fifty grains to the pint, or more
 than three grains to the fluidounce.   (Journ. of  the Phil. Col. of Pharm.
 iv. 13.)  The difference is attributable to the minute division effected in the
 camphor by trituration with the carbonate of magnesia, which is afterwards
 separated by filtration.  The use of the  alcohol is simply to break down
 the cohesion of  the camphor, and enable it to  be more easily pulverized.
 The process of  the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is much preferable  to the others,
 as it affords a permanent solution of sufficient strength to be employed with
 a view to the influence of the camphor on the  system;  while  the British
 preparations have little more than  the  flavour  of the narcotic, and are fit
 only for  vehicles of other medicines.  The camphor is separated by a solu-
 tion  of pure potassa, and, according to Dr. Paris, by sulphate of magnesia
 and  several other salts. 
part ii.                 Aquae Medicatas.                      861

   Camphor water is chiefly employed in low  fevers and typhoid diseases
attended with restlessness, slight delirium, or  other symptoms  of nervous
derangement or debility.  It is used also to allay uterine after-pains.  It has
this advantage over camphor in substance,  that the latter is  with difficulty
dissolved by the liquors of the stomach; but it is not applicable to cases where
very larjre doses of the medicine  are required.  It is usually given in the dose
of one or  two tablespoonfuls repeated every hour or two hours.     W.
   AQUA CARUI.  Lond., Dub.   Caraway  Water.
   The London College prepares this in  the same manner as Dill Water.
(See Aqua Anethi.)   The Dublin College takes a pound  of bruised cara-
way seeds, and  sufficient water to prevent empyreuma, and distils a gallon.
   Caraway water has the flavour and pungency  of the seeds, but is not
used in this country.                                            W.
   AQUA CASSIA. Ed.   Water of Cassia.
   " Take  of Cassia-bark, bruised, eighteen ounces;  Water, two gallons
[Imperial  measure];  Rectified Spirit three fluidounces.   Mix  them toge-
ther, and distil off one gallon." Ed.
   The distinction between cassia and cinnamon is not recognised  in our
Pharmacopoeia; so that this preparation would rank as a variety of cinna-
mon water.   (See Aqua Cinnamomi.)                            W.
   AQUA CHLORINII. Dub.   Chlorinei  Aqua. Ed.   Chlorine
 Water.
   " Take  of dried Muriate of Soda  one hundred parts; Oxide of Manga-
nese thirty parts; Sulphuric Acid eighty-seven parts;  Water one hundred
and twenty-four parts.  Add the Acid gradually to the Water, and when
the mixture has grown cold, pour it  on the Muriate of Soda and Oxide  of
Manganese, reduced  to fine  powder, well mixed, and put into a  retort.
Then with  a proper apparatus  and a moderate heat gradually increased,
transmit the gas escaping from  the mixture through two hundred parts of
Distilled Water; the operation being  concluded as soon as the effervescence
in the retort has ceased.   Chlorine Water should be kept in well stopped
glass bottles, and in a place impervious to the rays of light." Dub.
   " Take  of Muriate of Soda sixty  grains;  Sulphuric Acid (commercial)
two fluidrachms [Imperial measure]; Red Oxide of Lead  three hundred
and fifty  grains; Water eight fluidounces [Imp. meas.].   Triturate the
Muriate of Soda and Oxide together; put them into the Water contained  in
a bottle with a glass stopper; add the Acid; agitate  occasionally till the  Red
Oxide becomes almost all  white.  Allow the insoluble matter to subside
before using the liquid." Ed.
   These formulae are intended to furnish a saturated solution of chlorine  in
water.   The materials employed by the Dublin College are those usually
taken for generating chlorine; and this, as it is extricated in a gaseous state,
is  passed into a portion of  water, with a view to its being absorbed.  Muri-
ate of soda is the chloride of sodium  of modern chemists.  This, when acted
on by dilute sulphuric acid and deutoxide of manganese, is decomposed, the
chlorine is extricated, and the sodium and deutoxide of manganese, having
been converted, by a transfer of  oxygen from the latter to the former, into
soda and protoxide, unite with the sulphuric acid, and form sulphate of  soda
and sulphate of  protoxide of manganese, which remain behind.   The water
intended to receive the gas is most conveniently placed in a Wolfe's bottle,
connected  with a common bottle containing milk of lime, to absorb any ex-
cess of chlorine, which might otherwise produce inconvenience by its escape. 
862                      Aquae Medicatae.                    part ii.

  The Edinburgh process differs from the Dublin in  forming the solution
in the liquid way, avoiding the transmission  of the gas  from one vessel to
another.  Red oxide of lead is substituted for the deutoxide of manganese,
and performs the same part in the play of affinities.  It oxidizes the sodium,
and is itself reduced to the state of protoxide.  The chlorine is set free and
dissolved by the water, and the sulphuric  acid forms with the soda, sulphate
of soda  which remains in solution, and  with the protoxide, sulphate of pro-
toxide of lead which is precipitated.   The action is completed in the course
of a few hours, and the  sulphate of  lead having subsided, the supernatant
liquid forms  an aqueous solution of chlorine, containing a  little sulphate of
soda.
  Properties.   The  Dublin chlorine  water has a  pale  yellowish-green
colour, an astringent taste, and  the peculiar odour of the gas.  Like gaseous
chlorine, it destroys vegetable colours.  When cooled to about the freezing
point, it forms deep-yellow crystalline plates, consisting of hydrate of chlo-
rine.  At the temperature of 50°, it contains about twice its volume of the
gas.  It is decomposed by light, with the production of muriatic  acid, and
the evolution of oxygen, and hence must be kept in  a dark place.   The
Edinburgh preparation differs from the Dublin only in containing a small
portion  of sulphate of soda, which is  not thought  to interfere with its
medicinal properties.
  Chlorine is  an  elementary gaseous  fluid, of  a greenish-yellow colour,
and characteristic  and disagreeable smell and taste.  It is  a supporter of
combustion.  Its sp. gr. is 2-47, and equivalent  number 35-42.  It is
irrespirable  when undiluted.  When the attempt is  made  to breathe it,
even much diluted, it excites cough and a sense  of suffocation, and causes
a discharge  from  the  nostrils  resembling  coryza.   When  breathed in
considerable quantities, it produces  spitting of  blood,  violent pains,  and
sometimes death.   It has been recommended in  minute doses, by Gannal,
in chronic bronchitis and pulmonary  consumption,  exhibited by inhala-
tion four or six times a day.  Its first effect is  to produce  some dryness
of the  fauces, with increased expectoration for a time, followed  ultimately
with diminution of  the  sputa,  and  amendment.  Dr. Christison states
that he  has  repeatedly  observed  these results in chronic catarrh; and in
consumption, both he and Dr.  Elliotson have  witnessed the temporary
melioration of the symptoms from chlorine inhalations, such as they have
never obtained  by any  other means.  The  liquid in the  inhaler may be
formed of water containing  from ten to thirty drops of chlorine water, or
of chlorinated lime dissolved in forty  parts of water, to which a drop or two
of sulphuric acid must he added  each time the inhalation is  practised; the
inhaler  being placed in water,  heated to  about 100°.   For a  notice of
iodine inhalations, see page 396.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Chlorine water is stimulant and antisep-
tic.  It  has been used in typhus, and  chronic affections of the liver; but the
diseases in which  it has  been most  extolled are  scarlatina and  malignant
sorethroat.   Externally it may be used, duly diluted, as a  gargle in putrid
sorethroat, as a wash for ill-conditioned ulcers and cancerous sores, and as
a local bath in diseases of the liver; though for the latter purpose, the nitro-
muriatic acid, which is in effect a solution of chlorine, is usual'y employed.
As  it depends upon chlorine for its activity, its medical properties coincide
generally  with  those of chlorinated lime,  chlorinated  soda, and  nitro-muri-
atic acid, under which heads they are more  particularly  given.  (See Calx
Chlorinata,  Liquor  Sodas Chlorinatae,  and Acidum  Nitromuriaticum) 
part ii.                 Aquas Medicalve.                      863

The dose of chlorine water is from  one to four fluidrachms, properly di-
luted.                                                          B.
  AQUA  CINNAMOMI.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.   Cinnamon
Water.
  "Take of Oil of Cinnamon half a fluidrachm; Carbonate of Magnesia
half a drachm; Distilled Water two pints.  Rub the Oil of Cinnamon first
with the Carbonate of Magnesia, then with the Water gradually added, and
filter through paper." U. S.
  " Take of Cinnamon, bruised, a pound and a half, or Oil of Cinnamon
two drachms; Proof Spirit seven fluidounces; Water two gallons [Impe-
rial measure].  Distil a gallon."  Lond.
  The Dublin College takes a pound of cinnamon bruised and macerated
for  a day in water, or three drachms  of the oil, and, with sufficient water to
prevent empyreuma, distils a gallon.   The Edinburgh College prepares
this from cinnamon in the same manner as the Water of Cassia.
  Of these processes, that of the United States Pharmacopoeia is decidedly
preferable,  as much  easier than the others, and affording a product in every
respect equal, if not  superior.   Cinnamon water  is a favourite  vehicle with
many practitioners for other  less pleasant medicines; but should be used
cautiously in inflammatory affections.  For ordinary purposes it is suffi-
ciently strong when diluted with an equal measure of water.
  Off. Prep. Mistura Cretae, U. S., Lond.; Mistura Guaiaci,  Lond., Ed.}
Mistura Spiritus  Vini Gallici, Lond.                              W.
  AQUA  FLORUM  AURANTII. Lond.   Aurantii  Aqua. Ed.
Orange Flower Water.
  " Take of Orange Flowers ten pounds; Proof Spirit  seven fluidounces;
Water two gallons [Imperial measure].  Distil a gallon." Lond.
  This is  placed by the Edinburgh College in  their Materia Medica list,
with the following explanation;—" Distilled water of the flowers  of Citrus
vulgaris,.and sometimes  of Citrus Aurantium."
  Orange-flower  water is not prepared in  this part of  the  United  States,
though the flowers might be  imported for the purpose, if previously incor-
porated with one-third or one-quarter of their weight of common salt.  It
is made in  Italy  and France, and  the flowers of the bitter orange are pre-
ferred, as yielding the most fragrant product.  It is nearly colourless,  though
usually of  a pale  yellowish tint.   In consequence of being kept in  copper
bottles, it is apt to contain  metallic impurity.   This is chiefly carbonate of
lead, derived from the lead used as a  solder to join the sheets of copper.
The Edinburgh College, therefore, directs that it should not be affected by
sulphuretted hydrogen, which, if either lead or copper were present, would
throw down a dark  precipitate.  Much colour, an offensive odour,  or mould-
mess, would indicate impurity derived from the flowers  in the process of
distillation.  Orange-flower water is used exclusively as a perfume.   W.
  AQUA  FUNICULI.  U. S., Lond, Ed, Dub.   Fennel Water.
  The U.S. Pharmacopoeia  directs this to be prepared from Oil of Fennel,
in the same manner as cinnamon water. (See Aqua Cinnamomi.)
  The London and Edinburgh  Colleges prepare it in the same manner as
dill water  (see Aqua Anethi);  the  Dublin College, in the same manner
as caraway water (see Aqua Carui).
  Fennel water is an agreeable vehicle for other medicines, and useful when
a mild aromatic is indicated.                                      W. 
864                     Aquas Medicatas.                   part ii.
   AQUA  LAURO-CERASI. Ed., Dub.  Cherry-laurel Water.
   " Take of Fresh Leaves of Cherry-laurel, a pound; Water two pints and
 a half [Imperial measure]; Compound Spirit of Lavender an ounce. Chop
 down the Leaves, mix them with the Water, distil off one pint [Imp. meas.],
 agitate the distilled liquid well, filter it if any milkiness remain  after a few
 seconds of rest, and then add the Lavender spirit."  Ed.
   " Take of Fresh Leaves of Cherry Laurel a pound; Water three pints.
 Distil a pint, and instead  of Rectified Spirit, add of Compound  Spirit of
 Lavender an ounce."  Dub.
   The substitution of the compound spirit of lavender for alcohol, is in order
 to impart colour to the preparation, and thus prevent it from being mistaken
 for common water.  It is employed in Europe as a sedative narcotic, identi-
 cal in its properties with a dilute solution of hydrocyanic acid; but is of very
 uncertain strength. The dose is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm.  W.
   AQUA MENTHA PIPERITA.  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Pep-
permint Water.
   This is prepared, according to the United States Pharmacopoeia, from the
 oil of peppermint, in the manner directed for cinnamon water. (See Aqua
 Cinnamomi.)
   " Take of Peppermint, dried, two pounds, or Oil of Peppermint, two
 drachms; Proof Spirit seven fluidounces; Water two gallons [Imperial
 measure].   Distil a gallon.  When the fresh herb is used the quantity
 should be doubled." Lond.
   The Edinburgh College mixes four pounds of fresh or two of dry pep-
 permint,  two gallons [Imp. meas.] of water,  and three  fluidounces of rec-
 tified spirit,  and distils a gallon.  The Dublin College proceeds as in the
 instance of Caraway Water, employing a pound and a half of the herb; or
 simply distils a mixture of three drachms of the oil and a gallon of water.  W.
   AQUA MENTHA  PULEGII.  Lond.  Aqua Pulegii. Ed.,
 Dub.  Pennyroyal Water.
   This is prepared from the European pennyroyal or  its oil, precisely in
 the manner directed by the British Colleges for peppermint water.  It is not
 used in this  country, as we have not the plant.  A water prepared from the
 Hedeoma pulegioides, or American pennyroyal, might  be substituted.
   Pennyroyal  water is employed for the same purposes as those of pepper-
 mint and spearmint.
   Off. Prep. Mistura Ammoniaci, Dub.; Mistura Assafcetidae, Dub.  W.
   AQUA MENTHA  VIRIDIS. U.S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.  Spear-
 mint  Water.
   This is prepared, according  to  the United States Pharmacopoeia, from
 the oil of spearmint, in the manner directed for cinnamon water. (See Aqua
 Cinnamomi.)
   By the British Colleges it is  prepared in the manner directed by them for
 peppermint  water.
   The two mint waters are among the most grateful and most employed of
 this  class of preparations.  Together with cinnamon water, they are used in
 this country, almost to  the exclusion of all others, as the vehicle of medicines
 given in the  form of mixture.  They serve not only to conceal or qualify the
 taste of other medicines, but also to  counteract their nauseating properties.
 The peppermint water is generally thought to have a more pleasant flavour
 than that of  spearmint, but some prefer  the latter.  Their effects  are  the
 same.                                                         W. 
part ii.                  Aquas Medicatas.                      865

  AQUA PICIS LIQUIDS. Dub.   Tar  Water.
  " Take of Tar two pints;  Water a gallon.  Mix, stirring with a wooden
rod for fifteen minutes; then, after the Tar shall have subsided, strain the
liquor, and keep it in  well stopped bottles." Dub.
  Water takes from tar a small portion of acetic acid, empyreumatic oil, and
resinous matter, acquiring a sharp empyreumatic  taste,  and the colour of
Madeira wine.  Thus impregnated it is stimulant and diuretic; and, though
at present little used, was formerly highly extolled as a  remedy in pulmo-
nary consumption.  It may be given  with  occasional advantage in chronic
catarrhal affections, and complaints of the urinary passages.  From one to
two pints may be  taken in the course of the day.  It is also used as a wash
in chronic cutaneous affections.                                  W.
   AQUA PIMENTO.  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.  Pimento Water.
   "Take of  Pimento, bruised, a  pound, or Oil of Pimento two drachms;
Proof Spirit  seven fluidounces;  Water two gallons [Imperial measure].
Distil a gallon." Lond.
   The Edinburgh College mixes a pound of bruised pimento, two gallons
[Imp. meas.] of water, and  three fluidounces of rectified spirit, and distils
a gallon. The Dublin College distils a gallon from halfa pound of pimento,
previously bruised, and macerated for twenty-four  hours in  a pint of water,
and takes care that sufficient water shall remain  to prevent  empyreuma.
  Pimento water  is brownish when first distilled,, and  upon standing depo-
sits a brown resinous sediment.  It is used as a carminative  in the dose of
one or two fluidounces.                                         W.
  AQUA ROSM. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.    Rose  Water.
   "Take of  Fresh Hundred-leaved Roses eight pounds;  Water two gal-
lons.   Mix them  and  distil a gallon." U. S.
  The Dublin College orders a gallon of the water to be distilled from eight
pounds of the  petals.  The  London College takes ten pounds of roses,
seven fluidounces  of proof spirit, and  two gallons  [Imperial measure] of
water, and distils  a gallon.   The Edinburgh College proceeds  as the Lon-
don, substituting three fluidounces of rectified spirit for seven of proof spirit;
and adds  the  following notice.  " The petals  should be  preferred  when
fresh;  but it also  answers well to use those which have been preserved by
beating them with twice their weight of muriate of soda."
   It should be observed that, in the nomenclature of  the  United States
Pharmacopoeia, the term " Roses" implies only the petals of  the flower.
These are directed in  the recent state; but it is said that when preserved by
being incorporated with  one-third of their weight of common salt, they
retain their odour, and afford a water equally fragrant with  that prepared
from the  fresh flower.   Rose water is sometimes made  by distilling to-
gether water  and  the oil of roses.
   When  properly prepared, it has t^e delightful perfume of  the rose in
great  perfection.   It is most  successfully made on a large scale.  Like
the other distilled waters it is liable to  spoil when  kept;  and  the alcohol
which  is added to preserve it is incompatible with some of the  purposes to
which  the water is applied, and  is even said to render it sour by promot-
ing the acetous fermentation.  It  is best, therefore, to  avoid this addition,
and to substitute a second distillation.   This distilled water is  chiefly  em-
ployed on account of its pleasant odour in  collyria and other lotions.   It is
wholly destitute of irritating  properties, unless when it contains alcohol.
   Off. Prep.   Confectio  Rosae, U. S.;  Mistura  Ferri Composita, U. S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.; Mist.  Moschi, Lond.; Ung. Aquae Rosae, U.  S.   W.
       74 
866               Aquas Medicatas.—Argentum.           part ii.

  AQUA SAMBUCI. Lond., Ed.   Elder Water.
  " Take of Elder Flowers ten pounds, or of Oil of Elder two drachms;
Proof Spirit seven fluidounces;  Water two gallons [Imperial measure].
Distil a gallon." Lond.
  The Edinburgh College mixes ten pounds of the fresh flowers, two gal-
lons [Imp. meas.] of water, and three fluidounces  of rectified spirit, and
distils a gallon.
  Elder flowers yield very little oil upon distillation; and if the water be
needed, it may be best prepared from the flowers.   In this country it is not
used.                                                           W.

                          ARGENTUM.

                      Preparations of Silver.

  ARGENTI  CYANURETUM.  U.S.    Argenti   Cyanibum.
Lond.  Cyanuret of Silver.  Cyanide of Silver.
  "Take of Nitrate of Silvern/Veen drachms; Hydrocyanic Acid, Dis-
tilled Water, each, a pint.  Having dissolved  the Nitrate of Silver in the
Water, add the Hydrocyanic Acid  and mix them.   Wash the precipitate
with Distilled  Water and dry it." U. S.
  The London formula is the same as that above given, which was adopted
from the London Pharmacopoeia, merely adjusting the proportions to suit
the  U. S. officinal measure, instead of the Imperial measure.
  This  preparation was  introduced into  the  London Pharmacopoeia, and
afterwards into that of the United States, for the purpose of being used in
the  extemporaneous preparation  of diluted  hydrocyanic acid.   (See page
786.)  Its formation is a case of  double decomposition  between the oxide
of silver of the nitrate, and the  hydrocyanic acid, resulting in the formation
of water, and a white curdy precipitate of cyanuret or cyanide of silver.
  Properties.   Cyanuret of silver is a tasteless white powder, insoluble in
water and cold nitric acid, but readily soluble, with decomposition, in that
acid when boiling hot.   It  is decomposed  by muriatic and hydrosulphuric
acid, and the hydrosulphates.   It is not soluble in potassa or soda, but rea-
dily so in ammonia.   When well dried, it  is resolved by a red heat into
silver and cyanogen gas;  but when it contains water, it yields hydrocyanic
acid and cyanogen, the residue being silver  mixed  with charcoal.  It con-
sists of one eq. of cyanogen 26*39, and one of silver  108= 134-39.  It has
no medical uses.
  Off. Prep.  Acidum Hydrocyanicum, U. S., Lond.               B.
  ARGENTI  NITRAS.   U.S., Lond.,  Ed.   Argenti  Nitras
Fusum. Dub.  Nitrate of Silver.  Lunar Caustic.
  " Take of Silver, in small pieces, an ounce; Nitrie Acid five fluidrachms;
Distilled Water two fluidounces.   Mix the Acid with the  Water, and dis-
solve the Silver in the mixture on a sand-bath;  then gradually increase the
heat, so that the resulting salt may be dried.   Melt  this in a crucible over
a gentle fire, and continue the heat until ebullition ceases; then immediately
pour it into suitable moulds."  U. S.
  " Take of Silver an ounce and a half;  Nitric Acid a fluidounce [Impe-
rial measure]; Distilled Water two fluidounces [Imp.  meas.].  Mix the
Nitric Acid with the Water, and dissolve the Silver in them on a sand-bath.
Then increase the heat gradually that the Nitrate of Silver may be dried.
Melt this  in a crucible with a slow fire, until, the  water  being expelled,
ebullition has ceased; then immediately pour it into proper moulds." Lond. 
PART II.
Argentum.
867
  " Take of pure Silver an ounce and a half;  Pure Nitric Acid a fluid-
ounce [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water two fluidounces [Imp. meas.].
Mix the Acid and Water, add the Silver, and dissolve it with the  aid of a
gentle heat;  increase the heat gradually till a dry salt be obtained;  fuse the
salt in an earthenware or porcelain crucible, and  pour the fused matter into
iron  moulds, previously heated and greased slightly with tallow.   Preserve
the product in glass vessels." Ed.
  "Dissolve Silver in Diluted Nitric Acid [in the  manner directed in the
formula for Crystals of Nitrate of Silver]; then evaporate the solution to
dryness.  Melt the residuum, placed in  a crucible, over a slow fire;  then
pour it out into proper moulds, and keep it in a glass bottle."  Dub.
   During the solution of silver in nitric acid, part of the acid is decomposed
into nitric oxide which is given off and becomes red fumes by contact with
the atmosphere, and oxygen which oxidizes the  silver.   The oxide formed
then combines with the remainder of the  acid, and generates the nitrate of
silver in solution.   The water is next driven off by heat, and the salt fused
and  cast into little cylinders about the size of a quill. The silver should be
pure, and the acid diluted for the purpose of promoting its  action.  If the
silver contain copper, the solution will have a  greenish  tint, not disappear-
ing on the application of heat; and if a  minute  portion of gold be present, it
will be  left undissolved as a black powder.  The acid also should be pure.
The commercial nitric acid, as it frequently contains both  muriatic and sul-
phuric acids, should never be used in this process.  The muriatic acid  gives
rise  to  an insoluble chloride, and the  sulphuric, to the  sparingly soluble
sulphate of silver.  In the former London and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias
the nitric acid was used in excess; but was reduced to  the proper  propor-
tion upon the revision  of those works in 1836 and 1839.  As the salt  sinks
into a common crucible, the fusion should be performed in one of porcelain,
as recommended by the Edinburgh College, the size of which should be
sufficient to hold five or six times the quantity of the dry salt operated on,
in order to prevent its overflowing in consequence of the ebullition. Some-
times small portions of the liquid are spirted out;  and the operator should
be on his guard against this occurrence.   When the mass flows like  oil, it
is completely fused, and ready to be poured into the moulds. These should
be warmed, but not greased,  as directed  by the  Edinburgh College;  as
grease furnishes organic matter  which partially decomposes the salt.
   Properties. Nitrate of silver is a white salt, having an intensely metallic,
bitter taste.   As prepared by the above process, it is  in the form of  hard,
brittle sticks, at first white, but  becoming gray and more, or less dark under
the  influence of light, owing to the reduction of the silver, effected probably
by organic matter or sulphuretted  hydrogen  contained in the atmosphere.
That the change does not depend on the sole action of light has been proved
by Mr. Scanlan, who finds that nitrate of silver, in a clean glass tube her-
metically sealed, undergoes no change  by exposure to light; while on the
other hand it is known  that the solution of nitrate of silver is discoloured
by the most minute portion of organic matter, of which it is a delicate test.
Its affinity for animal  matter  is evinced by its forming definite compounds
with albumen  and fibrin.  The surface  of the  sticks  often becomes dark
coloured and  nearly black, and  when  they are broken across, they exhibit
a crystalline fracture with a radiated  surface.   Nitrate of silver is soluble
in its own weight of cold water, and in four parts of alcohol.   When per-
fectly pure it is wholly soluble  in distilled water; but even good samples of
the fused salt will not totally dissolve, a very scanty black powder being left of 
86S
Argentum.
PART II.
reduced silver, arising from the salt having been exposed to too high a heat
in fusion.   Its solution stains the skin of an indelible black colour.  When
exposed  to heat it fuses at 426°, and at about 600°  undergoes decomposi-
tion, with evolution of oxygen and nitrous acid,  and  reduction of the metal.
This statement  explains why it is  necessary to  guard against  the applica-
tion of too high a heat  during the  fusion of the  salt.  Nitrate of silver is
incompatible with almost all spring and river water,  on account of the com-
mon salt usually contained in it; with soluble chlorides; with sulphuric, hy-
drosulphuric,  muriatic, and tartaric acids, and their  salts; with the alkalies
and their carbonates; with lime-water; and with astringent vegetable infu-
sions.   It is an anhydrous salt, and consists of one eq. of nitric acid 54-15,
and one of oxide of silver 116 = 170-15.
   Impurities  and  Tests.   Nitrate of silver is liable to contain free silver
from  having  been  exposed  to  too high a heat, the  nitrates  of lead and
copper from the impurity of the silver dissolved in the acid, and nitrate of
potassa from fraudulent admixture.   Free silver  will  be left undissolved as a
black powder, after the action of distilled water.  A very  slight residue of
this kind is hardly avoidable; but if there is much free silver, it will be shown
by the surface of a fresh fracture of one of the sticks presenting  an unusually
dark-gray colour. (Christison.)  A solution of chloride of sodium in excess
should throw  down the whole of the silver as a white curdy precipitate, and
nothing besides.  This precipitate should be entirely soluble in ammonia.
If not entirely soluble, the  insoluble part is probably chloride of lead.   If
the supernatant liquid, after the removal of the above mentioned precipitate,
be discoloured or precipitated by sulphuretted hydrogen, the fact shows the
presence of metallic matter, which  is probably copper or some remains of
lead, or both.   In order to detect nitre, a solution  of the suspected salt should
be precipitated by muriatic acid in excess and sulphuretted  hydrogen, to re-
move the silver, and other metals if they happen to be present. The filtered so-
lution, if the salt be pure, will entirety evaporate by heat; if it contain nitre, this
will be left, easily recognizable by its properties  as a  nitrate.  This impurity
sometimes exists in nitrate of silver in large amount, varying,  according to
different statements, from 10 to 75  per cent.  According to Dr. Christison,
it may be suspected if the sticks present a colourless fracture.  A test is
given in  the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia for indicating impurity in nitrate of
silver, without determining its nature.   It depends upon  the fact that  the
pure salt requires for its conversion  into chloride,  a given quantity of a
muriate or  chloride; and that if a little less  than  this quantity be used to
precipitate it,  the supernatant liquid will be precipitable by more of the test.
Now  this will not be the case with the impure  salt, unless its  impurity be
minute.  In applying this test, the Edinburgh College directs that 29 grains
of the salt should be dissolved in a fluidounce of distilled  water acidulated
with nitric acid,  precipitated  with a solution  of  9 grains of muriate of  am-
monia, briskly agitated for a few seconds, and then allowed to rest.  If the
salt be impure, it will not be precipitated on the addition of more of the test.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Nitrate of silver,  as an internal remedy,
is  deemed tonic and antispasmodic.   The principal diseases in  which it has
been employed are epilepsy, chorea, angina  pectoris, and  other spasmodic
affections.   In epilepsy it occasionally effects a  cure;  but the kind of cases
to which it is  applicable and  its modus  operandi are not understood.  It is
said to produce most  good in this  disease when it  acts  upon the bowels.
Dr. James Johnson and other practitioners have found it useful as a pallia-
tive and sedative in chronic disease of the stomach attended  with pain  and
vomiting.  Dr.  Boudin, of  Marseilles, has employed it in typhoid fever as 
PART II.
Argentum.
869
a remedy for the inflammation and ulceration of the ileum, which constitute
the most constant lesion in that disease.   When  the gastric symptoms pre-
dominate, he gives the nitrate  in pill, in doses of a fourth  to half a grain.
When diarrhoea is the principal symptom, he  administers, night and morn-
ing by injection, a solution of the salt containing  three or four grains to six
fluidounces of water.   The injections appeared to be  useful by promoting
the cicatrization of the intestinal ulcers, and were  found to extend their
operation as high up as the small intestines.  In chronic diarrhoea, especially
in that kind attendant on phthisis,  Dr. Macgreggor, of Dublin, has found
the nitrate of silver, conjoined  with opium,  a valuable remedy.  Whatever
may be the remedial value of this salt internally administered, its occasional
effect of producing a blue or  black  discoloration of the skin, which can
hardly be removed, is a great objection to its  use.   This effect proves the
absorption of the  medicine, and is alleged to show itself first on the tongue
and fauces.   The discoloration is said to be removed by a steady course of
cream of tartar.   Dr. A. T. Thomson has suggested as a preventive of this
effect, the administration of nitric acid in conjunction with the salt; and Dr.
Patterson, of Ireland, has proposed as a substitute for the nitrate, the iodide
of silver, which he supposes would have the same remedial effect, without
producing discoloration.
   Externally nitrate of silver is employed as a vesicant, stimulant, and es-
charotic, either dissolved in water, or  in the  solid state.   In the proportion of
about half a grain to the fluidounce  of water, it has been recommended as a
mouth wash for healing ulcers produced by mercury.  Dissolved to the extent
of from one to five grains in the same quantity of water, it is used for the pur-
pose of stimulating indolent ulcers, and as an injection for fistulous sores.  A
solution containing two grains to the fluidounce  is  an excellent application in
ophthalmia with ulcers of the cornea, in fetid  discharges from the ear, in
aphthous affections of the mouth, and  spongy gums.  It is, in general, most
conveniently applied to  ulcers by means of a camel's hair pencil.  A drachm
of the salt, dissolved in  a fluidounce of water, forms an escharotic  solution,
which may often be  resorted to  with advantage.  But nitrate of  silver is
most  frequently employed in the solid state;  and as it is not deliquescent
nor apt to spread, it forms the most  manageable caustic that can be used.
When thus employed, it is useful to  coat the  caustic,  as recommended by
M. Dumeril, by dipping it into  melted engraver's sealing wax, which
strengthens  the stick, protects it from change, prevents  it from staining the
fingers, and affords facilities for limiting the  action of the caustic to par-
ticular spots.   If it  is  desired, for example,  to  touch a part of the throat
with the caustic, it is  prepared  by scraping off the wax, with a penknife, to
a suitable extent from one end.  If the solid nitrate be applied three or four
times to the moistened skin, it generally vesicates, causing usually  less pain
than is produced by cantharides.  It is employed in the solid form to destroy
strictures of the urethra, warts and excrescences, fungous flesh, incipient
chancres, and the surface  of other ulcers.   Mr. Higginbottom considers its
free application to ulcers, so  as to cover them with an  eschar, as  an excel-
lent means of expediting their cicatrization.  He alleges that, if an  adherent
eschar be formed, the parts underneath heal before it falls off.   The same
writer recommends lunar caustic as  a topical  remedy in various  external
inflammations, but particularly in erysipelas, applied both to the  inflamed
and to surrounding healthy parts.   In some cases it is  sufficient to blacken
the cuticle; in others it is best to produce vesication.  It has also been used
with good effect,  in the solid state, by Dr.  Jewell in  leucorrhoea, and by
                                  74* 
870
Argentum.
PART II.
Ricord, Hannay, and others  in  the gonorrhoea of women.  In these cases
the pain produced is much less than would be expected.  It has been recom-
mended in gonorrhoea in the  male, even in the acute stage, used  in  solution
containing 10 or 12 grains to the fluidounce; but, although some quick cures
are well  authenticated,  the practice is extremely dangerous.  In smallpox
it has been proposed by Bretonneau  and Serres, to cauterize each pustule
after its top has been removed,  on the first or second day of the eruption,
in order  to arrest  its  development and prevent pitting.   The solid nitrate
also forms an efficacious application  to certain ulcerations in the throat, to
punctured and poisoned wounds, and to  chilblains, slowly rubbed over the
moistened part.   If, unexpectedly, the pain produced by the external use
of the nitrate should be  excessive, it may be immediately allayed by wash-
ing the parts with  a solution of common salt, which acts by decomposing
the caustic.
   The dose of nitrate of silver is a fourth of a grain, gradually increased to
four or five grains, three times  a day.   It should always be given in pill,
in which form,  according  to Dr. Powell,  the system bears a  dose three
times as  large as when given in  solution.   In the treatment of epilepsy,
this physician recommends  the exhibition at first of grain doses, to be
gradually increased to six grains, three times a day.   Its effects vary very
much, owing no doubt to the salt being more or less decomposed by  the sub-
stances used  in preparing it in pill, or with which it comes in contact in the
stomach.   It should not be made up into pill  with  crumb of bread, as this
contains common salt, but with some  vegetable powder and mucilage.  Con-
sidering that chloride of sodium  is used in food, and exists in the secretions,
and that free muriatic acid and albuminous fluids are present in the stomach,
it is almost certain that, sooner or later, the whole of the nitrate of silver
will be converted  into  a chloride or  albuminate, far less active than the
original salt.  Such being the inevitable result when  the nitrate is given,
the question  arises  how far it would be expedient to anticipate the  change,
and give the  silver  as a  chloride ready formed.  One of the authors of this
work has tried the chloride in large doses,  in two very unpromising cases
of epilepsy,  but without advantage.   The oxide of silver, to be noticed in
the Appendix, would  probably produce  the remedial effects of this metal,
and is not liable to the  objections which lie to the nitrate and chloride; to
the former on account of its unequal activity, to  the  latter as being ex-
tremely insoluble,  and  difficultly decomposable.   As the fused nitrate is
often  impure, it is  safer to employ the crystallized salt for internal exhibi-
tion.  (See Argenti Nitratis Crystalli.)   Solutions intended for  the eye
should be made  with  distilled water;  for ordinary purposes, good common
water is  sufficiently pure for dissolving the salt.
   Nitrate of silver, in  rn over-dose,  produces  the effects of the corrosive
poisons.    The proper antidote  is common  salt,  which acts by converting
the poison into the insoluble  chloride of silver.   Consecutive inflammation
must be combated  by bleeding,  both  general and local, and other antiphlo-
gistic  measures.
   Off. Prep. Argenti Cyanuretum, U. S., Lond.;  Liquor Argenti Nitratis,
Lond.                                                            B.
   LIQUOR ARGENTI  NITRATIS.  Lond.  Solution of Nitrate
of Silver.
   " Take of Nitrate of Silver a  drachm; Distilled Water a fluidounce [Im-
perial measure].   Dissolve  the Nitrate  of Silver in the Water,  and strain; 
PART II.
Argentum.—Arsenicum.
871
then, the access of light being prevented, keep  it in a well-closed vessel."
Lond.
  The London College have made the above solution officinal in their Phar-
macopoeia of 1836.   According to Mr. Phillips, it is intended merely as a
test for detecting the presence of muriatic acid and soluble  chlorides, with
which  it gives a  white curdy  precipitate,  insoluble in acids and the fixed
alkalies, but readily soluble in ammonia.   This solution, however useful as
a test, is certainly out of place in a Pharmacopoeia.                  B.
  ARGENTI NITRATIS  CRYSTALLI.  Dub.   Crystals of Ni-
trate of Silver.
  " Take of Silver, laminated and cut in pieces, thirty-seven parts;  Diluted
Nitric Acid sixty parts.   Put  the Silver in a glass vessel,  and pour upon
it the Acid, previously  diluted with water.   Dissolve the metal with a heat
gradually increased, and, by evaporation and refrigeration,  let crystals be
formed.   Dry them without heat, and preserve them in a glass bottle in a
dark place." Dub.
  The Dublin is the only Pharmacopoeia noticed in this work which has
made the  crystals of nitrate of silver officinal; and the motive for doing so
is to have a purer  salt for internal exhibition than the fused nitrate generally
is.   By an oversight in the process, the acid,  though  ordered  to be the
officinal  diluted acid, is directed to be diluted in the body  of the formula.
The crystals are in colourless transparent rhomboidal plates, often of large
size.   Their other properties, as well as their medical applications, are the
same as  those of the  fused nitrate, to  the  article on which the reader is
referred.                                                        B.


                          ARSENICUM.

                    Preparations of Arsenic.

  ARSENICI OXYDUM ALBUM SUBLIMATUM. Dub.   Sub-
limed White Oxide of Arsenic.
  " Reduce the Oxide of Arsenic to a coarse powder, and, avoiding the
vapours,  expose  it to  heat in a suitable  vessel, that the White Oxide of
Arsenic may sublime." Dub.
  The Dublin College, deeming the commercial white oxide of arsenic
(Acidum Arseniosum, U.S.,  Lond.) not sufficiently pure for  medicinal
employment, has given the  above formula for its purification.  But as the
commercial oxide itself has undergone a second sublimation, this process is
superfluous.   The  only precaution necessary to be taken on the part of the
apothecary, is to  purchase the oxide in lump;  for when in powder it is
apt to be adulterated  with* chalk  or  sulphate  of lime.   The  chemical,
medical,  and toxicological properties of this  substance have been  given
under the head of Acidum Arseniosum.
   Off. Prep. Liquor Arsenicalis, Dub.                            J}.

  LIQUOR POTASSAE ARSENITIS. U. S., Lond.   Liquor Ar-
senicalis. Ed., Dub.   Solution of Arsenite of Potassa.   Arseni-
cal Solution.   Fowler's Solution.
  " Take of Arsenious Acid, in small fragments, Pure Carbonate of Potassa,
each, sixty-four grains; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity; Compound
Spirit of Lavender half a fluidounce.  Boil the Arsenious Acid and  Car-
bonate of Potassa with twelve fluidounces of Distilled Water,  in a glass
vessel, till the Acid is entirely  dissolved.  To the solution, when cold, add 
872
Arsenicum.
PART II.
the Spirit of Lavender, and afterwards  sufficient Distilled Water to make
it fill exactly the measure of a pint."  U. S.
   " Take of Arsenious Acid, broken into small pieces, Carbonate of Potassa,
each, eighty grains; Compound Tincture of Lavender five fluidrachms;
Distilled  Water a pint [Imperial measure].   Boil the  Arsenious  Acid  and
Carbonate of Potassa with  half a pint of the Water  in a glass vessel, until
they are dissolved.   Add the Compound Tincture of Lavender to the cooled
liquor.   Lastly, add besides sufficient Distilled Water,  that it may accu-
rately fill a pint measure."  Lond.
   The  Edinburgh formula is substantially the same with the London,
from which it injudiciously  varies by ordering the arsenious acid in powder,
and water  instead of  distilled water.  In  it the  lavender preparation is
misnamed " tincture," it being recognised as a spirit in the nomenclature
of the Edinburgh College.
   The Dublin is the same  as the U. S. formula, with the exception that  the
sublimed white oxide of arsenic of the College is used instead of the com-
mercial oxide, and that the quantity of the arsenious acid and carbonate is
reduced from sixty-four to sixty grains.
   This preparation originated with Dr. Fowler, and was intended as a sub-
stitute for the celebrated empirical remedy known under the name of "the
tasteless ague drop."   It is an arsenite of potassa dissolved in water, and is
formed  by the combination of the arsenious acid with the potassa of the car-
bonate, the carbonic  acid being evolved.   The name, therefore, by which
it is designated  in the United States and  London Pharmacopoeias, is obvi-
ously the most correct.  The spirit of lavender is added to give it taste, in
order to prevent its being mistaken for simple water.  The United States
preparation is of about the same strength as those of the London and Edin-
burg Colleges; for, although one-fourth more acid and alkali is  taken in the
London and Edinburgh than in the U. S. formula, yet it is to be recollected
that the Imperial pint is nearly one-fourth  larger than the wine pint.  The
Dublin  solution is one-sixteenth  weaker, in consequence of  the very  in-
judicious  alteration from the standard formula, of substituting sixty instead
of sixty-four grains of arsenious acid to the pint of liquid.  Dr. Barker, in
his Observations on the Dublin Pharmacopoeia, informs us, that the reason
for this  change was the supposition that less  danger of error would arise in
weighing out sixty than sixty-four  grains; as the former quantity could  be
weighed by a single weight.
  In making this preparation, care should be taken that the arsenious acid  be
pure.  This object is best  secured by using the acid  in small fragments,
instead  of in powder.  Sulphate of lime  is a common adulteration, and if
present  will remain undissolved, and cause the solution to be weaker than
it should be.  Hence if the arsenious acid do not entirely dissolve, the pre-
paration must be rejected.
  Properties.   Solution of  arsenite of potassa is a transparent liquid, having
the colour, taste, and smell of the spirit of lavender.   It has a strong alkaline
reaction.  It is decomposed by the usual reagents of arsenic, such as nitrate
of silver, the salts of copper, lime-water, and sulphuretted hydrogen; and is
incompatible with infusions and decoctions  of cinchona.   Before  sulphu-
retted hydrogen will  act, the solution must  be supersaturated with some
acid, as the muriatic or acetic.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.   This solution has the general  action of
the arsenical preparations on the animal economy, already described under
the head of Arsenious Acid.  Its liquid form makes it convenient for exhi-
bition and gradual increase; and it  is the preparation  generally resorted  to, 
PART II.
Arsenicum.—Baryta.
873
when arsenic is given internally.   It is employed principally in intermittent
fever.  Dr. Thomas D. Mitchell, Professor of Materia Medica in the Uni-
versity of Transylvania,  has  given  the  result of his experience, as  to its
efficacy and safety in this disease, when exhibited in the large dose of fifteen
or twenty drops three times a day.  (Med. Recorder, iv. 640.) It is a valuable
resource  in the intermittents of children, who are with difficulty induced to
swallow  bark or even sulphate of  quinia.  Dr. Dewees (Phil. Journ. of
Med. and Phys. Sci.  xiv. 187.) relates the case of a child only six weeks
old, affected with a severe tertian, in which this solution was given with
success.   A fluidrachm was diluted  with twelve fluidrachms of water;  and
of this six drops were given every four hours.
   Fowler's solution, while partaking of the general therapeutical properties
of the arsenical preparations, appears  to be peculiarly adapted to the  treat-
ment of several diseases.  It has been employed with encouraging success
in lepra and other inveterate cutaneous affections.   The late Dr. S. Colhoun
(Med. Recorder, iii. 347.) published an account of five cases of nodes, suc-
cessfully treated by it; and in consequence  of his success, Dr. Baer of Balti-
more, and the late Dr.  Eberle, were induced to give it a trial in this affection,
and they obtained satisfactory results. Several cases of chorea, cured by this
remedy,  are reported  by Mr. Martin,  Mr. Slater,  and Dr. Gregory, in  the
Medico-Chirurgical Transactions of London. Two interesting cures of peri-
odical headache, performed by this solution, are related by Dr. Otto of Phila-
delphia, in the fourth and fifth volumes of the North American Med. and Surg.
Journal.   Mr. H. Hunt found it useful in  menorrhagia, but prefers  the use
of arsenious acid, as less  apt to produce unpleasant effects, requiring  the
discontinuance  of the remedy.  (See page  19.)  A diluted solution, in  the
proportion of a fluidrachm to the fluidounce of water, has been used with
advantage as a topical application to foul ulcers, occasioned by the indiscreet
use of mercury.
   Each fluidrachm of the solution contains half a grain of arsenious acid.
The average dose for an  adult is ten drops  two or three  times a day.   For
the peculiar effects which it produces  in common with  the  other arsenical
preparations, and for the  signs by which the practitioner is warned that its
further exhibition would be  unsafe, the reader is referred to the  article on
Arsenious Acid.                                                 B.

                            BARYTA.

                     Preparations of Baryta.

   BARII CHLORIDUM. U.S., Lond. Baryta Murias. Ed., Dub.
Chloride of Barium.   Muriate of Baryta.
   "Take of Carbonate of Baryta,  in small fragments,  a pound; Muriatic
Acid twelve fluidounces; Water three pints. Mix the Acid with the Water,
and  gradually add  the Carbonate of Baryta.   Towards the  close of  the
effervescence apply a  gentle heat, and, when the action has ceased, filter the
liquor, and boil it down so that crystals may form  when  it cools." U. S.
   " Take of Carbonate of Baryta,  broken into small pieces, ten ounces;
Hydrochloric [Muriatic]  Acid  half a pint [Imperial measure]; Distilled
Water two pints [Imp. meas.].   Mix the Acid with the Water, and add the
Carbonate of Baryta gradually to them.  Then, heat being applied, and the
effervescence finished, strain, and boil down the  liquor that crystals may
form." Lond.
   The Edinburgh College gives  two  processes for obtaining this chloride; 
874
Baryta.
PART II.
one in which the native carbonate of baryta is used, the other in which the
native sulphate is employed.  The  process with the carbonate is the same
with the London, just quoted; the formula with the sulphate is as follows.
   " Take of Sulphate of Baryta two pounds; Charcoal, in fine powder, four
ounces;  Pure Muriatic Acid a sufficiency.   Heat the  sulphate to redness,
reduce it to fine powder, mix the charcoal with it thoroughly, heat the mix-
ture in a covered crucible for three  hours at a low white heat.   Pulverize
the product, put it  gradually into five pints [Imperial  measure] of boiling
water; boil for a few minutes; let it rest for a little over a  vapour-bath; pour
off the clear liquor, and filter it  if necessary, keeping it hot.   Pour three
pints  [Imp.  meas.] of boiling water over the residuum, and  proceed as
before.  Unite the  two liquids; and while they are still  hot, or, if cooled,
after heating them again, add Pure Muriatic Acid gradually so long as effer-
vescence is occasioned.  In this  process the  solutions ought to be as little
exposed to the air as possible; and in the last step the disengaged gas should
be discharged by a  proper tube into a chimney or the ash-pit of a furnace.
Strain the liquor, concentrate it,  and set it aside to crystallize." Ed.
   The Dublin  College  obtains  the chloride  of barium  by means of  the
native sulphate also; but as the process is in principle the same as that just
quoted from the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, it need not be given.
   When the carbonate of baryta is employed for obtaining chloride of barium,
the reactions are exceedingly simple.  The muriatic acid displaces the car-
bonic  acid  with effervescence;  and by reacting with the baryta,  forms
chloride of barium and water.  A solution of chloride of barium being thus
obtained, it yields crystals of the chloride by concentration and cooling. The
reactions occurring in the process in which the sulphate is used, are more
complicated. The  ignition  with carbonaceous matter deoxidizes its constitu-
ents, converting it into sulphuret of barium, the oxygen flying off in combina-
tion with the carbon as carbonic  oxide and acid.  The sulphuret of barium,
when dissolved in water, is decomposed on the addition of muriatic acid, sul-
phuretted hydrogen being given offin large quantities, and chloride of barium
formed in solution, from which, in the usual manner, the solid salt is obtained.
The direction to discharge the sulphuretted hydrogen into a chimney or  the
ash-pit of a furnace, is intended to provide for its decomposition by smoke;
for if the gas is not disposed of in this or some similar way, it becomes ex-
ceedingly annoying to the operator.
   Of the officinal processes, that in which the native carbonate is used is
the simplest and most convenient; but as it may happen that the operator
possesses the native sulphate and not the carbonate, the additional  process
above given from the Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia may prove useful.
   Properties.   Chloride of barium is a permanent white salt, possessing a
bitter and disagreeable taste.  It  crystallizes  in rhombic tables with beveled
edges.   It dissolves in about two and a half  times its weight  of cold water,
and in a little more than its own weight at 222°, the boiling  point of a
saturated solution.   It is scarcely soluble in absolute alcohol, but dissolves
in rectified spirit.   Alcohol, impregnated  with it,  burns  with a yellow
flame.  When exposed to heat, it decrepitates and loses its water of crystalli-
zation, and at a red heat  fuses.   It is decomposed by the sulphates, oxa-
lates, and tartrates, and the alkaline phosphates, borates,  and  carbonates;
also  by nitrate of silver, acetate  and phosphate of mercury, and acetate of
lead.  When pure, it does  not deliquesce. Its solution is not affected by am-
monia, which proves the absence of alumina and sesquioxide  of iron, or by
sulphuretted hydrogen, which shows, that neither copper nor lead is present.
After the whole of  the barium has  been precipitated by an  excess of  sul- 
part ii.              Baryta.—Bismuthum.                   875

phuric acid, the supernatant liquid is shown to be free from lime by the non-
action of carbonate of soda.  If strontia be present, its alcoholic solution
will burn with a red flame.  Like all the soluble salts of barium, it is poi-
sonous.  It consists of oneeq.  of chlorine 35*42, one of barium 68-7, and
two of water 18 = 122*12.  It is used in medicine only in solution.
   Off. Prep.   Liquor Barii Chloridi, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.      B.

   LIQUOR BARII CHLORIDI. U. S., Lond.  Solutio Baryta
Muriatis. Ed.   Baryta   Muriatis  Aqua.  Dub.   Solution of
Chloride of Barium.   Solution of Muriate of Baryta.
   "Take of Chloride of Barium an ounce; Distilled Water three fluid-
ounces.  Dissolve the Chloride of Barium in the Water, and filter."  U. S.
   " Take of Chloride of Barium a drachm; Distilled Water a fluidounce
[Imperial measure].   Dissolve  the Chloride of Barium, and strain." Lond.
   The Edinburgh formula is the same as the London.
   " Take of Muriate of Baryta one part; Distilled Water  three parts.
Dissolve.   The sp. gr. of this solution should be 1*230." Dub.
   Chloride of barium, not being used in the solid slate, is here dissolved
for convenient exhibition.  The U.  S. and Dublin solutions are of  about
the same strength.  The London  and Edinburgh  preparations  are  much
weaker, an ounce of the salt being dissolved in eight fluidounces of water,
instead of three,  as  directed in the United States  Pharmacopoeia.   The
solution  should be  limpid and colourless;  and to make  it so,  the salt in
cryst. Is, and not in  powder, should be employed.   The U. S. and Dublin
solutions are nearly saturated ones,  and are probably too strong for con-
venient use.
   Medical Properties and Uses. This solution is deobstruent and anthel-
mintic, and in large doses poisonous; its action, according to some, being
analogous to that of arsenic.  It was introduced into practice by  Dr. Craw-
ford as a remedy for cancer and scrofula.  Its value in the latter disease has
been particularly insisted on by Hufeland.  This physician considers it to
act more  particularly on the lymphatic system, in the  irritated states of
which he esteems  ;* a valuable remedy.   Hence  he recommends it  in the
scrofulous affections of delicate  and irritable organs, such as the eyes, lungs,
&c.   In the  commencement of scrofulous  phthisis, he views it as one of
the best  remedies to which we can  have recourse.   It is employed also in
diseases of the skin, in ulcers,  and  ophthalmia.  The dose  for an adult of
the U. S. solution is about five drops, given twice or  thrice a day, and
gradually but cautiously increased, until it produces  nausea, or some other
sensible impression.  When taken  in an over-dose it causes violent vomit-
ing and purging, vertigo, and other dangerous symptoms.  To  combat its
poisonous effects, recourse must be had immediately to a weak solution of
sulphate of magnesia, which acts by converting the poison into the insoluble
sulphate of baryta.   If vomiting does not come on, it should be induced by
tickling the fauces, or by the administration of an emetic.             B.


                         BISMUTHUM.

                             Bismuth.

   BISMUTHI SUBNITRAS.  U.S., Dub.  Bismuthi Trisnitras.
Lond.  Bismuthum Album. Ed.  Subnitrate of Bismuth.    Tris-
nitrate of Bismuth.   White Oxide of Bismuth.
   " Take of Bismuth, in fragments, an ounce; Nitric Acid a fluidounce and 
876
Bismulhum.
PART II.
a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity.   Mix a fluidounce of Distilled
Water with  the  Nitric Acid,  and dissolve the Bismuth in the mixture.
When the solution is complete, pour the clear liquor into three pints of
Distilled  Water, and set the  mixture by that the  powder  may subside.
Lastly, having poured off the supernatant fluid,  wash  the  Subnitrate of
Bismuth with Distilled Water, wrap  it in bibulous paper, and dry it with a
gentle heat."  U. S.
   " Take of Bismuth an ounce;  Nitric Acid a fluidounce and a half [Im-
perial measure];  Distilled Water three pints [Imp.  meas.].   Mix a fluid-
ounce of the Distilled Water with  the Nitric Acid, and dissolve the Bismuth
in them.  Then  pour off the solution.   To this add the remainder of the
Water, and set by  that the powder may subside.  Afterwards,  pour off the
supernatant liquor, wash  the Trisnitrate of Bismuth with Distilled Water,
and dry it with a gentle heat."  Lond.
   " Take of Bismuth, in fine powder, an ounce; Nitric Acid [of commerce?]
(D. 1*380)  a fluidounce  and  a  half [Imperial measure]; Water three
pints [Imp. meas.].   Add  the  metal gradually to the acid,  favouring the
action with  a gentle heat, and  adding a very little Distilled Water so soon
as crystals or a white powder may begin to form.   When the solution is
complete, pour the liquor  into the Water.  Collect  the precipitate imme-
diately on a calico filter,  wash it  quickly with cold water, and dry it in a
dark place." Ed.
   "Take of Bismuth, in powder, seven parts;  Diluted Nitric Acid twenty
parts; Distilled Water one hundred parts.  Add the Bismuth gradually to
the Acid,  and dissolve by  the assistance of heat.  Mix the solution with the
Water, and  set the mixture by that the powder  may subside.  Wash this
with Distilled Water, and dry it  on bibulous paper with a  gentle heat."
Dub.
   When  bismuth is added  to dilute nitric acid, red fumes  are copiously
given off, and the metal, oxidized by the  decomposition of part of the nitric
acid, is dissolved by the remainder, so as  to form a solution of the nitrate of
bismuth.  It is unnecessary to have  the  metal in powder, as  it dissolves
with great facility when added to the acid in fragments.   When  the solu-
tion is completed, the  liquor should be added to the water,  which should
be  distilled, and  not the  water to the solution, which  is not so  eligible a
plan.  Immediately on the  contact of the solution with the water,  four
eqs. of the  nitrate are resolved  into one eq. of  ternitrate  of bismuth
which remains in  solution,  and one eq. of trisnitrate  which precipitates.
In order to have  a  smooth light powder, which is most esteemed, the  pre-
cipitate should be washed and dried as speedily as possible.
   Properties.  Subnitrate  of  bismuth  is a  tasteless, inodorous,  heavy
powder, of a pure white colour.   It is slightly soluble in water,  and readily
so in the strong acids, from  which it is precipitated by water.  The fixed
alkalies dissolve  it sparingly, and ammonia more readily.   It is darkened
by hydrosulphuric  acid gas,  but not by exposure to light, unless it contains
a little silver, or is subjected to the influence of  organic matter.   If it dis-
solves in nitric acid without effervescence, it contains no carbonate, and if
the nitric solution is not precipitated by diluted sulphuric acid, it is  free from
lead.  By the  earlier chemists it  was called magistery of bismuth.  The
perfumers, by whom it is sold as  a paint for the  complexion,  denominate it
pearl white.   It consists of  one eq. of nitric  acid 54-15,  and three of  pro-
toxide of bismuth 237=291*15.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   This preparation  is tonic  and  antispas-
modic.  It was originally introduced  into practice by Dr.  Odier  of Geneva, 
PART TI.
Bismuthitm.— Calx.
S77
 and has been subsequently employed with advantage both in  this country
 and in Europe.  It has been recommended in  epilepsy, palpitation of the
 heart, and  spasmodic diseases generally; but more particularly  in various
 painful  affections of the stomach, dependent on disordered digestion, such
 as cardialgia, pyrosis, and gastrodynia.  Its use always blackens  the stools,
 from the effect of the intestinal gases.   The dose is five grains,  gradually in-
 creased to  twelve or fifteen, twice or thrice a day, and may be taken in pill,
 or  mixed with  an equal weight of aromatic powder.  In  an  over-dose it
 produces alarming gastric distress, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipa-
 tion, colic, heat in the breast, slight rigors, vertigo, and drowsiness.  The re-
 medies are bland and mucilaginous drinks; and, in case of inflammation,bleed-
 ing by leeches  or venesection, enemata4 and emollient fomentations.   B.


                               CALX.
                       Preparations of Lime.

   LIQUOR   CALCIS.   U.S.,  Lond.   Aqua Calcis.  Ed.,  Dub.
 Lime-water.
   " Take of \lva\e four ounces; Distilled Water a gallon.  Upon  the Lime,
 first slaked with a little of the Water, pour the remainder of the Water, and
 stir them together; then immediately cover the vessel  and set it aside for
 three hours.  Keep the solution, together with the undissolved Lime, in
 stopped glass bottles, and pour off the  clear liquor when it is wanted for
 use.  Water free from saline or other obvious  impurity may be  employed
 in this process, though not distilled." U. S.
   The London College takes half a pound of lime, and twelve pints  [Im-
 perial measure] of distilled water, and proceeds as  above directed.
   " Take any convenient quantity of Water, pour a little of it over about a
 twentieth of its  weight of Lime; when the Lime is  slaked, add to  it the rest
 of the Water in a bottle; agitate well; allow the undissolved matter to sub-
 side;  pour off  the clear liquor when it  is wanted, replacing it with more
 water, and agitating briskly  as before."  Ed.
   " Take  of fresh  burnt  Lime, boiling  Water, each, one part.    Put the
 Lime into an earthen vessel, and sprinkle  the Water upon it,  keeping the
 vessel closed while the Lime grows  hot and falls into  powder;  then  pour
 upon it thirty  parts of cold water, and, having  again closed the vessel,
 shake the mixture  frequently for twenty-four hours; lastly, after the  lime
 has subsided, pour off the clear solution, and keep it in closely stopped bot-
 tles." Dub.
  A solution of lime in water is the result of these  processes.  By the slak-
 ing of the lime  it is reduced to powder, and rendered more easily diffusible
 through the water  employed to dissolve it. According to all the Pharma-
 copoeias, except the Dublin, the solution  is to be kept in bottles with a
 portion of undissolved lime, which causes it always to be saturated, what-
 ever may be the temperature, and to whatever extent it may be exposed to
 the air.   By taking care to have  a  considerable quantity of the solution in
 the bottle, and avoiding unnecessary agitaiion, the upper portion will always
 remain sufficiently clear for use.   The direction of the Edinburgh College,
 to replace by more water the clear liquid poured off,  cannot, of course, be
carried into effect  indefinitely.   By the absorption of carbonic  acid, the
lime is gradually converted into a carbonate, and thus rendered  insoluble.
 The employment of Distilled Water as the solvent may seem  a useless
refinement; and  it certainly is unnecessary when pure spring or river water
      75 
878
Calx.
PART II.
is attainable; but in many places  the  common water  is very impure, and
wholly unfit for a preparation, one of the most frequent uses of which is to
allay irritability of stomach.   Water dissolves but a minute proportion of
lime, and contrary to the general law, less when hot than cold.  Hence the
propriety of employing cold water in the process.   According to Mr. Phil-
lips, a pint of water at 212° dissolves 5*6 grains of lime, at 60°, 9-7 grains,
and at 32°,  11*0  grains.*  When a cold saturated solution is heated,  a
deposition of lime takes place.
  Properties.   Lime-water is colourless, inodorous, and of a disagreeable
alkaline taste, changes vegetable blues to green, and forms an imperfect soap
with oils.  Exposed to the air  it  attracts carbonic acid, and  becomes co-
vered with a pellicle of insoluble carbonate of lime, which, subsiding after
a time, is replaced by another, and so on successively till the whole of the
lime is  exhausted.   Hence the necessity of  keeping lime-water either in
closely corked bottles which should be full, or, what is more convenient, in
bottles with an excess of lime.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Lime-water is antacid, tonic, and astrin-
gent, and is very usefully employed in dyspepsia with  acidity of stomach,
diarrhoea, diabetes, and gravel attended with superabundant secretion of uric
acid.   Mixed with  an equal measure of  milk, which completely covers its
offensive taste, it is one of the best remedies  in our possession for nausea
and vomiting dependent on irritability of stomach.   We have found a diet
exclusively of lime-water and milk to be more effectual than any other plan
of treatment in dyspepsia accompanied with vomiting of food.   In this case
one part of  the solution to  two or  three parts  of milk is usually sufficient.
Lime-water is also thought to be useful by dissolving the intestinal mucus
in cases of worms and other complaints connected  with an excess of this
secretion.   Externally it is employed  as a wash  in  tinea  capitis and sca-
bies, as an application to foul and gangrenous  ulcers, as an injection in leu-
corrhoea and ulceration of the bladder or urethra, and, mixed  with linseed
or olive oil, as a liniment in burns  and scalds.
  The  dose is  from two  to four  fluidounces taken several times a day.
When employed to allay nausea, it is usually  given in the  dose of  a table-
spoonful mixed with the same quantity of new  milk, and repeated at intervals
of half an hour, an hour, or two hours.   If too long continued it debilitates
the  stomach.
  Off. Prep.  Aqua  Calcis Composita, Dub.; Infusum Sarsaparillae Com-
positum, Dub.; Linimentum Calcis, U. S., Ed., Dub.              W.
  AQUA CALCIS COMPOSITA. Dub.  Compound Lime-water.
  " Take of Guaiacum Wood, rasped, half a pound; Liquorice Root,
sliced and bruised,  an ounce; Sassafras Bark,  bruised, half an ounce; Cori-
ander Seeds three  drachms; Lime-water six pints.  Macerate without heat,
for  two days, in a close bottle, occasionally shaking, and filter."  Dub.
  This is a very inert preparation, and should be ranked among the in-
fusions, as the lime-water  can scarcely fail to be  decomposed  during the
process.                                                         W.
  CALCIS  CARBONAS  PR^CIPITATUM.  Dub.   Precipi-
tated Carbonate of Lime.
  " Take of Water of Muriate of Lime five parts.  Add three parts of

  * These numbers may not, at first sight, appear to agree with those given in  Phillips's
Translation of the London Pharmacopoeia of 1836; but the disagreement is only apparent,
and arises from the difference between the Imperial and wine pint, the former of which
is in use in England, and the latter in this country. 
PART II.
Calx.
879
Carbonate of Soda, dissolved in  four times its weight  of Distilled Water.
Wash the precipitate three times with a sufficient quantity of water; then
collect it and dry it on a chalk-stone, or on bibulous paper." Dub.
  In this process a mutual interchange of principles takes  place, resulting
in the production of chloride of sodium which remains in solution, and car-
bonate of lime which is deposited.  Of crystallized  carbonate of soda
143*42 parts decompose 55.92 of chloride of calcium.   The Dublin water
of muriate of lime contains two parts in nine of chloride of calcium.  From
these data it may be deduced, that the carbonate of soda in  this formula is
in very slight excess.   The precipitated carbonate of lime  is very pure
and finely divided, but probably has no such  superiority over prepared
chalk as to counterbalance its greater expensiveness.
  Off. Prep. Hydrargyrum cum Cretil, Dub.                      W.
  CRETA PR^PARATA.   U. S, Lond., Ed,  Dub.    Prepared
Chalk.
  " Take of Chalk a convenient quantity.  Add a little water to the Chalk,
and rub it into a fine powder.  Throw this into  a large  vessel nearly full of
water, stir briskly, and, after a short interval, pour the  supernatant liquor,
while yet turbid, into another vessel.  Repeat the process with the chalk
remaining in the first vessel, and  set the  turbid liquor by, that the powder
may subside.  Lastly, pour off the water, and dry the powder." U. S.
  The London College  takes a pound of chalk, and  proceeds as above,
except that it does  not repeat the process with that which remains after  the
first operation.  The processes of the Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges  are
essentially the same as that of  the United  States  Pharmacopoeia.   Both
Colleges direct the chalk to be  powdered  in a mortar.  The  Edinburgh
orders  it, after having been prepared, to be  dried  on  a filter of linen or
calico, the Dublin, on an absorbent stone or paper.
  The object of these  processes  is to  reduce chalk to very fine powder.
The  mineral, previously pulverized, is  rubbed with a little water upon a
porphyry slab, by  means of a rubber of the same material, and having been
thus very minutely divided, is agitated with  water, which  upon standing a
short time deposits the coarser particles, and being then poured off, slowly
lets fall  the remainder  in  an impalpable  state.  The  former part  of  the
process is called levigation,  the latter elutriation.   The soft  mass which
remains after the  decanting  of the clear liquor,  is made to fall upon an  ab-
sorbent surface in  small portions, which when dried have a conical shape.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This is the only form in which chalk is
used in  medicine.  It is an excellent antacid; and as the salts which it forms
in the stomach and bowels, if not astringent, are at least not purgative, it is
admirably adapted  to diarrhoea accompanied with acidity.  It  is also some-
times used in acidity of stomach  attending dyspepsia and gout, when a laxa-
tive effect is to be avoided; is one of the best antidotes  for oxalic acid; and
has been recommended  in rachitis.   In scrofulous  affections it  may some-
times do good by forming soluble salts with acid in the primae viae, and thus
finding an entrance into the blood-vessels. It is frequently employed as an
application to burns and  ulcers,  the ichorous discharge from  which it  ab-
sorbs, and thus prevents from irritating the diseased surface  or the sound
skin.   It probably also does good, in these cases, by a peculiar action upon
the part to which it is applied. It is given internally in  the form of powder,
or suspended in water by the intervention of gum Arabic  and sugar. (See
Mistura Cwtas.)   The dose is from ten to forty grains or more. 
880
Calx.
PART II.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Aromatica, Lond., Dub.; Hydrargyrum cum Creta,
 U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Mistura Cretae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Pulvis
 Cretae Compositus, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Trochisci Cretae, U. S., Ed.;  Un-
 guentum Plumbi Compositum, Lond.                              W.
   TESTA   PR^PARATA.  U.S.   Testm Pr^parat^.  Lond.
 Prepared Oyster-shell.
   " Take  of  Oyster-shell a convenient quantity.  Free it from extraneous
 matter, wash  it with boiling water, and reduce it to powder; then prepare it
 in the manner directed for Chalk."  U. S.
   The London College gives similar directions.
   Prepared oyster-shell  differs  from prepared chalk in  containing animal
 matter, which, being very intimately blended with the carbonate of lime, is
 supposed by some physicians to render the  preparation more acceptable to
 a delicate  stomach.   It is given as  an antacid in diarrhoea, in the dose of
 from ten to forty grains or more, frequently repeated.               W.
   LIQUOR CALCII  CHLORIDI. U.S., Lond.  Calcis Muriatis
 Solutio.  Ed.   Calcis Muriatis  Aqua. Dub.   Solution of Chlo-
 ride of Calcium.   Solution  of Muriate of Lime.
   " Take of Marble,  in fragments, nine ounces; Muriatic Acid a pint; Dis-
 tilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with half a pint of the Dis-
 tilled  Water, and gradually add  the  Marble.   Towards the  close of the
 effervescence apply a gentle heat,  and, when the action has ceased,  pour off
 the clear liquor and evaporate to dryness.   Dissolve  the residuum in its
 weight and a  half of Distilled Water, and filter the solution."  U. S.
   The London College dissolves four ounces of chloride of calcium  in
 twelve fluidounces [Imperial measure] of distilled water, and filters  through
 paper.  The  Edinburgh College dissolves eight ounces of muriate of lime
 [chloride of calcium]  in twelve  fluidounces [Imp. meas.] of water.  The
 Dublin College  dissolves two parts  of the  salt in seven parts of  distilled
 water, and states the sp.gr. of the solution at 1*202.
   By the U. S.  process a chloride of  calcium is  first formed, and  then, as
 in the other processes, is dissolved in  a certain proportion of water.  The
 U. S. and Edinburgh  preparations agree very nearly in strength, containing
 1 part of the  chloride in about 2-5 parts of the solution.  Those of the Lon-
 don and Dublin  Colleges are only about half as strong; the latter containing
 1 part of the chloride  in 4-5 of the solution.
   The solution of chloride of calcium has a disagreeable,  bitter, acrid taste.
 It is decomposed by sulphuric acid and  the soluble sulphates; by potassa,
 soda, and their carbonates; by carbonate of ammonia, tartrate of potassa and
 soda, nitrate  of  silver, nitrate and acetate of mercury, and acetate  of lead.
 The  mode of preparing  chloride of calcium, and its chemical properties,
 are detailed under the head of Calcii Chloridum in the first part of this work.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Chloride of calcium is considered tonic and
 deobstruent, and is said to promote the secretion of urine, perspiration, and
 mucus. It was first brought into notice as a remedy by Fourcroy, and was at
 one time much used in scrofulous diseases and goitre.  It still continues to be
 a favourite  with some  physicians, but is less employed than formerly.  It has
 been especially recommended in  tabes mesenterica. When too largely taken
 it sometimes  produces nausea,  vomiting, and purging,  and in excessive
 doses may  even  produce fatal effects;  but it is a  much safer remedy than
 chloride of barium,  which has been recommended in the  same complaints.
 The dose of the solution is from thirty minims or drops to a fluidrachm, to
be repeated twice or  three times a day, and gradually increased  to two, 
PART II.
Calx.
881
three, or even four fluidrachms.  It may be given in milk or  sweetened
water.
   Off. Prep.  Calcis Carbonas Praecipitatum. Dub.                W.
   CALCIS PHOSPHAS PRiECIPITATUM. Dub.  Precipitated
Phosphate of Lime.
   " Take of Burnt Bones, in powder, one part; Diluted Muriatic Acid,
Water, each, two parts.   Digest together for twelve hours, and filter the
solution.  Add as much Water of Caustic Ammonia as will be sufficient to
precipitate the Phosphate of Lime.   Wash this with a large proportion of
water, and finally dry it." Dub.
   The muriatic acid dissolves the phosphate of lime of the bones, and lets
it fall on the addition of ammonia, in a state of minute division.   The ablu-
tion is intended to free it from any adhering muriate of ammonia.  The salt
thus obtained is, for the sake of distinction, called bone-phosphate of lime.
It is in the  form of a white powder, without taste  or smell, insoluble  in
water, but very soluble in nitric, muriatic, and acetic acids, from which it is
precipitated  unchanged on the addition of ammonia.  By an intense heat
it is fused,  but is not otherwise changed.  It consists of  eight equivalents
of lime and  three of phosphoric acid.
   The chemical characteristics of bone-phosphate of lime, besides those
mentioned, are that with its solution in dilute  nitric acid, oxalate of ammo-
nia produces a white  precipitate of oxalate of lime,  and  acetate of lead a
white precipitate of phosphate of lead; and, if the nitric solution be neutral-
ized as far as possible without causing a permanent precipitate of phosphate
of lime, ammoniacal nitrate of silver throws  down from it a lemon-yellow
precipitate  of phosphate of silver. (Christison's Dispensatory.)
   If this preparation possesses any advantage over burnt hartshorn, it is  in
the state of  minute division to which it has been brought  by precipitation.
It may be given in the same complaints  and  in the same  dose; but is pro-
bably quite inert. (See Cornu Ustum.)                            W.
   CORNU  USTUM. Lond.   Pulvis Cornu Cervini Usti.  Dub.
Burnt Hartshorn.
   " Burn pieces of Hartshorn  in an open vessel  until they are  thoroughly
white; then powder them, and prepare them in the  manner directed for
Chalk."  Lond.
   The Dublin College gives similar directions.
   The horn must not only be heated, but also burnt, in order that the animal
matter may be entirely consumed.   The  operation may be performed in  a
common furnace or stove, the air being freely admitted.  Care  should be
taken that the heat be not too  violent, as  otherwise the external surface  of
the horn may become vitrified, and prevent the complete combustion of the
interior portion, while it is itself rendered less fit for use.  Burnt hartshorn
consists of bone-phosphate of lime, with  a minute proportion of lime, de-
rived from the carbonate contained in the  horns.  It may be inferred, from
the analysis of hartshorn by M. Guillot, that  the proportion of free lime  in
this preparation  is less  than  one per cent. (See Cornu.)  Bone-earth  is
usually sold in the shops  for  burnt hartshorn.   For the  chemical charac-
teristics of bone-phosphate of lime, see Calcis Phosphas Praecipitatum.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   The opinion  formerly entertained, that
burnt hartshorn was antacid, has been abandoned since the discovery of its
chemical nature.   Its composition suggested its  application to  the cure of
                                75* 
 882        Calx.—-Carbo Animalis. —Cataplasmala.     part ii.

 rachitis and mollities ossium, of whieh the prominent character is a defi-
 ciency of phosphate of lime in the  bones; and it is said to have been em-
 ployed in some cases, in connexion with phosphate of soda, with apparent
 success.   Experience, however, has not confirmed the first report in its
 favour.   It  is probably  altogether  inert.   The  dose is twenty grains or
 more.                                                           W.


                      CARBO ANIMALIS.

                Preparation  of Animal Charcoal.

   CARBO ANIMALIS PURIFICATUS.   U. S., Lond., Ed.  Pu-
 rified Animal Charcoal.
   " Take of Animal Charcoal a pound; Muriatic Acid, Water, each, twelve
fluidounces.  Pour  the Muriatic Acid, previously mixed with the  Water,
 gradually upon the Charcoal, and digest with a gentle heat for two clays, oc-
 casionally stirring the mixture.   Having allowed the undissolved portion to
 subside, pour off the supernatant liquor, wash the Charcoal frequently with
 water until it is entirely free from acid, and lastly dry it."  U. S.
   The processes of  the London and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias are essen-
 tially the same as the above.  The Edinburgh College, after washing the
 charcoal, gives the  additional  direction of heating it first moderately, and
 then to redness in  a closely covered crucible.  This ignition is essential to
 the full development of its decolorizing power.
   The nature  and properties of animal charcoal have been explained under
 another head.  (See  Carbo Animalis.)   As it is made by charring bones, it
 necessarily contains  bone-phosphate and carbonate of lime, the presence of
 which does no harm in some decolorizing operations; but in delicate  chemi-
 cal processes, such as  those connected with the preparation of the organic
 alkalies, these salts would be dissolved or decomposed, and thus be a source
 of impurity.  It is for these reasons that animal  charcoal  requires to be
 purified from  the calcareous salts which it contains; and this is effectually
 accomplished  by dilute muriatic acid, which dissolves  the phosphate and
 decomposes the carbonate.
   Purified animal eharcoal is a dark brownish-black powder.   It should be
 entirely free from carbonate and  phosphate of lime.   It may be tested with
 muriatic acid,  which should not dissolve anything.  If the charcoal contain
 carbonate of lime,  muriatic  acid  will cause effervescence, and the solution
 obtained will  give a precipitate  with carbonate of ammonia.  If it contain
 phosphate of lime, the acid will dissolve the salt and yield it as a precipi-
 tate on the addition of ammonia.  The Edinburgh College directs  animal
 charcoal to be tested by incinerating it with its volume of red oxide of mer-
 cury, when, if good,  it will  be dissipated with the exception of a scanty ash.
   Pharmaceutical  Uses.   As a  decolorizing agent in preparing Aconitina,
 Lond.; Morphiae Hydrochloras, Lond., Ed.;  Quinae Sulphas, Ed., Lond;
 Strychnia, U. S.; Veratria, U. S., Lond.                          B.


                      CATAPLASMATA.

                             Cataplasms.

   Cataplasms  or poultices are moist substances intended for external appli-
 cation, of such a consistence as to accommodate themselves accurately to the
 surface to which they are applied, without being so liquid as to spread over 
PART II.
Cataplasmata.
883
the neighbouring parts, or so tenacious as to adhere firmly to the skin.  As
they are in  this country scarcely ever prepared by the apothecary, they
were not deemed by the compilers of the United States Pharmacopoeia pro-
per objects for officinal direction.                                 W.
   CATAPLASMA ALUMINIS.  Dub.  Alum Cataplasm.
   " Take the Whites  of two Eggs; of Alum a drachm.   Shake them  to-
gether so as to make a coagulum." Dub.
   A common mode of preparing the alum  poultice, is to rub the whites of
eggs briskly in a saucer with a lump of alum till the liquid coagulates.  The
curd produced by coagulating milk with alum is sometimes used as a sub-
stitute.
   The alum cataplasm is an astringent  application, occasionally employed
in incipient, purulent,  or chronic ophthalmia.  It is placed over the eye  en-
closed between folds of cambric  or soft linen.  It is also esteemed useful in
chilblains when the skin is not broken.                            W.
   CATAPLASMA  CARBONIS LIGNI. Dub.   Charcoal Cata-
plasm.
   " Take a sufficient quantity of Wood Charcoal red hot from the fire, and,
having extinguished it by sprinkling dry sand over it, reduce it to very fine
powder,  and incorporate it with the Simple Cataplasm  in a tepid state."
Dub.
   Charcoal, recently prepared, has the property of absorbing those princi-
ples upon which the offensive odour of putrefying animal substances depends.
In the form of poultice it is an excellent application to foul and gangrenous
ulcers, correcting their fetor, and  improving the condition of the sore.  It
should be frequently renewed.                                    W.
   CATAPLASMA CONII.  Lond., Dub.  Hemlock Cataplasm.
   " Take of Extract of Hemlock two ounces; Water  a pint [Imperial mea-
sure]. Mix, and add  of bruised Flaxseed sufficient to produce a proper
consistence." Lond.
   " Take of Dried Hemlock  Leaves an ounce; Water a pint and a half.
Boil down to a pint, and having strained the liquor, add as much of the pow-
dered leaves as may be sufficient to form a cataplasm." Dub.
   This  cataplasm  may be  advantageously employed as an anodyne appli-
cation to cancerous, scrofulous,  syphilitic,  and other  painful ulcers: but its
liability to produce narcotic effects by the absorption  of the active principle
of the hemlock should not be  overlooked.                         W.

   CATAPLASMA  DAUCI. Dub.   Carrot Cataplasm.
   " Take of the Root of the cultivated Carrot any quantity.  Boil the root
in water until it becomes sufficiently soft to form a cataplasm."  Dub.
   Emollient poultices  may be  prepared from any of the tender culinary
roots, from turnips and potatoes as well as carrots, by boiling them, remov-
ing the  skin, and mashing them  into  a soft  pulp,  which may be rendered
uniform by  pressing it through a coarse  sieve or  colander.   But  these
poultices possess no specific  power, and act on the same principle with
those made with bread  and milk, and flaxseed meal.
   The carrot cataplasm, when designed to produce a peculiar impression,
should be made  by grating the  fresh roots.  Thus prepared it  is slightly
stimulating,  and is useful in  weak, flabby,  ill-conditioned, and offensive
ulcers.  By boiling, the stimulant property is diminished, if not lost; and  the
carrot becomes a mild and nutritive article of food.                  W. 
 8S4                        Calaplasmata.                  part ii.

   CATAPLASMA FERMENTI. Lond. Cataplasma Fermenti
 Cerevisi^. Dub.   Yeast  Cataplasm.
   " Take of Flour [wheat flour] a pound; Yeast half a pint [half a pound,
 Dub.]. Mix and expose the mixture to a gentle heat until it begins to rise."
 Lond., Dub.
   By exposing a mixture  of yeast and flour to a gentle heat, fermentation
 takes place, and carbonic acid gas is extricated, which causes the mixture to
 swell and  is the source of its  peculiar virtues.  The  yeast cataplasm is
 gently stimulant, and is sometimes  applied with  much benefit  to foul and
 gangrenous ulcers,  the fetor of which it corrects, while it is supposed to
 hasten the  separation of the slough.                              W.
   CATAPLASMA LINI. Lond.   Flaxseed  Cataplasm.
   " Take of boiling Water a pint;  Flaxseed, powdered, sufficient  to pro-
 duce a proper consistence.  Mix them." Lond.
   CATAPLASMA SIMLPEX. Dub.   Simple  Cataplasm.
   "Take  of the Powder for a Cataplasm  any quantity; Boiling  Water
 sufficient to form a tepid cataplasm, the surface of which should be covered
 with olive  oil."  Dub.
   The Dublin " Powder for a Cataplasm,"  consists of one part of flaxseed
 meal remaining  after the expression of the  oil, and two parts of oat meal.
 Flaxseed meal which has  not been submitted  to pressure is decidedly pre-
 ferable, and answers an excellent purpose when mixed with boiling water,
 without other addition, as  in the London flaxseed cataplasm.  Fresh lard or
 olive oil spread upon the surface of the poultice serves to prevent its adhe-
 sion to the  skin, and to preserve its  softness.
   The  use of this  and other emollient cataplasms is to relieve the tense
 condition of the vessels in inflammation, and to promote suppuration.  They
 act simply  by their warmth and moisture.   The one most extensively em-
 ployed, perhaps because its materials  are always at hand,  is that prepared
 by heating  together  milk  and the crumb of bread.  The milk should  he
 quite sweet, and fresh lard should be incorporated with the poultice.  Mush
 made with  the meal  of Indian corn also forms  an excellent emollient cata-
 plasm.                                                         W.
   CATAPLASMA SINAPIS. Lond., Dub.  Mustard Cataplasm.
   "Take of Flaxseed, Mustard [seed], each, in powder, half a pound;
 boiling  Vinegar,  sufficient to produce the  consistence of a cataplasm."
 Lond.
   The Dublin College orders the same seeds in the same  proportion, and
 states that the cataplasm may be made  more stimulating by the addition of
 two ounces of scraped horse-radish.
   The simplest and most effectual mode of preparing a mustard poultice, is
 to mix  the  powdered  mustard of the shops with a sufficient quantity of
 warm water to give it a due consistence.   When a weaker preparation is
required, an equal portion or more  of  rye or wheat flour should be added.
 Vinegar never increases its efficiency, and, in the case  of the black mustard
 seed, has been ascertained by MM. Trousseau and Blanc  to diminish its
rubefacient  power.   A boiling temperature  is also  injurious by interfering
 with the development of the volatile oil or acrid principle. (See Sinapis.)
   These poultices are frequently called sinapisms.  They  are powerfully
 rubefacient, exciting a sense of  warmth in a few minutes, and usually be-
 coming insupportably painful  in less than an hour.  When removed, they
leave the  surface intensely  red  and burning; and the inflammation fre- 
 part ii.              Cataplasmata.— Cerala.                  885

 quently terminates in desquamation, or even blistering, if the application
 has been too long continued.  Obstinate ulcers and gangrene also sometimes
 result from the protracted action of mustard, especially on parts possessed of
 little  vitality.   As  a general rule, the poultice should  be removed  when the
 patient complains much of the pain; and in cases of insensibility should not,
 unless greatly diluted, be allowed to remain longer than one, or at most two
 hours; as violent inflammation, followed  by obstinate ulceration, is apt to
 occur upon  the establishment of reaction  in the system.   In children also
 particular care is necessary to avoid this  result.   The  poultice should be
 thickly spread on linen, and maybe covered with gauze or unsized paper in
 order to prevent its adhesion  to the skin.   If hairs are present they should
 be removed by the razor.  Sinapisms may be employed in all cases in which
 it is desirable to produce a speedy and powerful rubefacient impression.   W.

                            CERATA.

                               Cerates.

   These are unctuous substances consisting of oil or lard, mixed with wax,
 spermaceti,  or resin, to which various medicaments  are frequently added.
 Their consistence, which is intermediate  between that of ointments and of
 plasters,  is  such that they may  be spread  at ordinary  temperatures  upon
 linen or leather, by means of a spatula, and do not melt or run when applied
 to the skin.   In preparing them, care should usually be taken to  select the
 oil or lard perfectly free  from rancidity. The liquefaction should be effected
 by a very gentle heat, which  may be applied by means of a water-bath; and
 during the refrigeration the  mixture should be well agitated, and the portions
 which solidify on the sides  of the vessel should be made to mix again with
 the liquid portion,  until  the whole assumes  the proper consistence.  When
 a large quantity is prepared, the mortar, or other vessel into which the mix-
 ture may be  poured for cooling,  should be  previously heated by  means of
 boiling water.                                                  W.
   CERATUM CANTHARIDIS.* U. S.  Emplastrum Canthari-
 dis, Lond., Ed., Dub.  Emplastrum  Epispasticum.   Cerate  of
 Spanish Flies.  Blistering Plaster.
   " Take of Spanish Flies, in very fine  powder, a pound; Yellow Wax,
 Resin, Lard, each, eight ounces.   To the Wax, Resin, and Lard, previously
 melted together, add the Spanish Flies, and stir the mixture constantly until
 cool." U.S.
  The London College orders a pound of Spanish flies, a pound and a half
 of wax plaster, and half a pound of lard; the Edinburgh, two ounces, each,
 of flies, resin, yellow wax, and  suet; and the Dublin, a pound of flies, a
pound of yellow wax, four ounces of yellow resin, half a pound of  suet,
 and half a pound of lard.
  This is the common blistering plaster of the shops.  As it can be readily
 spread without the aid of heat, it is properly a cerate, and is therefore cor-
 rectly named in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.    Though essentially the same in
 character as  prepared by the different processes, it varies somewhat  in
 strength.   The U. S. and London preparations have the same proportion of
 flies, but are  stronger  than  those  of the Edinburgh and  Dublin Colleges.
* This is a different preparation from the London Ceratum Cantharidis. 
886
Cerata.
part ii.
One of the two former therefore is preferable, and our own has this advan-
tage, that it does not require the previous preparation of the  wax plaster.
Care has usually been considered  requisite, in making  the cerate, not to
injure  the flies  by heat.  It has,  therefore,  been recommended that  they
should not be added to the other ingredients, until immediately before these
begin to stiffen after having been removed  from the fire.   But from the ex-
periments of Mr. Donovan  (Dublin Med.  Press, Aug. 1840),  and those of
Mr. Wm. Procter  (Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiii.  302),  there  is reason to
believe that the  vesicating principle of Spanish flies is not injured or dissi-
pated by a heat under 300°  F.,  and that an elevated temperature, instead of
being hurtful, is positively advantageous in the preparation of the blistering
cerate.   The cantharidin  is thus more thoroughly dissolved by the oleagi-
nous matter, and consequently  brought  more efficiently into contact  with
the skin, than when retained in the  interior of the tissue of the fly.  Another
advantage stated by Donovan is, that the  moisture which usually exists to
a certain extent in  all the ingredients of the cerate  is thus dissipated, and
the preparation is less apt to become mouldy, or otherwise to undergo de-
composition.   Instead, therefore,  of waiting until the melted wax, resin,
and lard begin to stiffen,  it is better to add the powder before the vessel is
removed from the fire.  Mr. Donovan recommends that as soon as the other
ingredients are melted, the powdered flies should be added, and the mixture
stirred until  the heat is shown  by a thermometer to have  risen to 250°,
when the vessel is to be removed from the fire, and the mixture stirred con-
stantly until cool.   At the heat  mentioned, ebullition takes  place in conse-
quence of the escape of the  moisture contained in the  materials.  In the
cerate thus prepared  the active  matter has been dissolved  by the lard, and
the powder may be separated, if deemed advisable, by straining the mixture
before  it solidifies.  Care should be taken that the temperature be not so
high as to decompose the ingredients; and  it would  be better to keep  it
within 212° by means of  a water-bath, than  to incur any risk from its ex-
cess.  It is  desirable also that  the  flies should be very finely pulverized.
Powdered euphorbium is said to be sometimes fraudulently substituted for a
portion of the flies.
  The cerate is the most  convenient form  in which cantharides can be ap-
plied for the  purpose of raising  a blister, and it is always effectual in ordi-
nary conditions of  the system, if the flies  are good and  not injured in the
preparation.   It should be  spread  on soft leather,  though  linen or  even
paper will answer the purpose when this is not to be had.   An elegant mode
of preparing  it for use, is  to spread  a piece of leather of  a proper size first
with adhesive plaster, and afterwards with the cerate,  leaving a margin of
the former uncovered, in order that it may adhere  to the  skin.  Heat is not
requisite, and should not  be  employed in spreading the cerate.  It is cus-
tomary with  some to sprinkle powdered flies  upon the surface of the plaster,
press them lightly with a roller, and then  shake off the  portion which has
not adhered;  but if  the flies originally employed were good, this addition is
superfluous.
  Upon the  application of the plaster, the skin should be  moistened with
warm vinegar or other liquid; and  a good rule is to cover the surface of the
plaster closely with very  thin gauze or unsized paper,  which  prevents any
of the cerate  from adhering to the cuticle, and is thought  by some to dimin-
ish  its liability to occasion strangury.  In the cases of adults, when the full
operation of the flies is desirable, and the object is to produce a permanent
effect,  the application should be continued for twelve hours, and upon the
scalp for twenty-four hours.  In very delicate persons,  however, or those 
PART II.
Cerata.
887
subject to strangury, or upon parts of a loose texture, or when the object is
merely to produce a blister to be healed as speedily as possible, the plaster
should remain no longer than is necessary for the production of full redness
of the skin, which generally occurs in five or six hours, or even in a shorter
time.  It should then be removed, and followed by a bread and milk poultice,
or some other emollient dressing, under which the cuticle rises, and a full
blister is usually produced.   By this management the patient will generally
escape strangury, and the blister will very quickly heal  after the discharge
of the serum.*   In young children, cantharides sometimes produce alarming
and  even  fatal ulceration, if too long applied.   From two to  four hours are
usually sufficient to answer any desirable purpose.   When the head, or other
very hairy part is to be blistered, an interval often or twelve hours should,
if possible, be  allowed between the shaving of the part  and  the application
of the plaster; so that the abrasions of the cuticle  may heal, and some ob-
stacle be offered to the absorption of the active principle of the flies.  After
the blister has been formed, it should be opened at the most depending parts,
and, the cuticle being allowed to remain, should  be  dressed with simple
cerate; but if it be desirable to maintain the discharge for a short time, resin
cerate should be used, and  the cuticle removed,  if it can be done without
inconvenience.  The effects of an  issue may be obtained  by employing
savine ointment, or the ointment of Spanish flies, as a dressing.  If much
inflammation should take place in the blistered surface, it may be relieved
by emollient poultices, or weak lead-water.   Where  there  is an obstinate
indisposition to heal, we have  found nothing so  effectual as  the cerate of
subacetate of lead, diluted with an equal weight of simple cerate.   When
deep and  extensive  ulceration  occurs in  consequence  of general debility,
bark or sulphate of quinia  should be used with nutritious aliment.
   Various preparations of cantharides have been proposed and employed as
substitutes for  the  cerate.   They consist for the most part  of cantharidin,
 more  or less  pure, either  dissolved in olive oil and applied to the  skin by
means of a piece of paper  saturated with it, or incorporated with wax and
 spread in a very thin layer upon fine waxed cloth, silk, or paper, constituting
the  blistering  cloth, blistering paper, vesicating taffetas, &c. of the shops.
 The advantages of these preparations are that they occupy  less space, are
 more portable, and, being very pliable, are  more  easily adapted to  irregu-
 larities of the  surface.  Absolutely pure cantharidin is  expensive  and  not
 requisite; as the extract of cantharides made with ether or boiling alcohol will
 answer  every purpose.  Henry and  Guibourt give the  following formula.
 Digest powdered cantharides in sulphuric ether, distil off the ether, evapo-
 rate the  residue  by means of a salt-water bath until ebullition  ceases,
 melt the oily mass which remains with twice its weight of wax, and spread
 the mixture upon waxed cloth.   The waxed cloth  may be prepared  by
 spreading upon  linen or  muslin a  mixture composed  of 8 parts of white
 wax, 4 of olive oil, and 1  of turpentine, melted together. A strong decoc-
 tion of the flies in  olive oil or oil of turpentine, applied by means of paper,
 would probably answer a  similar purpose with these more elaborate prepa-
 rations.   But none of them is likely to supersede  the officinal cerate.  For
 very speedy vesication, an infusion of the flies in strong acetic acid is some-
 times employed.  (See Acetum Cantharidis.)
   It is said that, by ebullition with water, the flies  are deprived of their pro-

   * Dr. M. B Smith of Philadelphia, has informed us that he has frequently employed uva
 ursi as a preventive of strangury  from blisters, and has never found it to fail.  He gives
 a small wineglassful of the officinal decoction (see Decoctum Uva Ursi) every hour, com-
 mencing two hours after the application of the blister. 
 888                           Cerata.                      part ii.

 perty of producing strangury, while  their vesicating powers remain unal-
 tered.  (Paris's Pharmacologia.)  Dr. Theophilus Beasly, of Philadelphia,
 has been in the habit of employing a  cerate made with cantharides prepared
 in this manner, and has never known it to produce  strangury in  more than
 two or three instances.   He boils the unpowdered flies for fifteen minutes,
 esteeming a shorter time insufficient to deprive them of this property, while
 if the boiling be continued much longer, their blistering power is impaired.
 (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm.  iv. 185.)   In a letter addressed to one
 of the authors by Dr. James Couper of Newcastle, Delaware, a similar me-
 thod of preparing the flies is recommended as an expedient against strangury,
 both from his own experience and that of the late Dr. Groom of Elkton,
 Maryland, from whom he derived his knowledge of the plan.
   Off. Prep. Emplastrum Picis cum  Cantharide, U.S., Dub.       W.
   CERATUM  CETACEI. U.S., Lond.   Ceratum Simplex.  Ed.
 Unguentum Cetacei.  Dub.   Spermaceti Cerate.
   " Take of Spermaceti an ounce;  White Wax three ounces; Olive Oil six
fluidounces.  Melt together the Spermaceti and Wax; then add the Oil pre-
 viously heated, and stir the mixture until cool."  U. S.
   The London College directs two ounces of spermaceti, eight  ounces of
 white wax, and a pint  [Imperial measure] of olive oil; the Edinburgh, six
 parts of olive oil, three parts of white wax, and one part of spermaceti; the
 Dublin, half a pound of white wax, a pound of spermaceti, and three pounds
 of lard.
   The direction to  heat the oil before adding it to the other ingredients is
 peculiar to the U. S. and Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeias.  If added  cold, it is
 apt to produce an irregular congelation of the wax and spermaceti, and thus
 to render the preparation lumpy.   This cerate is employed as a dressing for
 blisters, excoriated  surfaces, and  wounds;  and  as the basis of more active
 preparations.  When the ingredients  are pure and sweet, it is perfectly free
 from irritating properties.
   Off. Prep. Ceratum  Cantharidis, Lond. Ceratum Calaminse, Ed.   W.
   CERATUM  HYDRARGYRI  COMPOSITUM. Lond.  Com-
pound Cerate of Mercury.
   " Take of Strong Mercurial Ointment, Soap Cerate, each,/oMr ounces;
 Camphor an ounce. Rub them together until they are incorporated." Lond.
   This cerate is used as a discutient application to indolent tumours.     W.
   CERATUM PLUMBI SUBACETATIS. US.  Ceratum Plum-
 bi Compositum.  Lond.  Cerate of Subacetate of Lead.  Goulard's
 Cerate.
   " Take of Solution of Subacetate of Lead two fluidounces  and a half;
 White Wax four ounces;  Olive Oil nine fluidounces;  Camphor half a
 drachm.  Mix  the Wax. previously melted, with eight fluidounces of the
 Oil; then remove the mixture from  the fire, and, when it begins to thicken,
 gradually pour  in the  Solution of  Subacetate of Lead, stirring constantly
 with a wooden  spatula  till it becomes cool.   Lastly, add the Camphor dis-
 solved in the remainder of the Oil and mix." U. S.
   The above process is that of the  former London Pharmacopoeia.  In the
 last edition of that work, three fluidounces of the solution of subacetate of
 lead, and half a pint of  olive oil, have been substituted  for the quantities
 before employed, the process  remaining in other respects unaltered.   But
 when it is considered that the London College now employs the  Imperial
 instead of the wine measure, the change will be seen to be less than it might
 otherwise appear. 
part n.                       Cerata.                          889

  This  preparation  received the name  by which it is commonly known
from M. Goulard, by whom it was  employed  and  recommended.  It  is
used to  dry up excoriations, to relieve  the inflammation of burns, scalds,
and chilblains, and  to remove  cutaneous eruptions.   We  have  found  it
more effectual than any other application to blistered surfaces indisposed  to
heal; and, on the recommendation of Dr. Parrish, have  used it in the fol-
lowing  combination with advantage  in  various  cutaneous  eruptions of a
local character.   Take of cerate of subacetate of lead,  simple cerate, each,
half an  ounce; calomel, powdered opium, each a drachm; mix them. The
same preparation, without the opium, was a favourite remedy with the late
Dr.Wistar in similar complaints.                                 W.
  CERATUM RESINiE.  U.S., Lond.  Unguentum Resinosum.
Ed. Unguentum  Resin-e  Albje. Dub.  Resin  Cerate.  Basilicon
ointment.
  " Take of Resin five  ounces; Lard eight ounces; Yellow Wax two
ounces.   Melt them  together, strain through linen, and  stir them constantly
until cool."  U.S.
  The proportions directed by the Edinburgh College are the  same as the
above.  The London College orders of resin and wax, each, a pound, and
of olive oil sixteen fluidounces.  The resin and wax  are melted together
over a slow fire, the oil then added, and the mixture while hot strained
through linen.  By the Dublin process, four pounds of  lard, two pounds
of white resin, and one pound of yellow  wax are made into an ointment,
and strained while hot through a sieve.
  The straining is directed in consequence of the impurities which resin
often  contains.   Resin  cerate,  commonly called basilicon ointment,  is
much used as a gently stimulant application to blistered  surfaces, indolent
ulcers, burns, scalds, and chilblains.  We  have  found  no application more
effectual in disposing the ulcers which follow burns to  heal.
  Off. Prep.  Ceratum Sabinae, U. S.;  Linimentum Terebinthinae, U. S.,
Ed., Dub.; Unguentum Cantharidis,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Unguentum
Cupri Subacetatis, Dub., Ed.                                   W.
  CERATUM  RESINS  COMPOSITUM.  U.S.   Compound
Resin  Cerate.
  " Take of Resin, Suet, Yellow Wax, each,  a pound; Turpentine half a
pound;  Flaxseed Oil half a pint.  Melt them together, strain through linen,
and stir them constantly until cool."  U. S.
  This  is somewhat more stimulating than the preceding, but is applicable
to similar purposes,  particularly to the treatment of indolent ulcers.   Under
the  name of Deshler's salve, it is popularly employed  in some parts of the
United States.                                                 W.

  CERATUM SABINAE. U.S.,Lond,Ed. Unguentum Sabinje.
Dub. Savine Cerate.
  " Take of Savine, in powder, two  ounces; Resin Cerate a pound.  Mix
the  Savine with the  Cerate previously softened." U. S.
  The London College orders one pound of fresh  savine, bruised, to  be
mixed with half a pound of wax and two pounds of lard  previously melted
together, and the  whole to  be strained through linen.  The  Edinburgh
College  directs the same  ingredients,  in the same proportions, to be boiled
together till  the  leaves become friable, and then strained.  The  Dublin
College  employs only half a pound of the leaves, which  it directs to  be
      76 
890
Cerata.
part ir.
boiled in  the  lard till they become crisp.  The lard is then to  be strained
with expression, the wax added, and the whole melted together.
  As the savine used in this country is  generally brought from Europe in
the dried state, we  are compelled to  resort to the mode of preparing the
cerate directed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.   Nor  have  we  found the pre-
paration thus  made  to be " intolerably acrid  and  almost caustic," as  Dr.
Duncan describes it.  On the contrary, it answers very well the purpose
for  which it is used—that of  maintaining the discharge from blistered sur-
faces,   A cerate prepared in the same manner from the leaves of the red
cedar (Juniperus Virginiana) is  sometimes substituted  for  that of savine,
but is less efficient.
  Prepared according to the processes of the British Colleges, savine cerate
has a fine deep-green colour, and  the odour of the leaves. It should be kept
in closely covered vessels, as its virtues are  impaired by exposure.
  Savine cerate is preferable  to the ointment of Spanish flies as a dressing
for  perpetual blisters, from the circumstance that it has no tendency to pro-
duce strangury.   The white coating which forms  during its use  upon the
blistered surface should be occasionally removed, as it prevents the contact
of the cerate.  It is sometimes  applied to seton cords, with the view of
increasing the discharge.                                          W.
  CERATUM  SAPONIS.  U.S., Lond.   Soap Cerate.
  " Take of Solution of Subacetate of Lead two pints; Soap six ounces;
White Wax ten ounces; Olive Oil a pint.   Boil the Solution of Subacetate
of Lead with the Soap, over a slow fire, to the consistence of honey; then
transfer to a water-bath and evaporate until  all the moisture is dissipated;
lastly, add the Wax  previously melted with  the Oil, and mix."  U. S.
  " Take of Soap ten ounces; Wax twelve ounces and a  half;  Oxide of
Lead [litharge], in powder, fifteen ounces; Olive Oil a pint [Imperial mea-
sure]; Vinegar a gallon  [Imp. meas.].   Boil  the Vinegar with the Oxide
of Lead, over a slow fire,  constantly stirring until  they unite; then add the
Soap, and again boil in a  similar manner, until all  the moisture is  dissi-
pated; lastly, with these mix the Wax  previously dissolved in the  Oil."
Lond.
  The present U. S. formula is  that  of Mr. Durand, given in  the Ameri-
can  Journal of Pharmacy (vol. 8, p.  27), and  was substituted, in the last
edition  of the Pharmacopoeia, for  the  London formula, which had been
adopted in the previous  editions.  .It has  the advantages  of being  more
precise  in  the directions, more easy of execution, and more  uniform in
its results.   It yields a perfectly  white cerate,  having the same properties
as  the London, and  a  finer appearance.   The solution of subacetate of
lead, which in the U. S. process is taken already prepared, results, in the
London, from the action  of the vinegar upon  the litharge.   In both pro-
cesses, the subacetate of lead  is decomposed  by the soap, the soda of which
unites with the acetic acid, and the oleaginous  acids with the oxide of lead
in the same manner as in  the formation of the Emplastrum  Plumbi.  The
wax and oil subsequently  added merely serve to give due consistence  to the
preparation.   Soap  cerate is  thought to be cooling and sedative; and is
sometimes used in scrofulous swellings and other instances of  chronic ex-
ternal inflammations. It was formerly employed by Mr. Pott as a dressing
for  fractured limbs;  but  answers  no  other  purpose in these cases than to
yield mechanical support.
  Off. Prep. Ceratum Hydrargyri Compositum, Lond.             W. 
PART II.
Cerata.— Confectiones.
891
  CERATUM SIMPLEX.  U.S.   Ceratum. Lond.  Simple  Ce-
rate.
  " Take  of Lard  eight  ounces;  White Wax four ounces.  Melt them
together, and stir them constantly until cool."  U. S.
  The London College directs  that four fluidounces of olive oil be mixed
with four ounces of wax previously melted.
  We prefer the formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Lard is preferable to
olive oil, as it may  always be had perfectly sweet, and is the mildest appli-
cation which can be made to irritated surfaces.  In the preparation of this
cerate, peculiar care  should be taken that  the oleaginous ingredient be
entirely free from rancidity, and that the heat employed be not sufficient to
produce the slightest decomposition; for the value of the preparation depends
on its perfect blandness. It is used for dressing blisters, wounds, &c, in all
cases in which the object is to exclude the external air and preserve the
moisture of the part, and at the same time to avoid all irritation. It is some-
times improperly employed as the vehicle of substances to-be applied by
inunction.   For this  purpose lard should be used in winter, and simple
ointment in summer;  the cerate having too firm a consistence.       W.
  CERATUM ZINCI CARBONATIS. U.S.   Ceratum  Calami-
ne.  Lond., Ed.  Unguentum Calamine. Dub.  Cerate of Car-
bonate of Zinc.  Cerate of Calamine.  Turner's Cerate.
  " Take of Prepared Carbonate of Zinc, Yellow Wax, each, half a pound;
Lard two pounds.  Melt the Wax and Lard together, and, when upon cool-
ing they begin to thicken, add the Carbonate of Zinc, and stir the mixture
constantly until cool."  U. S.
  The London College orders half a pound of [prepared] calamine,  half
a pound of wax, and sixteen fluidounces of  olive oil; the Edinburgh, one
part  of prepared calamine, and five  parts of simple cerate [Ceratum
Cetacei, U.S.]; the  Dublin, one pound of  calamine, and five pounds of
ointment of yellow wax.
  This  cerate is an  imitation  of that recommended by  Turner.   It is
mildly astringent, and is much  used in excoriations and superficial ulcera-
tions, produced by the  chafing of the  skin,  irritating secretions, burns, or
other causes.                                                   W.


               CONFECTIONES.  U.S., Lond.

                            Confections.

  Confectiones: Conserve; Electuaria. Dub. Conserves  and
Electuaries. Ed.
  Under the general  title of Confections, the Pharmacopoeias of the United
States and of London include all those preparations  having the  form  of a
soft solid, in which  one or more medicinal substances are incorporated  with
saccharine matter, with a view either to their preservation or more  conve-
nient administration.   The Edinburgh College retains the old division into
Conserves and Electuaries; and, as there is some ground for the distinction,
we shall make a few general remarks upon each division, before proceeding
to the consideration of the individual preparations.
  Conserves consist  of recent vegetable substances and refined sugar beat
into  a uniform mass.   By means of the sugar, the vegetable matter is ena-
bled  to resist for some time the decomposition to which it would otherwise
be exposed in  the undried state, and the properties of the recent plant are
thus retained to a certain extent unaltered.  But as active medicines  even 
892                        Confectiones.                    part ii.

thus  treated undergo some change, and those which  lose their virtues by
desiccation cannot be long preserved, the few conserves now retained are
intended rather as convenient vehicles of other substances than for separate
exhibition.  The sugar used in their preparation should be reduced to a fine
powder by pounding and sifting, as otherwise it will not mix uniformly with
the other ingredient.
   Electuaries are mixtures consisting of medicinal substances, especially
dry powders, combined with syrup or honey, in order to render them less
unpleasant to  the taste, and  more convenient for internal use. They are
usually prepared  extemporaneously; and it is only  when their complex
nature renders it convenient to keep them ready made in  the shops, or
some peculiarity in  the mode of mixing the ingredients requires attention,
that  they become proper objects  for pharmaceutic direction.  Their con-
sistence should not be so soft, on the one hand, as to allow the ingredients
to separate, nor so firm, on the other, as to  prevent them from being swal-
lowed without mastication.   Different substances require different propor-
tions of syrup.   Light vegetable powders usually  require  twice their
weight, gum-resins two-thirds of their weight, resins somewhat less, mine-
ral substances about half their weight, and deliquescent salts not more than
one-tenth.  Should  the electuary  be found, after  having been kept for a
short time, to  swell up  and emit gas, it should  be  beat over again in a
mortar, so that any portion of the sugar which may have crystallized may
be again accurately incorporated with the other ingredients.  Should it, on
the contrary, become dry and  hard from the mutual reaction of its con-
stituents, more syrup should be added, so as to give it the requisite consist-
ence.  If the dryness result from the mere evaporation of the aqueous
part, water should be added instead of syrup,  and the  same remark  is ap-
plicable to the conserves.  To prevent the hardening of electuaries, the
French writers recommend the use of syrup prepared from brown  sugar,
which is less apt to crystallize than that made from the refined. Molasses
would answer the same purpose; but its taste might be considered objection-
able.   Some persons employ honey, but this is not always acceptable  to the
stomach.                                                       W.
   CONFECTIO AMYGDALA. Lond. Conserva Amygdalarum.
Ed.    Confectio Amygdalarum. Dub.   Almond Confection.
   " Take of Sweet Almonds eight  ounces; Gum Arabic,  in  powder, an
ounce; Sugar four ounces.  Having macerated the Almonds in cold water,
and deprived them of their external coat, beat all the ingredients together till
they are thoroughly incorporated.   The confection may be kept longer, if
the Almonds, Gum Arabic, and Sugar,  separately rubbed, should be after-
wards mixed.  Then, whenever the confection is to be used, beat the  whole
together until incorporated." Lond.
   The directions  of the Edinburgh  and Dublin  Colleges are essentially
the same as the above, except that these Colleges do  not admit the alterna-
tive of having the ingredients separately rubbed, and afterwards mixed.
   This preparation was adopted as affording a speedy method of preparing
the almond  mixture, which when made immediately from the Almonds
requires much time, and which cannot be kept ready made in the shops.
But,  from its liability to be injured by keeping,  it has been omitted  in the
last edition of our Pharmacopoeia,  which  directs the almond mixture to be
made immediately from the ingredients. (See Mistura Amygdalae.)   W.
   COxNFECTIO AROMATICA.  U.S., Lond., Dub.   Electua-
rium  Aromaticum. Ed.   Aromatic Confection.
   " Take of Aromatic Powder^wc ounces and a lialf; Saffron, in powder, 
PART ii.
Confec Hones.
893
 half an ounce; Syrup  of Orange  Peel  six ounces; Clarified Honey two
 ounces.  Rub the Aromatic Powder with the Saffron;  then add the Syrup
 and Honey, and beat them together until thoroughly mixed." U. S.
   " Take of Cinnamon, Nutmegs, each,  two ounces; Cloves an ounce;
 Cardamom half an ounce; Saffron two ounces; Prepared Chalk sixteen
 ounces; Sugar two pounds.  Rub the dry ingredients together to a very fine
 powder, and keep them in a closed vessel.  But when the confection is to
 be used, add  water  gradually, and mix till  a  thorough  incorporation is
 effected." Lond.
   The Dublin formula  corresponds with that of the former London Phar-
 macopoeia, which  directed  the same ingredients  as in the present formula,
 but added a pint of water to the dry materials and incorporated the whole
 together at one time.   The Edinburgh College directs one  part of their
 aromatic powder, and two parts of syrup of orange peel, to be mixed, and
 triturated into a uniform pulp.
   The preparation of the United States  Pharmacopoeia contains cinnamon,
 ginger, cardamom,  and  nutmeg, without carbonate of lime, which appears
 to us to be an unnecessary if not improper ingredient;  as  it is not always
 indicated in cases which call for the use of the confection, and may be added
 extemporaneously when required.   The aromatic confection affords a con-
 venient method of administering the spices which enter into its composition,
 and an agreeable vehicle for other medicines.  It  is given in debilitated states
 of the stomach, alone or as an adjuvant to other substances.  The dose is
 from ten to sixty grains.
   Off. Prep.  Pilulae Digitalis et Scillae.  Ed.                      W.
   CONFECTIO  AURANTII  CORTICIS. US.   Confectio  Au-
 rantii. Lond.  Conserva Aurantii.  Ed.   Confection of Orange
 Peel.
   " Take of Fresh  Orange Peel,  separated  from the  fruit by grating, a
pound; Sugar [refined] three pounds.   Beat the Orange Peel with the
 Sugar gradually added, till they are thoroughly mixed."  U. S.
   The directions of the London and Edinburgh Colleges correspond with
 the above.  The rind of the bitter  orange is  intended  by these Colleges,
 that either of the  bitter or sweet,  by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  By the
 London process, the beating is performed in a stone mortar with a wooden
 pestle.
   This  confection  is sometimes used  as a grateful aromatic vehicle or
 adjunct of tonic and purgative powders.                          W.

  CONFECTIO  CASSIAE. Lond.  Electuarium  Cassia. Dub.
 Confection of Cassia.
  "Take of Cassia [pulp] half a pound; Manna two ounces;  Tamarind
 [pulp] an ounce; Syrup of Roses eight fluidounces.  Bruise the  Manna,
and dissolve it in the Syrup; then mix in  the Cassia and  Tamarind [pulps],
and evaporate to a  proper consistence." Lond.
  The formula of the Dublin College corresponds with that of the London,
except that syrup of orange peel is substituted for the syrup of roses.
  The confection of cassia is slightly laxative; but is seldom if ever prepared
in this country, and might  very properly be expunged  from the catalogue
of Preparations, as it is both feeble and expensive.                 W.
  ELECTUARIUM  CATECHU.  Ed.   Electuarium Catechu
Compositum. Dub.  Electuary of Catechu.
  " Take of Catechu and Kino, of each, four ounces; Cinnamon and Nut-
                               76* 
894
Confectiones.
PART II.
meg, of each, one ounce;  Opium, diffused in  a little Sherry, one drachm
and a half; Syrup of Red Roses, reduced to the consistence of honey, one
pint and a half [Imperial measure].  Pulverize the solids, mix the opium
and syrup, then  the powders, and beat them thoroughly into a  uniform
mass."  Ed.
   "Take of Caiechu four ounces; Cinnamon Bark two ounces; Kino three
ounces. Rub these to powder, and add of Turkey Opium, diffused in Spanish
White Wine, a drachm and a half; Syrup of Ginger, evaporated to the con-
sistence of honey, two pounds and a quarter.  Mix them."  Dub.
   These preparations do  not essentially differ.  They are aromatic and as-
tringent, containing  one grain of opium in about two hundred grains of the
mass; and may be advantageously given in diarrhoea and chronic dysentery,
in the dose of half a drachm or a drachm more or less frequently repeated.
They may be taken in the form of bolus, or diffused in water.      W.
   CONFECTIO  OPII U S, Lond., Dub.    Electuarium Opii.
Ed.   Confection  of Opium.
   " Take of Opium, in powder,/owr drachms and a half; Aromatic Pow-
der six ounces; Clarified Honey fourteen ounces.  Rub the  Opium  with
the Aromatic Powder;  then add  the Honey,  and  beat  them  together  until
thoroughly mixed." U. S.
   " Take of Opium, in  powder,  six drachms;  Long Pepper an ounce;
Ginger two ounces; Caraway three ounces;  Tragacanth, in powder, two
drachms; Syrup  sixteen fluidounces [Imperial measure].  Rub them to-
gether to a very fine powder, and keep them in a covered vessel.  But when
the Confection is  to be used, add sixteen fluidounces of Syrup previously
heated, and mix." Lond.
   The Dublin College takes the same dry materials, and in the same quan-
tities as the London; but first rubs the opium with apound of heated syrup,
and then mixes with these the remaining articles reduced to powder.
   " Take of  Aromatic  Powder,  six ounces; Senega in fine  powder, three
ounces; Opium, diffused in a little Sherry, half an ounce; Syrup of Ginger
apound.   Mix them together, and beat them into an electuary." Ed.
   This confection was intended as a substitute for  those exceedingly com-
plex and unscientific preparations which were formerly known by the names
of theriaca  and mithridate, and  which have been expelled from modern
pharmacy. The seneka, directed in the last edition of the Edinburgh Phar-
macopoeia, was probably put inadvertently for serpentaria directed in the old
 Latin edition. The former medicine has no property which adapts it to this
position.  The preparation is a combination of opium with  spices, which
render it more stimulant, and  more grateful to a debilitated stomach.  It is
given in atonic gout,  flatulent colic, diarrhoea unattended with inflamma-
tion, and  in various other diseases requiring the use of a stimulant  narcotic.
 Added to Peruvian bark or sulphate of quinia it increases considerably the
efficacy of this remedy in obstinate cases of intermittent fever.  One grain
of opium is  contained  in about thirty-six grains  of the U. S. and London
confections,  in twenty-five grains of the Dublin,  and in forty-three of the
Edinburgh.                                                    W.
    CONFECTIO  PIPERIS  NIGRI.  Lond, Dub.  Electuarium
Piperis. Ed.   Confection of Black Pepper.
    " Take of Black Pepper, Elecampane, each, a pound; Fennel [seeds]
 three pounds; Honey, Sugar [refined], each, two pounds.  Rub the dry
 ingredients together into a very fine  powder, and keep them in a covered
 vessel.  But whenever the confection is to  be used, add the Honey, and
 beat them until thoroughly incorporated."  Lond. 
part ii.
Confecliones.
895
   The Dublin College takes the same materials, in the  same proportions,
 and in like manner reduces them  to powder; but completes the process by
 immediately incorporating the honey  with the  other ingredients.   The
 Edinburgh process agrees with the Dublin, except in substituting powdered
 liquorice root for elecampane.
   This  preparation was intended as a  substitute for Ward's paste, which
 acquired some reputation in Great Britain as a remedy in piles and ulcers
 of the rectum.  To do good, it must be continued, according to Mr. Brodie,
 for two, three, or four months.  The dose is from one to two drachms re-
 peated two or three times a day.   Its stimulating properties render it inap-
 plicable to cases attended with much inflammation.                 W.
   CONFECTIO ROS.^.  U S.   Confectio Rosje Gallics. Lond.
 Consekva Rosje. Ed., Dub.  Confection of Roses.  Conserve of Roses.
   "Take of Red Roses, in powder,/owr ounces; Sugar [tefined], in pow-
 der, thirty ounces; Clarified  Honey six  ounces; Rose Water eight fluid-
 ounces.   Rub the roses  with the Rose Water at a  boiling heat;  then add
 gradually the Sugar and Honey,  and beat them together until  thoroughly
 mixed."  U.S.
   "Take of  Red Roses  [fresh]  a  pound; Sugar [refined] three pounds.
 Beat the Rose petals in a marble mortar; then add the Sugar, and beat again
 until they are incorporated." Lond.
   The Dublin process is the same as the London.   The Edinburgh Col-
 lege directs the petals  to be beaten into a pulp with  the gradual addition of
 twice their weight of white sugar.
   In the  British  processes, the unblown petals only  are used, and these
 should be deprived of their claws; in other  words, the  rose buds shoujd be
 cut off a short distance above their  base, and the  lower portion  rejected.
 In the last edition of the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia, dried roses have been sub-
 stituted  for the fresh, as  the latter are not brought to our  market.   The
 process  is very similar to that of the French Codex.
   This  confection is slightly astringent, but is almost exclusively  used as a
 vehicle of other medicines, or to impart consistence to the pilular mass.  The
 Edinburgh College employs it in most of their officinal pills.
   Off. Prep. Pilulae Hydrargyri,  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.         W.
   CONFECTIO ROS/E CANINiE.  Lond,  Conserva Rosje Fruc-
 tus.  Ed.  Confection of the Dog-rose.
   " Take of Dog-rose [pulp] apound; Sugar [refined], in powder, twenty
 ounces.   Expose the Pulp to a gentle heat in an earthen vessel;  then add
 the Sugar gradually, and rub them together until they are thoroughly mixed."
 Lond.
   " Take any convenient quantity of  hips, carefully deprived of their car-
 pels, beat them to a fine pulp, adding gradually thrice their weight of white
 Sugar."  Ed.
   This  preparation is  acidulous and  refrigerant, and is used in Europe for
 forming more active medicines into pills and electuaries.
   Off. Prep.  Pilulae Hydrargyri Iodidi. Lond.                    W.

   CONFECTIO RUTJE.  Lond.  Conserva  Rutje.  Dub.   Con-
fection  of Rue.
   " Take of dried Rue,  Caraway, Laurel  Berries,  each, an ounce and a
 half; Sagapenum half an ounce; Black Pepper two drachms;  Honey [clari-
 fied] sixteen ounces.   Rub the dry ingredients together to a very  fine pow-
 der, and preserve them.   Then, as often as  the confection is to be  used, add
 the Honey, and mix the whole together." Lond. 
 896                         Confecttones.                   part ii.

   The Dublin process differs only in the immediate addition of the honey
 to the other ingredients.
   The confection of rue is antispasmodic, and in Great Britain is employed
 in the form of enema in hysterical complaints and flatulent colic; but in this
 country it is  not used.   From a scruple to  a drachm may be administered,
 diffused in half a pint of warm mucilaginous fluid.                 W.

   CONFECTIO SCAMMONII. Lond.  Electuarium Scammonii.
 Dub.  Confection of Scammony.
   " Take of Scammony, in powder, an ounce and a half; Cloves, bruised,
 Ginger, in powder, each, six drachms; Oil of Caraway half a fluidrachm;
 Syrup of Roses a sufficient quantity.   Rub the dry ingredients into a  very
 fine powder,  and  keep them; then, when the Confection is to be used, pour
 in the Syrup, and again rub them; finally add the Oil of Caraway, and mix
 them all." Lond.
   The Dublin College employs the same materials in the same quantities,
 but immediately incorporates  the syrup and  oil with the dry  ingredients.
   This confection is actively cathartic in the dose of half  a drachm  or a
 drachm; but is very little  used, and has been omitted in the  last edition of
 the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia.   The proportion of Scammony is uncertain, from
 the indefinite quantity of syrup  employed.                        W.
   CONFECTIO SENNAE.  U S., Lond.   Electuarium Sennje.
 Ed., Dub.  Confection of Senna.  Lenitive Electuary.
   " Take of Senna eight ounces; Coriander [seed] four ounces; Liquorice
 Root, bruised, three ounces; Figs a pound; Pulp of Prunes, Pulp of  Ta-
 marinds, Pulp of Purging Cassia, each, half a pound; Sugar [refined] two
pourtds and  a half; Water four pints.  Rub  the Senna and Coriander
 together, and separate ten ounces of the powder  with a sieve.  Boil the re-
 sidue with the  Figs  and  Liquorice Root, in the Water, to  one-half; then
 press out the liquor  and  strain.  Evaporate the strained liquor, by means
 of a water-bath, to a pint and  a half; then add the Sugar and  form a syrup.
 Lastly, rub the Pulps with  the syrup gradually added, and, having thrown
 in the sifted powder,  beat all together until thoroughly mixed."  U. S.
   The London process corresponds with the above.   The Edinburgh Col-
lege directs apound of the pulp  of prunes, and omits the pulps of tamarinds
and cassia fistula; but otherwise proceeds in the  same manner.   The Dub-
lin College boils apound of the pulp of prunes, and two ounces of the pulp
of tamarinds, in  a pint and a half of molasses,  to the thickness of honey;
then adds four ounces of senna in very fine powder, and, when the mixture
cools, two drachms of oil  of caraway; and, lastly, mixes the whole inti-
mately.
  The confection of senna,  when properly made, is an elegant preparation.
The pulp of purging cassia is  most  conveniently obtained  by boiling  the
bruised pods in water, straining the decoction, and evaporating  to the con-
sistence of an electuary.   The pulp of prunes may be prepared by boiling
the fruit in a small quantity of water to soften it, then pressing it through a
hair sieve, and evaporating to a proper consistence.  The tamarinds,  when
too dry for immediate use, may be  treated in the same manner.  In each
case, the evaporation should  be completed  by means of a  water-bath, in
order to prevent  the pulps from being burnt.  It is  common to omit  the
cassia pulp in the  preparation of the confection, as the pods are not always
to be found in the market.   But as this is next to senna the most active  in-
gredient, the omission is to be regretted; and there is no doubt that a steady 
part n.              Confectiones.—Cuprum.                  897

demand for the fruit Would be met by an abundant supply from  the West
Indies.
   This is one of our best  and most pleasant laxatives, being admirably
adapted to cases of habitual costiveness, especially in pregnant women and
persons affected with piles.  It is also very useful in the constipation which
is  apt to attend convalescence  from fevers and other acute diseases.   The
mean dose is two drachms,  to be taken at bed-time.                W.


                            CUPRUM.

                     Preparations of Copper.

   CUPRI SUBACETAS PR^PARATUM. Dub. Prepared Sub-
acetate of Copper.
   " Let the Subacetate of Copper be ground to powder, and the finer parts
separated in the manner directed for the preparation of Chalk." Dub.
   The object of this process is, by levigation and elutriation, to reduce ver-
digris to the state of a very  tine powder.   A chemical change is at the same
time produced, which was  not  originally contemplated.  The diacetate of
copper  which it contains, consisting of one equivalent of acid, two equiv.
of protoxide, and six  of water,  is converted by the action of water into a
soluble  acetate  and an insoluble trisacetate.   The latter, consisting of one
equiv. of acetic acid, three equiv. of protoxide  of copper, and one  and a half
of water, is  the Dublin prepared subacetate  of copper, which,  therefore,
differs from commercial  verdigris in composition as well as in its state of
aggregation.  (See Cupri Acetas.)  This preparation  is used only as an
escharotic and stimulant application to unhealthy ulcers  and obstinate cuta-
neous eruptions.
   Off. Prep. s Oxymel Cupri Subacetatis, Dub.; Unguentum Cupri Sub-
acetatis, Dub.                                                  W.

   CUPRUM AMMONIATUM. U. S., Ed., Dub.  Cupri Ammo-
nio-sulphas. Lond.  Ammoniated Copper.
   " Take of Sulphate of Copper half an ounce;  Carbonate of  Ammonia
six drachms. Rub them together in a glass  mortar  till the effervescence
ceases;  then wrap the Ammoniated Copper in bibulous paper, and dry it
with a gentle heat.  Let it be kept in a well stopped glass bottle."  U. S.
   The  processes of the  British Colleges are essentially the same as the
above, the  ingredients, proportions, and general  mode of operating being
identical.   The London  College orders that the salt be dried in the air, and
omits the direction as to the mode of keeping it; the Edinburgh directs that
the product should be first dried in folds of blotting paper,  and afterwards
by exposure for a short time to the air; and  the Dublin orders the ingredi-
ents to be triturated in an earthenware mortar.
   When the two salts  above mentioned are rubbed together, a reaction takes
place between them, attended with the extrication of the water of crystalliza-
tion of the sulphate of copper, which renders the mass moist, and the simul-
taneous escape of carbonic  acid gas from the carbonate  (sesquicarbonate)
of ammonia, which occasions  an effervescence.  The colour is at the same
time altered, passing from  the light blue of the powdered sulphate of copper to
a beautiful deep  azure.   The nature of  the chemical changes which  take
place is not precisely known.   One of the views which have been taken is,
that the blue, vitriol parts  with a portion of its acid to the ammonia of the
carbonate, thus forming a subsulphate of copper and sulphate of ammonia, 
898
Cuprum.
part ii.
which are either mixed together, or chemically united in the  form of a
double salt, the  sulphate of copper and ammonia.  According to Phillips,
the sulphuric acid of the sulphate of copper unites with the ammonia of a
portion of the sesquicarbonate of ammonia; while the carbonic acid of the
decomposed sesquicarbonate partly escapes, and partly combines with the
oxide of copper;  so that the resulting preparation  consists of sulphate of
ammonia, carbonate of copper, and undecomposed sesquicarbonate of ammo-
nia.   It is highly probable that  the Cuprum Ammoniatum, independently
of the excess of sesquicarbonate of ammonia which  it may contain, is
identical with the crystallized salt obtained by dropping a solution of pure
ammonia into a  solution of sulphate of copper till the subsalt first thrown
down is dissolved, then concentrating, and precipitating  by alcohol.   Now,
from the analysis of this salt  by Berzelius, it appears to contain  one equiv-
alent of sulphuric acid, one of oxide of copper, two of ammonia,  and one of
water, which may be supposed to be combined in the form of a double salt
—the  cupro-sulphate of ammonia—consisting  of one  equiv. of sulphate
of ammonia, one of cuprate of ammonia  in  which the oxide  of copper
acts the  part of an acid, and one of water of crystallization (NH3-f S03)
+ (NH3 + CuO)-j-HO.  But as half an ounce of sulphate of copper would
require for such a result somewhat less than the same weight of sesquicar-
bonate of ammonia, there must be a considerable excess of the latter salt,
unless dissipated in the drying  process.   In the uncertainty which  exists
as to  the precise nature of the preparation, the name of ammoniated copper
appears to be as appropriate for a pharmaceutical title as any that could be
adopted.
   This salt has  a beautiful deep azure-blue colour, a  strong ammoniacal
odour, and a styptic, metallic taste.   It is soluble in water, and the solution
has an alkaline reaction on vegetable colours; but, unless there be an excess
of sesquicarbonate of ammonia, the solution deposits subsulphate of copper
if much  diluted.  When exposed to the air it parts with ammonia, and is
said to be ultimately converted  into sulphate of ammonia and carbonate of
copper.   This change is apt to occur to  a greater or less  extent  while it is
drying.   It should not, therefore, be prepared in large  quantities at a time,
and should be kept  in well-closed bottles.  By heat, the whole of it is dis-
sipated, except the oxide  of  copper.   Arsenious acid  precipitates a green
arsenite  of copper  from its solution.  Potassa, soda, lime-water, and  the
acids  are incompatible with it.
   Medical Properties  and  Uses.  Ammoniated copper is tonic,  and is
thought to exercise  an influence over the nervous system which renders it
antispasmodic.  It  has been much employed  in epilepsy, in which it was
recommended by Cullen.   There is good reason to believe that it has occa-
sionally effected cures; but like all other  remedies in that complaint it very
frequently fails.   It has also  been used in chorea, hysteria, and worms; and
by Swediaur as an injection  in gonorrhoea and leucorrhoea.   In  over-doses
it produces vomiting, and the poisonous effects which result from the other
preparations of copper.  (See Cuprum.)   It is  said,  however,  to be less
apt to excite nausea.   The dose is a quarter or half a grain, repeated twice
a day, and gradually increased to four or five grains.   It may be given in
pill or solution.   The  medicine should not be very long continued without
interruption; according to Cullen, not longer than a month.
   Off. Prep.  Cupri Ammoniati Aqua, Dub.,  Lond.; Pilulae Cupri Ammo-
niati, Ed.                                                       W. 
PART II.
Cuprum.—Decoct a.
899
   CUPRI AMMONIATI AQUA. Dub.   Liquor Cupri Ammonio-
sulphatis. Lond.   Cupri Ammoniati Solutio. Ed.   Solution  of
Ammoniated Copper.
   " Take of Ammonio-sulphate of Copper a drachm; Distilled  Water a
pint [Imperial  measure].   Dissolve the Ammonio-sulphate of Copper in
the Water, and filter."  Lond.
   The Edinburgh formula is the same as the London.   The Dublin Col-
lege employs one part of the salt to one hundred parts of distilled water.
   By the quantity of water employed in these  processes, the ammoniated
copper, unless  it contain an excess of carbonate of ammonia, which it pro-
bably does  when  recently prepared, is  said by Mr. Phillips  to be decom-
posed, with a precipitation of one-half of the oxide of copper.  According
to the same author, a smaller portion of water dissolves it perfectly.
   This solution is sometimes employed as a stimulant to foul and indolent
ulcers, and, diluted with water, as an application to the cornea when affected
with specks or opacity; but it is probably in no respect  superior  for these
purposes to a solution of sulphate of copper, and scarcely deserves a place
among the officinal preparations.                                 W.


                            DECOCTA.

                             Decoctions.

   Decoctions are solutions of vegetable principles, obtained by boiling the
substances  containing  these principles in water.   Vegetables generally
yield their soluble  ingredients  more readily  and in larger  proportion to
water maintained at the point of ebullition, than  to the same liquid at a
lower temperature.   Hence decoction is occasionally preferred to infusion
as a mode of extracting the virtues of plants, when the call for the remedy
is urgent, and the  greatest possible activity in the preparation is desirable.
The process should be conducted in a covered vessel, so  as to  confine the
vapour over the surface of the liquid, and thus  prevent the access of atmo-
 spheric  air, which sometimes exerts an injurious agency  upon the  active
principle.  The boiling, moreover, should not, as a general rule, be long
 continued; as the ingredients of the vegetable are apt to react on each other
 and thus lose, to a greater  or  less extent, their original  character.  The
 substance submitted to decoction, should if dry be either powdered or well
 bruised, if fresh should be sliced, so that  it may present an  extensive  sur-
 face to the action  of  the solvent; and previous maceration for some  time in
 water is occasionally useful by overcoming the cohesion of the  vegetable
 fibre.
   All vegetable substances are not  proper objects for decoction.  In many
 the active principle is volatile at a boiling heat, in others  it undergoes some
 change unfavourable to its activity, and  in a third  set  is associated with
 inefficient or nauseous  principles, which, though insoluble or but slightly
 soluble in cool water, are abundantly extracted by that liquid at the boiling
 temperature, and thus encumber, if they do not positively-injure the prepa-
 ration.   In all  these instances, infusion  is preferable to decoction. Besides,
 by the latter process, more  matter is often dissolved  than the water can
 retain in solution, so that upon cooling  a  precipitation  takes  place, and the
 liquid is rendered turbid.   When the active principle is thus dissolved in
 excess,  the decoction should always be  strained while hot; so that the mat-
 ter which separates on cooling, may be mixed again with  the fluid by agi-
 tation at the time of administering the remedy. 
900
Decocta.
part II.
  In compound decoctions, the ingredients maybe advantageously added at
different periods of the process, according to the length of boiling requisite
for extracting their virtues; and, should any one of them owe its activity to a
volatile  principle, the proper plan is, at the close of the process, to pour
upon  it the boiling decoction, and  allow the liquor to cool  in  a covered
vessel.
  As a  general rule, glass or earthenware vessels should be  preferred; as
those made of metal are sometimes corroded by the  ingredients of the de-
coction, which thus becomes contaminated.  Vessels of clean cast-iron or
of common tin are preferable to those  of copper, brass, or zinc; but iron
pots  should not be used  when astringent vegetables are  concerned.
  Decoctions, from the  mutual reaction of  their constituents, as well as
from the influence of the air, are apt to spoil in a short time.   Hence they
should be  prepared only when wanted  for use, and should not be kept, in
warm weather, for a longer period than forty-eight hours.           W.
  DECOCTUM ALOES COMPOSITUM.  Lond., Dub.   Decoc-
tum Aloes, Ed.  Compound Decoction of Aloes.
  " Take  of Extract of Liquorice half an ounce; Carbonate of Potassa two
scruples;  Hepatic Aloes in powder, Myrrh  in powder, Saffron, each,  a
drachm; Water a pint.   Boil  together to twelve ounces, and strain; then
add four fluidounces of Compound Tincture of  Cardamom."  Dub.
  The Edinburgh process may be considered as identical withthe Dublin,
except that a choice is allowed between the socotrine and hepatic aloes.
  " Take  of Extract of Liquorice seven  drachms; Carbonate of  Potassa a
drachm; Aloes in powder, Myrrh in powder, Saffron, each, a drachm and
a half;  Compound Tincture of Cardamom  seven fluidounces;  Distilled
Water a pint and a half [Imperial  measure].   Boil the liquorice, Carbo-
nate of  Potassa, Aloes, Myrrh, and  Saffron with the Water to a pint, and
strain; then add the Compound Tincture of Cardamom."  Lond.
  There is no essential difference between the two processes.  That  of the
Dublin College is preferable for practical purposes in this country, as  the
measures  correspond with our own; while those of the London and  Edin-
burgh Colleges, adopted at the last revision of their Pharmacopoeias,  being
divisions of the British Imperial gallon, are wholly inapplicable here.
  The effect of the alkaline carbonate  is, by combining with  the resinous
ingredient (apotheme of Berzelius) of the aloes, to render it more  soluble in
water, while  the liquorice  assists in  the suspension  of the  portion not
actually dissolved.  The tincture of cardamom is useful  not only by its cor-
dial property, but also by  preventing spontaneous decomposition.
  Long boiling impairs the purgative property of aloes; and  the same effect
is thought to be produced, to a certain extent, by the alkalies, which cer-
tainly qualify its  operation, and render it less  apt to  irritate  the rectum.
This decoction, therefore, is milder as a cathartic than aloes itself, and  not
so liable to produce or aggravate hemorrhoidal disease.   At  the same time
it is more  tonic and cordial  from  the  presence  of the  myrrh, saffron, and
cardamom, and derives antacid properties from the carbonate of potassa.  It
is given as a  gentle cathartic, tonic, and emmenagogue; and  is especially
useful in dyspepsia, habitual  constipation, and those  complicated cases in
which suppressed or retained  menstruation  is  connected with  enfeebled
digestion and a languid state of bowels. The dose is from half a fluidounce
to two fluidounces.
  It  should not be combined in prescription with acids, acidulous salts, or
other saline bodies which  are incompatible with the alkaline carbonate em-
ployed in  its preparation.                                         W. 
part ii.                     Decoct a.                           901

   DECOCTUM A~LTH2E.M. Dub.  Mistura Althjeje. Ed.  De-
coction of Marsh Mallow.
   " Take of the Herb and Root of Marsh Mallow, dried and bruised, four
ounces; Raisins, stoned, two  ounces; Water seven pints.  Boil down to
five pints, and strain the liquor;  then set it by till  the dregs have subsided,
and decant."  Dub.
   The Edinburgh College takes four ounces of the root, two ounces of
the raisins, and five pints [Imperial measure] of boiling water, and pro-
ceeds as above, boiling down to three pints.
   This decoction is a simple  mucilage flavoured with raisins; and may be
used advantageously as a  drink, in all cases in which  demulcents are indi-
cated.                                                          W.
   DECOCTUM CETRARI^E. U.S., Lond.   Decoctum  Lichenis
Islandici. Dub.  Decoction  of Iceland Moss.
   " Take of Iceland Moss half an ounce;  Water a pint and a half.   Boil
down to  a pint, and strain with compression." U. S.
   The London College orders five drachms of the moss with a pint and a
half of water to be boiled to a pint and strained; but, as the Imperial measure
is used in the process, the proportion is in fact equivalent to about half an
ounce to the apothecaries' pint.   By the Dublin  process, half an ounce of
the moss is digested for two hours in a close vessel with a pint of boiling
water, then boiled for fifteen minutes, and  the liquor strained while hot.
   As the bitter principle is dissolved along with the starch of the lichen, this
decoction unites an unpleasant flavour to its demulcent properties; but the
plan which has been proposed of first extracting  the bitterness by macera-
tion  in water, or a very weak solution of  an alkaline  carbonate, and after-
wards preparing the decoction, is inadmissible; as the peculiar virtues which
distinguish the medicine from the ordinary demulcents are thus entirely lost.
(See Cetraria.)  A pint of the  decoction  may be taken in divided  doses
during the twenty-four  hours.                                    W.
   DECOCTUM  CHAMAMELI  COMPOSITUM. Dub.  Decoc-
tion of Chamomile.
   " Take of dried  Chamomile Flowers half an ounce;  Fennel  Seeds two
drachms; Water a pint.   Boil for a short time, and strain." Dub.
   In  preparing this decoction, the aromatic should not be added till near
the end of the process.  The  decoction contains the bitter extractive of the
chamomile, with little of its peculiar aroma, which is dissipated by the boil-
ing.   It is inferior, therefore,  for internal use, to the infusion;  and is  calcu-
lated only for fomentations and enemata.                           W.

   DECOCTUM  CHIMAPHILA.  U.S., Lond.  Decoctum Py-
rolje. Dub.   Decoction of Pipsissewa.  Decoction of Winter Green.
   " Take of Pipsissewa,  bruised, an ounce; Water a pint and a  half.
Boil down to a pint, and strain." U. S.
   " Take of Pipsissewa an ounce; Distilled Water a pint and a half [Im-
perial measure].  Boil to a pint, and strain." Lond.
   " Take of Pipsissewa  an ounce;  Water two pints.  Macerate for six
hours; then take out the Pipsissewa, and having  hruised it, return it  to the
liquor, and evaporate until enough remains to afford  one pint of decoction
strained with expression." Dub.
   The previous maceration directed  by the Dublin College is quite super-
fluous, especially in relation to the fresh leaves, which may almost always
       77 
902
Decocta.
PART II.
be obtained in this country.  The medical properties and uses of pipsissewa
have been detailed under the head of Chimaphila.   One pint of the decoc-
tion may be given in the course of twenty-four hours.              W.
   DECOCTUM CINCHONA.  U. S., Ed., Dub.   Decoctum Cin-
chonje Cordifolije. Decoctum Cinchonje Lancifolije.  Decoctum
Cinchonje Oblongifolije. Lond,   Decoction of Peruvian Bark.
   " Take of Peruvian Bark, bruised, an ounce; Water a pint.  Boil for ten
minutes in a covered vessel, and strain (lie liquor while hot." U. S.
   The London College directs separate decoctions of the three varieties of
bark, but in each case  employs the same proportions and proceeds in  the
same way.   Their process is  essentially the same  as ours.  The Edin-
burgh College takes an ounce of either of its officinal varieties of bark,
and twenty-four fluidounces  [Imperial  measure] of water, boils for  ten
minutes, allows the decoction to cool, then filters  it, and evaporates to six-
teen fluidounces.  The Dublin  College, without specifying the length of
boiling, orders an ounce of the pale bark, in  coarse powder,  and enough
water to yield a pint of the strained decoction.
   When the physician directs the decoction according to the U. S. formula,
he should specify the variety of bark  he wishes to be employed.
   The virtues of Peruvian bark, though  extracted more rapidly by decoc-
tion than  by infusion, are materially  impaired by long boiling, in conse-
quence  of the changes  effected in its -constituents, either  by their mutual
reaction, or by the agency of atmospheric  oxygen,  or by both causes united.
To prevent this result,  tbe process is directed to be performed in a covered
vessel, and to be continued only ten minutes. But even with these precautions
a considerable precipitate takes place in the decoction upon cooling, which
is thus rendered turbid.   According to Pelletier, besides the kinates of cin-
chonia and quinia, the water dissolves gum, starch, yellow colouring matter,
kinate of lime, tannin, and a portion of cinchonic  red, with a minute quan-
tity of fatty matter.  But the tannin and starch, at the boiling temperature,
unite  to form a compound insoluble  in cold water;  and, when the decoction
is allowed to cool, this compound is precipitated, together with a portion of
the cinchonic red and fatty matter, which carry with them also a considerable
quantity of the alkaline principle of the bark.  (Journ. de Pharm. vii. 119.)
Hence the decoction is ordered to be strained while hot, so that the portion
of active matter  precipitated may be mingled by agitation  with the liquor,
and not be lost.   Pelletier  recommends  that  a larger proportion of water,
sufficient to retain the alkali in solution, be employed, that  the decoction be
filtered when cold, and then sufficiently concentrated by evaporation. This
plan has been  adopted by the Edinburgh  College, but is unnecessarily tedi-
ous.  A better mode is to add to the liquid some acid which may form with
the quinia  and cinchonia compounds more soluble  than the native salts.
Lemon juice has been long employed as  a useful  addition to the decoction
of cinchona, and we can now understand the manner in which it acts.  Sul-
phuric acid in excess answers the same purpose.   By  acidulating the pint
of water employed in  preparing the  decoction with a fluidrachm of the
aromatic or diluted sulphuric acid, we shall probably enable the menstruum
to extract  all the virtues  of the bark.   The propriety of such an addition
is confirmed by the experiments of MM. Henry, Jun., and Plisson, who
have  ascertained that portions of the alkalies exist in the bark connected
with the colouring matter in the form of insoluble compounds, and that it
is impossible, therefore, completely to exhaust the bark by water alone.
There may, however, be some diversity of action in the different salts of 
PART II.
Decocta.
903
quinia and cinchonia; and  the native kinates may under certain  circum-
stances be most efficient.
  Numerous substances produce precipitates with this decoction; but com-
paratively few affect its activity as  a  medicine. (See Infusum Cinchonae.)
Tannic, gallic, oxalic, and tartaric acids, and the substances containing them,
should be excluded from the decoction; as they form salts with the  alkaline
principles of the bark, which  are either insoluble or but slightly soluble in
water.  The alkalies, alkaline earths, and salifiable bases generally, should
also  be excluded, because, uniting with the kinic acid, they precipitate the
quinia and cinchonia.
  The dose of the decoction is two  fluidounces, to be repeated more or less
frequently according to circumstances. Two drachms of orange peel added
to the decoction while still boiling hot, improve its flavour,  and render it
more agreeable to the stomach.                                   W.
   DECOCTUM CORNUS FLORIDA.  U.S. Decoction of Dog-
wood.
  " Take of Dogwood [bark], bruised', an ounce; Water a pint.   Boil for
ten minutes in a covered vessel, and strain the liquor while hot." U. S.
  This decoction has been proposed as  a substitute for that of Peruvian
bark; but, though possessed of analogous properties, it is much inferior in
efficacy,  and is not likely to be extensively employed so long as the Peru-
vian tonic is attainable.   The dose is two fluidounces.             W.
   DECOCTUM CYDONLE. Lond.   Decoction of Quince  Seeds.
   " Take of Quince [seeds] two drachms; Distilled Water a pint [Impe*
rial measure].    Boil over a slow fire  for ten minutes; then strain."  Lond.
   This decoction is viscid, nearly colourless, insipid, and inodorous; and
consists chiefly of the mucilaginous principle of the quince seeds dissolved
in water.   For an account of the properties and uses of this  mucilage, see
Cydonia.  It is only employed externally.   As it speedily undergoes de-
composition, it should be used immediately after being prepared.    W.
   DECOCTUM DULCAMARAE. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   De-
coction  of Bittersweet.
   " Take of Bittersweet, bruised, an ounce; Water a pint and a half.  Boil
down to a pint, and strain." U. S.
   The processes of the British Colleges correspond with the above.
   The slender twigs of the bittersweet are the part employed.  Their pro-
perties and uses have been  already detailed under the head of Dulcamara.
The dose of the decoction is from one to two fluidounces threeor four times
a day.                                                         W.
   DECOCTUM  GEOFFROYA.  Dub.  Decoction  of Cabbage-
tree Bark.
   "Take of Cabbage-tree Bark, bruised, an ounce; Water two pints.  Boil
down to  a pint, and to  the  strained liquor add two ounces of the Syrup of
Orange Peel."  Dub.
   This decoction has the colour of Madeira wine.   It is powerfully anthel-
mintic, and is  a popular remedy in  the  West  Indies.  The disagreeable
effects which are said  to arise from an  over-dose, or from  drinking cold
water during its operation, may be counteracted, according to Dr.  Wright,
by washing out the stomach with warm water, purging with  castor oil, and
administering lemonade freely.  The dose for an  adult is two fluidounces,
for a child two or three years old, half a fluidounce, to be gradually increased
at each successive administration till  it produces nausea.            W. 
904
Decocta.
PART II.
  DECOCTUM  GLYCYRRHIZAE. Dub. Decoction of Liquorice
Root.
  " Take of Liquorice Root, bruised, an ounce and a half; Water a pint.
Boil for ten minutes, and strain." Dub.
  This decoction may be used as a demulcent beverage, or as a vehicle for
medicines of unpleasant flavour.

  DECOCTUM  GRANATI. Lond. Decoction of Pomegranate.
  "Take of Pomegranate [rind] two ounces; Distilled Water a pint and a
half [Imperial measure]. Boil down to a pint, and strain."  Lond.
  The dose of this decoction is a fluidounce.  For its uses see Granatum.
  DECOCTUM  GUAIACI COMPOSITUM. Dub.   Decoctum
Guaiaci.  Ed.  Compound Decoction of Guaiacum Wood.
  "Take of Guaiac turnings three ounces; Raisins two ounces; Sassafras
[root] rasped,  and  Liquorice Root bruised, each, one ounce; Water  eight
pints [Imperial measure].  Boil the Guaiac and Raisins gently with the
Water down to five pints, adding the Liquorice and  Sassafras  towards the
end.  Strain the decoction." Ed.
  " Take of Guaiacum Wood, rasped,  three ounces; Sassafras root, sliced,
ten drachms; Liquorice Root, bruised,  two ounces and a half; Water ten
pints.  Boil the Guaiacum  Wood in the Water down to one-half; near the
end of the boiling add the Liquorice and Sassafras, and strain  the liquor."
Dub.
  This is the  old  decoction of the woods.   Notwithstanding its former
reputation, it is little more than a demulcent drink; for water is capable of
dissolving but a minute proportion of the active matter of  guaiacum wood,
and one ounce of sassafras root can  impart no appreciable activity to five
pints  of menstruum. It was thought useful in chronic rheumatism and cuta-
neous affections, and as an adjuvant to  a mercurial course in syphilis,  or an
alterative course  of antimonials.  As the patient  was directed to be  kept
warm during its use, it no doubt acted favourably in some  instances  as a
mere diluent, by promoting perspiration.  From  one to  two pints may be
taken in the course of the day,  in doses of about four fluidounces.  W.
  DECOCTUM  HAEMATOXYLI. U. S., Ed.  Decoction of Log-
ivood.
  " Take of Logwood, rasped, an ounce; Water two pints. Boil down to
a pint, and strain."  U. S.
  " Take of Logwood, in chips, one ounce; Water a pint [Imperial  mea-
sure]; Cinnamon,  one drachm, in powder.   Boil the Logwood in the
Water down to ten fluidounces, adding the Cinnamon towards the end; and
then strain." Ed.
  This is an excellent astringent in  diarrhoea; particularly  in that form of it
which succeeds the cholera infantum of this climate, or occurs as an original
complaint in children during summer.  The dose  for an adult is two fluid-
ounces, for a child about two years old, two or three fluidrachms, repeated
several times a day.  A little bruised cinnamon may often be added  with
advantage at the end of the boiling, as directed by the Edinburgh College.


  DECOCTUM HORDEI. U. S., Lond., Dub.  Decoction of Bur-
ley.
  "Take of [Pearl] Barley two ounces; Water four pints and a  half.
First wash away, with cold  water, the extraneous  matters  which adhere to
the. Barley; then pour upon it half a pint of the Water, and boil for a  short 
part n.                      Decocta.                          905

time.  Having thrown away this water, pour the remainder boiling hot upon
the Barley, then boil down to two pints, and strain." U. S.
   The processes of the British  Colleges do not essentially differ from the
above.
   Barley water, as this decoction is usually called, is much employed as a
nutritive drink in febrile and inflammatory complaints, and, from the total
absence of irritating properties, is peculiarly adapted to  cases in which the
gastric or intestinal mucous membrane is inflamed. As the stomach of those
for whom  it is directed is often exceedingly delicate, and apt to revolt against
any thing having the slightest unpleasantness of flavour, it is important that
the decoction should be properly  made; and, though the office of preparing
it  generally falls  to nurses,  yet  the  introduction of the  process into  the
Pharmacopoeia is not without advantage, as a formula is thus  ever before
the physician, by  which he  may  give his directions, with the  certainty, if
obeyed, of having a good preparation.  The use of the washing with cold
water, and of the first short boiling, is completely to remove  any musti-
ness,  or other disagreeable  flavour,  which the barley may have acquired
from exposure.
   Off. Prep.  Enema Aloe's, Lond.;  Enema Terebinthina?, Lond.   W.
   DECOCTUM  HORDEI  COMPOSITUM.  Lond, Dub.   Mis-
tura Hordei. Ed.  Compound Decoction of Barley.
   " Take  of  Decoction of Barley two pints [Imperial  measure];  Figs,
sliced, two ounces and a half;  Liquorice [root], sliced and bruised, five
drachms;  Raisins [stoned] two ounces and a half; Water a pint [Imperial
measure].  Boil down to two pints [Imp. meas.], and strain."  Lond.
   " Take  of Pearl-Barley, Figs sliced, Raisins freed of the seeds, of each,
two ounces and a half; Liquorice Root, sliced and bruised, five drachms;
Water five pints  and a half [Imperial measure].   Clean the Barley, if
necessary, by washing it with cold water; boil it with four pints and a half
of the Water, down to two pints;  add  the Figs, Raisins, and Liquorice Root,
with the remaining pint of water; and again boil  down to two  pints;  then
strain." Ed.
   "Take  of Decoction of Barley four pints; Raisins stoned, Figs sliced,
each,  two  ounces; Liquorice Root, sliced and bruised, half an ounce.  Dur-
ing the boiling, add first the Raisins,  then the Figs, and lastly the Liquorice
Root a short time before it is finished, when the strained decoction ought to
measure two pints." Dub.
   The compound decoction of  barley, in addition to  the demulcent and
nutritive properties of  the simple, is  somewhat laxative, and may be pre-
ferably employed  where there is  a tendency to constipation.   But it is so
often necessary to vary the nature of the sapid ingredients to suit the taste
of the patient,  that it would be better  to leave the preparation entirely to ex-
temporaneous prescription.                                      W.
   DECOCTUM  MALV.E  COMPOSITUM.  Lond.   Compound
Decoction of Mallows.
   " Take of dried Mallows  an ounce; dried  Chamomile Flowers half an
ounce; Water a pint [Imperial measure].   Boil for a quarter of an hour,
and strain." Lond.
   This is intended only for fomentations and enemata.
   DECOCTUM MEZEREI.  Ed., Dub.   Decoction of  Mezereon.
   " Take  of Mezereon, in  chips, two drachms; Liquorice-root, bruised,
half an ounce; Water  two pints  [Imperial measure].  Mix them and boil
down  with a gentle heat to a pint and a half, and then strain."   Ed.
                                77* 
906
Decocta.
PART II.
  The Dublin process is essentially the same as the above.
  This preparation affords a convenient mode of exhibiting mezereon, the
acrimony of which is qualified by the demulcent principles of the liquorice
root.  For an account of its medical applications, see Mezereum. The dose
is from four to eight fluidounces four times a day.                  W.

  DECOCTUM  PAPAVERIS. Lond., Ed,, Dub.   Decoction of
Poppy.
  " Take of White Poppy Capsules, sliced, four ounces; Water four pints
[Imperial measure].   Boil for a quarter of an hour, and strain." Lond.
  The Edinburgh and Dublin processes differ from  the above only in the
proportion  of water, which in the former is three pints [Imp. meas.], in
the latter two pints.
  This decoction is used as an anodyne fomentation in painful tumours and
superficial cutaneous inflammation or excoriation.  It is recommended not
to reject the seeds, as  their oil, suspended in the water by the mucilage of
the capsules, adds  to the emollient virtues of the preparation.       W.

  DECOCTUM  QUERCUS  ALB^E.  U.S.   Decoction 'of  White
Oak Bark.   Decoctum  Quercus. Lond., Ed., Dub.   Decoction of
Oak Bark.
  '• Take of White Oak Bark, bruised,  an ounce;  Water a pint and a half.
Boil down  to a pint, and strain."  U. S.
  The London and Edinburgh Colleges take ten drachms of oak bark and
two pints [Imperial measure] of distilled water, and boil to a pint; the Dub-
lin College, an ounce of the bark and two pints [Apothecaries' measure] of
water, and  boils  to a pint.
  This decoction contains the tannin, extractive, and gallic acid of oak bark.
It affords precipitates with the decoction of Peruvian Bark  and other sub-
stances containing vegetable  alkalies,  with  solution  of  gelatin, and  with
most metallic salts, particularly those of iron.  Alkaline  solutions diminish
or destroy its astringency.   Its uses have been already detailed*.  The  dose
is a wineglassful, frequently repeated.                             W.
  DECOCTUM  SARSAPARILLA.  Dub.   Decoctum Sarzje.
Lond., Ed.  Decoction of Sarsaparilla.
  " Take of Sarsaparilla, sliced, five ounces; Boiling Distilled Water four
pints [Imperial  measure].  Macerate  for  four hours in a  covered vessel,
near the fire, then  take out the Sarsaparilla and bruise it.  Put it again into
the liquor,  and macerate it in the same  manner for two hours more,  then
boil down to two pints [Imp. meas.] and strain."  Lond.
  The Dublin College orders four ounces of the root, previously washed,
and four pints of boiling water, and proceeds as directed by the  London
College, except  that the second maceration is omitted.
   "Take of Sarza, in chips, five ounces; Boiling Water, four pints [Impe-
rial measure].  Digest the root in the Water for two hours at a temperature
somewhat below ebullition, takeout the root, bruise it, replace it, boil down
to two pints [Imp. meas.], and then squeeze out the decoction and strain
it."  Ed.
   There can  be no occasion for the  maceration  directed  by the  British
Colleges; as, if the root is sliced and  well  bruised, all its  ingredients that
are soluble in water may be extracted  by a  length of boiling sufficient to
reduce the liquor  to one-half.  An idea was formerly entertained that the
virtues of sarsaparilla resided in its fecula, the  extraction  of  which  was,
therefore, the main object of the decoction.  Hence the long  boiling ordered
by the Colleges.  But this opinion is now admitted to be erroneous.  The 
PART It.
Decocta.
907
activity of the root is believed to depend upon one or more acrid principles,
soluble to a certain extent in water  cold  or  hot, and either volatilized, or
rendered inert by chemical change at the  temperature of 212°.   This  fact
appears to be demonstrated by the experiments of Pope,* Hancock,t Sou-
beiran,!  Beral, and others.   Hancock makes  the following observations.
"After long  boiling, the peculiar odour which rises abundantly on the coc-
tion of good sarsa, is  almost extinguished.   From the sarsa prepared in
this way, I found no sensible results  upon any patient, nor were its peculiar
nauseating,  drowsy, and racking effects produced by a large quantity, al-
though the  decoction of six  or eight ounces was tried at a dose.   These
experiments having been carried to a sufficient length, most of the same
patients recovered under the  use of the sarsa, taken from the same parcels
as before, but now prepared by simple maceration in hot water, i. e. affused
in a boiling state, and  kept near the boiling  state for some hours.  In  all
cases the sarsa was directed  to be well bruised in large mortars, and in the
mean time  all other remedies were  abstained from, which  might, in any
way, affect  the result."  Soubeiran macerated one portion of bruised sarsa-
parilla in cold water for twenty-four hours; infused another portion in boil-
ing water, and  digested with a moderate heat for  two  hours;  boiled a
third portion bruised, and a fourth unbruised, in water for two hours;  and
in each instance used the same relative quantities.  Testing these various
preparations by the taste, he  found the cold and hot infusion scarcely differ-
ent in this respect; and both possessed of a stronger odour and  more acrid
taste than the decoctions, of  which that prepared with the bruised root was
the strongest.  Beral has proved that sarsaparillin, which  is believed to be
the active principle of the drug, is volatile.   From all these facts the infer-
ence is obvious, that the best method of imparting the virtues of sarsaparilla
to water is  either  by cold or hot infusion.  Digestion for some  hours in
water maintained at a temperature of 180° or somewhat less, in a covered
vessel, has  strong testimony in its favour.  Percolation in a displacement
apparatus, if properly conducted, is  a convenient, and no doubt efficient
mode of exhausting the root, so far as water will effect that object.  Decoc-
tion is the worst method; and the longer it is continued, the weaker will be
the preparation.  Accordingly, in the last edition of the U. S. Pharmacor
poeia, an infusion of sarsaparilla  has been substituted for  the simple decoc-
tion.  It is  probable that, as  in the  case of the Peruvian bark,  a boiling of
ten or fifteen minutes might be  advantageously resorted to, when circum--
stances require  the preparation to be made in less time than is requisite for
infusion.  In every instance  the root should be  thoroughly bruised,  or re-
duced to a coarse  powder, thus obviating the necessity for a Jong macerar
tion, merely to overcome the cohesion of its  fibres.
   Precipitates are produced by various substances with the decoction of sar-
saparilla; but it has not been ascertained how far such  substances interfere
with its activity. Those which merely throw down the fecula do not injure
the preparation.
   The simple decoction of sarsaparilla is chiefly used in the preparation of
the compound decoction.   If given  alone, it may be administered in the
dose of four or six fluidounces four times a day.
   Off. Prep. Decoctum Sarsaparillae Compositum. Dub., Lond., Ed.  W.

  * Trans, of the Medico-Chirurg. Society of London, vol. xii. p. 344.
  t Trans, of the Medico-Botan. Society of London.   See also Journ. of the Phil. Col. of
Pharm. vol i  p. 295.  The observations of Dr. Hancock are entitled to much credit, as
lie practised long in South America, in the neighbourhood of the best sarsaparilla regions.
  1 Journ. de f hanmcic, torn. xvi. p. 38. 
  90S                            Decocta.                        part ii.

     DECOCTUM SARSAPARILLAE COMPOSITUM.  U.S., Dub.
  Decoctum Sarz.e Compositum.  Lond., Ed.  Compound Decoction
  of Sarsaparilla.
     " Take of Sarsaparilla,  sliced and bruised,  six ounces; Bark of Sassa-
  fras Root, sliced, Guaiacum Wood, rasped,  Liquorice Root, bruised, each,
  an ounce; Mezereon, sliced, three drachms; Water four pints.  Boil for a
  quarter of an hour, and strain."  U. S.
     " Take of Decoction  of Sarsaparilla,  boiling hot, four pints [Imperial
  measure];  Sassafras  [root], sliced, Guaiacum Wood,  rasped, Liquorice
  Root [fresh], bruised, each, ten drachms; Mezereon three drachms.  Boil
  for a quarter of an hour, and strain." Lond.
     The Edinburgh process differs  from the  London only in the quantity of
  mezereon,  which in  the former is  half an ounce.   The Dublin College
  takes four pints of the decoction,  an ounce, each,  of sassafras, guaiacum
  wood, and liquorice root, and three drachms of mezereon, and proceeds as
  above.
     The process  of the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia differs  essentially from  the
  others in this respect, that, instead of taking the  simple decoction of sar-
  saparilla  prepared by long boiling, it mixes the  bruised root immediately
  with the other ingredients, and  boils the  whole together for a few minutes.
  Thus the sarsaparilla does not undergo a longer boiling than the other sub-
  stances; and the preparation  is  brought more nearly into  accordance with
  the present state of knowledge in relation to this valuable  drug.  (See De-
  coctum Sarsaparillae.)  It might, perhaps, be a still farther improvement, if
  the ingredients were allowed, after the completion of the boiling, to remain
  in  a  covered vessel, in a warm  place, with occasional agitation, for two or
  three hours before straining.
     This decoction is an imitation of the celebrated Lisbon diet drink.  The
  sarsaparilla and  mezereon are  the  active ingredients; the  guaiacum wood
  imparting scarcely any of its virtues,  and  the sassafras and liquorice serving
  little other purpose than to communicate a pleasant flavour.
     If prepared with good sarsaparilla, and with a due regard to the practical
.  rules which may now be considered as established,  the decoction  may be
  used with great advantage as a gentle diaphoretic and alterative in secondary
  syphilis,  either alone, or as an  adjuvant to a mercurial course;  also in cer-
  tain scrofulous  and other depraved conditions of the system, in  chronic
  rheumatism,  and in various  obstinate  cutaneous affections.  The dose is
  from four to six  fluidounces three or four times a day.  The patient during
  its use should wear flannel next the skin, and avoid unnecessary exposure
  to changes of temperature.*                                        W.

    * The Decoction  of Zittman (Decoctum Zittmanni)  is  a preparation of sarsaparilla
  much used in Germany, for similar purposes with our  compound  decoction of sarsapa-
  rilla; and, as  it has attracted some  attention in this country as a remedy in obstinate
  ulcerative affections, we give the formula of the  Prussian Pharmacopoeia, which is gene-
  rally followed in its  preparation: " Take of sarsaparilla twelve ounces; spring water ninety
  pounds.  Digest for twenty-four hours; then introduce, enclosed in  a small bag, an ounce
  and a half of saccharine alum (a paste formed of alum §vi,  white lead gvi, sulphate of
  zinoS-iij, white sugar ijiss, white of egg and distilled vinegar, each, q. s.), half an ounce of
  calomel, and a drachm of cinnabar.  Boil to thirty pounds, and near the end of the boiling
  add of aniseed, fennel-seed, each, half an ounce, senna three ounces, liquorice root an ounce
  and a half. Put aside the liquor under the name of the strong decoction.  To the residue
  add six ounces of sarsaparilla and ninety pounds of water.  Boil to thirty pounds, and near
  the end add lemon-peel, cinnamon, cardamom, liquorice, of each, three drachms.  Slrain,
  and set aside the liquor under the  name of the weak decoction.  Mercury was detected
  by Wiggers in this decoction in very small proportion.  It should not be prepared in metallic
  vessels, lest the mercurial in solution should be decomposed. The decoction may be drank
  freely. 
PART II.
Decocta.
909
   DECOCTUM  SCOPARII COMPOSITUM. Lond.  Decoctum
 Scoparii, Ed.  Compound Decoction of Broom.
   " Take of Broom, Juniper Fruit, Dandelion, each, half an ounce; Dis-
 tilled Water a  pint and a half  [Imperial measure].   Boil down to a pint
 [Imperial measure], and strain." Lond.
   "Take of Broom-tops, and Juniper-tops, of each, half an ounce;  Bitar-
 trate of Potassa two drachms and a half; Water a pint and a  half [Im-
 perial measure]^   Boil them  together down to a pint [Imperial measure],
 and then strain." Ed.
   This decoction may be used as an adjuvant to more powerful diuretics in
 dropsy.  From half a pint to a pint may be taken during the day.   W.
   DECOCTUM  SENEGA.   U.S., Lond., Dub.   Decoction  of
 Seneka.
   " Take of Seneka, bruised, an  ounce; Water a pint and a half.  Boil
 down to a pint, and strain."  U. S.
   The London College boils  ten drachms of the root with two pints of dis-
 tilled water to  a pint; but  the relation of  the Imperial measure used by this
 College to the  common wine measure is  such, that the proportions  in the
 decoction are  essentially  the same as those of  the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
 The Dublin College directs a pint and a half of water to be boiled down
 with three drachms of the root to eight ounees.
   It is  customary  to add  to the seneka  an equal weight of liquorice root,
 which serves to cover its taste, and in some measure to obtund its acrimony.
 The virtues and practical application of seneka have been already treated of.
 The dose of the decoction is about two fluidounces three or four times a
 day, or a tablespoonful every two or three hours.                  W.

   DECOCTUM TARAXACI. U. S., Ed., Dub.   Decoction ofDan^
 delion.
   " Take of  Dandelion [root], bruised, two ounces;  water two pints.
 Boil down to a pint, and strain." U. S.
   The Edinburgh College takes seven ounces of the fresh  herb and root,
 and two pints  [Imperial measure] of water, boils to one  pint [Imperial
 measure], and strains.  The Dublin College takes four  ounces of the
 fresh herb and root, and two pints of  water, boils to a pint,  expresses, and
 strains.
   This decoction is most efficient when prepared from the root alone.  The
 dose is a wineglassful two or  three  times  a day.   (See Taraxacum.)

   DECOCTUM  TORMENTILLA.  Lond.  Decoction  of  Tor-
 mentil.
   " Take of Tormentil, bruised, two ounces; Distilled water a pint and a
 half [Imperial  measure].  Boil  down to  a pint, and strain."  Lond.
   This decoction is astringent, and may be given in the dose of one or two
 fluidounces, three or four times a day.                            W.

   DECOCTUM ULMI. Lond., Dub.  Decoction of Elm  Bark.
   "Take of fresh  Elm [bark], bruised,  two ounces and a half; Distilled
 Water two pints [Imperial measure].  Boil down  to a pint, and strain."
 Lond.
   The Dublin College orders two ounces of the  bark  and two pints  of
water to be reduced, by boiling,  to a pint.
   This decoction,  being prepared from  the bark of the  European elm,  is
not used in this country.   It had some repute in England as a remedy for 
910
Decoct a.—Emplastra.
PART II.
certain cutaneous disorders; but has fallen into discredit.  From four to six
fluidounces were given two or three times a day.                   W.

  DECOCTUM UVA URSI.  U.S., Lond.  Decoction of Uva Ursi.
  " Take of  Uva Ursi an ounce;  Water twenty fluidounces.   Boil down
to a pint, and strain."  U. S.
  " Take of Uva Ursi, bruised, an ounce; Distilled Water a  pint  and a
half [Imperial measure].   Boil down to a pint, and strain." Lond.
  This decoction contains  the tannin, extractive,  and gallic  acid  of the
leaves.  For an account of its  uses see Uva  Ursi.  The dose is from one
to two fluidounces three or four times a day.                       W.
  DECOCTUM VERATRI.  Lond., Dub.   Decoction of  White
Hellebore.
  " Take of  White Hellebore, in  powder, ten drachms; Distilled  Water
two pints [Imperial measure]; Rectified Spirit three fluidounces.  Boil
the White Hellebore with the  Water to a pint, and when it has cooled, add
the Spirit, express, and strain." Lond.
  The Dublin process corresponds with  the above.
  The root of  the white hellebore imparts its  acrid properties to boiling
water, and the decoction  is powerfully cathartic and emetic; but, in  conse-
quence of the harshness of its action,  it is not used internally.  As  an ex-
ternal application  it  is employed in psora, tinea capitis, lepra, and other
cutaneous eruptions, in which it sometimes proves  highly beneficial.
When the skin is very irritable, it should be diluted with an equal measure
of water.   Even externally applied it should be used with some caution;
as the veratria, upon which its  activity depends, may possibly be absorbed.
As the plant is  not a native of this country, the Veratrum viride, which is
similar in medical properties, may be  advantageously substituted for it in
the preparation of the docoction.                                  W.


                          EMPLASTRA.

                              Plasters.

  Plasters are solid compounds intended for external application, adhesive
at the  temperature of  the  human  body,  and  of such  a consistence as to
render the aid of heat necessary in spreading  them.   Most of them have as
their basis a  compound of olive oil and litharge, constituting the  Emplas-
trum Plumbi of the United States  Pharmacopoeia.  Those  plasters  which
contain none of the  compound of oil  and litharge, owe their consistence
and adhesiveness to resinous substances,  or to a mixture of these with wax
and oleaginous matter.   Only two of this class have gained admission into
our national  Pharmacopoeia;  several of those  directed  by the  British Col-
leges having  been rejected as superfluous, and the Emplastrum Cantharidis
transferred to the Cerates, to which class  it properly belongs.
  In  the  preparation of the  plasters,  care is requisite that the heat em-
ployed be not  sufficiently  elevated to produce decomposition, nor so long
continued as  to drive off any volatile  ingredient upon which the virtues of
the preparation may in a greater or less degree depend.  After having been
prepared, they are usually shaped into cylindrical rolls,  and wrapped in
paper to exclude the air.   Plasters should be firm at ordinary temperatures,
should spread easily when heated, and after being spread,  should  remain
soft, pliable,  and adhesive, without melting, at the heat of the human body.
When long kept, they are apt to  change colour and to become hard and 
PART II.
Emplastra.
911
brittle; and as this alteration is most observable upon their surface, it must
depend chiefly upon the action of  the air,  which should therefore be  as
much as possible excluded.   The defect may usually be remedied by melt-
ing the plaster with a moderate  heat, and adding a sufficient quantity of oil
to give it the due consistence.
   Plasters are prepared for use by spreading them upon leather, linen,  or
muslin, according to the particular purposes they are  intended  to answer.
Leather is most convenient when the application is made to the sound skin,
linen or muslin when the plaster is used as a dressing to ulcerated or abraded
surfaces,  or with the view of bringing and  retaining together the sides  of
wounds.   The leather usually preferred  is white  sheep skin.   A margin
about a quarter or half an inch  broad should usually be left uncovered,  in
order to facilitate the removal of the plaster, and to prevent the  clothing in
contact with its edges  from being soiled.  An accurate outline  may be ob-
tained by pasting upon  the leather a piece of paper, so cut as  to leave in
the  centre a vacant space of the  required dimensions, and removing the
paper when no longer  required.  The  same object may sometimes be ac-
complished  by employing two  narrow rulers  of sheet tin, graduated  in
inches, and so shaped  that each of them may form two sides of a rectangle.
(See the  figure, p.  765.)  These may be applied in such a manner as  to
enclose with them  any given  rectangular  space, and may be fixed by
weights upon the leather while the plaster is spread.  For any other shape,
as in the instance of plasters for the breast, pieces of tin may be employed
having a vacuity within, corresponding to the required outline.   The
spreading of the  plaster is most  conveniently accomplished by  means of a
peculiar iron instrument employed for the purpose; though a common spa-
tula will  answer. This may be heated by means of a spirit lamp.  A suffi-
cient portion of the plaster should first be  melted by the heated  instrument,
and having been received on a  piece of coarse stiff paper, should, when
nearly cool,  be transferred to the leather, and applied  evenly over  its ex-
tended surface.   By this  plan the melted plaster is prevented  from pene-
trating the leather, as it is apt to do when  applied too hot.  When linen or
muslin is used, and the dimensions  of the  portion to be spread are large, as
is often the case with  adhesive plaster, the  best plan  is to  pass the cloth
"on which  the plaster has been laid, through a machine formed of a spatula
fixed by screws, at a proper distance from  a plate of polished steel."  W.
   EMPLASTRUM AMMONIACI.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Am-
moniac Plaster.
   "Take of Ammoniac five ounces;  Vine gar half a pint.   Dissolve the
Ammoniac  in  the  Vinegar,  and strain;   then  evaporate the solution by
means of a water-bath, stirring  constantly until it acquires  a proper  con-
sistence." U. S.
   The London College takes five ounces of ammoniac, and eight fluid-
ounces of distilled  vinegar;  dissolves the ammoniac in the vinegar; and
evaporates the solution by a slow fire, stirring constantly, to  the  proper
consistence.   The Edinburgh  College takes five ounces of  ammoniac and
nine fluidounces of distilled vinegar; dissolves the ammoniac in  the vine-
gar, and evaporates over the vapour-bath, frequently stirring.  In  the Dublin
process,  the ingredients are in  the same  proportion as in ours;  but  pure
ammoniac is directed,  the vinegar of squill is substituted for common vine-
gar, the straining is omitted,  and the evaporation is conducted without the
water-bath.
   As ammoniac is not usually kept purified in  our shops, the straining of 
912
Emplaslra.
PART II.
the solution in vinegar is directed as the most convenient method of sepa-
rating impurities. Dr. Duncan says that the plaster, prepared in iron vessels,
"acquires-  an unpleasant dark colour, from being impregnated with iron;
whereas, when prepared in a glass or earthenware vessel, it has a yel-
lowish-white colour, and more pleasant appearance."
   Medical Properties.  The ammoniac plaster is stimulant, and is applied
over scrofulous  tumours and chronic swellings  of the joints, to  promote
their resolution.   It often produces a papular eruption, and sometimes  oc-
casions considerable inflammation of the skin.  Dr. Duncan has described
a fatal  case of diffuse inflammation  following its use in a case of  diseased
knee-joint.                                                     W.
  EMPLASTRUM AMMONIACI CUM HYDRARGYRO. Lond.,
Dub.   Emplastrum Ammoniaci et Hydrargyri. Ed.  Plaster of
Ammoniac ivith Mercury.
   " Take of Ammoniac a pound;   Mercury  three ounces;  Olive Oil a
fluidrachm;  Sulphur eight grains.  Add the Sulphur gradually to  the
heated  Oil, constantly stirring with a spatula, until they  unite;  then rub
the Mercury with them until the globules disappear; lastly, gradually add
the Ammoniac, previously melted, and mix the whole together."  Lond.
   The Edinburgh  process corresponds closely with the above.
   " Take  of  Pure  Gum  Ammoniac a pound;  Purified  Mercury three
ounces; Common Turpentine two drachms.   Rub  the Mercury  with the
Turpentine until the globules disappear, then gradually add the Ammoniac
previously melted, and with a moderate  heat rub them all together till they
unite." Dub.
   Of these processes the latter is preferable, as the unpleasant odour of the
sulphurated oil is avoided, as well as the action of the sulphur upon the
mercury, with which it must form an inactive sulphuret.  But it should be
recollected that the  common turpentine of Great Britain is not the common
white turpentine of  our shops. The former is a thick liquid, the latter a soft
solid. If the white turpentine be employed, it should  be rendered sufficiently
liquid by the admixture of Venice turpentine.  As ammoniac is not fusible
by heat, it must be  brought  to the proper consistence by dissolving it in a
small quantity of hot water, straining and evaporating.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.   This plaster unites with the stimulant
power  of the ammoniac the  specific properties of the mercury,  which is
sometimes absorbed in sufficient quantity to affect the gums.   It is used as
a discutient in enlargement of the glands, tumefaction of the joints, nodes,
and other indolent swellings, especially when dependent on a venereal taint.
It is also sometimes  applied over the liver in chronic hepatitis.       W.
   EMPLASTRUM AROMATICUM.  Dub.  Aromatic Plaster.
   " Take of Frankincense [concrete juice of the Abies excelsa] three ounces;
Yellow Wax half an ounce; Cinnamon Bark, in powder, six drachms; Oil
of Pimento, Oil of  Lemons, each, two drachms.  Melt the Frankincense
and Wax together, and strain.  When, upon cooling, they begin to  thicken,
mix in the powdered Cinnamon previously rubbed with the Oils, and make
a plaster."  Dub.
  As the virtues of  this plaster depend chiefly upon volatile  ingredients, it
cannot  be  kept long without injury, and  should  therefore  be extempora-
neously prepared.   It is not  intended to be very adhesive, as, in order to
maintain the due impression, its application must be  frequently renewed.
The volatility of the oils requires that it should be spread without being
melted  or  heated more than  is absolutely necessary  to produce the proper 
part ii.
Emplastra.
913
degree of softness.   We are therefore recommended to spread it with the
fingers.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This is an elegant local stimulant, calcu-
lated when applied over the region of the stomach to allay nausea and vomit-
ing, to correct flatulence, and to relieve the gastric uneasiness attendant upon
dyspepsia.                                                     W.
  EMPLASTRUM  ASSAFCETIDA.  U.S., Ed.     Assafetida
Plaster.
  " Take of Assafetida, Lead Plaster, each, a pound;  Galbanum, Yellow
Wax, each,  half apound;  Diluted Alcohol three pints.   Dissolve the As-
safetida and  Galbanum in the  Alcohol with the aid of a water-bath, strain
the liquor while hot, and evaporate to the consistence of honey; then add
the Lead Plaster and Wax previously melted together, stir the mixture well,
and evaporate to the proper consistence."  U. S.
  " Take of Litharge [Lead] Plaster and Assafetida, of each, two ounces;
Galbanum and  Bees'-wax, of each, one  ounce.  Liquefy the gum-resins
together and strain them, then add the plaster and wax also in the fluid state,
and mix them all thoroughly." Ed.
  The  directions of the present U. S. Pharmacopoeia in relation  to  this
plaster are more perfect than those of former editions; as they indicate the
mode in which the  gum-resins may be brought to the liquid state before
being incorporated with the other ingredients.   Galbanum melts sufficiently
by the aid of heat to admit of being strained;  but this  is not the case  with
assafetida, which must be prepared by dissolving it in a  small quantity of
hot water or diluted alcohol, straining, and evaporating to the consistence
of honey; and even the galbanum may be most conveniently treated in the
same way.  Formerly these gum-resins were  ordered merely to  be melted
and strained, and  such is at present the  direction of the Edinburgh Phar-
macopoeia, unless the term  " liquefy" be  considered as leaving to the ope-
rator the choice of the mode in which they should be brought into the liquid
state.
  This plaster may be advantageously applied over the stomach or abdomen,
in cases of hysteria attended with flatulence, and to the chest or between the
shoulders in hooping cough.                                     W.
   EMPLASTRUM BELLADONNA.   U.S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.
Plaster of Belladonna.
   " Take of Resin Plaster three ounces; Extract of Belladonna an ounce
and a half.   Add the Extract to the Plaster, previously melted by the heat
of a water-bath, and mix  them." U. S.
  The London and Edinburgh processes are  the same as the  above.
  "Take of the  Inspissated Juice of the Deadly Nightshade [Extractum
Belladonnae] an ounce; Soap Plaster two  ounces.  Make a plaster." Dub.
  The most convenient method of forming this plaster, is to rub the ingre-
dients  together in  an earthenware mortar placed in hot water, and then,
having removed the mortar from  the water-bath, to continue the  trituration
till the mixture  cools.  The preparation  is a useful anodyne application in
neuralgic and rheumatic pains, and in dysmenorrhoea.   We have seen the
constitutional effects of belladonna result from its external use.       W.
  EMPLASTRUM CANTHARIDIS. Lond., Ed., Dub.   Plaster
of Spanish Flies.
  See CERATUM  CANTHARIDIS.  U.S.
       78 
914
Emplaslra.
part ii.
   EMPLASTRUM CANTHARIDIS COMPOSITUM. Ed. Com-
pound Plaster of Spanish Flies.
   " Take of Venice Turpentine, four ounces and a half; Burgundy Pitch
and Cantharides, of each, three ounces; Bees'-wax one ounce; Verdigris half
an ounce; White Mustard Seed and Black Pepper, of each, two drachms.
Liquefy the Wax and Burgundy Pitch, add the Turpentine, and while  the
mixture is hot sprinkle into it the remaining articles, previously in fine pow-
der and mixed together.  Stir the whole briskly as it concretes on cooling."
Ed.
   This is intended to be a powerful and speedy blistering plaster, and may
probably prove beneficial in very urgent cases  attended with much torpor
of the skin; but great care  should be observed not to allow it to remain  too
long, as unpleasant and tedious ulceration, if not gangrene, might result.  To
the cases of children it is wholly inapplicable.                     W.
   EMPLASTRUM CERA. Lond.   Emplastrum Simplex. Ed.
 Wax Plaster.
   " Take of Wax, Suet, each, three pounds; Resin a pound.  Melt them
together and strain."  Lond.
   " Take of  Bees'-wax three ounces;  Suet  and  Resin,  of each, two
ounces.  Melt them together with a moderate  heat, and stir the  mixture
briskly till it concretes on cooling." Ed.
   These plasters  were originally intended for dressing blistered surfaces, in
order to maintain  a moderate discharge, for which purpose they are adapted
by the stimulant properties  of the resin.   But their stiffness and adhesive-
ness  render them unpleasant and of difficult management;  and they have
been  entirely superseded by the resin cerate.
   Off. Prep.  Emplastrum Cantharidis, Lond.                    W.
   EMPLASTRUM  FERRI.  U.S., Ed.   Emplastrum Thuris.
Dub.  Emplastrum Roborans.  Iron  Plaster.   Strengthening
Plaster.
   " Take of Subcarbonate of Iron three ounces;  Lead  Plaster two pounds;
Burgundy Pitch lialf a pound.   Add the Subcarbonate of Iron to the Lead
Plaster and  Burgundy Pitch, previously melted together, and stir them con-
stantly until they  thicken upon cooling."  U. S.
   The Dublin process  differs from the above only in the employment of
red oxide of iron instead of the subcarbonate, and of frankincense (see page
543)  instead of Burgundy Pitch.
   " Take of Litharge Plaster three ounces; Resin six drachms; Olive Oil
three fluidrachms and a half; Bees'-wax  three drachms; Red Oxide of
Iron [Subcarbonate of Iron, U. S.] one ounce.  Triturate the Oxide of Iron
with  the Oil, and add the mixture to the other articles previously liquefied
by gentle heat.   Mix the whole thoroughly." Ed.
   The present U. S. process is a great improvement upon that of the former
editions, yielding  a finer, more adhesive, and more efficient plaster.  The
preparation  has enjoyed some popular celebrity, under the impression that
it strengthens the parts to which it  is applied;  whence  it has derived the
name of strengthening plaster.  It is used in those conditions of the loins,
larger muscles, and joints,  which, though usually ascribed to debility, are
in fact most frequently dependent on  rheumatic  or other chronic inflamma-
tory affections, and, if relieved by the plaster, are so in consequence of  the
gentle excitation which it produces in the vessels of the skin.  It may also, 
part ii.                     Emplastra.                        915

in some instances, give relief by affording mechanical support; but neither
in this, nor in any other respect, can it be deemed very efficient.     W.
   EMPLASTRUM  GALBANI. Dub.   Galbanum Plaster.
   " Take of Litharge Plaster [Emplastrum Plumbi] two pounds; Galbanum
half a pound; Yellow Wax, sliced, four ounces.   Add the Litharge Plaster
and Wax to the Galbanum previously melted; then melt the whole together
with a moderate heat, and strain." Dub.
   This is essentially the same in properties as the following, though some-
what less stimulating.                                           W.
   EMPLASTRUM  GALBANI COMPOSITUM.  U.S.  Emplas-
trum Galbani. Lond.   Compound  Galbanum Plaster.
   " Take of Galbanum eight ounces; Lead Plaster three pounds; Turpen-
tine ten drachms; Burgundy Pitch three ounces.  To the Galbanum and
Turpentine, previously melted together and strained, add first the Burgundy
Pitch, and  afterwards the Lead Plaster melted over a gentle fire, and mix
the whole together." U. S.
   The London process differs only in directing the eommon European tur-
pentine instead of the white turpentine intended by our Pharmacopoeia, and
the concrete juice or unprepared resin of the Abies excelsa, instead of Bur-
gundy pitch or the prepared resin.
   Before being employed in this process, the galbanum should be purified,
as it often contains foreign  matters which must injure  the plaster.  It may
be freed  from these by melting it with a little  water or diluted alcohol, strain-
ing, and  evaporating to the due consistence.
   This plaster is an excellent local stimulant in chronic scrofulous enlarge-
ments of the glands and joints.  We have employed  it with apparent ad-
vantage in  some  obstinate cases of this kind, which, after having resisted
general and local depletion, blistering, and other measures,  have yielded
under its  use.  As a discutient  it is also  employed in the induration which
sometimes remains after the discharge of abscesses.  It is said to have been
useful in  rickets when applied over the whole lumbar region, and has been
recommended in  chronic gouty  or rheumatic articular affections.   It should
not be employed  in  the discussion of tumours in which any considerable
inflammatory action exists.                                       W.
   EMPLASTRUM  GUMMOSUM. Ed.  Gum Plaster.
   " Take of Litharge Plaster [Emplastrum Plumbi]/owr ounces; Ammo-
niac, Galbanum, and Bees'-wax, of each, half an ounce.  Melt the Gum-resins
together  and strain them; melt also together the Plaster and Wax; add the
former to the latter mixture, and mix the whole thoroughly." Ed.
  The addition of ammoniac adds little to the virtues of this plaster, which
closely resembles the compound galbanum plaster in its effects.   The gal-
banum and  ammoniac are best prepared by dissolving them in a small quan-
tity of hot water or diluted alcohol, straining the solution, and evaporating
it to the proper consistence for mixing with the other ingredients.
   Off. Prep. Emplastrum Saponis, Ed.                           W.
  EMPLASTRUM  HYDRARGYRI.  U S, Lond., Ed. Mercu-
rial Plaster.
  " Take of Mercury six ounces; Olive Oil, Resin, each, two ounces;
Lead Plaster a pound.  Melt the Oil and Resin  together, and when  they
have become cool, rub the Mercury with  them till the globules  disappear;
then gradually add the Lead Plaster, previously melted, and mix the whole
together."  U.S. 
916
Emplasira.
PART II.
  The London  College takes  three  ounces of mercury, a pound of lead
plaster,  a fluidrachm of olive oil, and eight grains of sulphur; gradually
adds the sulphur to the heated oil, constantly stirring with  a spatula until
they unite; then rubs the  mercury with them until the globules disappear;
and finally adds by degrees the lead plaster previously melted with a  slow
fire,  and mixes the whole together.  The Edinburgh process corresponds
with that of the  United States Pharmacopoeia, except that only one-half of
the quantity of materials is employed, and nine fluidrachms of olive oil are
directed instead of an ounce.
  The sulphurated oil employed by the London College is intended to facili-
tate the  extinguishment of the mercury;  but as it operates  by the union of
the sulphur with the metal forming an inefficient sulphuret, it impairs the
virtues of the  plaster at least as much as  it assists in its preparation.   The
melted resin and oil of the United States and Edinburgh process are deci-
dedly preferable.
  This  plaster is  employed to produce the  local effects of mercury upon
venereal buboes, nodes, and other chronic tumefactions of the bones or soft
parts, dependent on a syphilitic taint.  In these cases it sometimes acts  as
a powerful discutient.   It is frequently also  applied to the  side in chronic
hepatitis or splenitis.  In habits peculiarly susceptible to the  mercurial in-
fluence, it occasionally affects  the gums.
  From numerous observations made in France by Messrs. Serres, Gariel,
Briquet, and others (see Archives Generates, viii, 468, and vi, 3eme Serie,
24),  it appears that the mercurial plaster of the French Codex (Emplastrum
de Vigo cum Mercurio), has the power, when applied upon a portion of skin
affected with the eruption of small-pox, before the end  of the third day of
its appearance, to check the progress of the  eruption  and prevent suppura-
tion  and consequent  pitting.   This operation  of the plaster, so  far from
being attended with an increase of the general symptoms, seems to relieve
them in proportion to the diminution  of the local  affection.   It is also
thought that the  course of the disease is favourably modified when the mer-
curial impression  is produced  upon the system.   That the local effect is
not ascribable  to the mere exclusion of air is proved by the fact, that the
application of common lead plaster was  not followed by the same results.
It is probable  that other mercurial preparations  would answer the same pur-
pose; and the mercurial ointment of our Pharmacopoeia has  proved  effec-
tual, in  our own hands, in rendering the eruption upon the face to a consi-
derable  extent abortive  in one very bad case of small-pox.  But  as the
most successful results were obtained with the plaster above mentioned, we
give the formula of the  French Codex for  its  preparation.  The weights
mentioned are those of the French  metrical  pound.  (See table in the
Appendix.)
  Emplastrum  de Vigo cum  Mercurio.  " Take of simple plaster [lead
plaster]  two  pounds eight ounces;  yellow wax two  ounces; resin two
ounces;  ammoniac, bdellium,  olibanum, and myrrh, each, five drachms;
saffron three drachms; mercury twelve ounces; turpentine [common Euro-
pean] two ounces; liquid storax six ounces; oil of lavender two drachms.
Powder the gum-resins and saffron, and rub the mercury with the storax
and turpentine in an iron  mortar  until  completely extinguished.   Melt the
plaster  with the  wax and resin, and add to the mixture the powders and
volatile  oil.  When the plaster shall have been  cooled, but while  it is yet
liquid, add the mercurial mixture, and incorporate the whole thoroughly.
This should be spread upon leather or linen cloth, and applied so as effec-
tually to cover the face or whatever other part it is desired to protect. 
PART II.
Emplastra.
917
   EMPLASTRUM OPII.  U S, Lond., Ed., Dub.  Opium Plaster.
   " Take of Opium, in powder, two ounces; Burgundy Pitch three ounces;
 Lead Plaster a pound; Boiling Water fourfluidounces.   Melt together the
 Lead Plaster and Burgundy Pitch; then add the  Opium  previously mixed
 with the Water, and boil them over a gentle fire to the proper consistence."
 U.S.
   "Take of Hard Opium, in powder, half an ounce; Resin of the  Spruce-
 fir [unprepared concrete juice  of Abies excelsa],  in powder, three  ounces;
 Lead Plaster a pound; Water eight fluidounces.  To the melted Plaster add
 the Resin, Opium, and Water; and boil down with  a slow fire until the in-
 gredients unite into a proper consistence." Lond.
   " Take of Powder of Opium, half an ounce; Burgundy Pitch  three
 ounces;  Litharge plaster twelve ounces.   Liquefy  the Plaster  and Pitch,
 add  the Opium by degrees, and mix them thoroughly." Ed.
   The Dublin process is the same as the Edinburgh.
   The formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is preferable, as containing a
 much larger proportion of opium, which, in the others, is in a quantity too
 small for decided effect.   The use of the water is  to enable the opium to
 be more thoroughly incorporated  with  the other ingredients; but care
 should be taken that the moisture be well  evaporated.
   The opium plaster is thought to relieve rheumatic and other pains in the
 parts to which it is applied.                                      W.
   EMPLASTRUM PICIS. Lond., Ed.  Pitch Plaster.
   " Take of Burgundy Pitch two pounds; Resin of the Spruce-fir [unpre-
 pared concrete juice  of Abies  excelsa]  a pound; Resin, Wax,  each, four
 ounces;  Expressed Oil of Nutmegs an ounce; Olive Oil,  Water, each, two
fluidounces.  To the Pitch, Resin, and Wax, melted together, add first the
 Resin of the Spruce-fir, then the Oil of Nutmegs,  the Olive Oil, and the
 Water.  Lastly, mix the whole, and boil to the proper consistence." Lond.
   " Take of Burgundy Pitch, one pound and a half; Resin and Bees'-
 wax, of each, two ounces; Oil of Mace half an  ounce; Olive  Oil one
fluidounce;  Water  one fluidounce.  Liquefy the Pitch, Resin, and  Wax
 with a gentle heat; add the other articles;  mix them well together; and boil
 till the mixture acquires the proper consistence." Ed.
   We presume that the  London  expressed oil of nutmegs, and the Edin-
 burgh oil of mace, in the  above formulae, though these terms are not defined
 in tbe respective Pharmacopoeias, have reference  to the substance denomi-
 nated, in the Edinburgh Materia Medica catalogue, myristicae adeps or con-
 crete oil of nutmeg.  (See Myristicae Adeps, page 471.)   The driest white
 turpentine may be substituted  for the resin of the spruce-fir, which is not
 always to be  obtained in this country.
   This is a rubefacient plaster applicable to catarrhal and  other pectoral af-
 fections, chronic inflammation  of the liver, and rheumatic pains in the joints
 and  muscles.  It often keeps up a serous discharge, which  requires that it
 should be frequently renewed.  The irritation which it sometimes excites
 is so great as to render its removal  necessary.                      W.
   EMPLASTRUM PICIS CUM CANTHARIDE. U.S.  Emplas-
 trum Calefaciens. Dub.  Plaster of Pitch  xoith Spanish Flies.
 Warming Plaster.
   " Take of  Burgundy Pitch three pounds and a half; Cerate of Spanish
 Flies half a pound.   Melt them together by means of a water-bath, and
 stir them constantly till they thicken upon cooling." U. S.
                                 78* 
918
Emplastra.
PART II.
  The Dublin College employs the same proportions.
  This plaster is an excellent rubefacient, more active than Burgundy pitch,
yet in general not sufficiently so to produce vesication.  Still, however, in
consequence of a peculiar susceptibility of the skin in some individuals, it
occasionally blisters; and it has been recommended to diminish the propor-
tion of the flies.  But, while such a reduction would render  the plaster in-
sufficiently active in most cases, it would not entirely obviate the objection;
as the smallest proportion of flies would  vesicate in certain persons, and
even the  Burgundy pitch alone sometimes  produces the same effect.  In
whatever mode, therefore, this  plaster may be prepared, it cannot always
answer the expectations which may be entertained; and the only plan, when
the skin of any individual has been found  to be  very  susceptible,  is to  ac-
commodate the  proportions to the particular circumstances  of the  case.
Much, however, may be accomplished by proper care in the preparation of
the plaster, towards obviating its tendency to  blister.   If the flies of the Ce-
ratum Cantharidis should have been  coarsely pulverized, the  larger parti-
cles, coming in contact with the skin,  will exert upon  the particular part to
which they are applied their full  vesicatory  effect, while, if reduced to a
very fine powder, they would  be more thoroughly enveloped  in the other
ingredients, and thus  have their strength very much  diluted.  Hence the
cerate, when  used as an ingredient of the warming plaster, should contain
the cantharides as minutely divided as possible, and if that usually kept is
not in the proper state, a portion should be  prepared for  this particular pur-
pose.  A good plan, we presume,  would be to keep the  ingredients of the
cerate used in  this preparation, for  a considerable time, at the temperature of
212°, and then strain it so as to separate the flies. (See Ceratum Canthari-
dis.)   The mode frequently pursued of preparing the warming plaster  by
simply sprinkling a very small  proportion of powdered  flies upon the sur-
face of Burgundy Pitch is altogether objectionable.
  The warming  plaster is employed in chronic rheumatism, and various
chronic internal diseases attended with inflammation or an  inflammatory
tendency; such  as catarrh,  asthma, pertussis, phthisis, hepatitis,  and the
sequelae of pleurisy and pneumonia.                              W.
  EMPLASTRUM  PLUMBI.   U.S., Lond,   Emplastrum Li-
thargyri. Ed., Dub.   Lead Plaster.   Litharge  Plaster.
  " Take of Semivitrified Oxide of Lead, in very fine powder, five pounds;
Olive Oil a gallon; Water two pints.  Boil  them  together over a gentle fire,
stirring constantly, until the Oil and Oxide of Lead unite into a Plaster.  It
will be proper to add a little boiling  water, if that  employed at the com-
mencement be nearly all consumed before the end of the process." U. S.
  The above process  was precisely  that  of the old London Pharmaco-
peia.  In  the edition of that work for 1836,  the quantities directed are six
pounds of the oxide of lead, a gallon of olive oil, and two pints of water;
but, as the Imperial measure is employed, the proportions are in fact nearly
the same as before.
  The Edinburgh College orders five ounces  of litharge, twelve fluidounces
of olive oil, and three fluidounces of water.  The Dublin process does not
differ materially from that of the London and U. S. Pharmacopoeias.
  The importance of this plaster, as the basis of most of  the others, requires
that we should enter  somewhat in detail into an account of the principles
and manner of its preparation.
  It was formerly thought that the oil and  oxide of lead entered into direct 
PART II.
Emplastra.
919
union, and that the presence of water was necessary only to  regulate the
temperature,  and  prevent the materials from  being decomposed by  heat.
The discovery, however, was afterwards made, that this liquid was essential
to the  process; and that the  oil and oxide alone, though maintained at a
temperature of 220°, would not combine; while the addition of water, under
these circumstances, would produce their immediate union.  It was now
supposed  that the oil was capable of combining  only  with the hydrated
oxide of lead, and that the use of the water was to bring the oxide into this
state; and in support of this opinion, the fact was advanced  that the hy-
drated oxide of lead and  oil would form  a  plaster, when  heated together
without any free  water.  But since  the  general  reception of Chevreul's
views  in  relation  to  oils and  their combinations with  alkalies  and  other
metallic oxides, the  former opinions  have been  abandoned; and it  is now
admitted that the  preparation of the lead plaster  affords a genuine example
of saponification,  as  explained  by that chemist.   A reaction takes  place
between the oil  and water, resulting in the  formation  of a sweetish sub-
stance called  glycerin, and  of two acid bodies,  the oleic and margaric
acids, to which, when  animal fat is employed instead of  olive oil,  a third
is added,  namely, the stearic.   The  plaster is formed by a union of these
acids with the oxide, and, prepared according  to the directions of the Phar-
macopoeias, is in fact  an oleo-margarate of lead.   The glycerin remains
dissolved in the water,  or mechanically mixed  with the plaster.  That such
is the  correct view of the nature of this compound, is evinced by the fact,
that if the oxide of lead  be separated from  the plaster by digestion at a
moderate  heat in very dilute nitric acid, the fatty matter which remains
will unite with litharge with the greatest facility,  without  the intervention
of water.  According  to a  more  recent chemical view, the fixed oils  are
compounds of the  oily  acids  mentioned with the oxide of  glycerule.
When boiled  with the oxide of  lead and water, the oily acids combine with
the  metallic oxide to form the plaster, and the oxide of glycerule takes an
equivalent of water and  becomes  glycerin.   Glycerule is a hypothetical
compound of carbon and hydrogen (C6H7), which unites with five  equiva-
lents of oxygen  to form  oxide  of glycerule (C6H7Os), also a  hypothetical
substance, and with an  additional equivalent of  water  to form glycerin
 (C6H705+Aq).
   Other oleaginous substances  and other metallic oxides are susceptible of
 the same combination,  and some of them form compounds having the con-
sistence of a  plaster; but, according to M. Henry of Paris, no oily matter
except animal fat can  properly  be substituted  for olive oil, and no metallic
 oxide, not even one of  the other oxides of lead, for litharge. He ascertained,
 moreover, that the English litharge is preferable for the formation of  the lead
 plaster to that obtained from Germany.   Red lead, which is a deutoxide of
 the metal, forms  a plaster with  oil or fat, without the addition  of water;  but
 it is always  of a  deep  brown  colour, as  if burnt.   From more recent  ex-
 periments of Soubeiran, it appears that massicot or even minium  may be
 substituted for litharge, and a  plaster of good consistence  be obtained;  but
 that a much longer time is required for completing the process than when
 the officinal formula is  followed.   When minium  is used, the necessity for
 its partial deoxidation renders a longer continuance of the process necessary
 than with massicot.
   Lead plaster has  also been  prepared  by double decomposition between
 soap and acetate  or subacetate of lead; but the results have not been  so ad-
 vantageous as to lead to the general adoption of this process.  For particular 
920                           Emplastra.                     part ii.

information on the subject the reader is referred to the American Journal
of Pharm. ix. 127, and  to the Journal de Pharmacie, xxiii. 163  and 322.
  Preparation.   The vessel  in which the lead plaster is prepared, should
be of such a size that the materials will not occupy more than two-thirds of
its  capacity.   The oil should be first  introduced, and the litharge  then
sprinkled in  by means of a sieve,  the mixture being constantly stirred  with
a spatula.  The particles of the oxide are thus prevented from coalescing in
small  masses, which  the oil would  not  easily.penetrate, and which would
therefore delay the process.   Though water exerts an important  chemical
agency in  the changes which occur, it is also useful by preventing too  high
a temperature, which would decompose the oil and cause the reduction of the
metal.  The waste must, therefore, be supplied by fresh additions as directed
in the process;  and the water  added for  this purpose  should be previously
heated, as  otherwise it would  not  only delay the  operation, but by produc-
ing explosion might endanger  the operator.  During the continuance of the
boiling, the materials should be constantly stirred, and  the spatula should be
repeatedly passed along the bottom of the vessel, from side to side, so as to
prevent  any of the oxide, which is disposed by its greater density to  sink
to the  bottom, from remaining in  that situation.   The materials  swell up
considerably in consequence partly of the vaporization of the water, partly
of the  escape of carbonic acid  gas, which is liberated by the oily acids from
some carbonate of lead usually contained in the litharge. (Chevallier.) The
process should not be continued longer  than is sufficient to produce com-
plete union of the ingredients, and this  may be  known by the colour  and
consistence of the mass.  The colour of the litharge  gradually  becomes
paler,  and  at length almost white  when  the plaster is fully formed.  The
consistence increases  with  the progress of the  boiling, and is sufficiently
thick,  when a portion of the plaster taken out and allowed to cool upon the
end of a spatula, or thrown into cold water, becomes solid, without adhering
in this state to the fingers.  The portion thus solidified should not present,
when  broken, any red  points, which would indicate the presence of a
portion of  uncombined litharge.  When the plaster is formed, it should be
removed from  the fire, and after a short time cold water should be poured
upon it. Portions should then be detached from the mass, and having been
well kneaded under water, in order to separate the viscid liquid contained
in the interior, should be  formed into  cylindrical rolls, and wrapped in
paper.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This  plaster, which  has long been
known under the name of diachylon, is used as an application to excoriated
surfaces, and to slight wounds, which it serves  to protect  from the  action
of the air.   It may also be beneficial by the  sedative  influence of  the lead
which enters into its composition.   A case is on record in which lead-colic
resulted from  its long continued  application to  a large ulcer of  the leg.
(Am. Jour, of Med. Sci. xxiii. 246.)   Its chief use is in the  preparation
of other plasters.*

  *  A plaster of carbonate of lead  was originally introduced into our Pharmacopoeia as
a substitute  lor Mahy's plaster, so much employed  in some parts of the United States;
but was omitted in  the last edition. It  is a good application  to surfaces  inflamed or
excoriated by friction; and may be resorted to with advantage in those troublesome cases
of cutaneous irritation, and even ulceration, occurring upon the back and hips during long
continued confinement to one position. We give the process as contained in the Pharma-
copoeia of 1830. "Take of Carbonate of Lead a pound; Olive Oil two pints; Yellow Wax
four ounces; Lead Plaster a pound  and a half;  Florentine Orris, in powder, nine ounces.
Boil together the Oil and Carbonate of Lead, adding a little water, and constantly stirring,
till they are thoroughly incorporated; then add the Wax and Plaster, and when these are 
PART II.
Emplaslra.
921
  Off. Prep.  Emplastrum Assafoetidse, U. S., Ed.; Emp. Ferri, U. S., Ed.,
Dub.; Emp.  Galbani, Dub.;  Emp. Galbani Comp., U. S., Lond.;  Emp.
Gummosum, Ed,; Emp. Hydrargyri, U. S., Lond., Ed.; Emp. Opii, U. S.,
Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Emp. Resinae, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Emp. Saponis,
U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Emp. Saponis Comp., Dub.;  Unguentum Plumbi
Comp., Lond.                                                  W.
  EMPLASTRUM  RESINAE.  U.S., Lond.   Emplastrum Resi-
nosum. Ed.   Emplastrum Lithargyri  cum Resina.  Dub.   Em-
plastrum Adhjesivum.  Resin Plaster. Adhesive Plaster.
  "Take of Resin, in powder, half apound;  Lead Plaster three pounds.
To the Lead Plaster melted over a gentle fire add the Resin, and mix them."
U.  S., Lond.
  The Edinburgh College orders five ounces of the lead plaster, and one
of resin; the  Dublin, three pounds and a half of the  former, and half a
pound of the latter.
  This preparation differs from the lead plaster in being more adhesive and
somewhat more stimulating.  It is the common adhesive  plaster of the shops,
and is much employed for retaining the sides of wounds in contact, and for
dressing ulcers according to the method of Baynton, by which the edges are
drawn towards each other, and a firm support  is given  to the  granulations.
It is usually spread for these  purposes upon muslin; and  the spreading is
best accomplished, on a large scale, by means of a machine, as described in
the general observations upon plasters.  It is kept in the  shops  ready spread;
but as the plaster  becomes less adhesive by long exposure  to the air, the
supply should be frequently renewed.   When  the skin is very delicate, it
occasionally excites some irritation, and under these circumstances  a plaster
may be substituted, containing  a smaller proportion  of resin.  That origi-
nally employed by Baynton contained only six drachms of resin to the pouud
of lead plaster.
  In  order to render the plaster more  adhesive, and  less brittle in  cold
weather, it is customary with many apothecaries to employ a considerable
proportion of  Burgundy pitch  or turpentine in its preparation; but these
additions  are  objectionable, as they  greatly increase  the liability of  the
plaster to irritate the skin, and thus materially interfere with  the  purposes
for which  the preparation was chiefly intended.  If the remarks of Dr.
Duncan  on the compound soap plaster of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia may
be  relied on,  this might be advantageously substituted for  the resin plaster
in winter.  (See Emplastrum Saponis Compositum.)
   Off. Prep.  Emplastrum Belladonnae. U. S., Lond., Ed.         W.
  EMPLASTRUM  SAPONIS.   U. S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.  Soap
Plaster.
  "Take of Soap, sliced, half a pound; head Plaster three pounds.  Mix
the Soap with the melted Plaster, and boil for a short time."  U. S.
  " Take  of  Litharge  Plaster four ounces;  Gum Plaster  two ounces;
Castile Soap, in  shavings, one ounce.   Melt the Plasters together with a
moderate  heat, add the soap, and boil for a little." Ed.
  In  relation to the soap plaster of the London and Dublin Colleges, Dr.
Montgomery,  in his Observations upon  the Dublin Pharmacopoeia,  makes
the following1 remark.   " I am informed by Mr. Scanlan, who prepares this
plaster in large quantities, that  the quantity of  soap is  twice too great, the

melted, sprinkle  in the Orris, and mix the whole together."  By this  process, a good
plaster may be prepared, rather too soft, perhaps, at first, but soon acquiring the proper
consistence. 
922                   Emplastra.—Enemata.             part ii.

plaster being, when prepared by this formula, quite pulverizable, and falling
into crumbs." This effect is in some degree obviated by the gum plaster
directed  in  the Edinburgh process.  After the addition of the soap to the
melted lead plaster, it is only necessary to continue the heat for a short time,
till the soap is incorporated.  Boiling is not necessary.
   Soap plaster is considered discutient, and is sometimes used as an appli-
cation to tumours.
   Off. Prep. Emp. Belladonnae, Dub.; Emp. Saponis Comp., Dub. W.
   EMPLASTRUM   SAPONIS   COMPOSITUM vel  ADHE-
RENS. Dub.   Compound Soap Plaster, or Adhesive Plaster.
   " Take of Soap plaster two ounces; Litharge Plaster with Resin [Em-
plastrum Resinae] three ounces.  Make a plaster, which is to be melted and
spread on linen." Dub.
   Dr. Duncan, in his Dispensatory, makes the following observations in
relation to  this  preparation: "The  common  resinous  plaster is  in cold
weather too brittle,  and apt to crack  off  from  the linen on which it is
spread;  but by combining it in due proportion with soap plaster, it acquires
greater pliability, without losing its adhesive property.  In fact, this is the
plaster commonly spread by a machine on webs of linen, and sold under
the name of adhesive plaster."                                    W.

                           ENEMATA.

                              Clysters.

   These can'scarcely be  considered proper objects for officinal direction;
but having  been  introduced into  the  British Pharmacopoeias, the  plan of
this work requires  that  we  should notice them.   They are substances in
the liquid form, intended to be thrown up the rectum, with the view either
of evacuating the bowels, of producing  the peculiar impression of a  remedy
upon the lower portion  of the  alimentary canal  and neighbouring organs,
or of acting on tbe system  generally  through the medium  of the surface to
which they  are applied.   They are usually employed to  assist the action
of remedies taken by the mouth, or to supply their  place when the stomach
rejects them, or is  insensible to  their impression.  Sometimes they are
preferably  used  when the seat of  the disorder is in  the rectum or its
vicinity.   As  a general rule, three times  as much of any remedy is re-
quired to produce  a given impression by enema,  as when taken  into the
stomach; but this rule should be acted  on with caution, as the relative sus-
ceptibilities  of the stomach and rectum  are  not the same in all individuals;
and with regard to all very active remedies, the  best plan is  to administer
less than the stated proportion.  Attention  should  also be paid to the fact,
that, by the frequent use of a medicine,  the susceptibility of the stomach
may be in some measure exhausted,  without a proportionate diminution of
that of the rectum.
   When the object is to evacuate the bowels,  the quantity of liquid ad-
ministered should be considerable.   For an adult from ten fluidounces to a
pint,  for a child  of eight or ten years,  half that quantity, for an infant
within the year from one to  three fluidounces, are about the proper propor-
tions.  Much  larger quantities of mild  liquids  may sometimes be given
with safety and advantage; as the bowels  will occasionally feel the stimulus
of distension, when they are insensible to impressions of an irritating cha-
racter.
   When the design is to produce the  peculiar impression of the  remedy 
PART II.
Enemata.
923
upon the neighbouring parts of the system, it is usually desirable that the
enema should be retained; and the liquid vehicle should therefore be bland,
and as small in quantity as is compatible with convenient administration.
A  solution  of starch, flaxseed tea, or other mucilaginous fluid should be
selected, and the quantity given  should  seldom  exceed two or three  fluid-
ounces.
   In every case, the patient should be  instructed to resist any immediate
disposition to discharge the injected fluid; and his efforts to retain it should
be assisted, if necessary, by pressure with a warm folded towel upon  the
fundament.
   The best instrument for  administering enemata is  an accurate  metallic
syringe.                                                       W.
   ENEMA ALOES. Lond.   Clyster of Aloes.
   "Take of Aloes two scruples;  Carbonate of Potassa^/ifeen grains; De-
coction of  Barley half a pint [Imperial measure].  Mix  and rub  them
together." Lond.
   This is intended as a formula for the use of aloes in  cases  of ascarides in
the rectum, and of amenorrhoea attended with constipation.          W.
   ENEMA CATHARTICUM. Ed., Dub.   Cathartic Clyster.
   " Take of Manna an ounce. Dissolve it in ten fluidounces of Compound
Decoction of Chamomile,  and  add of Olive Oil an  ounce,  Sulphate of
Magnesia half an ounce." Dub.
   " Take of Olive Oil one  ounce; Sulphate of Magnesia half an ounce;
Sugar one ounce; Senna half an ounce;  Boiling  Water sixteen fluidounces.
Infuse  the  Senna for an hour in the Water; then  dissolve the  Salt and
Sugar; add the Oil,  and mix them by agitation."  Ed.
   The laxative enema most commonly employed in this country, consists
of a tablespoonful of common salt, two tablespoonfuls  of lard or sweet  oil,
the same quantity of molasses, and a pint of warm water. It has the advan-
tage of consisting of materials which are always at hand in families, is in
all respects equal to  the Dublin preparation, and, though less active than the
Edinburgh, is preferable to it on ordinary occasions.               W.
   Off. Prep. Enema Foetidum. Ed., Dub.
   ENEMA COLOCYNTHIDIS. Lond.  Clyster of Colocynth.
   " Take of Compound Extract  of Colocynth two scruples; Soft Soap an
ounce; Water a pint [Imperial measure].  Mix and  rub them together."
Lond.
   This may be employed whenever a very powerful purgative  impression
is required  upon the lower bowels, as in cases of obstinate colic and consti-
pation.                                                        W.
   ENEMA FCETIDUM. Ed., Dub.  Fetid Clyster.
   "This is  made by adding to the Cathartic Clyster two drachms of Tinc-
ture of Assafetida." Dub., Ed.
   It is carminative and  antispasmodic,  as well  as laxative;  but, when  the
peculiar influence of assafetida is desired by way of enema, we  prefer the
gum-resin itself rubbed up with hot water, in the proportion of one or two
drachms to half a pint, of which the whole or a part may be given according
to circumstances.                                              W.
   ENEMA OPII. Lond., Dub.   Enema Opii vel Anodynum. Ed.
Clyster of Opium.
   " Take of Decoction  of  Starch four fluidounces;  Tincture of Opium
thirty minims.   Mix them."  Lond. 
924
Enemata.—Extracta.
PART II.
   The Edinburgh College boils half a drachm of starch in two fluidounces
 of water, and when it is cool enough for use, adds from thirty minims to a
 fluidrachm of tincture  of opium.
   The Dublin  College  mixes a fluidrachm of tincture of opium with six
 fluidounces of warm water.
   Of these processes that of the London College is preferable, although
 the  quantity of decoction of  starch is unnecessarily large.  In the  Dublin
 formula there is too much both of the  tincture and the vehicle.  It must
 have happened to every one in the habit of prescribing opium in this way,
 to have seen a much greater  effect produced by a certain amount of lauda-
 num injected  into the rectum  than by one-third of the quantity swallowed.
 The fluidrachm  contains at  least one  hundred drops of laudanum  of the
 ordinary size, and not less than one hundred and twenty as they are often
 formed.  From twenty  to twenty-five  drops  are usually considered as a
 medium dose; so that the Dublin College orders five times as much by the
 rectum as  is given by the  mouth.   Sixty drops, equivalent to about thirty
 minims, are abundantly sufficient.   As  the object is that the enema should
 remain in the rectum, the smaller the quantity of the vehicle the better; and
 a mucilaginous fluid is preferable to water, as  it involves the tincture and
 prevents the irritation of the alcohol before the opium begins to take  effect.
 The ordinary anodyne  enema employed in this country consists of about
 sixty drops of laudanum  and one or two fluidounces  of flaxseed tea or solu-
 tion of starch.
   It is an  admirable remedy in obstinate vomiting, strangury from blisters,
 painful affections of the kidneys, bladder,  and uterus, and in the tenesmus
 of dysentery.  It may also frequently be  employed to produce the effects
 of opium upon the system; when circumstances prevent the administration
 of this medicine by the mouth.                                   W.
   ENEMA  TEREBINTHINA.  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.  Clyster of
 Turpentine.
   "Take  of  Oil of Turpentine a fluidounce; Yolk of Egg a sufficient
 quantity.  Rub them together, and add of Decoction of Barley nineteen
fluidounces."  Lond.
   The Edinburgh College employs the same proportions, but substitutes
 water for decoction of barley.
   " Take of Common Turpentine half an ounce; the Yolk of one  Egg.
 Rub  them together, and add  gradually ten ounces of Water of a tempera-
 ture not exceeding 100°." Dub.
   As the common turpentine alluded to in  the Dublin formula is not usually
 kept in the shops of this country, we almost always employ the oil of tur-
 pentine, which is even more efficacious, and  in no  respect inferior for the
 purpose. (See Oleum Terebinthinas.)                            W.


                          EXTRACTA.

                              Extracts.

   Extracts, as the term is employed in the IJ. S., London, and Edinburgh
 Pharmacopoeias, are  solid substances, resulting from  the evaporation of the
 solutions of vegetable principles, obtained  either by exposing the vegetable
 to the action  of a solvent,  or  by expressing its juice  in the recent  state.
 The Dublin College makes a distinction between those prepared from the
 infusions, decoctions, or tinctures, and those from the expressed juices of 
PART II.
Extracta.
925
plants, calling the former Extracta, the latter Sued Spissati.   But there is
no such essential difference between these two sets of preparations, as to
require that they should be separately classed;  and something is gained  in
the simplicity of nomenclature, as well  as  of  arrangement, which results
from  their union.   We shall consider them under the same  head, takino-
care, however, to detail distinctly whatever is peculiar in the mode of pre-
paring each.
   The composition of extracts varies with the nature of the vegetable, the
character of the solvent, and  the mode of preparation.  The object is gene-
rally to obtain as much of the active principles of the plant, with as little of
the inert matter as possible;  though sometimes it may be  desirable to sepa-
rate the  active  ingredients from each other, when their effects upon  the
system  are materially different;  and  this may  be  accomplished  by em-
ploying  a menstruum which, while it dissolves one, leaves the other un-
touched.  The proximate principles most commonly present in extracts are
gum, sugar, starch, tannin, extractive, colouring matter, salts, and the pecu-
liar principles of plants; to which, when a spirituous solvent is employed,
may usually be added resinous substances, fatty matter, and frequently more
or less essential oil—gum  and starch being excluded when the menstruum
is pure alcohol.  Of these substances, as well as of others which,  being
soluble,  are sometimes necessarily present in  extracts, we have taken oc-
casion to treat under various  heads in the Materia Medica.  There is one,
however, which, from  its supposed almost uniform presence in this class
of  preparations, and from the influence it  is  thought to exert  upon their
character, deserves particular consideration in this place.  We allude to ex-
tractive, or, as it is sometimes called, extractive matter.
   It  has  long been observed, that in most vegetables there is a substance,
soluble both in water  and alcohol, which,  in  the preparation of extracts,
undergoes some chemical change during the process  of evaporation, im-
parting to the liquid, even if  originally limpid, first a greenish, then a yel-
lowish-brown, and ultimately a deep brown colour, and becoming itself in-
soluble.   This substance, originally called saponaceous matter by Scheele,
afterwards received the  more expressive name of extractive, derived from
its  very frequent presence in extracts.   Its existence  as a distinct prin-
ciple is  denied, or at  least doubted by some  chemists, who consider the
phenomena supposed to result from  its  presence, as depending upon the
mutual reaction  of other principles; and in relation to Peruvian bark, it
appears to have been proved, that the insoluble matter which forms durino-
its decoction  in water, is a  compound  of starch and  tannin.   A similar
compound must also be formed  in other cases when these two principles
co-exist;  but they are not always present in the same vegetable,  nor can all
the changes which  have been attributed to extractive, be  accounted  for by
their union, even when they  are present; so that till further light is shed on
the subject, it is best to admit the existence of a distinct substance, which,
though not the same in all plants, possesses sufficient identity of character
to be entitled, like sugar, resin, &c, to a distinctive name.   The most in-
teresting  property of extractive is  its  disposition to pass, by the influence
of  atmospheric air at a high  temperature, into an insoluble substance.  If a
vegetable infusion or decoction be evaporated  in  the open  air to the con-
sistence of an extract,  then diluted, filtered, and again evaporated, and  the
process repeated so long as any insoluble matter is formed, the whole of the
extractive will be separated  from the liquid, which will then contain only
the gum, sugar, saline matters, &c, which may have existed in the plant.
If chlorine be passed through an infusion or decoction, a similar precipitate
       79 
926
Extracta.
PART II.
is formed with much greater rapidity.  The change is  usually ascribed to
the absorption of oxygen  by the  extractive,  which  has,  therefore,  been
called, in its altered condition, oxidized extractive;  but  De Saussure ascer-
tained that, though oxygen is absorbed during the process, an equal measure
of carbonic acid gas is given out, and the oxygen and hydrogen  of the ex-
tractive unite to form water in such a manner as to leave the principle richer
in carbon than it was originally.  The name of  oxidized extractive  is,
therefore, obviously incorrect, and Berzelius proposes  to  substitute  for it
that of apotheme, synonymous with  deposit.   According to  Berzelius,
apptheme is not completely insoluble in water, but imparts a slight colour
to that liquid when cold, and is rather more soluble  in boiling water, which
becomes  turbid upon cooling.   It is still more soluble  in  alcohol, and is
freely dissolved by solutions of the alkalies and alkaline carbonates  from
which it is precipitated by acids.   It has  a great tendency, when precipi-
tated  from solutions, to unite with other principles, and to carry them along
with  it, thus acquiring properties somewhat different, aeeording to the
source  from which  it is obtained.   In this way,  also,  even when the ex-
tractive of a plant is itself medicinally  inert, its conversion into apotheme
may be injurious, by causing a precipitation of a portion of the active  prin-
ciple; and in practical pharmaceutic operations, this change should always,
if possible,  be avoided.   With  these preliminary views, we  shall proceed
to the consideration of the practical rules necessary to  be observed in the
preparation  of extracts.   We shall treat of the subject  under the  several
heads, 1. of the extraction of the soluble  principles from  the plant; 2.  of
the method  of conducting the  evaporation; 3. of the proper condition of
extracts, the changes they are liable  to undergo, and the  best  method of
preserving them;  and 4. of the general directions of the several Pharma-
copoeias in relation to them.

               1.  Extraction of the  Soluble Principles.
   There  are  two distinct modes of obtaining, in a  liquid  state,  the prin-
ciples which we wish to extract;  1. by expression;  2. by the agency of a
solvent.
   1.  By expression.  This method is applicable only to recent vegetables.
All plants cannot be advantageously treated in this way, as  many have too
little  juice to afford an appreciable quantity upon  pressure,  and of those
which are succulent, a considerable proportion do not yield all their active
principles with their juice. Succulent  fruits, and various acrid and narcotic
plants,  are proper subjects of this treatment.  The  plants should be ope-
rated upon,  if possible, immediately after their collection.  Mr. Battley, of
London, recommends that, if not entirely fresh, they should  be revived by
the immersion of the stalks in water for twelve or eighteen hours, and those
only used which recover their freshness by this management.   They should
then be cut into pieces, and bruised in a stone mortar till brought to a pulpy
consistence.   When the plant is not very succulent, it is necessary to add a
little  water during this part of the process, in order to dilute the juice.
After sufficient contusion,  the pulp is introduced into  a linen or canvass
bag, and the liquid parts expressed.  Mr. Brande states that light pressure
only  should be employed; as the extract is thus procured greener, of a less
glutinous or  viscid consistence,  and, in his opinion, more active than when
considerable force  is used in the expression.   (Manuul  of Pharmacy.)
The juice thus obtained is opaque  and  usually green, in  consequence of the
presence of green wax or chlorophylle, and of a portion of the undissolved
vegetable fibre in a state of minute  division.  By heating the juice to about 
PART II.
Extracta.
927
160°, the albumen  contained in it coagulates, and, involving the chloro-
phylle and vegetable fibre, forms a greenish  precipitate.  If the liquid be
now filtered, it becomes limpid  and nearly colourless, and is  prepared  for
evaporation.   The clarification,  however, is not absolutely necessary, and
is  generally neglected.  Sometimes the precipitate carries with it a con-
siderable portion of the active principle;  in which case it should be subse-
quently incorporated with  the juice,  when reduced by evaporation to the
consistence of a syrup.
  2. By solution.   The active  principles  of dried vegetables can be ex-
tracted only by means  of a liquid solvent.   The menstruum  employed  is
either water or alcohol, or a mixture of the two.   Water, on account of its
cheapness, is always preferred, when  circumstances do not strongly call for
the use of alcohol.   It has the advantage, moreover, that it may be assisted
in its action, if necessary, by a higher degree of heat than the latter. Pump
water is often  unfit for  the  purpose, in  consequence of the quantity of its
saline matter, which, in some instances, may exert an unfavourable influence
on the active principle,  and must always be left  in the extract.   Rain or
river or distilled water  should be preferred.  Alcohol is  employed when
the principles  to be extracted are insoluble, or but slightly soluble in water,
as in the case  of the resins; when it is desirable to avoid in the extract inert
substances, such as gum and starch, which are dissolved by water and not
by alcohol; when the heat required to evaporate the aqueous solution would
dissipate or decompose  the active ingredients of the plant, as the volatile
oils and the active principle of sarsaparilla; when the reaction of the water
itself upon the vegetable  principles  is injurious, as sometimes happens;
and finally, when the nature of  the substance to be exhausted requires so
long a maceration in water as to endanger spontaneous decomposition. The
watery solution requires to be soon evaporated, as this fluid rather promotes
than counteracts chemical changes; while an alcoholic tincture may be pre-
served unaltered for an indefinite period.   An addition of  alcohol to water
is sufficient to answer some of the purposes for which the former is prefer-
able; and the  employment of both fluids is  essential, when  the virtues of
the plant reside in  two  or more  principles, all of  which are not soluble in
either of these menstrua.  In this case it  is usually better  to submit the
vegetable to the action of the two fluids successively, than to both united.
Extracts obtained by the  agency of water, are called  watery or  aqueous
extracts, those by means of alcohol rectified or diluted, alcoholic or spirit-
uous extracts.
  The method of preparing the  solution is by no means a matter of indif-
ference.   The vegetable should  be thoroughly bruised, or reduced to the
state of coarse powder, so as to allow the access of the  solvent to all its
parts, and yet not so finely pulverized as to prevent a ready precipitation of
the undissolved and inactive portion.   When water is employed, it is usual
to boil the medicine for a considerable length of time, and if the first por-
tion  of liquid does not  completely exhaust  it, to  repeat the operation  with
successive portions, till the whole of  the active matter is extracted.   This
may be  known by the sensible properties of the liquid, and by its influence
upon reagents.  But the boiling temperature produces the decomposition of
many vegetable principles, or at least so modifies them  as to render  them
inert; and the extracts  prepared  by decoction are usually less efficient than
those prepared with  a less degree of heat.   From numerous experiments
upon extracts, Orfila concluded that their virtues were less in proportion to
the heat used in their  preparation.  It has,  therefore, been recommended
to substitute for decoction  the process of maceration, digestion, or hot in- 
92S
Extracta.
PART II.
fusion;  in the first of which the liquid acts without heat, in the second is
assisted by a moderately increased temperature sustained for a considerable
time, and in the third is poured  boiling hot upon the vegetable matter, and
allowed to stand for a short period in a covered  vessel.  When the active
principles are readily soluble in cold  water, maceration is often preferable
to the other modes, as  starch, which  is  inert, is thus  left behind; but  in
many instances the preparation would spoil before the extraction would  be
completed. By digestion,  though the solvent  power of water is moderately
increased, the advantage  is more  than counterbalanced by the increased
disposition to  spontaneous decomposition. Hot infusion, therefore, is to  be
preferred where the vegetable does not readily yield its virtues to cold water.
It has the advantage, moreover, in the case of albuminous substances, that
the albumen is coagulated, and thus prevented from increasing the bulk  of
the extract, without any addition to its virtues.   A convenient mode of per-
forming this process,  is to  introduce the solid  material into a vessel with  an
opening near the bottom temporarily closed, or into a funnel  with its mouth
loosely stopped, then to pour on  the boiling  water, and having  allowed  it
to remain a sufficient length of time, to draw it off through the opening.
This operation  may  be repeated till  the water comes  away without any
obvious impregnation.  It is always desirable to obtain the  solution in the
first place as  concentrated as possible, so  as to prevent the necessity of long
continued evaporation, which has a tendency to injure the  extract.  It  is
better, therefore, to incur the risk, both where decoction and infusion are
employed, of  leaving a portion of the active matter behind, than  to obtain a
very weak solution.  When successive  portions of water are  employed,
those which are least impregnated should be brought by evaporation to the
strength of that first obtained before being mixed with it, as the  latter thus
escapes exposure to unnecessary heat.
   When alcohol is employed as a menstruum, the vegetable should be ma-
cerated in it for one or two weeks, and care should be taken that the tincture
be as nearly saturated as possible.  The extraction may be hastened by sub-
stituting digestion for maceration;  as the  moderate heat employed, while  it
facilitates the  action of the alcohol, has in this case  no effect in promoting
decomposition, and the influence  of the atmospheric  air may be excluded
by performing the process in close vessels.  When alcohol  and  water are
both used, it is best, as a general rule, to  exhaust the vegetable  with each
separately, as the two menstrua require different modes of treatment.  In
whichever of these modes the  extraction is effected, it requires  the assist-
ance of occasional agitation; and when the vegetable matter is very porous,
and absorbs large quantities of the solvent, expression must  be resorted to.
   Acetic acid has recently been introduced into use as a menstruum in the
preparation  of extracts.   It is  supposed to be a better solvent of the active
principles of certain substances  than either water or  alcohol alone. Accord-
ing  to  Girolamo  Ferrari,  the  acrid  narcotics, such as aconite, hemlock,
hyoscyamus,  and stramonium,  yield  much stronger extracts with distilled
vinegar than  with water, and still stronger to  alcohol to which strong acetic
acid has been added.  (Journ. de Pharm. N.  S.  i. 239.)  This acid  is used
in the  preparation  of the  acetic extract  of colchicum of the London and
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias.
   The process of displacement has recently been very advantageously ap-
plied to the preparation of extracts, both with water and spirituous menstrua.
It has the following great advantages;  1.  that it enables the  soluble princi-
ples to be sufficiently extracted  by cold water, thereby avoiding  the injury
resulting from heat in decoction  and hot infusion; 2. that it  effects the 
PART II.
Extracta.
929
extraction much more quickly than can be done by maceration, thereby not
only saving time, but also obviating the risk of spontaneous decomposition;
and 3. that it affords the opportunity of obtaining highly concentrated solu-
tions, thus diminishing all the injurious  effects of the subsequent evapora-
tion.   While thus advantageous, it is less liable in this particular case than
in others to the objection of yielding imperfect results if not well performed;
for, though an  inexpert or careless operator may lose by  an incomplete
exhaustion of the substance  acted on, and the extract may  be deficient in
quantity, it may still be of the intended  strength and quality, which  is not
the case with  infusions or tinctures unskilfully prepared upon this plan.
For an account of the mode  of operating in  the process of displacement,
and of the instruments used, the reader is referred to pages 763 and  769.
   Some prefer the mode of expression  to that of displacement. This also
is applicable both to watery and alcoholic menstrua.  The substance to be
acted upon is mixed with  the menstruum, cold or hot according to circum-
stances; and  the  mixture  is allowed  to stand from  twelve  to twenty-four
hours.  The liquid part is then filtered off, and the remainder submitted to
strong pressure, in a linen bag, by means of the common screw press, or
other convenient  instrument.  Another portion of the menstruum may then
be added and pressure again  applied; and if the substance is  not sufficiently
exhausted, the  same operation may  be performed a third time.  Frequently
only a single expression is required, and very seldom a third.  The quan-
tity of menstruum added must vary with the solubility of  the principles to
be extracted.    According  to  Mohr, the  method  of expression has the ad-
vantage over that of displacement, that  it yields solutions of more uniform
concentration, that it does not require the material to be so  carefully pow-
dered  nor otherwise so skilfully managed  in order to insure favourable
results, and finally that it occupies less time.  (Annal. der Pharm. xxi.
299.)

             2.  Mode of conducting the Evaporation.
   In  evaporating the solutions obtained in the modes above described,
attention should  always be paid  to the  fact, that the  extractive  matter is
constantly becoming insoluble at high temperatures with the access of air,
and ,that other chemical changes are going on, sometimes not less injurious
than this, while the volatile principles are expelled  with the vapour.   The
operator should,  therefore, observe two rules;  1. to conduct the evaporation
at as low  a temperature as is consistent with other objects; 2. to exclude
atmospheric  air  as  much as possible,  and  when  this cannot be accom-
plished, to expose the liquid the  shortest possible time to its action.   Ac-
cording to Berzelius, the  injurious influence of atmospheric air is  much
greater at  the boiling point of water than at a less heat, even allowing for
the longer exposure in the latter case; and, therefore, a slow evaporation at
a moderate heat is preferable to the more rapid effects of ebullition.   Bear-
ing these  principles  in mind, we shall proceed to examine  the different
modes in practice.   First,  however, it is proper to observe, that decoctions
generally let fall  upon  cooling a portion of insoluble matter; and it is  a
question whether this should be rejected, or retained so as to form a part
of the extract.* Though it is undoubtedly in many instances inert, as in
that of the insoluble tannate of starch formed during the decoction of cer-
tain vegetable substances,  yet, as it frequently also contains a portion of the
active principle which a boiling saturated solution necessarily deposits on
cooling, and as it is difficult to decide with certainty when it is active  and
when otherwise, the safest plan, as a general rule, is to allow it to remain.
                                 79* 
930
Extracta.
PART II.
  The method of evaporation usually resorted to in the case of the aqueous
solutions is rapid boiling over a fire.  The more quickly the process is con-
ducted, the better, provided the liquid  is to be brought to the boiling point;
for the temperature cannot exceed this, and  the length of exposure is dimin-
ished. But even where this method is  employed, it should not be continued
till  the completion of the evaporation;  for when most  of the  water has
escaped, the  temperature can  no longer be  kept down to  the boiling point,
and  the extract is burnt.   The caution, therefore, should always be ob-
served of removing the preparation from  the fire, before it has attained the
consistence of thick syrup, and completing the evaporation either by means
of a water-bath,  or in  shallow vessels at a moderate heat.   When  large
quantities of liquid are to  be  evaporated, it is best to divide them into por-
tions, and evaporate each separately; for,  as each portion  requires less time
for evaporation than the whole, it will thus be a  shorter time exposed to
heat. (Mohr.)  But  the  mode of evaporation  by boiling is always  more
or less objectionable, and should be employed only in cases where the  prin-
ciples of the  plant are so fixed and unchangeable as to authorize their extrac-
tion by decoction.
   Evaporation by means of the water-bath, from the commencement of the
process, is safer than the  plan just  mentioned, as it obviates all danger of
burning the extract; but as the heat is not supplied  directly from the fire,
the volatilization of the water cannot  go on so rapidly, and the temperature
being the same, or very nearly so, when the  water-bath is kept  boiling,
there is  greater risk of injurious action from the air.  The use of the va-
pour-bath, as suggested by M. Henry, is perhaps  preferable; as it  requires
a smaller consumption of fuel, and  the heat imparted to the liquid, while
sufficient to  evaporate it,  is less than 212°.  We take the  following descrip-
tion of the  apparatus employed at the Central Pharmacy of Paris,  from
M. Chevallier's  highly useful  Manual.   It consists of a covered boiler,
containing water,  the vapour of which  is conducted through  a pipe into
evaporating  vessels,  communicating with each other by means of metallic
tubes.   These vessels have the form  of an ordinary copper basin, over the
top of which is soldered a shallow tin capsule intended to contain the liquor
to be evaporated.  The vapour from the boiler circulates  through these ves-
sels, and the water into which it condenses is  allowed to escape through a
 stop-cock attached to the bottom of each vessel.   From  the last one of the
 series a tube passes into a vessel of water; so  as to afford a slight  pressure
 against the escape of any excess of vapour.   The liquid to be  evaporated
 is first distributed  in two or three capsules, but when considerably concen-
 trated is transferred to a single one, where it is stirred towards the close of
 the process  to hasten the evaporation.   The  heat applied to the liquid, if
 there are four vessels, is in that nearest the  boiler  about 198° F., in the
 fourth or most remote, about 135°.    An incidental advantage of this  appa-
 ratus is, that it affords a large supply of distilled water, which may be used
 for extracting the active matter from  fresh portions of the vegetable, or for
 other purposes.
    A good plan of evaporation, though slow, is  to place the liquid in a  broad
 shallow vessel, exposed in a  stove or  drying room to a temperature of about
 100°, or a  little higher, taking care that  the air have free access in order to
 facilitate the evaporation.  This mode is particularly applicable to all those
 cases in which maceration or infusion is  preferred to decoction for extract-
 ing  the active principles.  Berzelius says that we may  thus usually  obtain
 the  extract  in the form of a yellowish transparent mass, while those pre-
 pared in the ordinary way are almost black, and are opaque even in very 
PART II.
Extracta.
931
thin layers.   Even when the liquid is boiled at first, the process may often
be advantageously completed in this manner.  It has been proposed to effect
the evaporation at the common temperature, by directing a strong current of
air, by means of a pair of smiths' bellows, over the surface of the liquid;  and
in the case of  those  substances which  are  injured by heat and not by the
action of atmospheric air, there  is no doubt that the plan would  be  found
useful.
   Plans  have been  proposed and carried into execution for performing
evaporation without the admission of atmospheric air.   The  apparatus for
evaporation  in vacuo invented  by Mr. Barry, and described  in the Lond.
Journ. of Science and Arts, vol. viii. p. 360, is well calculated to  meet  this
object, at the same time that,  by removing  the atmospheric  pressure,  it
enables the water to rise in vapour more rapidly, and at a comparatively
low temperature.  The method of Barry consists  in distilling the liquid
into a large receiver from which the air has been expelled by  steam, and in
which the vapour  is condensed by cold water  applied to  the surface of the
receiver, so as to maintain a partial vacuum.   Mr. Redwood has modified
this process by keeping an air-pump in action during the evaporation, thus
removing not  only the air, but the vapour as fast as it forms,  and  maintain-
ing a more complete vacuum than can be done by the condensation of the
vapour alone.  (Journ.  de Pharm. N. S. i. 231.)   Another  method is to
place the liquid under an exhausted receiver, together with some concen-
trated  sulphuric  acid, or chloride of  calcium, which,  by its  affinity for
water, assists  the evaporation  of the liquid.   But from the expense  and
trouble of these modes of evaporation, they are not calculated for general
use.   Dr. Christison recommends as probably the most perfect and conve-
nient method, especially with watery infusions and decoctions, to  evaporate
the fluid in a vacuum to the consistence of syrup, and then to complete the
process in shallow vessels, exposed to a current of air without heat.
   A more convenient plan  of excluding the air, though  it does not at the
same time meet the object  of reducing the requisite degree  of heat, is to
distil off the  water  in close vessels.   Berzelius says that this is the  best
mode  of concentration next to that in vacuo.  Care, however, must be
taken, that the fire be not too long applied, lest the extract should be burnt.
The process should, therefore, be completed by means of the  water-bath.
   In the concentration of alcoholic solutions, distillation should always be
performed; as not only is the atmospheric air thus excluded, but the alcohol
is recovered,  if not absolutely pure, certainly fit for the purpose to which it
was originally applied.   Here also the water-bath should be employed to
obviate any possible risk of injury from the fire. When the decoction or in-
fusion, and tincture of the same vegetable have been made separately, they
should be separately evaporated to the consistence of syrup, and then mixed
together, while they are of such a consistence as to  incorporate without
difficulty.   The object of this  separate evaporation is, that the  spirituous
extract may not be  exposed to  the degree of  heat, or lengthened action  of
the air, which is necessary in the ordinary mode of concentrating the infu-
sion or decoction.
   In every instance, care should be taken to prevent any portion  of the ex-
tract from becoming dry and hard on the sides of the evaporating vessel,  as
in this state it will not readily incorporate with the remaining mass.   The
heat, therefore, should be applied to the bottom, and not to the sides of the
vessel. 
932
Extracta.
PART II.
           3.  Condition and Preservation of Extracts.
  Extracts are prepared of two different degrees of consistence, soft so that
they may be readily made into pills, and hard that they may be pulverized.
Those obtained from the expressed juices of plants are apt to attract mois-
ture from the air, in consequence  of  the deliquescent nature of the salts
existing in the juice.  They are thus rendered softer, and more liable  to
become mouldy upon the surface.   Others, especially such as contain much
chlorophylle,  harden by time, in consequence of  the escape of their mois-
ture; and it not unfrequentiy happens that small crystals of saline matter are
formed in their substance.   Most extracts, especially those containing azo-
tized principles, are capable, when left  to themselves, of producing nitrates.
The air, moreover, exercises  an unfavourable chemical influence over the
softer extracts, which are enfeebled, and ultimately become nearly inert, by
the same changes which they undergo more rapidly in the liquid slate at an
elevated  temperature.  If an extract  be dissolved in water, and the liquid
be saturated with common salt, or any other very soluble salt of difficult
decomposition, the greater  part of it is precipitated, in consequence of the
insolubility of this class of substances in saline solutions.   The precipitate
may be again dissolved in pure water.  (Berzelius.)
  Extracts, in order that they may keep well, should  be placed in glazed
earthenware, glass,  or porcelain jars, and completely protected  from the
access of the air.  This may be effected by covering their surface with a
layer of melted wax, or with a piece of paper moistened with strong spirit,
then closing the mouth of the vessel with a cork, spreading  wax or rosin
over this, and covering the whole with  leather, or a piece of bladder. (Dun-
can.)   The dry extracts, being less  liable  to be affected by atmospheric
oxygen,  do not require so much care.  The application of alcohol to the
surface  has a tendency to prevent mouldiness.   A method of protecting
extracts from the action of the air frequently  resorted to, is to cover them
closely with oiled bladder; but this, though better than to  leave them un-
covered, is not entirely effectual.   Should the extract  become too moist, it
may be dried by means of a water-bath; should it, on  the contrary, be too
dry, the proper consistence may be restored by softening  it  in the same
manner, and incorporating with it a little distilled water.  (Chevallier.)
  Extracts from recent plants should always be prepared at the season when
the plant is  medicinally most  active;  and a good rule is to prepare them
once a year.

                  4. General Officinal Directions.
  " In the preparation of the Extracts,  evaporate the  moisture, as quickly
as possible, in a broad, shallow dish,  by means of a water-bath, until they
have acquired the consistence  proper for forming pills: and towards the end
of the process, stir them constantly  with  a spatula.   Sprinkle upon the softer
Extracts a small quantity of Alcohol  [Rectified Spirit, Lond.]." U. S., Lond.
  " Extracts are  usually prepared  by evaporating the expressed juices of
plants, or their infusions and  decoctions in water, proof spirit, or rectified
spirit, at a temperature  not exceeding  212° F. by means of a vapour-bath.
Most of.them, however, may be obtained of greatly superior quality by the
process of evaporation  in vacuo.  And the extracts of expressed juices can-
not, perhaps, be better prepared than by spontaneous evaporation in shallow
vessels, exposed to a current of air.  Extracts should be evaporated to such
a consistence as to form a firm pill-mass when cold." Ed.
  The Dublin College places the inspissated juices under  a distinct head, 
part ii.                      Extracta.                          933

and gives directions for the  watery extracts, under the title  of Extracta
Simpliciora, omitting, probably through inadvertence, the classification of
the spirituous extracts which it also orders.
   1. Sued  Spissati.  "The leaves used in the preparation of the inspis-
sated juices should be gathered about the period  when the  herb begins to
flower.   The inspissation is best effected by evaporating the superfluous
moisture with a medium heat  by means of a vapour-bath, and constantly
stirring with a spatula towards  the close of the process." Dub.
   2. Extracta Simpliciora. " All simple extracts, unless otherwise ordered,
are to be prepared according to the following rule.   Boil the vegetable mat-
ter in eight  times its weight of water,  till the liquid is reduced  one-half;
then express, and after the subsidence of the dregs filter; evaporate the liquor
with a superior heat (between 200° and 212°) until it begins to thicken;
finally,  inspissate it with a medium heat (between 100° and 200°) obtained
by a vapour-bath, frequently stirring, till it acquires the consistence proper
for the formation of pills."  Dub.                                  W.
   EXTRACTUM ACONITI.  U.S., Lond., Ed.  Succus Spissa-
tus Aconiti.  Dub.   Extract of Aconite.
   This is prepared,  according to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from fresh  Aco-
nite, in the manner directed for extract of stramonium leaves. (See Extrac-
tum Stramonii  Foliorum.)
   " Take of fresh Aconite Leaves apound.   Bruise them in a stone mortar,
sprinkling upon them a little water; then express the juice, and evaporate
it, without straining, to  the proper consistence."  Lond., Dub.
   " Take of the Leaves of Monkshood,  fresh,  any convenient quantity.
Beat them into  a  pulp;  express  the juice;  subject the residuum to perco-
lation with Rectified Spirit, so long as the Spirit passes materially coloured;
unite  the expressed  juice and  the spirituous infusion; filter; distil off the
spirit;  and evaporate the residuum in the vapour-bath, taking care to remove
the vessel from  the heat so soon as the  due degree of consistence shall be
attained." Ed.
   The U. S., London, and Dublin processes for this extract are the same;
all consisting in the evaporation of the expressed juice of the leaves.  The
reader will find the general officinal directions at the close of our introduc-
tory observations in relation to extracts.  Among these  observations, he
will also find rules which may be of practical use in regulating the various
steps of the process  under consideration.
   In relation to  the preparation of this extract, as well  as of all others de-
rived from the expressed juices of narcotic plants, the following summary
of the plan pursued by Mr. Battley, an experienced apothecary of London,
may be of service. Having passed  the expressed juice  through a fine hair
sieve, he places  it immediately  upon the fire.  Before it boils, a quantity of
green matter rises to the surface,  which  in  some plants is very abundant.
This is  removed by a perforated  tin dish,  and  preserved.   It ceases  to
appear soon  after the  liquid begins to boil.   The boiling is continued till
rather more  than half the fluid  has  been evaporated, when the decoction is
poured  into  a conical pan  and allowed to cool.   An  abundant dark-green
precipitate forms, from  which the supernatant liquid is  poured off, and
having  been reduced one-half by a second boiling,  is again allowed  to
stand.   The precipitate which now falls  is less green than the first.   The
remaining fluid  is once more placed over the fire, and  allowed  to boil till it
assumes the consistence of syrup, when it is removed.   The matter at first
collected by filtration, together with that precipitated, is now incorporated 
934
Extracta.
part ii.
with it, and the whole placed in a metallic pan, and by means of a water-
bath evaporated to the consistence of an extract.  In the  latter part of the
process, care is necessary to prevent any part of the extract from hardening
on the sides of the vessel, as it thus loses its fine-green  colour and becomes
proportionably feeble.
  The superiority of this plan over a continuous boiling is, that the portions
of active matter which are deposited  at different stages of the process, are
subjected for a shorter time to heat than if allowed to remain in the liquor,
and consequently are less deteriorated.  The matter which coagulates before
the fluid boils, is chiefly albumen, embracing portions of  chlorophylle and
of the undissolved vegetable fibre.   It might  probably be  thrown away
without diminishing the  virtues of the extract;  but as chlorophylle, though
itself inactive, has often  associated with it a portion of  the active  principle,
it is the most economical plan to incorporate  it  with  the other matters.
Mr. Brande states, that one cwt.  of  fresh aconite yields about five pounds
of extract.   According to Geiger, one pound yields an  ounce and a half.
  The Edinburgh process, which was adopted from the Prussian Pharma-
copoeia, first expresses the leaves, then digests the residue in alcohol, and
evaporates the two liquids together.   This is an improvement on the other
process, as the residue of the leaves  after the expression of the juice is still
very acrid.  But the evaporation of the  expressed  juice and the tincture
should  be carried on separately to the consistence of a  syrup, since by the
present plan the active matter of both liquids is exposed to heat during the
time necessary for the evaporation of the whole.
  When properly prepared  by means of a water-bath,  according  to the
U. S. and  London process, which is that of Storck, this  extract has a yel-
lowish-brown colour, with a  disagreeable narcotic odour, and the acrid taste
of the plant.   Prepared according to  the Edinburgh process, it is said to be
more acrid and more active  as a medicine.  The extract of aconite may be
given in the dose of one or two grains, night and  morning, to be  gradually
increased  till  the  system is affected.   Twenty grains  or more have been
given in the course of a day.  Dr. Turnbull states, that he has tried several
extracts of aconite made by evaporating the expressed juice, and found them
almost inert.                                                     W.
  EXTRACTUM ACONITI ALCOHOLICUM.  U.  S. Alcoholic
Extract of Aconite.
  " Take of Aconite, in coarse  powder, a pound; Diluted Alcohol four
pints.   Moisten the  Aconite with half a  pint of the Diluted Alcohol, and,
having allowed it to stand  for twenty-four hours, transfer it to an  apparatus
for  displacement, and add gradually  the remainder of the Diluted Alcohol.
When the last  portion of  this shall  have penetrated the Aconite, pour in
sufficient  water from time to time to keep the  powder  covered.   Cease to
filter when  the liquid which passes  begins to produce a precipitate, as it
falls, in that which  has  already  passed.   Distil off the Alcohol  from the
filtered liquor, and evaporate the residue to the proper consistence." U. S.
  This is essentially the process of  the French Codex.  The water added
is merely intended to expel that portion of the spirituous solution remaining
in the  Aconite; and the filtration is directed  to  cease when a precipitate
begins to appear, because this is an indication that the water is passing.  It
is important that the heat employed in the evaporation should not be greater
than that produced by a vapour-bath, as otherwise decomposition will be apt
to ensue.
  If made from recently dried leaves, which have not yet been impaired by 
PART ii.
Extracta.
935
time,  this is  a good preparation of aconite,  and is  believed to be more
powerful, and to keep better, than the inspissated juice.   The dose is half
a grain, or a grain, to be gradually increased if necessary.          W.

  EXTRACTUM ALOES PURIFICATUM.  Lond. Extractum
Aloes Hepaticje.  Dub.  Purified Extract of Aloes.
  " Take of Aloes,  in  powder, fifteen ounces; Boiling Water  a  gallon
[Imperial measure].  Macerate  for three  days with  a  gentle heat; then
strain  the liquor, and set it by that the dregs  may subside.  Pour off  the
clear liquor, and evaporate it to a proper consistence." Lond.
  The Dublin College prepares this extract according to the general direc-
tions.  (See page 933.)
  The object of this process is to separate from aloes  the resinous matter,
the apotheme of Berzelius, which is  supposed to irritate the bowels, without
possessing purgative properties; but the truth appears to be, that, when  de-
prived of a small proportion of adhering extractive, this matter is quite inert.
It cannot, therefore, injuriously affect the virtues of the medicine; and as it
exists in comparatively small proportion, and during the process a part of
the extractive becomes  insoluble, the preparation may be considered as at
best unnecessary.  The dose of the purified aloes  is from five to fifteen
grains.
   Off. Prep. Extractum Colocynthidis Compositum,  Lond.        W.
  EXTRACTUM ANTHEMIDIS. Ed. Extractum Cham^meli.
Dub.   Extract of Chamomile.
  " Take of Chamomile [dried  flowers] a pound.  Boil it with a gallon
[Imperial measure]  of Water down to four  pints; filter  the liquor hot;
evaporate in the vapour-bath to the proper consistence."  Ed.
  The Dublin College  prepares this extract according to the general pro-
cess for simple extracts. (See page  933.)
  According to Mr. Brande, one cwt. of dried  chamomile flowers  affords
upon an  average 48 pounds of extract.
  This extract has a deep brown colour, and the bitter taste of chamomile,
but is  wholly destitute of aroma, the volatile oil having been entirely driven
off during tbe process.  It does  not, therefore, possess the peculiar virtues
of the flowers; but is simply a mild bitter, which may  sometimes  be  ad-
vantageously  combined with laxatives  and  mineral  tonics  in debilitated
states of the digestive  organs.  All the effects of the  flowers may be  ob-
tained from it by adding a little of the oil of chamomile.  It is most used,
however, as a vehicle  for other tonics  in the pilular form.   It  has been
omitted in the last edition  of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.   The dose is from
ten to twenty grains.   An extract  may be prepared,  having  the peculiar
flavour as well as bitterness  of chamomile, by macerating the flowers in
water, and evaporating the infusion  in vacuo.                      W.
   EXTRACTUM ARTEMISIA ABSINTHII. Dub.  Extract of
 Wormwood.
  This extract, which  is directed only by  the Dublin College, is prepared
from the tops of Wormwood  according  to  the general formula of that Col-
lege for simple extracts.  (See  page 933.)  It retains, to a certain  extent,
the bitterness of the plant, without  the strong odour and peculiar taste  de-
pendent on the volatile  oil which is driven off by the boiling.  It is, how-
ever, in no  respect superior  to other bitter extracts,  and is very  seldom
used.  The dose is from ten to twenty grains.                      W. 
936
Extracta.
PART II.
   EXTRACTUM  BELLADONNA.  U.S., Lond., Ed.  Succus
Spissatus Belladonna. Dub.   Extract of Belladonna.
   This is prepared from the fresh leaves of the Atropa Belladonna in the
manner directed by the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia for extract of stramonium
leaves (see  Extractum  Stramonii Foliorum);  and by  the London and
Dublin for extract of aconite  (see Extractum Aconiti).
   " Take of Belladonna fresh, any convenient quantity.  Bruise  it in a
marble mortar into a uniform pulp; express  the juice; moisten the residuum
with water, and express again.  Unite the expressed fluids, filter them, and
evaporate the filtered liquid in the  vapour-bath  to the consistence of firm
extract, stirring constantly towards  the close." Ed.
   From the experiments of MM. Solon and  Soubeiran, it appears that, in
relation to this extract, the insoluble matter separated from the expressed
juice by filtering, and that coagulated by heat, are nearly if not quite inert;
so that advantage might result from clarifying the  juice by these means be-
fore evaporating it.  (See General Observations on Extracts, p. 927.) Mr.
Brande states that one cwt. of fresh belladonna yields from 4 to 6 pounds
of extract.  According  to M. Recluz,  nearly ten parts  may be obtained
from one hundred.  The extract employed in this country  is brought chiefly
from England.   It has usually a dark-brown colour, a slightly narcotic not
unpleasant odour, a bitterish taste, and a soft  consistence  which it long re-
tains.   Asparagin has been found in this extract.  (Journ. de Pharm. xxi.
178.)
   Its medical properties and uses have been detailed under the head of Bel-
ladonna. A few words in relation  to its mode of application may be proper
here.  For the dilatation of the pupil, it is  either  mixed with  water to the
consistence of cream  and rubbed on the brow and eyelids, or  dissolved  in
water and dropped into the eye.   In rigidity of the os uteri, it is applied at
intervals to the neck of the uterus, mixed with simple ointment in the pro-
portion of two drachms to an ounce.  In irritability of the bladder, chor-
dee, spasm of the  urethra, and  painful constriction of the rectum, it may
either be rubbed in  the form of  ointment  upon  the perineum, along the
urethra, &c, or may be used  in the  form  of enema; but care  is requisite
not to introduce it too freely into the bowel.  It is  sometimes smeared upon
the bougie mixed with oil, in  the  treatment of stricture of the urethra.  In
the form of ointment it  has  been beneficially employed  in phymosis and
paraphymosis, and  in that of plaster or ointment, in local pains of a neural-
gic or rheumatic character.  (See Emplastrum Belladonnae.)   The  dose of
the extract is uncertain on account of its variable  strength.  The best plan
is to begin with  one-quarter or  one-half  of a grain, repeated two or three
times a day, and gradually to  increase the dose till the effects of the medi-
cine are experienced.  To a child two years old not more than one-twelfth
of a grain should be administered at first.
   Off. Prep. Emplastrum Belladonnae.  U.  S., Lond., Ed., Dub.    W.
   EXTRACTUM  BELLADONNiE   ALCOHOLICUM.    U.S.
Alcoholic Extract of Belladonna.
   This is directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia to be prepared  from Bella-
donna, in coarse powder, in the same manner as  the alcoholic extract of
aconite.  (See Extractum Aconiti Alcoholicum.)  It is a good preparation,
though less  necessary than some  other spirituous extracts of the narcotic
plants, as the inspissated juice or common  extract of belladonna can gene-
rally be procured of good quality.  It is one  of the officinals of the French
Codex.  The dose to begin with  is half a grain or a grain.          W. 
part ir.                       Extracta.                         937

   EXTRACTUM  CINCHONA. U. S., Ed., Dub.    Extractum
Cinchona Cordifolia.  Extractum Cinchona Lancifolia.  Ex-
tractum Cinchona Oblongifolia. Lond.  Extract of Peruvian
Bark.
   " Take  of Peruvian  Bark, in coarse  powder,  a  pound; Alcohol four
pints;  Water a sufficient quantity.  Macerate the Peruvian Bark with the
Alcohol for four  days;  then  filter by means of an apparatus for displace-
ment, and when the liquid ceases to  pass, pour gradually upon  the Bark
sufficient  Water to keep its surface covered.  When the  filtered tincture
measures  four pints, set it aside, and  proceed with the  filtration until six
pints of infusion are obtained. Distil off the alcohol from the tincture, and
evaporate the infusion, till the liquids respectively are brought to the con-
sistence of thin honey; then mix them, and evaporate so as to form an
extract."  U. S.
   " Take of Cinchonia Cordifolia, bruised, fifteen ounces; Distilled  Water
four gallons [Imperial measure].  Boil down with a gallon of Water to six
pints, and strain the liquor  while hot.   In the same manner boil down with
an equal measure  of Water four times, and strain.   Lastly, having mixed all
the liquors together, evaporate them to the proper consistence.  Prepare the
Extract of Cinchona  Lancifolia, and  Cinchona Oblongifolia, in  the same
manner as that of Cinchona Cordifolia." Lond.
   " Take of any  of the varieties of Cinchona, but especially the Yellow
or Red Cinchona, in  fine  powder, four ounces;  Proof Spirit twenty four
fluidounces.  Percolate the Cinchona with the Spirit; distil  off the greater
part of the spirit; and evaporate what remains in an open vessel over the
vapour-bath to a due consistence." Ed.
   The Dublin  College takes a pound of coarsely powdered  pale bark and
six pints  of water; boils fof fifteen minutes in a loosely covered vessel, and
filters the decoction while hot; boils the residue again in an equal quantity
of water,  and filters as before; repeats  the boiling and filtration in  like man-
ner a third time; then mixes the decoctions, and evaporates them to a  proper
consistence.  The College also directs that the extract should be  kept soft,
so as to be fit for  forming pills,  and hard that it may  be pulverized.
   Of the different officinal extracts of bark for which directions are given
above, we decidedly prefer that of the United States or Edinburgh Pharma-
copoeia.   The extract of the London and Dublin Colleges is an injudicious
preparation.  In  the first place, the water does not nearly exhaust the bark,
and in the second, the boiling  favours the formation of an insoluble com-
pound  of  starch, and tannin, which carries with it a portion of the alkaline
principles, and, though retained in the extract, is probably less efficient as a
medicine  than a more soluble compound containing an equal proportion of
the active matter.    According to the suggestion of M. Henry, Jun., it is not
improbable that the different  colouring matters in the  bark act in relation to
the quinia and cinchonia the  part of an acid, sharing  at a high  temperature
these bases with the kinic acid, and forming with them insoluble if not inert
compounds.  Besides, we cannot by any means be certain that a  long con-
tinued heat of 212°  may not determine an actual decomposition of a portion
of these alkalies, and  the formation of new principles. It is very desirable
that the evaporation, in the preparation of this extract, should be effected at
a low temperature.
   A very  good extract of bark was formerly prepared, in the shops of Phi-
ladelphia, by marerating cinchona for a  considerable length of  time in a
large proportion of  water, and slowly evaporating  the infusion, by a very
       80 
938
Extracta.
PART II.
 moderate heat, in large shallow dishes placed upon the top of a stove.  Be-
 fore the use of the sulphate of quinia had  superseded that  of most other
 preparations of bark, we employed this extract with success in the treatment
 of intermittents, and found ten grains of it equivalent to nearly a drachm of
 the powdered cinchona.
   According to Mr. Brande, one cwt. of fine  crown bark (best  pale bark)
 yields, on an average, 28 pounds of watery extract, and 25 pounds of alco-
 holic  extract.   It is best that the bark should be only coarsely powdered
 when submitted to decoction or maceration; as in this state it is sufficiently
 penetrable by the solvent, and more readily separated after being exhausted.
 The  extract should always be brought to the hard dry state in which it may
 be pulverized;  as it is thus less apt to be  injured by exposure, and in  the
 state of powder may be  more uniformly incorporated with other substances.
 It is  best prepared from  the red or yellow (Calisaya) bark.
   Medical Uses. The extract of Peruvian bark is at present much less em-
 ployed than before the discovery of quinia.  It is still, however, occasionally
 prescribed as a tonic in combination  with  other medicines;  and as it pos-
 sesses, when properly prepared with a spirituous menstruum, almost all  the
 active principles as  they exist in the bark  itself,  it  may  be used in  prefer-
 ence to the sulphate of quinia, whenever it is supposed that  the latter is
 incapable of exerting all the curative  influence of cinchona.   The dose is
 from ten  to thirty grains, equivalent  to about  a  drachm of the  powdered
 bark.                                                           W.
   EXTRACTUM COLCHICI ACETICUM.  Lond., Ed.  Acetic
 Extract of Colchicum.
   "Take of fresh  Colchicum Cormus [bulb] apound; Acetic Acid three
fluidounces.  Bruise the Cormus, gradually sprinkling in the Acetic Acid;
 then  express  the juice,  and evaporate it, in  an  earthen vessel not  glazed
 with  lead, to the proper consistence."  Lond.
   "Take of Bulb of Colchicum apound;  Pyroligneous Acid three fluid-
 ounces.   Beat the Colchicum to a pulp, gradually adding the acid; express
 the liquor and evaporate it in a porcelain vessel (not  glazed with lead) over
 the vapour-bath to the due consistence." Ed.
   The use of the acetic acid in  this preparation,  is  to render more soluble
 the alkaline principle upon which  the virtues of meadow-saffron are thought
 to depend.  The acetic  extract of colchicum  is highly commended by  Sir
 C. Scudamore, who, however, prefers it made by evaporating to the con-
 sistence of honey a saturated acetic infusion of the dried bulb. (Lond. Med.
 Gazette,  Dec.  10, 1841.)  The dose of the extract is one or two grains, to
 be repeated two or three times a day, and increased if necessary.   W.
   EXTRACTUM COLCHICI CORMI.  Land.   Extract of Col-
 chicum Cormus.
   This is prepared in the manner directed for Extract of Aconite.
   There  scarcely seems to be occasion for both this and the preceding  ex-
 tract of meadow-saffron  bulb.  Neither of them can properly be prepared
 in this country, as we want the fresh  bulb.  The dose is  one or two grains.
   In Great Britain  a preparation called preserved juice of colchicum is
 given in  the dose of five minims  or  more.  It is prepared by expressing
 the fresh  bulb, allowing it to stand for forty-eight hours, so that the feculent
 matter may be  deposited, then  adding one quarter of its bulk of alcohol,
 allowing  it again to stand for a short period, and  ultimately filtering. 
PART II.
Extracta.
93.9
   EXTRACTUM  COLOCYNTHIDIS.  Lond.,  Ed.   Extractum
 Colocynthidis simplex. Dub.   Extract of Colocynth.
   *| Take of Colocynth, sliced, apound; Distilled Water two gallons [Im-
 perial measure].   Mix them and boil with a slow fire for six hours, occa-
 sionally adding Distilled Water, so that it may always fill the same measure.
 Strain the liquor while hot; and lastly, evaporate to the proper consistence."
 Lond.
   The Edinburgh process corresponds closely with the London.
   " Take of Pulp of Colocynth apound; Water a gallon.   Boil  down to
 four  pints, and strain the liquor while hot;  then evaporate it  to a proper
 consistence." Dub.
   In the formula of the Dublin College, the proportion of colocynth is too
 large, if the  pulp only, without  the seeds, is intended;  as, in consequence
 of the porous nature of the medullary matter, it absorbs nearly the whole
 of the water, and  almost  precludes the  possibility of boiling as directed.
 Dr. Duncan  found half a pound  of colocynth to contain 2770 grains of
 seeds, which boiled  by themselves yielded almost nothing  to water, and
 800 grains of pith, which was easily boiled in four pounds of water, but
 absorbed almost the whole of it. The decoction, when expressed, although
 it contained no starch, gelatinized on cooling.   By boiling the residuum in
 four  pounds of fresh water, he obtained a decoction,  which, mixed with
 that previously obtained,  yielded upon evaporation  360 grains of a pale-
 brown, semi-transparent, dry, elastic extract, of intense bitterness.
   The decoction is ordered to be strained while hot, because the gelatinous
 consistence which it  assumes on cooling prevents it from readily passing
 through the strainer.   The French Codex directs, instead of the decoction,
 an infusion prepared by maceration in cold water.  But the aqueous extract
 of colocynth, however made, is not an eligible  preparation; as water is not
 the best solvent of the active bitter principle, while it  takes up much inert
 matter, so that the  officinal extract is even  feebler  than  colocynth itself,
 without having any peculiar merit to recommend it.   Besides, according
 to Mr. Brande, it is invariably either  mouldy, or so tough and hard as to
 resist trituration and  formation into pills.  It has  no place in our  national
 Pharmacopoeia, and is little used.  The  dose is from  five grains to half a
 drachm.                                                       W.

   EXTRACTUM   COLOCYNTHIDIS   COMPOSITUM.  U.S.,
 Lond., Dub.  Compound Extract of Colocynth.
   " Take of Colocynth,  deprived of  the seeds and  sliced, six  ounces;
 Aloes,  in powder,  twelve ounces; Scammony, in powder, four  ounces;
 Cardamom, in powder, an  ounce; Soap [Castile] three ounces;  Diluted
 Alcohol a gallon.   Macerate the Colocynth in the Diluted Alcohol, with a
 gentle heat, for four days.   Express and filter the liquor, and add  to it the
 Aloes, Scammony, and Soap;  then evaporate to  the  proper consistence,
 and, near the end of the process, mix the Cardamom with the other  ingredi-
 ents." U.S.                                                    6
   The processes of the London and Dublin Colleges correspond with the
 above except in phraseology.   The former College, however,  directs  the
 purified extract of aloes, the latter, hepatic aloes.
   The object of the soap in this formula is to improve the consistence of the
 mass, which  it renders more soluble  in the liquors of  the stomach when
 hardened by time.  It may possibly also serve the purpose  of qualifying
 the action of  the aloes.  Diluted alcohol is a much better solvent of the
active principle of colocynth than water.   The  proper consistence alluded
to in this process, is that which is adapted to the formation of pills. 
940
Extracta.
PART II.
   This extract is an energetic and safe cathartic, possessing the activity of
its three purgative ingredients, with comparatively little of the drastic cha-
racter of the colocynth and scammony.  It may be still further and advan-
tageously modified by combination with  rhubarb, jalap, calomel, &c, with
one or more of which it is very often united in prescription.  In such com-
bination it is much employed wherever an  active cathartic is desirable, par-
ticularly in the commencement of fevers and febrile complaints, in conges-
lion of  the liver or portal system, and in obstinate constipation.  In small
doses it is an excellent laxative in that  state of habitual costiveness depend-
ing on  a want of the due irritability of the bowels, which often occurs in
old people.   The dose  is from five to  thirty grains, according  to the effect
to be produced, and the susceptibility of the bowels.  A very eligible com-
bination is in the compound cathartic pill of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
   Off. Prep. Enema Colocynthidis, Lond.  Pilulae  Catharticae Compositae,
U. S.                                                            W.
   EXTRACTUM  CONII.  U.S.,  Lond,, Ed.  Succus Spissatus
Conii.  Dub.   Extract of Hemlock.
   This is prepared from fresh Hemlock Leaves, in the manner  directed
by the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia  for  extract of stramonium  leaves [see Ex-
tractum Stramonii Foliorum], and by the London and Dublin for extract
of aconite (see Extractum Aconiti).
   "Take of Conium any convenient quantity.   Beat it into a  uniform
pulp in a marble  mortar, express  the juice, and filter  it.   Let this juice he
evaporated to  the consistence of a very firm extract  either  in a vacuum with
the aid of heat, or  spontaneously in shallow vessels  exposed  to a strong
current of air freed  of  dust  by gauze-skreens.   This  extract is  of good
quality  only when a  very strong  odour  of conia is disengaged by degrees
on its being carefully triturated with Aqua Potassae." Ed.
   The  most important point in the preparation of this extract  is to evapo-
rate the juice without an undue degree of heat.  At a temperature of 212°
or upwards, its active principle undergoes rapid decomposition, being con-
verted into resinous matter and ammonia.   This is detected by the operator
by the ammoniacal  odour mixed  with  that which is  peculiar to the plant.
When evaporated over a fire, the juice always to a certain extent undergoes
this decomposition, and is not exempt from it even when the heat is regulated
by a water-bath.  Hence  the propriety of  the directions of the Edinburgh
College.  In Edinburgh, a very fine extract is prepared by evaporating the
juice first in a vacuum, and afterwards  in shallow vessels,  with  a current of
air, at common temperature.   Long continued exposure  to the air is pro-
ductive of the same  result as too much  heat, so that old extracts are fie-
quently destitute of activity. (Journ. de Pharm.  xxii.  416.)  No one of the
extracts  is more variable in  its qualities  than this.   The season at which
the herb is collected, the place and circumstances of its growth, the method of
preparing the extract, are all points of importance, and are all too frequently
neglected.  (See Conii Folia.)  In this country the process is often very
carelessly conducted;  and large quantities of an extract prepared by boiling
the plant in water and  evaporating the decoction,  have been  sold as the
genuine drug.  The  apothecary should always prepare the extract himself,
or procure it from persons in whom he can have entire  confidence.  That
imported from London is  usually the best.  The activity  of any specimen
of the extract may be judged of by rubbing it with potassa, which, disen-
gaging the conia  and rendering it  volatile,  gives rise  to the  peculiar odour 
 part ii.                     Extracta.                          941

 of that principle.  If no odour be evolved under these circumstances, the
 extract may be deemed inert.
   Extract of hemlock should have a fresh  olive or greenish colour, a strong
 narcotic somewhat fetid  odour, and a bitterish saline  taste.  According to
 Brande, from three to five pounds are obtained from one cwt. of the leaves.
 M. Recluz got rather more than an ounce  from sixteen ounces.   Of the
 medical properties and application of this extract, we have  spoken under the
 head of Conii Folia.  The dose is three grains twice a day, to be gradually
 increased till evidences of its action upon the system are afforded.   It may
 be administered in pill or solution.
   Off. Prep. Pilulae Conii Compositae." Lond.                   W.
   EXTRACTUM CONII ALCOHOLICUM.  Alcoholic Extract
 of Hemlock. U.S.
   This is prepared, according to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from Hemlock
 Leaves, in coarse powder,  in the manner directed for alcoholic extract of
 aconite. (See Extractum Aconiti Alcoholicum.)
   It is one of the French officinal extracts.  The same caution is requisite
 in evaporating in this case as in that of the inspissated juice or common ex-
 tract.   The dose, to begin  with, is two or three grains.            W.
   EXTRACTUM DIGITALIS. Lond., Ed.  Extract of Foxglove.
   This is prepared from the fresh leaves, in the manner directed by the
 London College for extract  of aconite (see Extractum Aconiti),  by the
 Edinburgh for extract of hemlock (see Extractum Conii).
   It is a new preparation of the London and Edinburgh Colleges,  and ap-
 pears to us, considering the activity of the leaves themselves, and the at least
 equal uncertainty of the extract, to be quite superfluous.  The dose is from
 half a grain to two grains.                                       W.
   EXTRACTUM DULCAMARA. US.  Extract  of Bittersweet.
   This is prepared, according to the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, from Bittersweet,
 in coarse powder, in the  manner directed  for extract of gentian. (See Ex-
 tractum Gentianae.)
   This has been newly introduced into  the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.   It is a
 preparation well known on the continent of Europe, but little used in this
 country or Great Britain.  The dose is from five to ten grains; but much
 more may be given with  impunity.                               W.

   EXTRACTUM GENTIANS.   U S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Ex-
 tract of Gentian,
   " Take of Gentian, in coarse powder,  apound; Water a sufficient quan-
 tity.   Mix the  Gentian with  a pint of the Water, and, after  allowing the
 mixture to stand for twenty-four hours,  introduce it into an apparatus for
 displacement, and pour Water upon it gradually until the liquid  passes but
 slightly impregnated with the properties of the Gentian.   Heat  the filtered
 liquid to the boiling point, strain, and evaporate to the proper consistence."
 U.S.
  "Take of Gentian, sliced, two pounds and a half; Boiling Distilled
 Water two gallons [Imperial  measure].   Macerate for twenty-four hours;
 then boil down to a gallon, and strain the liquor while hot; lastly, evaporate
 to the proper consistence."  Lond.
  " Take of Gentian any convenient quantity.   Bruise it to a moderately
fine powder, mix it thoroughly with half its  weight of Distilled Water; in
twelve  hours put it into a proper percolator,  and exhaust it by percolation
                                 80* 
942
Extracta.
PART II.
with temperate  Distilled Water; concentrate the liquid, filter  it before it
becomes too thick, and evaporate in the vapour-bath to the due consist-
ence." Ed.
  The Dublin College prepares this extract according to the general process
of that College for simple extracts.  (See page 933.)
  The London and Dublin  Colleges  adhere to the old mode of preparing
this extract by decoction; but in the U. S. and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias
the better process of percolation with cold water has been adopted.  MM.
Guibourt and  Cadet de Vaux obtained by the maceration in cold water an
extract not only greater in amount, but more transparent, more bitter, and pos-
sessing more of the colour and smell of the root than that prepared by decoc-
tion. Guibourt attributes this result to the circumstance, that as gentian con-
tains little, if any starch, it yields nothing to boiling which it will not also
yield to cold water, while decoction favours the combination of a portion of the
colouring matter with the lignin.  For rules in relation to the proper manage-
ment of  the displacement process, the reader is  referred to pages 763 and
769; and for observations upon the best modes of evaporation in the forma-
tion of extracts,  to page 929.  Gentian, according to Brande, yields half its
weight of extract by decoction.
   As ordinarily  procured, the extract of gentian is nearly  inodorous, very
bitter, of a dark  brown colour approaching to black, shining, and tenacious.
It is frequently used as a tonic in the form of pill, either alone or in con-
nexion with metallic preparations.  The dose is from ten to thirty grains.
   Off. Prep.  Pilulae Aloe's Compositae, Lond.                    W.
   EXTRACTUM  HAEMATOXYLI.  U.S., Lond., Ed.   Extrac-
tum Hamatoxyli Campechiani. Dub.   Extract of Logwood.
   " Take of Logwood, rasped, a pound; Water a gallon.   Boil down to
four pints, and strain the liquor while hot; then evaporate to the  proper con-
sistence."  U. S.
   "Take  of  Logwood, in  fine chips,  a pound; Boiling Water a gallon
[Imperial  measure].   Macerate for twenty-four hours, then boil  down to
four pints, strain,  and concentrate in the vapour-bath to  the due consist-
ence."  Ed.
   The London College prepares it in  the  manner directed for extract of
gentian (see Extractum Gentianae); the Dublin College, according to their
general process  for simple  extracts. (See page 933.)
   The evaporation should be carried so far, that the extract may be dry and
brittle when cold.   About  twenty pounds of it are  obtained from one cwt.
of logwood. (Brande.)  It is  of a deep ruby colour, and  an astringent
sweetish taste; and possesses all the medical virtues of the wood from which
it is procured.  If given in pills, these should be recently made, as, when
long kept, they  are said to become so hard as sometimes to pass unchanged
through the bowels.  The extract, however, is best administered in solution.
The dose  is from ten to thirty grains.  This extract  is said to  be prepared
largely in  Yucatan and other parts of Mexico. (Journ. of the Phil. Col, of
Pharm. vi. 87.)                                                 W.
   EXTRACTUM HELLEBORI. U.S.  Extract of Black Helle-
bore.
   This  is prepared,  according to the  U. S  Pharmacopoeia,  from  Black
Hellebore, in coarse powder, in the  manner directed for alcoholic extract of
aconite. (See Extractum Aconiti Alcoholicum.)
   In consequence, probably, of the  injurious influence of heat upon black
hellebore, the watery extract prepared by decoction is little if at all stronger 
PART II.
Extracta.
943
than the root.   The process of percolation with cold spirit has, therefore,
been adopted in  the last edition of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia;  and, if proper
attention  be paid to conduct  the evaporation  at as low a temperature, and
with as little exposure to the air as possible, an efficient extract  will proba-
bly be obtained.  It operates as  a drastic purge in the dose of twelve or
fifteen grains, but is seldom employed.
   The former French Codex contained a process for preparing the extract
of hellebore, according to the method of Bacher.  Two  pounds  of the root
and half a pound of carbonate of potassa are digested, with a moderate heat,
for twelve hours, in eight pounds of alcohol of 22° B.; the tincture is strained
with expression, the residuum is again digested with eight pounds of white
wine for twenty-four  hours;  the wine is  expressed, and having  stood four
hours to  settle is decanted;  the liquors are then mixed, and with a gentle
heat evaporated  to the consistence of an extract.  One ounce of this extract,
mixed with the same quantity of  myrrh, and  with ten  scruples of the pow-
dered leaves of the  Centaurea benedicta,  and made into pills of one grain
each, constitutes the preparation  known as the tonic pills of Bacher, for-
merly much used in amenorrhoea  and dropsy, and probably not without ad-
vantage,  especially in the former  of these  diseases.  The  dose  is from ten
to twenty pills during the day.   An additional quantity of diluted alcohol
might, without disadvantage, be substituted for the wine in the preparation
of the extract.                                                   W.
   EXTRACTUM  HUMULI LUPULI.  Dub.   Extractum  Lu-
puli. Lond.. Ed.  Extract of Hops.
   The London College prepares  this extract in the manner directed for ex-
tract of  gentian (see Extractum  Gentianae); the Edinburgh, in the same
manner  as  extract  of logwood  (see Extractum Haematoxyli);  and the
 Dublin, according to its general formula for simple extracts.  (See p. 933.)
   Since the discovery of the fact  that the active properties of hops reside
 chiefly in the lupulin,  this extract has not been deemed  an eligible prepara-
 tion, and has been little used. It  has the peculiar bitterness of the strobiles,
 without  their aroma.   Lupulin may be advantageously  substituted for it in
all cases in which  it was formerly employed.   Mr. Brande says,  that the
 average  product of one cwt. of hops is forty pounds  of the extract.   The
 dose is from ten to thirty grains.                                  W.
   EXTRACTUM  HYOSCYAMI.  U S, Lond., Ed.  Succus Spis-
 satus Hyoscyami.  Dub.  Extract of Henbane.
   This  is prepared from fresh Henbane Leaves in the manner directed by
 the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for extract of stramonium leaves (see  Extractum
 Stramonii Foliorum), by the London and Dublin for extract of aconite (see
 Extractum Aconiti), and by the Edinburgh  for extract of hemlock (see
 Extractum Conii).
   MM.  Solon and Soubeiran have shown that the insoluble matter sepa-
 rated from  the expressed juice of henbane by filtering,  and that coagulated
 by heat, are  nearly,  if not quite, inert;  so  that the juice may be advan-
 tageously clarified before evaporation.  (Amer. Jour, of Pharm. viii. 228.)
 Extract  of  henbane is seldom, if ever, made  in this country, being derived
 chiefly from England.  Mr. Brande says, that one cwt. of the  fresh herb
 affords between four and five pounds.   M. Recluz obtained about  one part
 from sixteen.
   The extract,  as it reaches us, is of a dark-olive colour almost black, of a
 narcotic rather unpleasant odour, and  a  bitterish, nauseous, slightly saline
 taste. It retains its softness for a long time;  but at the end of three or four 
944
Extracta.
part ir.
years becomes dry, and exhibits, when broken, small crystals of nitrate of
potassa and chloride of sodium.  (Recluz.)  Like all the inspissated juices
it is of variable strength, according to its age, the care used in its  prepara-
tion, and  the  character of the  leaves  from which it was procured.  (See
Hyoscyamus.)  In its use, therefore,  it is advisable to begin with a mode-
rate dose, two or three grains for instance,  and gradually to increase the
quantity till some effect is experienced, and the degree of efficiency of the
particular parcel employed is  ascertained. It is  usually given  in  pill.  It
is sometimes used externally for the same  purposes as extract of belladonna.
   Off. Prep.  Pilulae  Colocynthidis et  Hyoscyami, Ed.             W.
  EXTRACTUM HYOSCYAMI  ALCOHOLICUM.  U S.   Alco-
holic Extract of Henbane.
  This is prepared, according to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from Henbane
Leaves, in coarse powder, in the manner directed for alcoholic extract of
aconite.   (See Extractum Aconiti Alcoholicum.)
  The alcoholic extract of henbane, if prepared from recently dried leaves,
is thought to be more uniform and more powerful than the inspissated juice
or common extract.   It is one of the  preparations of the French Codex.
The dose is one or two grains,  to be gradually increased until its effects are
obtained.                                                         W.
  EXTRACTUM  JALAPiE.  U. S, Lond., Dub.   Extract of
Jalap.
  This is prepared, according to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia,  from Jalap, in
coarse powder, in the manner  directed for extract of Peruvian bark. (See
Extractum Cinchonae.)
  " Take of Jalap, in powder, two pounds and a half; Rectified Spirit a
gallon [Imperial measure];  Distilled  Water two gallons [Imperial mea-
sure].  Macerate the Jalap in  the Spirit for  four days, and pour off the
tincture.  Boil the residue in the Water down to half a gallon.   Filter the
tincture and decoction separately;  then distil the  former and evaporate the
latter until they thicken.   Lastly, mix the extract with the resin, and evapo-
rate to the proper consistence.  Let the extract be kept soft, fit for forming
pills,  and hard, so that it may be  powdered." Lond.
  The Dublin process is  essentially the same as  the above.
  Jalap contains  a considerable quantity of starch, which is extracted  by
decoction, but  left behind when cold water is used as the menstruum.  As
this principle serves only  to impede the filtration or straining, and augment
the bulk of the extract, without adding to its virtues, the U. S.  process, in
which the water is employed at common temperatures, is  preferable to the
London and Dublin, in which decoction is resorted to.   The  use both of
alcohol and water is necessary,  in order to extract all the medicinal qualities
of the drug, and they are employed successively, under the impression that
the  previous removal of the  resin by the former facilitates the action of the
latter.   The use  of percolation, as directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia,
enables the cold water to extract the soluble parts without the long mace-
ration which would otherwise be  necessary.   According to Cadet de Gas-
sicourt, water at  ordinary temperatures,  and  in  the  old  mode,  acts  so
slowly, that fermentation takes place before the active matter is all dissolved.
Hence, if the extract  is prepared without the  use of displacement, the  re-
siduum, after the tincture has been decanted, should be digested  with  water
at ^ heat of about 90° or 100° F., which, while it is insufficient for the
solution of the starch, enables the solvent to take  up the active matter with
sufficient rapidity. 
PART II.
Extracta.
945
   One cwt. of jalap affords, according to Mr. Brande, about fifty pounds of
aqueous  extract and fifteen of resin.   The product of the former is some-
what less  by infusion than decoction;  and the extract  is proportionably
stronger.
   The extract of jalap is of a dark-brown colour, slightly translucent at the
edges, and tenacious  when not perfectly dry.  It contains the resin  and
gummy extractive, and, consequently, has  all the medical properties of the
root;  but it is not often exhibited alone, being chiefly used as an ingredient
of purgative pills, for  which it is adapted by the comparative  smallness of
its bulk.   The dose is from ten to twenty  grains, or rather more than  half
that of jalap.
   Off. Prep.  Pilulae   Catharticae Compositae,  U.S.;  Pulvis  Scammonii
Compositus, Lond., Dub.                                       W.
   EXTRACTUM  sive RESINA  JALAPAE.  Ed.  Extract or
Resin of Jalap.
   " Take any convenient quantity of  Jalap, in moderately fine powder;
mix it thoroughly with enough of Rectified Spirit to moisten it well; put  it
in twelve hours into a percolator, and  exhaust the powder with Rectified
Spirit; distil off the greater part of the Spirit, and concentrate the residuum
over the vapour-bath to a due consistence." Ed.
   This  process yields the resin of jalap in an impure state.   It maybe
obtained pure by pouring  boiling water on the roots, macerating for a day,
then cutting them into very thin  slices, boiling  them three times succes-
sively for about ten minutes in water, expressing after each decoction, after-
wards boiling them as  often and as long in  alcohol, and in like manner ex-
pressing, finally mixing the tinctures, treating the liquor with  animal char-
coal,  filtering,  and evaporating.  (Nativelle, Journ.  de  Pharm. N. S.  i.
228.)   Another mode is to introduce into  a displacement instrument, first
one part of finely powdered animal charcoal, and afterwards two parts mixed
with an equal quantity of powdered jalap, then  to pour on alcohol until the
liquid which passes equals the jalap, and finally to add to the tincture thus
obtained twice its volume of water, so  as  to  precipitate  the resin, which
is to be washed, and dried.  (Christison's  Dispensatory.)   The pure
resin is as white as  starch, and in doses  of from three  to five grains was
found to purge actively.   For practical purposes, however, the Edinburgh
preparation is sufficiently pure.  It is dark-coloured, brittle, and of a shining
fracture.
   It is now generally  believed, that the resin of jalap is  its sole purgative
principle, the gummy extractive being diuretic.  The U. S. or London ex-
tract better represents the whole virtues of  jalap,  and should be preferred
when its peculiar hydragogue operation is required.  The Edinburgh extract
or resin is more powerfully purgative, but is also harsh, and apt to operate
painfully.  To obviate this effect it is  advised that it should  be triturated
with loaf-sugar, sulphate of potassa, almond emulsion, or other substance
calculated to separate  its  particles.  The  dose  is from  four  to  twelve
grains.                                                          W.
  EXTRACTUM JUGLANDIS.  U. S.   Extract  of Butternut.
  This is prepared from  the inner bark of the root of the  Juglans cinerea,
in coarse powder, in the manner directed for extract of gentian.  (See Ex-
tractum Gentianae.)
  Most of this extract  kept in the shops is  prepared by the country people,
who are said to use the bark of the branches, and even the branches them- 
946
Extracta.
PART II.
selves, instead of the inner bark of the root, as directed  by the Pharma-
copoeia.  The  heat is also improperly regulated, being applied too vigor-
ously, or continued too long, so that the preparation  is  often  injured.
That it should  have proved uncertain in the hands of many physicians is,
therefore, not a matter of surprise.  It should always be  prepared by the
apothecary, and from  the inner bark of the root gathered in May or June.
  The extract of butternut is of a black colour, sweetish odour, and bitter
astringent taste.  In the dose of twenty or thirty  grains it  acts as a  mild
cathartic.  (See Juglans.)                                        W.

  EXTRACTUM  KRAMERIAE.  U. S., Ed.  Extract of Rha-
tany.
  This is  prepared from  Rhatany, in coarse powder (U. S.), or in mode-
rately fine  powder (Ed.), in the manner directed  for extract  of gentian.
(See Extractum Gentianae.)
  In  selecting a process for the preparation of this new officinal, it was
undoubtedly wise to  adopt the mode of displacement, with cold water as
the menstruum.  (See pages 419 and 420.)  It is absolutely necessary to
the success of  this  process,  that the  root  should  be well  and  uniformly
comminuted; and the " moderately fine powder" of the Edinburgh Pharma-
copoeia is,  therefore, preferable  to  the " coarse  powder" of our own.
The wood  of the root yielded to Mr. Procter only 6.8 per cent, of extract,
while the bark separated from the wood yielded 33 per cent.  As the wood
is of difficult pulverization, the inference is obvious, that in  powdering the
roots, the ligneous portion might be rejected with advantage. (Am. Journ.
of Pharm. xiv. 270.)  As a prolonged  exposure of the infusion to the air
is attended with the absorption of oxygen, and the production of insoluble
apotheme, it is desirable that the evaporation should be conducted rapidly or
in a vacuum.   There scarcely appears  to  be  occasion, in the case of rha-
tany, for heating and filtering the infusion before evaporation,  the  only
use of which would be to get rid of albumen, which is not among the recog-
nised ingredients of rhatany.
  Very inferior extracts of rhatany are often found in the shops.   Such is
the South American extract, which is occasionally imported.  As  the  pro-
duct obtained by decoction is greater than that afforded by the officinal plan,
the temptation  to substitute the former is not always resisted, although it has
been shown to contain nearly 50 per cent, of insoluble matter.  A  sub-
stance was shown us by a respectable apothecary  of this city, said to  have
been imported  as extract of rhatany from  Europe,  which was nearly taste-
less,  and was plausibly  conjectured to be the dried  coagulated matter of old
tincture of kino.
  Extract of rhatany  should have a reddish-brown colour, a  smooth shining
fracture, and a very astringent taste; and should be almost  entirely soluble
in water.  Its  virtues may be considered as in proportion to its solubility.
It is  much used for all  the purposes  for which  the astringent extracts are
employed.  The dose is from ten to twenty grains.
   Off. Prep. Syrupus Krameriae, U. S.                           W.
   EXTRACTUM  LACTUCAE.  Lond.  Extract of Lettuce.
  This extract is prepared by the London College from fresh Lettuce leaves
in the same manner as extract of aconite.  (See Extractum Aconiti.)
  The extract  of lettuce has been retained by the London College, though
the lettuce itself from which it is prepared has been rejected.  Its claims to
favourable  notice are at least very questionable.  Consisting chiefly of the
common sap of the plant, which is inert, with a variable, but always  small 
part ii.                      Extracta.                        947

proportion of the milky secretion, on which the activity of lettuce depends,
it is at best a feeble and uncertain preparation.  Lactucarium possesses all
its virtues, with more strength and uniformity of  action.  The dose of the
extract is from five to fifteen grains.                              W.
  EXTRACTUM  NUCIS VOMICAE. U. S, Ed., Dub. Extract
of  Nux Vomica.
  " Take of Nux Vomica  a pound; Alcohol  a sufficient quantity.  Ex-
pose the Nux Vomica to steam till it is softened; then, having sliced  and
dried it, grind it into powder.  Introduce it into  an apparatus for displace-
ment, and pour Alcohol upon it gradually until the  liquid passes without
bitterness.  Distil off the greater part of the  alcohol from the filtered liquor,
and evaporate the residue to the proper consistence." U. S.
   The Edinburgh  College treats the Nux Vomica in the same  manner,
grinding  it to powder in  a coffee-mill; then exhausts it with  rectified
spirit, either by percolation or repeated  decoction; and completes the pro-
cess as above directed.
   "Take of Nux Vomica, rasped, eight ounces; Proof Spirit  two pints.
Digest in a  close vessel for three days;  filter  the liquor, and express the
remainder by a press.  Add to the  residue one pint and a half of Proof
 Spirit, digest for three days, and express.   Mix the liquors, and having re-
 duced them by distillation to one-fourth, evaporate to a proper consistence."
Dub.
   This extract is an active preparation  of  nux vomica, though  not always
 of uniform  strength, owing to the  variable proportion of strychnia in the
 substance from which it is prepared.   M. Recluz  obtained from  sixteen
 ounces of the nux vomica, the average product of one ounce and a quarter.
 The dose of ihe extract is  from  half a  grain to two  grains, to be repeated
 three times  a day.                                               W.
    EXTRACTUM OPII. Ed.   Extractum  Opii  Purificatum.
 Lond. Extractum Opii Aquosum.  Dub. Extract of Opium.
    " Take of Opium one  pound; Water five pints [Imperial measure].
 Cut the Opium into small  fragments, macerate it for twenty-four  hours in
 a  pint of Water, break  down the fragments  with  the hand;  express the
 liquid with pretty  strong  pressure; break down the residuum  again in
 another pint of the Water, let it macerate  for twenty-four hours, and ex-
 press the liquid; repeat the maceration and expression  in the same way till
 the water is all  used.  Filter the successive infusions as  they are made,
 passing them through the same filter; unite and  evaporate them in the
 vapour-bath to the due consistence." Ed.
    "Take of Opium, sliced, twenty ounces; Distilled Water a gallon [Im-
 perial measure].  Add a little of the Water to  the Opium, and macerate for
 twelve hours that it may become soft; then, adding gradually the remainder
 of the Water, rub them until they are thoroughly mixed, and set the mixture
 by that the dregs may subside; lastly, strain the liquor, and evaporate it to a
  proper consistence." Lond.
    " Take of Opium, sliced, two ounces; Boiling Water a pint.  Rub the
  Opium with the  Water for ten minutes, and, after a short interval, pour off
 the liquor.   Triturate the  remaining Opium with an equal quantity of boil-
 ing Water, for the same length of time, and pour off the liquor as before.
 Repeat  the  trituration a third time; then mix the liquors, and  expose the
 mixture to the air for two  days in an open vessel.   Lastly, filter  through
 linen, and evaporate the filtered liquor slowly to the consistence of an ex-
 tract." Dub.
    Of these processes, that of the  Edinburgh or  Dublin College should be 
948
Extracta.
part ii.
 preferred.  But we can discover no advantage which either preparation has
 over opium itself.  Though the dose may be somewhat smaller, yet that of
 opium is  sufficiently small; and if there be any distinct principle  in this
 drug which modifies in an unpleasant manner the action of the morphia, it
 is not left behind in the preparation  of the  watery  extract.   Nor has this
 preparation the advantage of greater uniformity; as the gum, extractive,
 &c, taken up by the  water, bear no fixed proportion to the anodyne prin-
 ciple.  It is highly probable, moreover, that the opium  is not completely
 exhausted by either process. It certainly is not by that of the London Col-
 lege; for morphia may be extracted from the residuum of the operation.
 (Brande.)  In the preparation, therefore, of the extract of opium, there is
 a loss of time and  of  active matter, without  any equivalent gain;  and there
 is the further  disadvantage, that, as the  extract does not possess equally
 with opium those external characters by  which its quality may be decided,
 it is more liable to adulteration.   We should, therefore, in every instance,
 prefer opium  to  the  extract;  but it  is necessary that the former should  be
 selected of good quality, and should be freed from all adhering extraneous
 matters.
   Under the impression that the stimulating and unpleasant effects of opium
 are owing to the narcotina, it has been proposed to separate this principle by
 submiiting the extract to  the operation of ether,  which dissolves the narco-
 tina and leaves the morphia with the other ingredients.  Robiquet employed
 cold ether; but M.  Dublanc, convinced that the whole of the narcotina was
 not thus extracted proposed the  following plan.   " Take of watery extract
 of opium  16 ounces;  dissolve  it in 8 ounces  of distilled water;  introduce
 the solution into the water-bath of a still; pour upon it 104 ounces of pure
 ether; distil off 24  ounces of the ether: take  apart the apparatus and decant
 the ether which floats on the top of the extract;  wash the latter while hot
 with  the distilled ether; concentrate the  residual matter, dissolve  it in dis-
 tilled wrater, filter the solution,  and evaporate to a proper consistence."  It
 is very doubtful, however, whether any useful end is gained by this expen-
 sive operation, as it is not by any means  conclusively settled that narcotina
 does in fact produce the unpleasant effects which have been attributed to it;
 and even admitting the fact, the preparations of morphia, which are of uni-
 form  strength, are greatly preferable to the denarcotized extract.
   The dose of the  extract of opium prepared by the Edinburgh  or Dublin
 process is  about one-half that of opium itself.   The London extract, accord-
 ing to  Brande, is never  stronger, and is sometimes  weaker than opium.
 Recluz obtained from sixteen ounces of opium an average product of  nine
 ounces by hot water and six by cold.
   Off. Prep.  Vinum  Opii, Lond.                                 W.
   EXTRACTUM  PAPAVERIS.  Lond., Ed. Extract of Poppy.
   " Take of Poppy [capsules], freed from their seeds, and hrmsed.fifleen
 ounces;  Boiling Distilled Water a gallon [Imperial  measure].  Macerate
 for twenty-four hours, then boil down to  four pints,  strain the liquor while
 hot, and evaporate it to a  proper consistence." Lond.
   The  Edinburgh process corresponds closely with the above; boiling
 water simply, instead  of boiling distilled water being employed, and evapo-
 ration over the vapour-bath directed.
  Mr. Brande observes in relation to this extract, that if prepared over the
 open fire it is often nearly inert.   He states, moreover, that it  is  apt to be
 of a troublesome consistence, too hard to be formed into pills, and too tough
to be  pulverized;  and advises that it should always be carefully dried till it
becomes sufficiently brittle to admit of being reduced to powder. One cwt. 
PART II.
Extracta.
949
of the capsules, without the seeds, yields, according to this author, the ave-
rage product of 35 pounds of extract.
   This preparation is little used in the United States.   It possesses the vir-
tues of opium, but is much inferior and less uniform in strength. The dose
is from  five to ten grains.                                         W.

   EXTRACTUM PAREIRAE.  Lond., Ed.  Extract  of Pareira
Brava.
   This is prepared by the London College from bruised Pareira Brava in
the manner directed for extract of gentian. (See Extractum Gentianae.)
   The Edinburgh College directs the root to be cut into small chips, dried
thoroughly with a gentle heat, then  reduced to a  moderately fine powder,
and treated as directed for the extract of gentian.
   The dose is from ten grains to half a drachm.                    W.
   EXTRACTUM PODOPHYLLI. U S.  Extract of May-apple.
   This is prepared from the root of Podophyllum peltatum, in coarse pow-
der, in  the manner directed for the extract of Peruvian bark.  (See Extrac-
tum Cinchonae.)
   It is possessed of the purgative properties of the root, and may be given
in the dose of from five to fifteen grains, but is little employed.   It  might
be substituted in all cases  for the extract of jalap.                   W.
   EXTRACTUM QUASSIAE. U.S., Ed.  Extract of Quassia.
   This is prepared, according to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from the rasp-
ings of quassia, in the manner directed for the  extract of gentian.  (See
Extractum Gentianae.)
   The  Edinburgh College  prepares  it by cutting the quassia  into small
chips, drying it thoroughly with a gentle heat, reducing  it to a moderately
fine powder, and proceeding as directed for the extract of gentian.
   According to M. Recluz, sixteen  ounces  of quassia yield by infusion in
water seven drachms of extract; by maceration in alcohol of 19° Baume,
two ounces five drachms  and a half.  The difference between these  quan-
tities is so great that we suspect some mistake in  the table of the Diction-
naire des Drogues from which we quote.
   The extract of quassia is dark-brown or black, and excessively bitter.  It
is apt to become dry and disposed  to crumble by  time.  It concentrates  a
greater amount of tonic power within a given weight than any other extract
of the simple bitters; and may, therefore, be given with great advantage in
cases in which it is  desirable to administer this class of substances in as
small a bulk,  and with  as little inconvenience  to the  patient as possible.
The dose is about five grains, to be given in the form  of  pill.       W.

   EXTRACTUM QUERCUS. Dub.  Extract of Oak Bark.
   This is prepared from the bark of the Quercus Robur, according to the
general  formula  given  by the Dublin College for the preparation of the
simple extracts.  (See page 933.)
   The Dublin College  alone orders  this preparation, which may be consi-
dered as quite superfluous.   The dose is from ten grains  to a drachm.
   EXTRACTUM RHEI.  Lond, Ed., Dub.  Extract nf Rhubarb.
   "Take of Rhubarb, in powder, fifteen ounces; Proof Spirit a pint [Im-
perial measure];  Distilled  Water seven pints [Imp. meas.].  Macerate for
four days with a gentle heat, then strain, and set the liquor by that the dregs
may subside.   Pour off the clear liquor, and evaporate it to the proper con-
sistence."  Lond.
      81 
950
Extracta.
PART II.
  The Dublin College employs a pound of Rhubarb, a pint of Proof Spirit,
and seven pints of Water; and proceeds as above.
  "Take of Rhubarb one pound; Water five pints [Imp. meas.]; cut the
Rhubarb into small fragments, macerate it for  twenty-four hours in three
pints of the Water, filter the liquor through a cloth, and express it with the
hands or otherwise moderately; macerate the residuum  with the rest of the
Water for twelve hours at least,  filter the liquor with the same cloth as
before, and  express the  residuum  strongly.   The liquors, filtered again  if
necessary, are then to be evaporated together to a  proper consistence in the
vapour-bath. The extract, however, is obtained of finer quality by evapo-
ration in a vacuum with a gentle heat." Ed.
  Rhubarb yields all its active matter to water and alcohol; but, unless the
evaporation  is performed with  great care and with a very moderate heat, it
is certain  that the purgative principle is, to a greater or less extent, injured
or dissipated in  the  process; and  the  extract may thus become even less
efficient than the root.   Among other consequences which result from the
boiling temperature, is  the  formation  of a compound of the tannin and
starch which is insoluble in cold water, and upon  its precipitation probably
carries with it a portion of the purgative  principle.  There is, moreover,
reason to  believe that this principle is volatilizable by heat, and that a por-
tion of it escapes with  the vapour.  This extract may, therefore, be very
well dispensed with.  It is not directed  by the United States Pharmacopoeia.
The only advantage, if  it be one,  which it possesses over powdered rhu-
barb is,  that it may be given in  solution; and  the same object may be
accomplished by  employing the root itself in the  state of infusion.  The
dose of the extract is from ten  to thirty grains.
  Off. Prep. Pilulae Rhei et Ferri, Ed.                          W.
  EXTRACTUM RUTAE. Dub.   Extract  of Rue.
  This is prepared by the Dublin College from the herb, in the manner
directed for  the preparation of  the simple extracts. (See page  933.)
  The volatile oil, upon which the stimulant and  antispasmodic properties
of rue depend, is driven off in the  preparation of  the extract, which, there-
fore, answers no other purpose than that of a bitter tonic;  and even in  this
respect is inferior to the other  bitter extracts.   It is not used  in this coun-
try.   The dose is from ten to twenty grains.                      W.
  SUCCUS SP1SSATUS SAMBUCI. Dub.  Inspissated Juice of
Elder.
  This is prepared by  the Dublin College from fresh ripe  elder berries
in the same  manner with the inspissated juice of aconite. (See Extractum
Aconiti.)
  The elder berries  employed in  Europe are those of the Sambucus ni-
gra; but  the berries of the Sambucus Canadensis, which is a native of
this country, will answer equally  well.  For the uses of this extract the
reader is referred to the  article Sambucus in the Materia Medica.    W.
  EXTRACTUM  SARSAPARILLAE.  U.S., Dub.  Extractum
Sarza.  Lond.   Extract of Sarsaparilla.
  The  U. S. Pharmacoposia  prepares this  extract from sarsaparilla, in
coarse powder,  in  the  manner directed for  alcoholic extract of aconite.
(See Extractum Aconiti Alcoholicum.)
  " Take of Sarsaparilla  root, sliced,  a pound;  Boiling Water a gallon.
Macerate  for twenty-four hours, and boil down to four pints; then strain
the liquor while hot, and evaporate to the proper consistence." Dub. 
part ii.                      Extracta.                          951

   The  London College prepares the extract in the manner directed for
extract of gentian. (See Extractum  Gentianae.)
   The extract prepared according to  the London and Dublin processes can
have little or no effect upon the system; as the active matter of sarsaparilla is
either destroyed by chemical change or driven off at the heat of boiling water.
Besides, it appears from the experiments of Hancock and others, that water,
unless  in  very large proportion,  is incapable of exhausting the root; and
waste would be incurred, even admitting that the extract possessed  some
efficiency.   Very  different quantities have  been obtained from  different
varieties of sarsaparilla, and even  from different  parcels of the same variety;
but as the matter taken up by boiling water consists chiefly of starch, no infer-
ence as to the relative  value of any particular specimen of the root can be
drawn from a knowledge of the  quantity of extract which it  is capable of
affording.   From ten grains to a  drachm of this preparation may  be  given
for a dose.
   The spirituous  extract of the  U.  S. Pharmacopoeia, which  is the  same
as that of the French Codex, contains the  active matter of the root.  Di-
luted alcohol extracts all the virtues of sarsaparilla, leaving the inert fecula
which encumbers the extract obtained by decoction; while the temperature
requisite for the concentration of  the tincture is insufficient to destroy the
active principle.  M. Beral obtained from 32 ounces of sarsaparilla  about
4 ounces of extract by  maceration with diluted alcohol.  As the product of
this operation is about one-eighth of the sarsaparilla employed, a drachm
of the  extract represents an ounce of the root.  From ten to twenty grains
of it may be given three or four  times a day.   We have ascertained by
actual observation that  it possesses in a high degree the acrid taste  of sarsa-
parilla.                                                          W.
   EXTRACTUM  SARSAPARILLAE  FLUIDUM. Dub.    Ex-
tractum Sarza Fluidum.  Ed.  Fluid Extract of Sarsaparilla.
   " Take  of Sarza in chips one pound; Boiling Water six pints [Imperial
measure].   Digest the  root for two hours in four pints  of the Water;  take
it out, bruise it, replace it, and boil for two hours; filter and squeeze out the
liquid; boil the residuum in the remaining two pints of Water,  and filter and
squeeze out this liquor also; evaporate the united liquors to the consistence
of thin syrup; add, when  the product is cool, as much Rectified  Spirit as
will make in all sixteen fluidounces.  Filter.  This  fluid extract may be
aromatized with volatile oils or warm aromatics." Ed.
   " Take of the Root of Sarsaparilla, sliced, a pound; Water twelve pints.
Boil them together for  an hour, and pour off the liquor; then add twelve
pints of water, and boil and decant as before.  Express the liquor strongly
from the residuary matter,  and  having mixed the decoctions, set  the mix-
ture by that the dregs may subside; then evaporate by continued boiling to
thirty ounces [fluidounces], and add  two ounces [fluidounces] of Rectified
Spirit." Dub.
  It is  to be regretted,  that this preparation  is not more in conformity with
our present knowledge in relation to the pharmaceutical management of
sarsaparilla.  There can be little  doubt, we think, as  to  the almost  total
inefficiency  of  the  fluid extract  of  the Edinburgh  and Dublin Colleges.
We should ourselves prefer the solid  extract, prepared according to the U. S.
formula, to any concentrated liquid preparation; as we cannot be certain that
the active principle is held in solution by a very small proportion of water,
and if it be merely suspended,  there  may be a risk that due  agitation may
not always be practised in dispensing and administering the medicine.  But 
952
Extracta.
PART II.
if the popular inclination to this mode of preparation must be gratified, we
should give a decided preference to the following formula of William Hodg-
son, Jun., over any other which we have seen.
  " Take of Sarsaparilla  Root, bruised, sixteen ounces; Liquorice Root,
bruised, Guaiacum Wood, rasped, Bark of Sassafras Root, each, two ounces;
Mezereon six drachms; Diluted Alcohol eight pints.   Digest for fourteen
days at a common temperature; then strain, express, and filter.  Evaporate
the tincture in a water-bath to twelve fluidounces;  then add eight ounces of
white sugar, and remove from  the fire  as soon as the sugar  is dissolved."
(Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. ii. 285.)
  Mr. Hodgson observes, that during the process  a small quantity of resin
separates, and adheres to  the sides of the vessel,  apparently derived from
the guaiacum wood.  The advantages of this process are, that by means of
the alcohol all the virtues of the root are extracted, while the low tempera-
ture required in its evaporation is not sufficient to impair these virtues.  The
preparation has been used in Philadelphia with great apparent advantage in
secondary syphilis.  The dose is  a fluidrachm, equivalent to a drachm of
the root, three or four times a day.                               W.
  EXTRACTUM sive  RESINA  SCAMMONII.  Ed.   Extract
or Resin of Scammony.
  "Take any convenient quantity of Scammony in fine powder; boil it in
successive portions of Proof Spirit till the Spirit ceases to dissolve any thing;
filter; distil the liquid till little but water passes over.   Then  pour away the
watery solution from the resin at the bottom; agitate the resin with succes-
sive portions of boiling water till it is well washed; and lastly, dry it at a
temperature not exceeding 240°."  Ed.
  The only advantage  of this preparation is that it separates the active mat-
ter of scammony  from the impurities with which the drug is almost always
adulterated.  When pure  virgin scammony can be procured the extract is
unnecessary.  Prepared according to the  above process, the resin is of a
dirty greenish-brown colour, with a feeble odour and taste of scammony,
and is very soluble in ether, aleohol, and boiling proof-spirit.  When puri-
fied  with  animal charcoal  it has a pale-brownish yellow colour, without
odour and taste; but retains its purgative property.   When rubbed with un-
skimmed milk it forms a uniform emulsion undistinguishable from rich milk
itself.  This is  an excellent mode  of administration.  The resin should
always be given either  rubbed up with  some mild powder, or in emulsion.
The dose is from five to twelve grains.
  Off. Prep. Mistura Scammonii, Ed.                            W.
  EXTRACTUM SPARTII SCOPARII. Dub.  Extract of Broom
Tops.
  This is prepared from the tops of the Cytisus Scoparius, according to
the general formula of  the Dublin College for the  preparation of their sim-
ple extracts. (See page 933.)
  It has laxative and diuretic properties; but is not employed in this country
and seldom in Europe.   The dose is from thirty grains to a drachm.  W.
  EXTRACTUM STRAMONII FOLIORUM.  U.S.   Extract of
Stramonium  Leaves.
  " Take of Stramonium Leaves apound.   Bruise them in a stone mortar,
sprinkling on them a little  water; then express the juice, and,  having heated
it to the boiling point, strain and evaporate to the proper consistence." U. S. 
PART II.
Extracta.
953
   Like all tbe other inspissated narcotic juices, this is an uncertain prepa-
 ration, varying in strength according to the care used in conducting the pro-
 cess, and the season at which  the  leaves are collected.   The reader will
 find at page 933 and in the preliminary observations on the Extracts, some
 general rules which will be found useful in conducting this process, and all
 those of which it is the officinal type.  The insoluble matter separated from
 the expressed juice by filtering, and that coagulated by heat, may be advan-
 tageously rejected; as, according to the observations of MM.  Solon and
 Soubeiran, they  are nearly or quite  inert.  M.  Recluz obtained half an
 ounce of the extract from sixteen ounces of the leaves. The dose is a grain
 night and morning to be gradually increased till it affects the system.  W.
   EXTRACTUM STRAMONII  SEMINIS.  U.S.   Extractum
 Stramonii. Lond., Ed., Dub.   Extract of Stramonium Seed.
   " Take  of Stramonium Seed,  ground into powder, a pound;  Diluted
 Alcohol a sufficient quantity.   Having rubbed the powder with half a pint
 of Diluted Alcohol, introduce the mixture into an apparatus for displacement,
 and  pour upon it gradually Diluted Alcohol till the liquid passes  colourless.-
 Distil off the Alcohol from the filtered liquor, and evaporate  the residue to
 the proper consistence."  U. S.
   " Take of Seeds of Stramonium any convenient quantity; grind  them
 well in  a coffee-mill.  Rub the powder into a thick mass with Proof Spirit;
 put the  pulp into a percolator, and transmit Proof Spirit till it passes colour-
 less; distil off the spirit, and evaporate what remains in the vapour-bath to
 a proper consistence." Ed.
   " Take of Stramonium  seeds fifteen ounces; Boiling Distilled Water a
 gallon [Imperial measure].   Macerate  for four hours in a covered vessel
 near the fire; then take out the  Seeds, and, after having bruised  them in a
 stone mortar, return them to the  liquor.  Boil down to four pints [Imp.
 measure], and strain the decoction  while hot.   Finally, evaporate to the
 proper consistence." Lond.
   The Dublin College gives the same process as the London; but directs a
pound of the seeds, and a wine-gallon of undistilled water.
   The U. S. and Edinburgh processes, which may be considered identical,
 are preferable to the London and Dublin; as the  seeds yield their virtues
 more freely to spirit than to water alone.  According to the table  of Recluz,
 sixteen ounces of the seeds afford two  ounces and two  drachms of extract
 by maceration in diluted  alcohol, and  one ounce and a half by decoction.
 The dose to begin with is a quarter or half a grain twice a day, to be gra-
 dually increased.                                                W.
   EXTRACTUM TARAXACI. U.S., Lond., Ed.,Dub.  Extract
 of Dandelion.
   This is prepared,  according  to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from the fresh
 bruised root of the Leontodon Taraxacum, in the manner directed for ex-
 tract of logwood.  (See  Extractum Haematoxyli.)
   The London  College prepares it in the manner directed  for extract of
 gentian (see Extractum Gentianae); the Edinburgh, from a pound of the
 fresh root and a gallon [Imperial measure]  of boiling water, as directed
for the extract of poppy heads (see Extractum Papaveris).   The Dublin
 College employs both  the herb and root, and proceeds according to the
general formula for the simple extracts. (See page 933.)
  This extract is undoubtedly stronger, prepared from the root alone than
from the whole plant.   Nor is it a matter of indifference at what season the
                                 81* 
954
Extracta.—Ferrum.
PART II.
root may be collected. The juice obtained from it by expression in the spring
is thin, watery, and of feeble flavour; in the latter part of summer, and in
autumn, thick, opaque, cream-coloured, very bitter,  and abundant, amount-
ing to one-third or one-half the weight of the root.  It may be collected in
August, and  afterwards until severe frost.   According to Mr. Squire, frost
has the effect of diminishing the bitterness and increasing the sweetness of
the growing root.  It is probable that an extract prepared by  the inspissa-
tion of this juice, would be found much more efficient than that prepared in
the usual  way by decoction.  The inspissation should be effected by ex-
posing the juice in shallow vessels to  a current of warm dry air, or by eva-
poration in a vacuum, and should not be unnecessarily protracted.  Long
exposure, during evaporation,  is said to cause a change of the bitterness of
the juice into sweetness, which is  a  sign of inferiority.   As found  in the
shops, the extract is dark-coloured, sweet, and in all probability nearly inert.
Mr. Houlton took more than an ounce of it in a day, without any sensible
effect.  (Houlton and Squire, Pharm.  Journ. and Transact, i. 421.)  Mr.
Brande states that one cwt. of the fresh root affords from twenty to twenty-
five pounds of extract by decoction in water.   The expressed  juice yields
from 11 to 25 per cent, of extract,  the greatest product being obtained  in
November, and the least in April and May.
  This extract deteriorates by keeping, and should, therefore, be renewed
annually.  It is  most conveniently given  dissolved  in cinnamon or mint
water.   The dose is from a scruple to a drachm three times a day.  W.
  EXTRACTUM  UVAE URSI.  Lond.  Extract of Uva  Ursi.
  The London College prepares this extract in the  manner  directed for
extract of gentian. (See Extractum Gentianae.)
  The dose is from five to thirty grains.                          W.


                             FERRUM.

                       Preparations  of Iron.

   FERRI ACETAS.  Dub.  Acetate of Iron.
  " Take of Carbonate of Iron one part;  Acetic Acid six parts.   Digest
for three days and filter." Dub.
  As the carbonate of iron of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia (the U. S. subcar-
bonate and the London sesquioxide) consists mainly of sesquioxide of iron,
associated with a little carbonate of protoxide, it is evident that this prepa-
ration is  an aqueous  solution of the acetate of sesquioxide of iron, contain-
ing a small proportion of the acetate  of  the protoxide.  From comparative
experiments  made  by Dr.  Perceval  of Dublin, it  was  found  that of ten
grains  of the following ferruginous  preparations digested in two drachms
of  acetic  acid,  sp. gr. 1*065,  half  a  grain  was dissolved of the scales
of  iron, one and  a quarter  grains of the red oxide  (sesquioxide obtained
by  strong  calcination), three and a quarter of iron filings, and the whole
of  the so-called carbonate.   It was on account of the entire  solubility of
the latter preparation  that it was selected for solution in the acetic acid.
  Properties, 4"C.  This solution has a deep red  colour, and an acid and
strongly chalybeate taste.   When exposed to heat it yields acetic acid.  It
possesses the general medical properties of the preparations of iron.  The
dose is from ten to twenty-five drops, taken in water.   It is not used in this
country.                                                         B. 
PART II.
Ferrum.
955
  FERRI ACETATIS  TINCTURA. Dub.  Tincture of Acetate
of Iron.
  " Take of Acetate of Potassa two parts; Sulphate of Iron one part;
Rectified Spirit twenty-six parts.   Rub the Acetate of Potassa and  Sul-
phate of Iron together in an earthenware mortar, until they unite into a mass.
Dry  this with a medium heat, and  triturate it with the Spirit.  Digest the
mixture in a well stopped bottle for seven days, shaking it occasionally.
Lastly,  pour off the tincture from the sediment, and  preserve  it in a  well
stopped bottle." Dub.
  This  preparation was introduced into the Dublin Pharmacopoeia by Dr.
Perceval.  In the process, a double decomposition takes place between the
salts employed, resulting in  the formation  of the acetate of iron which dis-
solves in the  spirit, and sulphate of  potassa which remains behind, being
insoluble in that menstruum. The tincture also contains a portion of acetate
of potassa; more of this salt being employed than is necessary to  decom-
pose the sulphate of iron.
  Properties.  This tincture is  a transparent liquid, of a deep claret colour,
and strong chalybeate taste.   When evaporated to dryness, it yields a saline
matter,  which is whitish from the presence of acetate of potassa.   It is ex-
tremely liable to spontaneous decomposition, and is decomposed by the alka-
lies and their carbonates, the strong acids, and astringent  vegetable  infu-
sions.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This preparation is represented to be an
agreeable chalybeate; but it possesses no  particular virtue,  which can give
it any advantage over other medicines of the same class.   The dose is  from
thirty drops to a teaspoonful, mixed with water or some other convenient
vehicle.                                                           B.
  TINCTURA  ACETATIS  FERRI CUM  ALCOHOL.   Dub.
 Tincture of Acetate of Iron with Alcohol.
  " Take of Sulphate of Iron, Acetate of Potassa, each,  an ounce;  Alcohol
two pints. Rub the Acetate of Potassa and Sulphate of Iron together in an
earthenware mortar, until they  unite into a soft mass; then  dry this with a
medium heat, and  as soon as it  has grown cold, triturate it with the  alcohol.
Digest the mixture in a well stopped bottle for twenty-four hours, shaking it
occasionally.   Lastly, pour off the  clear tincture from  the sediment, and
keep it  in a well stopped bottle." Dub.
   This formula is nearly the same with the  last; the points of difference
being that equal weights of the  saline materials are employed, and the men-
struum  is the alcohol of the Dublin College, and not rectified spirit.   The
double  decomposition takes place as in the preceding preparation, and with
the same results;  but here, instead of there being an excess  of acetate of
potassa to enter into the tincture, there is an excess of sulphate  of  iron.
The  acetate  of iron  formed is  a mixture of the acetates of the protoxide
and  sesquioxide;  but the latter  only is  soluble in the strong alcohol of the
Dublin  College.   Hence this  tincture may be viewed  as an  alcoholic so-
lution of the acetate of the sesquioxide of iron.  It is necessary here not
to confound the Dublin " alcohol," which has  the sp. gr. 0-810, with the
U. S. " alcohol," which corresponds with the rectified spirit of the British
Colleges.
   This preparation is stronger, and less liable to spontaneous decomposition
than the preceding; while its sensible and medical properties are nearly the
same.  The dose  is from twenty drops to a teaspoonful.  A fluidounce  of
it, when evaporated, yields ten  grains of a crimson-coloured extract, which 
956
Ferrum.
PART II.
 at first has the consistency of wax, but afterwards, when dried, is transpa-
 rent.  It is not easy to perceive Ihe motive of the Dublin College for hav-
 ing two  spirituous preparations of the acetate of iron.               B.

   FERRI  CARBONAS  SACCHARATUM.    Ed,   Saccharine
 Carbonate of Iron.
   "Take of Sulphate of Iron four ounces; Carbonate of Soda five ounces;
 Pure Sugar two ounces; Water four pints [Imperial measure].   Dissolve
 the Sulphate and Carbonate, each, in two pints of the Water; add the solu-
 tions and mix them;  collect the precipitate on  a cloth filter, and immedi-
 ately wash it with cold water, squeeze out as much of the water as possible,
 and  without  delay triturate the  pulp which  remains with  the  Sugar
 previously in fine  powder.  Dry the mixture at a  temperature not much
 above 120°." Ed.
   When solutions of sulphate  of iron and carbonate of soda are  mixed
 together, there  are  formed, by  double decomposition, sulphate of soda
 which remains in solution, and carbonate  of protoxide  of iron which falls
 as a pale bluish precipitate.  This precipitate  begins  immediately to alter
 in nature by the absorption of oxygen, and, if washed and dried  in the
 ordinary way, becomes sesquioxide of iron, associated  with a small quan-
 tity of the carbonate of the protoxide which has escaped change; in other
 words, it is converted  into  the  subcarbonate of iron of  the U. S. Pharma-
 copoeia.  (See Ferri Subcarbonas.)  As the preparations of iron containing
 the protoxide are most esteemed, the change which this precipitate under-
 goes was always matter of regret, and various  attempts  were made to pre-
 vent it.   Now  saccharine  matter has  been  ascertained to possess the
 property of preventing this change, and its power is brought into play in
 the preparation under consideration, for preventing the protoxide of iron of
 the carbonate as first precipitated from  passing into  sesquioxide, with loss
 of carbonic acid.
  It appears that Dr. Becker, a German physician, first suggested the use
 of saccharine matter as a  means of protection against the  absorption of
 oxygen,  and that the idea was carried  out  by Klauer, a German chemist,
 who first made the saccharine carbonate of iron.  When sugar is used  in
 the way  directed in the above formula, the  prevention of oxidation is not
 complete; for an absorption of oxygen takes place to a partial extent during
 the washing and squeezing of the precipitate, which are performed before
 the admixture with the sugar.  The protection from oxidation is much more
 complete, when the materials and product of this process are maintained
 constantly in contact with saccharine matter, by using weak syrup both for
 dissolving the  salts  and for washing the  precipitate, after  the improved
method of Vallet, of Paris. This improved method of proceeding, is adopted
for forming the U. S. pills of carbonate of iron, or Vallet's ferruginous pills.
 (See Pilulae Ferri Carbonatis.)
  Saccharine carbonate of iron  is  a  grayish-green powder, permanent in
the air. possessing a sweet  and strongly chalybeate taste, and wholly and
readily soluble in muriatic acid, with brisk effervescence.  Its composition
is not well made out.   According to the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, it con-
sists of " carbonate of  protoxide of iron in an  undetermined state of com-
bination with sugar and sesquioxide of iron."  The presence of sesquioxide
of iron is a defect, which is  avoided in Vallet's ferruginous pills.
  Medical Properties.  This  preparation forms an excellent chalybeate,
possessing the advantages of having nearly all the iron in it in the state of
protoxide, and of being readily soluble in acids.  It  is  much more active 
PART II.
Ferrum.
957
than the subcarbonate of iron, and must be used in a smaller  dose.   It is,
however, inferior to Vallet's ferruginous mass, in the preparation of  which
the anti-oxidating influence of saccharine matter is more fully applied. The
dose of the saccharine carbonate of iron is from five to thirty grains  given
in the form of pill.
   Off. Prep. Pilulae Ferri Carbonatis, Ed.                         B.
   FERRI  ET  POTASSAE TARTRAS.  U.S.   Ferri Potassio-
tartras. Lond. Ferrum Tartarizatum. Ed.  Ferri  Tartarum.
Dub.   Tartrate of Iron and Potassa.   Tartarized Iron.
   " Take of Subcarbonate of Iron three ounces;  Muriatic Acid  ten fluid-
ounces; Solution of Potassa^ve pints and a half;  Bitartrate of Potassa
seven ounces and a half; Distilled Water a gallon and a half.  Mix the
Subcarbonate of  Iron with the Muriatic Acid, and digest for two hours;
then pour the solution into a gallon of the  Distilled Water, set aside for an
hour, and pour off the  supernatant liquor.   To  this add the solution  of
Potassa, wash the precipitate which is formed frequently with water, and,
while it is yet moist,  mix it with the Bitartrate of Potassa and half a gallon
of the Distilled Water.   Keep the mixture at the temperature of 140°  for
thirty hours, frequently stirring; then  filter the solution,  and  evaporate by
means of a water-bath, at the same temperature, to dryness."  U. S.
   "Take of Sesquioxide  [Subcarbonate] of Iron three ounces; Hydro-
chloric [Muriatic] Acid half a pint [Imperial measure];  Solution of Po-
tassa four pints and a half or a sufficient quantity; Bitartrate of Potassa
eleven ounces and a half; Solution of Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia a pint
or a sufficient quantity;  Distilled Water three gallons [Imp. meas.].  Mix
the Sesquioxide of Iron with the Acid, and digest for two hours in a sand-
bath.   To these  add two gallons  of the Water, and set aside  for an  hour;
then pour off the  supernatant liquor. The Solution of Potassa  being
added, wash what is precipitated frequently with water, and,  while  moist,
boil it  with the Bitartrate of Potassa, previously mixed with a gallon of the
Water.  If the liquor should be acid when tried by litmus, drop into  it the
Solution of Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia until it is saturated.  Lastly, strain
the liquor, and evaporate it with a gentle heat, so that the salt may remain
dry."  Lond.
   " Take of Sulphate of \ro\\ five ounces; Bitartrate of Potash five ounces
and one drachm; Carbonate of Ammonia, in fine powder, a sufficiency.
Prepare the  Rust of Iron from the Sulphate as directed under Ferrugo, and
without drying it. Mix  the pulpy mass with four pints [Imperial measure]
of Water; add the Bitartrate; boil till  the  Rust of Iron is dissolved; let the
solution cool; pour off the clear liquid, and add to this the  Carbonate  of
Ammonia so long as it  occasions effervescence.  Concentrate the  liquid
over the vapour-bath  to  the  consistence of a thiek extraet, or till  the  re-
siduum becomes on cooling a firm solid, which must be preserved  in well
closed  vessels."  Ed.
   "Take of thin Iron Wire one part;  Bitartrate of Potassa, in very fine
powder, four parts; Distilled Water eight parts or a sufficient quantity.
Mix them together,  and  expose them  to the  air for fifteen days, in a wide
vessel.  Stir the mixture occasionally, and keep it constantly  moist by the
daily  addition of water, taking care  that the iron shall  not be entirely
covered by the water.   Lastly, boil the product in a sufficient quantity  of
water,  and, having filtered the liquor, evaporate it to dryness over a water-
bath.   Keep the Tartar of Iron in a well stopped bottle." Dub.
  The object of  these processes is to combine the excess of acid in the 
95S
Ferrum.
part II.
bitartrate of potassa with sesquioxide of iron.  The processes of the U. S.,
London, and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias are essentially the same, being that
of Soubeiran with  modifications.   In Soubeiran's  process, the moist hy-
drated sesquioxide of iron is dissolved to  saturation in a mixture of one
part of cream of tartar and  six of water; and the solution obtained is filtered
and evaporated to dryness by a gentle heat.   In the processes of the U. S.
and London Pharmacopoeias, the moist sesquioxide is obtained by precipi-
tating the sesquichloride (formed by dissolving the subcarbonate in muriatic
acid) by means of the officinal solution of potassa.  Three eqs. of potassa
and  one of sesquichloride of iron are  decomposed, and there are formed
three eqs. of chloride of potassium which remain in solution, and one eq.
of sesquioxide  of  iron which precipitates in the hydrated  state,  (3KO f
Fe3Cl3=3KCl-f-Fe203).  In  the  Edinburgh process  the  sesquioxide is
obtained, as directed under  Ferrugo, by precipitating the  tersulphate of
the sesquioxide by ammonia;  but as one-fourth  more sulphate of iron is
directed to  be converted into sesquioxide than in the  Ferrugo  formula, it
will be found practically inconvenient to increase the quantity of the other
materials in the same  proportion.  The sesquioxide, obtained in  either
way, is heated or boiled, while  yet in  the  moist state, with  a mixture of
cream  of tartar and water, in which  it dissolves.  The solution thus ob-
tained contains the  tartrate  of iron and potassa, and if it should prove acid,
the London and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias  direct that it be rendered neu-
tral by the  addition of carbonate of ammonia.   The solution is now filtered
and evaporated to dryness.  When carbonate of ammonia is added to the solu-
tion, it is to be presumed that the resulting salt will contain a little tartrate of
ammonia.  In the London  formula the quantity of cream of tartar taken is
excessive, and the water used inconveniently large.  Some of the cream of
tartar is not dissolved in the water, and that which  is dissolved is not fully
saturated by sesquioxide, from deficiency of the latter.   It is better to have,
as in the U. S. formula, an excess of the oxide; for then the  cream of tartar
is fully saturated, and the solution does not require the addition of carbonate
of ammonia to render it neutral.
  The formula of the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia is  that recommended by Mr. Wm.
Procter, Jun., of this city, founded on the results of Soubeiran and Capitaine.
It is superior to the London process, not only in avoiding an excess of water,
and  the necessity of adding carbonate of ammonia,  which introduces an
impurity into the preparation, but in substituting the temperature of 140°
instead of that of ebullition for promoting the  solution of the oxide in  the
cream of tartar and water.   Mr. Procter finds that this temperature, which
is recommended  by  Soubeiran  and  Capitaine, causes the  sesquioxide  of
iron to be taken up in larger  quantity than  when ebullition  is employed.
(See Mr. Procter's paper on the Tartrate of Iron and Potassa, Amer. Journ.
of Pharm. xii. 188.)
  In  the Dublin  process  metallic iron is  employed.   By the combined
action of air and water  it is converted into sesquioxide, which unites with
the cream of tartar to form the double salt.   This process consumes  much
time, and is now superseded by  that of Soubeiran.
  The  wine of  iron (Vinum Ferri), having been  dismissed  from  the
London Pharmacopoeia of  1836, is no longer officinal in any of the Phar-
macopoeias commented on in this work. Yet, as it is sometimes prescribed,
it may be well to notice it in this  place.  The old process for making it
was  to macerate iron  filings in wine.   The  French Codex, in which this
plan is  adopted, directs it to be made bv macerating for six days in a ma-
trass, an ounce of pure iron filings in thirty-two ounces  of good white wine; 
PART II.
Ferrum.
959
stirring from time to time, and afterwards decanting and filtering the liquid.
In the dismissed London formula a drachm of iron filings was  mixed with
six drachms of cream of tartar, and oxidized by exposure to air and mois-
ture for six weeks, so as ultimately to form  the double  tartrate of  iron and
potassa, with excess of  cream of tartar.  This was then dried  by  a  gentle
heat, rubbed to powder, dissolved in thirty fluidounces  of distilled water,
the solution filtered, and finally mixed with  twenty fluidounces  of proof
spirit.   When this preparation is made by macerating iron filings  in wine,
a tartrate of iron and potassa may be supposed to  be formed, by means of
the tartar present in wine; but as this substance is present in variable pro-
portion in different wines,  the  strength of  the  preparation,  when thus
made,  must necessarily  vary.   The  preparation, as  made by the old Lon-
don  formula, is  also variable  and at the same time deficient in strength.
Wine  is not capable of taking  up sufficient of the double  salt to form a
preparation of adequate strength.  A good wine of iron may be formed by
dissolving an ounce of  the salt in 12 fluidounces of water, mixed  with  12
fluidounces of sherry wine.  When thus formed, each fluidounce will con-
tain a scruple of the double tartrate.  The dose of a wine of this  strength
is one  or two tablespoonfuls two or three times a day.
   Dr.  Ure has proposed the tartrate of protoxide  of iron for medical use.
He makes it by acting on clean  iron filings, or bits of iron wire, with a
solution of tartaric  acid.  The iron  is protoxidized at the expense  of  the
water, and uniting with the tartaric acid produces the tartrate  in the form of
a  powdery matter,  which is obtained separate by diffusing it through  the
liquid, decanting, and washing on a filter.  The salt formed is nearly white,
pulverulent, insoluble in water, and  possesses a mild chalybeate taste.
   Properties.  Tartrate of iron and potassa, as obtained by  the U. S. for-
mula, has a dark-brown colour.   When held, in thin pieces, between  the
eye and the light it is ruby-red.   It is wholly  soluble in about four parts of
water at 60°, and the solution has a dark brown colour.  Its  taste  is feebly
chalybeate.   Prepared according to the London formula, it is deliquescent
and  has a dark olive-green colour.   When kept  for  several months,  the
London preparation assumes, according to Mr.  Procter, a  mottled, light
green  colour, is much less soluble than when first  made, and exhales an
ammoniacal odour.  When pure, tartrate of iron and potassa  is perfectly
neutral to test paper, and at common temperatures does not yield a precipi-
tate  with  potassa, soda, or ammonia.  Ferrocyanuret of potassium does
not render it blue,  unless an acid be added.   The  non-action of this test
shows that the iron is in a peculiar state of combination.  It is incompatible
with astringent vegetable infusions which give rise to a dark-coloured pre-
cipitate.   When prepared by using the bitartrate and iron filings,  it is  apt
to contain metallic  iron, detected by the magnet, and a large proportion of
it is usually insoluble in water.
   Composition.  When prepared according  to  the U. S. formula, it has
the composition assigned to it by Soubeiran  and Capitaine; namely, one
eq. of tartrate of sesquioxide of iron, and one of tartrate of potassa.  When
it has this composition it contains 30 per cent, of sesquioxide of iron.  Ac-
cording to Phillips, the preparation  made according to the London formula
consists of one eq. of bitartrate of sesquioxide of iron, and two of tartrate
of potassa, and contains only  18 per cent,  of sesquioxide.  The Edin-
burgh preparation corresponds with  the London.
   Medical Properties.  Tartrate of iron and potassa is an agreeable  chalybe-
ate,  and,  when made according to the  U. S. formula, may be depended
upon for activity and uniformity of composition.   From its slight taste and
ready solubility, it forms one of the best ferruginous preparations for  ex- 
960
Ferrum.
PART II.
hibition to children.  The dose for an adult is  from ten grains to half a
drachm, given in solution, or  combined with an aromatic or bitter in the
form of bolus.                                                    B.
   FERRI  FERROCYANURETUM.  U. S. Ferri percyanidum.
Lond.  Ferri  Cyanuretum. Dub.  Ferrocyanuret of Iron.  Pure
Prussian Blue.
   " Take of Sulphate of  Iron four ounces; Sulphuric Acid  three flui-
drachms and a half;  Nitric Acid six fluidrachms  or  a sufficient quan-
tity;  Ferrocyanuret of Potassium four ounces and a half;   Water two
pints.   Dissolve the Sulphate of  Iron in a pint of the Water, and having
added the Sulphuric Acid, boil the solution.  Pour into  it the Nitric Acid,
in small portions, boiling the liquid for a minute  or two after each addition,
until it no longer  produces a dark colour;  then allow the  liquid to  cool.
Dissolve the Ferrocyanuret of Potassium in the remainder of  the Water,
and add this solution gradually to the first liquid, agitating the mixture after
each addition; then pour it upon a  filter.  Wash the precipitate with boiling
water until the washings pass  tasteless.  Lastly, dry it and rub it into pow-
der." U. S.
   Prussian blue has heretofore been officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia
in the impure commercial  form; but upon the last revision of the work,
it was thought advisable to introduce it in a pure state, and hence the above
formula was devised for its preparation.  It is officinal also  in the London
and Dublin Pharmacopoeias, in which works it is placed in the list of the
Materia Medica.  In the Dublin Pharmacopoeia, the commercial Prussian
blue is recognised; in the London, the pure substance is, no doubt, intended,
as tests are given for ascertaining its purity.
   In the process above given,  the  sulphate of protoxide of iron in solution
is first acidulated with  sulphuric acid,  and then converted  into the tersul-
phate of the  sesquioxide by means of  nitric acid.   The object of  the ad-
dition of the sulphuric acid, is  to provide for the higher saturating power of
the sesquioxide over the protoxide, and thus to prevent the  precipitation of
the subsulphate of the  sesquioxide.  The tersulphate is then decomposed
by the gradual addition of a solution of ferrocyanuret of potassium.  Three
eqs. of ferrocyanuret, and  two of tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron,  are
mutually decomposed,  with the result of forming one eq. of Prussian blue,
or  the 3-4 ferrocyanuret of iron  which precipitates,  and six eqs.  of sul-
phate of potassa which remain in solution.  Ferrocyanogen is a tercyanuret
of iron (FeCy3); and, representing  it by its symbol Cfy, we may compactly
express the above reactions by the following equation: 3CfyK2+2(Fe203,
3S03)=(3Cfy-f-4Fe)-f6(KO,S03).  Prussian blue contains the elements
of six eqs. of water, which cannot be separated  without the destruction of
the compound.  Adding these elements, we may suppose it to become a
hydroferrocyanate  of the sesquioxide of iron, represented by the formula,
3CfyHa+Fe406.  From the formula given  for  the anhydrous  compound
(3Cfy-f-4Fe), it  is  evident that it contains nine eqs. of cyanogen, and seven
of iron.
   Preparation for Use in the Arts.' Prussian blue is manufactured on the
large scale as follows:  A mixture  made of equal parts of carbonate of po-
tasea (pearlash of commerce),  and  animal matter, such as dried blood, hair,
the shavings of horn, &c, is calcined at a red heat in an iron vessel, until
it becomes pasty.   The mass, when cold, is thrown, by portions at a time,
into twelve or fifteen times its  weight of water, with which  it is stirred for
half an  hour.  The whole  is then put upon a linen filter;  and the clear 
PART II.
Ferrum.
961
  solution obtained is precipitated by a mixed solution of two parts of alum
  and one of the  sulphate  of protoxide of iron.   An  effervescence occurs
  due principally to carbonic acid;  and a very abundant precipitate is thrown
  down, of a blackish-brown colour.  This  precipitate is washed  by decan-
  tation, by means  of a large  quantity of water, which is renewed every
  twelve hours.  By these  washings, which last from twenty to twenty-five
  days, the precipitate becomes, successively,  greenish-brown,  bluish, and
  finally deep-blue.   When of the latter colour, it is collected and allowed to
  drain upon a cloth, after which it is divided into cubical masses, dried, and
  thrown into commerce.
    Properties. Pure Prussian blue is a tasteless powder, insoluble in water
  and alcohol, and having  a rich deep blue colour.  It is insoluble in dilute
  acids, decomposed by  fuming nitric  acid,  and dissolved  without decom-
  position by strong sulphuric acid, forming a white mass of the consistence
  of paste, from which the  Prussian blue may be precipitated unchanged by
  water.  Concentrated muriatic acid decomposes it, dissolving sesquioxide of
  iron, and liberating hydroferrocyanic acid.   Boiled  with red oxide of mer-
  cury it generates bicyanuret of mercury. (See Hydrargyri Cyanuretum.)
  By the  contact of a red-hot body it takes fire and burns slowly, leaving a
  residue of sesquioxide of iron.   When it is heated in close vessels, w,ater,
  hydrocyanic acid, and carbonate of ammonia  are evolved, and  carburet of
  iron is left.   Its composition has been given above.   The Prussian blue of
  commerce was discovered by accident in 1710, by Diesbach, a preparer of
  colours  at Berlin.  It has the same general properties as  the pure substance.
  It occurs  in  small rectangular masses, which  are heavier than water,  and
  have a fracture presenting a bronzed appearance.   Besides the constituents
  of pure Prussian blue, it always contains alumina,  derived from the alum
  employed in its manufacture, and which serves to give  it a body as a pig-
  ment, and uncombined sesquioxide of iron.  These substances  may be de-
  tected by boiling  the pigment  with diluted muriatic acid, and precipitating
  the filtered solution with ammonia.  Pure Prussian blue,  treated  in a similar
  manner, yields no precipitate, and may thus be discriminated from the com-
  mercial  substance.
   Medical Properties, Src. Prussian blue is supposed  to  act  as  a tonic,
 febrifuge, and  alterative.   Dr.  Zollickoffer,  of Maryland,  has  recom-
 mended it as a remedy in  intermittent and remittent fevers, and  deems it to
 be particularly adapted to such cases occurring in children, on account of the
 smallness of the dose and  its want of  taste.  He considers it more certain
 prompt, and efficacious than the bark; while it has the advantage of being
 admissible in the state of pyrexia, and of not disagreeing with the most
 irritable  stomach.  It has also been used by  Dr. Kirchoff, of Ghent, in
 epilepsy with good success.  Dr. Bridges, of this city, exhibited  it in a case
 of severe and protracted facial  neuralgia, with  considerable  relief, after the
 more usual  remedies in this  complaint had been tried with little or no
 benefit.   It is sometimes  employed as an  application  to ill-conditioned
 ulcers, mixed with some simple ointment, in the proportion of a drachm to
 the  ounce.  The  dose of  pure Prussian blue for an adult is from three to
 five grains, repeated several times a day, and  gradually increased until some
 obvious effect is produced.
   Off'. Prep. Hydrargyri Cyanuretum, U. S., Dub., Lond.          B.
   FfCRRI IODIDUM.  U.S., Lond., Ed.  Iodide of Iron.
   " Take of Iodine two ounces; Iron Filings an ounce;  Distilled Water a
pint and a half.  Mix the Iodine with a pint of the Distilled Water, in a
       82 
962
Ferrum.
PART II.
porcelain or glass vessel, and gradually add the Iron Filings, stirring con-
stantly.  Heat the mixture gently until the liquid acquires a light greenish
colour;  then filter, and after the liquid has passed, pour upon the filter half
a pint of the Distilled Water boiling hot.   When  this  shall have  passed,
evaporate the  filtered liquor, at a temperature not exceeding 212°, in an
iron vessel, to dryness.   Keep  the dry Iodide in a closelv-stopped bottle."
U. S.
  The  London process is the  same as that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia,
except  that the  College directs  only two-thirds  of  the  quantity  of iron
filings,  and orders that the preparation should be kept from the light.
  " Take any convenient  quantity  of  Iodine, Iron Wire, and Distilled
Water,  in the proportions  for making Solution  [Syrup] of Iodide of Iron.
Proceed as directed  for that process; but  before filtering the solution, con-
centrate it to one-sixth of its volume, without  removing the excess  of Iron
Wire.   Put the filtered liquor quickly in  an evaporating basin,  along with
twelve  times its weight of quicklime around the basin,  in some  convenient
apparatus,  in which it may be  shut up accurately in a  small  space, not
communicating with the general atmosphere.  Heat the whole apparatus in
a hot air-press, or otherwise, until  the water be entirely evaporated;  and
preserve the dry iodide in small well-closed bottles."  Ed.
  In this  process iron is made to unite with iodine by the intervention of
water.  The  mixture at first is  orange-coloured,  from the circumstance
that all the iodine has not united with the iron;  but after the  application
of heat it becomes  fully saturated  and limpid, and assumes  a greenish
colour.   It is  now a solution of iodide of  iron, and yields the solid salt by
evaporation.   The proportion of the iron, taken in the U. S. and  Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeias, is the same, namely, half the  weight of the iodine; in the
London, it is one-third of the weight of the latter.  The London  proportion
gives an excess of iron; but as  it is useful to keep the iodide constantly in
contact  with a considerable quantity of metallic iron,  the  greater excess of
metal ordered in the U. S, and  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias  has  its  advan-
tages, and  is  not  objectionable  on the score of expense.   Fine  iron wire,
recently cleaned, is  directed by the  Edinburgh College &n  account of its
purity;  but iron filings dissolve  more readily, and, if carefully selected, will
be sufficiently  pure.   It is exceedingly difficult to  obtain the solid salt per-
fectly pure, so great is  the proneness of the solution  to absorb oxygen,
whereby the  iodide  becomes, in part, converted  into  sesquioxide.  This
change  is prevented to a certain extent  in the U. S. and London Pharma-
copoeias, by evaporating to dryness in an iron vessel; and by the  Edinburgh
College, by concentrating the solution, before filtering, in contact with the
excess  of iron wire, and  afterwards  evaporating it in a hot  air-press, sub-
jected to the drying influence of quicklime.
  Properties.  Iodide of iron is a crystalline substance, exceedingly deli-
quescent, of a greenish-black colour, and styptic, chalybeate taste.  " When
carefully prepared by the Edinburgh formula,  it has a dark grayish-black
metallic appearance, and irregularly foliated texture, not unlike iodine itself."
(Christison's Dispensatory.) Its solution, by evaporation with as littlecontact
of air as possible, affords transparent, green, tabular crystals.  When heated
moderately it fuses, and,  on cooling, becomes  an  opaque crystalline mass,
having  an iron-gray colour and  metallic lustre.   At a higher temperature it
emits violet-coloured vapours, and the iron is left in the state of sesquioxide.
It is very soluble  both in water and alcohol.  When recently prepared it is
wholly  soluble  in water, forming  a pale green solution; but if made for
some time, it  almost unavoidably contains some sesquioxide of iron, from a 
PART II.
Ferrum.
963
partial decomposition, and will not be entirely soluble.   The aqueous solu-
tion  is very liable to spontaneous  decomposition from  the absorption of
oxygen, becoming orange-red from  the  generation of sesquiodide, and de-
positing sesquioxide of iron.  During  this change, two  eqs. of protiodide
of iron are  decomposed.   The  two eqs. of iron unite with three eqs. of
the  oxygen of  the  air,  to form one eq. of sesquioxide, and  the corre-
sponding two eqs. of iodine convert four eqs. of protiodide into two eqs. of
sesquiodide.   The reaction is  best explained by the following equation:
6Fel + 30=2Fe2I3-f-Fe203. The whole solution becomes finally converted
into  one of sesquiodide of iron.   The above is  the  explanation usually
given of the result of this spontaneous decomposition; but, as the  partially
decomposed solution strikes a  blue colour with starch, a more probable
one  is, that the excess of iodine  exists in it as free iodine, and not as a con-
stituent of  a  newly generated  sesquiodide.   The  solution  of protiodide
may be partially protected from  change  by placing a coil of iron wire in the
bottle containing it; for so soon as any iron is sesquioxidized and deposited,
the liberated iodine  is converted back again into protiodide by  a portion of
the  protecting metal.  Here it  is perceived  that  the  formation of sesqui-
oxide of iron is not  prevented.   The protection of the solution may be ac-
complished perfectly and without deposition of sesquioxide, by means of
saccharine matter.  (See  Liquor Ferri Iodidi.)  Iodide of iron is incom-
patible with alkalies and  their  carbonates, with lime-water,  and with  all
other substances by which  sulphate of iron is decomposed.   When crys-
tallized it  consists of one eq. of iodine 126-3, one  of iron 28, and five of
water 45=199-3.
   Medical  Properties  and Uses.  Iodide of  iron  was  first employed in
medicine  by Dr. Pierquin in 1824.  (Memorial Pharmaoeutiquc.) It was
first used in the United States in 1832 by Dr. Samuel Jackson,  of this city,
at whose request  it  was prepared  in solution  by  Mr. E. Durand.  (Journ,
of the Phil, Col. of Pharm. iv.  287. Jan. 1833.)  Dr. A. T. Thomson, of
London, presented it to the notice of the profession in  England, as a remedy,
in 1834. (Obs.  on the Ioduret and  Hydriodate of Iron.)  Its powers are
those of a tonic, alterative, diuretic,  and emmenagogue.  As a therapeutic
agent it acts more like the preparations of iron than those of iodine.  It some-
times sharpens the appetite and  promotes digestion, and occasionally acts as
a laxative and diuretic.  After having been continued for several  days, its
constituents may be detected  in the urine.   When  it does not act on the
bowels, it generally augments the urine.  Its use blackens the stools and les-
sens their fetor.  It is chiefly employed in scrofulous complaints, swellings of
the cervical glands, visceral obstructions attended with deficient action, chlo-
rosis, atonic amenorrhoea, and leucorrhoea.  In the two  diseases last  men-
tioned, Dr. Pierquin employed it with success.  In old and obstinate syphili-
tic ulcers, M.  Baumes, of Lyons, used it with satisfactory results.  He gave
it in the form of pill, conjoined with extract of opium, and sometimes in-
creased the dose to 2ft grains in the course of twenty-four hours.  When
given  in pill, however, the iodide is necessarily  much changed, and con-
tains more or less free iodine.   In secondary syphilis, occurring in debili-
tated and scrofulous subjects, Ricord has found it a valuable remedy.  The
dose is three grains, gradually increased to eight or more.  It should never
be given in  the form of pill, on  account of its proneness to decomposition;
but always in aqueous solution, protected by saccharine matter.  (See Liquor
Ferri Iodidi.)   For forming enemata, injections for the vagina, and lotions
for ulcers,  one or two  drachms of the salt may be  dissolved  in a pint of.
water.  In view of  the serious  objections which apply  to the solid iodide 
964
Ferrum.
PART II.
of iron, it might well be dispensed*witl* in the Pharmacopoeias.  Solutions
for external use might be formed by reducing the saccharine solution with
water to any desired extent, at the moment of using them;  and, in cases in
which  it might be desirable to give the salt in the solid state, the same pre-
paration could be reduced to  a saccharine mass proper for making pills by
evaporation to dryness.                                            B.
   LIQUOR  FERRI  IODIDI.  U S.  Ferri Iodidi Syrupus.  Ed.
Solution of Iodide of Iron.  Syrup of Iodide of Iron.
   " Take of Iodine two  ounces; Iron Filings an ounce; Prepared Honey
five fluidounces;  Distilled Water a sufficient quantity.  Mix the Iodine
with ten fluidounces of the Distilled Water, in a porcelain or glass vessel,
and gradually add the Iron Filings, stirring constantly.  Heat the  mixture
gently  until the liquor acquires a light-greenish colour; then,  having added
the Honey, continue the heat a short  time,  and filter.  Lastly,  pour the
Distilled Water upon the filter, and  allow it to pass until the whole of the
filtered liquor measures twenty fluidounces.   Keep the solution in closely-
slopped bottles."  U. S.
   " Take  of Iodine (dry) two hundred grains;  fine Iron  Wire,  recently
cleaned, one hundred grains; White Sugar, in powder, four ounces and a
half; Distilled Water, six fluidounces [Imperial measure].  Boil the Iodine,
Iron, and Water together in a glass matrass, at first gently  to avoid the ex-
pulsion of Iodine vapour, afterwards briskly, until about two fluidounces of
liquid remain.  Filter this quickly,  while  hot, into a matrass containing the
Sugar;  dissolve the Sugar with  a gentle  heat, and add Distilled Water, if
necessary, to make up six fluidounces.  Twelve minims contain one grain
of Iodide of Iron." Ed.
   These  preparations are  intended to furnish a solution of iodide of iron,
protected from change by saccharine matter.  The saccharine matter selected
in the  U. S. formula is  honey;  in the Edinburgh, sugar.  Both  formulas
direct a determinate quantity of  the preparation to be made; but the U. S.
solution contains about 58 grains of the dry iodide of iron to the fluidounce;
while the Edinburgh syrup contains, in the same measure, only 40 grains.
The Edinburgh preparation is strictly a syrup as it is called,  on account of
the large quantity of sugar it contains; whereas  the honey is diluted to a
very considerable extent  in the  U. S. formula.   The mode of making  the
iodide  of iron  in  both  the formulas  is precisely the same  as that given
under  the head of Ferri  Iodidum.   The  Edinburgh College filters, while
hot, into  the vessel containing  the  sugar;  so that, for a short interval of
time, the solution is not under the protecting influence of either the iron or
sugar.    In the U. S. formula, the better plan is  pursued of adding the sac-
charine matter  before filtration, and  while the solution is  still in  contact
with the excess of iron.   The Edinburgh College directs the iodine to be
dry; because, if moist, as  the British iodine often is, less iodide of iron
will be formed, and the  syrup will be proportionably weaker^ fSee page
392 for the method of drying iodine.)  In the U. S. formula, the iodine is
assumed to be pure, and, therefore,  dry.
   The  plan of protecting the solution of iodide of iron from change by
saccharine matter originated  with M. Frederking, of Riga, who published
a formula for the purpose in Buckner's Repertorium in 1839. (See Amer.
Journ. of the Med. Sci. for Feb. 1840.)  The same plan was proposed in
a paper by Mr. Wm. Procter, Jr., contained in the Amer. Journ. of Phar-
macy for April, 1840.   In this paper, Mr. Procter detailed  his experiments
with different  saccharine substances in  order to determine their relative 
PART II.
Ferrum.
965
protecting power, pronounced in favour of prepared honey for that purpose,
and gave a formula for a permanent solution of the iodide, which is the basis of
that adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  In the Journal de Pharmacie for
March 1841, Dr. Dupasquier, of Lyons, claims to have made a pure iodide
of iron, protected by the syrup  of gum, as early as 1838. In the Pharma-
ceutical Transactions for August 1841, Dr. A. T. Thomson  gave a paper
in which he confirmed the results of Frederking and Procter, and proposed
a formula for a strong  syrup, which is the  basis of that  adopted in the
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.
  Properties. The U. S. solution of iodide of iron is a transparent liquid,
free  or nearly so from  sediment, and of a pale greenish colour.  On the
addition of sulphuric acid, it becomes brown, and emits violet vapours  if
heated.  It should not contain  any free iodine, which, if present, may be
detected by the  production of a blue  colour with  starch.  The Edinburgh
syrup is a transparent liquid, either colourless or pale yellowish-green, and
without sediment, even when exposed to the  air.  When concentrated  it
becomes brown,  and, if evaporated to dryness, it forms  a mass which may
be called the saccharine iodide, and which  is not  entirely soluble again, a
little sesquioxide being left.  This saccharine iodide, being  protected  by
the sugar  it contains, is not liable  to  the  same objections as the pure solid
salt, and may be conveniently made into pills.
  Medical Properties.  These have  been detailed under  the head of Ferri
Iodidum.   The  dose of the solution is from  30  to  75 drops, sufficiently
diluted with water;  that of the Edinburgh syrup, one-half larger.  The di-
lution should be  made by the patient at the moment it is taken, and in order
to guard against  injury to the teeth, the mouth should be carefully washed
after each dose.                                                   B.
   FERRI  OXIDUM  HYDRATUM.  U.S.  Ferrugo. Ed.   Hy-
drated Oxide of Iron.  Hydrated Sesquioxide of Iron.
   " Take of Sulphate  of  Iron four ounces;  Sulphuric Acid  three flui-
drachms and a half; Nitric Acid six fluidrachms or  a sufficient quantity;
Solution of Ammonia a sufficient  quantity; Water two pints.   Dissolve
the Sulphate of  Iron in the Water, and having added the Sulphuric Acid,
boil the solution; then add the  Nitric Acid in small portions, boiling the
liquid for a minute or two after  each  addition, until the Acid ceases to pro-
duce a dark colour.  Filter the  liquid, allow it to cool, and add Solution of
Ammonia in excess, stirring the  mixture briskly.  Wash  the  precipitate
with water until  the washings cease  to yield a precipitate with chloride of
barium, and keep  it in close  bottles  with water sufficient  to cover it."
U.S.
  " Take of Sulphate  of Iron four ounces; Sulphuric  Acid (commercial)
three fluidrachms and a half;  Nitric Acid (D. 1*380)  nine fluidrachms;
Stronger Aqua Ammoniae three fluidounces and a half; W ater two pints
[Imperial measure].   Dissolve  the  Sulphate  in  the Water, add  the Sul-
phuric Acid,-and boil the solution; add then the Nitric  Acid in small por-
tions, boiling the liquid for a minute or two  after  each addition, until  it
acquires a  yellowish-brown colour,  and  yields a precipitate of the same
colour with ammonia.   Filter,  allow the  liquid to cool,  and add in a full
stream the Aqua Ammoniae, stirring the mixture briskly.  Collect the pre-
cipitate on a calico filter; wash it with water till the washings cease to pre-
cipitate with nitrate of  baryta;  squeeze out  the water  as much as possible,
and dry the precipitate at a temperature not exceeding  180°.  When this
preparation is kept as an antidote for  poisoning with arsenic, it is preferable
to preserve it in  the moist state, after  being  simply squeezed." Ed.
                                 82* 
966                           Ferrum.                      part ii.

  This is a new officinal of the U. S.  and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, in-
troduced on account of its importance as an antidote to the  poison of arse-
nious acid.   The  first step of the process is  to convert the sulphate  of
protoxide of  iron  into the tersulphate  of the sesquioxide, precisely as  is
done in  the U. S. formula for pure Prussian  blue.  The sesquioxide  is
then thrown  down in  the  hydrated state  by the addition  of ammonia in
excess, and the precipitate  is washed with water to remove  adhering sul-
phate of ammonia, until the washings cease to precipitate with a barytic
salt.  In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia the precipitate is directed  to be kept in
close bottles with sufficient water to cover it, in which  state it is most con-
venient  for use as an antidote.  The Edinburgh College  directs it to be
kept in two states,—dried at a temperature not exceeding 180° for use as a
medicine, and in the  moist state as an antidote.
  Properties.  Hydrated oxide of iron, as directed to be kept by the U. S.
formula,  is a soft, moist, reddish-brown magma.   If dried at  a heat not
exceeding  180°,  and  afterwards  pulverized,  it forms  a reddish  brown
powder,  not attracted by the magnet, being  the sesquioxide in the state of
hydrate,  containing about 18 per cent, of water.  In this state it is wholly
and readily soluble in muriatic acid without  effervescence.   If exposed to
a red heat it loses the combined water, and becomes the anhydrous sesqui-
oxide, less easily  soluble in acids, improper for medicinal use, and alto-
gether without effect as an antidote.   Hydrated oxide of iron consists of
one eq. of sesquioxide 80, and two of water 18 =  98, and is represented
by the formula Fe203+2HO.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.   The hydrated oxide, being readily solu-
ble in acids, would no doubt form, in the dry state,  a good ferruginous pre-
paration  for  medicinal  employment.    Its  antidotal powers in cases  of
poisoning by arsenic, the manner in which it acts,  and the mode of using
it, are fully  explained under  the head  of arsenious acid, page 23.  Its
power of rendering arsenious acid insoluble is readily shown  by agitating a
solution of the acid with a considerable excess of the moist oxide, filtering,
and then testing the filtered solution for arsenious acid; when  not a trace of
the metal can be detected, even by sulphuretted hydrogen.  The hydrated
oxide, as obtained by the formulae above given, contains  a little  ammonia,
which is thought by some  to assist its antidotal powers.   At least  it has
been ascertained  that  the  sesquioxide, precipitated by  potassa, is  a less
efficient antidote to arsenic than the officinal preparation,  and  must be used
in quantities three or four times as large to produce the same effect. The dry
hydrate,  rubbed  up with water, is in the same proportion weaker than the
pulpy hydrate.  It has  already been mentioned, under the head of  arseni-
ous acid, that the officinal subcarbonate of iron (precipitated carbonate) pos-
sesses  antidotal  powers to arsenic, though  in  an inferior degree; but this
statement will not apply to  it, if it has been exposed to  a red heat, as is
improperly done by  some  manufacturing chemists.   By  ignition  in this
way it becomes anhydrous, and is rendered altogether inefficient as an anti-
dote.                                                             B.

  FERRI OXIDUM  NIGRUM.  Ed.  Ferri  Oxydum  Nigrum.
Dub. Black Oxide of Iron. Martial Ethiops.
  " Take of Sulphate of Iron six ounces; Sulphuric Acid  (commercial)
two fluidrachms and two fluids cruples; Pure Nitric Acid fourfluidrachms
and a half; Stronger Aqua Ammoniae four fluidounces and a half; Boiling
Water three pints [Imperial measure].   Dissolve half  the Sulphate  in half
the boiling Water, and add the Sulphuric Acid; boil; add  the Nitric Acid 
PART II.
Ferrum.
967
by degrees, boiling the liquid after each addition briskly for; a few minutes.
Dissolve the  rest of the Sulphate in the rest  of the  boilino- Water; mix
thoroughly the two solutions; and immediately add the Ammonia in a  full
stream,  stirring the mixture at the same time briskly.   Collect the black
powder on a calico-filter: wasli it with water till the water is scarcely pre-
cipitated by solution  of nitrate  of baryta, and dry it at a temperature not
exceeding 180°."  Ed.
  " Wash the Scales of the Oxide of Iron, found at the blacksmith's anvil,
with water; and having dried them, separate them from impurities by means
of a magnet.   Then reduce them  to powder, of which the finest particles
are to be collected in the manner directed for the preparation of chalk."
Dub.
  The  preparations called black oxide  of iron in  the Edinburgh and Dub-
lin Pharmacopoeias are  not precisely identical. The oxide of the Edinburgh
College is made by a  new process, that  recommended by Wiihler, which
consists in precipitating by ammonia, asolutionof the mixed sulphates of pro-
toxide and sesquioxide of iron. Half the sulphate of iron taken in the formula,
after being dissolved in water, is  acidulated  with sulphuric acid, and con-
verted into the tersulphate of the sesquioxide by means of nitric acid. The
object of the addition of the sulphuric  acid is explained under the head of
Prussian  blue.  (See Ferri  Ferrocyanuretum.)  The other half of the
sulphate is dissolved in water, and the  two solutions, being thoroughly
mixed,  form  a  compound solution of  sulphate of the protoxide  and  sul-
phate of the  sesquioxide of iron.   From this the ammonia  throws down,
at the  same  moment,   both the  protoxide and  sesquioxide,   which unite
chemically to form the black oxide of the Edinburgh College.
   The  black oxide of the Dublin College is  obtained from the scales of the
oxide  of iron.  The nature and composition of these scales have been
explained under the head  of Ferrum  Oxydi  Squamae.  By washing,
they  are freed from accidental impurities; and  as  they are  not at  the
maximum of oxidation, they  are capable  of further purification  by  the
use of the magnet, after which  they are reduced to an impalpable pow-
der.   This  preparation, besides  occasionally  containing  metallic iron,
varies in composition even as an  oxide, as  explained  at page 330.  It is,
therefore, not so eligible a preparation  as  that obtained by the new process
of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.  The black oxide of the French Codex
is nearly equivalent  in composition to the Edinburgh oxide, and is obtained
as follows. Take of fine and pure iron filings any quantity. Place them in a
stoneware dish, and add sufficient water to wet them perfectly and uniformly.
Heap up the mixture, and abandon it to the  action of the air.   After it has
become warm,  stir it  with  a spatula, and add water to make up for  that
which may evaporate,  so as to keep the mixture  constantly moist.   At the
end of  two or three  days the oxidation will  have terminated, when the  pro-
duct is  to be  put in a mortar, and strongly triturated, in order to separate the
oxide  from the iron.  Throw the whole  upon a  fine hair sieve, and wash
with abundance of  water, until  the washings no  longer pass of a black
colour.  The water  thus obtained contains the oxide, and must be decanted
with rapidity, after agitation.   The oxide, after having subsided  from the
decanted water, is put upon a linen cloth, drained and pressed.   It is then
put between  the folds of bibulous paper, and rapidly dried, in order, as far
as possible, to avoid  oxidation.
   Properties.   The Edinburgh  oxide  is a dark  grayish-black  powder,
unchangeable in the  air and slowly attracted  by the magnet.   When dried
in mass and then broken, it presents a shining fracture.  It is wholly solu- 
96S
Ferrum.
PART II.
ble in muriatic acid without effervescence, and may be thrown down again,
as a black precipitate, by ammonia. When heated in  close vessels it suffers
no change except the loss of  water; in open vessels it absorbs oxygen and
is converted entirely into sesquioxide.   It consists of two eqs. of protoxide
of iron, one of sesquioxide, and two of water, and its formula is 2FeO +
Fej;03+2HO.  It is, therefore, not identical with the  native black oxide, the
ferroso-ferric oxide of Berzelius, which consists  of single equivalents of
the two oxides.  It is perceived by the symbols given, that the two oxides
are united in such proportions as to contain the same quantity of iron; and
this composition corresponds with what  it should be, according to the
direction given in the formula to divide the sulphate  of iron into two equal
portions, each of which necessarily contains the same quantity  of  metallic
iron.
   Medical Properties.  The black oxide from the scales of iron has been
long used as a chalybeate, and is highly esteemed.   The dose is from five
to twenty grains, two or three times a day.  The black oxide of the Edin-
burgh College has not been tried as a  medicine, so far as  we know;  but it
may be considered superior as a  pharmaceutical preparation to the ordinary
black oxide, on account of its uniform composition, and  permanency under
the influence of  air and moisture.                                  B.
   FERRI  OXYDUM RUBRUM. Dub.   Red Oxide of Iron.
   " Expose Sulphate of Iron to heat, until the water of crystallization is
expelled.   Then roast it by an intense fire as long as  acid vapours arise.
Wash the red oxide until the  washings,  when  examined by litmus, appear
free from acid.   Lastly, dry it on bibulous paper." Dub.
   When sulphate of iron, or green vitriol, is heated, it swells up, and un-
dergoes the aqueous fusion, and afterwards, by losing its water of crystalli-
zation, becomes  a dry grayish-white mass, consisting  of anhydrous  sul-
phate of  iron.  This, by the  application of a  strong heat, is  decomposed;
the iron becomes sesquioxidized at the expense  of part of the acid, and
sulphurous and sulphuric acids are given off.   The sesquioxide, however,
is not perfectly pure, but still contains a  small portion of acid, to  remove
which it requires to be washed.
   Properties, fyc. Red oxide  of iron is a reddish-brown, tasteless, insoluble
powder, called colcothar in commerce.  It should not be deliquescent, and
should dissolve in muriatic acid without effervescence.   If it contain cop-
per, its muriatic solution will  deposit this metal on a bright piece of iron.
It consists of two  eqs. of iron  56, and  three of oxygen 24=80.   It is,
therefore, a sesquioxide of iron.   As it is anhydrous, it has no  effect as an
antidote to arsenious acid. (Orfila, Amer. Journ.  of Pharm.  xiii. 331.)
This is a useless preparation, and was properly dismissed from the U. S.
and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias upon their last revision.
   Off. Prep.  Emplastrum Ferri, Dub.                             B.
   FERRI PHOSPHAS. U.S.  Phosphate of  Iron.
   " Take of Sulphate of Iron five ounces; Phosphate of Soda six ounces;
Water a gallon.  Dissolve the Sulphate  of Iron and Phosphate of Soda
severally in four pints of the Water; then mix the solutions, and set the mix-
ture by that the  powder may subside; lastly, having poured off the super-
natant liquor, wash  the Phosphate of Iron with hot water,  and dry it with a
gentle heat."  U. S.
   This preparation is  the result of a  double decomposition between the
saline materials  employed.  The sulphuric acid  combines with the soda
and  remains  in  solution as sulphate of soda; while the phosphoric acid, 
PART II.
Ferrum.
969
uniting with the protoxide of iron, falls as phosphate of iron.   The amount
of water directed is useful to insure a prompt and complete mutual reaction
of the two salts.  If the ferruginous sulphate  be a perfect sulphate of the
protoxide, the precipitate, as first thrown down, will be white; but it quickly
absorbs oxygen and becomes bluish-white.   It is in the form of an insoluble
powder of a bright slate colour.  According to Berzelius, it is a mixture of
the phosphates of the two oxides of iron.
   Medical Properties and  Uses.  Phosphate of iron possesses the general
properties of the ferruginous preparations,  and has been given with advan-
tage in amenorrhoea and some forms of dyspepsia.   It was introduced into
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia at the suggestion  of Dr. Hewson of this city, who
found it, after an extensive experience, to  be a valuable  chalybeate.   The
dose is from five to ten grains.                                     B.
   FERRI  RUBIGO. Dub.   Rust of Iron.
   " Take of Iron Wire, any quantity.  Cut it into pieces and expose it to
the air, moistened  with water, until it is converted into rust.  Rub this in
an iron mortar; then separate the finest powder by the affusion of water, and
dry it." Dub.
   Rust of iron is reduced to an impalpable powder bylevigation and elutri-
ation,  and  then made  up  into  small conical masses like prepared chalk.
According to Berzelius, it is a hydrated  sesquioxide of iron, containing fre-
quently a little carbonate of protoxide.   It is formed in consequence of the
decomposition of the water, the oxygen  of which converts the iron chiefly
into sesquioxide, but partly also into protoxide, which  absorbs carbonic
acid from the atmosphere.  Iron, in  the  form  of  wire, on account  of its
greater purity, is preferable to the filings for forming this preparation.
   Properties, SfC.  Rust of iron is in the form of a red powder of a slightly
styptic taste.  Its medical properties and dose are the same  as those of the
subcarbonate; but being less soluble in acids it is a less eligible preparation.
It may be considered as a  superfluous article,  and has been very properly
expunged from the officinal lists of  the U. S. and Edinburgh Pharmaco-
poeias.
   Off. Prep.  Muriatis  Ferri Liquor. Dub.                         B.
   FERRI   SUBCARBONAS. U.S.  Ferri  Sesquioxydum. Lond.
Ferki Oxidum Rubrum. Ed.  Ferri  Carbonas. Dub.  Subcarbo-
nate of Iron. Sesquioxide of Iron.   Precipitated Carbonate of Iron.
   " Take of Sulphate of Iron eight ounces; Carbonate of Soda nine ounces;
Boiling Water a gallon.   Dissolve the  Sulphate of Iron and Carbonate of
Soda severally in four pints of the  Water;  then  mix  the solutions, and
having stirred the mixture, set it by that  the powder may subside; lastly,
having poured off the  supernatant liquor,  wash the Subcarbonate of Iron
with hot water, wrap it in  bibulous paper, and dry it with a gentle heat."
 U.S.
   " Take of Sulphate of Iron four pounds; Carbonate of Soda four pounds
and two ounces;  Boiling Water six gallons [Imperial measure].  Dissolve
the Sulphate of Iron and Carbonate of Soda, separately, in  three gallons of
Water.  Then mix the solutions together, and set them by that the powder
may subside.  Lastly,  the supernatant liquor being poured  off, wash the
precipitate with water, and dry it." Lond.
   " Take of Sulphate of Iron four ounces; Carbonate of Soda five ounces;
Boiling Water half a pint  [Imperial  measure];  cold Water three pints and
a half [Imp. meas.].   Dissolve the Sulphate in the boiling  Water, add the
cold Water, and then the Carbonate of  Soda, previously  dissolved in about 
970
Ferrum.
PART II.
thrice its weight of water.   Collect the precipitate on a  calico filter;  wash
it with water till the  water is but little affected  with solution of nitrate of
baryta, and dry it in the hot air-press, or over the vapour-bath." Ed.
  " Take of Sulphate of Iron twenty-five parts; Carbonate of Soda twenty-
six parts;  Water eight hundred parts.   Dissolve the Sulphate of Iron in
the Water, then add the Carbonate of Soda, previously dissolved in a suffi-
cient quantity of water, and completely mix.  Wash the Carbonate of Iron
which is thrown down with warm water, and then dry it." Dub.
  When the solutions of carbonate of soda and sulphate of iron are mixed
together, a hydrated carbonate of protoxide of iron, of a pale bluish colour, is
thrown down, and  sulphate of soda remains in solution.  The equivalent
quantities of the  crystallized salts  for mutual decomposition are  130*1 of
the sulphate and  143*42 of the carbonate.  Taking the quantity of sulphate
of iron at 8 parts,  the London  and Dublin Pharmacopoeias  order of car-
bonate of soda 8*3  parts;  the U. S. Pharmacopoeia 9 parts,  and the Edin-
burgh  10  parts.  The proportions of the London and  Dublin  Colleges
coincide  most  nearly with the  equivalents.  The  precipitate, during  the
washing and drying,  absorbs oxygen, and loses nearly the whole of its
carbonic acid,  whereby it  becomes converted almost entirely into sesqui-
oxide of iron.  This being its chemical nature, the London College, in their
last Pharmacopoeia, have  given it the new name of sesquioxide of iron;
but as this name  is applicable to the rust of iron, the red oxide obtained by
calcination from  the  sulphate, and even  to the hydrated oxide used as an
antidote  to arsenic, the appellation adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia  of
subcarbonate of iron, in allusion  to the small quantity of carbonic acid present
in it, is more distinctive.   Carbonate of potassa  will answer to decompose
the ferruginous sulphate; but carbonate of soda is preferred, because it pro-
duces, in the double decomposition, the  sulphate of soda, which, from its
greater solubility,  is more readily washed away than the sulphate  of po-
tassa.
  Properties.   Subcarbonate of iron is a reddish-brown powder,  of a dis-
agreeable,  slightly  styptic  taste; insoluble in water, but dissolving readily
in muriatic acid with very  slight effervescence of carbonic acid. After pre-
cipitation by ammonia,  which  throws down the sesquioxide of iron, the
supernatant liquor should give no indications of containing any other metal
in solution.  It is incompatible  with acids and acidulous salts.  In compo-
sition it is a hydrated sesquioxide of iron, containing a  little protoxide and
carbonic acid.
   Medical  Properties and  Uses.   Subcarbonate of iron is tonic, altera-
tive, and emmenagogue, and is  employed for  all  the purposes to which the
preparations of iron are generally applicable.   It was recommended by Mr.
Carmichael in cancer, and  is said sometimes to prove useful.   Mr.  Hutchin-
son brought it into notice  as a  remedy for neuralgia; and an extensive ex-
perience with it in  that disease  has established its value.  It is also useful
in chorea, in chlorosis, and, generally, in those diseases in which the blood
is deficient in  colouring matter.   It has  been used by Dr. Woollam, Dr.
Shearman, Dr. Elliotson,  and others, in  traumatic tetanus, with success in
twelve cases and failure in three.  In the second stage of hooping-cough,
Dr. Steymann represents it to be a prompt and efficacious remedy.  When
prescribed as a tonic, the usual  dose is from five  to thirty grains three times
a day, given in pill or powder,  and frequently combined with aromatics and
vegetable tonics.   In* neuralgia, chorea  and  tetanus, it is administered in
doses  of from one to two teaspoonfuls.    No nicety  need be observed in the 
PART II.
Ferrum.
971
dose; its only obvious effect in very large doses being a slight nausea, and
a sense of weight at the stomach.  Its use  gives the stools a black colour.
  The subcarbonate of iron acts as an antidote to the poison of arsenious
acid, provided it has not been exposed to a red heat, and, though  not so
powerful as  the hydrated oxide in the form of magma, should  always be
used till the latter can be procured. (See  page 24.)
   Off. Prep. Emplastrum Ferri,  U. S., Ed.; Ferri Acetas, Dub.; Ferri et
Potassae Tartras, U. S., Lond.; Ferrum Ammoniatum, U. S., Lond.; Tinc-
tura Ferri Chloridi, U. S., Lond., Ed.                              B.
   FERRI  SULPHAS.  U S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Sulphate of Iron.
 Green Vitriol.
   " Take of  Iron  Wire,  cut in pieces, twelve  ounces;  Sulphuric Acid
 eighteen ounces;  Water a gallon.  Mix the Sulphuric Acid  and Water,
 and add the Iron; then heat the mixture  until effervescence ceases.   Pour
 off the solution, and, having added half  a drachm of Sulphuric  Acid, filter
 through paper, allowing the lower end of the funnel to touch the bottom  of
 the receiving vessel.  Evaporate the filtered liquor in a matrass until suffi-
 ciently concentrated; then set  it aside in a covered vessel to crystallize.
 Drain the crystals in a funnel, dry them  on  bibulous paper, and keep them
 in closely stopped bottles." U. S.
   " Take of Iron Filings eight ounces;  Sulphuric  Acid fourteen ounces;
 Water four pints  [Imperial  measure].  Mix the Sulphuric Acid with the
 Water, and  add the Iron to them. Then apply heat, and when bubbles have
 ceased to escape, strain  the liquor, and set it aside that  crystals may form.
 Evaporate  the liquor poured off that it  may again  yield crystals, and dry
 them all."  Lond.
   " If the Sulphate of Iron of commerce be not  in  transparent green crys-
 tals, without efflorescence, dissolve  it in its own weight of boiling water,
 acidulated with a little Sulphuric Acid;  filter, and set the solution aside to
 crystallize.   Preserve the crystals in well-closed bottles." Ed.
   "Take  of Iron Wire four parts;  Sulphuric Acid [commercial?] seven
 parts; Water sixty parts.  Dissolve  the metal by the aid of heat, and filter
 the solution through paper.  Lastly, after  due evaporation, set the solution
 aside that crystals  may form by slow refrigeration." Dub.
   The object of the U. S., London and Dublin processes is to make a pure
 sulphate of the protoxide of iron by direct combination.  Sulphuric  acid,
 in a concentrated  state, acts but  imperfectly on iron;  but when diluted, a
 vigorous action takes place, the  oxygen  of the water converts the metal
 into protoxide, with  which the  sulphuric  acid  unites,  and hydrogen  is
 evolved.   The equivalent quantities for mutual  reaction are 28 of  iron to
 49*1 of acid,  which is  the  proportion  taken by the London and  Dublin
 Colleges.   This proportion is one of iron to one and three-quarters of acid.
 The U. S.  proportion is one of iron to one and a half of acid, and  gives a
 quantity of iron one-sixth more than the acid can dissolve.  This excess of
 iron is desirable, as it tends to secure the  production of a perfect sulphate
 of the protoxide.  The remaining steps of the U.  S. process are peculiar,
 and are intended to secure the formation of a salt entirely free from sesqui-
 oxide, by  the method  of Bonsdorff.   This chemist  found that when a
 perfect sulphate of the protoxide of iron was formed in solution by  heating
 dilute sulphuric acid with an excess of iron, it might  be crystallized free
 from sesquioxide,  provided a little excess of sulphuric  acid be added to the
 liquid before it is filtered, in order to hold in solution any sesquioxide that
 may have  been formed; at the same  time avoiding, as much as possible,  the 
972
Ferrum.
PART II.
contact of the air.  Hence the directions of  the U. S. formula to acidulate
with sulphuric acid, to cause the funnel to touch the bottom of the receiving
vessel, which avoids the dropping of the liquid through the air, and to cover
the vessel containing  the concentrated liquid, when it is set aside to crys-
tallize.   Iron wire, as being purer, is  to be preferred  to iron  filings in
making sulphate of iron.   The  Edinburgh  College gives no formula for
making this  salt, but  directions only for the  purification of the commercial
sulphate, when this happens to be impure.  The salt is dissolved in boiling
water, and filtered, which separates the  insoluble  subsulphate; after which
the solution is acidulated with sulphuric acid on the plan of Bonsdorff, and
crystallized.
   M. Berthemot has proposed  a modified  plan  of procedure,  to render
sulphate  of iron permanent.   He  first purifies the commercial sulphate
in the manner  directed by the Edinburgh College, and then adds it, by
portions, to boiling distilled water, to which afterwards  some iron filings
are added.   The solution is  then quickly filtered, while hot, into a vessel
containing  alcohol  acidulated with  sulphuric acid.  The pure sulphate  of
the protoxide immediately precipitates  in the form of  a  bluish-white crys-
talline powder; while  any sesquisalt Avhich  may have formed is dissolved
by the alcohol, and any free sesquioxide is taken up by the acid.  (Journ.
de Pharm. xxv. 206.)
   Sulphate of iron, under  the name of green vitriol or copperas, is manu-
factured  on the large scale, for  the purposes of  the arts, from the native
sulphuret of  iron or pyrites by roasting, oxidation through exposure to air
and moisture, and lixiviation.  The constituents of the mineral become sul-
phuric acid and protoxide  of iron,  which, by their union, form the salt in
question.   It is  made  also  by our manufacturers  of sulphuric  acid,  by
direct combination, from the unconcentrated acid and scraps of old iron.
   Properties.  Sulphate of iron  is in the form of  transparent crystals, of a
pale bluish-green colour, and having the shape of oblique rhombic prisms.
It has a disagreeable styptic taste, and an acid reaction. As prepared by Bons-
dorffs method, it is blue verging to green.  When it becomes more green than
blue, or entirely green, an indication is afforded that it contains some sesqui-
oxide.  When  exposed to the air, the crystals absorb oxygen, first become
green, and are ultimately covered with  a yellow efflorescence of subsul-
phate of the  sesquioxide, insoluble  in water. Sometimes the crystals are
quite permanent when made by  BonsdorfFs method,  owing to the slight
excess of acid which they contain.  Sulphate of  iron is soluble  in about
twice its weight of cold water, and in three-fourths of its weight of boiling
water, but is  insoluble in alcohol.   The aqueous  solution is bluish-green;
but by standing it attracts  oxygen, and is rendered first green and then red-
dish, depositing, in the mean time,  a portion  of subsulphate.  When heated
moderately, it loses six-sevenths of its water of crystallization, and becomes
grayish-white.   At a red  heat it loses  its  acid, and is converted into the
anhydrous sesquioxide of iron, called colcothar.  (See Ferri Sulphas Ex-
siccalum, and Ferri Oxydum Rubrum.) It is incompatible with  the  alka-
lies and their carbonates, soaps, lime-water,  the chlorides of calcium and
barium, the borate and phosphate of soda, nitrate of silver, and the acetate
and  subacetate  of  lead.  It  is decomposed also  by  astringent  vegetable
infusions, the tannic and gallic  acids of which form, if any sesquioxide be
present,  a  black compound  of the nature of ink.  To  what extent this
change lessens the  medicinal activity of the  salt, is  not well ascertained.
Sulphate of iron, as it occurs in the shops, is often impure.  The commer-
cial sulphate  should never be dispensed by the apothecary until it has un- 
PART II.
Ferrum.
973
 dergonea careful purification in the manner directed in the Edinburgh Phar-
 macopoeia.   The perfectly pure salt is precipitated white by ferrocyanuret
 of potassium;  but that of ordinary purity gives a blue precipitate, more  or
 less deep, with this test, owing to the presence of some  sesquioxide of
 iron.  Copper may  be detected by immersing in the solution a bright piece
 of iron, on which a  cupreous film will be deposited.  Both copper and zinc
 may be  discovered  by sesquioxidating the iron by boiling the solution  of
 the salt with  nitric  acid, and then precipitating the  iron by an  excess  of
 ammonia.  If the filtered solution be blue,  copper is present;  and if it
 contain zinc, this will be  separated in  flakes of white  oxide, on expelling
 the excess of ammonia by ebullition.  Sulphate of iron, when crystallized,
 consists of one eq.  of acid 40-1, one of protoxide 36, and seven of water
 63=139-1, and its  formula is FeO,S03+7HO.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Sulphate of iron is astringent and tonic.
 In large doses  it is apt to produce nausea and vomiting,  and  griping of the
 bowels;  and its  use, when  long  continued, injures  the stomach.   It has
 been recommended  as a remedy for the scrofulous diathesis, conjoined with
 extract of bark.   As an astringent, it is given in diseases attended with im-
 moderate discharges, such as passive hemorrhages, colliquative sweats, dia-
 betes, chronic  mucous catarrh, leucorrhoea, gleet, &c.  As a tonic it is used
 in dyspepsia, and in the debility following protracted diseases.  In amenor-
 rhoea  with  deficient  action, it  is  frequently resorted to with advantao-e,
 either alone, or conjoined with the fetid and stimulant  gums.  Externally
 the  solution is occasionally  used  in chronic ophthalmia, leucorrhoea, and
 gleet, of various strengths, from one or two, to eight or ten grains of the salt
 to the fluidounce of  water. The dose is from one to five grains in the form
 of pill.   If given in solution, the water should  be previously  boiled to
 expel  the air, which, if allowed to remain, would partially decompose the
 salt.
   Off. Prep. Ferri Acetatis Tinctura, Dub.; Ferri Carbonas Saccharatum,
 Ed.; Ferri Ferrocyanuretum, U. S.; Ferri Oxidum Hydratum,  U. S., Ed.;
 Ferri Oxid. Nigrum, Ed.; Ferri Oxyd. Rubrum, Dub,; Ferri Phosphas,
 U. S.; Ferri Subcarbonas, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Ferri Sulphas  Ex-
 siccatum, Ed.;  Ferrum Tartarizatum, Ed.; Mistura  Ferri  Composita,
 U. S., Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.; Pilulae Aloes et  Ferri, Ed,;  Pil. Ferri  Carbo-
 natis, U. S.; Pil. Ferri Comp., U. S., Lond., Dub.; Tinctura Acetatis Ferri
 cum Alcohol, Dub.                                                g^

   FERRI  SULPHAS  EXSICCATUM.  Ed.   Dried Sulphate of
 Iron.                                                          >
   " Expose any convenient quantity of Sulphate of Iron to a moderate heat
 in a porcelain or earthenware vessel, not glazed with lead, till it is converted
 into a dry grayish-white mass, which is to be reduced to powder." Ed.
   In this  process, six eqs. out of seven of the water of crystallization of
 the salt are driven off.   The heat should not exceed 212°,'otherwise the
 salt itself  would suffer decomposition.   Dried sulphate of iron is used for
 making pills, the crystallized sulphate not being well adapted for  this pur-
 pose.  In prescribing dried sulphate of iron it is necessary to recollect that
 three grains are equivalent to five of the crystallized sulphate.
   Off. Prep. Pilulae  Ferri Sulphatis, Ed.; Pil. Rhei et Ferri, Ed.   B.

   FERRI SULPHURETUM. Ed, Dub.  Sulphuret of Iron.
   "The best Sulphuret  of Iron is made by heating an  iron rod  to a full
 white heat in a forge, and rubbing it with a roll of sulphur over a deep ves-
sel filled with water  to receive the fused globules of Sulphuret which form.
       83 
974
Ferrum.
PART II.
An  inferior  sort, good  enough, however,  for pharmaceutic  purposes, is
obtained by heating one  part of Sublimed Sulphur and three of Iron Filings
in a crucible in  a common  fire till the mixture  begins  to  glow, and then
removing the crucible  and covering it, until the action, which at first in-
creases considerably, shall come to an end." Ed.
   " Expose  a rod of Iron to the strongest heat of a forge, until it becomes
white-hot; and  upon taking it from the  fire, instantly apply it to a roll of
sulphur.  Receive the Sulphuret of Iron in water, separate it from sulphur,
and having dried it, keep it  in a well-stopped bottle."  Dub.
   Iron and sulphur form a  number  of sulphurets, among which  the most
important are the protosulphuret and sesquisulphuret, corresponding with
the protoxide and sesquioxide  of  iron;  the  bi-sulphuret or cubic pyrites;
and magnetic pyrites, which is a compound of five eqs. of protosulphuret,
and one of bisulphuret.   When the sulphuret is obtained  by the applica-
tion of solid sulphur to white-hot iron, the product  corresponds in compo-
sition  with  magnetic pyrites;  but  when procured by  heating flowers of
sulphur with an excess of iron filings, as is directed in  the second of the
Edinburgh processes,  a  protosulphuret  is generated mixed with metallic
iron.  When sulphur  is  applied to white-hot iron, the metal appears to
become hotter, burns with scintillations in the vapour of the sulphur, and
forms  instantly  the  sulphuret, which, being comparatively fusible,  melts
into globules, and drops into the water, which serves to extinguish them. It
is essential that  the iron  be raised to a white heat, for otherwise the process
succeeds but imperfectly.
   Properties, fyc.  The officinal sulphuret of iron has a yellowish  colour
and the metallic lustre.   When obtained over water it is in the form of
brownish-yellow globules, having a somewhat crystalline texture.   When
pure it furnishes  a yellow  powder, and dissolves  in dilute  sulphuric or
muriatic acid without leaving a residue of sulphur, and with the production
of hydrosulphuric acid gas  (sulphuretted hydrogen), free from admixture
of hydrogen. As prepared, however, by the  officinal  processes, it is not
entirely soluble in dilute  sulphuric  acid, a portion of uncombined sulphur
being left.   The fused globules have the composition of 5FeS-fFeS , or,
according to  some, 5FeS-fFe2Sa.   This preparation is employed  exclu-
sively  as a pharmaceutical agent, for the  production of hydrosulphuric acid
gas.  It may be made to yield this gas  by the action of diluted  sulphuric
acid.  During the reaction  water  is decomposed; its hydrogen combines
with the sulphur to form the  hydrosulphuric acid, while the oxygen converts
the iron into  protoxide, with which the sulphuric acid combines.  Hydro-
sulphuric acid is a colourless gas,  having a  smell like that of putrid eggs.
Its sp. gr. is  1*1782.   It reddens litmus and saturates bases, forming salts
called hydrosulphates, sulphohydrates,  or hydrosulphurets.         B.
   FERRUM AMMONIATUM. US.    Ferri  Ammonio-chlori-
dum.  Lond.  Ammoniated Iron.   Ammonio-chloride of Iron.
   " Take of Subcarbonate of Iron three ounces; Muriatic Acid ten fluid-
ounces; Muriate of Ammonia two pounds and a half; Distilled Water^oMr
pints.   Mix the Subcarbonate of Iron with the Muriatic  Acid in a glass
vessel, and digest for two hours; then add the Muriate of Ammonia, pre-
viously dissolved in the   Distilled Water, and, having  filtered the liquor,
evaporate to dryness.   Rub the residue to powder." U. S.
   The process of the London  College is the same  as the above, of which
it was  the original.
   By the mutual action of muriatic acid  and the sesquioxide of iron on the 
PART II.
Ferrum.
975
 subcarbonate, water and sesquichloride of iron are formed; and the solution
 of the latter, being evaporated along with that of the muriate of ammonia,
 yields a mixture of the two salts.  If any carbonate of iron be present in
 the subcarbonate, a portion of protochloride of iron must also be formed,
 which, however, would probably be converted into sesquichloride during
 the operation.  By the former  process of the U. S. and  Edinburgh Phar-
 macopoeias, abandoned in the last edition of these works, a mixture of red
 oxide  (sesquioxide) of iron and muriate  of ammonia was  submitted to
 sublimation.   A portion  of the muriate of ammonia was decomposed, the
 ammonia escaping, and the muriatic acid reacting upon the sesquioxide of
 iron so as to form  water and sesquichloride of iron, the latter of which was
 sublimed with the  undecomposed muriate of ammonia.  By this mode of
 preparation the proportion between the two salts was variable.  The pre-
 sent officinal plan has the double advantage of uniformity in the result, and
 greater facility in the process.  There is no reason to  believe that the ses-
 quichloride of iron and muriate of ammonia are chemically combined in the
 preparation.   According  to Mr. Phillips, they are in the proportion of 15
 parts of the sesquichloride to 85 of the muriate.
   Properties.  Ammoniated iron, as usually found in the  shops, is in crys-
 talline grains, of a yellow colour, a feeble odour, and a sharp styptic saline
 taste.   It is entirely soluble in  water and diluted alcohol, is deliquescent,
 and requires to be kept in well stopped bottles.  By the alkalies and  their
 carbonates, and by lime-water,  it is decomposed, with  the precipitation of
 about seven per cent, of sesquioxide of iron; and potassa in excess occasions
 the  evolution of ammonia.  Like the other chalybeates, it is  incompatible
 with vegetable astringents.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  This preparation unites aperient proper-
 ties with those belonging  to the chalybeates generally, and is said to  have
 been used with advantage in amenorrhoea, epilepsy, scrofula,  rickets, &c;
 but it  is at best uncertain, and  is now very seldom prescribed.  The sub-
 limed preparation was formerly employed under the  names of flores mar-
 tiales, and ens martis.  From  four to twelve grains may be  given in the
 form of pill,  electuary, or solution, several times  a day.
   Off. Prep.  Tinctura Ferri Ammonio-chloridi.  Lond.            W.
   TINCTURA FERRI AMMONIO-CHLORIDI. Lond.  Tincture
 of Ammonio-chloride of Iron.
   "Take of  Ammonio-chloride of Iron [Ammoniated Iron] four ounces;  \.
 Proof Spirit a pint [Imperial measure].  Dissolve  the Ammonio-chloride
 of Iron in the Spirit, and filter."  Lond.
   This is simply a solution of the preceding preparation in diluted alcohol.
 It is feeble and uncertain as a chalybeate, and has no particular claims to
 attention.                                                       W.

   TINCTURA FERRI CHLORIDI. U.S.   Tinctura  Ferri  Ses-
 quichloridi. Lond,  Ferri Muriatis Tinctura. Ed.   Muriatis
 Ferri Liquor. Dub.  Tincture of Chloride of Iron.  Tincture of
 Muriate of  Iron.
   " Take of Subcarbonate of Iron half a pound; Muriatic Acid a pint;
 Alcohol three  pints.    Pour  the Acid upon the Subcarbonate  of Iron, and
 shake the mixture occasionally for three days; then set it by that the dregs,
 if there be anv, may  subside; lastly, pour off the liquor, and add to this the
 Alcohol."  U.S.
  " Take of Sesquioxide of Iron [Subcarbonate, U. S.] six ounces; Hydro-
chloric Acid a pint [Imperial measure]; Rectified Spirit three pints [Imp. 
976
Ferrum.
PART II.
measure].   Pour the Acid upon  the Sesquioxide  of Iron in a glass vessel,
and digest for three days,  occasionally stirring.   Then add the Spirit and
filter."  Lond.
  " Take of Red Oxide [Subcarbonate] of Iron six ounces; Muriatic Acid
(commercial) one  pint [Imp. meas.]; Rectified  Spirit three pints  [Imp.
meas.].  Add the Oxide to the Acid in a glass vessel; digest with a  gentle
heat, and occasional agitation, for a day, or till most of the Oxide be dis-
solved;  then add the Spirit, and filter." Ed.
  "Take of Rust of Iron one part;  Muriatic Acid,  Rectified Spirit, each
six parts.   Pour  the Acid upon  the Rust in a glass vessel, and  shake the
mixture  occasionally for  three days.   Then set  it by that  the dregs may
subside, and pour  off the clear liquor.  Evaporate this slowly to one-third,
and when it  is cold add the Spirit."  Dub.
  The  subcarbonate  of iron  of the shops consists of sesquioxide of iron,
mixed with a variable, but always small proportion of carbonate of the pro-
toxide.   When acted on by muriatic acid it is dissolved  with effervescence,
in consequence of the escape of carbonic acid;  and a solution of the sesqui-
chloride of iron, with a little protochloride is obtained.  When the muriatic
acid employed is  of  the  officinal strength (sp. gr. 1*16), the quantity di-
rected in the U. S. formula dissolves  nearly all the precipitated  carbonate,
leaving behind, according  to Mr. Phillips, less than one scruple, including
accidental impurities.   A reaction appears to take place between the muri-
atic acid and the alcohol, as the  preparation has a decided ethereal  odour.
On exposure, the small quantity of protochloride of iron present is  converted,
by the absorption  of oxygen, into sesquichloride and  sesquioxide, the latter
of which is precipitated unless there be an excess of muriatic acid present.
In the U. S. formula no  such excess exists, and  the tincture may conse-
quently  deposit, upon standing, a little sesquioxide of iron, and become in
the same proportion more feeble;  but  this is a very slight objection, and is
easily obviated, if thought advisable,  by adding sufficient muriatic acid to
redissolve the precipitate.  The London and Edinburgh preparations, which
have a considerable  excess of acid, are liable to the more serious objection
of being thus rendered more irritant to the stomach.  In the Dublin process
there is  a great waste of acid, of which  much more is employed than is
necessary to dissolve the quantity of rust of iron  directed, the excess being
driven off by heat.  It is important that the apothecary  should employ mu-
riatic acid of the officinal specific gravity, as otherwise  his preparation will
be of uncertain strength.  A want of  attention to this circumstance is pro-
bably the cause that  the tincture, as  found in the shops, is very unequal.
Of four specimens examined by Mr. Phillips, one contained in half a fluid-
ounce 20 grains of sesquioxide  of iron, another  12*1 grains, a  third 11*3
grains,  and  the fourth only 9*3 grains.  A specimen  prepared by himself,
precisely according to the directions of the former London Pharmacopoeia,
which are  at present  those  of our own national  standard, had the  sp. gr.
0*994, and contained, in half a fluidounce, 16-8 grains of sesquioxide.  The
present London preparation, according to the same authority, has the sp. gr.
0*992, and contains in half a fluidounce nearly 15 grains of sesquioxide.
  Properties.  Tincture of chloride of iron is of a  reddish-brown,  some-
what yellowish  colour, a sour and very styptic taste, and an odour resem-
bling that  of muriatic  ether.  The sesquichloride of iron, which results
from its evaporation,  is a deliquescent compound, of a dark orange  colour,
scarcely crystallizable,  and consisting of  two  equiv. of iron 56, and three
of chlorine 106-26 = 162-26.   The tincture is  decomposed  by the alkalies,
alkaline earths, and their carbonates, astringent vegetable infusions, and the
mucilage of  gum Arabic, which produces with it a brown  semitransparent 
PART II.
Ferrum.— Gummi-resinse.
977
 jelly.  All these substances are, therefore, incompatible with it in prescrip-
 tions.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   This is one of the most active and cer-
 tain preparations of iron, usually acceptable to the stomach, and much em-
 ployed for all the purposes to which the chalybeates generally are applied.  It
 has been particularly recommended as a tonic in scrofula,  in which it was
 formerly often given, conjointly with the solution  of chloride of calcium,  or
 chloride of barium.  It is supposed to be diuretic,  and to have a peculiar in-
 fluence on the urinary passages.   Hence it has been employed in gleet, old
 gonorrhoea, and leucorrhoea; and is said to be useful in dysury dependent on
 spasmodic stricture of the urethra, in the dose of ten drops repeated every ten
 minutes, till some effect is experienced. In hemorrhages from the uterus, kid-
 neys, and bladder, it is thought to act advantageously, but should be confined
 to those of a passive character, or  employed only after sufficient depletion.
 Externally it has sometimes proved useful in the destruction of venereal warts,
 and as a styptic in cancerous and  fungous ulcers.   The dose is from ten  to
 thirty minims, which may be gradually increased  to one, or even two flui-
 drachms, two or three times a day.  It is given diluted with water.   W.


                        GUMMI-RESINSE.

                             Gum-resins.

   These are concrete natural juices of plants, obtained by spontaneous exu-
 dation or incision, and consisting of gum and resin, associated for the most
 part with more  or less  essential oil, and frequently with other  substances,
 such as extractive, bassorin, starch, wax, and various salts.  The gum and
 resin are essential ingredients, but exist in very different proportions in the
 different varieties.  All the gum-resins are partially soluble in  alcohol and
 in water, but completely so in neither of these liquids.   Diluted alcohol, on
 the contrary, dissolves them almost entirely, especially if assisted  by heat.
 With water they form  an opaque emulsion; the resin, essential oil, and other
 insoluble constituents being held in suspension by the dissolved gum.  They
 are to a certain extent soluble in vinegar.  Upon several of them, especially
 myrrh and ammoniac, carbonate of potassa so reacts as to render them solu-
 ble in water, or capable of being permanently retained in suspension by that
 fluid.
   The London  College gives the following directions  in  relation to the
 gum-resins.
   " Those Gum-resins are to be preferred, which may be chosen so per-
 fect as not to require purification.   But if they do not appear to be suffi-
 ciently pure,  boil them in water until they soften, and express them through
 a hempen cloth; then set them by that the resinous part may subside.  Pour
 off the supernatant liquid, and evaporate it by means of a water-bath, adding,
 towards the end of the process, the resinous portion, so as to incorporate  it
 with the gum.
   " The Gum-resins which melt easily, may be purified by putting them
 into an ox bladder, and holding them in boiling water, until they become so
 soft as to be capable of being separated from their impurities by expression
 through a hempen cloth."
   The first of these processes is applicable to the gum-resins  only when
 they are intended for external use; for the essential oil,  upon which their
 medicinal virtues often in great measure depend, is more or less dissipated
by the heat employed.   The latter process is preferable whenever practica-
                                  83* 
978            Gummi-resinas.—Hydrargyrum.           part ii.

ble, as it affects less the character of the medicine; but several of the gum-
resins, such as assafetida and  ammoniac, are not sufficiently fusible at the
temperature of boiling water to admit of being strained with facility.  It is
always best to select those intended for internal exhibition, of such a quality
as not to require purification.  As they are usually brittle and pulverizable
when very cold, they may be  freed from  the coarser impurities by powder-
ing them in the winter season, and sifting the  powder, which  afterwards
agglutinates with warmth.   This plan is recommended by Mr.  Brande, in
relation to assafetida, ammoniac, and galbanum.   The French pharmaceu-
tists purify the gum-resins  by dissolving them in diluted alcohol, filtering
and evaporating the solution.  This process, though liable in a still greater
degree than that of the London College to the objection of diminishing the
virtues of the medicine by driving off the essential oil, has the advantage of
completely separating  all insoluble substances, however minutely divided,
such as fine sand or other earth, which might pass through the  pores of a
hempen strainer.                                                W.


                       HYDRARGYRUM.

                     Preparations of Mercury.

   HYDRARGYRUM PURIFICATUM. Dub.   Purified  Mercury.
   " Take of Mercury six parts.   Draw off four parts by slow distilla-
tion." Dub.
   The mercury of commerce  is  usually sufficiently pure for pharmaceutical
purposes; but occasionally it contains foreign metals, such as lead, tin, zinc,
and bismuth, and hence the directions for its purification.  Mercury being
much more volatile than the contaminating metals, rises first in distillation,
while they are left behind.   But it is necessary to avoid pushing the dis-
tillation too far; for in that event, some of the foreign metals, particularly
bismuth, are apt to be carried over.  The Dublin College,  on account of
this danger, directs only two-thirds  of the mercury to be drawn over; but to
follow this direction causes waste.   The distillation may be performed over
a common  fire, from an iron retort into water contained in a receiver.  A
wash-hand basin will answer as a receiver.  As it is difficult and troublesome
to purify mercury by distillation, it is better for  the manufacturing chemist
to purchase pure samples of the metal, which may be always had in the mar-
ket, and thus supersede the  necessity of this process.  The U. S., London,
and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias do not now include a formula for purifying
mercury by distillation, but explain in their Notes, that  the pure metal is
intended by the term Hydrargyrum.
   Properties, <y-c.  Mercury is known to  be pure when it is bright and per-
fectly mobile.  Its freedom from foreign metals  may be ascertained by the
negative indications of the tests mentioned under Hydrargyrum.    B.
   HYDRARGYRI  ACETAS.  Dub.  Acetate of Mercury.
   " Take of Purified Mercury,  Acetate of Potassa,  each, nine parts; Di-
luted Nitric Acid eleven parts; boiling Distilled  Water one hundred parts;
Distilled Vinegar a sufficient quantity.   Add the  Nitric  Acid to the Mer-
cury, and when the effervescence shall have ceased, digest the mixture, so
as to dissolve the metal.  Dissolve  the Acetate of Potassa in the Water, and
add Distilled Vinegar until acidity  predominates in the  solution.   To this,
boiling hot, add the solution of the Mercury in  the Nitric Acid, and strain
the mixture quickly through a double linen cloth; then let it cool that crys-
tals may form.  Wash these  with  cold Distilled Water, and dry them on 
PART II.
Hy drargyrum.
979
paper with a very gentle heat.  In every step of this process, glass vessels
are to be used."  Dub.
   The object of this process is to obtain an acetate of the protoxide of mer-
cury.  By the solution of the metal in diluted nitric acid, in the proportion
indicated, a nitrate of the protoxide is formed; and this, when added  to the
boiling  solution  of acetate of potassa, causes a double decomposition re-
sulting in the  formation of nitrate of potassa which remains  in  solution,
and  acetate of protoxide of mercury which  precipitates in crystals as the
solution  cools.  The nitric acid  is used diluted in order to avoid deutoxi-
dating the metal;  and for the same reason heat is not applied until the  action
of the acid  has ceased  in  the cold, and  then  only moderately.   Notwith-
standing every precaution, it is very difficult to get a perfect nitrate of prot-
oxide of mercury;  and  as  water throws down a yellow subnitrate from the
nitrate of the  deutoxide if the solutions  be  neutral,  the College orders the
solution of the acetate of potassa to be  acidulated with distilled  vinegar,
which effectually prevents  this  precipitation.  The straining of  the solu-
tion, while hot, is intended to separate any  subnitrate  which may be acci-
dentally formed.  As the crystals of the acetate of mercury may be contami-
nated with a little  nitrate  of the deutoxide, which is  rendered yellow by
the  action of water, some authorities recommend that the washing should
be performed with  water acidulated with" distilled vinegar.  The  drying of
the crystals is an  operation which requires great care, as a slight heat is
sufficient to decompose them.   On this  account it  has been proposed to
dry  them by compression between the folds  of bibulous paper.
   Properties, $-c.  Acetate of mercury is a white salt, in the form of thin
elastic scales of a pearly lustre.   Its taste is very disagreeable, but less so
than that of most of the other soluble salts of mercury.   It is not affected
by air, but  contracts a brown tinge by exposure to light.  It is insoluble in
alcohol, but dissolves readily, with partial decomposition, in boiling  water,
from which, being only  sparingly soluble in cold water, it precipitates
in crystals  on cooling.   When  it is a  perfect acetate of the protoxide,
alkalies throw down from  its solution a black precipitate of protoxide; but
if it be contaminated  with acetate of the  deutoxide, the  same  reagents
cause a yellowish precipitate.   It consists of one eq. of acetic acid  51*48,
one  of  protoxide of mercury 210, and four of water 36=297*48.
   Medical Properties.  Acetate of mercury was introduced into regular prac-
tice, in consequence of its having been supposed to be the active ingredient
in Keyser's pills,  which were at one time esteemed to be a mild and safe
antisyphilitic  remedy,  and the mode  of preparing  which was purchased
and  made public  by the  French government.  These pills, however, are
very unequal in their operation, and have been ascertained by Robiquet to
contain the acetate  of the deutoxide. The officinal acetate is intended to be
an acetate of the protoxide; but even in this state it possesses no peculiar
powers which  give it advantages over other mercurials in the treatment of
syphilis;  and it is at present very little used.  The dose is a grain, given in
the form of pill, twice a day.  It is occasionally used  as an external appli-
cation to cutaneous eruptions, in the proportion of a  grain dissolved in a
fluidounce of rose-water.                                           B.
   HYDRARGYRI  CHLORIDUM   CORROSIVUM.  U.S.   Hy-
drargyri Bichloridum. Lond.    Sublimatus  Corrosivus. Ed.
Hydrargyri  Murias   Corrosivum.  Dub.  Corrosive Chloride of
Mercury.   Bichloride  of Mercury.   Corrosive Sublimate.
   "  Take of Mercury two pounds; Sulphuric Acid three pounds;  Chloride 
9S0                      Hydrargyrum.                   part ii.

of Sodium a pound and a half.  Boil the Mercury with the Sulphuric Acid
until  the  sulphate of mercury is left dry.  Rub this, when cold, with the
Chloride of Sodium, in an earthenware mortar; then sublime with a gradu-
ally increasing heat." U. S.
   The London process is the same as the above.
   " Take of Mercury four ounces;  Sulphuric Acid (commercial) two fluid-
ounces  and three fluidrachms;  Pure Nitric Acid half a fluidounce; Mu-
riate'of Soda three ounces.   Mix the Acids;  add the Mercury;  dissolve it
with the aid of a  moderate heat; and then raise the heat so as to obtain a
dry salt.  Triturate this thoroughly with the Muriate of Soda,  and sublime
in a proper apparatus." Ed.
   " Take of Persulphate of  Mercury five parts; dried Muriate of Soda
two parts.  Rub  them well  together in an earthenware mortar, so as to
reduce them to a  very fine powder.  Then, with  a heat gradually raised,
sublime the Corrosive Muriate of Mercury into a proper receiver." Dub.
   In  order to understand  the above processes, which are the same in prin-
ciple, it is necessary to premise, that corrosive sublimate is a bichloride of
mercury,  consisting of two eqs. of chlorine  and  one of  mercury.  By
boiling sulphuric acid, on mercury to dryness, a white salt is formed, which
is a bisulphate of the deutoxide of mercury. (See Hydrargyri Persulphas.)
When this is mixed with  chloride of sodium (common salt), and the mix-
ture exposed  to a subliming heat,  a mutual decomposition takes  place.
The chlorine of the common salt combines with the mercury, and sublimes
as bichloride of mercury;  while  the  sodium,  oxygen of the deutoxide of
mercury, and sulphuric acid unite to form sulphate of soda,  which remains
behind.  The quantities  for mutual decomposition are two eqs. of chloride
of sodium, consisting of  two  eqs. of chlorine, and two  of sodium; and one
eq. of the bisulphate of the deutoxide of mercury, consisting of one eq. of
mercury,  two of oxygen, and  two  of sulphuric acid.  The two eqs. of
chlorine combine with the one eq. of mercury, to form one eq. of corrosive
sublimate; and the two eqs. severally, of sodium, oxygen, and  sulphuric
acid,  by their union, form two eqs. of dry sulphate of soda.   The Edin-
burgh formula is  very much changed from that previously given  in the
Latin Pharmacopoeia.  It is characterized by the small quantity  of mercury
taken, and by the  use of nitric acid to assist the sulphuric in oxidizing the
metal, according to the method pursued  by the Dublin College  in forming
the Hydrargyri Persulphas.   The Dublin formula is peculiar  in ordering
the bisulphate of the  deutoxide  of mercury ready formed, instead of pre-
paring it as the first step  of the process, as is done in the processes of the
other  Pharmacopoeias. (See Hydrargyri Persulphas.)
  The names given  in the several Pharmacopoeias to this chloride are,
unfortunately,  very various.   It  is called a chloride, as it  is admitted to
be, in the U. S.  and London Pharmacopoeias, a muriate, agreeably to an
abandoned theory, in the Dublin,  and corrosive  sublimate, irrespective
of chemical nomenclature, in the  Edinburgh.  We should be sorry to
share  the opinion of the Edinburgh College that the adoption of  the modern
chemical nomenclature, to express pharmaceutical substances, was a great
error, on  account  of  its liability to change.   Systematic  nomenclature
belongs to science, and its change is the  inevitable consequence of the pro-
gress  of the latter.  In respect to the London College  name of bichloride
for corrosive sublimate, we think it not sufficiently distinct  from chloride,
adopted by the same College for calomel.  Hence we prefer the  use of
the adjunct, corrosivum, employed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, as serving
to fix  attention to its deleterious nature. 
part ii.                   Hydrargyrum.                       981

   Preparation on the Large Scale, fyc.  The first  step is  to form the bi-
sulphate of the deutoxide of mercury, which is  effected by heating the
sulphuric acid and metal together in an iron pot, so arranged as to carry off
the unwholesome fumes of sulphurous acid which are copiously generated.
The dry salt obtained is then mixed with the common salt, and the mixture
sublimed in an iron pot lined with clay, and covered  by an inverted earthen
pan.   Recently Dr. A. T. Thomson of London, has taken out a patent for
forming corrosive sublimate, on the large scale, by the direct combination,
.by combustion, of gaseous chlorine with heated mercury.  The product is
stated to be perfectly pure, and to be afforded at a lower price than  the sub-
limate made in the usual way.  In order that the combination may take place,
the mercury need not be heated to its boiling point, but only to a temperature
between 300° and 400°.  (Pharm. Journ. and Trans. Sep. 1842.)   It is
sometimes useful to a physician to  know how to  make a small quantity of
corrosive sublimate on  an emergency.   This may be done by dissolving
deutoxide  of mercury (red  precipitate) in  muriatic acid, evaporating the
solution to dryness, dissolving the dry mass in water, and crystallizing. In
this case a double decomposition takes place, resulting in the formation  of
water and  the bichloride.
   Properties.  Corrosive chloride of mercury, as obtained by sublimation,
is in the form of colourless  crystals, or, of white,  semitransparent, crystal-
line masses, of the  sp. gr. 5*2, permanent in the air, and possessing an
exceedingly acrid, styptic, metallic, durable taste.  It dissolves in a  little
less than  twenty parts  of cold water, and  in  three  of boiling water.  A
boiling saturated solution, upon cooling, lets it fall in a  confused  mass  of
crystals.   It is soluble also in  two and a third  parts of cold alcohol, in
about its own weight of boiling alcohol, and in three parts of ether.   Sul-
phuric, nitric, and muriatic acids dissolve it without alteration. When heated
it melts, and readily sublimes in dense, white, acrid  vapours, which  con-
dense, on  cool surfaces, in  white, shining needles.   Its aqueous  solution
renders green the syrup of violets,  and is precipitated brick-red, becoming
yellowr, by the fixed alkalies and alkaline  earths,  and white by ammonia.
(See Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum.)  The former precipitate is the hydra-
ted deutoxide of mercury, and  is formed in the process for preparing the
aqua phagedssnica of old pharmacy, which is obtained by mixing a drachm
of corrosive  sublimate with a pint of lime-water.   Corrosive sublimate
forms with muriate of ammonia and chloride of sodium, compounds which
are more soluble than the uncombined mercurial salt.   It is on this account
that aqueous solutions of sal ammoniac, or of common salt dissolve much
more corrosive sublimate than simple water. The combination of corrosive
sublimate with muriate of ammonia was formerly called sal alembroth, or
salt of wisdom. (See Liquor Hydrargyri  Bichloridi.)
   Corrosive sublimate has the property of retarding  putrefaction in a re-
markable degree. Animal matters, immersed in its solution, shrink, acquire
firmness, assume a white colour, and become imputrescible.  It is on ac-
count of this properly that it is often usefully employed for the  preservation
of anatomical preparations.
   Tests of Purity and Incompatibles.  Pure corrosive chloride of mercury
sublimes, when heated, without residue, and its  powder is  entirely and
readily soluble  in ether.  Consequently, if a portion of  any  sample should
not wholly dissolve in ether, or if it should not evaporate entirely,  the pre-
sence of some impurity is proved.   If calomel be present,  it may be de-
tected by its  insolubility in  water.   Corrosive sublimate is incompatible
with many of the metals, with the alkalies  and their carbonates, with soap, 
982
Hydrargyrum.
part ii.
lime-water, tartar emetic, nitrate of silver, the acetates of lead, the  sulphu-
rets of potassa and soda, and all the hydrosulphates.  It is also decomposed
by many vegetable and some animal substances.  According to Dr. Thomson
(London Dispensatory), it produces precipitates in infusions  or decoctions
of the following vegetable substances;—chamomile, horse-radish, columbo,
catechu, cinchona, rhubarb, senna, simaruba, and oak-bark.          B.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Corrosive sublimate is  the most power-
ful of the mercurial preparations,  operating quickly on the system, and, if
not properly regulated,  producing very violent effects.  It is less apt to sali-
vate than most other mercurials.  In  minute doses  suitably repeated, it
exerts its peculiar influence without any obvious alteration of the vital func-
tions, except, perhaps,  a slight increase in the frequency of the pulse, and
in the  secretions from   the  skin  and  kidneys.   Sometimes, however, it
purges; but this effect may be obviated by combining it with a little opium.
In larger doses it occasions nausea, vomiting, griping pain in the  bowels,
diarrhoea, and  other  symptoms of gastric and  intestinal irritation;  and in
still larger quantities  produces all the effects of a violent corrosive poison.
It has long been used as a remedy in  syphilis, in all  stages of which it is
highly recommended by some  authors.  It is said to  remove the symptoms
more speedily than other mercurials,  while its action is less unpleasant, as
the mouth is less liable to  be made sore.  For the latter reason  it is much
employed  by empirics,  and is an ingredient in  almost  all those nostrums
which  have at  various  periods gained  a  temporary popularity as antivene-
reals.  But while it is  extolled by some authors,  others,  among whom is
Mr. Pearson of London, deny its extraordinary merits, and  maintain that,
though occasionally useful in arresting the progress of the complaint, parti-
cularly in the secondary stage, it does not produce permanent cures, and, in
the primary stage, often fails altogether.  The general opinion at present is
in  favour of its  employment  in secondary  syphilis, and there  can be no
doubt that it occasionally does much good.  It is also used advantageously
in cutaneous diseases of a leprous character, and in obstinate chronic rheu-
matism.  It is usually  associated with alterative or diaphoretic medicines,
such as the antimonials, and the compound decoction or syrup of sarsapa-
rilla; and, in order to obviate the irritation it is apt to produce, it may often
be  advantageously united with opium, or extract of hemlock.  There is no
doubt that many of the substances in connexion with which it is employed,
alter its chemical condition; but  it does not follow that even in its altered
state it may not be very useful as a remedy.
   As an external remedy, corrosive  sublimate  is stimulant and escharotic.
A very weak solution in water, containing from an eighth to  half a grain in
the fluidounce, is employed as an injection in gleet, as a gargle in venereal
 sorethroat, and as a collyrium in  chronic venereal ophthalmia.   A stronger
 solution, containing one or two grains in the fluidounce, is a very efficacious
 wash in lepra, and other scaly cutaneous eruptions.  Dissolved in water, in
 the proportion of five or ten grains to the fluidounce, it may be used with
 much benefit in venereal ulcers of the throat, to which  it  should be applied
 by means of a camel's  hair pencil.  With lime-water it forms the aqua pha-
 gedxnica of the older writers, employed as a wash for ill-conditioned ulcers.
 The powdered chloride has been used as an escharotic; but is, in general,
 inferior to nitrate of silver or  caustic potassa.   In onychia  maligna, how-
 ever, it is employed with great  advantage, mixed with an equal weight of
 sulphate of zinc, and sprinkled thickly upon the surface of the ulcer, which
 is  then to be covered with a pledget  of lint saturated  with  tincture of myrrh.
 The whole diseased surface is thus removed, and the necessity of resorting 
part ii.                   Hydrargyrum.                        983

to the knife avoided.   This practice was first  introduced, we believe, by
the late Dr. Perkins of Philadelphia, and was highly recommended by Dr.
Physick.  We have employed it in several instances with complete success.
   The dose of corrosive sublimate is from a twelfth to a quarter of a grain,
repeated three or four times a day, and given in pill, or dissolved in water
or spirit.   The pill, which is the preferable form, is usually  prepared with
crumb of bread, and care should be taken that the medicine be equally dif-
fused through the pilular mass, before it  is divided.  Mucilaginous drinks
are usually given to obviate the irritating  effects of the medicine.
   Toxicological Properties. Swallowed in poisonous doses, it produces a
sense of burning heat in the throat, excruciating  pain in the stomach and
bowels, excessive thirst, anxiety, nausea  and frequent retching with vomit-
ing  of  bloody mucus, diarrhoea and sometimes bloody stools, small and
frequent pulse, cold sweats, general debility, difficult respiration, cramps in
the extremities, faintings, insensibility, convulsions, and death. The mucous
membrane of the stomach exhibits on dissection all the signs which  mark
the action of a violent corrosive poison.   These symptoms are  sometimes
followed or conjoined with others indicating an excessive  mercurial action
upon the system, such as  inflammation of the mouth and salivary glands,
profuse salivation, fetid breath, &c. In the inferior animals, in whatever mode
introduced into the system, corrosive sublimate  is  said to occasion irritation
of the stomach  and rectum, inflammation  of the lungs, oppression of the
brain, and depression  if not inflammation  of the heart. (Christison.)   In
the treatment of a case of poisoning by corrosive  sublimate, Orfila recom-
mends  the free use of the  whites of eggs beat up with water.   The albumen
of the eggs forms an insoluble and comparatively  innocent compound with
the corrosive sublimate; and the liquid by its bulk  dilutes the poison, and
distends the stomach  so as to produce vomiting.  It is, however, asserted
by M. Lassaigne that this compound of albumen  and corrosive sublimate,
when recently  precipitated, is  soluble in acid and alkaline liquids, and
in solutions of the chlorides  of potassium,  sodium, and  calcium.  (See
Journ. de  Pharm. xxiii. 510.)   It is,  therefore,  important, at the  same
time that  the antidote is used, to evacuate  the  stomach, before the newly
formed compound  can be  again dissolved.  If eggs cannot be procured,
wheat flour mixed with water may be substituted, gluten having, according
to M.  Taddei,  the same  effect as albumen.   Milk has  also been recom-
mended in  consequence of the insoluble compound which casein forms with
the  poison.  Besides the antidotes mentioned, Peruvian bark, meconic acid,
protosulphuret  of iron, and iron filings  have been  proposed, all of which
have the property of  decomposing  corrosive sublimate.   Should neither of
these antidotes be at hand, mucilaginous drinks should be largely adminis-
tered; and in any event, the patient should  be made to drink copiously, so
long as vomiting continues, or till the symptoms  are relieved.  Should  he
 be unable  to  vomit, the stomach should be washed out by means of the
 stomach  pump. The consecutive  inflammation should  be treated  with
 general or local bleeding, fomentations,  and cooling mucilaginous drinks,
 and the attendant nervous symptoms should be alleviated by opiates.    W.
   Tests for Corrosive Sublimate.  On account of the extreme virulence of
 this chloride as a poison,  the reagents  by which it may be detected form a
 subject of  study of the  utmost importance,  as  connected  with  medico-
 legal investigations.   The best tests for  determining its  mercurial nature,
 mentioned in the order of their delicacy, are ferrocyanuret  of potassium,
 lime-water, carbonate of potassa, iodide of potassium, ammonia, sulphuretted
 hydrogen, and protochloride of tin. Ferrocyanuret of potassium gives rise 
984
Hydrargyrum.
part ii.
 to a white precipitate (ferrocyanuret of mercury), becoming slowly yellow-
 ish, and at  length pale-blue.  Lime-water  throws down a yellow precipi-
 tate of hydrated deutoxide.  Carbonate of potassa causes a  brick-red pre-
 cipitate of  carbonate of mercury.  Iodide of potassium produces a very
 characteristic pale scarlet precipitate of biniodide of mercury.  This pre-
 cipitate frequently appears  at first yellow.   Ammonia gives rise  to a fine,
 white, flocculent precipitate, the officinal ammoniated mercury or white pre-
 cipitate.   Sulphuretted hydrogen occasions a  black  precipitate  of  bisul-
 phuret of mercury.  The  same  effect is produced  by hydrosulphate of
 ammonia.  Finally, protochloride of tin causes at first a white precipitate
 (calomel), and afterwards a grayish-black  one (mercury in a  finely divided
 state), and, as a  test, is not liable to any  fallacy.   Taking  the  results of
 Devergie, the relative delicacy of these tests may be expressed numerically
 as follows;—Ferrocyanuret of potassium 1|; lime-water  4;  carbonate of
 potassa 7; iodide of potassium 8; ammonia 36;  sulphuretted hydrogen or
 hydrosulphate of ammonia  60;  and protochloride of tin 80.  To the above
 the following tests may  be added, easily applied even by those unacquainted
 with chemistry.   A bright plate of copper, immersed  in a solution contain-
 ing corrosive sublimate, is  instantly  tarnished, and, after the lapse of half
 an hour, becomes covered with a grayish-white powder.   A polished piece
 of gold, moistened  with the  mercurial solution, and  touched through the
 liquid with a piece of iron,  contracts  a  white stain.   This  test, which was
 proposed by Mr.  Sylvester and simplified  by  Dr. Paris, is conveniently
 applied by moistening with the suspected solution, a gold coin or ring, and
 touching it through the  moistened  spot  with the point of a  penknife.  The
 object of the iron is to form with the gold a  simple galvanic  circle, which
 enables the latter metal  to precipitate the mercury on its surface.   Nearly
 all the above tests merely show the mercurial nature of the substance acted
 on.  To determine whether the metal is united with chlorine, the mercurial
 liquid may be precipitated by lime-water, and the  filtered solution, acidulated
 with nitric acid, then tested with nitrate of silver.  If the mercury is in the
 state of chloride,  the filtered solution will be one of chloride of calcium,
 which, with nitrate of silver, will yield  a heavy white precipitate (chloride
 of silver), insoluble in nitric acid, but soluble in ammonia.  The nitrate of
 silver  may be added directly to the mercurial liquid; and if it contain corro-
 sive sublimate, chloride  of silver will  fall, but probably mixed  with calomel.
   By the combined indications  of the foregoing tests, corrosive sublimate
 may be infallibly detected, unless it exists in very minute quantity, associ-
 ated with organic substances, by which its presence is often greatly obscured.
 When it exists in organic mixtures, made by boiling  the contents or sub-
 stance'of the stomach in distilled water, Dr.  Christison recommends that a
 preliminary trial be made with the protochloride  of  tin, on  a small portion
 filtered for the purpose.   If this causes a  grayish-black colour, he  shakes
 the mixture, as recommended by Orfila, with a fourth of its bulk of ether,
 which dissolves the chloride and rises to the surface.  The ethereal solution
 is then evaporated to dryness,  and the dry salt obtained is dissolved in hot
 water, whereby a pure solution  is procured, in which the  corrosive subli-
 mate may be readily  detected by the ordinary tests.  If the trial test should
 produce a light gray colour,  the chloride is  indicated in  still less quantity,
 and Dr. Christison recommends to proceed in the following manner. Treat
 the unfiltered mixture with  protochloride of tin, as long as any precipitate
is formed, which will have  a slate-gray colour.   Collect, wash,  and drain
it on a filter, and,  having removed it without being dried, boil it, in a glass
flask,  with  a moderately strong solution of caustic potassa,  until all the 
PART II.
Hydrargyrum.
985
lumps disappear.   The alkali will dissolve all animal and vegetable matter;
and, on allowing the solution to remain at rest, a heavy grayish-black pow-
der will subside, which consists chiefly of metallic mercury, and in which
small globules of the metal may sometimes be discovered, by the naked eye,
or by the aid of a magnifier.
   Off. Prep.  Hydrargyri Binoxydum, Lond.;  Hydrargyri Iodidum Ru-
brum, U. S.; Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Li-
quor  Hydrargyri Bichloridi, Lond.                                B.
   LIQUOR  HYDRARGYRI  BICHLORIDI. Lond.   Solution of
Bichloride of Mercury.
   " Take of Bichloride of Mercury [Corrosive Sublimate], Hydrochlorate
of Ammonia, each, ten grains; Distilled  Water a pint [Imperial measure].
Dissolve the Bichloride of Mercury and Hydrochlorate of Ammonia together
in the Water." Lond.
   This solution was intended to facilitate the dispensing of corrosive subli-
mate  in small doses.  The  muriate of ammonia has been substituted for the
alcohol formerly added to the solution, probably in order to prevent the de-
composition of the bichloride.   A solution of corrosive sublimate  in water
alone, under  the influence  of light, deposits calomel,  while  muriatic and
chloric acids remain  in the  water, nor is  this decomposition  prevented by
the addition of alcohol.   The  dose of the solution, of which a fluidounce
contains half a grain of corrosive sublimate, is from one to four fluidrachms
taken in flaxseed tea.                                           W.
   HYDRARGYRI CHLORIDUM  MITE.  U S.,   Hydrargyri
Chloridum.  Lond.   Calomelas. Ed.  Calomelas Sublimatum.
Dub.  Mild Chloride of Mercury.   Calomel.
   " Take of Mercury four pounds;  Sulphuric Acid three pounds; Chloride
of  Sodium  a pound and  a half;  Distilled Water a  sufficient quantity.
Boil  two  pounds of the  Mercury with the Sulphuric Acid, until the sul-
phate of mercury is  left dry.   Rub  this, when  cold, with the remainder of
the Mercury, in  an earthenware mortar, until they are thoroughly mixed.
Then add  the Chloride of  Sodium, and  rub it with the  other ingredients
till all the globules  disappear; afterwards sublime.   Reduce  the sublimed
matter to a very fine powder, and wash it frequently with boiling Distilled
Water, till the washings afford no precipitate upon the addition of Solution
of Ammonia; then dry it."  U. S.
   The London formula  is  the  same as  the above, except that the testing
of the washings with ammonia, or any other reagent, is not directed.
   " Take of Mercury eight ounces; Sulphuric Acid  (commercial) two
fluidounces and three fluidrachms [Imperial measure]; Pure Nitric Acid
half a fluidounce [Imp. meas.];   Muriate of  Soda three ounces.  Mix
the Acids, add four ounces of the  Mercury, and dissolve it with the aid
of a moderate heat.   Raise the  heat so as to obtain a  dry salt.   Tri-
turate this with the Muriate of Soda and  the rest of the  Mercury till the
globules entirely disappear.  Heat the mixture by means of a sand-bath in
a proper subliming apparatus.  Reduce the sublimate to fine powder; wash
the powder with boiling Distilled  Water until the Water ceases to precipi-
tate with solution of  iodide  of potassium, and then dry  it." Ed.
   " Take of Persulphate of Mercury twenty-five parts; Purified Mercury
seventeen parts;  Dried Muriate of Soda ten parts.  Triturate together the
Persulphate of Mercury and Purified Mercury,  in an earthenware mortar,
until the metallic globules completely disappear.   Then add the dried Mu-
       84 
9S6
Hydrargyrum.
PART II.
riate of Soda, and  mix them well; and from a suitable vessel, with a heat
gradually raised, sublime the mixture into a receiver.   Reduce  the  subli-
mate to powder, and wash  it with water so long as the decanted liquid is
precipitated by Water of Caustic Potassa.   Lastly, dry the Sublimed Calo-
mel." Dub.
   The object of the above processes, which all coincide in the principle on
which they are conducted, is to obtain the protochloride of mercury.  This
chloride consists of one eq. of chlorine and one  of mercury, and conse-
quently  contains precisely half as much  chlorine as corrosive  sublimate,
combined with the same quantity of mercury.  In the process of the U.S.
Pharmacopoeia, as in the case of corrosive sublimate,  a bisulphate of the
deutoxide is first formed; but instead  of being  immediately sublimed with
the chloride of sodium, it undergoes a preparatory trituration with the same
quantity of mercury as was employed in forming it.  This trituration may
be conceived to take place between one eq. of the bisulphate of the deutoxide,
and one eq. of metallic mercury, which are thus converted into two equiva-
lents of the monosulphate of the protoxide.  This change will  be easily
understood, by adverting to the fact, that  the bisulphate of the  deutoxide
consists of two eqs. of sulphuric acid, two of oxygen, and one of mercury,
and when rubbed up with one additional  eq. of mercury, the whole becomes
two eqs. of acid, two  of oxygen, and  two of mercury, evidently corre-
sponding with two  eqs. of the monosulphate of the protoxide.  The two
eqs. of monosulphate thus formed, being heated with two eqs. of common
salt, the two eqs. of chlorine in the latter sublime in union with the two eqs.
of mercury in the former, and  generate two eqs. of protochloride of mer-
cury;  while the two eqs. severally, of sulphuric acid, oxygen, and sodium,
unite together to form two eqs. of dry sulphate of soda, which remain as a
fixed residue.  It is hence apparent that the residue in this process is the
same as in that for corrosive sublimate.
  The calomel in mass, as sublimed, is liable to contain a  little  corrosive
sublimate;  and hence the directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia,  to reduce
the sublimed matter to  a very fine powder, and to wash it with boiling dis-
tilled  water until ammonia produces no  precipitate  with  the washings.
Ammonia occasions a white precipitate so long as the washings contain cor-
rosive  sublimate; and  when  it ceases to produce this  effect, the operator
may rest satisfied that the whole of the  poisonous salt has been  removed.
The London College prescribes a careful washing, but omits in the formula
any directions for testing for corrosive  sublimate.  The proper tests for
ascertaining the purity of calomel are, however, enumerated in the " Notes,"
prefixed  to the " Preparations."
  The Edinburgh  formula is  peculiar  in ordering a small  proportion of
nitric acid to assist the  sulphuric acid in oxidizing the mercury, as is done
also in the corrosive sublimate process.  The washings are tested by iodide
of potassium, which is not  so  delicate  a  test as  ammonia.   The Dublin
process includes no  directions for making the bisulphate of the deutoxide of
mercury;  because  that  salt,  in the Dublin Pharmacopoeia,  is made by a
separate  formula, and designated  by a distinct name, persulphate of mer-
cury.   It is, therefore,  taken ready formed, mixed with the  mercury and
common salt in  the usual way, and the mixture sublimed.   The College
has omitted to mention that the water used for washing should be boiling
hot.   The solution  of caustic potassa, used to test the  washings, is not so
delicate a reagent as either iodide of potassium or ammonia.
   Preparation on the Large Scale.  The process for  making calomel by
means of the bisulphate of deutoxide of mercury, was originally practised at 
PART II.
Hydrargyrum.
987
Apothecaries' Hall, London.  The proportions taken,  and the mode of
proceeding, in that establishment, are, according to Mr. Brande, as follows:
50 lbs. of mercury are boiled to dryness with 70 lbs. of sulphuric  acid,
in a cast iron vessel; and 62 lbs. of the dry salt formed are triturated with
40| lbs. of mercury till the globules disappear, and the whole is mixed with
34 lbs. of common salt. The mixture is then sublimed from an earthenware
retort into an earthenware receiver, and  the product is from 95 to 100 lbsw
of calomel.   The sublimate is next ground  to an impalpable  powder, and
washed  with a large quantity of distilled water.
  The object of bringing calomel  into a state of minute division, is more
perfectly accomplished by the method of Mr. Joseph Jewell, of London,
improved by M. Ossian Henry.  It consists in causing the calomel in
vapour  to come  in contact with steam  in a large receiver, whereby it is
condensed into an impalpable powder, and perfectly washed from corrosive
sublimate, in the same operation.   Calomel made by this  process, some-
times called Jewell's hydro sublimate of mercury, is free from all suspicion
of containing corrosive sublimate, is much finer than when obtained by
levigation and elutriation, and possesses  more activity as a medicine.  This
kind of calomel is included  in  the French  Codex under a distinct name
(mercure doux a la vapeur), and is almost exclusively employed in Eng-
land and France.  M. Soubeiran of Paris, and M. Dann of Stuttgardt, have
proposed to form an  impalpable calomel by passing  its vapour through a
tube mixed  with a current of air.  M.  Soubeiran  states that  his first at-
tempts by this process have proved quite successful.
  Properties.   Mild  chloride of mercury is  a tasteless, inodorous  sub-
stance, insoluble  in water, alcohol, and ether, less volatile  than  corrosive
sublimate, unalterable  in the air, but blackening by long exposure to light.
When in mass its form and appearance depend upon  the shape and tempe-
rature of the subliming vessel.   In this slate, it is generally in the form of
a white  fibrous  crystalline cake, soft and brittle,  the interior  surface of
which is often studded with shining transparent crystals, having the shape of
quadrangular prisms,  and a  texture somewhat horny and elastic.  When
the mass is scratched  it yields a yellow streak, which  is very characteristic.
Its sp. gr. is 7-2.  The officinal form of  this chloride is that of powder, in
which state it always  exists  in the shops.  The powder has a light buff or
ivory colour, if  obtained by the levigation of sublimed masses; but if con-
densed at once in the form of an impalpable powder, as is the case with Jew-
ell's calomel, it is perfectly white.  To protect it from  the action of the light,
it should be kept in  a dark  place, or in bottles painted black or covered
with black paper.  By the  action of the alkalies or  alkaline earths it im-
mediately becomes  black, in consequence  of the formation of protoxide.
(See Hydrargyri Oxidum  Nigrum.)   The composition of calomel has
already  been mentioned.   The  first European writer by whom it was de-
scribed was Benguin,  in 1608; but the researches of Mr. Hatchett seem to
prove that it was long known  and prepared in Thibet.
   Tests of Purity and Incompatibles.   Calomel, when pure, completely
sublimes on the application of  heat, and strikes a black  colour, free  from
reddish  tinge, by the action of the fixed  alkalies. The buff colour indicates
the absence of corrosive sublimate; but whiteness by no means shows the
presence of  impurity.  Its freedom from the corrosive chloride may be de-
termined by heating a small portion of it in distilled water, and then testing
the water with  ammonia, which will cause a white precipitate in case the
water has taken  up any of the chloride.   In using this test it  is best not to 
988
Hydrargyrum.
PART II.
boil the water on the calomel; as boiling water is said to convert it to a slight
extent into corrosive sublimate.   Besides being incompatible with the alka-
lies and  alkaline earths, it is also decomposed by the alkaline carbonates,
soaps, hydrosulphates, and, according to  some  authorities, by iron, lead,
and  copper.   Agreeably to the  experiments of M. Deschamps (Journ. de
Pharm.  xxv. 27), calomel is decomposed  by bitter almonds and  by  hydro-
cyanic acid.   In the former case corrosive  sublimate, bicyanuret of mer-
cury, and muriate of ammonia are formed;  in the latter corrosive sublimate
and  bicyanuret only.   Hence  this  writer considers it very dangerous to
associate calomel with  bitter  almonds  in  prescription.  According to M.
Mialhe calomel  is in part converted into corrosive  sublimate and metallic
mercury by muriate of ammonia, and by the  chlorides of sodium and potas-
sium, even at  the  temperature of the body; and hence he believes that the
conversion may take place in the prima? viae.  (Journ. de Pharm. xxvi. 108.)
Popular belief coincides with M. Miahle's views in  regard  to the power of
common salt of increasing the activity of calomel.                  B.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Calomel unites  to the  general properties
of the mercurials  those of a purgative  and  anthelmintic.   It is the most
valuable  of the mercurial preparations, and in extent of  employment is in-
ferior  to few articles of the Materia Medica.   Whether the  object is to
bring the system under the general influence of mercury, or to produce its
alterative action  upon the  hepatic or other secretory functions, calomel, on
account both of  its certainty and mildness, is preferred to all other prepara-
tions, with the single  exception of  the blue pill,  which, though less cer-
tain, is still milder, and is sometimes  preferably employed.  When used
with the above objects, the tendency to purge which it sometimes evinces,
even in very small doses, must be restrained by combining  it with opium.
In sialagogue or alterative doses, it is often  prescribed with other medicines,
which, while they  give  it a direction to certain  organs, have their own
peculiar influence  increased  by its co-operation.  Thus it  renders  squill
more diuretic, nitre and the antimonials more diaphoretic, and seneka more
expectorant.
  As a purgative,  calomel  owes its  chief value  to its tendency to the. liver,
the secretory function of which it powerfully stimulates.  It  is usually slow
and somewhat uncertain in its cathartic effect, and though itself but slightly
irritating, sometimes occasions severe griping  pain  with bilious  vomiting,
attributable  to the acrid character of the  bile which it causes the liver to
secrete.  It is peculiarly useful  in the commencement of bilious  fevers, in
hepatitis, jaundice, bilious  and  painters' colic, dysentery, especially that of
tropical climates,  and all other affections  attended with congestion  of the
portal  system, or torpidity  of  the  hepatic  vessels.  The  difficulty with
which it is thrown  from the stomach,  renders it highly useful  in some
cases of obstinate  vomiting, when  other  remedies are rejected.  In the
cases of  children,  it is peculiarly valuable from the facility  of its  adminis-
tration; and in the febrile complaints to which they are subject, appears to
exercise a curative influence, depending on some other cause than its mere
purgative effect, and perhaps referable to its  action upon the liver.   In the
treatment of worms it is one of the most efficient remedies, acting probably
not only as a purgative, but also as  an irritant to the worms, either by its
immediate influence, or that of the acrid bile which it causes to flow. The
slowness and  uncertainty  of its  action, and its  liability to salivate if too
long retained in the bowels, render it proper either to follow or combine it
with other cathartics, in order to ensure its purgative effect.  When given 
PART II.
Hydrargyrum.
989
alone, it should be followed, if it do not operate in six or seven hours, by a
dose of castor oil or sulphate of magnesia.   The cathartics with which it is
most frequently combined are jalap, rhubarb, aloes, scammony, colocynth,
and gamboge.  It is often added  in small qualities to purgative combinations,
with a view to its influence  on the biliary organs.
  In very large doses, calomel  is supposed by  some to act directly as a
sedative, and with  this view has been given in yellow and malignant bilious
fevers, violent  dysentery,  malignant cholera, &c.  The quantities  which
have been administered in such  affections, with asserted impunity and even
advantage, are almost incredible.  A common dose is one or two scruples,
repeated every half hour, or hour, or less frequently, according to the cir-
cumstances of the  case.  We have had no  experience in this mode  of ad-
ministering calomel.
  It is sometimes used as  an  errhine in amaurosis, mixed with twice its
weight of sugar, or other mild powder; and in the same combination is
occasionally employed to remove specks and opacity of the cornea.   For
this latter  purpose, Dupuytren recommends particularly the  calomel pre-
pared according to the plan of Mr. Jewell.   Calomel  is also sometimes
employed externally in  herpetic,  and other eruptions, in the shape of ah
ointment.
  The dose as an alterative in functional derangement of the liver, is from
half a  grain to  a grain every night,  or  every other  night, followed in the
morning, if the bowels are  not opened, by a gentle saline laxative.  When
the stomach or bowels are very  irritable, as in cholera and diarrhoea, from
an eighth  to a quarter of a  grain may be given every hour or two, so as to
amount to one  or two grains in the  course of the day.  With a view to
salivation, the dose is  from half  a grain to a grain three or four times a day,
to be increased  considerably in urgent cases.  When large doses  are given
with this view, it is often  necessary to  combine them with opium.   As a
purgative, from five to fifteen grains or more may be given.  Calomel has
the peculiarity that its cathartic  action is not increased  in proportion to the
dose, and  enormous quantities have sometimes  been given with impunity.
In yellow fever, tropical dysentery, &c, from  twenty grains to  a drachm
have been  given and  repeated at short intervals, without producing hyper-
catharsis;  but this  practice  is justifiable only in cases of extreme urgency,
in which the  constitutional action of mercury as well as  purgation is indi-
cated.   Even in  very small doses  of not  more  than one, two, or  three
grains, calomel purges some individuals briskly.  In these persons, large
doses, though they do not proportionably increase the evacuation, often oc-
casion excessive spasmodic pain in the stomach and  bowels.  For children,
larger doses are generally required in proportion than for adults.  Not less
than from three to six grains should be given as a purge to a child two or three
years old, and this quantity often  fails to act on the bowels, unless assisted
by  castor oil, or  some  other cathartic.   Calomel  may  be  given in pill
made with gum Arabic and  syrup, or in powder mixed with syrup or mo-
lasses.
  Off.Prep.  Hydrargyri Oxidum  Nigrum, U.S.,  Lond., Dub.;  Pilulae
Calomelanos  et Opii, Ed.; Pilulee  Catharticae  Compositae, U. S.; Pilulae
Hydrarg. Chloridi Comp., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Pilulae Hydrargyri Chloridi
Mitis, U. S.                                                     W.
  CALOMELAS  PRAECIPITATUM.  Dub.   Precipitated  Cal-
omel.
  "Take  of Purified Mercury seventeen parts;  Diluted Nitric Acid fifteen
                                 84* 
990
Hydrargyrum.
PART II.
parts.  Pour the Acid upon  the  Mercury in a glass vessel; and when the
mixture shall have ceased to effervesce, digest with a medium heat, with
occasional agitation,  for six hours.   Then increase the heat that the liquor
may boil for a short time, and afterwards pour it off from the residual Mer-
cury, and quickly mix it with four hundred parts of boiling Water, con-
taining seven parts  of Muriate of Soda  in solution.   Wash the powder
which subsides with warm Distilled  Water, so  long as the liquor decanted
from it is precipitated by the addition of  a few drops of Water of Caustic
Potassa;  lastly, dry it."  Dub.
   The method of forming calomel in the  humid way, or by precipitation,
 was first proposed by Scheele.   It consists of two steps; first, the forma-
 tion of the nitrate of  protoxide of mercury by dissolving the metal in  weak
 nitric acid,  and secondly, the decomposition of this salt by means of a hot
 solution of chloride of sodium (common salt).   The nitric acid combines
 with sodium  and the oxygen  of the protoxide,  so as to form nitrate of soda
 in solution, while the chlorine and mercury unite to form protochloride of
 mercury which precipitates.  Though this process is sufficiently simple in
 theory, the performance of it is attended with some difficulty.  It is neces-
 sary, in the first place, to prepare a pure nitrate of the protoxide, an object
 which  is apt to miscarry, in consequence of the liability of the metal to
 become deutoxidized by the  action  of nitric acid.  To guard against this
 result,  weak  nitric acid is employed, more mercury is ordered than the acid
 can dissolve, and a  moderate heat applied, and that only after the  effer-
 vescence has ceased.  In the next place,  the operator must  guard against
 the  precipitation of a  subnitrate,  which  is always thrown  down by the
 action of water upon the nitrate.  To prevent the production of this im-
 purity, it is  necessary slightly to  acidulate the nitric solution of the mer-
 cury with nitric acid, or the solution of common  salt with  muriatic acid;
 for  an excess  of acid in either  of  the solutions effectually prevents the
 formation of  the subnitrate.  This necessary precaution has been omitted
 in the  directions of the Dublin College.   The  reason why the deutoxida-
 tion of the metal, and consequent production of binitrate of the deutoxide
 are to be avoided, is, that this salt, by double decomposition with the  solu-
 tion of chloride of sodium, generates corrosive sublimate.   The production
 of corrosive  sublimate in this way in the  process will not injure the pre-
 cipitated calomel, provided this be thoroughly  washed;  but it is objection-
 able  as diminishing its quantity.   When, however, the subnitrate is allowed
 to be formed, it contaminates the precipitated calomel, and, from its insolu-
 bility, cannot be separated by washing.   As,  notwithstanding every pre-
 caution,  corrosive sublimate will be formed  in  this process, the  liquor
 poured off from the  precipitated  calomel  should be reserved for preparing
 white precipitate, as  is done by  the  Dublin College.  (See Hydrargyrum
 Ammoniatum.)
   Properties, fyc.  Precipitated calomel, when properly prepared, scarcely
 differs in properties  from sublimed calomel.   It is stated  to  be whiter,
 smoother,  and lighter than when obtained by sublimation.   Another dif-
 ference,  according  to Giittling,  is that it assumes a gray, while the sub-
 limed  calomel assumes  a black  colour,  when triturated with lime-water.
 The presence  of subnitrate  may be detected by digesting the preparation
 in water containing a little nitric acid, and  then  testing the acid by an alkali,
 which will cause a precipitate, if any subnitrate has been taken up.  Cor-
 rosive  sublimate may be discovered  in the manner stated under the head of
 sublimed calomel, page 987.
   The medical properties of precipitated calomel are the same as those of 
PART II.
Hydrargyru m.
991
sublimed calomel.  By some it is supposed to be more purgative.  It is not
used, and may be viewed as a superfluous preparation.               B.
  HYDRARGYRI  CYANURETUM. U.S.,  Dub.   Hydrargyri
Bicyanidum. Lond.   Cyanuret of Mercury.   Bicyanide of Mer-
cury.   Bicyanuret of Mercury.   Prussiate of Mercury.
  "Take of Ferrocyanuret of Iron [Prussian blue]  four ounces;  Red
Oxide of Mercury three ounces or a sufficient quantity; Distilled Water
three pints.   Put the Ferrocyanuret of Iron and three ounces of the Oxide
of Mercury, previously  powdered  and thoroughly  mixed together, into a
glass vessel; and pour upon them two pints of the Distilled Water.  Then
boil  the mixture, stirring constantly; and, if at the end  of half an hour the
blue colour remain, add small portions of the Oxide  of Mercury, continuing
the ebullition until the mixture becomes of a yellowish colour;  after which,
filter it through paper.  Wash the  residue in a pint of the Distilled Water,
and  filter as before. Mix the solutions, and evaporate till a pellicle appears;
then set the liquor aside  that crystals  may form.  To  purify the crystals,
dissolve them in Distilled Water, filter and evaporate the solution, and set it
aside to crystallize."  U. S.
  "Take of Percyanide of Iron [Prussian blue] eight ounces; Binoxide
of Mercury ten ounces; Distilled  Water four pints [Imperial measure].
Boil them together for half an  hour, and strain.   Evaporate the liquor that
crystals may form.  Wash what remains frequently with boiling Distilled
Water, and  again  evaporate the mixed liquors  that crystals  may form.
Bicyanide of Mercury  may be  otherwise  prepared by adding as much
Binoxide of Mercury as will  accurately saturate it to Hydrocyanic Acid,
distilled  from  Ferrocyanide of Potassium with Diluted Sulphuric Acid."
Lond.
  " Take of Cyanuret of Iron [Prussian blue] six parts;  Nitric Oxide of
Mercury [red precipitate] five parts;  Distilled Water forty parts.   Mix
the  Cyanuret  of Iron and Oxide of Mercury, and then add  them to the
Water previously warmed.  Boil  the  mixture with constant stirring, for
half an hour,  and filter through bibulous paper.  Wash the residue fre-
quently with warm Distilled Water.  Lastly, filter the liquors, and evapo-
rate them, so that, upon cooling, crystals may form." Dub.
  The above processes  are essentially the same; their object being to pre-
sent cyanogen  and mercury to each other under favourable circumstances
for combination.  The compound formed consists of two eqs. of cyanogen,
and one of mercury.  It is, therefore, properly speaking, a bicyanuret. As
Prussian blue  is  a compound of  cyanogen and iron, the reaction which
occurs  is a case  of  double decomposition, resulting  in the  formation of
bicyanuret of mercury,  and a mixture of  the protoxide and sesquioxide of
iron. The reaction may be thus expressed; 2Fe7Cy9-f 9Hg02=9HgCy2-f
6FeO-f4Fe203.   This  formula would be exact, if nothing  remained but
the oxides of iron; but in the residuum cyanogen appears to be present in
an unknown state of combination.  Taking the Prussian  blue at the con-
stant quantity of 4 parts, the U. S. Pharmacopoeia uses 3, the Dublin 3*3,
and the London 5 parts  of the red  precipitate. As Prussian blue is variable
in quality, it is impossible to  know beforehand  how much oxide may be
necessary to decompose it.  Hence the U. S. Pharmacopoeia very properly
leaves the quantity to be determined in the progress of the process.  Of
course, the  pure Prussian  blue of the U. S. and London  Pharmacopoeias
will require more of the red precipitate than the commercial Prussian blue
of the Dublin College. 
992                       Hydrargyrum.                   part ii.

   Winckler prepares the bicyanuret of mercury by the following process.
Mix 15  parts of ferrocyanuret of potassium  in powder with 13 parts of
concentrated sulphuric acid, and 100 parts of water.   Distil the mixture to
dryness into a receiver containing 30 parts of water.  The ferrocyanuret is
decomposed, sulphate  of potassa is formed  in the retort, and  hydrocyanic
acid distils over.   Of the acid thus obtained reserve a portion, and mix the
rest with 16 parts of red oxide of mercury in fine powder, and  stir the mix-
ture till the odour of hydrocyanic acid has entirely disappeared.  Then de-
cant the liquor and add  for the purpose  of saturating it, the portion of acid
that had been reserved.   This process gives 12 parts of the bicyanuret.  If
the liquor were not treated with free hydrocyanic acid after having acted on
the red oxide, it would  probably contain some of this oxide  in excess, and
when evaporated  would yield, instead  of the bicyanuret, a peculiar salt,
composed of this  cyanuret and  the red oxide, which crystallizes in small
acicular crystals.  This process is substantially the  same with the  second
process given by the London College.
   Properties, <y-c.  Cyanuret of mercury is a white substance, permanent
in the air, and  crystallized  in anhydrous right square prisms, which are
sometimes transparent, but usually white and opaque.   It has a disagree-
able styptic taste.   It  is but sparingly soluble in  alcohol, but dissolves
readily in cold water, and much  more abundantly in hot.  When acted on
by muriatic acid, hydrocyanic acid is  evolved, recognisable by its  odour,
and  bichloride of mercury is left.  When heated it yields  cyanogen, and
mercury remains behind.  It acts  on the animal economy as a potent poi-
son.  In medicinal doses it excites nausea and vomiting,  and not unfre-
quentiy ptyalism, but does not produce epigastric pain  like  corrosive  sub-
limate.   It has  been occasionally used as  a remedy in syphilis,  and is
preferred by some practitioners to corrosive sublimate, as it does not  give
rise to pain, and  as it  is not decomposed by alkalies  and certain organic
matters, as corrosive sublimate is.   The dose is from  a sixteenth to an
eighth of a grain or more.   Its composition has been already  given.  For
the properties and composition of cyanogen, see page 790.
   Off. Prep. Acidum Prussicum,  Dub.                           B.
   HYDRARGYRI IODIDUM.  U.S., Lond.   Iodide  of Mercury.
Protiodide of  Mercury.
   " Take of Mercury an ounce; Iodine five drachms; Alcohol a sufficient
quantity.  Rub the Mercury and Iodine together, adding sufficient Alcohol
to form a soft paste, and continue the trituration till  the globules disappear.
Then dry the Iodide in  the dark, with a gentle heat, and keep it in a  well
stopped bottle from which the light is excluded." U. S.
   The London process is the original of the one above quoted.
   The process above given for forming  the protiodide of mercury is a  case
of simple combination,  the alcohol facilitating the union by dissolving the
iodine.   This iodide is  also prepared by precipitation, by adding a solution
of iodide of potassium to one of the nitrate of protoxide of mercury;  but as
it is difficult to prepare  the nitrate of the protoxide, without being  mixed
with some nitrate of  deutoxide, the protiodide, when  thus obtained, is apt
to be contaminated with  biniodide.   A better way is to decompose calomel
by iodide of potassium,  in which case protiodide of mercury and chloride of
potassium are formed,  the latter of  which  may be removed by washing.
The formula recommended by M. Boutigny is to mix twenty-nine drachms
of calomel with twenty of pulverized iodide of potassium in a glass mortar,
and to pour upon the mixture twelve ounces of boiling distilled water. After
cooling, the liquid is decanted,  and the  precipitate washed on  a filter  with 
PART II.
Hydrargyrum.
993
distilled water, and dried in the shade. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm. viii. 326,
from the Bull. Gen. de Therap.)
  Properties.  This iodide is in the form of a greenish-yellow powder, inso-
luble  in  water, alcohol, or solution of chloride of sodium, but soluble in
ether.   Its sp. gr. is 7*75.  When exposed to the light it is partially de-
composed, and becomes of a dark olive colour.   If quickly and cautiously
heated,  it sublimes in red crystals which afterwards become yellow.  It is
composed  of one eq. of mercury 202, and one of iodine  126-3=328*3.
Its formula is Hgl.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Iodide of mercury  has been given in
scrofula and scrofulous syphilis.  The dose is a grain daily,  gradually in-
creased to three or four.   It is, however, chiefly employed in the  form of
ointment.
  Off. Prep.  Pilulae Hydrargyri Iodidi, Lond.;  Unguentum Hydrargyri
Iodidi, Lond.                                                     B.
  HYDRARGYRI  IODIDUM  RUBRUM. U.S.   Hydrargyri
Biniodidum. Lond., Ed.   Red Iodide of Mercury.  Biniodide of
Mercury.
  " Take of Corrosive Chloride of Mercury an ounce; Iodide of Potassium
ten drachms;  Distilled Water two pints.   Dissolve  the Chloride of Mer-
cury in a pint and a half, and the Iodide of Potassium in half a pint of the
Distilled Water, and mix  the  solutions.   Collect the precipitate  upon a
filter, and, having washed it with Distilled Water, dry it with a moderate
heat, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle." U. S.
  "Take of Mercury an ounce; Iodine ten drachms;  Alcohol a sufficient
quantity.  Rub the Mercury and Iodine together, adding the Alcohol gradu-
ally, until globules  are no longer visible.  Dry the  powder with  a gentle
heat,  and keep it in a well-stopped vessel."  Lond.
  " Take of Mercury two ounces; Iodine two ounces and  a half; con-
centrated solution of Muriate of Soda  a gallon.   Triturate  the Mercury
and Iodine together,  adding  occasionally a little Rectified Spirit till a uni-
form  red powder be obtained.   Reduce the product to fine  powder, and
dissolve it in the  solution of  Muriate of Soda with the aid of brisk ebulli-
tion.   Filter, if necessary, through calico, keeping the funnel hot.   Wash
and dry the crystals which form on cooling." Ed.
  In  the U. S. process for forming the red iodide of mercury, a double
decomposition takes  place between  the corrosive sublimate  and iodide of
potassium, resulting  in  the formation of  chloride of potassium which
remains in solution, and biniodide of mercury which precipitates.  The
precipitate formed is  soluble in the reacting salts,  and  hence  a loss of part
of  it  is  incurred by an excess  of either.  It  is best,  however,  to have a
slight excess of the iodide  of potassium, which  is furnished by the pro-
portion of the U. S. formula; as then  the decomposition of  the whole of
the corrosive sublimate is insured, and any contamination of the biniodide
by  it prevented.  The process of the London College is  the  same in prin-
ciple as  the U. S. and London processes  for  the  protiodide;  namely,  the
simple combination of the  ingredients by trituration, with the aid  of alco-
hol, a double proportion of iodine, of course, being  taken.  The Edin-
burgh College  unites the ingredients of this iodide  in the same  manner;
but after it is  formed, the resulting mass is treated with  a boiling  solution
of common salt, which dissolves the  biniodide,  to  the  exclusion of any
contaminating protiodide; and  the solution, thus-obtained, on cooling, de-
posits the pure biniodide in crystals. 
994
Hydrargyrum.
PART II.
   Properties. Biniodide of mercury is a scarlet-red powder, of the sp. gr.
 6-3, insoluble in water, but  soluble in alcohol, and in solutions of iodide
 of potassium, chloride of sodium, and of many of the mercurial salts.  As
 obtained by the Edinburgh process, it is  in splendid crimson acicular crys-
 tals.   When heated it fuses readily into  a yellow liquid,  and  sublimes  in
 yellow rhombic scales, which become red on cooling.  It forms definite
 compounds with  the iodides of the  alkaline metals.   That  formed with
 iodide of potassium has been  used  medicinally. (See Iodo-hydrargyrate
 of Potassium  in the Appendix.)  It consists of one eq.  of mercury 202,
 and two of iodine 252-6=454-6.  Its formula is Hgl2. It combines with the
 protiodide, so as to form a  yellow sesquiodide, represented by the formula
 Hgl+Hgl2 or Hg.J3.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Biniodide of mercury is a powerful irri-
 tant poison.  It  has been used  in similar diseases with the protiodide,
 namely, in scrofula and syphilis, but  is much more active.  The dose is a
 sixteenth of a  grain, gradually increased to a fourth, given in pill, or dis-
 solved in alcohol.
   Off. Prep. Unguentum Hydrargyri Biniodidi, Lond.             B.
   HYDARGYRI  OXIDUM  NIGRUM. U.S.   Hydrargyri Oxy-
 dum  Nigrum. Dub.  HYDRARGYRI OXYDUM. Lond.  Black
 Oxide of Mercury.
   " Take of Mild  Chloride of Mercury [Calomel],  Potassa, each, four
 ounces; Water a pint.   Dissolve the Potassa in the  Water, and when the
 dregs shall have subsided, pour off the clear solution.  To this add the Chlo-
 ride of Mercury, and stir them constantly together till the Black Oxide is
 formed.  Having poured off the supernatant liquor, wash  the Black Oxide
 with Distilled Water, and dry it with  a gentle heat."  U. S.
   " Take of Sublimed Calomel onepart;  Water of Caustic Potassa, heated,
four parts.   Rub them together until an oxide of ablack colour is obtained.
 Wash this frequently with  water, and dry it upon bibulous paper with a me-
 dium heat." Dub.
   " Take of Chloride of Mercury  [Calomel] an ounce; Lime-water a gallon
 [Imperial measure].  Mix and frequently shake them.  Set aside the mix-
 ture, and when the  Oxide shall have subsided, pour off the liquor.  Lastly,
 wash it in Distilled Water till nothing alkaline can be perceived, and, having
 wrapped  it in bibulous paper, dry it in the air." Lond.
   The  object of these processes  is to obtain  the protoxide or black  oxide
 of mercury, which  was at one time believed to be the active constituent of
 those preparations in which the  metal is  minutely divided by trituration.
 The U. S. and Dublin processes  afford the protoxide in a purer state than
 the London.  The two former are essentially the same.  In both, calomel is
 completely decomposed by the solution of potassa; its chlorine being con-
 verted by union with potassium into chloride of potassium, which remains in
 solution, while the mercury unites with the oxygen of the potassa to form prot-
 oxide of mercury which subsides.  More potassa is employed than by calcu-
 lation would seem to be requisite; but it has been ascertained by experiment,
 that a considerable excess is necessary for the complete decomposition of the
 calomel.  In the U. S. process, however,  the quantity is, perhaps, unne-
 cessarily large; being  more  than double  the proportion  contained in the
 " water of caustic potassa,"  directed  by  the Dublin College.   The use of
 the officinal solution of potassa is preferable, on the  score of economy, to
 that of  a  solution extemporaneously prepared from the caustic alkali.  In
 order to ensure the success of the process, the calomel, very finely levi- 
PART II.
Hydrargyrum.
995
gated, should be rubbed  quickly with the alkaline solution in a mortar, and
the resulting oxide should be dried in the dark with a very gentle  heat, as
it is decomposed by the agency both of light and of an elevated tempera-
ture.  For the same  reason it  should be  preserved in  an opaque bottle.
This mode of preparing the black oxide of mercury was introduced into
use by Mr. Donovan.
  In the London  process, the reaction  takes  place between calomel and
lime-water.   An  interchange of principles takes place;  the calcium of the
lime taking the chlorine of the  calomel to form chloride  of calcium, which
remains in solution, and the mercury uniting with the oxygen of the lime
to form protoxide of mercury, which subsides.  But it is extremely  difficult
completely to decompose calomel in this manner, on account of the  obstacle
which its insolubility and the dilute nature of the solution of lime presents
to that close contact of particles  which is essential to the chemical reaction of
different bodies on each other.   Hence the protoxide, in  this preparation, is
almost always mixed with a portion of calomel,  which  is greater  or less,
according to the care with which the process has been conducted.   When
the proportion is large, the powder has a grayish colour; when very small,
it scarcely differs  in  appearance or properties from the U. S. and Dublin
oxide.  From the uncertainty  of  its composition, it  should be discarded
from use.
   The oxide may also be prepared by decomposing a solution of the nitrate
of protoxide of mercury by the solution of potassa. This nitrate may be ob-
tained by treating twenty parts  of mercury with eighteen parts of nitric acid
of 25° Baume, adding, when nitrous vapours cease to rise, ten parts of warm
distilled water, boiling for a short time, decanting the clear liquor, and setting
it aside to crystallize. The mother waters by evaporation will furnish a new
product of crystals of protonitrate.  (Ratier's Pharm. Frang.)  The prepara-
tion, formerly officinal in the Dublin Pharmacopoeia under the name of Pul-
vis Hydrargyri Cinereus, made by adding carbonate of ammonia to a solu-
tion of mercury in heated nitric acid, was a mixture of subnitrate of mercury
and ammonia with the protoxide of mercury.
  Properties, fyc.  As first prepared, this oxide is greenish-black; but as
found in the shops it is almost  always of an olive colour, owing, it is sup-
posed, to the chemical changes  which it undergoes.  It  is inodorous, taste-
less, and  insoluble in  water and  alkaline  solutions;  and  consists  of one
equiv. of mercury 202, and one equiv.  of oxygen 8=210.   On exposure
to light or heat it is  decomposed, one part  assuming the metallic  state, in
consequence of the loss of its oxygen, which converts another part  into the
deutoxide. The preparation, therefore, becomes a mixture of the protoxide,
the deutoxide, and metallic mercury, with which calomel is sometimes asso-
ciated, in consequence of the incomplete decomposition of that originally
employed in the process.  By a strong heat it is completely dissipated, and
metallic globules are sublimed.  When pure it is  soluble  in acetic and nitric
acids, and entirely insoluble in muriatic acid, which  forms with it water and
calomel.   If it contain the deutoxide, this is dissolved by muriatic acid, and
may be detected in the solution  by the production of a white precipitate with
water of ammonia, and of a yellow one with solution of potassa. Calomel,
if  present, may be discovered  by boiling the powder with a solution of
potassa, thus forming chloride  of potassium, which, when  the  solution is
saturated with nitric acid, will afford a white precipitate of chloride of sil-
ver on the addition of nitrate of silver.  (Phillips.)
  Medical Properties and Uses.  The black oxide is alterative, sialagogue,
and purgative. It may be employed for the same purposes with calomel, over 
996
Hydrargyru m.
PART II.
which, however, it has not in our hands exhibited any superiority, while,
from the occasional presence of the deutoxide, it must be liable to operate
harshly.  The idea under which it was introduced into use, that it was the
basis of the blue pill, is probably erroneous.  Made into an ointment with
lard, according to the process of Donovan, it may be applied externally with
good effect in bringing the system under the mercurial influence.  (See Un-
guentum Hydrargyri.) Its dose as an alterative is one-fourth or half a grain
daily, as a sialagogue from one to three grains two or three times a day, given
in the form  of pill.   It was  employed by Mr. Abernethy for mercurial
fumigation;  the patient being placed, covered with  under  garments, in a
vapour-bath, and exposed for fifteen  or twenty minutes  to  the  vapours
arising from two drachms of  the oxide, put upon heated  iron within  the
bath.                                                           W.
   HYDRARGYRI  OXIDUM RUBRUM. U.S.,Ed. Hydargyri
trico-oxydum. Lond.   Hydrargyri Oxydum Nitricum. Dub. Red
 Oxide of Mercury.   Red Precipitate.
   " Take of Mercury, thirty-six ounces; Nitric Acid fourteen fluidounces;
Water two pints.  Dissolve the Mercury, with a gentle heat, in the Acid
and Water previously  mixed together, and evaporate to dryness.  Rub  the
dry mass into powder, and heat it in a very shallow  vessel till red vapours
cease to rise." U. S.
   "Take of Mercury three pounds; Nitric Acid apound and  a half; Dis-
tilled Water two pints [Imperial measure].  Mix in a suitable vessel, and
apply a gentle heat till the  Mercury is dissolved.  Boil down the  solution;
and rub the residue into powder.  Put this into  another very shallow ves-
sel; then  apply a gentle fire, and gradually increase it, till red vapour ceases
to rise."  Lond.
   " Take of Mercury eight ounces; Diluted Nitric Acid  (D. l-280)^t-c
fluidounces [Imperial  measure].  Dissolve half of the Mercury in the Acid
with the aid of a moderate heat; and continue the heat till a dry salt is formed.
Triturate  the rest of the Mercury with the salt till a fine uniform powder be
obtained;  heat the powder in a porcelain vessel and constantly stir it, till acid
fumes cease to be discharged." Ed.
   " Take of Purified Mercury two parts; Diluted Nitric Acid  three parts.
Dissolve  the Mercury, and let heat be applied until the dried mass is con-
verted into red scales." Dub.
   In these processes the mercury is first oxidized at the expense of a portion
of the nitric acid, the remainder of which unites with the oxidized metal to
form either the nitrate of the deutoxide of mercury, or a mixture of this with
the nitrate of the protoxide.  The resulting mass when exposed to a strong
heat is decomposed, giving out red nitrous fumes, and  assuming  successively
a yellow, orange, and brilliant purple-red colour, which becomes orange-red
on cooling.   These changes are owing to the gradual separation and decom-
position of the nitric acid, by the oxygen of which the protoxide of the pro-
tonitrate,  if any be present, is converted into deutoxide, while nitric oxide gas
escapes, and takes the  form of nitrous acid vapour on contact with the air.
The deutoxide of mercury is left behind, but in general not entirely free from
the nitrate, which cannot be wholly decomposed by heat, without endanger-
ing the decomposition  of the oxide itself, and the volatilization of the metal.
The preparation is, in common language, called red precipitate.  The
name of red oxide of mercury, by which it is designated in the U. S. Phar-
macopoeia, is appropriate, as the nitrate  of mercury exists merely as an in- 
part ii.                    Hydrargyrum.                      997

cidental impurity;  and there is no occasion to  distinguish the preparation
from the pure deutoxide obtained by calcining mercury, as the latter is not
recognised in our Pharmacopoeia, and is never employed in this country.
  In the preparation of this mercurial, various circumstances  influence in
some measure the nature of the product, and must be attended to,  if we
desire to procure the oxide with that fine bright orange-red colour,  and
shining scaly appearance, which are usually considered desirable.  Among
these circumstances is the condition of the nitrate of mercury  submitted to
calcination.  According to Gay-Lussac, it  should be employed in the form
of small crystalline  grains.  If previously pulverized, as  directed in the
U. S., London and Edinburgh  processes, it will  yield  an  orange-yellow
powder; if it  be in the state of large and dense  crystals,  the  oxide will
have a deep orange colour.   Care must also be taken that the  mercury and
acid be free from impurities.  It is  highly important that  sufficient nitric
acid be employed fully to saturate  the mercury.   M. Paysse,  who paid
great attention to the manufacture of red precipitate,  recommended  70
parts of nitric acid from  34°  to 38°  Baume, to 50 parts  of mercury.
This, however, is an  excess of acid.  We  have been told by a skilful  prac-
tical chemist of Philadelphia, that he has found, by repeated experiment, 7
parts of nitric acid of 35° Baume, to be sufficient fully to saturate 6 parts of
mercury.   Less will  not answer, and more would be useless.  It is not
necessary that the salt should be removed from the vessel  in which it is
formed; and it is even asserted  that the product is always more beautiful
when the  calcination  is performed in the same vessel.   A matrass  may be
used with a large flat  bottom, so that an extended surface may  be exposed,
and all parts heated equally.   The metal and acid  having been introduced,
the matrass should be  placed in  a sand-bath, and covered with sand up to
the neck.  The solution  of the mercury  should be  favoured by a gentle
heat, which should afterwards be gradually increased till red vapours make
their appearance, then maintained as equably as  possible till these  vapours
cease, and  at last slightly  elevated till oxygen gas begins to escape.   This
may be known by the increased  brilliancy with which a taper will burn if
placed in  the mouth of the matrass, or by its rekindling if partially  extin-
guished.   Too high a temperature must be carefully avoided,  as it decom-
poses the  oxide, and volatilizes the mercury.  At the close of the opention,
the mouth of  the vessel  should  be  stopped, and the heat gradually dimin-
ished,  the  matrass being still allowed to remain in  the sand-bath.   These
last precautions are said to be essential to the fine  red colour of  the prepa-
ration.  It is best to operate upon a  large  quantity  of materials, as  the heat
may be thus more steadily and  uniformly maintained.  The direction of
the Edinburgh College to rub a  portion of mercury with the nitrate before
decomposing it, renders  the  process  more economical, as  the nitric acid
which  is dissipated is thus employed in oxidizing an additional quantity of
the metal.
  As the process is ordinarily conducted in chemical laboratories, the nitrate
of mercury is decomposed in shallow earthen vessels, several of  which are
placed  upon a bed of  sand in the chamber  of an oven or furnace provided
with a flue for the escape of  the vapours.   Each vessel  may conveniently
contain  ten pounds of the  nitrate.  There  is always some loss in  the opera-
tion conducted in this way.
  Properties,  SfC.  Red precipitate,  when well prepared, has a brilliant red
colour with a shade of orange, a shining scaly appearance, and an acrid taste.
It is very slightly soluble  in water, of which Dr. Barker found 1000 parts to
take up only 0-62  of  the oxide.   Dr. Christison found 1 part  of the oxide
       85 
99S
Hydrargyrum.
PART II.
to be dissolved by about 7000 parts of boiling water, and the solution to
give a black precipitate with sulphuretted hydrogen.   Nitric and muriatic
acids dissolve it without effervescence.  At a red heat it is decomposed and
entirely dissipated.   It is  essentially the deutoxide (peroxide) of mercury,
consisting of one equivalent of the metal 202, and two of oxygen 16=218;
but, in its ordinary state, it always contains a minute proportion of nitric
acid, probably in the state of subpernitrate.  According to Brande, when
rubbed and washed with a  solution of potassa,  edulcorated with distilled
water, and carefully dried,  it may be  regarded  as nearly pure deutoxide.
It is said to be  sometimes  adulterated  with brickdust,  red  lead, &c; but
these may be readily detected, as the oxide of mercury is wholly dissipated
if thrown upon red hot iron.  The disengagement of red vapours when it is
heated,  indicates the presence of nitrate of mercury.  The same or some
other saline impurity would be indicated, should water, in which the oxide
has been boiled, afford a precipitate with lime-water.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  This preparation is too harsh and  irregu-
lar in its operation for  internal use, but is much  employed externally as a
stimulant and escharotic, either in the state of powder or of ointment.  In
the former  state it is  sprinkled  on the  surface  of chancres,  and indolent,
flabby, or fungous ulcers; and mixed with 8 or 10 parts of finely powdered
sugar is sometimes blown into the eye to  remove opacity of the cornea.
The powder  should be finely levigated.  The ointment is officinal. (See
Unguentum Hydrargyri  Oxidi Rubri.)
   Off. Prep.   Hydrargyri  Cyanuretum. U. S., Dub.;  Unguentum Hydrar-
gyri Oxidi  Rubri, U. S., Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.                       W.
   HYDRARGYRI   OXYDUM RUBRUM. Dub.  Red Oxide of
Mercury.   Precipitate per se.   Calcined Mercury.
   " Take of Purified  Mercury any quantity.   Put it into an open glass
vessel, with a narrow mouth and broad bottom, and expose it to a heat of
about 600°, till it is converted into red scales." Dub.
   As mercury requires for its oxidation  a temperature  little short of its boil-
ing point, it is necessary that the vessel in which it is heated  be so con-
structed as  to prevent the escape of the vapour which  rises  during the pro-
cess.  A glass matrass is usually employed, having a  narrow neck,  drawn
out at top into an almost capillary orifice.  But the arrangement which serves
to confine the  mercurial vapour, impedes also the free  access of air, so that
the process is  exceedingly  tedious.   The  mercury introduced  should not
be more than sufficient to cover the bottom of the vessel, which should be
heated by means of a sand-bath till vapours begin to rise.  These are con-
densed in the upper part of the matrass, and, by maintaining the tempera-
ture steadily at this point, a  constant circulation of vapour is kept up  within
the vessel.   The metal very slowly combines  with the oxygen, forming
first a black,  and then  a red  powder,  molecules  of which begin to appear
after some  days, and  gradually increase till they cover the surface  of the
mercury.   Care must  be  taken  not to  increase  the heat too much, as not
only is the  mercury thus volatilized, but the oxide already formed is decom-
posed.  Several weeks  are requisite for the complete  oxidation of a small
portion  of metal, and  the process is necessarily expensive.  The prepara-
tion is the hydrargyrum praecipitatum per se, or precipitate per se  of the
older chemical writers.
   Properties, fyc.  It is in  minute, sparkling, crystalline scales, of  a deep
red colour becoming still deeper by heat, inodorous, of an acrid taste, very
slightly soluble in  water, and  freely soluble in nitric, muriatic, and some 
PART II.
Hydrargyrum.
999
other acids.  Its aqueous solution changes the infusion of violets to green.
It consists  of one equiv. of mercury 202,  and two of oxygen 16=218, and
is therefore a deutoxide.   It is sometimes also called binoxide or peroxide
of mercury.   At a red heat  it is decomposed,  oxygen being given off, and
the mercury revived.   Its solutions in the acids afford, with potassa and
soda, an orange-coloured precipitate of  deutoxide,  and with ammonia a
white precipitate, consisting  of the acid, deutoxide, and ammonia.  Its high
price affords  an  inducement for adulteration, to  avoid which it should be
kept in the crystalline state.   If pure, it is wholly volatilized by a red heat.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  It has  the general properties of the mer-
curial preparations, but is apt to vomit and purge, and to act otherwise vio-
lently on the  stomach and bowels.   Though formerly used in the  treatment
of syphilis, it has been  entirely abandoned.   It has  been employed  exter-
nally for the  same purposes with the red precipitate; but  is much  more
costly,  without having  any  superiority.  In  this country it is almost un-
known  as  a  medicine.  The dose may be  from one-sixth of a  grain to a
grain.                                                           W.
   HYDRARGYRI  BINOXYDUM Lond.  Binoxide of Mercury.
   "Take of Bichloride  of  Mercury [corrosive  sublimate] four ounces;
Solution of Potassa twenty-eight fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled
WTater six pints  [Imperial measure].  Dissolve the Bichloride of Mercury
in the Water, filter, and add the Solution of Potassa.  Having poured  off
the liquor,  wash  the precipitated powder in distilled water, till nothing alka-
line can be perceived, and dry it with a gentle heat." Lond.
   This preparation is chemically identical with the preceding, though  some-
what different from it in appearance.  The process  was introduced by the
London College  into the last edition of their Pharmacopoeia, as a substitute
for the much  more tedious one of oxidizing the mercury by the combined
action of air and heat.  When a solution of bichloride of mercury is mixed
with a solution of potassa, a  mutual interchange of principles takes place—
the two  equivalents of chlorine seizing upon  two  equiv. of potassium to
form two equiv. of chloride of potassium,  which remains in solution;  while
the liberated equivalent of mercury combines with the  two liberated equiv-
alents of oxygen, constituting the deutoxide or  binoxide of mercury, which
is deposited.
   Thus  prepared, the binoxide of mercury is in  the form of an orange-red
impalpable powder, having  the essential  properties  of the precipitate per
se.   According to Phillips,  if it be of  a  brownish  colour, the solution of
potassa employed was deficient either in  quantity or strength, and the pre-
paration contains oxychloride of mercury.  If upon being dissolved in nitric
acid and treated with nitrate  of silver it  afford a precipitate, the presence of
a portion of undecomposed bichloride may be suspected.
  This preparation has the same medical  properties, and may be employed
for the same  purposes and in the same doses  as that last described.  (See
Hydrargyri Oxydum Rubrum.)
   Off. Prep.  Hydrargyri Bicyanidum,  Lond.                      W.

  HYDRARGYRI  PERSULPHAS. Dub.  Persulphate  of  Mer-
cury.
  " Take of  Purified Mercury, Sulphuric  Acid, each, six parts; Nitric
Acid one part.  Expose them  to heat  in a glass vessel, and increase the
heat until the  mass becomes  white and perfectly dry." Dub.
  Cold  sulphurie acid  has no action on  mercury, but when an  excess of
acid is boiled  to dryness upon the metal, it is deutoxidized  at the expense 
1000
Hydrargyrum.
PART II.
 of part of the acid, sulphurous acid is copiously evolved, and the deutoxide
 formed unites with the undecomposed portion of the sulphuric acid, so as to
 form the bisulphate of the deutoxide of mercury, which is  the persulphate
 of the Dublin College.   In  the  Dublin formula, the oxidation of the metal
 is assisted by a small portion  of nitric  acid, the use of which,  though
 not essential to  the result, is stated by Dr. Barker to facilitate and shorten
 the  process, and to afford  a  much whiter salt than when sulphuric acid
 alone is employed.  When nitric  acid is  used, orange-coloured  fumes are
 given off on the first application  of heat, and the acid is totally decomposed.
   Persulphate of mercury, as obtained by a separate formula, is peculiar to
 the Dublin Pharmacopoeia; but it is formed as the first step of the processes
 of the other Pharmacopoeias for preparing corrosive sublimate, calomel, and
 turpeth mineral.   The adoption  of a separate formula and distinct officinal
 name for  this salt, is certainly an  improvement on the  part of the  Dublin
 College; as it obviates the necessity of repeating the directions for obtaining
 the same  substance in several distinct formulae.  On account of its impor-
 tant uses, it requires to be made  on a large scale by the manufacturing che-
 mist, and the process is generally performed  in  a cast-iron vessel, which
 should  be conveniently arranged for  the escape and decomposition of the
 sulphurous acid fumes, which otherwise become  a serious  nuisance to the
 neighbourhood.   The best  way to effect this  purpose is to allow them  to
 pass  oil'  through  a very lofty  chimney  mixed  with  abundance  of coal
 smoke.
   Properties, fyc.  Persulphate  of mercury is in the form of a white saline
 mass.   It consists of two  eqs. of acid  802 and  one of deutoxide of mer-
 cury 218 = 298-2.   It has no medical uses.
   Off. Prep.  Calomelas Sublimatum, Dub.;  Hydrargyri  Murias  Corro-
 sivum,  Dub.; Hydrargyri Oxydum Sulphuricum, Dub.             B.
   HYDRARGYRI  SULPHAS   FLAVUS. U.S.   Hydrargyri
 Oxydum Sulphuricum. Dub.   Yellow Sulphate of Mercury.  Tur-
peth Mineral,
   " Take of  Mercury four ounces;  Sulphuric  Acid  six ounces.  Mix
 them in a glass  vessel, and  boil  by means  of a sand-bath  till a dry white
 mass remains.  Rub this into powder,  and throw it into boiling water.  Pour
 off the  supernatant  liquor,  and  wash  the  yellow precipitated powder re-
 peatedly with hot water; then dry  it." U. S.
   " Take of Persulphate of Mercury one part;  warm Water twenty parts.
 Rub them together in an earthenware  mortar, and pour off the supernatant
 liquor.  Wash the yellow powder with warm Distilled Water, so long as
 the decanted  liquor  is precipitated by the  addition of  a few drops  of the
 Water of Caustic Potassa.   Lastly, dry the Sulphuric Oxide of Mercury."
 Dub.
   By referring to the articles on  corrosive sublimate and calomel, it will be
 found that the peculiar salt which is generated by  boiling sulphuric acid on
 mercury to dryness, is directed to be obtained as the first step for obtaining
 these chlorides; and here it is perceived that in the U. S. formula, the same
 salt is again  directed to be formed.   The Dublin College has very properly
 avoided these  repetitions, by adopting a distinct formula and name for the
 salt  in  question.   We have already mentioned that this salt is the bisul-
phate of the  deutoxide of  mercury.    When  it is thrown  into boiling or
even warm water  it is instantly decomposed, and an insoluble salt is pre-
cipitated, which is the turpeth mineral.  According to  Berzelius, turpeth
mineral is a  basic  sesquisulphate  of the  deutoxide  of mercury, and the 
PART II.
Hydrargyrum.
1001
supernatant  solution  contains a  supersulphate,  consisting  of six  eqs. of
acid and one of base.  The same composition for  turpeth mineral is given
by Gay-Lussac;  and its accuracy has been recently verified by an analysis
by Dr. Kane of Dublin.  (See Pharm.  Journ. and  Trans, for August
1842.)  The composition above given of turpeth  mineral implies the de-
composition of four  eqs. of the bisulphate of the  deutoxide,  and the man-
ner in  which the reaction takes place is shown by the following equation;—
4(Hg02,2S03)= turpeth mineral  (3Hg02+2S03) +supersulphate (Hg03+
6S03).
   Properties, fyc. Yellow sulphate of mercury is  in the form of a powder
of a lemon-yellow colour, and possessing a somewhat acrid taste.  It dis-
solves  in 2000 parts  of cold water, and in about 600 parts of boiling water.
When exposed  to a moderate  heat, it becomes first  red and  afterwards
brownish-red, but regains its original colour on cooling. (Barker.) At a red
heat it is  decomposed and dissipated,  sulphuric acid  being  evolved,  and
metallic globules sublimed.   It was originally called turpeth mineral, from
the resemblance  of its colour to that of the root of the Ipomcea Turpethum,
a plant formerly  used in medicine.  Its  composition is given above.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Turpeth mineral is alterative, and power-
fully emetic and errhine.   As an alterative, it has been given in leprous
disorders  and glandular obstructions.  It has been employed with benefit
as an emetic, repeated every few days,  in chronic  enlargements of the tes-
ticle; but it often operates with great violence, and is apt to excite severe
ptyalism.   It proves useful  in these cases upon  the principle  of revulsion,
and by imparting activity to  the absorbents.  As  an errhine, it has  been
used with advantage in chronic ophthalmia, and in diseases of the head; and
it sometimes produces salivation  when thus employed.  The  dose, as an
alterative,  is from a quarter  to half a grain; as an emetic, from two to five
grains.  When employed as an errhine, one grain  may be mixed with five
grains of starch or powdered liquorice root.                        B.
   HYDRARGYRI SULPHURETUM  NIGRUM. U.S., Dub.  Hy-
drargyri Sulphuretum cum Sulphure. Lond.   Black Sulphuret
of Mercury.   Sulphuret  of Mercury  with Sulphur.  Ethiops
Mineral.
   "Take of Mercury, Sulphur, each, apound.   Rub them together till all
the globules disappear." U. S.
   The London  and  Dublin formulae are  similar to the above.  The Dub-
lin College merely adds that the trituration should be performed in a stone-
ware mortar.
  Mercury and  sulphur have  a strong affinity for each other;  as is  shown
by the  fact, that when they  are triturated together in quantities, the mixture
grows hot, cakes, and exhales  a sulphureous odour.   When rubbed together
in equal weights, as directed in the  Pharmacopoeias, they are supposed to
unite chemically; but the  proportion of sulphur is much greater  than is
necessary  to form a definite compound.   Only two sulphurets of mercury
have been admitted by the  generality of chemists,  a protosulphuret, and a
bisulphuret or cinnabar; and the quantity of sulphur, directed  in the Phar-
macopoeias, is much more than sufficient to form  even the latter.   Thus, it
still remains an  unsettled  point,  what is the exact nature of the officinal
black sulphuret, or ethiops mineral.   Mr. Brande,  from his  experiments,
considers it to be a bisulphuret mixed with sulphur.  Thus he found, that
when boiled repeatedly in a solution of potassa, sulphur was dissolved, and
                                85* 
1002
Hydrargyrum.
PART II.
 a black insoluble powder was left, which sublimed without decomposition,
 and gave a substance having all the characters of cinnabar.
   Ethiops mineral is sometimes obtained by melting the sulphur in a cruci-
 ble, and adding the mercury to it; but when thus prepared, the  sulphur is
 apt to become acidified, and  the preparation to acquire  an activity which
 does  not  belong to  it when obtained by trituration.   The latter method,
 accordingly, should always be employed.
   Properties, fyc. Black sulphuret of mercury is a heavy, tasteless, insolu-
 ble, black powder.   When  exposed to  heat, it becomes of a dark violet
 colour,  emits the excess of sulphur in sulphurous acid fumes, and sublimes
 in brilliant red  needles without residue.  If charcoal be  present,  it will
 remain  behind.  When well  prepared,  no globules of mercury should be
 discernible in it when viewed with a magnifier; and if  rubbed on  a  gold
 ring,  it  should not communicate a white stain.  Ivory black is detected in
 it, by throwing  a small portion on a red-hot iron, when a white  matter
 (phosphate of lime) will be left behind.   Adulteration by sulphuret of anti-
 mony is shown, if muriatic acid boiled on a  portion of the powder, acquires
 the property of causing a precipitate of oxychloride of antimony when
 added to water. According to the views of Mr. Brande, ethiops  mineral con-
 sists of one eq. of bisulphuret of mercury, mixed with about ten and a half
 eqs. of sulphur in excess.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Ethiops mineral is supposed to be altera-
 tive, and as such is sometimes prescribed in glandular affections and cuta-
 neous diseases.   It has been  given  in  scrofulous swellings, occurring in
 children; and from the mildness of its operation is considered well suited
 to such cases.  The dose  generally given is from five to thirty  grains, re-
 peated several times  a day; but it  has  often been administered in much
 larger doses, without producing any obvious impression  on  the system.
 The late Dr. Duncan stated that he had given it in doses of several drachms
 for a considerable length of time, with scarcely any effect.           B.
   HYDRARGYRI  SULPHURETUM RUBRUM.  U.S.,  Dub.
 Hydrargyri Bisulphuretum.  Lond. Cinnabaris. Ed.   Red Sul-
phuret of Mercury.  Bisulphuret of Mercury.  Cinnabar.
   " Take of Mercury forty ounces; Sulphur eight ounces.  Mix the Mer-
 cury  with the  melted Sulphur over the fire; and, as soon  as the  mass
 begins to swell, remove  the  vessel from the fire,  and cover it with  con-
 siderable force, to prevent combustion; then rub the mass into powder, and
 sublime." U. S.
   The London  and Edinburgh Colleges take two pounds of mercury and
five ounces of sulphur, and treat them as in the U. S. process.
   " Take of Purified  Mercury nineteen parts; Sublimed Sulphur three
parts.  Mix the Mercury with the melted Sulphur; and if the mixture
 takes fire, extinguish the flame by covering  the vessel.  Reduce the mass
 to powder, and sublime it." Dub.
   Mercury and sulphur, when heated together, unite with great energy, and
 a product is obtained, which by sublimation becomes the red or bisulphuret
 of mercury.  In order to render the combination more prompt, the sulphur
 is first melted; and the addition of the mercury should be made gradually,
 while the mixture is constantly stirred.  Dr. Barker recommends the addi-
 tion of  the metal by straining it upon the melted sulphur through a linen
 cloth, whereby it falls in the form of a shower, in a minutely divided state.
 When the temperature has arrived at a certain point, the combination takes
 place suddenly with a  slight explosion, and with the  inflammation of the 
PART II.
Hydrargyru m.
1003
sulphur, which must be extinguished by covering the vessel. A black mass
will thus be formed, containing generally  an excess of sulphur, which, be-
fore the sublimation is performed, should be got rid of by gently heating the
matter reduced to powder on a sand-bath. The sublimation is best performed,
on a small scale, in a loosely stopped glass matrass, which should be placed
in a crucible  containing sand, and, thus arranged, exposed  to a red heat.
The equivalent quantities  for forming  this sulphuret, are 32-2 of sulphur,
and 202 of mercury.
  Preparation on the Large Scale. Cinnabar is seldom or never prepared
on a small scale, being made  in large quantities for the purposes of the arts.
In Holland, where it is  principally manufactured, the sulphur is melted in
a cast iron vessel, and the mercury is added in a divided state, by causing
it to pass through chamois leather.  As soon as  the combination has taken
place, the iron vessel is  surmounted by another,  into which the cinnabar is
sublimed.  In proportion  as the quantity of the  materials employed in one
operation is greater, will the product have  a finer tint.  It is also important
in the manufacture to  use  the materials pure,  and to drive off any uncom-
bined sulphur which may exist in the mass, before submitting  it to  subli-
mation.
  Properties, fyc.  Red sulphuret of mercury is  in the form of heavy, bril-
liant, crystalline masses, of a deep red colour and fibrous texture.   It is in-
odorous and tasteless, and insoluble in water and alcohol. It is not acted on
by nitric, muriatic, or cold sulphuric acid, nor by solutions  of  the caustic
alkalies;  but  it is soluble in nitro-muriatic acid,  on account of the chlorine
which the mixed acid contains.  When heated with potassa, it yields glo-
bules of mercury.   In the open air it is  decomposed by heat, the sulphur
becoming sulphurous acid, and the mercury  being volatilized.  In close
vessels, at a red heat, it sublimes  without  decomposition, and condenses
in a mass  composed of a multitude of small needles.   When duly levi-
gated, it  furnishes a  powder of  a brilliant red colour, and in this state
constitutes the paint called vermilion.  It occurs native, and forms the prin-
cipal ore  of mercury, and that from which the  metal is exclusively extract-
ed.  It should not be purchased in powder; as, in that state, it is sometimes
adulterated with red lead,  dragon's blood, or chalk.   If red lead  be present,
acetic acid, digested with it, will yield a yellow precipitate (iodide of lead)
with  iodide of potassium.  Dragon's  blood may be detected by alcohol,
which will take up the colouring  matter of  this  vegetable product, if pre-
sent; and if chalk be mixed  with it, effervescence will  be excited on  the
addition of an acid.   This sulphuret is composed of one eq. of mercury
202, and two of sulphur 32-2=234-2.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Cinnabar was formerly considered to be
alterative and anthelmintic, but is  at present seldom or never given inter-
nally. It is sometimes employed in the way of fumigation, as a rapid siala-
gogue, in venereal ulcers  of the nose and  throat, in cases in which it is an
object of importance to bring the system under the influence of the mineral
in the shortest possible time.   The dose for internal exhibition is from ten
grains to  half a drachm,  in the form of  electuary or bolus.   When used by
fumigation, half a drachm may be  thrown  on a red-hot iron, and the fumes
inhaled as they arise.  These consist of sulphurous acid gas  and mercurial
vapour, the former of which  must prove  highly irritating to the  patient's
lungs.  A better substance for mercurial fumigation is the  black  oxide  of
mercury.                                                         B. 
1004
Hydrargyrum.
PART II.
   HYDRARGYRUM AMMONIATUM. U.S.  Hydrargyri Am-
monio-chloridum. Lond.  Hydrargyri Precipitatum Album.  Ed.
Hydrargyri   Submurias  Ammoniatum.   Dub.   Ammoniated
Mercury.   White Precipitate.
   " Take of Corrosive Chloride of  Mercury six ounces;  Distilled  Water
a gallon; Solution of Ammonia eight fluidounces.   Dissolve the  Corro-
sive Chloride of Mercury in the Water, with  the  aid  of heat, and  to the
solution, when cold, add the Solution of Ammonia, frequently stirring.
Wash the precipitate till it becomes tasteless, and dry it."  U. S.
   The London and Edinburgh processes are essentially  the same as the
above.
   " Add to the  liquor poured off from Precipitated Calomel, as much Water
of Caustic Ammonia as may be sufficient completely to precipitate the
metallic salt. Wash the precipitate with cold Distilled Water, and dry it
on bibulous  paper."  Dub.
  All the Pharmacopoeias now agree in obtaining white precipitate, by pre-
cipitating a solution of corrosive sublimate by ammonia.  The Dublin pro-
cess is not an exception; for the liquor poured off from precipitated calomel is
in part a solution of corrosive sublimate. When ammonia, in slight excess, is
added to a cold solution of corrosive sublimate, muriate of ammonia is formed
in solution, and the white precipitate of the Pharmacopoeias is thrown  down,
which, according to Dr.  Kane, has a composition corresponding to one eq.
of protochloride of mercury, united with one eq. of a compound represented
by one eq. of ammonia, minus one eq. of hydrogen.  To this compound, re-
presented by NH2, Kane has given the name ofamido gen, the amide of some
other chemists.   The reaction may be thus explained.  Two eqs. of am-
monia are decomposed into  one eq. of ammonium  (NH4) and  one  eq. of
amide (NH2); and one eq. of corrosive  sublimate is resolved into one eq. of
chlorine and one eq. of calomel.  The  chlorine unites with the ammonium
and remains in  solution as chloride  of  ammonium (muriate of ammonia),
and the calomel precipitates with the amide as  white precipitate.   In sym-
bols the  reaction is thus denoted;  2NH3 + HgCla=NH4Cl-f-HgCI,NH3.
For an explanation of what is meant by ammonium, see page 80.   The an-
alysis of Kane forms a virtual agreement with those of Guibourt and Hennell;
for Guibourt's results, minus the elements of  one  eq. of water, and Hen-
nell's, minus the elements of two eqs. of the same liquid,  give exactly the
constituents  found by Kane.
  Properties, 8rc. Ammoniated mercury is in powder or pulverulent masses,
perfectly white,  insoluble in water and alcohol, and having a taste, at first
earthy and afterwards metallic.  When heated with a solution of caustic
potassa, it yields ammonia and becomes yellow.   Exposed to heat it is de-
composed, and resolved into  nitrogen, ammonia, and protochloride of mer-
cury or  calomel.   Adulteration with  white lead,  chalk,  or sulphate  of
lime, may be detected by exposing  a sample  to a strong  red heat,  when
these impurities will  remain.  Should  starch  be mixed with it, a charry
residuum will be obtained on the application of heat.   Lead and starch may
also be found by digesting the white precipitate with acetic acid, and testing
the acetic solution with iodide of potassium, which, if lead  be present, will
give a yellow precipitate, and if starch, a  blue one.   The  absence of pro-
toxide of mercury is  shown by its  not being blackened when rubbed with
lime-water.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Ammoniated mercury is used only as an
external application.
  Off.Prep. Unguentum Hydrargyri Ammoniati, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;
Unguentum  Sulphuris Compositum,  U. S.                         B. 
PART II.
Hydrargyrum.
1005
   HYDRARGYRUM  CUM  CRETA.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.
 Mercury with Chalk.
   " Take of Mercury three ounces; Prepared Chalk five ounces.  Rub them
 together till all the globules disappear."  U. S., Lond., Ed.
   The Dublin College prepares  it in the  same manner as  Mercury with
 Magnesia, only substituting precipitated carbonate of lime for carbonate of
 magnesia.
   When mercury is triturated with certain dry and pulverulent substances,
 such as chalk or magnesia, it gradually loses its fluidity and metallic lustre,
 and assumes the form  of a blackish or dark gray powder.  A similar change
 takes place when it  is rubbed  with viscid or greasy substances, such  as
 honey or lard.  The  globules disappear, so as in some instances not to be
 visible even through a good lens;  and the mercury is said to be extinguished.
 It was formerly thought that the metal  was oxidized in the process, and
 that the  medical activity of the preparation  depended on the presence of the
 black or protoxide of mercury.  At present,  the change is generally attributed
 to the mechanical division of the metal, which in  this state is supposed to
 be capable of acting on the system.  There is good reason, however,  to
 believe   that in this,  as in  all the analogous  preparations of mercury,  in
 which the metal is extinguished by trituration, a very small  portion is con-
 verted into protoxide,  while by far the greater part remains in the metallic
 state.
   Mercury with chalk is a grayish powder, in which  globules of mercury
 can generally be seen with the aid of a microscope; as the metal can scarcely
 be completely extinguished  with chalk  alone  by any length of  trituration.
 Mr. Jacob Bell found  that by powerfully pressing it, a considerable quantity
 of metal was separated in the form of globules.*  Mr. Phillips  states that
 the extinguishment of the mercury is greatly accelerated by  the  addition of
 a little water.  It is said that a precipitated oxide of mercury is  sometimes
 added with a view to save time in the trituration. This addition is injurious;
 as, even though it may be in the state of protoxide, it is liable  to be con-
 verted into the deutoxide of mercury, and thereby to render the preparation
 irritating to the  stomach, in which it may even form  corrosive sublimate
 with the muriatic acid often present in that  organ.  The mercury contained
 in this preparation is volatilized by heat.  The remaining chalk is dissolved
 by dilute acetic acid,  and the solution is not coloured by sulphuretted hy-
 drogen.   The presence of any probable metallic impurity may be detected
 in this way.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Mercury with chalk is a very mild mercu-
 rial, similar in its properties to the blue pill, but much weaker.  It is sometimes
 used as  an  alterative,  particularly in the complaints  of children, attended
 with deficient biliary secretion, indicated by white or clay-coloured stools.
 The chalk is  antacid,  and, though  in small quantity, may sometimes be a
 useful accompaniment of the mercury in  diarrhoea.   Eight grains of the
 preparation, according to the U.S., London and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias,
 contain  three  grains of mercury.   The dose  is from  five grains to  half a
 drachm twice a day.  Two or three grains  is the dose for a child.  It should
 not be given in pill with substances which  become hard on keeping:  as the
 contraction of the mass presses out the mercury, which, in time,  appears  in
 globules  in the interior of the pill.                                 W.

  * See a paper by Mr. Jacob Bell, in the Pharmaceutical  Transactions for Nov. 1841,
republished in the American Journal of Pharmacy, xiv. 239. 
1006                 Hydrargyrum.—lnfusa.             part ii.

  HYDRARGYRUM CUM MAGNESIA. Dub.   Mercury toilh
Magnesia.
  " Take of Purified Mercury, Manna, each, two parts; Carbonate of Mag-
nesia onepart.   Rub the Mercury with the Manna in an earthenware mor-
tar, dropping in  sufficient water to  give to the  mixture  the  consistence of
syrup, and continue the trituration till the  globules disappear.  Then add,
still rubbing,  an  eighth part of the Carbonate of Magnesia;  and when this is
well mixed with the other ingredients, add sixteen parts of hot water, and
agitate the mixture.  Let this stand for some time  that the  sediment may
subside, and then decant the fluid. Repeat the washing twice, that the whole
of the Manna may be removed; and with the sediment, while it is still moist,
mix  the remainder of the Carbonate of Magnesia.  Lastly, dry the powder
on bibulous paper." Dub.
  The use of the manna in this process is  merely to facilitate the extinction
of the mercury; as it is wholly washed away, and the metal is left mixed with
magnesia.  This preparation has the same virtues with the preceding, but
may be preferably used in the complaints of children attended with consti-
pation.                                                          W.


                             INFUSA.

                             Infusions.

  These are aqueous solutions obtained by treating with water, without the
aid of ebullition, vegetable products which are only partly soluble in that
liquid.  The  water employed may be hot or cold according to the objects to
be accomplished. Infusions are generally prepared by pouring boiling water
upon the vegetable substance, and macerating in a lightly  closed vessel till
the liquid cools.  The soluble principles are thus extracted more rapidly,
and, as a  general rule,  in larger proportion  than at a lower temperature.
Some substances, moreover, are dissolved  in this manner, which are nearly
or quite insoluble in cold water.  A prolonged application of heat is in some
instances  desirable; and this may be effected by placing the vessel near the
fire.   Cold water is preferred, when the active  principle is highly volatile,
when it is injured by heat, or when any substance of difficult solubility at a
low  temperature exists in the vegetable, which it is desirable  to avoid in the
infusion.   A longer continuance of the maceration is necessary in this case;
and, in warm weather, there is  sometimes danger that spontaneous decom-
position  may commence before the process  is completed.   When a very
strong infusion  is required, the process by displacement  may be advanta-
geously resorted to. (See pages 763 and 769.)   The water employed should
be free from  saline  impurities,  which  frequently produce  precipitates, and
render the infusion turbid.  Fresh  river, rain,  or distilled water is usually
preferable to  that of pumps or springs.
   The substance to be acted on should be  sliced or bruised, or employed in
the state of powder; but this last condition is seldom requisite, and is always
inconvenient, as it requires that the infusion should be filtered through paper
in order completely to separate the undissolved portion.   In other cases, it
is sufficient to strain through fine linen or muslin.   When, however, per-
colation or displacement is  resorted to, the  substance should be more  or
less  finely powdered.  Infusions  are usually prepared in glazed earthenware
or porcelain vessels fitted with  covers.   Mr. Brande suggests the use of
clean metallic vessels, which, when finely polished  retain the heat for  a 
PART II.
Infusa.
1007
greater length of time; but they are also more liable to chemical alteration,
and may sometimes injuriously affect the preparation.
  As infusions do not keep  well, especially in warm weather, they should
be made extemporaneously and in small  quantities.  In this country they
are usually prepared in families, and the propriety of their introduction into
the Pharmacopoeia has been doubted; but it is desirable  to have certain
fixed standards  for the convenience of the medical practitioner;  and it is
sometimes convenient to  direct infusions  from the apothecary, for whose
guidance officinal formulae are necessary.  Physicians would, indeed, find
their advantage in more frequently directing  them  from  the shops, instead
of leaving their preparation to the carelessness or want of skill of the
attendants upon the sick.   For a mode of preserving infusions, the reader
is referred to the introductory observations to the second part of this work,
pages 765 and 766.
  As we have already treated of the chemical relations and medical proper-
ties of  the substances used in infusion, it would be  useless repetition to en-
large upon these points in the following details.   We shall touch upon  them
only in cases  of peculiar interest, or where changes requiring particular
notice may grow out of the  nature of  the process.                  W.
  INFUSUM  ANGUSTURAE.  U S., Dub.   Infusum Cusparia.
Lond., Ed.   Infusion of Angustura Bark.
  " Take  of Angustura Bark, bruised, half an ounce; Boiling water a pint.
Macerate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain." U. S.
  The London College directs^t-e drachms  to a pint [Imperial measure]
of boiling distilled water; the Edinburgh, five drachms  to a pint [Imp.
meas.] of  boiling water;  the Dublin,  two drachms to half a pint of boil-
ing water;  and all proceed as above.
  The dose of the infusion is two fluidounces  repeated every two, three,
or four hours.                                                  W.
  INFUSUM ANTHEMIDIS.  U S, Lond., Ed.  Infusum Cha-
mjemeli.  Dub.   Infusion of Chamomile.
  "Take  of Chamomile half an ounce;  Boiling Water a pint. Macerate
for ten minutes in a covered vessel, and strain."  U. S.
  The London College orders five drachms of the flowers to a pint [Impe-
rial measure] of boiling  distilled water, and proceeds as above;  the Edin-
burgh, five drachms to a pint  [Imp. meas.] of boiling water, and infuses
for twenty minutes.  The Dublin College takes two drachms of the flowers
and half a pint of boiling water, digests for twenty-four hours, and strains
through linen.
  The infusion of chamomile  has the odour and taste of the flowers.  It
affords precipitates  with  gelatin, yellow Peruvian  bark, sulphate  of  iron,
tincture of chloride of iron,  nitrate of silver, corrosive chloride of mercury,
and the acetates of lead.  (London Dispensatory.)   As a tonic it  is  given
cold in the dose of two fluidounces several times a day.   To assist the ope-
ration of emetic medicines it should be administered in the tepid state, and
in  large draughts.   The infusion  prepared by maceration in cold  water is
more grateful to the palate and  stomach than that made with boiling water,
but is less  efficient  as an  emetic.                                 W.
  INFUSUM ARMORACIAE.  U.S.  Infusum Armoracia  Com-
positum.  Lond., Dub.   Infusion  of Horse-radish.
  "Take  of Horse-radish [fresh root],  sliced,  Mustard [seed],  bruised,
each, an ounce; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for two hours in a covered
vessel,  and strain."  U. S. 
1008
Infusa.
PART II.
   The London College macerates an  ounce of the  root and  an ounce of
the seeds in a pint  [Imperial measure]  of boiling distilled  water, in a co-
vered vessel, for  two hours, and strains; then  adds a fluidounce of com-
pound spirit of horse-radish.  The process of the Dublin  College differs
from that of the London only in employing a wine-pint of boiling water,
and a digestion of six hours.
   This infusion is rendered  turbid by  the deposition of vegetable albumen,
and in warm weather speedily runs into the  putrefactive fermentation.   It
affords precipitates with the  infusion of galls and of Peruvian bark, with the
alkaline  carbonates,  nitrate  of silver,  and corrosive chloride  of mercury.
(London Dispensatory.)  It has the stimulant properties of its two  active
ingredients, and is occasionally used  in paralytic, scorbutic, and dropsical
affections attended with  general debility. The dose is about two fluidounces
three or four times a day.                                         W.
   INFUSUM AURANTII COMPOSITUM.  Lond., Dub.  Infu-
sum Aurantii.  Ed.   Compound Infusion of Orange Peel,
   " Take of dried  Orange  Peel half an ounce; fresh Lemon Peel two
drachms; Cloves, bruised, a drachm; Boiling Distilled Water a pint [Im-
perial measure].  Macerate  for a quarter of an hour, in a lightly covered
vessel, and strain."  Lond.
   The Edinburgh process differs from the above only in the use of boiling
water not distilled, and in straining through  linen or calico.   The Dublin
College lakes two drachms of dried orange peel, a drachm  of fresh lemon
peel, half a drachm  of bruised cloves, and  half a pint of boiling water;
and digests for a quarter of an hour.
   This infusion is given as a grateful stomachic in the dose of two or three
fluidounces.                                                    W.

   INFUSUM CARYOPHYLLI.  U. S, Lond., Ed.   Infusum Ca-
ryophyllorum. Dub.   Infusion of Cloves.
   " Take of  Cloves, bruised, two drachms;  Boiling Water a pint. Mace-
rate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain."  U.S.
   The London College  takes three drachms of cloves, and a pint [Imperial
measure] of boiling distilled water; the  Edinburgh, three drachms of cloves
and a pint [Imp.  meas.] of boiling water; the Dublin, a drachm of cloves,
and half a pint of boiling water; and all proceed as above.
   The infusion of cloves affords  precipitates  with lime-water, and with the
soluble salts of iron, zinc, lead, silver, and antimony.  (Phillips.) The dose
is about two fluidounces.                                        W.

   INFUSUM CASCARILLAE. U S, Lond., Ed., Dub.   Infusion
of Cascarilla.
   " Take of  Cascarilla,  bruised, an ounce;  Boiling Water a pint.  Mace-
rate for two hours in  a covered vessel,  and strain." U. S.
   The London College directs an ounce and a  half of bruised  cascarilla,
and a pint [Imperial measure] of boiling distilled water; the Edinburgh,
the same quantities of the bark and of boiling water; the Dublin, half an
ounce of the bark  to half a pint of boiling water;  and all proceed as above.
   This  infusion  affords precipitates  with  lime-water, infusion of galls,
nitrate of silver, acetate  and  subacetate of lead,  sulphate of  zinc* and sul-
phate of  iron. (London Dispensatory.)  The medium dose is  two  fluid-
ounces.
   Off. Prep.  Mistura Cascarillae Composita, Lond.                W. 
PART II.
Infusa.
1009
  INFUSUM  CATECHU COMPOSITUM. U.S., Lond., Dub.
Infusum  Catechu. Ed.   Compound Infusion of Catechu,
  " Take  of Catechu, in  powder, half an ounce; Cinnamon, bruised, a
drachm; boiling Water a pint.  Macerate for an  hour in a covered vessel,
and strain." U. S.
  "Take  of Extract of Catechu, in  powder, six drachms; Cinnamon,
bruised, a drachm;  boiling Distilled  Water  a pint  [Imperial measure].
Macerate  for an hour in a lightly-covered vessel, and strain." Lond.
  " Take of Catechu,  in powder, six drachms;  Cinnamon, in  powder,
one drachm;  Syrup three fluidounces;  boiling Water  seventeen fluid-
ounces.   Infuse the Catechu and Cinnamon with the  Water for two hours,
strain through linen or calico, and add  the Syrup." Ed.
  " Take of Extract of Catechu two drachms  and a half; Cinnamon,
bruised, half a drachm; boiling Water half a pint.   Digest for an hour in
a covered vessel, and strain through linen." Dub.
  This is an elegant mode of administering  catechu.  The dose  is from
one to three fluidounces, repeated three or four times a day, or more  fre-
quently.                                                       W.
  INFUSUM CHIRETTAE.  Ed.  Infusion of Chiretta.
  " Take of Chiretta four drachms; boiling Water [Imperial measure]
one pint.   Infuse for two hours, and strain through linen or calico." Ed.
  The dose of this simple bitter is from one to three fluidounces.    W.
  INFUSUM CINCHONAE.  U  S, Lond.,  Ed., Dub.  Infusion
of Peruvian  Bark.
  " Take of Peruvian  Bark,  bruised, an ounce; boiling Water  a pint.
Macerate  for two hours  in a covered vessel, and strain.
  " This  infusion  may  also be  prepared from the same quantity of Bark,
in coarse  powder,  in the following  manner:—Having moistened the Bark
thoroughly  with Water, introduce it  into an apparatus for displacement,
press it slightly, and pour  Water upon its surface so  as to keep it covered.
So long as the  liquid passes turhid, return  it into  the apparatus; then allow
the filtration to continue until one pint of clear infusion is obtained." U. S.
   "Take of Bark  of  the  Cinchona lancifolia [pale bark], bruised, an
ounce;  boiling Distilled Water a pint [Imperial  measure].  Macerate for
six hours in a lightly-covered vessel, and strain."  Lond.
   " Take of any species of Cinchona, according to prescription, one ounce
in powder;  boiling Water one pint [Imp. measure].  Infuse for four hours
in a covered vessel, and then strain  through linen  or calico." Ed.
   " Take of Bark of the Cinchona lancifolia, in coarse powder, an ounce;
cold  Water twelve fluidounces.   Triturate the  Bark with  a little of the
Water, and add the remainder during  the trituration.  Macerate for twenty-
four hours,  with frequent agitation, and decant the clear liquor." Dub.
   We can discover no  good reason for the exclusive employment by the
London and Dublin Colleges of the pale bark in the preparation of this in-
fusion.  The U. S. and  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, wisely, we think, leave
the particular variety to the choice of  the physician.
   Though  the infusion with boiling  water is more quickly prepared  than
the cold  infusion  of the  Dublin  College,  and therefore  betier adapted to
cases of emergency, yet the latter is a more elegant preparation, not turbid
like the former, and  at least equally efficient.   The trituration directed by
the Dublin College facilitates the  process, by thoroughly  wetting the pow-
der, and  thus enabling it  to be more readily diffused through the liquid.
       86 
1010                          Infusa.                      part n.

We should prefer, however, the cold infusion prepared by percolation, as
directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, supposing the process to be skilfully
conducted.  Perhaps it would be better, that the bark should be in  mode-
rately fine than in coarse powder.
  The infusion of cinchona affords precipitates with the alkalies, alkaline
carbonates, and  alkaline earths; the  soluble salts of iron, zinc, and  silver;
corrosive chloride of mercury, arsenious acid, and tartar emetic; gelatinous
solutions; and various vegetable infusions and decoctions, as those of galls,
chamomile, columbo, cascarilla, horse-radish, cloves, catechu, orange-peel,
foxglove,  senna, rhubarb, valerian, and simaruba.   In some instances the
precipitate occurs immediately, in  others not for several hours. (London
Dispensatory.)  Few, however, of these substances diminish the efficacy
of the infusion, as they do not affect the  active principles.   The alkalies,
alkaline earths,  and  vegetable astringents  are  really incompatible.  The
same is  said to be the case with tartaric and oxalic acids, and the soluble
tartrates and  oxalates.   For an elaborate account of the effect of the infu-
sions of the different varieties of Peruvian  Bark on  other substances, the
reader is referred to a paper in the  Am. Journ. of Pharm. ix. 128.
  The infusion of cinchona may be  advantageously administered in cases
which require tonic treatment, but do  not  call  for the full powers  of the
bark.  The medium dose is two fluidounces  to be repeated three or four
times a day, or more frequently in  acute diseases.                   W.
  INFUSUM  CINCHONAE COMPOSITUM.  U.S.  Compound
Infusion of Peruvian Bark.
  " Take of Peruvian Bark,  in powder, an ounce;  Aromatic Sulphuric
Acid a fluidrachm;  Water a pint.  Macerate for twelve hours, occasionally
shaking, and strain." U. S.
  This  is an elegant and very efficient preparation.   Water extracts from
bark the kinates of quinia and cinchonia, but leaves behind the compounds
which these principles  form with the cinchonic red.  The ordinary infusion,
therefore, is rather feeble.  But the addition of the acid ensures the solution
of all or nearly all the active matter.   We have been long in the habit of
using this infusion,  and have  had  reason to be satisfied with its  efficacy.
The Yellow Calisaya or best red bark should be  selected, when a  strong
preparation is desired.   The bark might  be  more  quickly  and perhaps
more thoroughly exhausted by the method of percolation, as directed in the
simple infusion;  but in this case care should be taken to employ a glass or
porcelain  percolator, and the acid  should be added to the portion of water
first employed to moisten the powder.  The medium dose  of the infusion
is two fluidounces, equivalent to a drachm of the bark.             W.
   INFUSUM   COLOMBAE.   U.S.,  Dub.   Infusum  Calumbje.
Lond.,  Ed.   Infusion of Columbo.
  " Take of  Columbo,  bruised,   half an  ounce;  boiling Water a pint.
Macerate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain." U. S.
  The London College directs five drachms of columbo to a pint [Impe-
rial measure]  of boiling distilled water;  the Dublin, two drachms  of co-
lumbo to half a pint of boiling water; and both proceed as  above.
   " Take of  Calumba,  in coarse powder, half  an ounce;  cold  Water
about a pint  [Imperial measure].  Triturate  the Calumba with  a little of
the Water, so as to  moisten it thoroughly; put it into a percolator,  and
transmit cold Water till sixteen fluidounces of infusion be obtained." Ed.
   The infusion prepared with boiling water contains a portion of the starch 
PART II.
Infusa.
1011
of the columbo, and very soon spoils.  That made with .cold water, whether
by maceration, or by percolation as directed by the Edinburgh College, is
destitute of starch and keeps better.  The hot infusion, however, is a g*ood
preparation when wanted for immediate use.  The infusion of columbo is
not disturbed by the salts of iron, and may be conveniently administered in
connexion with them.  The  dose is two fluidounces three or  four times a
day.                                                          W.

   INFUSUM  DIGITALIS.  U S., Lond., Ed, Dub.   Infusion of
Foxglove.
   "Take of Foxglove  [dried leaves]  a drachm;  boiling  Water half a
pint; Tincture of Cinnamon a fluidounce.   Macerate the Foxglove with
the Water for four hours in a covered vessel, and strain;  then add the Tinc-
ture of Cinnamon." U. S.
   The London College takes a drachm of the dried leaves, a fluidounce of
spirit of cinnamon, and a pint [Imperial measure] of boiling  distilled water;
macerates the leaves in the water for four hours; and, having  strained  the
liquor, adds the spirit.  The Dublin process  corresponds with that of  the
U.S. Pharmacopoeia, except that half a fluidounce  of the spirit of cinna-
mon is employed instead  of a fluidounce of the tincture.  The Edinburgh
College takes two drachms of the leaves, two fluidounces of spirit of cinna-
mon, and eighteen fluidounces of boiling water;  and,  having macerated  the
leaves in the water for four hours, strains through linen or calico, and adds
the spirit.
   The U. S. infusion is essentially the same with that employed by With-
ering.   It affords precipitates with  the  sulphate of  iron, acetate  of lead,
and  infusion of Peruvian bark.  (London  Dispensatory.)   The  dose is
half a fluidounce, repeated twice a day under ordinary circumstances, every
eight hours in urgent cases, until the system is affected.  That of the Lon-
don preparation must be twice as great, in consequence of the much smaller
proportion of digitalis in  the  infusion as directed in  the Pharmacopoeia of
1836.                                                         W.
   INFUSUM DIOSMAE. U S, Lond.   Infusum Bucku. Ed.  In-
fusum  Buchu. Dub.   Infusion of Buchu.
   " Take of Buchu  [leaves] an ounce; boiling Water a  pint.  Macerate
for four hours in a covered vessel, and strain." U. S.
   The London College takes an ounce  of the leaves, and a pint [Imperial
measure] of boiling distilled water; the  Edinburgh, the same  quantities of
the leaves and  of boiling water;  the Dublin, half an ounce of the leaves
and half a pint of boiling water; and all proceed essentially as above.
   This  infusion has the odour  and taste, and the  medical  virtues of  the
leaves;  and affords a convenient mode of administering the medicine.  The
dose is one or two fluidounces.                                  W.

   INFUSUM EUPATORII.  U. S.   Infusion of Thoroughwort.
  " Take of Thoroughwort  [the  dried  herb] an ounce;  boiling Water a
pint.  Macerate for two hours in a covered  vessel, and strain." U. S.
  As a  tonic, this infusion should be taken cold in  the dose of two fluid-
ounces three or four times a day, or more frequently; as an emetic and dia-
phoretic, in large tepid draughts.                                 W.
   INFUSUM  GENTIANAE COMPOSITUM. U.S., Land., Dub.
Infusum Gentians. Ed.  Compound Infusion of Gentian.
   " Take of Gentian, bruised, half an ounce; Orange Peel  [dried peel of 
1012
Infusa.
PART II.
the Seville orange] bruised, Coriander bruised,  each, a drachm; Diluted
Alcohol, four fluidounces; Water [cold] twelve fluidounces.  First pour on
the Alcohol, and, three hours afterwards, the Water; then macerate for twelve
hours, and strain."  U. S.
  The above was copied from the Edinburgh formula, which differs only
in having four fluidounces [Imperial  measure] of proof-spirit (Ed.), and
sixteen fluidounces [Imp. meas.] of cold water.
  The London College takes  of  sliced gentian and dried orange peel,
each, two drachms, of fresh lemon pee\four drachms, of boiling  distilled
water a pint  [Imperial  measure];  the Dublin  takes a drachm of each of
the solid ingredients and twelve fluidounces of water; both macerate for an
hour in a lightly covered vessel, and strain.
  The U. S.  and Edinburgh  infusion  differs materially from the  London
and Dublin.  The former has much more gentian in proportion  to the sol-
vent than the latter, and is therefore a much stronger bitter;  while, by  the
use of cold  instead of boiling water, less of the inert mucilaginous matter is
extracted.   The use of the diluted alcohol  is to assist in dissolving the bitter
principle, and at the same time to contribute towards the preservation of the
infusion, which, without this addition, is very apt to spoil. The preparation,
however, may be considered rather in the  light of a very weak tincture than
of an infusion, and should be used accordingly.
  The dose of the infusion of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is a fluidounce, that
of the preparation of the London College two or three fluidounces, to be  re-
peated  three or  four times a day.
   Off. Prep.  Mistura Gentianae Composita, Lond.                W.
   INFUSUM HUMULI.  U.S.  Infusum Lupuli. Lond.  Infusion
of Hops.
  " Take  of Hops half an ounce; boiling Water a pint.   Macerate  for
two hours in a covered vessel, and strain." U. S.
   " Take of Hops six drachms; boiling Distilled Water a pint [Imperial
measure].  Macerate for four hours in a lightly covered vessel, and strain."
Lond.
  The dose of  this infusion is one or two fluidounces.              W.
   INFUSUM KRAMERIAE. U.S., Lond.  Infusion of Rhatany.
   " Take  of Rhatany, bruised, an ounce; Boiling Water a pint.   Mace-
rate for four hours in a covered  vessel and strain."  U.  S.
   " Take  of Rhatany an ounce; Boiling Distilled Water a pint [Imp.
meas.].  Macerate for four hours in a lightly covered  vessel, and  strain."
Lond.
  The infusion of rhatany would probably be more efficient, if prepared
by the mode of percolation with cold water from the root in a state of mode-
rately fine powder, as directed for Peruvian Bark.   The  dose of the infu-
sion  is one  or two fluidounces.                                   W.
   INFUSUM LINI.  U S, Ed.  Infusum Lini Compositum. Lond.,
Dub.  Infusion of Flaxseed.
  " Take of Flaxseed half an ounce; Liquorice Root, bruised, two drachms;
boiling Water a pint.   Macerate for  four  hours in a covered vessel, and
strain." Lond.
  The London College directs six  drachms  of bruised flaxseed, two
drachms of sliced liquorice root, and a pint [Imperial  measure] of boiling
distilled water;  the Edinburgh,  the same except boiling water for boiling
distilled water;  the Dublin, an ounce of flaxseed, half an  ounce of liquo- 
PART II.
lnfusa.
1013
rice root, and two pints of boiling water; all complete the process in the
manner directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, except that the London and
Edinburgh Colleges direct the maceration to take place near the fire.
  This is  a useful demulcent drink in inflammatory affections of the mu-
cous membrane of the lungs  and urinary passages.  It may be  taken ad
libitum.                                                       W.
  INFUSUM MENTHAE SIMPLEX. Dub.  Simple Infusion of
Mint.
  " Take of the Dried Leaves of Spearmint two drachms; boiling Water
sufficient to  afford six ounces [fluidounces] of  strained liquor." Dub.
  This is common mint tea,  and may be taken ad libitum.
  INFUSUM  MENTHAE  COMPOSITUM. Dub.   Compound
Infusion of Mint.
  " Take of the Dried Leaves of Spearmint two  drachms; boiling Water
sufficient to  afford six ounces [fluidounces] of strained liquor.  Digest for
half an hour in a covered vessel, and strain  the liquor when cold; then add,
of Refined  Sugar two drachms, Oil of Spearmint three drops dissolved in
half an ounce [fluidounce] of Compound Tincture of Cardamom."  Dub.
  This is an agreeable aromatic infusion, useful in allaying nausea and
vomiting, and affording an eligible vehicle for unpleasant medicines.   The
dose is one or two fluidounces frequently repeated.                W.
  INFUSUM PAREIRAE. Lond., Ed.  Infusion of Pareira Brava.
  " Take  of Pareira  Brava  six  drachms; boiling Distilled  Water a pint
[Imperial measure].   Macerate for two hours, in a lightly covered vessel,
and strain."  Lond.
  The Edinburgh process differs only in  having boiling water instead of
boiling distilled water.
  The infusion of pareira brava is highly esteemed by some English prac-
titioners as  a remedy  in irritation and chronic  inflammation of the urinary
passages, and has been found useful in catarrh of the bladder.  The  dose
is one or two  fluidounces.   Brodie employed  a decoction of  the root,
which  he prepared by boiling half an ounce in three pints of water down
to a pint, and  gave in the quantity of from eight to  twelve fluidounces
daily.                                                         W.
  INFUSUM  PRUNI VIRGINIANAE.  U S.  Infusion of Wild-
cherry Bark.
  " Take  of Wild-cherry Bark,  bruised, half an ounce;  Water  [cold] a
pint.  Macerate for twenty-four hours, and strain." U. S.
  This is a  peculiarly suitable object for officinal direction,  as, in conse-
quence of the volatile nature of one of its active ingredients, and for another
reason before stated  (see page 577), it is better prepared with cold water
than in the ordinary mode.  The period of maceration might with propriety
be extended to  twenty-four hours, or even longer in cold weather.   The
infusion of wild-cherry bark is one of the preparations to which the process
of percolation or displacement is well adapted. (See pages 763 and 769.)
When  properly made, it is beautifully transparent,  has the colour of Madeira
wine, and the  agreeable bitterness and peculiar flavour of the bark.   The
dose is two or three fluidounces three or four times a day, or more frequently
when a strong impression is required.                           W.
                                86* 
1014
Infusa.
PART II.
  INFUSUM QUASSIAE.  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Infusion of
Quassia.
  " Take of Quassia, rasped, tivo drachms; Water [cold] apint.  Macerate
for twelve hours, and strain." U. S.
  The London College takes two scruples of quassia sliced, and a pint [Im-
perial measure] of  boiling distilled  water;  the Edinburgh, a drachm of
quassia in chips, and a pint [Imp. meas.] of boiling water;  the Dublin, a
scruple of quassia, and half a pint of boiling water; all macerate for two
hours.
  The proportion of quassia directed in the British Pharmacopoeias is much
too small.  The London infusion contains the strength of only two grains
of quassia in a fluidounce, the Dublin two grains and a half, and the Edin-
burgh three grains;  while the dose of quassia in substance is from twenty-
grains to a drachm,  and of the extract not less than five grains.   We, there-
fore, prefer the proportions directed by our national Pharmacopoeia.  Boil-
ing water may be employed when it is desirable to obtain the preparation
quickly;  but cold water affords a clearer infusion.   The dose is two fluid-
ounces three or four times a day.                                 W.
  INFUSUM  RHEI. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Infusion of Rhu-
barb.
  " Take of Rhubarb, bruised, a drachm;  boiling Water half a pint.  Di-
gest for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain." U. S., Dub.
  "Take of Rhubarb, sliced, three  drachms; boiling Distilled Water, a
pint [Imperial measure].  Macerate for two hours, in a lightly covered  ves-
sel, and strain." Lond.
  " Take of Rhubarb, bruised into  coarse powder, one ounce; Spirit of
Cinnamon two fluidounces;  boiling Water eighteen fluidounces.  Infuse
the Rhubarb for twelve hours, in  the Water, in a covered vessel, add the
Spirit, and strain  through  linen  or calico." Ed.
  In order that the  rhubarb may be exhausted,  it should be digested with
the water near the fire at a temperature somewhat less than that of boiling
water.  It is customary to  add some  aromatic,  such as cardamom, fennel-
seed,  or nutmeg,  which improves the taste of the infusion,  and renders it
more  acceptable to the stomach.  One drachm of either of these spices may
be digested in  connexion with the rhubarb.
  This infusion may be given as a gentle laxative, in the dose of one or two
fluidounces, every three or four hours, till it operates. It is occasionally
used as a vehicle of tonic,  antacid, or more active cathartic medicines.  The
stronger acids, and most metallic solutions, are incompatible with it.   W.
  INFUSUM  ROSAE  COMPOSITUM.  U.S.,  Lond.    Infusum
Rosm. Ed.   Infusum Rosm Acidum. Dub.   Compound Infusion of
Roses.
  " Take of Red Roses [dried petals] half an ounce; boiling Water,  two
pints  and a half; Diluted Sulphuric Acid three fluidrachms; Sugar [refined]
an ounce and a half.  Pour  the Water upon the  Roses in a glass vessel;
then add the Acid, and  macerate for half an hour; lastly, strain the liquor,
and add the Sugar." U. S.
  The London College takes three drachms of dried red roses, a fluidrachm
and a half of diluted sulphuric acid, six drachms of sugar, and apint [Im-
perial measure] of  boiling distilled water, and proceeds as  above, except
that it macerates for six hours instead  of half an hour.  The  Edinburgh
process corresponds with the London, except  that boiling  water is used 
PART II.
Infusa.
1015
instead of boiling distilled water, the maceration continues only for an hour,
and the acid is added after the maceration instead of before it.   The Dublin
process corresponds with that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, except that the
petals are directed without their claws, and three pints of water are em-
ployed instead of two pints and a half.
  The red roses serve little other purpose than to impart a fine  red colour
and a slight astringent flavour to the preparation, which owes its medicinal
virtues almost exclusively to the sulphuric acid.  It is refrigerant and astrin-
gent,  and affords a useful  and not unpleasant drink in hemorrhages and
colliquative sweats.  It is much used by British practitioners as a vehicle
for saline medicines, particularly sulphate of magnesia, the taste of which it
serves to cover.   It is also employed as a gargle, usually in connexion with
acids, nitre, alum, or tincture of Cayenne  pepper.   The dose is from two
to four fluidounces.                                              W.
  INFUSUM  SARSAPARILLAE. U.S.  Infusum Sarsaparilla
Compositum. Dub.   Infusion of Sarsaparilla.
  " Take of Sarsaparilla, bruised, an ounce; Boiling Water, a pint.  Digest
for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.
  " This infusion may also be prepared by the process of displacement, in
the manner  directed for Infusion of Peruvian Bark." U. S. (See Infusum
Cinchonae.)
  " Take of Sarsaparilla Root, previously cleansed with cold water and
sliced, an ounce; Lime-water apint.  Macerate for twelve hours in a covered
vessel, with occasional agitation, and strain."  Dub.
  From  the experiments of Soubeiran it appears that, by maceration in cold
water for twenty-four hours, the active  principle of sarsaparilla is extracted
as effectually as  by infusion in boiling water and digestion for two  hours, and
that in either case the infusion is stronger than the decoction; but the aqueous
preparation  which he found to possess most of the sensible properties of the
root, was made  by  infusing the spirituous extract in water. (See  page 951.)
In all his experiments, M. Soubeiran employed the same proportions of the
root and of  water.  (Journ. de Pharm. xvi. 43.)  These  observations cor-
respond'with those long since made by Hancock, and recently confirmed by
Mr.  T. J. Husband, of this city, so far as relates to the greater solvent power
of spirit  than of water over sarsaparilla. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. xv. 6.)
Water does not  appear competent completely to exhaust sarsaparilla of its
active principle unless employed in very large proportion.  Still  the watery
preparations made from the root are certainly not without efficacy; and the
inference from the experiments of Soubeiran is, that it is of little consequence
whether the infusion be made with hot or cold water, supposing time to be
allowed  in the latter  case.   It is  probable that percolation, as directed by
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia in  the second formula above given, will be found
the most efficacious plan.   The sarsaparilla should in this case  be reduced
to powder.   No advantage can result from the use of lime-water as directed
by the Dublin College.   From two to four fluidounces of the infusion may
be taken three times a day.                                       W.
  INFUSUM  SCOPARII.  Lond.   Infusion of Broom.
  "Take of Broom an ounce; boiling Distilled  Water  a pint [Imperial
measure]. Macerate for four hours, in a lightly covered vessel, and strain."
Lond.
  Used occasionally as a diuretic and aperient in dropsy.  The dose is from
one to four fluidounces.                                           W. 
1016
Infusa.
PART II.
  INFUSUM SENEGAE. Ed.   Infusion of Seneka.
  " Take of Senega ten drachms;  boiling Water one pint [Imperial mea-
sure].   Infuse for four hours in a covered vessel, and strain."
  The efficacy of the officinal decoction of seneka  has been proved by so
long an experience, that  we should be cautious in allowing it to be super-
seded by the infusion  on hypothetical  grounds alone.  The dose of the
preparation is from one to three fluidounces.                       W.
  INFUSUM SENNAE.  U S., Ed. Infusum Senna Compositum.
Lond., Dub.   Infusion of Senna.
  " Take of Senna  an ounce;  Coriander,  bruised, a drachm; boiling
Water a pint.  Macerate  for an hour in a covered vessel, and strain."  U. S.
  The London College  orders fifteen drachms of senna, four scrujjles of
sliced ginger, and apint [Imperial measure] of boiling distilled water; the
Edinburgh, an ounce and a half of senna, four scruples of ginger,  and
apint [Imp. meas.] of boiling water; and the Dublin, an ounce of senna, a
drachm of ginger, and apint of boiling water; all macerate as above directed.
  We decidedly prefer the formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  The pro-
portions of senna directed  by the London and Edinburgh Colleges  are
unnecessarily large; and coriander is a better addition than ginger to an in-
fusion very often given in inflammatory  affections.  This infusion deposits,
on exposure to  the air, a yellowish precipitate, which is said to  aggravate
its griping tendency; it should, therefore, not be made in large quantities.
It is customary to connect with it manna and some one of the neutral salts,
which both increase its efficacy and render it less  painful in its operation.
The following is a good  formula for the  preparation of senna tea.  Take of
senna half an ounce; sulphate of magnesia, manna, each, an ounce; fennel
seed a drachm; boiling water half a pint. Macerate in a covered  vessel till
the liquid cools.   One-third  may be  given for a dose, and repeated every
four or five hours till it operates.   The  dose of the infusion of  the U. S.
Pharmacopoeia is about four fluidounces.
  Off. Prep. Mistura  Gentianae Composita, Lond.                W.
  INFUSUM  SENNAE  CUM  TAMARINDIS.  Dub.   Infusum
Senna Compositum.  Ed,  Infusion of Senna with Tamarinds.
  "Take of Senna one drachm; Tamarinds one ounce; Coriander, bruised,
one drachm; Muscovado [sugar] half an ounce; boiling Water eight fluid-
ounces.  Infuse for four  hours, with occasional stirring in a covered vessel,
not glazed with lead, and then strain through linen or calico.
  " This infusion may be likewise made with twice or thrice the prescribed
quantity of senna."  Ed.
  The process of the Dublin College corresponds closely with the above, but
does not admit the triple  quantity of senna. In this infusion the unpleasant
taste of the senna is covered by the acidity of the tamarinds and sweetness of
the sugar.  It is aperient and refrigerant, and is well adapted to febrile com-
plaints when a laxative operation is desired. The dose is from two to four
fluidounces.                                                    W.

  INFUSUM SERPENTARIAE.  U. S.,  Lond., Ed.   Infusion of
Virginia Snakeroot.
  "Take of Virginia Snakeroot  half  an ounce; boiling Water apint.
Macerate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain."  U. S.
  The  London College employs  half an ounce of the root with apint
[Imperial measure] of boiling distilled water, and macerates for four hours.
The Edinburgh process differs from the London only in the  use  of boiling
water instead of boiling distilled water. 
PART II,
lnfusa.
1017
  This is the ordinary form in which serpentaria is employed.   The dose
is one  or two fluidounces, repeated every two  hours in low forms of fever,
but less frequently in chronic affections.                           W.
  INFUSUM SIMARUBAE. Lond., Ed., Dub.  Infusion of Sima-
ruba.
  " Take of Simaruba [bark], bruised, three drachms; boiling Distilled
Water a pint  [Imperial  measure].  Macerate for two hours in a lightly
covered vessel, and  strain." Lond.
  The Edinburgh process differs only in the use of boiling water instead
of boiling distilled water.
  The Dublin College takes half a drachm of the bark, and half apint of
boiling water,  and proceeds as above.
  This preparation  is little used in the United  States.   The dose is  two
fluidounces.                                                    W.

  INFUSUM  SPIGELIAE.  US.  Infusion of Pinkroot.
  " Take of Pinkroot half an ounce;  boiling Water a pint.  Macerate for
two hours in a covered vessel,  and strain." U. S.
  The dose of this infusion, for a child two or three years old, is from  four
fluidrachms  to a fluidounce; for an adult, from four to eight fluidounces, re-
peated morning and evening.   A quantity of senna equal to that of the spi-
gelia is usually added in order to insure a cathartic effect.           W.
  INFUSUM  TABACI.  U.S., Dub.   Enema Tabaci. Lond.,  Ed.
Infusion of Tobacco.
  " Take of Tobacco a drachm;  boiling Water a pint.  Macerate  for an
hour in a covered vessel, and strain."  U. S., Dub.
  The London College takes a drachm of tobacco, and apint [Imperial
measure]  of boiling distilled  water, macerates  for an  hour, and strains.
The Edinburgh College takes  from fifteen to thirty grains of tobacco, and
eight fluidounces of boiling water, infuses for half an hour, and strains.
  This is used only in the form of enema in strangulated hernia, obstinate
colic, and retention of urine from spasm of the urethra.  Only half of the
pint should be employed at once; and if this should not produce  relaxation
in half an hour, the  remainder may be  injected.   Fatal consequences have
resulted from too free a use of  tobacco in this  way.                W.
  INFUSUM  ULMI. U.S. Infusion of Slippery Elm Bark.
  " Take of Slippery Elm Bark, sliced  and bruised, an ounce;  boiling
Water a pint.   Macerate for two hours in  a  covered vessel, and strain."
U.S.
  This infusion may be used  ad libitum  as a demuleent and nutritious
drink in catarrhal and nephritic diseases, and in inflammatory  affections
of the intestinal mucous membrane.                               W.
  INFUSUM VALERIANAE. U.S., Lond., Dub.   Infusion of
Valerian.
  Take of Valerian half an ounce; boiling Water a  pint.  Macerate for
an hour in a covered vessel, and strain."  U. S.
  The London College takes half an ounce of valerian, and apint [Impe-
rial  measure] of boiling distilled water, macerates for half an hour in a lightly
eovered vessel, and strains.   The  Dublin College directs  two drachms of
valerian, in coarse powder, seven fluidounces of boiling water,  digestion
for  an hour,  and straining after the liquid has become cold.
  The dose of this infusion is two  fluidounces, repeated three or four times
a day, or more frequently.                                       W. 
1018
Iodinum.—Linimenta.
PART II.
                            IODINUM.

                     Preparation of Iodine.

   LIQUOR IODINI COMPOSITUS.  U.S.   Iodinei Liquor Com-
positus. Ed.   Liquor Potassii Iodidi  Compositus. Lond.   Com-
pound Solution of Iodine.
   " Take of Iodine six drachms; Iodide of Potassium an ounce and a half;
Distilled Water apint.  Dissolve the Iodine and Iodide of Potassium in the
Water." U.S.
   "Take of Iodine two drachms;  Iodide of Potassium an ounce; Distilled
Water sixteen fluidounces [Imperial measure].   Dissolve the Iodide and
Iodine in the Water with gentle heat and agitation." Ed.
   "Take of Iodide of Potassium ten grains; Iodine five grains; Distilled
Water apint [Imperial measure].   Mix that they may dissolve." Lond.
   Although these preparations are all aqueous solutions of iodine and iodide
of potassium, yet they differ very much in strength.  Iodine is but sparingly
soluble in water, but readily dissolves when associated with twice its weight
of  iodide of potassium.   The U. S. solution corresponds in strength with
Lugol's concentrated solution of iodine in iodide of potassium, and is in-
tended to  facilitate the administration of the combination  in drops.  The
Edinburgh preparation is a weaker form of the same concentrated solution,
in which the iodide of potassium is  taken at a quantity four times the amount
of  the iodine, instead of  twice its amount,  the usual proportion adopted.
Assuming 16 Imperial fluidounces to be the same as the wine pint, and it
is only 5 fluidrachms less, then it will be found, on comparing the formulae,
that the Edinburgh solution is one-third as strong in iodine, and two thirds
as strong in iodide of potassium as that of the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  The
London preparation is a weak solution, and is just twice as strong as Lugol's
ioduretted mineral water of medium strength, assuming the Imperial fluid-
ounce to be the  same as  the French ounce.  The medicinal properties of
these solutions depend mainly on the free iodine present  in them, by which
their dose must be regulated, and not by the iodide of potassium. The dose
of  the U. S. solution is  six drops, containing about a  quarter of a grain
of  iodine,  twice a day,  given in  four tablespoonfuls of sweetened water,
and gradually increased.   For children, the dose is proportionably less.
(See page  394).  The  Edinburgh solution  may be  given in doses about
three times as large.  The London preparation may be viewed as the fore-
going solutions,  brought  nearly to  the proper degree  of dilution for exhibi-
tion.  The dose is  a fluidounce, containing a quarter of a grain of iodine,
diluted with an equal bulk of water, and gradually increased to two fluid-
ounces or more.                                                 B.


                           LINIMENTA.

                             Liniments.

   These are preparations  intended for external  use, of  such  a consistence
as  to render them conveniently applicable to  the skin  by gentle friction with
the hand.  They are usually thicker than water, but thinner than the oint-
ments; and are always liquid at the temperature  of the body.       W. 
PART II.
Linimenta.
1019
  LINIMENTUM AMMONIAE.  U S, Lond., Ed., Dub.  Lini-
ment of Ammonia.  Volatile Liniment.
  " Take  of Solution of  Ammonia a fluidounce;  Olive Oil two fluid-
ounces.   Mix them."  U.  S.
  The London and Edinburgh processes agree with the above.  The Dub-
lin College directs two fluidrachms of " Water of Caustic Ammonia" and
two fluidounces of  the oil.
  The U. S., London, and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, having adopted a so-
lution of ammonia of the same strength, accord at present in the proportion of
the solution and of oil employed in the liniment. In this preparation, the am-
monia unites with the oil to form a soap, which is partly dissolved, partly sus-
pended  in the water, producing a white, opaque emulsion.  The  liniment
is an excellent rubefacient, frequently employed in inflammatory affections
of the throat, catarrhal and other  pectoral complaints of children, and in
rheumatic pains.   It is  applied by rubbing it gently upon  the  skin, or
placing  a piece of flannel  saturated with it over the affected part.  Should
it occasion too much inflammation, as sometimes happens, it must be diluted
with oil.                                                      W.
   LINIMENTUM  AMONIAE  COMMPOSITUM.  Ed.  Com-
pound  Liniment of Ammonia.
  " Take of Stronger Aqua Ammoniae (D. 0.880) [Stronger Solution of Am-
monia] five fluidounces;  Tincture of Camphor two fluidounces;  Spirit of
Rosemary one fluidounce.  Mix them  well together.  This liniment may
be also made weaker for some purposes with three fluidounces of Tincture
of Camphor and two of Spirit of Rosemary." Ed.
  The  compound  liniment of ammonia is  a very close imitation of Dr.
Granville's counter-irritant lotion.  Like that, it is  of two strengths; the
stronger containing five-eighths of  its bulk of the ammoniacal solution, the
weaker  only one-half.   They are nothing  more than dilutions in different
degrees  of the officinal  Liquor Ammonias Fortior, which  is  itself too
powerful for convenient use.  The tincture of camphor and spirit of rose-
mary can scarcely exercise, in this case, any peculiar therapeutical influence.
These preparations are employed as prompt and powerful rubefacients, vesi-
catories, or escharotics, in various  neuralgic, gouty,  rheumatic, spasmodic,
and inflammatory affections, in which strong and  speedy counter-irritation
is indicated.  When  mere rubefaction is desired, the weaker lotion may be
used; and even for blistering or cauterizing,  unless a very prompt effect is
necessary.  In  the latter case the stronger lotion should be resorted to.
They are applied by means of linen folded  several  times, or a thick piece
of flannel saturated with  the  liniment.  A convenient mode  is to fill the
wooden cover of a large  pill or ointment box, an inch or two in diameter,
with patent lint, saturate  this with  the liquid, and  press it upon the part.
The ammonia is thus prevented from  escaping, and a definite  boundary
given to the inflammation.   The application will  generally produce  rube-
faction  in a length of time  varying from one to six  or eight minutes, vesi-
cation in from  three to ten minutes, and a  caustic  effect in  a somewhat
longer period.                                                 W.
   LINIMENTUM AMMONIAE  SESQUICARBONATIS. Lond.
Liniment of Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia.
  "Take of Solution of Sesquicarbonate of  Ammonia a fluidounce;  Olive
Oil three fluidounces.   Shake them together until they unite." Lond. 
1020
Linimenta.
PART II.
   In this,  as  in the liniment of ammonia, a kind of fluid soap is formed;
but the union between the oil and  alkali  is less perfect, and  after a short
time the soapy matter separates from the water.  The preparation is there-
fore less elegant; and, as the end which it was probably intended to answer
of affording a milder rubefacient, may  be  obtained by diluting the liniment
of ammonia with olive oil, there seems to be no good reason  for retaining
it.                                                           W.
   LINIMENTUM CALCIS.  U S., Ed., Dub.  Liniment of Lime.
   " Take of Lime-water, Flaxseed Oil, each, a fluidounce.  Mix them."
U.S.
   The Edinburgh College directs equal measures of the same ingredients;
the Dublin, three fluidounces of lime-water, and three of olive oil.
   The lime forms a soap with the  oil, of which there is a great excess, that
separates upon standing.  Olive oil, as directed by the  Dublin College, is
often substituted for that of flaxseed; but possesses no other advantage than
that of having a less  unpleasant odour.  This is a very useful liniment in
recent burns and scalds.  It is sometimes called Carron  oil, from having
been much employed at  the iron works of that name in Scotland.   W.
   LINIMENTUM  CAMPHORAE.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.   Oleum
Camphoratum.  Dub.  Camphor Liniment.
   " Take of Camphor  half an ounce; Olive Oil two fluidounces.  Dis-
solve the Camphor in the Oil." U. S.
   The London and Edinburgh Colleges direct an ounce of camphor, and
four fluidounces of olive oil; the Dublin  College, a drachm of the former
and  an ounce of the latter.
   This is employed as an anodyne embrocation in sprains, bruises, rheu-
matic or gouty affections of the joints, and other local pains.  It is  also
supposed to have a discutient effect when  rubbed upon glandular swellings.
   LINIMENTUM CAMPHORAE  COMPOSITUM. Lond,Dub.
 Compound Camphor Liniment.
   " Take of Camphor two ounces and a half;  Solution of Ammonia seven
fluidounces and a  half; Spirit of Lavender  a pint [Imperial measure].
Mix  the solution of Ammonia with the Spirit; then, from a  glass retort,
with a slow fire, distil a pint; lastly, dissolve  the Camphor in the distilled
liquor." Lond.
   The Dublin College  takes two ounces of camphor,  six fluidounces of
solution of ammonia, and a pint of spirit of lavender; and proceeds in the
same manner.
   This preparation deserves a place rather among the Spirits  or Tinctures
than the Liniments.   It  may be imitated by dissolving a little  oil of laven-
der in tincture of camphor, and adding spirit of ammonia.  It is used as a
rubefacient and at the same  time anodyne embrocation,  in local pains, par-
ticularly of a rheumatic  character.                               W.
   LINIMENTUM CANTHARIDIS.  U.S.   Liniment of Span-
ish  Flies.
   " Take of Spanish Flies,  in powder, an ounce; Oil of Turpentine half
apint,  Digest for three hours by  means of a water-bath, and strain."  U. S.
   Oil of turpentine  is an excellent solvent of  the active principle of  can-
tharides, and, when impregnated with it, acquires in addition to its  own
rubefacient properties those of a powerful epispastic.   This liniment was 
PART II.
Linimenta.
1021
introduced  into notice by  Dr. Joseph  Hartshorne, of Philadelphia, who
employed it with great advantage  as  an external  stimulant in the prostrate
states of typhus fever.  Caution, however, is necessary in its use, both to
graduate its strength to the circumstances of the  case, and not to apply it
very extensively, lest it may produce severe and troublesome, if not dan-
gerous vesication. (See Eclectic Repertory, vol. i. p. 94.)  If too powerful
in its undiluted state, it may be weakened by the addition of olive or lin-
seed oil.                                                      W.
   LINIMENTUM   HYDRARGYRI  COMPOSITUM.   Lond.
Compound Liniment of Mercury.
   "Take of Stronger Mercurial Ointment, Lard,  each, four ounces; Cam-
phor an ounce; Rectified Spirit a fluidrachm;  Solution of Ammonia four
fluidounces.  Rub  the  Camphor first  with the Spirit, then  with the Lard
and Mercurial Ointment; lastly,  add gradually the Solution of Ammonia,
and mix the whole." Lond.
   This is  a stimulating liniment, employed for  the discussion  of  chronic
glandular enlargements, swellings of the joints, and venereal  tumours, and
to  promote the absorption of collections of fluid.   It is  said to be more
apt to salivate  than mercurial ointment.  One drachm of it is to be rubbed
upon the affected part night and morning.                         W.
   LINIMENTUM OPII. Lond., Ed.  Linimentum Saponis cum
Opio vet  Linimentum Anodynum.  Dub.  Liniment  of Opium.
Anodyne  Liniment.
   " Take of Castile Soap six ounces;  Opium an ounce and a half; Cam-
phor three  ounces; Oil of Rosemary  six fluidrachms; Rectified Spirit two
pints [Imperial measure].  Macerate the Soap and Opium in the Spirit for
three days;  filter, add the Oil and Camphor, and agitate briskly."  Ed.
   The  London and  Dublin  Colleges  merely  mix  their  liniment of soap
(Tinctura  Saponis Camphorata) with tincture of opium; the  former, in
the proportion of six measures of the  liniment to two of  the tincture; the
latter, of four  parts to three.
   This is  commonly known  by the name of anodyne  liniment, and is
employed as an anodyne  and gently rubefacient embrocation in sprains,
bruises, and rheumatic and gouty pains.  It differs from  the  camphorated
tincture of soap only in containing  opium, and is most conveniently pre-
pared by extemporaneously mixing that tincture with laudanum, as directed
by the London and Dublin Colleges.                             W.
   LINIMENTUM  SAPONIS CAMPHORATUM. U.S.  Cam-
phorated Soap Liniment.   Opodeldoc.
   " Take of Common  Soap  three  ounces; Camphor an ounce; Oil of
Rosemary,  Oil of  Origanum, each a fluidrachm;  Alcohol  apint.   Digest
the Soap with  the Alcohol, by means  of a sand-bath, till it  is dissolved;
then add the Camphor  and Oils, and  when they are dissolved, pour the
liquor into  broad  mouthed bottles.   This Liniment  has, when cold, the
consistence of  a soft ointment."  U. S.
   This preparation is directed  only by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  It differs
from the common  soap liniment (Tinctura Saponis Camphorata)  chiefly
in being prepared with common white soap, made with animal fat,  instead
of Castile soap, which  is made with olive oil.   The former is  peculiarly
adapted  to the purposes of this formula, in consequence of  assuming, when
its alcoholic solution cools, the consistence characteristic of  the  liniment.
It is customary, after the solution  of the soap has been effected, to pour the
      87 
1022                Liniment a.—Magnesia.             part ii.

liquor into  small wide-mouthed  glass bottles, containing about four fluid-
ounces, in which it solidifies into a soft, semitransparent, uniform, yellowish-
white mass.  This liniment melts with the heat of the body, and therefore
becomes  liquid when  rubbed upon the skin.   It is much used, under the
common  name of  opodeldoc, as an anodyne application in sprains, bruises,
and rheumatic pains.                                            W.
  LINIMENTUM  SIMPLEX. Ed. Simple Liniment.
  "Take of Olive Oil four parts; White Wax one part.   Dissolve the
Wax in the Oil with a gentle heat, and agitate well as the fused mass cools
and concretes." Ed.
  This is little  employed.  It may be used for keeping the skin soft  and
smooth in cold weather.
  Off. Prep. Unguentum Zinci, Ed.                             W.
  LINIMENTUM  TEREBINTHINAE.  U.S., Lond., Dub. Lini-
mentum Terebinthinatum. Ed.  Liniment of Turpentine.
  " Take of Oil of Turpentine half a pint; Resin Cerate apound.  Add the
Oil of Turpentine  to the Cerate previously melted, and mix them." U. S.,
Dub.
  " Take of Soft  Soap two ounces; Camphor an ounce; Oil of Turpen-
tine  sixteen fluidounces.  Shake them  together  until they  are mixed."
Lond.
  " Take of Resinous Ointment/owr ounces; Oil of Turpentine five fluid-
ounces; Camphor half an ounce.   Melt the ointment, and gradually mix
with it the Camphor and Oil, till a uniform liniment be obtained."  Ed.
  This preparation, made according to the U. S. and Dublin formula?, is
the  liniment originally proposed by  Dr. Kentish,  and subsequently so
highly lauded as a remedy in  burns and scalds.  It should be applied as
soon after the occurrence of the accident as possible, and should be discon-
tinued when the peculiar inflammation excited by the  fire is removed. The
best  mode of application is to cover the burned or scalded  surface with
pledgets of patent lint saturated with  the liniment.   It  should not be al-
lowed to  come in contact with the sound parts.   This liniment may also be
successfully  applied in other  cases of cutaneous inflammation requiring
stimulation,  as in  certain conditions of erysipelas.   The liniment of  the
London College, which  has been substituted,  in the last edition  of their
Pharmacopoeia, for the mixture  of resin cerate and  oil  of turpentine, di-
rected in  the former edition, is a stimulating mixture, applicable wherever
a powerful rubefacient impression is desired.                     W.


                          MAGNESIA.

                   Preparations of Magnesia.

  MAGNESIA.  US, Lond, Ed., Dub.  Magnesia.
  " Take of Carbonate of Magnesia any quantity.   Put it into an earthen
vessel, and expose it to a red heat for two hours, or till the carbonic acid is
wholly expelled."  U. S.
  " Take of Carbonate of Magnesia four ounces.   Burn it for two hours
in a strong fire." Lond.
  " Take any convenient quantity of Carbonate  of  Magnesia, expose it
in a crucible to a full red heat for two hours, or till the powder, when sus-
pended in water, presents no effervescence on the addition of muriatic acid.
Preserve  the product in well-closed bottles."  Ed. 
PART II.
Magnesia.
1023
  " Take of Carbonate of Magnesia any quantify.   Put it into a crucible,
and subject it to a strong heat for two hours.   When the Magnesia has be-
come cool, preserve it  in a glass vessel." Dub.
  By exposure to  a red heat, the water and carbonic acid of the carbonate
of magnesia  are expelled, and the earth is obtained pure.   According to
Dr. Black, the  carbonate loses  seven-twelfths of its  weight  by calcination.
Brande says  that the loss varies from 50 to 60 per cent, of  which from 15
to 20 per cent,  is water.   About the close of the process the earth exhibits
a luminous or phosphorescent appearance, which is said to be a good crite-
rion  of its freedom from carbonic acid. (Duncan.)   A more certain indica-
tion, however,  is the absence of effervescence when  muriatic acid  is added
to a little of the magnesia, previously mixed  with water.  It is an error to
suppose that a  very intense heat  is requisite  in the calcination.  The tem-
perature of ignition is sufficient for the expulsion of the water and  carbonic
acid, and  any increase serves only to render the magnesia harder, denser,
less readily soluble in  acids, and  consequently less  useful as a medicine.
In order to ensure  a  pure product, care should be taken that the carbonate
employed be free from lime.  It should be rubbed to powder before being
introduced into  the pot or crucible;  and, as in consequence of its levity it
occupies a very large space, the plan has been proposed of moistening  and
compressing it  in order to reduce its bulk.  The magnesia may thus be ob-
tained of greater density;  but this is an equivocal recommendation; and the
French pharmaceutical writers  direct that the vessels employed should be
sufficiently large to contain  a considerable quantity of the carbonate, with-
out the necessity of  resorting to  compression.   The officinal direction, to
keep the magnesia, after it has been prepared, in well-stopped glass vessels,
is founded on the fact  that it absorbs carbonic acid and  water from the  air;
but the absorption  goes on slowly, and the caution is often neglected in the
shops.  Its great bulk renders  its introduction into  small bottles  inconve-
nient. A four ounce bottle  holds only about an ounce  of the purest and finest
magnesia.   But its specific  gravity is  greatly increased by trituration;  and
four  times the quantity may be  thus got into the same space. (Journ. of the
Phil. Col. of Pharm. iii.  198.)  The density of Henry's magnesia, which
is at least  four  times that of the  earth prepared in  tbe ordinary way, has
been ascribed to this cause.   It has  also been attributed to the influence of
intense heat employed in the calcination; and both  causes  may contribute
to it.   The conjecture  has even been advanced, that this magnesia, which
has enjoyed so great a popularity in England and this country, is prepared
by precipitating a  solution of sulphate of magnesia  by caustic potassa, as
the  earth  afforded by  this plan  is comparatively dense.  It is difficult to
find any reasonable ground  for the preference given to  Henry's  magnesia.
If its density be owing to the  employment of an intense heat in the  cal-
cination, it is rather  an objection than otherwise, as  its solubility in acids
is thus diminished.   In France the earth is  esteemed  in  proportion to its
levity.  It is asserted that the magnesia, prepared  from the  carbonate pro-
cured by precipitating  the sulphate of magnesia with carbonate of soda, is
softer to  the touch, and  bears  a  closer resemblance to Henry's than  that
prepared from the  ordinary  carbonate.  The fact is  explained by the  pre-
sence in common magnesia of a little sulphate of potassa, from which it  is
difficult entirely to free it in consequence of the sparing solubility of this
salt,  and of a portion of silica which originally existed  in the carbonate of
potassa employed to  decompose the sulphate  of magnesia, and of which the
carbonate  of soda is destitute. 
1024
Magnesia.
PART II.
   Properties, §*c.  Pure magnesia is in the state of a very light, white, in-
 odorous powder, of a feeble  alkaline taste.   Its sp.gr. is commonly stated
 at 2-3.   It  was deemed infusible,  till  melted by means of the compound
 blowpipe of Dr. Hare.  Water sprinkled upon it is absorbed to the extent
 of about 18 per  cent., but with scarcely any increase of  temperature.  It is
 almost insoluble, requiring,  according  to Dr. Fyfe, 5142 parts  of water at
 60°, and 36,000 parts of boiling water for solution.  Water thus impreg-
 nated has no effect on vegetable  colours, but magnesia itself  produces a
 brown  stain by contact with moistened  turmeric  paper.   Magnesia is a
 metallic oxide, consisting of one equivalent  of magnesium 12-7, and one of
 oxygen 8=20*7.   Magnesium is a white,  very brilliant metal,  resembling
 silver, malleable, fusible at a low temperature, and convertible into magnesia
 by  the combined action of air and moisture.  There is  a hydrate of mag-
 nesia, consisting of one equiv. of the earth  and one of  water.   Magnesia
 forms with nitric and muriatic acids, salts which are soluble in alcohol and
 very deliquescent.  It is  precipitated from its saline solutions by the pure
 alkalies in the state of a hydrate, and by the carbonates of potassa and soda
 as a carbonate; but  it is not precipitated by the alkaline bicarbonates,  nor by
 common carbonate  of ammonia.
  Magnesia is liable to contain,  as impurities,  undecomposed carbonate of
 magnesia,  lime, alumina,  silica, and small  quantities of the soluble salts
 employed or produced  in  the preparation of the carbonate from which it
 is procured.  The  presence of carbonate of magnesia is indicated by effer-
 vescence when  the earth  is dissolved in muriatic acid.  Lime,  which is a
 frequent impurity,  and imparts  to  the  magnesia a  more strongly alkaline
 and more disagreeable  taste, is detected  by oxalate of ammonia or bicarbo-
 nate of potassa.   Neither of these salts disturbs  a neutral solution of pure
 magnesia in a dilute acid; but if  lime be present, both produce precipitates,
 the former of oxalate, the latter of carbonate of lime.  As magnesia is com-
 pletely dissolved by muriatic acid,  silica and other impurities insoluble in
 that acid would  be  left behind.   Alumina is indicated by the production of
 a precipitate, when ammonia is added in excess  to a solution of fifty grains
 of magnesia in a fluidounce of muriatic  acid. (Christison's Dispensatory.)
 If the magnesia  contain a soluble  sulphate or carbonate from insufficient
 washing of the carbonate of magnesia from which it was prepared, the chlo-
ride of barium will reveal  them by producing a precipitate with water di-
 gested on the magnesia.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Magnesia is antacid and laxative;  and is
 much employed, under the name of calcined magnesia,  in dyspepsia, sick
 headache, gout,  and other complaints attended with sour stomach and con-
 stipation.   It is  also a  favourite remedy in the complaints  of children, in
 which acidity of the primse viae is often  a prominent symptom.   Its antacid
 properties render it very useful in  gravel attended with an excessive secre-
 tion of uric acid. Its advantages over carbonate of magnesia are that it may
be given in a smaller dose, and does not occasion flatulence.   The dose as
 a laxative is from thirty grains to a drachm, as an antacid merely, or antili-
thic, from ten to thirty  grains twice a day.   When it meets with no acid,
it is apt to linger in the stomach or bowels, and should in this case be fol-
lowed by lemonade.   It  should be administered  in water  or  milk,  and
 should be thoroughly triturated so  as to  render the mixture uniform.
  Off. Prep. Trochisci Magnesiae, U. S.;  Pulvis Rhei Compositus,  Ed.
                                                                 W. 
PART II.
Magnesia.—Mellita.
1025
  MAGNESIAE SULPHAS PURUM. Dub.   Pure Sulphate of
Magnesia.
  " Take of Commercial Sulphuric Acid twenty-five parts; Water one hun-
dred parts;  Carbonate of Magnesia twenty-four parts, or as much as may
be sufficient to saturate the Acid.  Mix the Sulphuric Acid and Water, and
then gradually add the Carbonate of Magnesia.   Lastly, evaporate the fil-
tered liquor, so that crystals may form when it cools." Dub.
  The sulphate of magnesia prepared in the large way is  sufficiently pure
for medical purposes; and the above process, therefore, is superfluous.  W.


                           MELLITA.

                      Preparations  of Honey.

  Honey is used in pharmacy only as the  vehicle of more active medicines.
It is said to have this advantage over syrup, that its preparations are less
apt to become candied; but as it contains principles which disagree with the
stomachs of many persons, and as its  variable consistence prevents the same
exact precision in  regard to  proportion as is attainable with  a solution of
pure sugar,  it is at  present little employed.  The  preparations  in which
honey and vinegar are combined, are  called Oxymels.
  Medicated honeys are of a proper consistence, if, when a small  quantity,
allowed to cool upon a plate, is divided  by the edge of a spoon, the portions
do not readily coalesce.  A more accurate criterion, however, is their specific
gravity, which should be 1*319 (35° B.) at ordinary'temperatures, and 1*261
(30° B.)  at the boiling point of water.                             W.
  MEL DESPUMATUM.  U  S., Dub.  Clarified Honey.
  Take of Honey any quantity.  Melt it by means of a water-bath, and
then remove the scum." U. S., Dub.
  Honey by the heat of the water-bath becomes so fluid, that the  wax and
other lighter  impurities which it contains rise to the surface, and may be
skimmed off; while the heavier substances which may have been acciden-
tally or fraudulently added,  such as sand or other earth, sink to the bottom.
  The following method of clarifying honey is practised in France.  Take
of white honey 3000 parts; water 750 parts; carbonate of lime, powdered
and washed,  96 parts.  Mix  them in a suitable  vessel, and boil  for three
minutes, stirring constantly.   Then  add  96 parts of animal charcoal pre-
viously washed, heated to redness,  powdered, and sifted, and boil for a few
minutes.   Lastly,  add the  whites  of two eggs beat up with 500 parts of
water, and bring the  liquid to  the boiling point.  Withdraw the vessel from
the fire, and, after the mixture has cooled for fifteen minutes, strain it through
flannel, and repeat  the straining till  the liquid passes perfectly clear. Should
it not have the proper consistence, it should be concentrated sufficiently by
a quick  boiling.  The French Codex  simply directs six pounds  of white
honey to be  heated with three pounds of  water, skimmed, concentrated to
30° B. while boiling  hot, and  then  strained through flannel.
  The following process for clarifying common honey was proposed by M.
Borde, and  approved by the Society of Pharmacy at  Paris.  Take of com-
mon honey 5000 parts; vegetable  charcoal, in powder, 320 parts; animal
charcoal, in powder,  160 parts; nitric acid of 30° or 32° Baume  40 parts;
water 320 parts.   Rub the two  kinds  of charcoal, in  a porcelain mortar,
with the water and acid; then add the honey,  and  put the whole  into a
tinned pan.  Place the vessel  over  the fire, and allow it to  remain  for eight
                                 87* 
1026
Mellita.
PART II.
  or ten minutes without suffering it to boil;  then add  1600 parts of milk in
  which the white of an egg has been beaten,  and boil for four or five minutes.
  Remove the  liquid from  the fire,  and pass it through a strainer in a warm
  place, repeating the straining if the first portions are not clear. Of the nitric
  acid employed in the process, a portion is saturated by the lime of the ani-
  mal charcoal, and the remainder unites with the caseous matter of the milk,
  which it thus causes to coagulate; none remains in the honey.  (Diet.  Des
  Drogues.)
    Honey clarified by these processes is  as clear and colourless as syrup
  made with sugar, but still retains a peculiar  flavour.   It is  less disposed to
  ferment than crude honey, and is said not to be so liable to produce griping
  pain when swallowed.
    Off. Prep.  Confectio Aromatica, U. S.;  Confectio Opii, U. S.; Confec-
  tio Rosae, U. S., Dub.;  Conserva Rutae, Dub.;  Mel Boracis, Dub.;  Mel
  Praeparatum,  U. S.;  Mel Rosae, U. S.,  Dub.;  Oxymel, Dub.; Oxymel
  Colchici, Dub.;  Oxymel Scillae,  U. S., Dub.;  Pilulae  Ferri Carbonatis,
  U. S.;  Tinctura Opii Camphorata, U.  S.                          W.
    MEL PRAEPARATUM.  U S.  Prepared Honey.
    "Take of Clarified Honey half a pint; Diluted  Alcohol  a  pint; Pre-
  pared Chalk half an ounce.  Having mixed the Honey and Diluted Alco-
  hol, add the Prepared Chalk, and allow the mixture to stand for two hours,
  occasionally stirring it.   Then heat it to  ebullition, filter, and by means of
  a water-bath evaporate the clear liquor, so  that when cold it may have the
  specific gravity 1*32." U. S.
    This process was intended to prepare honey, so as to fit it better for
  addition to the protosalts of iron, including the  protiodide and protochlo-
  ride, in order to prevent the  absorption of oxygen.   The prepared chalk
  neutralizes any acid  which it may contain, while impurities insoluble in
  diluted aleohol are left behind, and the  honey deprived of colour.
    Off. Prep.  Liquor Ferri Iodidi,  U. S.                           W.
    MEL BORACIS.  Lond, Ed., Dub.  Honey of Borax.
    "Take of Borax, in powder, a drachm; Honey [Clarified Honey, Dub.]
  an ounce.  Mix  them." Lond., Ed.,  Dub.
    This preparation might well be left to extemporaneous  prescription.  It
  is used in aphthous ulcerations of the mouth.                       W.
    MEL ROSAE.  U S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Honey of Roses.
    " Take of Red Roses two ounces;  Clarified Honey two pints; boiling
  Water apint and a half.  Macerate the Roses in the Water for two hours,
  and strain; then add the  Honey, and evaporate by means of a water-bath to
  the  proper consistence.  The specific  gravity of  the  Honey of Roses
  should be 1-32."  U.S.
   ^ The London College  macerates four ounces of dried  red roses in  two
  pints and a half [Imperial measure]  of boiling water for six  hours,  then
  strains, adds five pounds of honey, and evaporates by a  water-bath to the
  proper consistence.  The  Edinburgh College, operating upon the same
  materials, in  the  same quantities, infuses  the petals  for six hours in the
\ water,  strains with expression, allows  the impurities  to subside, decants the
  clear liquor, adds the honey, and evaporates in the vapour-bath to the  con-
  sistence of syrup, removing  the scum which forms.   The Dublin process
  corresponds with the London, except that three wine pints of water are
  used instead of two and a half Imperial pints, and the scum which forms
  during the evaporation is directed to be removed. 
PART II.
Mellita.
1027
  This preparation  has  the flavour of the rose with its  slight astringency,
and forms a pleasant addition to the gargles employed in inflammation and
ulceration of the mouth and throat.                                W.
  OXYMEL. Lond,, Dub.  Oxymel.
  " Take of Honey ten pounds; Acetic Acid a pint and a half [Imperial
measure].  Mix the Acid with the Honey previously heated." Lond.
  The Dublin College takes two pounds of crude honey, and apint of dis-
tilled  vinegar; and  boils them to the  consistence  of syrup, removing  the
scum  as it rises.
  This mixture of honey and vinegar forms a pleasant addition to gargles,
and is sometimes used as a vehicle of expectorant medicines, and to impart
flavour to drinks in  febrile complaints.  If it be prepared according to  the
London formula, care must be taken to employ the acetic acid of the strength
directed by that College.  •                                     W.
  OXYMEL COLCHICI.  Dub.  Oxymel of Colchicum.
  "Take of the fresh Bulb of  Colchicum, cut into thin slices, an ounce;
Distilled Vinegar a pint;  Clarified Honey two pounds.  Macerate  the
Colchicum with the Vinegar, in a glass vessel, for forty-eight hours.   Strain
the liquor, with strong expression, from the root, and  add the Honey.  Lastly,
boil the mixture, frequently stirring it with a wooden spatula, to the consis-
tence  of a syrup." Dub.
  This preparation  is seldom used in this country, and could not indeed be
conveniently prepared, according to  the above directions, as we have not the
fresh bulbs.   It is in no respect superior to the wine of colchicum, by which
it has been superseded.  The dose is a fluidrachm, repeated twice a day, and
gradually increased  till it produces the desired effect.                W.
  OXYMEL CUPRI SUBACETATIS. Dub. Linimentum AEru-
ginis. Lond.  Oxymel of Subacetate of Copper.
  " Take of Verdigris in powder, [Prepared Subacetate of Copper, Dub.]
an ounce; Vinegar  [Distilled  Vinegar, Dub.] seven fluidounces;  Honey
[Clarified Honey, Dub.] fourteen ounces.   Dissolve the Verdigris in  the
Vinegar, and strain the solution through linen; then gradually add the Honey,
and boil down to the proper consistence." Lond., Dub.
   This is an external stimulant and  escharotic, and was formerl}' called  met
ASgyptiacum.  It is  employed either undiluted or mixed with some mild
ointment, to destroy fungous granulations, or to repress their growth.  In the
latter state, it  is a useful stimulant  to flabby,  indolent,  and  ill conditioned
ulcers, and largely diluted with water has been used as a gargle in venereal
ulcerations of the mouth and throat.  It is sometimes also applied undiluted
to those ulcers in the  fauces by means of a camel's-hair pencil.       W.
   OXYMEL SCILLAE. U. S., Lond., Dub.   Oxymel of Squill.
   "Take of Clarified Honey three pounds; Vinegar of Squill two pints.
Mix them, and  evaporate by means  of a water-bath to  the proper consist-
ence.  The specific gravity of Oxymel of Squill should be  1*32."  U.  S.
   The London College takes three pounds of honey and apint and a half
(Imperial measure)  of vinegar of squill; the Dublin, three pounds  of clari-
fied honey and two pints of vinegar of squill; both boil in a glass vessel,
with a slow fire, to  the proper consistence.
   This preparation has the virtues  of squill, but is in no respect superior
to the syrup.  Prepared according to the directions of the London  and
Dublin  Colleges, it would  be very liable  to be  injured by heat.  It is
chiefly used as an expectorant in chronic catarrh, humoral asthma, hooping 
1028
Mellita.—Misturse.
PART II.
 cough, and generally in those states of the pulmonary organs in which  the
 bronchial tubes are loaded with a viscid mucus of difficult  expectoration.
 The dose is from one to two fluidrachms.  In large doses it is emetic, and
 as  such may sometimes be given with  advantage  in infantile croup and
 catarrh.                                                         W.


                           MISTURAE.

                              Mixtures.

   This term should be  restricted, in the language of pharmacy, to those
 preparations  in  which  insoluble  substances,  whether solid  or liquid, are
 suspended in watery fluids by  the intervention of gum Arabic, sugar, the
 yolk of eggs, or other viscid matter.  When  the suspended substance is of
 an oleaginous nature, the mixture is sometimes called an emulsion.  The
 object of these  preparations is usually to facilitate  the administration, to
 conceal the taste, or to obviate the nauseating effects of unpleasant medi-
 cines;  and their perfection depends upon the intimacy with which the in-
 gredients are blended.  Some skill and care are requisite for the production
 of a uniform and perfect mixture.  As a general rule, the body to be sus-
 pended should be  thoroughly mixed by  trituration with the substance in-
 tended to act as the intermedium, before the  watery vehicle  is added.   In
 the case of the liquid balsams and oils, if gum Arabic be employed as the
 intermedium, it  should  be previously brought to the state of mucilage of
 the consistence directed  in the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  The white of eggs
 is frequently ordered by physicians as  the suspending substance, but it is
 inferior for this  purpose to the yolk, or to gum Arabic.   When the white
 is used it should be  well beaten, and incorporated with the oleaginous or
 balsamic substance before the water is added.* Mixtures are generally the
 objects of extemporaneous prescription; but a few have been deemed of suffi-
 cient importance to merit a place  in the Pharmacopoeias.   They should be
 prepared only when wanted for use.
  MISTURA  ACACIAE.  Ed.  Emulsio  Arabica. Dub.  Gum
 Arabic Mixture.  Gum Arabic Emulsion.
  " Take of Mucilage [of Gum Arabic] three fluidounces; Sweet Almonds
 one ounce and two  drachms; Pure  Sugar five drachms; Water two pints
 [Imperial measure.]  Steep  the Almonds in hot water and peel them; beat
 them to a  smooth pulp in an earthenware or  marble mortar, first with  the
 Sugar, and then with the Mucilage;  add the Water gradually, stirring con-
 stantly;  then strain  through linen  or calico."  Ed.
  " Take of  Gum Arabic,  in  powder,  two drachms;  Sweet Almonds,
blanched, Refined  Sugar, each, half an  ounce; Water a pint.  Dissolve
the Gum in the heated Water, and when the solution is almost cold, gradu-
 ally pour  it upon  the Almonds,  previously  well beaten with  the Sugar,
triturating at the same time so as to form an emulsion; then strain."  Dub.
  Used as a  demulcent in  the dose  of one or two fluidounces, or as a
vehicle for various medicines in inflammatory affections of the bronchial,
alimentary, and urinary mucous membranes.                       W.

  *  For some good practical observations upon  the preparation of mixtures, the reader
is referred to a communication published in  the Journal of the Philadelphia College of
Pharmacy, vol. iv. p. 11, by W. Hodgson, Jun. 
PART II.
Misturae.
1029
   MISTURA AMMONIACI.  U.S., Lond., Dub. Ammoniac Mix-
 ture.
   " Take of Ammoniac two drachms; Water half a pint.   Rub the Am-
moniac with the Water gradually added, until they are thoroughly mixed."
 U. S.
   The London  College takes^ye drachms of ammoniac, and a pint  [Im-
perial  measure] of water, and proceeds as above.   The  Dublin College
directs a  drachm  of ammoniac to be rubbed  with eight fluidounces  of
pennyroyal water,  and the mixture to be strained through linen.
   In  this mixture the insoluble  part of the  ammoniac is suspended by
means of the gum,  imparting a milky appearance to the preparation,  which,
from this circumstance, was formerly  called lac ammoniaci or milk  of am-
moniac.   The greater portion of  the resin subsides upon standing.  The
mixture is slightly curdled by acids.  The dose is from one to two table-
spoonfuls.                                                     W.
   MISTURA  AMYGDALAE. U.S., Lond.  Mistura  Amygda-
larum. Ed.,  Dub.   Almond Mixture. Almond Emulsion.
   "Take of Sweet Almonds half an  ounce; Gum Arabie,  in powder, half
a  drachm; Sugar two drachms; Distilled Water eight fluidounces.  Mace-
rate the Almonds in water, and, having removed their external coat, beat
them with the  Gum Arabic and  Sugar, in a  marble  mortar, till they are
thoroughly mixed;  then rub the mixture with the Distilled Water gradually
added, and strain." U. S.
   " Take of Almond Confection two  ounces and a half; Distilled Water a
pint [Imperial measure].  To the Almond Confection, while rubbing  it,
gradually add  the Water, till  they are mixed;  then strain through linen."
Lond.
   " Take of Conserve of Almonds  two ounces; Water two pints [Imp.
measure].  Add the Water  gradually to  the Confection,  triturating  con-
stantly; and then strain through linen or calico. Or,
   " Take of Sweet Almonds one ounce and two drachms; Pure Sugar five
drachms; Mucilage half a fluidounce; Water two pints [Imp. measure].
Steep the Almonds in  hot water  and peel them; and proceed as for the
Mistura Acaciae." Ed.
   " Take of  Sweet Almonds,  blanched,  an ounce and  a half;  Bitter
Almonds two  scruples;  Refined Sugar  half  an ounce; Water two pints
and a half.  Triturate the Almonds with  the Sugar, adding the Water by
degrees, and strain." Dub.
   Of the above modes  of preparing the almond emulsion, we prefer that
of the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which was very properly substituted, in the
last edition of that work, for the  mixture made  with almond confection
directed in the previous edition.   This confection very speedily spoils if
kept, and  it would  be a very unnecessary complication of the process  to
prepare it each time that the emulsion might be  wanted.  The London and
first Edinburgh processes are, therefore, objectionable.   In  the second pro-
cess of the latter College, mucilage is employed instead of  powdered  gum
Arabic, which  is preferable, as less likely to have undergone change.  The
Dublin process is distinguished by  the use  of bitter almonds, which,  though
in  too small proportion for medicinal  effect, impart a flavour which is not
acceptable to  all individuals, and  should  be left to the choice  of the pre-
scriber.   The  preparations, however, of the different  Pharmacopoeias are
essentially the  same.   The gum Arabic in these formulae is introduced not
so  much for its demulcent properties  as to assist in  the suspension of the 
1030
Misturae.
PART II.
insoluble ingredients of the almonds.   In the Misturae Acaciae above  de-
scribed it is the prominent ingredient.   The same formula will answer for
the preparation of an emulsion of bitter almonds, which may be preferred
to the present when a slight influence of hydrocyanic acid is desired.
   The oleaginous matter of the  almonds is suspended  in  the water by
means of their albumen, gum, and  sugar, forming a milky emulsion.  When
the almonds themselves are employed, as  in the U. S. process, care should
be taken to reduce them to  the consistence of a paste previously to the  ad-
dition of the water; and  with each successive portion  of fluid a  uniform
mixture should  be  formed before  another  portion is added.  Common
water, when not very  impure, may be properly substituted for the distilled.
Great care  should be taken to select the  almonds  perfectly  free  from ran-
cidity.  The mixture  is not permanent.   Upon standing, the oil rises like
thick cream to the surface,  and  the  separation is effected  more quickly by
heat, alcohol, and the  acids, which coagulate the albumen.  It has  a close
analogy to  milk in chemical relations as well as in appearance.  The pre-
paration, in warm weather, soon becomes sour, and unfit for use.
   The almond mixture has a bland taste,  and may be used as an agreeable,
nutritive demulcent  in  catarrhal and dysenteric affections, and irritation of
the urinary passages.  To be of service  it  must be freely employed. From
two to eight  fluidounces  may be  taken at once.  It is occasionally em-
ployed as  the  vehicle of less agreeable  medicines; but should not  be used
in connexion with any considerable quantity of tinctures, acidulous salts,
or other substances containing an excess of acid.                   W.
   MISTURA ASSAFCETIDAE. U.S., Lond.   Mistura Assjefce-
tidm. Dub.  Assafetida Mixture.
   " Take of Assafetida two drachms;  Water half a pint.  Rub the Assa-
fetida with  the Water gradually added,  until they are thoroughly mixed."
U.S.
   The London College directs five drachms of assafetida and a pint [Im-
perial measure] of water; the Dublin, one drachm of  assafetida and eight
fluidounces of pennyroyal  water.
   This  mixture, from  its whiteness and  opacity,  is frequently called lac
assafcetidae, or milk of assafetida.  It is, as a general  rule,  the best form
for the administration of this antispasmodic,  being less stimulant than the
tincture, and  more prompt in its action than the pill.  Its excessively dis-
agreeable smell  and taste are,  however,  objections, which induce a fre-
quent preference of  the last mentioned  preparation.    It  is  very often
employed  as an enema.  The dose  is  from one to two tablespoonfuls fre-
quently  repeated.  From two to  four  fluidounces may be  given by the
rectum.                                                         W.

   MISTURA  CAMPHORAE  CUM  MAGNESIA. Ed., Dub.
Mixture of Camphor with Magnesia.
   " Take  of  Camphor twelve grains;  Carbonate of Magnesia half a
drachm;  Water  six ounces [fluidounces].  Triturate the Camphor with
the Magnesia,  adding the  Water gradually, and mix." Dub.
  The Edinburgh College takes ten grains of camphor, twenty-five grains
of carbonate of magnesia, and six fluidounces of water, and proceeds as
above.
   This differs from the  Aqua  Camphorx of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in
which, though the camphor is dissolved  by the intervention of magnesia,
the latter is afterwards separated  by filtration.  In the  above mixture  the 
PART II.
Misturae.
1031
carbonate of magnesia is retained; and an anodyne, antacid, and laxative
draught is formed, which, though it may sometimes be given with advan-
tage, hardly deserves a place among the officinal preparations.       W.
  MISTURA CASCARILLAE COMPOSITA. Lond.   Compound
Mixture of Cascarilla.
  " Take of Infusion of Cascarilla seventeen fluidounces; Vinegar of Squill
a fluidounce;  Compound  Tincture of Camphor two fluidounces.  Mix
them." Lond.
  This mixture combines tonic, expectorant, and  anodyne properties, and
is said to have been  employed advantageously in chronic bronchial inflam-
mation; but it  would have been  better left to extemporaneous prescription.
The dose is from one to two fluidounces twice or thrice daily.       W.
  MISTURA CREASOTI. Ed, Creasote Mixture.
  " Take of Creasote and Acetic Acid,  of each, sixteen minims; Com-
pound Spirit of Juniper and Syrup, of each, one fluidounce; Water four-
teen fluidounces.   Mix the Creasote  with the Acid,  then  gradually the
Water, and lastly the Syrup and Spirit." Ed.
  The dose of this mixture is a  fluidounce containing a minim of creasote.
  MISTURA CRETAE. U S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Chalk Mixture.
  "Take of Prepared Chalk half an ounce; Sugar [refined], Gum Arabic
in powder, each, two drachms;  Cinnamon Water, Water, each, four fluid-
ounces.  Rub them  together till  they are thoroughly mixed." U. S.
  The London  College orders half an  ounce of prepared chalk,  three
drachms of sugar, a fluidounce  and a half of mixture [mucilage] of gum
Arabic, and eighteen fluidounces of cinnamon water; the Dublin College,
half an ounce  of prepared chalk, three drachms of refined sugar, an ounce
of mucilage of gum Arabic, and apint of water.   The  Edinburgh College
takes ten drachms of prepared chalk, five drachms of pure sugar, three fluid-
ounces of mucilage of gum Arabic, two ounces [fluidounces] of spirit of
cinnamon, and two Imperial pints of water; rubs the chalk,  mucilage, and
sugar together, and then adds gradually the  water and spirit of cinnamon.
  This mixture is a convenient form for administering  chalk, and is much
employed in looseness of the bowels accompanied with  acidity.  Laudanum
and kino or catechu are very often added  to increase its astringency.  The
dose is a tablespoonful frequently repeated.                       W.
  MISTURA FERRI AROMATICA. Dub.  Aromatic Mixture
of Iron.
  " Take of Crown Bark, in coarse powder, an ounce; Columbo Root,
sliced, three drachms; Cloves, bruised, two drachms;  Iron  filings half an
ounce.   Digest for three days in a close vessel, with occasional agitation,
with such a quantity of Peppermint Water as will yield a mixture of twelve.
ounces after filtration; then add, of Compound Tincture of Cardamom three
ounces;  Tincture of Orange Peel three drachms." Dub.
  This is an aromatic infusion of Peruvian bark and columbo, and has not
the slightest claim to the title given it  in the Pharmacopoeia; as it contains
but a very small  proportion of iron, and that in  a state of solution,  not of
mixture.   In consequence of the action of some of the  vegetable principles
upon the filings, enough of the metal is taken up to impart a  greenish-black
colour to the liquor;  but the quantity is not appreciable, as the filings  seem
to be scarcely  diminished  by the process.   The preparation  may be given
as a tonic in the dose of one or two fluidounces.                   W. 
1032
Misturae.
PART II.
   MISTURA FERRI  COMPOSITA.  U.S.,  Lond.,  Ed,, Dub.
 Compound Mixture of Don.
   " Take of Myrrh, a drachm;  Carbonate of Potassa twenty-five grains;
 Rose Water seven fluidounces and a half;  Sulphate of Iron, in powder, a
 scruple; Spirit of Lavender half a fluidounce; Sugar [refined] a drachm.
 Rub the Myrrh with the Rose Water gradually added; then mix with these
 the Spirit of Lavender, Sugar, and  Carbonate of Potassa, and lastly, the
 Sulphate of Iron.  Pour the mixture immediately into a glass bottle, which
 is to be  well stopped."  U. S.
   " Take of Myrrh, in powder, huo  drachms; Carbonate of Potassa a
 drachm; Rose  Water eighteen fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Sulphate of
 Iron, in  powder, two scruples  and a half; Spirit of Nutmeg a fluidounce;
 Sugar two drachms.  Rub the Myrrh with the Spirit of Nutmeg and Carbo-
 nate of Potassa; and to these, while rubbing, add first the Rose Water with the
 Sugar, and then the Sulphate of Iron.  Put the mixture immediately  into
 a suitable glass vessel,  and stop it."  Lond.
   The Edinburgh process differs  from the London  only in using the
 myrrh bruised, and the sulphate of iron  in coarse powder.  The Dublin
 College  takes  a drachm of myrrh, twenty-five grains of carbonate of
 potassa,  seven  ounces  and a half of rose-water, a  scruple of sulphate of
 iron, half an ounce of spirit of nutmeg,  and a  drachm of refined sugar;  and
 proceeds as directed by the London  College.
   This is very  nearly the same with  the celebrated tonic or antihectic myrrh
 mixture  of Dr. Griffith. The sulphate of iron is decomposed by the carbonate
 of potassa, with the production of sulphate of potassa and carbonate of  pro-
 toxide of iron; while the excess of the alkaline carbonate forms a saponaceous
 compound with the myrrh. The mixture is at first of a greenish colour, which
 it loses upon exposure to the air. in consequence of the conversion of the  pro-
 toxide of iron of the carbonate into the red or sesquioxide. It may, however,
 be kept for some time without change, if the vessel in which it is contained
 be well closed;  but the best plan  is to prepare it only when  it is wanted for
 use.  The sugar contained in  it probably contributes  somewhat to retard
 the further oxidation of the protoxide of iron, and if considerably increased
 in amount would act still more efficiently.   The finest pieces of myrrh in
 lump should be selected,  and rubbed down for the occasion with a little of
 the rose  water;  as the powdered  myrrh  of the shops is often impure,  and
 does not make a good mixture.
   This mixture is a good tonic in debility of the digestive organs, especially
 when attended  with  derangement of the  menstrual  function.   Hence it is
 used with advantage in chlorosis  and hysterical affections.   It is  also  much
 employed  in the hectic fever of phthisis and chronic catarrh.  It is contra-
 indicated by the existence of inflammation  of the gastric  mucous membrane.
 The dose is one or two fluidounces two or three times a day.       W.
   MISTURA GENTIANAE COMPOSITA.  Lond.  Compound
 Mixture of Gentian.
   " Take of Compound Infusion of Gentian twelve fluidounces; Compound
 Infusion  of Senna six fluidounces; Compound Tincture of Cardamom two
fluidounces.  Mix them." Lond.
   We can discover no propriety in making such formulae as the above offi-
 cinal. Numerous combinations prescribed everyday by physicians are quite
 as much  entitled to a place in the Pharmacopoeia.  The  dose is one or  two
 fluidounces.                                                   W. 
PART II.
Misturae.—Morphia.
1033
  MISTURA GUAIACI. Lond,, Ed.   Guaiac Mixture.
  " Take of Guaiacum Resin three drachms; Sugar half an ounce; Mixture
of Gum Arabic half a fluidounce;  Cinnamon Water nineteen fluidounces.
Rub the Guaiacum Resin with the Sugar, then with the  Mixture of Gum
Arabic, and  to these, while rubbing, add gradually the Cinnamon Water."
Lond.
  The Edinburgh process differs  only in using an additional half fluid-
ounce of cinnamon water.
  From one to three tablespoonfuls of this mixture may be given for a dose,
and repeated two or three times a day, or more frequently.          W.
  MISTURA MOSCHI.  Lond.   Musk Mixture.
  " Take of Musk, Gum Arabic in  powder, Sugar, each, three  drachms;
Rose Water a pint [Imperial measure].  Rub  the  Musk with the Sugar,
then with the Gum, adding gradually  the Rose Water." Lond.
  The musk should be thoroughly rubbed with the gum and  sugar before
the addition of the water.  The mixture  will be more  permanent if made
with twice the quantity of gum directed.  The dose is a fluidounce.  W.
  MISTURA SCAMMONII.  Ed.   Scammony Mixture.
  " Take of Resin of Scammony seven grains; unskimmed Milk three
fluidounces.  Triturate the Resin with a little of the Milk, and gradually
with the rest of it till a uniform  emulsion is  formed." Ed.
  This Edinburgh officinal is an imitation  of a mixture  recommended by
Planche.  The resin of scammony mixes admirably with the  vehicle, and
forms  an emulsion scarcely distinguishable in appearance or taste from  rich
milk.  Of course, it should be prepared only when wanted for immediate
use.   The whole is to be taken for a dose.                        W.

   MISTURA SPIRITUS VINI  GALLICI. Lond. Brandy Mix-
ture.
   " Take of Brandy, Cinnamon Water, each, fourfluidounces; the yolks of
two Eggs; Sugar [refined] half an ounce; Oil of Cinnamon two minims.
Mix them." Lond.
  A stimulant and nutritive draught, applicable to the sinking  stage of low
forms of fever, but scarcely entitled to a place in the Pharmacopoeia. W.


                           MORPHIA.

                    Preparations of Morphia.

   MORPHIA.  U.S., Lond.   Morphia.
   "Take of Opium, sliced, a pound; Distilled  Water, Alcohol, each, a
sufficient quantity; S/>lution of Ammonia six fluidounces.  Macerate the
Opium with four pints of Distilled Water for twenty-four hours, and,  hav-
ing worked it with the  hand, digest  for twenty-four hours and strain.  In
like manner, macerate the residue  twice successively with Distilled Water,
and strain. Mix the infusions, evaporate  to  six pints,  and  filter;  then add
first five pints of Alcohol, and afterwards three fluidounces of  the Solution
of Ammonia, previously mixed  with half a  pint of Alcohol.  After twenty-
four hours, pour in the remainder of the  Solution of Ammonia, mixed, as
before, with half a  pint of Alcohol; and set the liquor  aside  for twenty-
four hours, that  crystals may  form.  To  purify these, boil them with
two pints of Alcohol till  they are dissolved, filler the  solution, while  hot,
through Animal Charcoal, and set it aside to crystallize." U. S.
       88 
1034
Morphia.
PART II.
   " Take of Hydrochlorate [Muriate] of Morphia an ounce; Solution of Am-
 monia fivefluidrachms; Distilled Water a pint [Imperial measure].  To the
 Solution of Ammonia, with an ounce of Distilled Water, add the Hydrochlo-
 rate of Morphia previously dissolved in a pint of the Water, shaking them
 together.  Wash  the precipitate  with distilled  water, and dry it  with a
 gentle heat."  Lond.
   The London process consists in a simple decomposition of the muriate of
 morphia by means of ammonia, which takes the muriatic acid and remains
 in solution as muriate of ammonia, while the morphia, being insoluble, is de-
 posited.   The process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia will be better understood
 by a previous acquaintance with the properties and chemical relations of the
 substance in question.
   Morphia crystallizes  from  alcohol in  the  form  of small, colourless, shin-
 ing crystals.  It is inodorous and bitter.   Exposed to a  moderate  heat it
 loses its water of crystallization and the crystalline form, becoming white
 and opaque.   At a higher temperature it melts, forming a yellowish liquid,
 which becomes white and crystalline upon  cooling.   Heated in the open
 air it burns with a bright flame, and at a red heat is wholly dissipated.  It
 is insoluble or nearly so in cold water, soluble in rather less than 100 parts
 of water at 212°, slightly soluble in  cold alcohol, and freely so in boiling
 alcohol, which deposits it upon cooling.  It is dissolved also by the fixed
 and volatile oils, but very slightly if at  all  by ether.   Its solution restores
 the blue colour of litmus paper reddened by acids, and turns the yellow of
 turmeric to brown.  With the  acids it forms salts, which are generally
 soluble, and are decomposed by the alkalies.  The solutions of potassa and
 soda are  also capable  of dissolving morphia, which is precipitated slowly
 on exposure to the air,  in consequence  of the absorption of carbonic acid.
 Solution  of ammonia  has to a  certain extent the same solvent  power;  and
 hence the necessity, in  precipitating morphia by  this alkali, not to employ
 it in great  excess.  Morphia and its salts, by the contact of nitric acid,
 assume  a blood-red colour, which ultimately changes to  yellow.   When
 added to  a  solution of iodie acid, or an acidulous  iodate, they redden the
 liquid and set iodine free. (Serullas.) They assume a  fine blue colour with
 the sesquichloride of  iron, and the salts of the sesquioxide; at least this  is
 true of morphia, its acetate and oxalate; and the same effect will be pro-
 duced by the  other salts if previously  decomposed by an alkali.   Water,
 acids, and  alkalies, added in large quantity to the  blue compound formed,
 destroy its colour.   According to Pelletier, however, there occasionally
 exists in  opium a principle which he  calls pseudomorphia, which becomes
 red under the  action of  nitric acid and changes the  sesquisalts of iron blue,
 and yet is destitute of poisonous properties; so that the occurrence of these
 phenomena, in any medico-legal case, cannot be considered as certain evi-
 dence of the presence of morphia.  (See Am. Journ.  of Pharm. viii. 77.)
 Morphia is precipitated from  its solutions  by potassa or soda, and redis-
 solved by an  excess of the alkali.   Infusions  of galls and other vegetable
 substances containing tannic acid precipitate morphia in the state of a tan-
 nate, which is soluble in acetic acid;  but, according to  Dublanc, the alkali
 is not precipitated by pure gallic acid.  If ammonia be added to a mixture
 of the solutions of  chlorine and morphia, a  dark-brown colour is produced,
 which is destroyed by a further addition of chlorine.   The proportion of
the ingredients of morphia is somewhat differently given by different wri-
 ters.  According to the most recent authorities, anhydrous morphia consists
 of thirty-five  equivalents of carbon 214-20, twenty of hydrogen 20, six of
 oxgen 48, and one of nitrogen  14*15=296-35, to which in the crystals are
 added two  equiv. of water 18, or about  5*72 per cent. 
PART II.
Morphia.
1035
  "Various processes for preparing morphia have been employed.  In most
of them  the  morphia is extracted from  opium by maceration with water
either pure or acidulated, is then precipitated by ammonia, and afterwards
purified by the agency  of alcohol, or by repeated  solution in a dilute  acid
and  precipitation.   According  to another  plan, the morphia is  removed
from the infusion  of opium  by means of double  decomposition, and ob-
tained first in the form of a muriate, from which the alkali is separated by
solution and precipitation.  The former of these modes of proceeding will
be noticed here, the latter under the head  of muriate of morphia.
  Sertiirner,  the discoverer of morphia, made an infusion of opium  in dis-
tilled water, precipitated the morphia by ammonia  in excess, dissolved the
precipitate in dilute sulphuric acid, precipitated anew by ammonia, and puri-
fied by solution in boiling alcohol and crystallization.
  The process  adopted in the French Codex is a  modification of that of
Sertiirner.   It is as follows. "Take of opium 1000  parts, solution of am-
monia a sufficient quantity.   Exhaust the opium, by means of cold water,
of all its parts soluble in this menstruum.   For  this purpose, it is sufficient
to treat the opium, four  times consecutively, with ten parts of water to one
of the drug, provided care be taken to macerate the opium for some hours,
and to work it with the  hands.   Filter the liquors, and evaporate them to a
quarter of their volume.   Then add sufficient ammonia to render the liquor
very sensibly alkaline.  Boil for some minutes, always maintaining a slight
excess of ammonia.  Upon  cooling,  the  morphia,  impure and  much co-
loured, will  be precipitated in granular crystals, which are to  be washed
with cold water.  Reduce this coloured morphia to powder, macerate it for
twelve hours  in alcohol of 24° Cartier (sp. gr. about 0-900); then decant the
alcoholic liquid; dissolve the residuary morphia, already  in great measure
deprived of colour by the  cold alcohol, in boiling  alcohol of 33° Cartier
(sp. gr. about 0-850); add to the solution a little animal charcoal, and filter.
Upon cooling, the  morphia crystallizes in colourless needles.  In this state
the  morphia always retains some narcotina, to  free  it from which,  boil it
with sulphuric ether in a matrass with a long neck surmounted by a refrige-
rator."
  The process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is an  improvement upon the
above, and is essentially the  same with that of Dr. Edward  Staples,  pub-
lished in the  Journal of the Philadelphia  College of Pharmacy, Vol. I. p.
15.   Without repeating a description of  the process, we  shall make such
remarks upon its several steps, as appear to us likely to be of practical ad-
vantage.   The  employment  of water as the solvent  is  justified by  the
almost  universal practice.  It is true that  dilute acetic acid has sometimes
been employed, and Vogel states  that the product  thus obtained  is much
greater than when water alone is used.   But when  the opium is  properly
comminuted,  either by being reduced  to a coarse powder when  dry, or by
being finely  sliced,  in its ordinary state, water alone will be found suffi-
ciently to extract the morphia, by a protracted  maceration or digestion in
successive portions  of water, assisted by kneading,  as directed in the Phar-
macopoeia.   The acids  have this disadvantage, that they dissolve more of
the narcotina than  pure  water, and  thus render the ultimate product more
impure;  for the narcotina which is originally taken up continues associated
with the morphia in all  the subsequent steps of the process.   It has been
proposed to expose the opium to  fermentation with water and  yeast, in
order to  facilitate the extraction of the morphia.   By this plan M. Blon-
deau succeeded in  procuring  more of the alkaline  principle than  he could
obtain by the ordinary mode; and his results were confirmed by  the experi-
ments of MM. Robiquet and Guibourt. According to these latter chemists, 
1036
Morphia.
PART II.
no alcohol is produced during the fermentation, which appears to act merely
by disengaging the morphia from the combinations in which it  naturally
exists, and which  tend to counteract the solvent power of the menstruum.
Alcohol  has  been proposed as  the  solvent by M. Guillermond,  but it is
liable to the objection that it dissolves also the resin, a portion of  which is
afterwards  precipitated with  the  morphia  and  embarrasses the  process.
Much of the  resin, however,  may be separated  by distilling most of the
alcohol from the tincture, and then adding water.  The resin is precipitated,
and the liquor may now be treated in the same manner as the aqueous in-
fusion.   On the whole, however, the officinal mode of extraction will pro-
bably be found most satisfactory;  and Mohr states that opium thus exhausted
yields no more morphia even to muriatic  acid; but he recommends that each
maceration should  be followed by strong expression. The solution of opium
having been prepared, the next object is to decompose the meconate or other
salt of morphia  contained in it.   For this purpose solution of ammonia is
added, which seizes the acid and precipitates the vegetable alkali; but much
colouring matter is thrown down  along with the  latter, occasioning some
trouble to separate it, unless measures are taken to obviate this effect.  The
object is gained by  mixing the infusion with alcohol, previously to the
addition of the ammonia, and by employing the solution of ammonia itself
in connexion with  alcohol,  as  directed in the Pharmacopoeia.  This is the
peculiarity and chief merit  of the process of Dr. Staples.   By the presence
of the alcohol in all parts of the liquor, the colouring matter is dissolved
as soon as it is separated by the  ammonia, and the morphia is thus precipi-
tated  in a much purer state.  The  advantage of adding the ammonia in
separate portions is, that  the morphia being thus  more slowly disengaged,
can be more completely deprived of its impurities by the alcohol of the
mixture,  than  if the whole were  liberated at once.   It is necessary to be
careful that the ammonia  be not in  great excess, as  it has  the property,
under these circumstances, of  dissolving the morphia in some degree, and
will therefore lessen the product, while waste is incurred by its own unne-
cessary consumption.  Very little more  should be added than is sufficient
to saturate  the  acid present.   The solution of ammonia of the  shops is
often  much below the officinal  standard,  and this should always be attended
to in the process.  Alcohol is mixed with the ammonia before it is added, in
order that  every particle of the separated morphia may come in contact
with the particles of this fluid, and thus have the opportunity of being de-
prived of colouring matter.  The crystals of morphia obtained by this first
operation have a light yellowish  colour,  and are much purer than when no
alcohol is added to the infusion before the precipitation by ammonia.  Ac-
cording to Dr. Staples, opium yields from 10 to 12£ per cent,  of these crys-
tals.   Their purification  by solution in boiling alcohol, is the  concluding
step of the operation.   The liquid,  on  cooling, deposits the morphia in a
crystalline  state and nearly free from colour.  As cold alcohol  retains a
portion of the morphia in solution, it should not be employed in too large
a quantity.   Alcohol somewhat reduced by  water,  is preferable  to  the
highly rectified spirit;  as it is less capable of holding the morphia in solu-
tion when  cold.  It  is sufficiently strong for the purpose at 25° Baume
(sp. gr. 0-9032).   The impure morphia remaining in  the alcohol maybe
obtained by distilling off the latter, and when sufficiently accumulated  may
be purified by a separate operation.  The crystals of morphia may also be
purified by solution in  dilute sulphuric acid, digestion  with animal charcoal
deprived  of earthy matter, filtration, and  precipitation by  ammonia.  If
alcohol be added to the solution  previously to the ammonia,  the digestion
with animal charcoal may be dispensed with, as the alcohol retains the 
PART II.
Morphia.
1037
 colouring matter.  Morphia procured  in  this way always  contains narco-
 tina, from which it may be freed by ether as directed in the French Codex
 process, or in some of the modes hereafter to be indicated.
   Magnesia was employed by  Robiquet, instead of ammonia.   To the solu-
 tion obtained by macerating opium in water, he added magnesia in the pro-
 portion of 5 parts  to 100 of the opium  used;  collected  the  precipitate on a
 filter; and, having washed it with water and  allowed it to  dry, removed it
 from the filter, powdered it, and digested it repeatedly in alcohol  of 22°
 Baume, until this liquid ceased to extract any thing.   The colouring matter
 being thus removed, the residue was  treated with  successive portions  of
 boiling alcohol, which dissolved the morphia, and being filtered and allowed
 to cool, deposited it  in crystals.   The mother liquors afforded a fresh sup-
 ply by evaporation at a  low temperature.  If still  coloured, the  morphia
 was purified  by boiling it with  alcohol and  animal  charcoal, filtering the
 liquid while hot and  allowing it to crystallize.  But the  process of Robiquet
 was soon abandoned, as  it was found  to  occupy more time, to require a
 greater  consumption  of alcohol, and to be attended  with a greater  loss  of
 morphia in consequence  of the  previous  washing,  than the  processes  in
 which ammonia was employed as the precipitant.
   A process for extracting morphia without the employment of alcohol was
 devised by MM. Henry Jun. and Plisson. The opium was exhausted by
 water acidulated with muriatic acid;  the resulting solution was sufficiently
 concentrated, then filtered, and decomposed  by ammonia; the precipitate
 was washed and treated with  muriatic  acid to saturation; and the  muriatic
 solution was  boiled  with animal  charcoal, filtered,  and evaporated to the
 point of crystallization.   The  crystals of muriate of morphia thus obtained
 were pressed, purified by repeated solution and crystallization, and  finally
 decomposed by ammonia. (Journ. de Chim. Med., Mars 1828.)
   More recently, Mohr has proposed a process founded upon the solubility
 of morphia in water mixed with  lime, which  he recommends highly as the
 shortest and easiest method of procuring the alkali, without  the use of alco-
 hol, and without the  possibility of contamination from  narcotina.   Opium
 is three or four times successively macerated with three parts of water, and
 each time strongly expressed.  The liquors are then  added  to a boiling hot
 milk of lime, containing a  quantity of lime  equal to about a sixth or a
 quarter of the opium used; and the mixture is boiled for a few minutes.   It
 is then strained through linen, and the  residue washed with boiling water
 and expressed.  The whole of the narcotina is left behind, as not a trace
 of it can be discovered in the  filtered liquor.   The liquor thus obtained  is
 evaporated till reduced to  about double the weight of the opium, then quickly
 filtered through paper, and heated to ebullition.  Muriate of ammonia is now
 added to it in the proportion of 1 part to 16 of  the opium used;  and the mor-
 phia is abundantly precipitated. The use of animal charcoal is unnecessary  in
 the process, as the lime acts even more powerfully as a decolorizing agent.
 The crystallized morphia obtained is somewhat coloured, but may be ren-
 dered quite pure by  solution in  dilute  muriatic acid, boiling with milk  of
 lime,  nitration, and   precipitation by muriate of ammonia.  (Annul, der
 Pharm. xxxv. 119, and Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiii. 60.)
  Various other processes, or  modifications of those above described, have
been proposed; but for the preparation of small quantities of  morphia by the
apothecary, none are probably better adapted than that of the U. S. Phar-
macopoeia, unless indeed  the plan of Mohr should be  found  to equal the
representations in its  favour.
  It has been already stated that morphia, obtained in the ordinary manner,
                                 88* 
103S
Morphia.
PART II.
contains a considerable proportion of narcotina.   It is highly probable that
this ingredient  exercises no influence, either beneficial  or  injurious, upon
the operation of the morphia; but as the contrary has been supposed, various
methods have been employed for separating it.  The simplest and easiest
is to submit the mixture to the action of sulphuric ether, which dissolves the
narcotina  and leaves the morphia.  The agency of acetic acid may also
be resorted to.  Distilled vinegar, or diluted acetic acid of the same strength,
will dissolve the morphia and leave the narcotina,  and  the  former may be
recovered  from the acetic  solution by saturating the  acid  with ammonia.
Another mode is to dissolve the mixed bases in strong  acetic  acid (of 7°
Baume, or sp. gr. 1-0511, for example),  and expose  the solution to heat.
The narcotina is deposited, and the morphia, remaining  in solution, may be
precipitated by diluting  the  liquid and  adding ammonia.  (See Journ. de
Pharm. xvii. p. 640.)   Wittstock advises  one of the following  methods.
Dissolve the impure morphia in  dilute muriatic acid, evaporate to the point
of crystallization, and strongly express the crystals, which consist solely of
the muriate of morphia, the narcotina being retained in the mother waters:
—or, saturate the  muriatic  solution with common  salt, which  will render
the liquor milky, and cause  the narcotina to separate after some days; then
precipitate the  morphia by ammonia:—-or,  pour into  the diluted muriatic
solution a weak ley of caustic potassa, which, if in slight excess, will dis-
solve the  morphia at the moment of its separation, while  the narcotina is
precipitated; then immediately filter the liquor, and separate the  morphia by
neutralizing the alkali. If the potassa be in considerable excess a small por-
tion of the narcotina is redissolved.  (Berzelius. Traite de Chimie.) Mohr
recommends to dissolve the morphia in dilute muriatic acid, and to boil the
solution with lime, which throws down the narcotina and holds the morphia
dissolved.   The liquid being filtered yields the morphia upon the addition
of sal ammoniac.  (Annal. der Pharm. xxv. 123.)
   The proportion  of pure  morphia which Turkey  opium  is capable of
affording,  varies from nine per cent, or less, to fourteen per cent., according
to the quality of the drug; but much less than the least quantity mentioned
is often obtained, in consequence of the incomplete exhaustion of the opium,
or the loss in the process for preparing it.
   Medical Properties. There can be no doubt that morphia is the chief, if
not the exclusive  narcotic  principle of opium, from which, however, it
differs somewhat in its mode of action.  Whether the difference  arises from
the peculiar state of combination in which morphia exists in opium, or from
other narcotic principles being associated  with it,  has not been determined;
but the former would seem to be the probable cause, from the circumstance,
that long before the discovery of  this alkali,  preparations of opium were
habitually used, in  which the properties of the medicine were somewhat
similarly modified by the agency of vinegar, lemon-juice, or other vegetable
acid.   In  consequence of its insolubility in  water, morphia in its pure state
is less certain in its effects than some of its  saline compounds; as  the mode
and degree of its action must, in some measure, depend on the presence or
absence of acid  in the stomach, and perhaps on the peculiar character of the
acid.   Its salts  are therefore always preferred.  The acetate, sulphate, and
muriate have been employed.  Between these there is a great similarity of
action, and what may be said of one, in regard to its  therapeutical effects,
will equally apply to the others.   They have the anodyne,  soporific, and
diaphoretic  properties of opium;  but are less stimulant, less  disposed to
constipate the bowels, and less apt to leave  behind them headache, nausea,
or other unpleasant effect.   They are usually also  more acceptable to the 
PART II.
Morphia.
1039
irritated stomach,  and will often  be retained, when opium or its tincture
would be rejected.   They are applicable to all cases where the object is to
relieve pafn, quiet restlessness, promote sleep, or allay nervous irritation in
any shape; but are less efficient than opium in the suppression of morbid
discharges, and  as stimulants in  low  forms  of disease.   We  have  found
them  especially useful  in the mania  arising  from  intemperance.   A great
advantage which they possess is  the  convenience of their external  appli-
cation to blistered surfaces, and the certainty  of their effects when thus ap-
plied.   In  cases which  do  not admit  of the  internal  use of opium or its
preparations, the  acetate or sulphate of morphia,  sprinkled, in triple the
ordinary dose, upon  a blistered surface denuded of the cuticle, will be found
to exercise upon the  system all the influence it is capable of exerting when
taken into the stomach.  Applied  in this manner, these salts are peculiarly
useful in relieving violent neuralgic pains, and controlling obstinate sickness
of the stomach.   When intended  to act on the system through the medium
of the skin, they should be applied preferably to the epigastrium; when to
act locally, as near  the  affected part as possible.   When given  in doses
nearly, but not quite  sufficient to produce sleep, they sometimes give  rise to
a very troublesome condition of the brain, amounting almost to  delirium;
but this always subsides spontaneously, or vanishes immediately upon the
increase of the dose.
   In over-doses, morphia and  its  salts produce the symptoms of narcotic
poisons,  though not  perhaps in the same degree with  a quantity of opium,
equivalent in anodyne effect.   The toxicological treatment is precisely the
same  as in the case of laudanum.  (See Opium.)
   As  the proportion  of acid necessary to neutralize morphia is very  small,
the dose of tbe alkali is the same as that of its salts.  One-sixth of a grain
may be considered eqivalent to a grain of opium of the medium strength.
   Off. Prep.  Morphiae Acetas, U. S., Lond., Ed.;  Morphiae Murias,  U. S.;
Morphiae Sulphas, U. S.                                          W.
   MORPHIAE ACETAS.  U.  S., Lond., Ed.  Acetate of Morphia.
   " Take of Morphia, in powder, freed from narcotina by boiling with
Sulphuric Ether, an ounce;  Distilled Water  half a pint; Acetic Acid a
sufficientTpuantity.  Mix the  Morphia with the Water; then carefully drop
in the Acid, constantly stirring,  until the Morphia is saturated and dis-
solved.  Evaporate  the solution, by means of a water-bath, to  the consist-
ence of syrup.   Lastly, drv the Acetate with a gentle heat, and rub it into
powder." U.S.
   " Take of  Morphia six drachms; Acetic Acid three fluidrachms; Dis-
tilled  Water four fluidounces.  Mix the Acid with the Water, and pour the
mixture upon the Morphia to saturation.   Evaporate the solution with a
gentle heat, so that crystals may form." Lond.
   " Take of Muriate of Morphia any convenient quantity.  Dissolve it in
fourteen times its weight of Warm Water, and when  the solution  is cool
add Aqua Ammoniae  gradually and with  constant agitation until there is a
permanent but faint odour of ammonia in the  fluid.  Collect the precipitate
on a  calico filter, wash it moderately with cold water, and  dissolve it by
means of a slight excess of Pyroligneous  Acid  [dilute acetic  acid]  in
twelve parts of Warm Water  from every part of Muriate of Morphia that
was used.  Concentrate the solution over the vapour-bath and set it aside
to crystallize.  Drain and squeeze the  crystals, and dry them with a gentle
heat.   More Acetate of  Morphia  may be obtained on concentrating the
mother liquor." Ed. 
1040
Morphia.
PART II.
   In all these processes, Morphia is saturated with acetic acid; in the first
two it  is  taken already prepared,  in  the  last  is  procured  by the decom-
position of the muriate by means of ammonia.   Acetic acid  is employed in
preference to vinegar for saturating the morphia, because  it can leave no
impurity in the resulting salt.  The solution of  the morphia in the water is
an indication that it is saturated.  A small excess of acid is attended with no
inconvenience, as it is subsequently driven off by the heat. Care is requisite
not to employ too great a heat in the evaporation, as the acetate is readily de-
composed, a portion of  the acetic acid escaping, and leaving an equivalent
portion of uncombined morphia.  With attention to arrest the evaporation at
a certain point, the acetate may be obtained in the  state of crystals; but the
crystallization is attended with some difficulty, and evaporation to dryness is
almost universally preferred.  Some recommend to dissolve  the morphia in
boiling alcohol, instead of suspending it in water,  previously to the addition of
the acetic acid. A less heat is thus  required in the evaporation, and impuri-
ties in the morphia may often be detected, as they  are apt to be insoluble in
alcohol. To ascertain,  in this case, whether the morphia is saturated,  it is
necessary to employ litmus paper, the blue colour of which should not be
restored, if previously reddened  by an acid.  If the morphia used in  pre-
paring the acetate contain narcotina, it will  be best to employ as the solvent
distilled vinegar, or diluted acetic acid of the same strength, and to favour
its solvent power by the application of heat.  Under these circumstances it
dissolves only the morphia, leaving the narcotina nearly or quite untouched.
(See notice by William Hodgson, Jun., in the Journ. of the Phil. Col. of
Pharm. vol. v. p. 35.)
   Acetate of morphia crystallizes in the form of slender needles united in
fasciculi.   It is readily dissolved by water, and less easily by alcohol.  As
ordinarily obtained, however, by evaporation to dryness, it is not entirely
soluble in water, a portion of it being uncombined morphia.   To render it
soluble, all that is necessary is to add  a little distilled vinegar.
   The Edinburgh College  gives the following  mode of  testing its purity:
" One  hundred measures of a solution of ten grains in half  a fluidounce of
water and  five minims  of acetic acid, heated  near to  212°,  and decom-
posed by a faint excess of ammonia, yield  by agitation a precipitate which
in 24 hours occupies 15-5 measures of the liquid."
   From an eighth to a quarter of a  grain may be given for a dose, and re-
peated, if necessary, in  order to obtain the  anodyne and soporific effect of
the medicine.  One-sixth  of  a  grain  is  about equivalent to a  grain of
opium. It may be given in  pill or solution.   It is frequently employed
externally, sprinkled on blistered surfaces, to obtain its effects upon  the
system.                                                         W.
   MORPHIAE  MURIAS. U.S., Ed.    Morphia  Hydrochloras.
Lond.  Muriate of Morphia.   Hydrochlorate of Morphia.
   " Take of Morphia, in powder, an  ounce; Distilled Water half a pint;
Muriatic Acid a  sufficient quantity.  Mix  the  Morphia with  the Water;
then carefully drop in the Acid, constantly stirring, till the Morphia is satu-
rated and  dissolved.  Evaporate the  solution by  means of a  water-bath,
so that it may crystallize upon cooling.  Dry the crystals  upon bibulous
paper." U.S.
   " Take of Opium, sliced, a pound; Crystals  of Chloride of Lead two
ounces, or a sufficient quantity; Purified  Animal Charcoal three ounces
and a  half;  Hydrochloric  [Muriatic]  Acid, Distilled Water, Solution of
Ammonia,  each,  a sufficient quantity.  Macerate the  Opium, for thirty 
PART IT.
Morphia.
1041
hours, in four pints [Imperial measure] of Distilled Water, and bruise it;
then digest it for twenty hours, and press it.  Macerate the residue a second
and a third time in Water, so  that it may be deprived of taste, and as often
bruise and press it.   Mix the liquors, and evaporate  them with a heat of
140° to the consistence of syrup.  Then add three pints of Distilled Water,
and, when all the  dregs have subsided, pour off the supernatant liquor.  To
this add  gradually two ounces of Chloride of Lead, or a sufficient quantity,
previously dissolved in four pints of boiling Distilled Water, until nothing
more is thrown down. Pour off the liquor, and wash the residue frequently
with Distilled Water.  Then evaporate the mixed liquors, as before, with a
gentle heat, and set them  aside to crystallize.   Press the crystals in a linen
cloth,  then dissolve them in a  pint of Distilled Water, and, having digested
with an ounce and a half of Animal Charcoal, at 120°, filter the solution.
Finally,  having washed the charcoal,  cautiously evaporate the liquors, in
order to  obtain pure crystals.   To the liquor poured off from the crystals
first separated, add  a pint of water,  and  gradually drop  in, occasionally
shaking, sufficient Solution of Ammonia to precipitate all the morphia.  To
this, washed with Distilled Water,  add Hydrochloric Acid so  as  to satu-
rate it; then digest with two ounces of Animal Charcoal, and filter.   Lastly,
having thoroughly washed the charcoal, cautiously evaporate the liquors, so
as to obtain  pure crystals." Lond.
   "Take of Opium twenty ounces; Water eight pints [Imperial measure];
Muriate of Lime [chloride of calcium] one ounce, or a slight excess.  Mace-
rate the  Opium in fragments for twenty-four hours in two pints of  the
Water; and  separate the infusion, squeezing well the residue.  Repeat the
maceration successively with  two pints more of the Water till the whole is
made use of.   Concentrate the whole infusions over the vapour-bath to one
pint, and add the Muriate of Lime dissolved in four fluidounces of Water.
Set the whole aside to settle; pour off the liquid;  wash the sediment with a
little water,  adding the washings  to the liquid.   Evaporate  the liquid suffi-
ciently in the  vapour-bath for  it to solidify on cooling.  Subject the cooled
mass to very strong pressure in a cloth; redissolve the cake in a sufficiency
of warm distilled water; add a little fine powder of white marble, and  filter;
acidulate the filtered fluid with a  very little muriatic acid; and concentrate a
second time in the  vapour-bath for crystallization.  Subject the crystals
again to  very  strong pressure in a cloth.   Repeat the process of solution,
clarification by marble and muriatic  acid, concentration, and crystallization,
until a snow-white mass be obtained.
   " On the small scale trouble  and loss are saved by decolorizing the solution
of muriate of morphia by means of a little purified animal charcoal after two
crystallizations.   But on  the  large  scale it is  better to purify the salt by
repeated crystallizations alone, and to treat all  the expressed fluids, except
the first, in  the same way with  the  original  solution of impure muriate of
morphia.  An additional  quantity of salt may often be got from  the first
dark and resinous fluid obtained by expression, on merely allowing it to
remain at rest for  a few months,  when a little muriate of morphia may be
deposited in an impure condition.
   " The opium which yields the  largest quantity of precipitate by carbonate
of soda,  according to the  formula [given in page 518], yields muriate of
morphia  not only in greatest proportion, but likewise with the fewest crys-
tallizations." Ed.
   In relation to the process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the remarks  made
upon the preparation of the sulphate of morphia are equally applicable here.
(See Morphiae Sulphas.)   The London and Edinburgh processes are based 
1042
Morphia.
PART II.
upon the plan, originally suggested by Wittstock, of obtaining the muriate of
morphia immediately from opium without the use of alcohol.  The Edin-
burgh process  is that of Dr. Wm. Gregory, which was an improvement
upon Witlstock's.  The London is a modification but scarcely an improve-
ment of Gregory's.  In both processes, the meconate and a small proportion
of sulphate of morphia extracted by water from opium are decomposed; in
the Edinburgh, by chloride of calcium, yielding muriate of morphia in solu-
tion, and meconate and sulphate of lime as precipitates;  in the London, by
chloride of lead yielding muriate of morphia as in the  former case in solu-
tion, but meconate and sulphate of lead as  precipitates.  The remaining
steps of the operation consist in obtaining the muriate of morphia from the
solution by evaporation and crystallization, and in freeing it from colouring
impurities.  For the latter purpose the Edinburgh College directs the alter-
nate addition of marble and muriatic acid, and repeated solution, concentra-
tion, and crystallization;  advising, when the process is conducted upon a
small scale, the use of animal charcoal after two crystallizations.  The Lon-
don College spares the trouble of  these repeated  operations, and contents
itself with the decolorizing influence  of the  animal  charcoal.  The Edin-
burgh College prevents waste by operating upon all  the mother liquors ex-
cept that separated by the first expression in the same  manner as upon the
original infusion  of opium;  the London, by precipitating with ammonia,
saturating the precipitated morphia  with muriatic acid, and decolorizing
with animal charcoal.   Points deserving of particular  notice in these pro-
cesses are, to obtain  the  original infusion  of opium  as  concentrated as
possible  without leaving morphia behind,  so as  to  shorten  the period of
evaporation; and, to add the chloride of lime or of lead before instead of after
the concentration; as, according to Christison, a larger and purer product is
obtained, in the former way, with fewer crystallizations.   Dr.  Christison
says, in favour of Dr. Gregory's process, that the Edinburgh manufacturers,
who follow it, produce a salt of unrivalled purity and cheapness.  But it is
much better calculated for the large laboratory of the manufacturing chemist,
than for the smaller operations of  the apothecary, who  will probably find
the U. S. process more convenient.
   The muriate of morphia procured by the  processes of the British Col-
leges always contains a  portion of muriate of codeia,  which, however, is
scarcely sufficient to affect its operation upon the  system.   Dr.  Christison
found the proportion to vary between a 60th in the muriate prepared from
good  Turkey opium,  a  30th in that from inferior samples of the  same
variety, and a 12th in  that from the  East Indian.   This  impurity may be
separated by precipitating the morphia from a solution  of the salt by  means
of ammonia;  the codeia being left  in solution.  The salt is quite free from
narcotina.
   Dr. A. T. Thomson has  published a process  for procuring  muriate of
morphia  which he has found considerably more productive than  that of the
British Colleges.  After  macerating the opium in  water as directed by the
Colleges for thirty hours, and expressing, he rubs it in a mortar  with  an
equal weight of pure white  sand,  and enough water to form the  mixture
into a paste, which he places in a  percolator, and subjects to the action of
distilled water till the fluid passes without colour and taste.  He then con-
centrates the liquors to the consistence of a  thin  syrup, adds diacetate of
lead, dilutes the solution with twice its bulk of distilled water, allows it to
stand for twenty-four hours, decants the supernatant liquid, washes the pre-
cipitate with warm water, adds the washings to the  decanted solution, and
concentrates to one-half.   To free  the liquid  from any  remaining acetate of 
PART II.
Morphia.
1043
lead he adds diluted sulphuric acid in slight excess, decants the liquid from
the precipitate, washes the  latter, adds the washings to the solution, and
boils for some minutes to drive off acetic acid.  To convert the sulphate of
morphia  now contained in the solution  into muriate, he  adds a saturated
solution of chloride of barium, washes the precipitate, evaporates the con-
joined washings and  solution to the point of crystallization, presses  the
crystals, dilutes and again evaporates the mother liquor so  long as it affords
crystals,  and finally purifies  the  crystalline product  by means  of  animal
charcoal, and by repeated solution, evaporation, and crystallization. (Pharm.
Journ. and Transact, i. 459.)
   Muriate of morphia crystallizes in tufts of feathery acicular crystals.  It
is white, inodorous, bitter, soluble in 16 parts of water at 60°, and in its own
weight at 212°, and soluble also  in alcohol.  A saturated solution in  boiling
water, forms a solid crystalline mass on  cooling.   The crystals are said to
consist of one equivalent of morphia 296-35, one of muriatic acid  36-42,
and six  of water 54.   Dr. Christison states that he constantly found the
crystals,  when dried  at 150°, to  contain 12-7  per cent, of water; and the
Edinburgh College states, that the loss of  weight at 212° is not above  13
per cent.   The salt may be known to be a muriate by the test of nitrate of
silver, and to contain  morphia by the tests for  that alkali.
   This preparation of morphia is much  used  in  Great Britain, but, in this
country,  less than either the sulphate or acetate.   The dose of it, equivalent
to a grain of opium, is about one-sixth of a grain.
   Off. Prep.  Morphia, Lond.;  Morphiae Acetas, Ed.;  Morphiae Muriatis
Solutio, Ed.; Trochisci  Morphiae,  Ed.;  Trochisci  Morphiae et Ipecacu-
anhae, Ed.  '                                                     W.
   MORPHIAE MURIATIS  SOLUTIO.  Ed.  Solution of Muriate
of Morphia.
   " Take of Muriate of Morphia one drachm and a half; Rectified Spirit
five fluidounces;  Distilled Water fifteen fluidounces.   Mix the Spirit and
Water, and dissolve the Muriate of Morphia in the mixture with the aid of
a gentle heat." Ed.
   The use of the alcohol is to prevent spontaneous decomposition.  The
solution  was intended to have the strength of laudanum.    Eighteen minims
contain about one-sixth of a grain of the muriate, equivalent to about  a grain
of opium.                                                       W.
   MORPHIAE  SULPHAS.   U.S.  Sulphate of Morphia.
   " Take of Morphia, in powder, an ounce;  Distilled Water half a pint;
Diluted Sulphuric Acid a sufficient quantity.   Mix  the Morphia with the
Water, then  carefully drop in the acid, constantly stirring till the Morphia
is  saturated and  dissolved.  Evaporate the solution by means of a water-
bath, so  that it may crystallize upon cooling.   Dry the crystals upon bibu-
lous paper." U. S.
   In this process  the morphia is known to be saturated when it is wholly
dissolved by the water.   To ascertain whether the acid  is added in  excess,
litmus paper may  be  resorted to.  If the morphia employed contain narco-
tina,  this Avill remain  in the mother liquor, and will not contaminate the
product.   The mother liquor remaining after  the first crystallization may
be evaporated, so  as  to obtain a fresh supply of the sulphate,  but if the
morphia was  not originally quite pure, the second product will contain the
impurities, and should not be used till it has undergone farther preparation.
When impure morphia is employed, the  mother liquor  should be mixed
with alcohol, or boiled with washed animal charcoal and filtered, and then 
 1044                 Morphia.—Mucilagines.              part ii.

 decomposed  by ammonia, which will precipitate the morphia.   This may
 then be converted into the sulphate in the manner directed by the Pharma-
 copoeia.
   Another mode of obtaining sulphate of morphia, is to dissolve the alkali
 in boiling alcohol of 36° Baume (sp. gr. 0.8428), saturate it while hot with
 sulphuric acid, add animal charcoal previously washed with muriatic acid,
 boil for a few minutes, and filter the solution, while at the boiling tempera-
 ture.   Upon cooling, it deposits most of the sulphate;  and the remainder
 may be obtained by evaporating the mother liquor.
   The sulphate  of morphia crystallizes in beautifully white, minute, fea-
 thery crystals, which are  soluble in cold  water, and in twice their weight
 of boiling water.  They contain, according to  Liebig, in  100 parts,  14-29
 of water, 10-33 of sulphuric acid, and 75-38 of morphia.  By exposure to
 a heat of 248° F. they lose  9-66 parts of the water, but cannot be deprived
 of the remainder without decomposition.   Their equivalent composition is
 stated  to be one eq. of morphia 296-35, one of sulphuric acid  40-1, and six
 of water 54, of which five are water of crystallization, and  may be expelled
 by heat.  The tests for it are those for sulphuric acid and for  morphia.
   The dose of the sulphate of morphia is from an eighth  to a quarter of a
 grain,  which may be given in pill or solution.
   Off. Prep. Liquor Morphiae  Sulphuris,  U. S.                     W.
   LIQUOR  MORPHIAE SULPHATIS.  US.   Solution of Sul-
phate of Morphia.
   " Take of Sulphate of Morphia eight grains; Distilled Water half a pint.
 Dissolve the Sulphate of Morphia in the Water." U. S.
   Sulphate of morphia, as found in the shops, is not always  entirely solu-
 ble in water.   This  sometimes, perhaps,  arises  from adulterations; but
 more frequently, in all probability, from the mode in which the  sulphate is
 prepared.  In the preparation of  this  salt, the quantity of water employed
 for the suspension of the  morphia is sometimes insufficient to hold the re-
 sulting sulphate in solution;  and the consequence is that, upon the addition
 of sulphuric acid, the crystallization of the sulphate takes place before the
 whole  of the morphia has been saturated by the acid.  A portion of uncom-
 bined morphia is therefore necessarily mixed with the salt; and  this is pro-
 bably the cause of the  incomplete solubility  of the sulphate of morphia
 alluded to.  This explanation is  rendered  still more probable by the fact,
 that the addition of a  little sulphuric acid usually remedies the  defect and
 renders the whole soluble.  Pure sulphate of morphia is readily and entirely
 soluble in water.
   This solution is very convenient, by enabling the physician to prescribe a
 minute dose, which, in consequence of the great energy of the preparations
 of morphia, is very often necessary. It has the advantage that it may be kept
 for a very considerable length of time unchanged. The full dose  for an adult
 is from one to two fluidrachms, containing from an eighth to a quarter of a
 grain of the sulphate.                                            W.


                         MUCILAGINES.

                              Mucilages.

   Mucilage, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, and in the sense in which
 it is employed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, is an aqueous solution of gum or
 of substances closely allied to it. As used by the British Colleges it appears 
PART II.
Mucilagines.
1045
to signify any bland, viscid, aqueous, vegetable solution, resembling that of
gum in sensible properties.                                      W.

   MUCILAGO  ACACIAE.  U.S.   Mucilago. Ed.   Mucilago
Gummi Arabici. Dub.   Mistura Acaclse.  Lond.   Mucilage  of
Gum Arabic.
   " Take of Gum Arabic, in powder, four ounces; boiling Water half a
pint.  Add the Water gradually to the Gum, rubbing them together till the
mucilage is formed."  U. S.
   The London College takes ten ounces of powdered gum Arabic, and a
pint [Imperial measure] of boiling water, and proceeds as above.  The
Edinburgh College directs nine  ounces of gum Arabic to  be dissolved in
a pint [Imp. meas.] of cold water, without heat, but with occasional stir-
ring, and then to be strained through linen or calico.  The Dublin  College
takes four ounces of the gum, in coarse powder, and four fluidounces of
warm water, digests the ingredients with  frequent agitation till the gum is
dissolved, and strains the resulting mucilage through linen.
   Straining through  linen is  necessary to separate the foreign substances
which are often mixed with gum  Arabic.  This mucilage is semitransparent,
almost colourless if prepared from good gum, viscid, tenacious, of a feeble
peculiar odour, and nearly tasteless.   If the solution of gum should be co-
loured, it may be rendered colourless by the addition of a concentrated solu-
tion of chlorine; and, by boiling for about half an hour so as to drive off the
chlorine and muriatic acid, it may be  rendered fit for use.  (Guerin.)   By
keeping, mucilage becomes sour in consequence of the spontaneous genera-
tion of acetic acid; and this happens  even though it be enclosed  in well
stopped bottles.  But, according to  M.  Guerin, the aqueous solution of
pure gum undergoes no change in vacuo.   Heat in  its preparation is said
to favour the production of acid, in  which case the Edinburgh formula is
preferable.  Mucilage is employed chiefly in the formation of pills, and  for
the suspension or diffusion of insoluble substances in water.
   Off. Prep. Mistura Acacias, Ed.;  Mistura Amygdalarum,  Ed.; Mistura
Cretae, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Mistura Guaiaci, Lond., Ed.            W.
   MUCILAGO  AMYLI. Ed.,  Dub.  Decoctum  Amyli. Lond.
Mucilage of Starch.
   " Take of Starch four drachms; Water apint [Imperial measure]. Rub
the Starch with the Water gradually added; then boil for a short time." Lond.
   The Edinburgh College takes half an ounce of starch and apint [Imp.
meas.] of water; the Dublin, six drachms of the former and  apint of the
latter; both proceed according to the  directions of the London College.
   This mucilage has an opaline appearance, and gelatinous consistence, and
is much used as a vehicle for laudanum and other active remedies given in the
form of enema.  In consequence of its demulcent properties, it may be use-
fully employed as an enema in irritation and inflammation of the mucous
coat of the rectum and large intestines.  Its unpleasant flavour, when it is
prepared from ordinary starch, precludes its employment by the mouth.
   Off. Prep. Enema Opii, Lond.                                W.
   MUCILAGO TRAGACANTHAE.  U. S., Ed.  Mucilago Gum-
mi Tragacanthje. Dub.  Mucilage of Tragacanth.
   " Take of Tragacanth an ounce;  boiling Water  a pint.  Macerate the
Tragacanth in the Water for twenty-four hours, occasionally stirring; then
triturate it so as to render the mucilage uniform, and strain forcibly through
linen."  U.S.
       89 
 1046              Mucilagines.—Olea Destillata.         part ii.

   The Edinburgh College takes txvo  drachms of  tragacanth  and nine
fluidounces of boiling water, macerates  for twenty-four hours, then tritu-
 rates, and expresses through linen or calico.   The  Dublin  College takes
 two drachms  of tmgaeanth, in  powder, and  eight fluidounces  of water,
 macerates in a  covered vessel  till the gum is dissolved, and then strains
 through linen.
   A part only of tragacanth is soluble in water.  The remainder  swells up
 and forms a soft tenacious mass, which  may be mechanically mixed with
 water, but does not form a proper solution.   Hence  trituration is necessary
 to complete the incorporation of the ingredients.  This  mucilage is thick
 and very viscid, but not permanent; as the water separates from the insolu-
 ble portion of the tragacanth on standing. It is chiefly used in making pills
 and troches.  In consequence of its great tenacity, it may be advantageously
 employed for the  suspension  of heavy insoluble substances, such as  the
 metallic oxides, in water.
   Off. Prep. Trochisci Ipecacuanhae, U. S.; Trochisci  Magnesiae, U.  S.;
 Trochisci Menthae Piperitae, U. S.                               W.


                    OLEA  DESTILLATA.

                           Distilled Oils.

  For an account of the general properties of the volatile, essential, or dis-
tilled oils, the reader is referred  to the head of Olea Volatilia in the first
part of this work.  The following are the different  officinal directions  for
preparing them.

                  OLEA  DESTILLATA.  U.S.
  "In the preparation of the Distilled Oils, put the substance from which the
oil is to be extracted into a retort, or other vessel suitable for distillation, and
add enough water to cover it, then distil into a large refrigeratory.  Sepa-
rate the Distilled Oil from the water which comes over with it.
  " In this manner prepare Oil of Anise, from Anise: Oil of Caraway,
from Caraway; Oil of Wormseed, from  Wormseed; Oil of Fennel, from
Fennel-seed; Oil of Partridge-berry, from Partridge-berry [leaves]; Oil
of Pennyroyal [Oleum Hedeomae], from  Pennyroyal;  Oil of Juniper,
from Juniper [berries]; Oil  of Lavender, from Lavender [flowers]; Oil
of Peppermint, from Peppermint; Oil of Spearmint, from Spearmint; Oil
of Horsemint, from Horsemint; Oil of Origanum, from Origanum [Marjo-
ram]; Oil of Pimento, from Pimento; Oil of Rosemary, from Rosemary
[tops]; Oil of Savine, from Savine; Oil of Sassafras, from Bark of Sas-
safras Root." U. S.

                  OLEA DESTILLATA.  Lond.
  " Oil of Anise, of Chamomile, of Caraway, of Juniper, of Lavender,
of Peppermint, of Pennyroyal [Mentha Pulegium], of Spearmint, of
Origanum, of Pimento, of Rosemary, of Elder Flowers.
  " The fruit of Anise, Caraway, and Juniper, the flowers of Chamomile,
Lavender,  and Elder, the  berries of  Pimento, the tops of Rosemary, and
the  fresh herb of  the other plants, are to be  employed.  Put any one of
these into an  alembic,  and  add sufficient Water to cover it; then  distil the
Oil into a large refrigeratory."  Lond.

                     VOLATILE OILS.  Ed.
  " Volatile oils are obtained chiefly from the flowers, leaves,  fruits, barks, 
PART II.
Olea Destillata.
1047
and roots of plants, by distilling them with water, in which they have been
allowed to  macerate for some time.   Flowers, leaves, and fruits generally
yield  the  finest oils, and in greatest quantity, when they are used fresh.
Many, however, answer equally well if they have been preserved by beat-
ing them into a pulp with about twice their weight of muriate of soda, and
keeping the mixture in well-closed vessels.
  " Substances yielding volatile oils must be distilled with water, the pro-
per proportion of which varies for each  article, and for the several quali-
ties of each.  In all instances,  the quantity must be such as to prevent any
of the material from being empyreumatized before the  whole oil is carried
over.   In operations where the material is of pulpy consistence, other con-
trivances must be resorted to for the  same purpose.  These chiefly consist
of particular  modes of applying heat so  as to maintain a regulated tempe-
rature not much above 212°.  On the small scale heat may be thus conveni-
ently  applied by means  of a bath of a strong solution  of muriate of lime,
or by means of an oil-bath, kept at a stationary temperature with the aid of
a thermometer.   On the  large scale heat is often  applied by means of
steam under regulated pressure.  In other  operations it is found sufficient
to hang the material within  the still in a  cage or bag of fine net-work; and
sometimes the material is not mingled with the water at all, but is subjected
to a current of steam passing through it.
  " The best mode  of collecting  the oil is by means  of the refrigeratory
described  in  the  preface [see page 772];  from which the water and oil
drop together into  a tall  narrow vessel, provided  with  a lateral  tube or lip
near the top, and another tube rising from the  bottom  to about a quarter of
an inch below the level of  the  former. It is evident that, with a receiver of
this construction, the water will escape by the lower tube;  while the vola-
tile oil, as it accumulates, will be  discharged by  the upper one, except in
the very few instances where the oil is heavier  than the water.
  " By attending to the general  principles now explained, Volatile Oils
may be readily obtained  of  excellent quality from the flowers of Anthemis
nobilis, Lavandula vera, and Ruta  graveolens; from the fruit of Ane-
thum graveolens  bruised,  Cakum Carui bruised,  Eugenia Pimenta
bruised,  Fosniculum officinale  bruised,  Juniperus communis bruised,
Piper Cubeba ground, and Pimpinella Anisum  ground; from  the  unde-
veloped dried flowers of Caryophyllus  aromaticus; from  the tops of
Juniperus Sabina, and  Rosmarinus officinalis; from the  entire herb of
Mentha Piperita, Mentha Pulegium, Mentha viridis, and Origanum
Majorana [vulgare?]; and also from the bruised root of Sassafras offici-
nale." Ed.

                   OLEA ESSENTIALIA.  Dub.
  " Oil of Aniseed, of Caraway,  of Fennel, from the seeds dried with
a medium  heat; of Sassafras, from the bark and wood; of Juniper, of
Pimento, from the berries; of Lavender, from the flowers; of Peppermint,
of Spearmint, of Origanum, of Pennyroyal, of  Rosemary, of Rue, from
the  leaves and flowers of the  plant  while in flower; of Savine, from  the
leaves.
  " Put the substance,  previously macerated  in Water, into  an alembic;
then,  by means of the vapour of boiling water, distil into a receiver.  Sepa-
rate by a proper apparatus, the Oil which floats on the surface, or sinks to
the bottom, according as it  is lighter or heavier than water.   In distilling
the  seeds  of Caraway and  Fennel, the leaves of Peppermint,  Spearmint,
and Pennyroyal, and the berries of Pimento, the liquor which comes over 
1048
Olea Destillata.
PART II.
 with the oil is  to be kept for use in  the manner directed under the head of
 Distilled Waters." Dub.
   The substances from which the volatile oils are  extracted, may be em-
 ployed either in the recent or dried state.   Certain flowers, however, such
 as orange flowers and roses, must be used fresh, or preserved with salt, as
 they afford  little or no oil after  exsiccation.   Most of the aromatic herbs
 also, as peppermint, spearmint, pennyroyal, and marjoram, are usually dis-
 tilled while fresh, and  are directed  in this state  by the  London College;
 although it is thought by some that, when moderately dried, they yield a
 larger and more grateful product.  Dried substances, before being submitted
 to distillation,  require  to  be  macerated in water till  they are  thoroughly
 penetrated by this fluid; and to facilitate the action of the water, it is neces-
 sary that, when of a hard or tough consistence,  they should be properly
 comminuted by slicing, shaving, rasping, bruising,  or other similar mechani-
 cal operation.
   The water which is put with the subject of distillation into the alembic,
 answers the double purpose of preventing the decomposition of the vege-
 table matter by regulating the temperature, and of  facilitating the volatiliza-
 tion  of the  oil, which, though in most instances  it readily rises with  the
 vapour of boiling water,  requires,  when  distilled alone, a considerably
 higher  temperature, and is at the same  time  liable to be  partially decom-
 posed.  Some oils, however, will not ascend  readily with steam at 212°;
 and in  the distillation of these it is  customary to  use  water saturated with
 common salt, which does not boil under 230°.   Recourse  may also be had
 to a  bath of strong solution of chloride  of calcium, or to an oil-bath  the
 temperature of which is regulated by a thermometer,  as  suggested by  the
 Edinburgh College in their general directions  (see page 1047).  Other oils
 again may  be  volatilized with water  at a  temperature  below the boiling
 point; and,  as heat exercises an injurious  influence over the oils, it is  de-
 sirable  that  the distillation should be effected  at as low a temperature as
 possible.  To prevent  injury from heat it has been recommended to sus-
 pend the  substance containing the oil in  a basket, or to place it upon a
 perforated shelf, in the upper part of the alembic, so  that it may be pene-
 trated by the steam, without being  in direct contact with the water. Another
 mode of effecting  the same object is to distil in vacuo.  Dr. Duncan stated
 that the most elegant volatile oils  he had ever seen were prepared in this
 manner by Mr. Barry, the  inventor of  the process.
  The quantity of water added is not a matter of indifference.   An excess
 above what is  necessary acts  injuriously  by holding the oil in solution,
 when the mixed vapours  are  condensed;  and, if the proportion be very
 large, it is possible that no oil whatever may be obtained separate.  On the
 contrary, if  the quantity be too small, the whole of the oil will  not be dis-
 tilled;  and there will be danger of the substance in the alembic adhering to
 the sides of the vessel, and thus  becoming burnt.  Enough water should
 always  be  added to cover the solid  material,  and  prevent this latter acci-
 dent.   Dried plants require  more water than those which are  fresh and
 succulent.   The  whole  amount  of  materials  in  the  alembic should not
 exceed three-fourths of its capacity;  as otherwise there would be danger of
 the liquor boiling over.   The form of the alembic has a considerable influ-
 ence over the quantity of  water  distilled,  which depends more upon  the
 extent of surface than the amount of liquid  submitted  to evaporation.   By
employing a high  and narrow vessel, we may obviate the disadvantage of
an excess of water.  The  broad  shallow alembic, suitable  for the distilla-
tion of alcohol and the spirituous  liquors, will not answer so well in this 
PART  II.
Olea Destillata.
1049
case.  Sometimes the proportion of oil contained in the substance employed
is so  small that it is wholly dissolved in the water distilled, even though
the proportion of the liquid in the alembic is not greater than is absolutely
essential.   In this  case it is necessary to redistil the  same water several
times from fresh portions of the plant till the quantity of oil exceeds  its
solvent  power.  This process is called cohobation.
   The  more volatile of the oils pass with  facility along with  the steam
into the neck of the common still; but some which are less volatile are apt
to condense in the  head,  and thus return into the  alembic.   For the distil-
lation of the latter, a still should be employed with  a large and very low
head, having a rim  or gutter around its internal circumference, into which
the oils may be received  as they condense, and thence  pass into the neck.
As, after  the  distillation of any one  oil, it is necessary that the apparatus
should  be thoroughly  cleansed before being  used for the preparation of
another, it is better that the condensing tube should be straight, than spiral
as  in the  ordinary  still.  It  should  be recollected, moreover,  that certain
oils, such as those  of  anise and fennel,  become  solid at  a comparatively
high temperature; and  that, in the distillation of these, the water employed
for refrigeration should not be below 42°  F.
   The mixed vapours are condensed into a milky liquid, which is collected
in a receiver, and after standing for some time separates into a clear solution
of  the oil in water, and into the oil  itself, the latter floating on the surface,
or sinking to  the bottom, according as it is  lighter or heavier than water.
The distillation should  be continued so long  as the fluid which comes  over
has this milky appearance.
   The last step in the  process is to  separate the oil from  the water.   For
this purpose the Florence receiver  may be  used.  This is a conical glass
vessel, broad at the bottom and narrow  towards  the  top, and very near its
base  furnished with a tubulure or opening, to which is adapted, by means
of a pierced cork, a bent tube so shaped as to rise  perpendicularly to seven-
eighths  of the height of the receiver, then to  pass  off from it at right angles,
and near the end to bend downwards.  The condensed liquid being admitted
through the opening at the top of the receiver, the oil separates, and rising
to the top, occupies  the upper  narrow part  of the vessel, while the water
remains at the bottom and enters the tube affixed to the receiver.   When the
surface  of the liquid attains in the receiver a higher level than the top of the
tube, the water will necessarily begin to flow out through the latter, and  may
be  received in bottles.  The oil thus accumulates so long as the process con-
tinues;  but it is evident that the plan is applicable only to the  oils lighter
than water.   For the heavier oils, cylindrical vessels may  be employed, to
be  renewed as fast as they are filled.   But as all the water cannot be removed
by these plans, it is necessary to resort to some other method of effecting a
complete separation.  An instrument called a separafory is usually employed
for this  purpose.  It consists of a glass funnel, bulging at the top, where it
is furnished with a  stopper, and prolonged at the bottom into a very narrow
tube.  (See figure, page 758.)   The  lower opening being closed, the mixed
liquids are introduced, and allowed to stand till they separate.  The orifice
at the bottom is then opened, and the stopper at top being a little loosened
so as to admit the air, the heavier liquid slowly flows out, and may be sepa-
rated  to the  last drop from the lighter, which floats above  it.   If the oil is
heavier  than  water, it passes out of the separatory;  if lighter, it remains
within.   Another mode of separating the oil, is to introduce into the vessel
containing the two  liquids, one end of a cord of cotton, the other end hang-
ing out  and terminating in a suitable receptacle beneath the level of that im-
                                  89* 
1050
Olea Destillata.
part 11.
mersed in the liquid.  The oil at top passes through the cord, and may thus
be wholly removed.   The last drops may be collected by pressing the cord
between the fingers.
  The water saturated with oil should be preserved for future distillations,
as it can now dissolve  no more of the oil, and will therefore yield a larger
product.
  When first procured, the oil has a disagreeable empyreumatic odour, from
which it may be freed by allowing it to stand for some days in  vessels
loosely covered with  paper.  It should then be introduced into small opaque
bottles, which should  be well stopped, so as to  exclude the  air.  When
altered by exposure to  air,  the  oils may sometimes be nearly or  quite
restored to their original  appearance and quality by agitation with  a little
recently heated animal charcoal;  and the same method may be employed
for freeing oils from adhering water.
  The volatile oils have  the  medical properties of the plants  from which
they are derived; and as their remedial application has been mentioned under
the heads of these plants respectively, it will be  unnecessary  to  treat of it in
this place.  They may be administered  dropped on a lump of sugar; or
triturated  with  at least ten times their weight of sugar, forming an oleo-
saccharum, and then dissolved in water; or made into  an  emulsion with
water, sugar, and  gum Arabic.   They  are frequently  kept dissolved in
alcohol under the name of essences.                               W.
  OLEUM  ANETHI. Ed.   Oil of Dill.
  The fruit of dill yields  about 3*5 per cent, of volatile oil.   This is of a
pale yellow colour, with the odour of the fruit, and a hot sweetish taste.  Its
specific gravity is stated  at 0-881.  It is  employed  to prepare dill water,
and may be given as  a  carminative in the dose of  from three to four drops;
but it is little  used in this country.                                W.

  OLEUM  ANISI.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Oil of Anise.
  The product of oil from aniseed is variously stated from 1-56 to 3*12 per
cent.   The oil employed in this country  is almost all  imported.  It is
colourless or  yellowish, with  the peculiar odour and taste of  the seed.   At
50° it crystallizes in  flat  tables, and does not melt under 62°.   Its sp. gr.
increases with age, and is variously given from 0-9768  to 0-9903.   It is
soluble in all  proportions  in alcohol of 0-806; but alcohol of 0*840 dissolves
at 77° only 42 per cent.   It consists of two oils, one solid at ordinary tem-
peratures and heavier than water  (stearoptene), the other liquid and more
volatile (eleoptene), both of which are said to have the same  atomic consti-
tution, and to consist of  carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (C10H6O).   It ab-
sorbs  oxygen from the air and becomes less disposed to  concrete.  Oil of
anise is said to be sometimes adulterated with spermaceti, wax, or camphor.
The first two  may be detected by their insolubility in cold alcohol, the last by
its odour.  The dose of the oil is from five to fifteen drops. Its comparative
mildness  adapts it to infantile cases. The  oil  of star aniseed (oleum ba-
diani), which resembles it in flavour, is frequently substituted for it in this
country.
  Off. Prep.  Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, U. S.;  Tinctura Opii Am-
moniata,  Ed.;  Tinct.  Opii Camphorata, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Tro-
chisci Glycyrrhizae et Opii, U. S.                                 W.

  OLEUM  ANTHEMIDIS. Lond., Ed.   Oil of Chamomile.
  This is never prepared, and little used, in this country.   Baume obtained
thirteen drachms of the oil from eighty-two pounds of the flowers.   It has 
PART II.
Olea Destillata,
1051
the peculiar smell of chamomile, with a pungent somewhat  aromatic taste.
When recently distilled it is of a sky-blue colour, which changes to yellow
or brownish on exposure.  The sp. gr. of the English oil is said to be 0*9083.
It has sometimes been used in spasm of the stomach, and as an adjunct to
purgative medicines.   The dose is from five to fifteen drops.
   On the continent of Europe, an oil extracted from the Matricaria Cha-
momilla is employed under the name of oil of chamomile.   It is dark blue,
thick, and nearly opaque, becoming brown and unctuous by time.   It has
the odour of the plant  from which it is derived, and an aromatic taste.    W.
   OLEUM CARI.  U S.  Oleum Carui. Lond., Ed., Dub.   Oil of
Caraway.
   This  oil is prepared to  a considerable extent by our distillers.  The fresh
fruit yields on an average about 4*7 per cent. (Recluz); but the product is
very variable.  The oil of caraway is  somewhat viscid, of a pale yellow
colour becoming brownish by age, with the odour of the fruit, and an aro-
matic acrid taste.   Its sp. gr. is 0-946 according to Baume, 0-931 according
to Brande.  Its constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. It is much
used to  impart flavour to medicines, and to correct their nauseating  and
griping  effects.  The  dose is from one to ten drops.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio  Scammonii, Lond., Dub.;  Electuarium  Sennae,
Dub.; Pilulae Aloe's Compositae,  Lond., Dub.; Pilulae Rhei Compositae,
Lond.                                                         W.
   OLEUM CHENOPODII. U.S.  Oil of Wormseed.
   This  oil is peculiar to  the United States.   It is of a light yellow colour
when recently distilled, but becomes deeper yellow, and even brownish by
age.  It has in a high degree  the peculiar flavour of the plant.  Its sp. gr.
is 0-908.  It is used as an  anthelmintic, in the  dose of from four to eight
drops for a child, repeated morning and evening for three or four days, and
then followed by a brisk cathartic.                                W.
   OLEUM COPAIBAE. Ed.   Oil of Copaiba.
   " Take of Copaiva one  ounce; Water one pint and  a half [Imperial
measure].  Distil, preserving the water; when most of the water has passed
over, heat it, return it into the still, and resume the distillation; repeat this
process so long as a sensible quantity of oil passes over with the water." Ed.
   This oil is sufficiently described under Copaiba, page 271.
   OLEUM  FCENICULI.  U.S., Ed.  Oleum Fceniculi  Dulcis.
Dub.   Oil of Fennel.
   Fennel seeds yield  about 2*5 per cent, of oil.  That used in this country
is imported.   It is colourless or yellowish, with the odour and taste of  the
seeds.  Its sp. gr. is 0*997.  It congeals below 50° into a crystalline mass,
separable  by pressure into a solid and liquid oil (stearoptene and eleoptene),
the former heavier than water, and less volatile than the latter, which rises
first when the oil is distilled.   As found in the shops,  therefore, the oil of
fennel is not uniform; and  Dr. Montgomery found that a specimen which
he examined did not congeal at 22°.  It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen; its formula being, according to Blanchet and Sill, C13H802.  The
dose is  from five to fifteen drops.
   Off. Prep. Aqua Fceniculi, U. S.                               W.
   OLEUM GAULTHERIAE. U.S.   Oil of Partridge-Berry.
   This oil is known  only in the United States,  and is prepared chiefly in 
05 2
Olea Destillata.
PART II.
New Jersey.   It is directed  by the Pharmacopoeia to be prepared from the
leaves of  the Gaultheria. procumbens;  but  the whole  plant is  usually em-
ployed.   It has been supposed to exist also in the bark of the Betulalenta,
the root of the Polygala paucifolia, and the roots and  stems of the Spiraea
ulrnaria,  Spiraea lobata, and Gaultheria hispidula, which have its peculiar
flavour. The oil of partridge-berry when freshly distilled is nearly colourless,
but as found in the shops  has a brownish-yellow or reddish colour.  It is of
a sweetish, slightly pungent, peculiar taste, and a  very agreeable character-
istic odour, by which it may be readily distinguished from all other officinal
oils.  It is the heaviest of the known essential oils, having the sp. gr. 1-173.
Its boiling  point is 412°. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. iii. 199, and  xiv.  213.)
Its unusual weight affords a convenient test of its purity.  Mr. Wm.  Proc-
ter, Jun., of Philadelphia, has shown it to  possess acid properties, and to
be closely analogous  to saliculous acid, one of the results of the decompo-
sition  of  salicin  by sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassa, and an in-
gredient in the oil of Spiraea ulrnaria. (See  Salix, page 623.)   Thus, it
combines with the alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides;  forms compounds
with  chlorine, bromine, &c, in which an equivalent of hydrogen  is re-
placed  by an equivalent  of one of these  bodies  respectively;  and,  when
treated with  potassa  in excess,  gives out hydrogen, and is  converted into
another acid (saliculic acid), in  which oxygen  appears to have  taken the
place of the hydrogen liberated.  It has, moreover, the  density of saliculous
acid, and  like it  colours  the sesquisalts  of iron  purple.  But there are
several points of difference sufficient to prevent the admission of the  abso-
lute identity of the two substances.  The oil of spiraea differs from that of
gaultheria in containing another volatile oil besides the saliculous acid.  (Am.
Journ. of Pharm. xiv. 211.)   Oil of gaultheria is used chiefly on account
of its pleasant flavour, to  cover the taste of  other medicines.
   Off. Prep. Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, U.S.              W.
   OLEUM HEDEOM AE.  U.S.   Oil of Pennyroyal.
   This, though analogous in properties to the oil of European pennyroyal,
is  derived from  a distinct plant—the Hedeoma pulegioides—peculiar to
North America.  It has a light yellow colour, with the odour and taste of
the herb.   Its sp. gr. is 0-948.  It may be used as a remedy in flatulent
colic  and  sick stomach, to correct  the  operation  of nauseating or griping
medicines, and to impart flavour to mixtures.  The dose is from two to ten
drops.                                                          W.
   OLEUM JUNIPERI. U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Oil of Juniper.
  The  proportion of oil  which juniper berries  afford is stated very dif-
ferently by different  authors.  Trommsdorff obtained  one per cent.   The
highest quantity given in  the  table of Recluz is 2-34, the lowest 031 per
cent.   The berries are most productive  when bruised.   The oil of juniper
consumed in this country  is brought from Europe.  It  is colourless, or of a
light greenish-yellow, with  a terebinthinate odour, and a hot acrid taste.
Its  sp. gr. is  0-911.   It  is  not very  soluble  in  alcohol.  According to
Blanchet,  it contains two isomeric oils,  of which one is colourless, and the
other coloured and less volatile.   It is,  when pure, a hydrocarbon, and is
said  to have the same composition as oil of turpentine  (C10H8); but it  does
not form a solid compound with muriatic acid. (Journ. de Pharm,  xxvi.
80.)  The oil of turpentine is often fraudulently added,  but may be detected
by the specific gravity of  the mixture, which is considerably less than that
of the unadulterated oil of juniper. 
PART II.
Olea Des til lata.
1053
  This oil is stimulant, carminative, and  diuretic; and may be employed
advantageously in debilitated dropsical cases, in connexion with other medi-
cines, especially digitalis.   It is this oil which imparts to Holland gin  its
peculiar flavour and diuretic power.  The  dose is from five to fifteen drops
two or three times a day, and may be considerably increased.       W.
  OLEUM  LAVANDULAE.  U. S,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.   Oil  of
Lavender.
  Dried  lavender flowers yield from 1 to 1*5 percent,  of  a very fluid,
lemon-yellow oil, having the fragrance  of the flowers, and an aromatic,
burning taste.   That met with in commerce has the sp. gr. 0*898 at 68° F.,
which is reduced to 0-877 by rectification. (Berzelius.)   According to
Brande,  the sp. gr. of the oil  obtained from the whole herb is  0-9206.
Alcohol  of 0-830 dissolves the oil of lavender in all proportions;  that of
0-887, only 42 per cent. (Berzelius.)  Proust states that,  when allowed to
stand in imperfectly stopped bottles, it lets fall a crystalline deposit (stearop-
tene), which often amounts to  one-fourth  of the weight of the oil.   It is
said  that the portion of oil first distilled is most agreeably fragrant,  and is
often kept separate, and  sold  at a higher price.   The oil of lavender is
used chiefly as a perfume, though  possessed of carminative and stimulant
properties, and sometimes useful in cases of nervous languor and headache.
The dose is from one to five drops.
  The oil of spike is  procured from the  broad-leaved variety of lavender-
which grows wild in Europe, the  Lavandula Spica of De Candolle.  Its
odour is  less fragrant than that of the common oil of lavender, and is some-
what analogous to that of oil of  turpentine,  with which it is said to  be often
adulterated.  It is much used  by  artists  in the preparation of varnishes.
  Off. Prep. Tinctura Ammoniae Composita, Lond.                W.
  OLEUM MENTHAE  PIPERITAE.  U. S, Lond., Ed.   Oleum
Mentha Piperitidis. Dub.  Oil of Peppermint.
  Peppermint varies exceedingly  in the quantity of oil which it  affords.
Four pounds of the fresh herb  yield, according to Baume, from a drachm
and a half to three drachms of the oil.  The product is generally less than
one per cent.   This oil is largely distilled  in the United States.  It is of a
greenish-yellow colour or nearly colourless,  but becomes  reddish  by age.
Its odour is strong and aromatic; its taste, warm, camphorous, and very pun-
gent, but succeeded, when air is  admitted into the mouth, by a sense of cool-
ness.  Its sp. gr. is  stated differently from  0*902 to 0-920; its boiling point
at 365°.   Upon long standing it deposits a stearoptene, which, according
to Kane, has the  same  composition as the oil, viz., C21H2o02.  Berzelius
states that at 8° below zero the  oil  deposits small capillary crystals.
  Oil of peppermint is stimulating and  carminative, and  is much used in
flatulence, nausea, spasmodic pains of the stomach and bowels, and as a
corrigent or adjuvant of other medicines.  The dose is from one  to three
drops, and is most conveniently given rubbed up with sugar and then dis-
solved in water.  The  oil is also very frequently employed in the  form of
essence of peppermint, prepared by dissolving two fluidounces in a pint of
alcohol, and given upon sugar in the dose of ten or twenty drops.   This is
now  officinal under the name of Tinctura  Olei Mcnthss Piperita?.
  Off.Prep. Aqua Menthae Piperitae, U.S., Lond.; Pilulae Rhei  Com-
positae, U. S., Ed.;  Spiritus  Menthae  Piperitae, Lond.,  Dub.; Tinctura
Olei  Menthae Piperitae, U. S.; Trochisci Menthae Piperitae, U. S.     W. 
1054
Olea Destillata.
PART II.
   OLEUM MENTHAE PULEGII. Lond.  Oleum Pulegii. Ed.,
Dub.  Oil of European  Pennyroyal.
   About 1 part of this oil on an average is obtained from  100 parts of the
plant.   When  freshly distilled it  is yellowish, but becomes reddish by
age.  Its  sp. gr. is stated  differently from 0-925 to 0-978.  It possesses
medical properties  similar  to those of the oil of peppermint; but is seldom
used in this  country.   The dose is from one to five drops.
   Off. Prep. Aqua Menthae Pulegii, Lond., Dub.; Spiritus  Menthae Pu-
legii, Lond., Dub.                                               W.
   OLEUM MENTHAE VIRIDIS.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Oil
of Spearmint.
   According to Lewis, ten  pounds  of spearmint yield  an ounce of oil; by
others  the product is stated not to exceed one part from five hundred.  The
oil is largely distilled in this country.  It is pale yellow or greenish when
recently prepared, but becomes  red  with age, and  ultimately almost of a
mahogany colour.  Its flavour is analogous to  that of the oil of pepper-
mint, but  is  less agreeable and less pungent. Its sp.  gr. is stated differently
from 0-914 to 0 975; its boiling point, at 320°.   Kane gives the formula
C35H2f,0, as representing its composition.  It is  used for the same purposes
as  the  oil  of  peppermint, in tbe  dose of from  two to five drops.  An
essence of spearmint is prepared by dissolving two fluidounces of the oil
•in a pint of alcohol, and may be given  in  the quantity of from  twenty to
forty drops, upon a lump of sugar.   This was introduced among the offici-
nal tinctures in the  last edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
   Off. Prep. Aqua Menthae Viridis, U. S.,  Lond., Dub.; Infusum Menthae
Compositum, Dub.; Spiritus Menthae Viridis, Lond., Dub.; Tinctura Olei
Menthae Viridis, U. S.                                           W.

   OLEUM MONARDAE. U.S.   Oil of Horsemint.
   This is prepared by our  distillers from the fresh  herb of the  Monarda
punctata.  It has a reddish-amber colour, a fragrant odour, and a warm, very
pungent taste.  Applied to the skin it acts as a powerful rubefacient, quickly
producing heat, pain, redness, and  even vesication.  This property of the
oil was made known to the  profession by Dr. Atlee, formerly of Philadel-
phia, who employed it externally with advantage  in low forms of typhus
fever, cholera infantum, chronic  rheumatism, and  other affections in  which
rubefacients are indicated.   In ordinary cases it should be diluted  before
being applied.   It may be  given internally as a  stimulant and carminative,
in the dose of two or three drops mixed with sugar  and water.      W.
   OLEUM ORIGANI.  U S., Lond., Ed, Dub.  Oil of Origanum.
   This is obtained  from the common marjoram, Origanum vulgare, and is
frequently called oil of marjoram.  The plant varies exceedingly in the pro-
portion which it affords.  The mean product may be stated at from four to
six parts from a thousand.   The recent oil,  when properly prepared, is of a
yellow colour; but if too much heat is used in the distillation, it is said to be
reddish, and it acquires the  same tint  by age.   It may be obtained colour-
less by rectification.  It has the  odour of the plant, and a hot acrid taste.
Kane gives  its sp. gr. 0-867, its boiling point  354°, and  its composition
C^H^O.   According to Lewis, its sp. gr.  is 0-940, according  to Brande
0-909.  It is sometimes used as an external irritant, and to allay the pain
of toothache, by being  introduced, on  lint  or cotton, into  the cavity of a
carious tooth.   It is not employed  internally. 
PART II.
Olea Destillata.
1055
  It can scarcely be doubted that the oil directed by the Edinburgh College
from the  Origanum Majorana, or sweet marjoram, was intended for that
of the O. vulgare; as the latter plant is indicated, under the  name of Ori-
ganum, in  the Materia Medica list of  the College, where the former is not
mentioned; and the oil  is  referred to in the Index of the Pharmacopoeia
with the  title of Oleum  Origani.   The oil of sweet marjoram is obtained
from the  plant by distillation, in  the quantity of from 25 to 6 parts  from
1000.  It is of a  lemon-yellow colour, light, and  camphorous, and is said
upon  long standing to deposit a substance resembling camphor.  It is not
used in this country.
  Off. Prep.  Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum, U. S.            W.
  OLEUM  PIMENTAE.  U. S, Lond., Ed., Dub.  Oil of Pimento.
  The berries yield from 1 to  more than 4 per cent, of oil, which, as found
in the shops,  has a brownish-red colour, and the odour and taste of pimento,
though warmer and more pungent.  It is said, when freshly distilled, to be
colourless or  yellowish.   Nitric acid  reddens it.   Bonastre states that it
combines with salifiable bases  like the oil of cloves.  Its sp. gr.  has  been
stated  at  1-021, but varies.   It consists, like the oil  of cloves, of two dis-
tinct oils, a lighter and heavier, the former of which comes over first in dis-
tillation.   They may be separated  by distilling the oil with caustic potassa.
The light oil  comes over, and the heavy remains combined with the potassa.
The latter may be obtained by distilling the residue  with sulphuric acid.  The
light oil is lighter than water,  and  is a pure hydrocarbon.  The heavy has
the  acid property of forming crystalline compounds with  the alkalies.  The
two are closely analogous  with the light and heavy oil of cloves. (Pereira.)
The oil of pimento may be given for the same purposes with the other aro-
matic stimulant oils.  The dose is  from three  to six drops.
  Off. Prep.  Aqua Pimentae, Lond.; Emplastrum Aromaticum, Dub. W.
  OLEUM  ROSMARINI.  U.S., Lond, Ed.  Oleum Rorismarini.
Dub.  Oil of Rosemary.
  The fresh leaves of rosemary yield, according to Baume, 0-26 per cent, of
oil; but the product is stated much  higher by other authors.   According to
Brande, a pound of the fresh herb yields about a drachm of the oil, which
is about one per cent.  This oil is colourless, with an odour similar to that
of the plant,  though less agreeable. Its sp. gr. is 0*911, but is reduced to
0*8886 by rectification.  It is soluble in all proportions in alcohol  of 0830;
but requires for solution at 64°, forty parts  of alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-887.
(Berzelius.)  Kane gives its sp. gr. 0897, its boiling  point  365°, and  its
composition C45H3802.   Kept in bottles imperfectly stopped, it deposits a
stearoptene analogous to  camphor, and sometimes  amounting, according
to Proust, to  one-tenth of the oil.  Bucholz states that it affords  camphor
when digested with from one-half its weight to an equal weight of potassa,
and distilled.   It is said  to be sometimes adulterated  with the oil of turpen-
tine, which may be detected by mixing the  suspected liquid with an equal
volume of pure alcohol.   The oil of rosemary is dissolved, and that of tur-
pentine left.  This oil is possessed of stimulant properties, but is employed
chiefly as an  ingredient of rubefacient  liniments.   The dose is from three
to six drops.
  Off. Prep.  Linimentum Opii, Ed.;  Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum,
U. S., Ed.; Spiritus Ammoniae Aromaticus, Ed.; Spiritus Rosmarini, U. S.,
Lond., Dub.; Tinctura Saponis Camphorata, U. S., Ed.          W. 
1056
Olea DestiHata.
PART II,
   OLEUM RUTAE. Ed., Dub.   Oil of Rue.
   Rue yields a very small proportion of a yellow or greenish oil, which be-
 comes brown with age.  It has the strong unpleasant odour of the plant,
 and an acrid taste.  Kane gives its sp. gr. 0-837, its boiling point 446°, and
 its  composition C^HggOs.  It is  stimulant and  supposed to be antispas-
 modic, and has been given in hysteria, convulsions, and amenorrhoea.  The
 dose is from two to five drops.                                    W.
   OLEUM SABINAE.  U S., Ed., Dub.   Oil of Savine.
   The statements in relation to the proportion of volatile  oil obtained from
 savine vary exceedingly.  While according  to Hoffmann and  Murray the
 leaves afford about 16 per cent.; others state the product at considerably less
 than one  per  cent.   The highest percentage  in  Recluz's table,  next to
 Hoffmann's is  about  1-7, in  Christison's table 2*5. (Dispensatory.)   The
 oil is nearly colourless or yellow,  limpid, strongly odorous, and of a bitter-
 ish, extremely acrid taste.  Kane gives its sp. gr. 0-915, its boiling point
 315°, and its  composition  C10H8, equivalent to  that  of oil of turpentine.
 The oil of savine is stimulant, emmenagogue, and actively rubefacient; and
 may be given for  the same purposes as the plant in substance.  It has been
 much employed empirically in  amenorfhoea, and with a  view  to produce
 abortion, and in some instances with fatal effects.   The  dose is from  two
 to five drops.                                                    W.
   OLEUM SAMBUCI. Lond.   Oil of Elder Floiuers.
  Elder flowers yield but a very small proportion of volatile oil, which is of
 a butyraceous consistence when cold, and scarcely deserves a place in the
 Pharmacopoeia.
   Off. Prep. Aqua Sambuci, Lond.                               W.
   OLEUM  SASSAFRAS.  U. S, Ed, Dub.   Oil of Sassafras.
  The proportion of oil yielded by the root of sassafras is variously stated
 from less than 1 to somewhat more than 2 per cent.  The bark of the root,
 directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, would afford a larger quantity.  The
 oil  is of a yellow colour, becoming reddish by  age.   It  has the fragrant
 odour of sassafras, with a warm pungent aromatic taste.   It is among the
 heaviest of the  volatile oils, having the sp.  gr. 1*094.  According to  Bo-
 nastre, it separates,  by agitation with water,  into  two oils, one  lighter, the
 other heavier than water.  Berzelius states that the first  is  often nothing
 more than oil of  turpentine existing as an adulteration in  the oil of sassa-
fras.  Nitric acid colours it red,  and  fuming nitric acid  inflames it more
readily than most other  oils.  It has the  useful  property  of dissolving
caoutchouc.  When kept for  a  long time it  deposits transparent crystals,
having the same odour as the liquid oil.  It is stimulant, carminative,  and
supposed to be diaphoretic; and may be employed  for the same  purposes
with the bark from which it is derived.  The  dose is from two to ten drops.
   Off. Prep.  Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, U. S.              W.
  OLEUM  SUCCINI. U. S.,  Dub.  Oil of Amber.
  " Take of Amber, in powder, any quantity.  Put the Amber, previously
mixed with an  equal  weight  of sand,  into  a glass retort, which is to be
only half filled; then distil, by means of a sand-bath,  with a gradually in-
 creasing heat, an acid liquor, an oil, and a concrete acid impregnated with
 oil.  Separate  the oil  from  the other matters, and keep it  in well stopped
 bottles." U. S.
  The unrectified oil of amber is  not among the preparations directed by 
PART II.
Olea Des t ilia la.
1057
 the London College.  The Dublin College obtains it by the same process
 by which succinic acid is prepared. (See Acidum Succinicum.)
   The amber in this process undergoes decomposition, and affords, among
 other products, an empyreumatic oil which floats  in the receiver upon  the
 surface of an acid liquor.   The  heat requisite for  the complete decomposi-
 tion of the  amber cannot be supported by a glass  retort; and  in order that
 all the oil which it is capable of  yielding may be  collected, the distillation
 should be performed in  a tubulated iron or earthenware retort, which may
 be placed immediately upon  the fire.  The sand is added to prevent  the
 amber from swelling too much.   The oil may be separated from the acid
 liquor by means of the  separating funnel.  As first  procured, it is a thick,
 very dark coloured liquid, of a  peculiar  strong empyreumatic odour.  In
 this  state it is occasionally employed as  a liniment; but for internal use it
 should be rectified.  It  is  said that the  scrapings of copal and  the  resin
 dammar are often substituted for amber, and  yield  an oil scarcely distin-
 guishable from the genuine. (Pereira's Mat. Med.)
   Off. Prep. Oleum Succini Rectificatum, U. S., Dub.             W.
   OLEUM SUCCINI  RECTIFICATUM.  U.S.,  Dub.   Oleum
 Succini. Lond.  Rectified Oil of Amber.
   "Take of Oil of Amber apint;  Water six pints.   Mix them in a glass
 retort, and distil  until four pints of the Water shall have passed with the oil
 into  the  receiver;  then  separate  the  Oil  from the Water, and keep it in
 well stopped bottles." U. S.
   The Dublin College employs  apound of oil of amber and six pints of
 water;  distils until two-thirds of  the water have passed into the  receiver;
 and then separates the oil.
   "Put Amber  into an  alembic, and  distil from  a  sand-bath, with a heat
 gradually increased, an Acid Liquor, an Oil, and a Salt contaminated with
 oil;  then distil the Oil a second and third  time." Lond.
   By successive  distillations the oil of amber is rendered thinner and more
 limpid, till  at length it is obtained colourless.  The first portions which
 distil are less coloured than those which  follow, and  may be separated for
 keeping, while  the remainder  is submitted to  another distillation.   For
 practical purposes, however, the  oil is sufficiently pure when  once  redis-
 tilled, as directed in the processes of the U. S.  and  Dublin  Pharmacopoeias.
 As usually found in the shops, the rectified oil is of a  light yellowish-brown
 or amber colour.   When quite pure it is colourless, as fluid as alcohol, of
 the sp. gr. 0-758 at 75°,  and boils at 186°.  It has a strong,  peculiar, un-
 pleasant odour, and a hot, acrid taste.  It imparts these properties in some
 degree to water without being perceptibly dissolved.   It is soluble in eight
 parts of alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-847 at 55°, in five parts of the sp. gr. 0.825,
 and  in  all proportions in absolute alcohol.  The fixed oils unite with it.
 On exposure to the light and  air, it slowly changes in colour and consistence,
 becoming ultimately black and solid.
  Medical Properties and  Uses. Rectified  oil of  amber is stimulant and
 antispasmodic;  and occasionally promotes the secretions,  particularly that
 of urine.  It has been employed with  advantage  in amenorrhoea, and  in
 various spasmodic and convulsive affections, as tetanus, epilepsy, hysteria,
 hooping cough, and infantile convulsions from intestinal irritation, &c.  The
 dose is from five to fifteen drops,  diffused  in some aromatic water by means
of sugar and gum Arabic.  Externally applied,  the oil is rubefacient, and is
considerably employed as a liniment in chronic rheumatism and palsy, and
in certain spasmodic disorders, as hooping cough and  infantile convulsions. 
1058
Olea Destillata.—Pilulae.
PART II.
In the latter affection it should be rubbed along the  spine, and was  highly
recommended by the late  Dr. Parrish, mixed with an  equal  measure of
laudanum, and diluted with three or four parts of olive oil and of brandy.
   Off. Prep. Tincturae Ammoniae Composita, Lond.               W.
   OLEUM TEREBINTHINAE   PURIFICATUM.  Lond.,  Ed.
Oleum Terebinthina Rectificatum. Dub.  Purified Oil of Tur-
pentine,
   " Take of Oil of Turpentine a pint;  Water four pints.  Carefully distil
the Oil."  Lond.
   " Take of Oil of Turpentine one pint; Water four pints.   Distil as long
as Oil comes over with the Water." Ed.
   " Take of Oil of Turpentine tivo pints;  Water four pints.   Distil a pint
and a half of the Oil." Dub.
   Oil of turpentine becomes  impure by exposure,  in  consequence of the
absorption of oxygen and the production  of resin.  From this it may be
freed by distillation, as  above directed, or  by the agency of alcohol.  (See
Oleum Terebinthinae.)   The process for distilling it is attended with some
inconvenience,  in consequence of the  great inflammability of  the vapour,
and its rapid formation, which  causes the liquid  to  boil over.  In this
country,  the apothecary can  almost always  purchase the oil sufficiently
pure for medical use without the  necessity of rectifying it.  The presence
of  a small proportion  of resin does not interfere  with  its efficiency as a
medicine.                                                      W.

                             PILULiE.

                                Pills.

   These  are small globular  masses of a size  convenient for swallowing.
They are well  adapted for  the administration of medicines which are un-
pleasant to the taste or smell, or insoluble in water, and do  not require to
be given in large doses.  Deliquescent substances should not be made into
pills, and those which  are efflorescent should be previously  deprived of
their water of crystallization.  Care should also be taken not to combine
materials, the mutual reaction of which may result  in a change of form.
   Some substances have a consistence  which enables them to be made im-
mediately into pills.  Such are the softer  extracts  and certain  gum-resins;
and the addition of a little water to  the former, and a few drops of spirit to
the latter, will give them the  requisite softness  and plasticity, if previously
wanting.   Substances which are very soft, or in the liquid state, are formed
into the  pilular mass by incorporation  with dry and inert powders, such as
crumb of bread, wheat flour, starch, and powdered gum Arabic.  Powders
must be mixed with soft solid bodies, as extracts, confections, soap, &c, or
 with tenacious  liquids, as syrup,  molasses, honey, or  mucilage.  Heavy
metallic powders are most conveniently made into pills with the former;
 light vegetable powders with the latter.  Mucilage is  very often used; but
 pills made with it are apt when kept to become hard  and of difficult solu-
 bility in  the liquors of the stomach, and  if metallic  substances  are mixed
 with it, the mass does  not work well.  A mixture of syrup and powdered
 gum Arabic is not  subject to the same inconveniences, and  is an excellent
 material  for the formation of pills.  Conserve of roses and molasses are
 among the best excipients, when  the pills  are to  be  long kept.   For the
 same purpose of keeping the pill soft,  a small portion of some fixed oil or 
PART II.
Pilulae.
1059
deliquescent  salt has been recommended as  an addition  to the mass.
Many powders  require only the  addition of water.   Such  are  all those
which contain ingredients capable of forming an adhesive or viscid solution
with this liquid.  Care  should  always be taken, that  the matter  added be
not incompatible with the main  ingredients of the pill.
  The materials should be  accurately mixed together,  and beat in  a mortar
till formed into a perfectly  uniform and plastic mass.   This  should be of
such a consistence that the  pills may preserve their form, without  being so
hard as to resist the solvent power of  the gastric liquors.  As pills often
become  very  hard by time,  it is convenient, in some instances, to  keep the
mass in a state fit to be divided when wanted for use.   This  may be done
by wrapping it  in bladders, putting it in covered pots, and occasionally
moistening it as it becomes dry.
  The mass, having been  duly prepared, is  made into pills by rolling it
with a  spatula  into a cylinder of precisely the same thickness throughout,
and of  a length  corresponding to the number of pills required.  It  is then
divided  as  equally as possible  by the  hand,  or  more accurately by a ma-
chine made for the purpose.  The  pills receive  a spherical form by being
rolled between  the fingers.  In order to prevent their adhesion  to one
another,  or to  the sides of the vessel  in which  they  may be placed,  it is
customary to agitate them  with some  dry powder, which gives  them an
external coating, that serves also to conceal their taste.  For this  purpose,
carbonate of magnesia,  starch,  or powdered  liquorice root may  be used.
Carbonate of magnesia is  sometimes  incompatible with  one  of the ingre-
dients of the  pills, starch is almost too light, and liquorice root will,  as a
general  rule,  be found the best.   The  powder of lycopodium  is much
employed on the continent of Europe; and it was formerly the custom to
give the pill a coating of gold or silver  leaf.
  It has recently been  proposed by M. Garot to cover pills  with gelatin,
which  answers the purpose of concealing their taste, without interfering
with their solubility in the  stomach.   He dips  each pill, sustained  on the
point of  a pin, into melted  gelatin, withdraws it with a rotary motion,  then
fixes the pin  in a paste so as  to allow the coating to dry in the  air, and
having prepared about fifty pills in this way, proceeds to complete the ope-
ration by holding the pin in the flame  of a taper so as to melt the  gelatin
near its point, and then withdrawing it from  the pill so as to close  up the
orifice.   The purest glue should be selected  for this purpose, melted  with
the addition of two or three drachms of water to an ounce of  the glue, and
kept in  the  liquid state by means of a salt-bath.  (See Amer. Journ. of
Pharm.  x. 229.)
  Pills which are to be long kept should be put into glass bottles  with ac-
curately fitting stoppers, so as to prevent the escape of moisture.
  Though the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in almost every instance, orders the
mass to be divided into pills; yet it should be understood rather as indicating
the number of pills to be made from a certain quantity of the mass when par-
ticular directions are not given by the physician, than as requiring the divi-
sion to be made immediately after  the materials have been mixed.   It will
generally be  found convenient  by  the  apothecary to keep a portion of the
mass undivided.                                                 W.
  PILULAE ALOES. U S, Ed.   Aloetic Pills.
  " Take of Aloes,  in  powder, Soap, each, an ounce.   Beat them  with
water so as  to form a  mass,  to be divided  into two hundred and  forty
pills."  U.S. 
1060
Pilulae.
PART II.
   The  Edinburgh College directs  equal quantities of Socotrine or  East
India aloes, and  Castile soap to be beat with conserve of red roses into a
mass fit for forming pills.
   The  soap, in this formula, not only serves to impart a proper pilular con-
sistence to the aloes, but is thought to qualify its  operation and  diminish
its liability to irritate the rectum.  Five pills, containing ten grains of aloes,
may be given with a view to their purgative  effect; but the preparation is
usually employed as a laxative  in cases of habitual costiveness, in the quan-
tity of  one, two, or three pills, taken before breakfast, before dinner, or at
bedtime.                                                           W.
   PILULAE ALOES  COMPOSITAE.  Lond,  Dub.   Compound
Pills of Aloes.
   "Take of Aloes [Hepatic Aloes,  Dub.], in powder,  an ounce;  Extract
of Gentian half an ounce;  Oil of Caraway forty minims;  Syrup  a suffi-
cient quantity. Beat them together, till they are thoroughly incorporated."
Lond.,  Dub.
   A reaction takes place between the aloes  and extract of gentian when
rubbed  together, which renders the mass so  soft as sometimes to require
the addition of a light powder.   The use of syrup is therefore unnecessary
and improper.  This combination is well adapted as a laxative  to the cos-
tiveness of sedentary and  dyspeptic persons.  The dose is from  five to
twenty  grains, according to the degree of effect desired.*            W.

   PILULAE ALOES  ET  ASSAFQETIDAE.  U.S., Ed.   Pills of
Aloes and Assafetida.
   " Take of Aloes, in powder,  Assafetida, Soap, each, half an ounce. Beat
them with water so as  to form  a mass,  to be divided into  one hundred and
eighty pills. U. S.
   The  Edinburgh College takes equal  parts of Socotrine or East India
aloes, assafetida, and Castile soap, and beats them into a mass with con-
serve of red roses.
   These  pills are peculiarly adapted, by the stimulant and carminative pro-
perties  of the assafetida, to cases of costiveness attended with flatulence and
debility of the digestive organs.  Each pill contains about four grains of the
mass.   From two to five may be given for a dose.                  W.
   PILULAE ALOES ET FERRI. Ed,   Pills of Aloes and Iron.
   " Take of Sulphate of Iron three parts; Barbadoes Aloes two parts; Aro-
matic Powder six parts;  Conserve of Red Roses eight parts.   Pulverize

  * The following is the formula for the aloetic pills usually  called dinner pills, or Lady
Webster's pills.   They are the piluIce stomachicce of the fifth edition of the Paris Codex,
A.D. 1758. Take  of the  best Aloes six drachms; Mastich and Red Roses, each, two
drachms; Syrup of Wormwood sufficient to form a mass, to be divided into pills of three
grains each.  Common syrup may be substituted for the syrup of wormwood.  One or
two of these pills taken shortly before a meal, will usually produce one free evacuation.
  The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy has adopted formulae for the compound aloetic
preparations commonly called Hooper's and Anderson's pills, of which the following are
copies.
  'Hooper's female pills. R Aloes Barbadensis gviij., Ferri Sulphatis  Exsiccati gij., ^iss.,
vel Ferri Sulphatis Crystal, giv., Extracti Hellebori gij., Myrrhse gij., Saponis gij., Ca-
nelloB in  pulv. trita;  %']., Zingiberis  in pulv. trit. gj.— Beat  them well together into a
mass with water, und divide into pills, each containing- two and a half grains." Journ. of
the Phil.  Col. of Pharm. v. 25.
  "Anderson's Scots' pills.  R Aloes  Barbadensis gxxiv., Saponis giv., Colocynthidis |j.,
Gambogiee  §j., Olei  Anisi f^ss.   Let the aloes, colocynth, and gamboge be reduced to a
very fine powder; then beat them and the soap with water into a mass, of a proper con-
sistence to divide into pills, each containing three grains."  Ibid. 
PART II.
Pilulae.
1061
the Aloes and Sulphate of Iron separately; mix the whole ingredients; and
beat them into a proper mass; which is to be divided into five grain pills."
Ed.
  It is said that the laxative power of aloes is increased, and its tendency
to irritate the rectum diminished, by combination with the sulphate  of iron.
(Christison's Dispensatory.)   This combination  is useful in constipation
with  debility of  stomach, especially when  attended with  amenorrhoea.
The dose is from one to three pills.                              W.
  PILULAE ALOES ET MYRRHAE. U S., Ed.   Pilule Aloes
cum Myrrha Lond., Dub.  Pills of Aloes and Myrrh.
  " Take of Aloes, in powder, two ounces;  Myrrh, in powder, an ounce;
Saffron half an ounce; Syrup a sufficient quantity.  Beat  the whole to-
gether so as to form a mass, to be divided  into  four hundred and eighty
pills." U. S.
  The processes  of the London  and  Dublin Colleges differ  from the
above only  in directing a double proportion of saffron, in the specification of
hepatic aloes by the latter, and in not dividing the  mass.   The Edinburgh
College takes four parts of  Socotrine or East India aloes,  two parts of
myrrh, and one part of saffron; and beats them with conserve of red roses.
  This composition has been long in use, under the name of Rufus's pills.
It is employed as  a warm stimulant cathartic  in debilitated states of the sys-
tem, attended with constipation, and retention or suppression of the menses.
From three to six  pills, or from ten to twenty grains of the  mass  may be
given for a  dose.                                               W.
  PILULAE ASSAFCETIDAE.  US.  Assafetida Pills.
  " Take of Assafetida an  ounce and a half; Soap half an ounce.  Beat
them with water so as to form a mass, to be  divided into two hundred and
forty pills." U. S.
  Each of  these pills contains three grains of the  gum-resin.  They are a
very convenient form for administering assafetida, the unpleasant odour and
taste of which render it very offensive in the  liquid state.           W.
  PILULAE CALOMELANOS COMPOSITAE. Ed.,Dub. Pilule
Hydrargyri  Chloridi  Compositje.  Lond.    Compound  Calomel
Pills.  Compound Pills of Chloride of Mercury.
  " Take of Chloride of Mercury [Calomel], Oxysulphuret of Antimony,
each, two drachms; Guaiacum Resin, in powder,  half an ounce; Molasses
two drachms.  Rub the Chloride of Mercury with the  Oxysulphuret of
Antimony,  then with the Guaiacum Resin and Molasses, so  that they  may
be incorporated."  Lond.
  The Edinburgh College takes of calomel  and golden sulphuret  of  anti-
mony, each, one part; guaiac, in fine powder, and  treacle, each, two parts;
mixes the solids in fine powder, then the treacle,  and beats the whole into
a mass, to be divided into six grain pills.  The Dublin College agrees  with
the London,  employing half the quantity of the active  ingredients, and a
sufficient quantity of molasses.
  We prefer the title "compound calomel  pills" of the Edinburgh and
Dublin Pharmacopoeias; as, though  not scientific, it is not, like the  London
name, liable to be confounded with that of corrosive sublimate.   The  anti-
monial employed by the two Colleges is the same, though under different
names, and is  identical with  the U. S. precipitated sulphuret.  According
to Vogel, a reaction takes place between the  calomel and sulphuret of  anti-
mony, resulting in the production of chloride of antimony and sulphuret of
                                90* 
1062
Pilulae.
PART II.
mercury. (Anndl. der Pharm.  xxviii. 236.)  The preparation was origi-
nally introduced to the notice of the profession by Dr. Plummer, who found
it useful as an alterative, and upon whose authority it was atone time much
employed under the name of Plummer's Pills.  The combination is well
adapted to the  treatment of chronic  rheumatism, and  of  scaly and other
eruptive diseases of the skin, especially when accompanied with a syphilitic
taint.   Four grains of the mass  contain about one grain of calomel.  From
three to six grains or more may be given morning and evening.      W.
   PILULAE  CALOMELANOS  ET  OPII. Ed.  Pills of Calomel
and Opium.
   " Take of Calomel three parts; Opium one part; Conserve of Red Roses
a sufficiency.   Beat them  into a proper mass, which is to be divided into
pills, each containing two grains of Calomel."  Ed.
   The proportion in  which opium is  united  with calomel to meet  different
indications is so various, that such a combination as the above is scarcely a
proper subject for officinal direction.                               W.
   PILULAE  CATHARTICAE COMPOSITAE. U.S.   Compound
Cathartic Pills.
   " Take of  Compound Extract of Colocynth,  in powder, half an ounce;
Extract of Jalap, in  powder, Mild Chloride of  Mercury [Calomel], each,
three drachms;  Gamboge,  in powder, two scruples.   Mix them together;
then with water form them into a mass, to be divided into one hundred and
eighty pills." U. S.
   This cathartic compound was first made officinal in the second edition of
the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.   It was intended  to  combine smallness of bulk
with efficiency  and comparative mildness of purgative action, and a peculiar
tendency to the biliary organs.    Such an officinal preparation was much
wanted in this  country, in which bilious fevers, and other complaints at-
tended  with  congestion of the  liver  and portal circle  generally,  so much
abound.   The object of smallness of bulk was accomplished  by employing
extracts and the more energetic  cathartics;  that of a peculiar tendency to the
liver, by the use of calomel; and that of efficiency with mildness of  opera-
tion, by the union of several  powerful purgatives.  It is a fact  abundantly
proved by experience, that drastic cathartics become milder by combination,
without losing  any of their purgative power.   Nor  is it  difficult, in  this
case, to reconcile the result  of observation  with  physiological principles.
Cathartic medicines act on different parts of the  alimentaiy canal and organs
secreting into it.  In small doses, both the  irritation which  they  occasion
and their  purgative effect are proportionably lessened.  If several are ad-
ministered at the same time, each in a diminished dose, it is  obvious that
the combined purgative effect of all will be experienced, while the irritation,
being feeble in each  part affected, and diffused  over a larger  space, will be
less sensible  to the patient, and  will more readily subside.  In the compound
cathartic pills, most of the  active purgatives  in  common use  are associated
together in proportions corresponding with  their respective doses,  so that
an excess  of any one  ingredient is  guarded against, and  violent  irritation
from this cause prevented.   The name of the preparation may at first sight
seem objectionable, as it might be applied to  any compound pills possessing
cathartic properties; but when it is considered that the ingredients cannot all
be expressed in the title,  that no one is sufficiently prominent  to give  a
designation to the whole, and that the preparation is  intended as the repre-
sentative of numerous cathartics, and calculated  for a wide range of applica-
tion, the name  will not be considered  an inexcusable deviation from ordinary
medical nomenclature. 
PART II.
Pilulae.
1063
  Three of the pills, containing 10§ grains of the mass, area medium dose for
an adult.  In this quantity are four grains of compound extract of colocynth,
three of extract of jalap, three of calomel, and two-thirds of a grain of gam-
boge.   A single pill will generally be found  to operate as a mild laxative.
In a full dose, the preparation acts  vigorously on  the bowels, producing
bilious stools, generally without much pain or disorder of the stomach.  It
may be employed in most instances where a brisk cathartic  is required; but
is particularly applicable to the early stages  of bilious fevers,  to hepatitis,
jaundice, and all those derangements of the alimentary canal or of the gene-
ral health which depend on congestion of the portal circle.          W.
  PILULAE COLOCYNTHIDIS  COMPOSITAE. Dub.  Pilule
Colocynthidis. Ed.   Compound Pills of Colocynth.
  " Take of Socotrine or East India Aloes, and Scammony, of each, eight
parts; Colocynth four parts; Sulphate of  Potash and  Oil of Cloves, of
each,  one  part; Rectified Spirit a sufficiency.  Pulverize the Aloes, Scam-
mony, and Sulphate of Potash together; mix with them the Colocynth  pre-
viously reduced to fine powder, add the Oil of Cloves; and with the aid of
a small quantity of Rectified Spirit  beat the whole into a proper pill mass;
which is to be divided into five grain pills."  Ed.
   " Take of Hepatic Aloes, Scammony, each, an  ounce; Pulp of Colocynth
half an ounce; Castile Soap two drachms;  Sulphate of  Potassa, Oil of
Cloves, each, a drachm; Molasses a sufficient quantity.  Reduce the Aloes
and Scammony to powder with the Sulphate of Potassa; then mix the Pulp
of Colocynth and the Oil, and lastly, rub all together into  a mass with the
Soap  and Molasses."  Dub.
   The sulphate  of potassa, in  these formulae, is intended  to  promote the
more  complete  division of the aloes and scammony.   Rectified spirit has
been  substituted, in the  last  edition  of  the  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, for
mucilage of gum Arabic before used;  because it  is believed to be retained
by the mass more firmly than water, and thus to preserve  the due consist-
ence longer.  The preparation is actively cathartic in the dose of from eight
to sixteen grains.                                              W.

   PILULAE  COLOCYNTHIDIS  ET HYOSCYAMI.  Ed.  Pills
of Colocynth and Henbane.
   " Take of the Colocynth-pill mass two parts; Extract  of Hyoscyamus
one part.   Beat them well together, adding a few drops of Rectified Spirit
if necessary; and divide the  mass into five grain pills." Ed.
   It is asserted that the  compound  pill or  extract  of colocynth is  almost
entirely deprived of its griping tendency by combination, as above, with the
extract of hyoscyamus, without losing any of its purgative power.  The
dose is from five to twenty grains.                               W.
   PILULAE  CONII  COMPOSITAE.  Lond.   Compound Pills of
 Hemlock.
   " Take of Extract of Hemlock ^zue drachms; Ipecacuanha, in powder,  a
drachm;  Mixture [Mucilage] of Gum  Arabic a  sufficient  quantity.  Beat
 them together until they are  incorporated."  Lond.
   An  anodyne and expectorant combination useful in chronic bronchial dis-
 eases.  The dose is five grains three times a day.                 W.

   PILULAE  COPAIBAE.  U.S.  Pills of Copaiba.
   " Take of Copaiba two ounces; Magnesia, recently prepared, a drachm.
Mix them, and set the mixture  aside till it concretes into a pilular mass,
 which is to be divided into two hundred pills. U. S. 
1064
Pilulae.
PART II.
   When copaiba is mixed with pure magnesia, it gradually loses its fluid
consistence, forming at first a soft tenacious mass, and ultimately becoming
dry, hard, and brittle.   The quantity of magnesia, and the length of time
requisite for the production of this change, vary with the  condition of the
copaiba; being greater in proportion to the fluidity of this substance, or, in
other words, to the amount of volatile oil which it contains.  The quantity
of magnesia directed by the Pharmacopoeia, one-sixteenth  of the weight of
the copaiba, is sufficient to solidify the latter, as it is often found in the shops,
in the course of six or eight hours;  but when the copaiba is fresh, or has
been kept in closely stopped bottles, and retains, therefore,  nearly the whole
of its volatile oil, it is  necessary either to augment the proportion of magne-
sia, or to expose the mixture for a much longer  time, or  to diminish the
volatile oil of the copaiba by evaporation.  The  magnesia combines che-
mically with the resin, but, in relation to  the volatile oil, acts merely as  an
absorbent; for, when the solidified mass is submitted to the  action of boiling
alcohol, a part is dissolved, abandoning the  magnesia with which it was
mixed, while the resin combined with another portion of the earth remains
undissolved.  (Journ.  de  Pharm. xvii. 105.)   According  to Guibourt, co-
paiba not solidifiable by magnesia, may be made so by adding  one-sixth  of
Bordeaux or common  European turpentine. (Journ. de Pharm. xxv. 499.)
In the preparation  of  the pills of copaiba, care should be taken to divide
the mass before  it  has become too hard.   The advantage  of this prepara-
tion is, that the copaiba is brought to the state of pill  with  little increase of
its bulk.  Each pill contains nearly  five grains of copaiba,  and  from two to
six may be taken for a dose twice or three times a day.
   Hydrate of lime produces the same  effect as magnesia, and, as stated by
M. Thierry, in a shorter time, if employed according to a formula which he
proposes. He takes 15 parts of copaiba and one part  of slaked lime, mixes
them in a marble mortar, transfers the mixture to an open vessel, places
this upon a sand-bath, and sustains the heat  for  four hours,  occasionally
stirring.   It is necessary  that the hydrate of lime should have  been freshly
prepared from recently-burnt lime.  The mixture loses only a twenty-fourth
of its weight, which is chiefly the water of the hydrate. (Journ. de Pharm.
N. S. i. 310.)                                                  W.

   PILULAE CUPRI   AMMONIATI.  Ed.  Pills  of Ammoniated
Copper.
 ^  " Take of Ammoniated Copper, in fine powder, one part; Bread-crumb
six parts; Solution of Carbonate of Ammonia  a sufficiency.   Beat them
into a proper mass, and divide  it into pills, containing each half a grain of
ammoniated copper."  Ed.
   This is a convenient form for  administering ammoniated copper.   One
pill may be given  night and morning, and the dose  gradually increased to
five or six pills.                                                W.

   PILULAE DIGITALIS  ET SCILLAE. Ed.  Pills of Digitalis
and Squill.
   " Take of Digitalis and Squill, of each, one part; Aromatic Electuary
two parts.   Beat them into a proper  mass with Conserve of Red  Roses;
and divide the  mass into four grain pills." Ed.
   These pills combine the  diuretic  properties of digitalis  and  squill, and
may be given in dropsy.  One or two pills constitute a dose.        W. 
PART II.
Pilulae.
1065
    PILULAE  FERRI  CARBONATIS.  U.S., Ed.  Pills  of Car-
 bonate of Iron.   Vallet's Ferruginous Pills.
    " Take of Sulphate of Iron four ounces; Carbonate of Soda five ounces;
 Clarified Honey two ounces and a half; Syrup, boiling Water, each, a
 sufficient quantity.  Dissolve the Sulphate of Iron and Carbonate of Soda,
 each, in a pint of the Water, and to each solution add a fluidounce of Syrup;
 then mix the two  solutions  in  a bottle just large enough to contain them,
 close it accurately  with a stopper, and set it  by that the  carbonate of  iron
 may subside.  Pour off the supernatant liquid, and, having washed the pre-
 cipitate with warm water, sweetened with Syrup in the proportion of a fluid-
 ounce of the latter to  a  pint of the former, until the  washings no longer
 have a  saline  taste, place it upon a flannel cloth, and express as much of
 the water as possible; then immediately mix  it with the  Honey.   Lastly,
 heat  the mixture,  by means of a water-bath, until it attains  a pilular  con-
 sistence." U. S.
    " Take of the Saccharine Carbonate of Iron four parts; Conserve of Red
 Roses one part.  Beat them into a proper mass, to  be divided  into five grain
 pills." Ed.                                                      &
   The effect of saccharine  matter in protecting iron from  oxidation has
 been explained under the  heads of Ferri Carbonas Saccharatum and Liquor
 Ferri Iodidi.   The U. S. pill of carbonate of iron is another example  of a
 ferruginous preparation,  in which the iron is protected from oxidation by
 the same means.   The salts employed are the same as those used for ob-
 taining the officinal subcarbonate of iron;  but, in forming that preparation,
 the carbonate which first  precipitates absorbs oxygen and loses nearly all
 its carbonic acid in the processes of washing and drying.  When, however,
 as in the U. S. formula,  above  given,  the reacting salts are dissolved in
 weak syrup instead of water, and the washing is performed with the same
 substance, the absorption  of oxygen and loss of carbonic acid, during the
 separation of the precipitate, are almost  completely prevented.   It only
 remains, therefore, to preserve it unaltered, and  to  bring it  to  the pilular
 consistence,  and this is  effected  by admixture  with honey, and evaporation
 by means  of a water-bath.  Of course it is essential to the success of  this
 process, that the sulphate of iron should be pure; otherwise  some sesqui-
 oxide will be present in the product.  The process  just explained is  that
 of M. Vallet,  of Paris,  after whom the  preparation is  popularly called.
 The Edinburgh pill of carbonate of iron  is made in a different  manner.
 The saccharine carbonate, a preparation peculiar to the Edinburgh Pharma-
 copoeia, is brought to a  pilular consistence  by being mixed with conserve of
 roses.  This process is inferior to that of Vallet; for in the first place, the  sac-
 charine carbonate is admitted to contain sesquioxide of iron, and secondly,
 conserve of  roses is a  less  efficient preservative of the pilular mass than
 honey. (See Ferri Carbonas Saccharatum.)
   Properties.  The U. S. preparation is in the form of a soft pilular mass,
 of a uniform black colour and strong ferruginous taste.  When carefully
 prepared, it is wholly and readily soluble in acids.  It contains nearly  half
 its weight of carbonate of protoxide  of iron.  The Edinburgh pill may be
 supposed to contain one-third of ferruginous matter.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  The U. S. pill  of carbonate of iron, or
 Vallet's ferruginous mass, is admirably adapted to cases in  which ferru-
 ginous preparations  are indicated.   It is considered particularly useful in
 chlorosis, amenorrhoea,  and other female   complaints, and appears to act
favourably  by increasing  the colouring matter of the  blood, causing the
capillary  system  to become more fully injected, and  the  lips to assume a 
1066
Pilulae.
PART II.
redder colour.   It may be given in divided doses to the extent of from ten
to thirty grains in the course of the day, and continued for a month or six
weeks, if improvement takes place.  As the mass is not divided in the U. S.
formula, it is necessary in prescription to indicate  the weight of each pill,
which may vary from three to five grains, according to  the views of the
prescriber.   There can be but little doubt, that in cases in which the alter-
ative  effects of iron are called for, Vallet's preparation is superior to any
other derived from that metal.  Its chief merits are its  unchangeableness
and ready solubility in  acids.  For further information respecting it, see the
favourable report made on Vallet's ferruginous  pills to the French Royal
Academy of Medicine, in 1837, by M. Soubeiran, republished in the Amer.
Journ. of Pharm. x. 244,  and the paper on carbonate of iron by Mr. Wm.
Procter, Jr., contained in the same journal, x.  272.                  B.
   PILULAE FERRI  COMPOSITAE. U  S, Lond, Dub.  Com-
pound Pills of Iron.
   " Take of Myrrh, in powder, two drachms;  Carbonate of Soda, Sulphate
of Iron, each, a drachm; Syrup a sufficient quantity.  Rub the Myrrh with
the Carbonate of Soda; then add the Sulphate  of Iron, and again rub them;
lastly, beat them with the Syrup so as to form a mass, to be divided into
eighty pills."  U.S.
   The directions of the British  Colleges  are essentially the same as the
above.  The London College orders a drachm of molasses, the Dublin, a
drachm of brown sugar, instead of the syrup.  With brown sugar alone, the
reaction of the materials in our climate does not always  produce sufficient
moisture to give the mass a pilular consistence.  The direction for dividing
the mass into pills is peculiar to our Pharmacopoeia.
   This preparation  is closely analogous to the Mistura Ferri Composita in
properties and composition.  It is a good emmenagogue and antihectic tonic.
As its peculiar advantages depend upon the presence of  carbonate of prot-
oxide of iron, which speedily changes into the sesquioxide on exposure, it
is proper that only so much of the mass should be prepared as maybe wanted
for immediate use.  From two to six pills may be given at a dose,  three
times a day.                                                   W.
   PILULAE FERRI  SULPHATIS. Ed.  Pills  of Sulphate of
Iron.
   "Take of Dried Sulphate of Iron two parts;  Extract of Taraxacum five
parts; Conserve of Red Roses  two  parts; Liquorice-root powder  three
parts.  Beat them together into a proper mass, which is  to be divided into
five grain pills." Ed.
   There may be some doubt of the propriety of mixing the sulphate of iron
with  the confection  of roses, by the tannic acid of which it must be decom-
posed. The dose is from five to twenty grains.                   W.
   PILULAE  GALBANI  COMPOSITAE.  U S., Lond., Dub.   Pl-
lulje AssafcetidjE.  Ed.   Compound Pills of Galbanum.
   " Take  of  Galbanum, Myrrh, each, an ounce  and a half; Assafetida
half an ounce; Syrup a sufficient quantity.   Beat them together so as to
form  a mass, to be divided into four hundred and eighty pills."  U. S.
   The London  College directs of Galbanum an  ounce, of Myrrh and  Saga-
penum, each, an ounce and a half, of Assafetida, half an ounce, and of Syrup
a sufficient quantity; and orders them to be beaten together until thoroughly
incorporated.  The Dublin College gives the same directions, substituting
molasses for the syrup.  The Edinburgh College  takes of assafetida, gal- 
PART II.
Pilulae.
1067
banum, and myrrh, each, three parts, conserve of red roses four parts or
a sufficient quantity, mixes them, and beats them into a proper pilular mass.
  This compound is given as an antispasmodic and emmenagogue in chlo-
rosis and hysteria.   The dose is from ten to twenty grains.         W.
  PILULAE GAMBOGIAE COMPOSITAE. Dub.  Pilule Cam-
bogije  Compositje. Lond.  Pilule   CAMBOGiffi. Ed.   Compound
Pills of Gamboge.
  " Take of Gamboge, in powder, a drachm; Aloes, in powder, a drachm
and a  half; Ginger, in powder, half a drachm; Soap two drachms.   Mix
the powders together; then add the Soap, and beat the whole together till
they are  thoroughly incorporated." Lond.
  The Dublin formula differs from the above only in designating hepatic
aloes,  and in the addition of molasses to impart more readily the pilular
consistence.
   The Edinburgh College takes of gamboge, East India or Barbadoes aloes,
and aromatic powder, each, one part, and of Castile soap two parts; pulverizes
the gamboge and aloes separately, mixes all the powders, adds the soap, and
then a sufficiency of syrup;  and beats the whole into  a proper pill mass.
   This is an active purgative pill; and may be given in the dose of ten or
fifteen grains. The formula is that of Dr. George Fordyce simplified. W.
   PILULAE  HYDRARGYRI. U. S, Lond., Ed., Dub.  Mercurial
Pills.   Blue Pills.
   " Take of Mercury  an ounce; Confection of Roses an  ounce and  a
 half;  Liquorice Root, in powder, half an  ounce.  Rub the Mercury with
the Confection till all the globules disappear; then add the Liquorice  Root,
 and beat the  whole into a mass, to  be divided into four hundred and eighty
 pills." U.S.
   The process of the London College is the same with the above,  one quar-
 ter only  of the quantity of materials being used.   The Dublin process dif-
 fers from the London only in substituting extract of liquorice root for the
 root itself.  Neither of these Colleges orders  the mass  to be divided into
 pills.  The Edinburgh process corresponds  with  that of the  U. S. Phar-
 macopoeia, except that the relative quantity of the ingredients is expressed
 in  parts, and the mass is divided into  five grain pills.
    This preparation is very generally known by the name of blue pill. The
 mercury  constitutes one-third of the mass; and consequently  the pill of our
 Pharmacopoeia, which weighs three grains, contains one grain of the metal.
    The condition of the mercury in this preparation is a point which has not
 yet been precisely determined.  There is no doubt that by far the greater
 portion  is in a state of minute mechanical  division, and not chemically
 altered.   Some maintain that the whole of the metal is in this state, others,
 that a small portion  is converted during the  trituration  into the black  or
 protoxide of mercury, and that this is  the ingredient upon which the activity
 of the pill depends.  The supposed oxidation  is attributed partly  to the
 influence of the air upon the surface of the metal,  greatly extended by the
 separation of its particles, partly to the action of the substance used in the
 trituration.   If the mercury be not oxidized during the trituration, there can
 be little  doubt that it becomes so to a  slight extent by subsequent exposure.
 The obvious changes which the mass undergoes by time can be explained
 in no other way; and protoxide of mercury is asserted to have been actually
 extracted from the old mercurial pill.  Nevertheless,  it scarcely  admits
 of dispute that the metal, quite independently of oxidation out of the body,
 is capable of producing the peculiar mercurial effects upon the system when 
1068
Pilulae.
part ii.
introduced into the  stomach, probably undergoing chemical changes there.
All agree that the efficacy of the preparation is proportionate to  the extinc-
tion of the mercury, in  other words,  to  the degree  in which the metallic
globules  disappear.  This extinction  may be effected by trituration with
various substances;  and manna,  syrup,  honey, liquorice,  mucilage, soap,
and guaiac have been recommended,  among others, for this purpose; but
the confection  of roses has been adopted in all the Pharmacopoeias, as
affording greater facilities, and being less liable to objection than any other.
The mercury is known to be completely extinguished, when, upon rubbing
a small portion of the mass with  the end of the finger upon a piece of paper
or  glass, no  metallic globules  appear.   The  powdered  liquorice  root is
added in order  to give the due degree of consistence to the mass.  As the
trituration requires to be  continued a considerable length of time, and ren-
tiers the process very laborious, it is customary in Great Britain to prepare
the mass by machinery; and at Apothecaries' Hall,  in London, the tritura-
tion is effected by the agency of steam.   The machine there employed con-
sists of " a circular  iron trough for the reception of the materials, in which
revolve four wooden cylinders, having also a motion on their axis."  The
preparation slowly changes colour upon  being kept, assuming an olive and
sometimes even a reddish tint,  in  consequence, probably, of the further
oxidation of the mercury.  Much of the mercurial pill employed in this
country is imported from England.
   It has been proposed to prepare mercurial pills by rubbing the  metal with
extract of dandelion, and as the latter is thought to possess useful alterative
properties in  hepatic disease, the combination may sometimes be usefully
employed; but it cannot, take the place of the officinal preparation.
   Medical Properties and Uses. These pills are among the mildest of the
mercurial preparations, being less liable than most of the others to act upon
the bowels, and  exercising the peculiar  influence of the remedy upon the
system with less general irritation.  They are much employed  for produ-
cing the sialagogue  and alterative action of mercury.   For the former pur-
pose, one pill may  be given two or three times  a day; and if the case be
urgent, the dose may be increased.  Even this preparation sometimes dis-
turbs the bowels.  It should then be given combined with a small propor-
tion of opium, or in very minute  doses, as half a grain or a grain of the mass
repeated  every hour or two through the  day, so as  to allow of its absorp-
tion before a  sufficient quantity has  been  administered to act as an irritant.
With a view to  the alterative  effect of the preparation upon the digestive
organs, one pill may be given every night, or every other night, at bedtime,
and followed  in the morning,  if the bowels should  not be  opened, by a
small dose  of some  laxative medicine.  From five to fifteen grains of the
mass are occasionally given as a  cathartic, in cases requiring a peculiar im-
pression upon the liver;  but, when used  for this purpose, it should always
either be combined or speedily followed  by a more certain  purgative.  The
blue mass  may frequently be administered with advantage,  suspended in
water by the  intervention  of thick mucilage; and it  forms  an excellent ad-
dition to the chalk mixture in diarrhoea, particularly that of children, when
the biliary secretion is deficient, or otherwise deranged.            W.
   PILULAE  HYDRARGYRI  CHLORIDI MITIS. U.S.   Pills
of Mild Chloride  of Mercury.   Calomel Pills.
   " Take of Mild Chloride of Mercury  [Calomel]  half an ounce; Gum
Arabic, in powder, a drachm;  Syrup a sufficient quantity.  Mix together
the Chloride of Mercury and the  Gum; then beat them with the syrup so
as to form a mass, to be divided into two hundred and forty pills." U. S. 
PART II.
Pilulae.
1069
  This is a convenient form for administering calomel, of which one grain
is contained in each pill.  Soap, which was directed in the  preparation of
this pill in the first edition of the Pharmacopoeia, is objectionable on account
of its chemical incompatibility with calomel.  Mucilage of gum Arabic
alone does not form a sufficiently plastic mass; but gum and syrup united,
as in the officinal formula, answer admirably well, forming a mass which is
easily made into pills, and which readily yields to the solvent power of the
stomach.                                                      W.
  PILULAE HYDRARGYRI  IODIDI. Lond.   Pills of Iodide of
Mercury.
  " Take of Iodide of Mercury a drachm;  Confection of the  Dog Rose
three drachms; Ginger, in  powder, a  drachm.  Beat them together until
they are  incorporated." Lond.
  The dose of this preparation is from  five to ten grains.           W.
  PILULAE  IPECACUANHAE  COMPOSITAE.  Lond.  Com-
pound Pills of Ipecacuanha.
  " Take of Compound Powder of Ipecacuanha [Dover's  powder] three
drachms; Squill, recently  dried,  Ammoniac, each, a  drachm;  Mixture
[Mucilage] of Gum Arabic a sufficient  quantity.  Beat  them  together
until they are incorporated." Lond,
  An anodyne, somewhat stimulating, and expectorant combination, appli-
cable to  cases of chronic bronchial disease.   The dose is from five to ten
grains.                                                        W.
  PILULAE IPECACUANHAE   ET OPII. Ed.  Pills  of Ipe-
cacuanha and Opium.
  " Take of Powder of Ipecacuanha and Opium three parts; Conserve of
Red  Roses one part.  Beat them into a proper mass, which is to be divided
into four grain pills." Ed.
  This is merely the Dover's powder in a pilular form; as there can scarcely
be a  doubt, that the College  intended by the name "powder of ipecacuanha
and opium," to designate the preparation which they now call "compound
powder  of ipecacuanha."   These pills are  narcotic  and  sudorific.  The
quantity  of the mass equivalent to a grain of opium is about thirteen grains;
but it is usually employed in smaller doses.                       W.
  PILULAE OPII. US.  Pilule Opii sive Thebaicje. Ed.  Pills
of Opium.
  " Take of Opium,  in powder,  a drachm; Soap twelve grains.  Beat
them with water so as to form  a mass, to be divided into sixty pills." U. S.
  "Take of Opium one part; Sulphate of Potassa three parts; Conserve
of Red  Roses one part.  Beat them  into a  proper mass, which is to be
divided into five grain pills." Ed.
  The process of the U.S.  Pharmacopoeia is designed merely to furnish a
convenient formula for putting  opium into the  pilular form, preferable to the
mode sometimes practised of making the pills directly from the unpowdered
mass of opium as found in commerce.  The soap answers no other purpose
than  to give a due  consistence, and is therefore in small proportion.   Each
pill contains a grain of opium.
  The object intended  to be answered by the  Edinburgh preparation is
somewhat uncertain.  The  proportion of the  opium corresponds with that
in the Pilulae Saponis Compositae of the  other Pharmacopoeias, but  the
name given to the  preparation  indicates that there could be no intention to
conceal its nature;  while the direction to divide the mass into pills of  five
      91 
1070
Pilulae.
PART II.
grains, each containing a grain of opium, shows that the design was not to
offer the means of exhibiting small doses of that  narcotic in the pilular
form.  The object probably was merely to separate the particles of opium
by the  intervention of soap, and  thus to render it more soluble in the gastric
liquors.  In this case, the preparation ranks rather with the U. S. pills of
opium, with which we place it,  than with the compound soap pill.
  Of either of  these pills, one  is a medium dose in reference to the full
effects  of opium.                                                W.
  PILULAE PLUMBI OPIATAE.  Ed.   Opiate Pills of Lead,
  " Take of Acetate of Lead six parts;  Opium  one part; Conserve of Red
Roses  about one part.  Beat them into  a proper mass, which is to be
divided into four grain pills.  This pill may be made also with twice the
quantity of opium."  Ed.
  This pill would be  better left to extemporaneous prescription;  the re-
quisite proportion of opium to the acetate of lead varying constantly in dif-
ferent cases.  Besides, to have two preparations under the same name, one
containing twice as much opium as the other, must lead to great confusion,
and is  altogether objectionable.  The tannic acid of  the confection of roses
will  decompose a portion of the  acetate; but the resulting tannate of lead is
not  inert.  Each  pill  contains  three grains  of acetate  of lead,  which is
generally too much for a commencing dose.                       W.
  PILULAE QUINIAE SULPHATIS. U. S.  Pills of Sulphate of
Quinia.
  "  Take of Sulphate of Quinia an ounce; Gum Arabic, in powder, two
drachms; Syrup a sufficient quantity.  Mix together the Sulphate of Quinia
and the Gum; then  beat  them with the  Syrup so as to form a mass, to be
divided into four hundred and eighty pills." U.  S.
  Each pill contains a grain of sulphate of quinia, and twelve are equivalent
to an ounce of good  Peruvian bark.                              W.
   PILULAE RHEI.  U.S., Ed.  Pills of Rhubarb.
   "  Take of Rhubarb, in powder, six drachms; Soap two drachms.  Beat
them with  water so as to form a mass, to be divided into one hundred and
twenty pills." U. S.
   " Take of Rhubarb, in fine powder, nine parts; Acetate of Potash one
part;  Conserve of Red Roses five parts.  Beat  them into a proper mass,
and  divide it into  five grain pills."  Ed.
   Rhubarb is so  often given in the pilular form, that it is  convenient both
for the physician and apothecary to have an officinal formula, indicating the
mode  of preparing the pills, as  well as the quantity of rhubarb to be con-
tained in each.  Soap, as directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, has stood
the test of long experience as a  good excipient for rhubarb.  The medicine
is sufficiently disposed to constipate without the addition of the confection
of roses ordered by the Edinburgh College.  The acetate of potassa directed
by the College is probably intended to keep the pill soft.  The U. S. for-
mula  is decidedly preferable.   According to both, each pill contains three
grains of rhubarb.                                              W.
   PILULAE  RHEI COMPOSITAE.  U.S., Lond., Ed. Compound
 Pills  of Rhubarb.
   " Take of Rhubarb, in powder, an ounce; Aloes, in powder, six drachms;
 Myrrh, in powder, half an ounce; Oil of Peppermint half a fluidrachm;
 Syrup of Orange Peel a sufficient quantity.  Beat the whole together so as
 to form a mass, to be divided into two hundred and forty pills." U. S. 
PART II.
Pilulae.
1071
   The London College takes  the  same quantities of powdered rhubarb,
aloes, and myrrh; mixes them;  then adds a drachm of soap, half a flui-
drachm of oil of caraway, and sufficient syrup; and beats them all together.
The Edinburgh College takes of rhubarb twelve parts, aloes  nine parts,
myrrh and  Castile soap, each, six parts, oil of peppermint one part, and
conserve of red roses five parts; mixes them, and beats them into a mass,
which is divided into five grain pills.  This College also allows the pills to
be made without oil of peppermint, when so preferred.
   This  is a warm tonic laxative, useful in costiveness with debility of sto-
mach.  From two to four pills,  or from ten to  twenty grains of the mass,
may be  taken twice a day.                                      W.
   PILULAE RHEI ET FERRI.  Ed.  Pills of Rhubarb and Iron.
   " Take of Dried Sulphate of  Iron four parts; Extract  of Rhubarb ten
parts; Conserve of Red Roses five parts.   Beat them  into a proper pill
mass, and divide it into five grain pills." Ed.
   Tonic and laxative in the dose of two or three pills.             W.
   PILULAE SAGAPEN1 COMPOSITAE. Lond. Compound Pills
of Sagapenum.
   " Take of  Sagapenum an ounce; Aloes half a drachm; Syrup of Gin-
ger a sufficient quantity.  Beat them  together until they are incorporated."
Lond.
   A stimulant, antispasmodic, and laxative preparation, which may be used
in cases of flatulent colic, with  costiveness,  dependent on deficient irrita-
bility of the bowels.  The dose  is from ten to thirty grains.        W.
   PILULAE  SAPONIS  COMPOSITAE.   U.S., Lond.   Pilulje
Saponis cum Opio. Dub.  Compound Pills of Soap.
   " Take of Opium, in powder, half an ounce;  Soap two ounces.  Beat
them together so as to form a pilular mass." U.  S.
   The directions of the London and Dublin Colleges correspond with those
of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
   This  preparation is useful by  affording the opportunity  of conveniently
administering opium, in a pilular and readily soluble  form, in  small frac-
tions of a grain.  The  name  adopted in the U. S. and London Pharma-
copoeias  was  probably  intended  to conceal  the  nature of  the preparation
from the patient.  That of the Dublin College is inappropriate;  as opium,
though in small proportion as to quantity, is yet the ingredient of greatest
importance, and that which gives character to the pill.  One grain of opium
is contained in five of the mass.                                 W.

   PILULAE SCILLAE COMPOSITAE. U.S.,Lond., Dub.  Pilule
Scilla. Ed.  Compound Pills of Squill.
  " Take of Squill, in powder, a drachm;  Ginger, in  powder, Ammoniac,
in powder,  each, two drachms;  Soap  three drachms; Syrup  a sufficient
quantity.   Mix the powders together; then beat them with the Soap, and
add the  Syrup so as to  form a mass, to be divided  into one hundred and
twenty pills."  U. S.
  The London College employs the same materials, in the  same quantities,
and proceeds  in the same manner, except that the mass is  not divided  into
pills.  The Dublin  process differs from the London only in  employing
three drachms of ginger, in adding the ammoniac without  previously pow-
dering it, and in giving the due  consistence by  molasses instead of syrup.
The Edinburgh College takes of squill,  in fine  powder, five parts; ammo-
niac, ginger in fine powder, and  Spanish soap, each, four parts; conserve 
1072
Pilulae.—Plumbum.
PART II.
of red roses two parts; mixes the powders; then adds the other ingredients;
and  beats them into a uniform mass, which is divided into five grain pills.
   This is a  stimulant expectorant compound, depending  for  its  virtues
chiefly on the squill, and applicable to the treatment of chronic affections of
the bronchial mucous membrane,   From five to ten grains may be given
three or four  times a day.  The preparation should be made when wanted
for immediate use, as the squill which it contains  is liable to be injured by
keeping.                                                      W.
   PILULAE  STYRACIS COMPOSITAE. Lond.   Pilulje Sty-
racis  Ed.  PiLULy^ e Styrace.  Dub.  Compound Pills of Storax.
   " Take of  Storax, strained,  three drachms; hard Opium, in powder,
Saffron, each, a drachm.  Beat them together until they are thoroughly
incorporated." Lond.
   The process of the Dublin College is essentially the same as the above.
The Edinburgh College takes of  opium and saffron, each, one part, and
of extract of storax two parts, and beats them into a uniform mass, which
is divided into five grain pills.
   In these pills the storax and saffron are added merely to conceal the  taste
and smell of the opium, as the name of the pills is intended to conceal  their
real  character.  This contrivance is deemed necessary; as some individuals
have a prejudice against the use of opium, which reason cannot overcome.
Five grains of the mass contain a grain of opium.                  W.


                           PLUMBUM.

                      Preparations  of Lead.

   LIQUOR  PLUMBI SUBACETATIS. U.S.   Liquor Plumbi
Diacetatis. Lond.  Plumbi Subacetatis Liquor. Dub.  Plumbi
Diacetatis Solutio. Ed.   Solution of Subacetate of Lead.
   "Take of Acetate  of Lead sixteen ounces; Semivitrified Oxide of Lead,
in fine powder, nine ounces and a half;  Distilled  Water four pints.   Boil
them together in a glass or porcelain vessel for half an  hour, occasionally
adding Distilled Water so as to preserve the measure,  and filter through
paper.   Keep the solution in  closely stopped bottles."  U.S.   Thesp.gr.
of this  solution is  1-267.
   " Take of Acetate  of Lead two pounds and three ounces; Oxide of Lead
[Litharge], rubbed into powder, a pound and four ounces; Water six pints
[Imperial Measure].   Boil for half  an hour,  occasionally  stirring,  and,
when the  solution has cooled, add enough Distilled Water  to make it fill
six pints;  lastly filter." Lond.  The sp. gr.  of the  solution is 1-260.
   " Take of Acetate of Lead six ounces and six drachms; Litharge, in
fine  powder,  four ounces; Water  a  pint and a half [Imperial measure].
Boil the Salt  and  Litharge with the Water for half an hour, stirring occa-
sionally.  When  the solution is cold add Water, if necessary, to make up
a pint and a half; and then filter.   Preserve  the solution  in well-closed bot-
tles." Ed.
   " Take of Semivitrified Oxide of Lead one part; Distilled Vinegar twelve
parts.   Boil  together in a glass vessel until eleven  parts of the fluid remain;
then let the liquor rest, and  when the impurities  have subsided, let  it be
filtered."  Dub.
   Crystallized acetate of lead consists of one equivalent of acetic acid 51*48,
one of protoxide of lead 111*6, and three of water 27=190*08.  Litharge
as usually found in the shops is an  impure protoxide of lead.  When a solu- 
PART II.
Plumbum.
1073
 tion of the former is boiled with the latter, a large quantity of the protoxide
 is dissolved, and a subacetate of lead is formed which remains  in solution.
 The precise composition  of the subacetate  varies with the proportions  of
 acetate of lead and of litharge employed.  When the quantity of the latter
 exceeds that of the former by one-half or more, the acetic acid of the acetate
 unites, according to the highest chemical authorities, with two additional
 equivalents of protoxide, forming a trisacetate; when the two substances are
 mixed in proportions corresponding with their equivalent numbers, that is,  in
 the proportion of 190-08 of salt to 111-6 of oxide, or 10 to 6  nearly, only
 one additional equivalent of protoxide  unites with the acid, and  a diacetate
 of lead is produced.  As the quantity of litharge  directed in the former
 U. S. Pharmacopoeia was intermediate  between these proportions, it is pro-
 bable that the solution which  resulted contained both the diacetate and tris-
 acetate.  In the present edition, the proportions have been so arranged  as
 to result in the  production of  the diacetate;  and the preparation is thus ren-
 dered identical or nearly so with those  of the London and Edinburgh Col-
 leges.   The former of these Colleges  originally prepared this  solution by
 boiling together vinegar and litharge, but, in the last edition of their Phar-
 macopoeia, a process was adopted analogous  to that of our national standard.
 The preparation was newly introduced into  the recent edition of the Edin-
 burgh  Pharmacopoeia.   In executing the process, the litharge  should be
 employed in  the state of very  fine  powder,  and, according  to  Thenard,
 should  be previously calcined in order  to decompose the carbonate of lead,
 which  it always contains in  greater or less proportion, and which is not
 dissolved by the solution of the acetate.
   The  process  of the Dublin College  also  results  in  the  production of a
 subacetate of lead; one equivalent of the acetic acid of the vinegar combin-
 ing directly with two equivalents of the protoxide of  the litharge, to form a
 diacetate.  That a trisacetate is not produced may be inferred from the fact
 ascertained by Dr. Barker,  that distilled vinegar dissolves only  about one-
 twelfth of its weight of the litharge, which is not nearly sufficient to afford
 three equivalents of protoxide to one  of the acid.   Besides, according to
 Phillips and Duncan,  the resulting salt  has been proved by the analysis of
 Dr. Bostock to be composed of one equivalent of acid and two of base.  The
 strength of  the solution necessarily varies with the strength of the vinegar,
 and this is an objection against the  Dublin process, to which the others are
 not equally  liable.  We are told by Phillips, that the  sp. gr. of the solution
 prepared  with distilled vinegar of 1-007 is 1-220, with that  of 1-009 is
 1*309;  while  Dr.  Barker  states that the specific gravity  of the  saturated
 solution prepared by himself with distilled vinegar, to be only 1*118 at 68°.
 Common vinegar yields a dark brown solution, and is therefore not em-
 ployed.
  Properties.  The solution of subacetate of lead of the U.S., Edinburgh,
 and London Pharmacopoeias is colourless, that of the Dublin College has  a
 pale greenish-straw colour, arising from impurities in the distilled vinegar.
 Its taste is sweetish and astringent.  When concentrated by evaporation,  it
 deposits on cooling crystalline plates, which, according to  Dr. Barker, are
 flat rhomboidal prisms with dihedral summits.   It has an alkaline reaction,
 tinging the syrup of violets green,  and  reddening turmeric paper.  One of
 its most striking  properties is the extreme facility with which  it is decom-
posed.   Carbonic acid  throws down a white precipitate of carbonate of lead,
and this happens by mere exposure to the air, or by mixture even with dis-
tilled water, if this has had an opportunity of absorbing carbonic acid from
the atmosphere.  It affords precipitates also with the alkalies, alkaline earths, 
1074
Plumbum.
PART ii.
and their carbonates, with  sulphuric and muriatic  acids free or combined,
with hydrosulphuric acid and the hydrosulphates,  with the soluble iodides
and chlorides, and, according to Thenard, with  solutions of all the neutral
salts.  Solutions of gum, tannin, most vegetable colouring principles, and
many animal substances, particularly albumen, produce with it precipitates
consisting of the substance added and oxide of lead.  It should be kept in
well stopped bottles. It is known to contain a salt of acetic acid by emitting
an acetous smell when treated with sulphuric acid; and a salt of lead by yield-
ing a white precipitate with an alkaline carbonate, a yellow one with iodide
of potassium, and a black one with hydrosulphuric acid.  It is distinguished
from the solution of acetate of lead by being precipitated by gum Arabic.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   This solution is astringent and sedative,
but is  employed  only  as an external application.   It is highly useful  in
inflammation arising from sprains, bruises, burns, blisters, &c, to which it
is applied by means of linen  cloths, which  should be removed  as  fast  as
they become dry.   It always, however, requires to be diluted.  From four
fluidrachms  to a fluidounce, added to a pint of distilled water, forms  a solu-
tion sufficiently strong  in ordinary cases of external inflammation.   When
applied to the skin denuded of the cuticle, the solution should be still weaker,
as constitutional effects might result from the absorption of the lead.   Para-
lysis is said  to  have been produced by its local action;  but we have not
witnessed such an effect. The solution has the common name of Goulard's
extract, derived from a surgeon of Montpellier by whom it was introduced
into general notice, though previously employed.
   Off. Prep. Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S., Lond.; Ceratum Saponis.
U. S.; Liquor  Plumbi Subacetatis  Dilutus,  U. S., Lond., Dub.; Plumbi
Oxydum Hydratum, Lond.                                       W.
   LIQUOR PLUMBI  SUBACETATIS  DILUTUS.  U.S.  Li-
quor Plumbi Diacetatis Dilutus. Lond.  Plumbi Subacetatis
Liquor  Compositus. Dub.   Diluted Solution of Subacetate  of
Lead.   Lead-water.
   " Take of Solution of Subacetate  of Lead two fluidrachms; Distilled
Wrater apint.  Mix them."  U. S.
   The London College mixes a fluidrachm and a half of the solution with
apint [Imperial measure] of distilled water, and two fluidrachms of proof
spirit; the Dublin, a fluidrachm of the solution, with a pint of distilled
water, and a fluidrachm of proof-spirit.
   This preparation is convenient; as, in consequence of the subsidence  of
the carbonate of lead usually formed on the dilution of the strong solution,
it enables the apothecary to  furnish clear lead-water when it  is called for.
The strength, though doubled in the last edition  of the  U. S. Pharmaco-
poeia, might be still further increased without disadvantage.   The  British
preparations are much  too feeble.   The old  French Codex  directed two
drachms of  the strong  solution to a pound of distilled water, and an ounce
of alcohol of 22°  Baume, and thus formed the vegeto-mineral water of
Goulard.  The minute proportion of proof-spirit added by the British Col-
leges can have little sensible effect.                                W.

   PLUMBI CHLORIDUM.  Lond,   Chloride of Lead.
   " Take of Acetate of Lead nineteen ounces; boiling Distilled Water three
pints [Imperial measure]; Chloride of Sodium six ounces.  Dissolve sepa-
rately the Acetate  of Lead and  Chloride  of Sodium, the  former in three
pints of Distilled Water, the latter in one pint of Distilled Water.   Then
mix the solutions, and  wash the precipitate, after it has become cool, with
Distilled Water, and dry it." Lond. 
PART II.
Plumbum.
1075
  In this process, a mutual decomposition of the acetate of lead and chlo-
ride of sodium takes place; the sodium of the latter changing place with the
lead of the former, so as to produce acetate of soda which remains in solu-
tion, and chloride of lead which is  precipitated.
  Chloride of lead  is soluble in thirty parts of water at 60° and in twenty-
two parls at 212°, and from its saturated boiling solution separates  in small,
brilliant, anhydrous crystals.   It is colourless and fusible, and, upon cooling
after fusion, assumes a horn-like appearance, from  which it has received the
name of horn lead.   The London College gives as characters of it, besides
its  relation with water above mentioned, that it becomes yellow with heat,
and black upon  the  addition  of hydrosulphuric acid.  It was  introduced
into the  last edition of the London  Pharmacopoeia  merely as  one of the
substances employed in  the preparation of muriate of morphia.      W.
   PLUMBI IODIDUM.  Lond., Ed.  Iodide of Lead.
   " Take of Acetate of Lead nine ounces; Iodide of Potassium seven ounces;
Distilled Water a gallon [Imperial measure]. Dissolve the Acetate of Lead
in  six pints of the Water and filter;  and  to these  add the Iodide of Potas-
sium previously dissolved in two pints of the Water.  Wash the precipitate
and dry it." Lond.
    " Take of Iodide of Potassium and Nitrate of Lead, of each, an ounce;
Water apint and a half [Imperial measure].  Dissolve the salts separately,
 each in one-half of the Water; add the solutions; collect the precipitate on
 a filter of linen or calico, and wash it with water.   Boil the powder in three
 gallons of water acidulated  with three fluidounces  of pyroligneous acid.
 Let any undissolved matter subside, maintaining  the temperature near the
 boiling point; and  pour off the clear liquor, from  which the  iodide of lead
 will crystallize  on cooling."  Ed.
    In the process of the London College, the acetate of lead gives  up its
 metal to the iodine  from which it receives the potassium—the  operation
 taking place between single  equivalents of the several ingredients.  The
 acetate of potassa thus formed remains in solution, while the iodide of lead
 is  precipitated.   The saturating proportions of crystallized acetate of lead
 and iodide  of potassium are 190-08 of the former and 165-45 of  the latter,
 or 9 to 7-83; so that the acetate  is slightly in excess.   The  proportions
 should be as nearly as  possible those of exact saturation.  An  excess of
 the iodide of potassium  has  the disadvantage of  holding  a portion  of the
 iodide of lead in solution; while, according to Christison, an excess of lead
 to the iodine disposes to the  formation of the  lemon-yellow insoluble oxy-
 iodide of lead.  The latter  result is very apt to  take place; as the acetate
 of lead is liable to contain an excess of oxide, and the iodide of potassium
 is often impure.  To obviate the disadvantage of an excess of  oxide in the
 acetate, it is recommended to add  a  little acetic acid to the solution of this
 salt before  mixing it with the iodide of potassium.   Besides the oxyiodide
 above mentioned, a carbonate of lead is  liable to  be formed from the fre-
 quent presence of the carbonate of potassa in the iodide  of potassium  of
 the shops.  It is to free the  precipitated iodide of lead  from these  impuri-
 ties that the Edinburgh College directs it to be boiled with water acidulated
 with acetic acid, which  readily dissolves any carbonate or  acetate of lead
 present, as well as the iodide, and deposits only the last upon cooling.
    The Edinburgh College  employs the nitrate  instead  of the  acetate of
 lead as more easily obtained pure; but the advantage of the former salt over
 the latter is scarcely sufficient to warrant the introduction of a new officinal
 for this sole purpose.   In the Edinburgh process, a double decomposition
 takes place, as in the London, resulting in the production of nitrate of po- 
1076
Plumbum.
PART II.
 tassa which is retained in solution,  and iodide of lead which  falls.  The
 saturating proportions are  165*75 of the nitrate and 165-45 of the iodide,
 or almost precisely equal quantities.
   As obtained by the London process, iodide of lead  is in the form of a
 bright yellow, heavy, tasteless, and inodorous powder.  It is soluble in 1235
 parts of cold water  (Soubeiran Trait, de  Pharm.),  and is considerably
 more soluble in boiling water, which, on cooling, deposits it in minute, shin-
 ing, golden-yellow, crystalline  scales.   In this form it is presented by the
 Edinburgh process.   It melts by heat, and is dissipated in vapours which
 are  at first yellow, and ultimately violet in consequence of the disengage-
 ment of the iodine.   It consists of one equivalent of iodine 126*3, and one
 of lead 103-6=229-9.  As a test of its purity, the Edinburgh College states
 that five grains are entirely dissolved, with the  aid of heat, by a fluidrachm
 of their pyroligneous acid diluted with a fluidounce and  a half of distilled
 water; and golden crystals are copiously deposited when the solution cools.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This compound is supposed to have the
 resolvent properties of iodine, combined with  those which are peculiar to
 lead, and was at one time recommended in tuberculous diseases, in  which,
 however, it has proved wholly inefficient.  It is said to have been usefully
 employed in  the discussion of scrofulous tumours and other indolent swell-
 ings, and in the cure of obstinate ulcers; and for these purposes  has  been
 used both internally, and locally in the form of  an ointment.  According to
 Dr.  Cogswell, if  given for some time in small doses, it produces the effects
 of lead, but not those  of iodine, upon the system.   (Christison's Dispensa-
 tory.)   The  dose is  from half a  grain  to  three or four  grains.  Dr.
 O'Shaughnessy states that ten grains are borne  without inconvenience.
  Off. Prep.  Unguentum Plumbi Iodidi, Lond.                   W.
  PLUMBI NITRAS.  Ed,   Nitrate of Lead.
  " Take of Litharge four ounces and a half;  Diluted Nitric Acid apint
 [Imperial measure].  Dissolve the Litharge to  saturation with  the aid of a
 gentle heat.   Filter and set the liquor aside to crystallize.  Concentrate the
 residual liquid to  obtain more crystals." Ed.
  In this process the nitric acid  unites directly  with the protoxide to form
 the nitrate.  This is in beautiful white, nearly  opaque, tetrahedral or octahe-
 dral crystals,  which are permanent in the air, of  a sweet  astringent  taste,
 soluble in water  and  alcohol, and composed  of one equiv. of  nitric acid,
 54*15, and one of protoxide of lead 111*6, without water of crystallization.
 When heated the salt first melts  and is then decomposed, with the evolution
 of nitrous fumes, and a residue of metallic lead.
  The nitrate of lead is not employed as a medicine; and was  introduced
 into  the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia merely as  one of the substances employ-
 ed in the preparation of the iodide of lead.
  Off. Prep.  Plumbi Iodidum, Ed.                               W.
  PLUMBI OXYDUM HYDRATUM. Lond.  Hydrated Oxide
of Lead.
  " Take of  Solution of  Diacetate of Lead six pints; Distilled Water three
gallons; Solution of Potassa  six pints,  or as  much as  may be required to
precipitate the Oxide.   Mix  them, and wash  the  precipitate  with water
until nothing  alkaline remains."  Lond.
  In this process the potassa takes the acetic  acid of the diacetate and sepa-
rates the oxide of lead, which becomes a hydrate by uniting with a portion
 of water at the moment of separation, and, being insoluble, is precipitated
 in the form of a white powder.   It was introduced by the London College 
PART II.
Plumbum.—Potassa.
1077
 into their Pharmacopoeia as one of the substances employed in their pro-
 cess for preparing sulphate of quinia; but,  as  this process  has  not been
 practically adopted, the hydrated oxide of lead may be considered as altoge-
 ther useless  in Pharmacy.                                       wf


                             POTASSA.

                      Preparations of Potassa.

    LIQUOR POTASSAE. US, Lond.   Potass^  Aqua. Ed.  Vo-
 tassje  Caustice Aqua.  Dub.  Solution of Potassa.
    "Take of Carbonate of Potassa apound; Lime half apound;  boiling
 Distilled Water  a gallon.   Dissolve the Carbonate of Potassa in half a
 gallon of the Water.  Pour a little of the Water on the Lime, and when it
 is  slaked, add the remainder. Mix the hot liquors, and boil for ten minutes,
 stirring  constantly; then set the mixture  aside, in a covered vessel, until it
 becomes clear.  Lastly, pour off the supernatant liquor,  and keep it in well
 stopped bottles of green glass."  U. S.
    " Take of Carbonate of Potassa fifteen ounces; Lime eight ounces;
 boiling Distilled  Water a gallon [Imperial measure].   Dissolve the Car-
 bonate of Potassa in half a gallon of the Water.  Sprinkle a little  of  the
 Water upon the Lime in an earthen vessel, and, the Lime being slaked, add
 the remainder of the Water.  The liquors being immediately mixed  to-
 gether in a close vessel, shake them frequently until they are cold.  Then
 set the mixture by, that  the carbonate of lime may subside.  Lastly, pour
 off the supernatant liquor, and keep it in a well-stopped green glass bottle."
 Lond.
   " Take of Carbonate of Potash (dry) four ounces; Lime, recently burnt,
 two ounces; Water forty-five fluidounces.   Let the Lime be slaked and
 converted into milk of Lime with seven fluidounces of the Water.  Dis-
 solve the Carbonate  in  the  remaining thirty-eight fluidounces of Water;
 boil the solution, and add  to it the  milk of Lime in successive portions,
 about an eighth  at a time, boiling briskly for a few minutes after each  ad-
 dition.   Pour the whole into a deep narrow glass vessel for twenty-four
 hours; and then  withdraw with a syphon  the  clear liquid, which should
 amount to at least thirty-five fluidounces, and  ought to have a density of
 1-072."  Ed.
   " Take of Carbonate of  Potassa from Pearlash, fresh  burnt Lime, each,
 two parts; Water fifteen parts.  Sprinkle  one part of the Water, previ-
 ously heated, on  the Lime, placed in an earthen vessel;  and when it  is
 slaked, mix the salt with it immediately, and then add the remainder of the
 Water.   When the mixture has cooled, put it into  a well stopped bottle,
 and, shaking it frequently,  keep it  for three  days.   When the carbonate
 of lime has subsided, decant the supernatant liquor, and keep it in green
 glass bottles,  well stopped.   The specific gravity of this solution is 1*080."
 Dub.
  The object of these processes is to separate  carbonic acid from the carbo-
 nate of potassa, so as to obtain the alkali in a caustic state.  This is effected
 by hydrate of lime; and the chemical changes which take place are most
 intelligibly explained  by supposing  the occurrence of a double decomposi-
 tion.  The lime of the hydrate of lime, by its superior  affinity, combines
 with the carbonic acid, and  precipitates  as carbonate of lime; while the
water of  the hydrate unites  with  the potassa, and remains  in  solution  as 
1078
Potassa.
PART II.
hydrate of potassa.   The proportion indicated by theory for this decompo-
sition would be 69*27 of the  dry carbonate to 28-5 of lime, or one eq. of
each; but in practice it is found necessary to use an excess of lime.  In  the
U. S. and Edinburgh formulae the alkaline salt is treated with half its weight
of lime; in the  London, with eight-fifteenths; and in  the Dublin, with its
own weight;  proportions,  the  lowest of which exceeds the theoretical
quantity.   The disadvantages of using a large excess of lime, as is done
by the  Dublin College,  are  the  necessity of  employing larger vessels, on
account of the bulk  of the materials, and the loss of a portion of alkaline
solution which  is retained  by the spongy residuum.   The  proportion of
water  employed has  a  decided  influence on the result.   If  the water be
deficient in quantity, the decomposing power  of the lime, on account of its
sparing solubility, will  be  lessened;  and  more of it  will be required to
complete  the decomposition  of  the  carbonate,  than if the  solutions had
been more dilute.  The  quantity ordered in the U. S., London, and Edin-
burgh formulae is ample, but  it  is deficient in the Dublin process.   Thus,
taking the lime at the same quantity in each formula, the quantity of water
directed is expressed by the following numbers nearly; 59 Ed.,  58 U. S.,
52 Lond., and 22 Dub.  Straining  must not be used,  as the  operation
causes a prolonged contact with  the air, and risk  of the absorption of car-
bonic acid, and is apt, moreover, to introduce organic matter into the solution
derived from the strainer.  The direction to keep the solution in green glass
bottles is judicious;  as white flint glass is slightly  acted on.
  As the solution of potassa is frequently  made  by the manufacturing
chemist in considerable  quantities, the following  details,  taken  from Ber-
zelius, of the best mode of conducting the  process, may not be without
their use.   Dissolve one part of carbonate of potassa in from seven to
twelve parts of water, in a bright iron vessel,  and  decant the solution after
it has become clear by standing.   Boil the solution in an iron vessel, and
while it is boiling, add, at intervals, small quantities of slaked lime reduced
to a thin paste with water;  allowing the solution to boil a few minutes after
each addition.   One and a half parts of pure lime will be more than suffi-
cient to decompose one part of the carbonate.  When about half the hydrate
of lime has been added, take out about a teaspoonful of the boiling solution, and
after dilution and filtration through paper, test it by adding it to some nitric
acid, or hy mixing it with an equal bulk of lime-water.  If the solution has
not been completely freed  from  carbonic acid, the first reagent will cause
an effervescence, and the second a milky appearance; in either of  which
events  the addition of the lime must be continued as before, until the above
mentioned tests give  negative indications.   In conducting  the  process, two
advantages are gained by keeping the solution constantly boiling.   One is
that  the carbonate of lime  formed is in this way rendered  granular and
heavy, and  more disposed  to  subside; and the other, that it  prevents the
precipitated carbonate from coalescing into a mass at the bottom of the ves-
sel, an occurrence which  causes the ebullition, when subsequently renewed,
to take  place imperfectly and by jerks.  The process here described has
been adopted in the last edition of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.
  Properties, c/*c.   Solution of potassa is a limpid, colourless liquid, with-
out smell, and having an  acrid, caustic taste, and alkaline reaction.   It acts
rapidly on animal and vegetable substances, and when rubbed  between the
fingers produces a soapy feel, in consequence of a partial solution  of the
cuticle.   It  dissolves  gum,  resins, and  extractive matter, and, by union
with oily and fatty  bodies,  forms soap.  The officinal solution is never
perfectly pure, but contains  either some undecomposed carbonate, or free 
PART II.
Potassa.
1079
lime, in addition to minute portions of sulphate of potassa, chloride of po-
tassium, silica, and alumina, impurities usually present in the carbonate  of
potassa obtained  from pearlash, which is used in its preparation.  Unde-
composed carbonate may be  detected in the manner explained in the  pre-
ceding paragraph, and free lime, by the  production of a milky appearance
on the addition of a few drops of carbonate  of potassa, which serves  to
precipitate the lime as a carbonate.  When saturated with nitric acid, it
gives little or no precipitate with carbonate  of  soda, chloride of barium,  or
nitrate of silver.    It is  incompatible  with  acids, acidulous salts, and  all
metallic and earthy preparations held  in solution by an acid; as also with
all ammoniacal salts, and with calomel and  corrosive sublimate.  The offi-
cinal solutions of potassa vary  in strength; the U. S. solution having the
specific gravity of  1*056; the London, of 1*063; the Edinburgh, of 1*072;
and  the Dublin, of 1-080.  These solutions are quite dilute;  for, according
to a table given by Dalton, a solution having the sp. gr. 1*06, contains only
4*7 per cent, of alkali. On account of its strong attraction for carbonic acid,
the solution of potassa should be carefully preserved from contact with the
air.                                                               B.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Solution of potassa  is antacid, diuretic,
and  antilithic.  It has  been much employed in calculous complaints, under
the impression that it has the property of dissolving urinary concretions  in
the  kidneys  and bladder; but experience has  proved  that the  stone once
formed cannot be removed  by remedies internally administered, and the
most that the alkaline  medicines can effect, is  to correct that disposition to
the  superabundant secretion  of uric  acid,  or the insoluble urates, upon
which gravel and stone often depend.   For this purpose, however, the car-
bonated  alkalies  are preferable to caustic  potassa, as  they are less apt to
irritate the stomach, and to produce injurious effects when long continued.
It has been proposed to  dissolve calculi by injecting immediately into the
bladder the solution of potassa in a tepid state, and so much diluted that it
can  be held in  the mouth; but this  mode of employing it has not been found
to answer in practice.  This solution has also been highly recommended in
lepra, psoriasis, and other cutaneous affections; and is said to have proved
peculiarly useful in scrofula;  but in all these cases  it probably acts simply
by its antacid property, and is not superior to the carbonate of potassa or of
soda.  Externally it has been used in a diluted state as a stimulant lotion in
rachitis  and  arthritic  swellings, and  concentrated,  as  an escharotic in the
bite of rabid or venomous animals.  The dose  is from ten to  thirty minims,
repeated two  or  three times  a  day, and gradually increased in cutaneous
affections to one or two fluidrachms; but the remedy should not be too long
continued, as it is apt to debilitate the stomach.  It may be given in sweet-
ened water or some mucilaginous fluid.  Veal broth and table beer  have
been recommended as vehicles; but the fat usually present  in the former,
would be liable to convert it into soap, and  the acid in  the latter would neu-
tralize it.  In  dyspeptic cases it may be associated with the simple bitters.
In excessive doses it irritates, inflames, or corrodes the stomach.   Oils and
the  milder acids, such as vinegar and lemon-juice, are  the  antidotes to  its
poisonous action.   They operate by neutralizing the alkali.
   It is employed  pharmaceutically in the  preparation of the Precipitated
Sulphuret of  Antimony (U. S., Lond., Ed.), Tartrate of Iron and Potassa
(U. S., Lond.), Ethereal Oil(U. S., Lond.), Binoxide of Mercury  (Lond.),
Black Oxide  of Mercury (Dub.), and  Hydrated Oxide of  Lead  (Lond.).
   Off. Prep.  Potassa, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.; Potassa cum Calce, Ed.,
Dub.                                                             W- 
10S0
Potassa.
PART II.
   POTASSA. U.S., Ed. Potass^ Hydras. Lond.  Potassa Caus-
tic a. Dub.  Potassa.  Hydrate of Potassa.  Caustic Potassa.
   "Take of Solution of Potassa a gallon.  Evaporate the water  rapidly,
in a clean  iron vessel, over the fire, till ebullition  ceases, and the  Potassa
melts.  Pour this  into  suitable moulds, and keep it, when  cold,  in well-
stopped bottles."  U. S.
   The London formula is essentially the same with the above.
   " Take  any  convenient quantity  of Aqua  Potassae;  evaporate it  in  a
clean  and covered  iron vessel,  increasing gradually the heat, till  an oily-
looking fluid remains, a  drop of which, when  removed on a  rod. becomes
hard on cooling. Then  pour out the liquid upon a  bright  iron plate, and as
soon as it solidifies, break it quickly, and put it into glass bottles  secured
with glass stoppers." Ed.
   " Take of Water of  Caustic Potassa any quantity.  Evaporate it over
the fire in  a perfectly clean silver or iron vessel, until the ebullition shall
liave ceased, and the saline  matter, on increasing the heat,  shall remain
perfectly at rest in the vessel.   Pour out the liquified Potassa on a silver or
iron plate,  and,  whilst concreting, cut it into pieces of a proper size, which
are immediately to be introduced into a well-stopped bottle.  The operator
should carefully avoid the drops which  are ejected  from the vessel during
the evaporation." Dub.
   The concrete alkali,  obtained by these  processes, is the hydrate of  po-
tassa,  sufficiently pure for medical purposes.   The solution of the alkali
freed from  carbonic acid  having been  obtained by another  formula  (see
Liquor Potassae), the formation of the present preparation requires merely
the evaporation  of this solution, until  the whole of  its uncombined  water is
driven off.   The evaporation is required to be performed in metallic  vessels,
as those of glass or earthenware are acted on by the alkali; and it should be
completed as quickly as  possible, in order to abridge the period  during which
the  solution would be liable to  absorb carbonic acid from the atmosphere.
When poured out on a metallic  plate, the cake, just as it concretes,  may be
marked with a  knife in  the directions  in which  it is to be divided, and
when cold  it readily breaks in those directions.  A  better plan, however, is
to run the  fused alkali  into suitable moulds,  as directed in the U. S. and
London formula?.   These should be made of iron and have a cylindrical
shape, which is the most convenient form of the  alkali for the use of the
surgeon.  Green glass bottles with ground stoppers are the best adapted for
preserving this preparation, as white flint glass is slightly  acted on.
   Properties, 8,-c. In its officinal impure form, potassa is usually in sticks
which have a fibrous fracture, a  dingy gray or greenish colour, occasionally
a bluish tint, and the peculiar odour of slaking lime. It is extremely caustic
and very deliquescent, and dissolves in less than its weight of water.  It is
also readily soluble in alcohol.   When  exposed to  a low red heat it melts,
and at bright redness is volatilized.   On account of its deliquescent pro-
perty, and  its strong  attraction  for carbonic acid,  it requires  to be  kept in
very accurately  stopped bottles.  In the state here described,  the alkali
always contains  combined water as  a  part of its  composition.   It con-
tains also several  impurities,  which, however, do not  interfere with  its
medicinal value, such as sulphate of potassa, chloride and teroxide of po-
tassium,  sesquioxide of iron, lime, silica, alumina, and  a portion of the
alkali itself  still  in a carbonated state.   The insoluble impurities, according
to the  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, should not exceed 1-25 per cent.  It may
be freed from impurity  by digestion in  alcohol, which  takes  up only the
pure hydrated  alkali, evaporating  the alcoholic solution  to  dryness,  and 
PART II.
Potassa.
10SI
fusing the dry mass obtained.   Pure hydrate of potassa, when thus pro-
cured, is usually called alcoholic potassa.   It is generally in the form of
flat white pieces, which are dry, hard, and brittle, and extremely caustic.
Its  other properties are similar to  those of the  impure hydrate above de-
scribed.   It may be discriminated  from the other fixed alkalies (soda and
lithia) by affording, when in solution, a crystalline  precipitate (cream of
tartar) with  an excess of tartaric acid, and a yellow one with chloride of
platinum.  The officinal potassa, apart from impurities, consists of one eq.
of dry potassa 47-15, and one of water 9=56-15.  Dry potassa is formed
of one  eq. of potassium 39-15, and one  of oxygen 8=47-15.  (See Po-
tassium.)                                                        B.
  Medical Properties and Uses. This is the old causticum commune acer-
rimum, or strongest  common caustic.  It is a very  powerful escharotic,
quickly destroying the life of the part with which it comes  in contact, and
extending its  action to a considerable depth beneath the surface.  In this
latter respect, it differs from the nitrate of silver or lunar caustic, to which
it is, therefore, preferred  for the purposes of forming issues and opening
abscesses.  It has been  used  for removing stricture  of the urethra; but
in consequence of its tendency to  spread, it may, unless carefully applied,
produce such a destruction of  the lining membrane, as to open  a pas-
sage  for the urine into  the cellular tissue, and  thus involve the patient
in danger.  The most convenient mode  of employing the  caustic for the
formation of an issue, is  to apply to the skin a piece of linen spread with
adhesive plaster, having a circular opening in its centre corresponding to the
intended size of the issue, and then to rub upon the skin, within the opening,
a piece of the caustic  previously moistened at one end.  The application is
to be continued till the life of the part is destroyed, when the caustic should
be carefully washed off by a wet sponge or wet  tow, or neutralized by vine-
gar.  The preparation is also employed for forming solutions of  potassa of
definite strength, whether for medicinal or pharmaceutic use.  A solution
of one drachm and a  half of caustic potassa in two fluidounces of distilled
water,  is highly recommended  by Dr. Hartshorne, of Philadelphia, as an
application  to the spine in tetanus.  It may be applied by means of a sponge
attached to  the end of a stick,  which should be drawn quickly along the
back from the nape of the neck to the sacrum.   It produces a very power-
ful rubefacient effect.
   The U. S.  Pharmacopoeia employs caustic potassa  in the preparation of
the black oxide of mercury.
   Off.  Prep.  Potassa cum Calce.  Lond.                           W.
   POTASSA CUM  CALCE. Lond., Ed.  Potassa Caustica cum
 Calce.  Dub.  Potassa with Lime.
   "Take of Hydrate of Potassa, Lime, each, an ounce.  Rub them to-
 gether, and keep them in a well-stopped vessel." Lond.
   "Take any convenient quantity of Aqua  Potassa?;  evaporate it in  a
clean, covered iron vessel  to one-third of its volume; add slaked Lime till
the fluid  has the consistence of firm pulp.  Preserve the product  in care-
 fully covered vessels." Ed.
   " Evaporate Water of  Caustic Potassa to one-fourth; then add as much
fresh burnt  Lime,  in powder, as will form a mass of the proper consistence,
 which  is to be preserved  in a well-stopped bottle." Dub.
   The London preparation is  a  mere mixture of hydrate of potassa with
lime, both in  the dry state.   The  Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges employ
the solution of potassa, which is first concentrated, and then thickened  by the
        92 
10S2
Potassa.
PART It.
addition of lime until the mixture becomes a  pulpy mass, consisting of the
mixed hydrates of potassa and lime.
   The Edinburgh and Dublin " potassa with lime," like the officinal potassa,
is used as a caustic;  but it is more manageable than the  latter preparation,
owing to the presence of ihe lime, which renders it milder,  slower  in  its
operation, and less deliquescent, and  causes it  to spread less beyond the
part intended to be affected.  This preparation was formerly  called causti-
cum commune mitius, or milder common caustic.  The London  prepara-
tion is a powder,  sometimes called Vienna powder, and is  still slower in
producing an eschar. It is prepared for use by being made up into a paste
with a little alcohol.  The paste is applied  to the part to be cauterized for ten
or fifteen minutes, and is conveniently limited  in its operation  by a piece of
adhesive plaster, in  the manner explained under potassa.   This form of
caustic has the advantage of not spreading its operation beyond  the area
to which it is applied.                                            B.
   POTASSAE  ACETAS.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.    Acetate  of
Potassa.
   " Take of Acetic Acid a pint;  Carbonate of Potassa a sufficient quantity.
Add the  Carbonate of Potassa gradually  to the Acetic Acid  till it is satu-
rated; then filter, and evaporate  cautiously, by means of a sand-bath, until
a dry salt remains.  Keep this in closely  stopped bottles." U. S.
   " Take of Carbonate of Potassa a pound; Acetic Acid twenty-six fluid-
ounces; Distilled Water twelve fluidounces.  To the Acid, previously mixed
with the Water, add the Carbonate of Potassa  to  saturation;  then strain.
Evaporate the liquor in a sand-bath, with a heat cautiously  applied, until
the salt is dried." Lond.
   " Take of Pyroligneous  Acid a pint and a  half [Imperial measure];
Carbonate of Potash (dry)  seven ounces or a sufficiency.  Add the Carbo-
nate gradually to  the Acid till  complete neutralization is  accomplished.
Evaporate the  solution over the vapour-bath till it is so concentrated  as
to form a concrete mass when  cold.   Allow  it to cool  and  crystallize in
a solid  cake;  which  must be broken  up and immediately put into  well-
closed bottles." Ed.
   "Take of Carbonate of  Potassa from Crystals of  Tartar  any required
quantity. Pour on it, by repeated additions, Distilled Vinegar of a medium
heat, and in quantity about five  times  the weight of  the salt.  When  the
effervescence shall have ceased, and the  liquor have been evaporated  for
some time, repeat  the addition of Distilled Vinegar at intervals, until
effervescence shall have completely ceased.   Evaporate to  dryness, and,
by cautiously raising the heat liquefy the  salt.  When the salt has cooled,
dissolve it in water,  filter  the  solution, and boil  it down, until,  when re-
moved from the fire, it shall form, on  cooling, a mass of crystals, which
should be perfectly white.  Put these immediately into bottles which should
be carefully stopped." Dub.
   The process for forming acetate of  potassa is a case of single elective
affinity.  The form of acid  employed for  generating the salt is the officinal
acetic acid  in  the  U. S.  and London  Pharmacopoeias, pyroligneous acid
in the  Edinburgh, corresponding with the U.S. and London  acetic acid,
and distilled vinegar  in the Dublin. (See page 781.)  Distilled  vinegar is  not
a proper material for forming this salt,  on  account of its containing organic
matter, which  gives the solution, when concentrated, a reddish or brownish
colour.   This colouring matter is got rid of in the Dublin process by fusing
the salt, dissolving it in water, and concentrating the solution so that it may
concrete into a mass  on cooling.  When this process is followed, great care 
PART II.
Potassa.
1083
must be taken not to use too high a heat in effecting  the fusion;  otherwise
part of the acetic acid will be decomposed, and a colourless salt will not be
obtained.   In the other formulae, a pure acid being  used, it forms, when
saturated  with the carbonate of potassa,  a colourless solution.   This  is
evaporated to dryness, according to the U. S. and London Pharmacopoeias,
and to such a degree as to  concrete into a mass when  cold, according to the
Edinburgh.  The quantity of  carbonate necessary for saturation  cannot be
accurately determined  beforehand, and, therefore, it  is injudicious  in the
London College to attempt to fix  it in the formula.   A better plan  is  that
of the  U. S. formula, in which a sufficient quantity for saturation is directed
to be taken, the exact amount to be determined in the process.  The same
plan is adopted  by the Edinburgh College, with the  addition of indicating
about  the quantity required.  As  a  sufficiency  of the  carbonate  is  thus
ordered, be  it more or less, it would seem quite unnecessary for the College
to direct that it should be dry.  For drying the acetate  of potassa Dr. Christi-
son considers the heat of a  vapour-bath too low, and that of a sand-bath apt to
become too  high.  He, therefore, recommends the use, when operating on
a small scale, of a bath of chloride of calcium.  In conducting this process,
it is best to  have the solution always slightly acid; for if the alkali predomi-
nate, it will react upon the acetic acid when  the solution is concentrated,
and give  rise to discoloration.
   Acetate of potassa  may be obtained, also, by double decomposition be-
tween  acetate of lead and  sulphate of potassa.  When thus procured  it is
very white  and pure,  but liable to the objection, for medical use,  that it
may possibly contain lead.  Another  method by double  decomposition  is
between acetate of lime and sulphate of potassa; but when thus prepared the
salt is  apt to contain some  of the alkaline sulphate.
   Properties, Sfc. Acetate of potassa, when pure, is  a white salt, perfectly
neutral to test paper, unctuous to the touch, and possessing a warm, pungent,
saline taste.  When unskilfully prepared, it is apt to be  more or less coloured.
Its state of aggregation differs with the manner in which it is prepared.  As
obtained by evaporating the solution to dryness, agreeably to the directions
of the  U. S. and London Pharmacopoeias, it is  in  the form of soft fibrous
masses.   As usually prepared and found in the shops, it has a foliated tex-
ture, which is given to it by  fusion and cooling.  On account of this appear-
ance it was  formerly called foliated earth of tartar.   This salt is extremely
deliquescent, and, if exposed to  the air, becomes converted into a liquid  of
an  oleaginous  appearance.  It  is on  account of this  property that it must
alwavs be preserved in  well stopped bottles.  It dissolves in about half its
weight of water, and twice its weight of alcohol. Any thing remaining un-
dissolved  by these menstrua  is  impurity.   Heated above its point of fusion
it  is decomposed into acetone (see p. 782) and carbonate of potassa; the
acetic acid being resolved into this volatile liquid and  carbonic acid.   When
treated with sulphuric acid, acetic acid vapours are copiously evolved, and
sulphate of  potassa is formed.   The  most usual impurities contained  in it
are the sulphate and tartrate of potassa, chloride of potassium, and the salts
of lead and copper.  A soluble sulphate may be  detected by chloride  of
barium; and chloride of potassium, or any soluble chloride, by  nitrate  of
silver,  added to a dilute solution.   If tartrate of potassa be present, it will
remain undissolved when the salt is acted on by alcohol.  Lead and copper
maybe detected by sulphuretted  hydrogen and ferrocyanuret of potassium;
the former test producing with  the lead a blackish, and the latter with the
copper a brown precipitate.  Since the introduction of the cheap method of
obtaining  pure acetic acid  from wood, this salt has scarcely been  subject to
adulteration.  Acetate of potassa is incompatible with the mineral acids, 
10S4
Potassa.
PART II.
 which expel the acetic acid; with sulphate of soda and sulphate of magnesia;
 with corrosive sublimate and nitrate of silver; and with several other earthy
 and metallic salts.  This salt exists in the juices of many plants, and espe-
 cially  in  the  sap  of  trees;  and is  the souree of the earbonate of  potassa
 existing in the ashes  of wood.   It consists of one eq. of acetic acid 51-48,
 one of potassa 47*15, and two of water 18=116-63.
   Medical Properties and Uses.   Acetate of potassa acts as a diuretic in
 doses  of from a scruple to a drachm, and as a mild cathartic when given to
 the extent of  two or three drachms.  It is employed in dropsies, and often
 with good effect.  The late  Dr. Duncan considered it to be a medicine of
 great efficacy, and one of our best saline deobstruents.  We have ourselves
 used it in dropsical affections, and can bear  testimony to its powers.  The
 acetate, ready prepared, being  an expensive preparation, the salt,  equally
 efficacious,  may be made extemporaneously in the liquid form by saturating
 distilled vinegar with the carbonate of potassa.   Two drachms of  the car-
 bonate, saturated with vinegar, will sometimes produce  in hydropic cases
 ten or twelve  stools, and a copious  discharge of urine.  (Duncan.)   Acetate
 of potassa,  like the other alkaline salts containing a vegetable acid,  may be
 given  in the uric acid diathesis, to render the urine alkaline;  for the  experi-
 ments of Wbhler have shown that the acid of these salts undergoes  decom-
 position in the digestive and assimilating processes, while the alkali enters
 the current  of the circulation.  From the decided properties which  this salt
 possesses of increasing the secretion of the kidneys, it was formerly called
 sal diureticus or diuretic salt.
   Off. Prep.  Acidum Aceticum, Dub.;  Ferri  Acetatis  Tinctura, Dub.;
 Hydrargyri Acetas, Dub.; Pilulae Rhei, Ed.; Tinctura Acetatis Ferri cum
 Alcohol, Dub.; Zinci Acetatis Tinct. Dub.                          B.
   POTASSAE  CARBONAS. U.S., Lond., Ed.  Potassje Carbo-
 nas e Lixivo Cinere. Dub.  Carbonate of Potassa.  Carbonate
 of Potassa from Pearlash.
   " Take of Impure Carbonate of Potassa [pearlash] three pounds; Water
 two pints and a half.  Dissolve the Impure Carbonate  of Potassa in the
 Water, and  filter the solution;  then pour it  into a  clean iron vessel, and
 evaporate the water  over  a gentle  fire  till the  solution thickens;  lastly,
 remove it from the fire, and stir it constantly with an  iron spatula  till the
 salt granulates."  U. S.
   " Take of Impure  Carbonate of  Potassa two  pounds; Distilled Water a
pint and  a  half [Imperial measure].   Dissolve the Impure  Carbonate of
 Potassa in the Water, and strain; then pour off the  solution into a proper
 vessel, and evaporate the Water that the liquor may thicken; afterwards stir
 it constantly with  a spatula until the salt concretes.   Carbonate of  Potassa
 may be prepared  more pure from  the  crystals  of Bicarbonate of  Potassa
 heated to redness." Lond.
   " Take of Pearlash, in coarse powder, cold Water, each, one part.  Mix
 them by trituration, and  macerate for a week, in a wide vessel, with occa-
 sional  agitation.  Then filter the lixivium, and  evaporate it to dryness in a
 very clean silver or iron vessel.  Towards the end of the evaporation, stir
 the saline mass constantly with an iron spatula.   Having  in this  manner
 reduced it to a coarse powder, preserve it in close vessels.  If the Pearlash
 is not sufficiently pure, roast it in a crucible until it becomes white, before
 dissolving it in the Water." Dub.
   The Edinburgh College,  in the last  edition  of its Pharmacopoeia, has
 removed carbonate of potassa from  among the " Preparations," and placed
 it in the Materia Medica  list with  this note.   " Carbonate of potash not 
PART  II.
Potassa.
1085
 quite pure, obtained by lixiviating, evaporating, and granulating by fusion
 and refrigeration the potashes [pearlash] of commerce."
    The object of the above processes is  to purify the impure carbonate of
 potassa or pearlash.  This generally contains  certain insoluble  impurities,
 as well as small portions of sulphate and silicate of potassa, and chloride of
 potassium,  as explained under another head. (See Potassae Carbonas Im-
 purus.)  By dissolving  it in a due  proportion of water, and filtering the
 solution,  the  insoluble impurities are  got rid of, as well as the greater part
 of the foreign salts, which being much less soluble  than the carbonate of
 potassa, are excluded by the superior affinity of this salt for the water.  The
 proper way of conducting the  purification is to mix  the  impure carbonate
 with an equal weight of cold water, and to allow the  mixture to stand for a
 day or two, stirring it frequently to promote  the action of the  water.   The
 clear liquor, obtained by decantation or filtration, is then evaporated to dry-
 ness.   The different officinal  processes are conducted very much  in this
 way; cold water being employed,  and equal weights of alkali and water
 being used  in the Dublin formula, and about  equal weights in the processes
 of the U. S.  and  London Pharmacopoeias.   The prolonged contact of the
 water with the salt, and the occasional  stirring of the mixture, ordered by
 the Dublin  College, are useful directions. In no case should the undissolved
 residue be washed with a fresh portion of water, as, by such a proceeding,
 the foreign salts, which it is the object of the process to separate, would be
 dissolved.  Iron or silver vessels are  directed, because these metals are not
 acted on  by the alkali, while  glass is attacked by it.  In granulating the salt
 by stirring, it is  better to keep it on  the fire until the process is finished
 than  to remove it  the moment it thickens.
   According  to Berzelius, a more productive process for purifying pearlash,
 though the  salt is not so  pure as when obtained in  the way just described,
 is to dissolve  the impure salt  in more  than its weight of water, to evaporate
 the solution till it has the density of 1-52, and then to  put it in  a cool place,
 that the foreign salts, principally sulphate of potassa and chloride of potas-
 sium, may crystallize.   The  solution is  then decanted, and evaporated to
 dryness.
   Properties, cy-c.  Carbonate of potassa, as found in the shops, is in the
 form of a coarse granular white powder, having a nauseous, alkaline taste,
 and acting  as an alkali on vegetable colours.   It is very  soluble in water,
 dissolving in its weight of that liquid;  but  is  insoluble in alcohol.  It is
 extremely deliquescent, and hence  a  portion of it, exposed to the air  for
 some time,  attracts  so much water as completely to  dissolve  into an  oily
 liquid, called  by the  older chemists, oleum tartari  per  deliquium.  On
 account of  this property, carbonate of potassa should be kept  in bottles
 with  accurately ground stoppers.   If exposed, in its usual state, to a red
 heat,  it retains its carbonic acid, but loses about sixteen per cent, of water.
 When pure it is completely soluble in water; but, generally, a small inso-
 luble  portion  is left of earthy matter.  An  aqueous  solution, when satu-
 rated  with an  acid, slowly deposits a slightly gelatinous precipitate, derived
 from silica.   The usual impurities are earthy matter, sulphate of potassa,
 chloride of potassium, and silica in the state, probably, of silicate of
 potassa.   When  dissolved  in water and  supersaturated with nitric acid, it
 affords a faint cloudiness  with chloride of barium, and a slight precipitate
 with nitrate  of silver; effects  showing the presence of minute portions of
 a sulphate and of a chloride.   If the indications of  these tests are more
 decided, the salt is below the officinal  standard of purity.   It is incompati-
ble with acids  and  acidulous  salts, muriate  and acetate of ammonia, lime-
                                   92* 
1086
Potassa.
PART II.
water,  chloride of  calcium, sulphate of  magnesia,  alum, tartar emetic,
nitrate  of silver, ammoniated copper and ammoniated iron, sulphate of
iron  and tincture of chloride  of iron, calomel  and  corrosive sublimate,
acetate and subacetate of lead,  and sulphate of zinc.   It is not decomposed
by tartrate of iron and potassa, and, therefore, may be associated with it in
prescriptions.
  Composition.   Carbonate of potassa, after exposure to a red heat, is  an
anhydrous salt, consisting of one eq. of  carbonic acid 22*12, and one of
potassa 47*15 = 69-27.   As obtained by the officinal formulae, it is, accord-
ing to  Mr. Phillips, a sesquihydrate, consisting  of two  eqs. of carbonate,
and three of water.                                               B.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Purified pearlash  is the form of carbo-
nate of potassa usually employed in this  country, where  it  is frequently,
though incorrectly, called salt of tartar,  the latter name being strictly ap-
plicable  to the purer carbonate, obtained  by decomposing  cream of tartar.
It is occasionally used as an antacid  in dyspepsia, as a diuretic in dropsy,
and as an antilithic in gravel  attended with red deposits  from the urine;
but the purpose to which  it is most commonly applied is the formation of
the neutral mixture  and effervescing  draught.  (See Liquor  Potassae
Citratis.)  It is worthy of observation,  that its solution, on exposure to
the air, or on the addition  of an acid, deposits flocculi consisting of hydrate
of silica, resulting  from the decomposition of the silicated potassa, which
is always present as an impurity.  The spontaneous deposition of silica is
owing  to the  absorption of carbonic acid.  Carbonate of potassa is  also
used with much advantage in  some cases  of jaundice, in which it probably
operates  by entering the circulation and directly exciting the hepatic func-
tion.   It has enjoyed some popular reputation  mixed  with cochineal in
hooping-cough, and is supposed by some, in  common  with  other alkaline
remedies, to operate favourably in those  inflammations in which there is a
disposition to the exudation of coagulable lymph, or the formation of false
membranes.  The dose is from ten to thirty grains, given in some aromatic
water sweetened with sugar.   In large quantities it acts as a  corrosive poi-
son, and is capable  of producing death in a few hours.   The antidotes are
the fixed oils and vegetable acids.
  Carbonate of Potassa is used in the formulae for Sulphuric  Ether (Lond.,
Dub.), Spirit of Ammonia (Lond.), Aromatic Spirit  of Ammonia (U.S.,
Lond.),  and Fetid  Spirit of Ammonia (Lond.).
   Off. Prep. Decoctum Aloes Compositum, Lond., Ed.; Enema Aloes,
Lond.; Liquor Potassae,  U. S., Lond.,  Ed.; Liquor  Potassae Arsenitis,
Lond., Ed.; Liquor  Potassae Carbonatis, U. S., Lond.;  Liquor  Potassae
Citratis,  U. S.;  Magnesiae Carbonas,  Dub.;  Mistura  Ferri  Composita,
U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Potassae Acetas,  U. S., Lond.,  Ed.;  Potassa?
Bicarbonas, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Potassae Bisulphas, Dub.;  Potassae
Sulphas, Dub.;  Potassae Tartras, U. S.,  Lond.,  Ed., Dub.;  Potassii Bro-
midum, Lond.; Potassii Iodidum, U. S., Lond., Ed.; Potassii Sulphuretum,
U. S.,  Lond., Ed., Dub.                                         W.

   POTASSAE CARBONAS PURUS. U.S.  Potass* Carbonas
Purum. Ed.  Potass*  Carbonas e Tartari Crystallis.  Dub.
Pure  Carbonate  of Potassa.   Carbonate of Potassa from Crys-
tals of Tartar.  Salt of Tartar.
   " Take of Bitartrate of Potassa [cream of tartar] two pounds; Nitrate
of Potassa a pound.  Rub them  separately into powder;  then  mix and
throw  them into a brass  vessel heated nearly  to redness, that they may 
PART II.
Potassa.
1087
undergo  combustion.  From  the  residue prepare the  Pure Carbonate  of
Potassa, in the manner directed for the Carbonate."  U. S.
  " Pure  Carbonate  of Potash may be most  readily obtained by heating
crystallized Bicarbonate  of  Potash  to redness  in  a  crucible, but  more
cheaply by dissolving Bitartrate of Potash in thirty parts of boiling Water,
separating and washing the crystals which form on cooling, heating these in
a loosely covered crucible  to redness so long as fumes are discharged, break-
ing dpwn the mass, and roasting it in an open crucible for two hours, with
occasional stirring, lixiviating  the product with Distilled Water, filtering
the solution thus obtained, evaporating  the solution to dryness, granulating
the salt towards the close by brisk agitation, and heating the granular salt
nearly to  redness.  The  product  of either process must be kept in well-
closed vessels."  Ed.
   " Take of Crystals of  Tartar any quantity.  Heat them to redness in a
silver crucible, loosely covered, until they cease to emit vapours.   Reduce
the residue to a coarse powder, and  roast it for two hours in the same cru-
cible, without  a cover, stirring it frequently;  then  boil it with twice  its
weight of water for a quarter of  an hour, and, after the  requisite subsid-
ence, pour off  the clear liquor. Repeat this three times.   Filter the mixed
solutions, and  evaporate  them in a silver vessel.  Granulate the residual
salt by frequently stirring it while it is becoming dry, and then heat it to
dull redness.   Before it is perfectly cold, take  it out of the vessel, and pre-
serve it in well-stopped bottles."  Dub.
   The product of the above  processes is a carbonate of potassa, purer than
that described under the  preceding head.  In  the U. S. formula  the salts
employed undergo decomposition  by the deflagration to which they are sub-
jected:  the tartaric and nitric  acids are totally decomposed, and sufficient
carbonic  acid is formed, as one of the  products of their decomposition, to
saturate the common base of the  two salts, and thus to generate  carbonate
of potassa.  The alkali,  however,  is mixed with  a portion  of redundant
charcoal, which gives to  it a black  colour; and from its colour and use in
this state it was formerly  called black flux.  It is  freed from  carbonaceous
matter by solution in water,  filtration, evaporation, and granulation.
   The Dublin College forms this carbonate  by incinerating the  bitartrate
without nitre; and this forms the second process of the Edinburgh Pharma-
copoeia.    The tartaric acid,  which consists of hydrogen, carbon,  and oxy-
gen, is decomposed,  and  gives rise, among other products, to carbonic acid,
which  combines  with the potassa.  The  matter, after ignition,  contains,
besides carbonate  of potassa, certain  impurities  derived  from those pre-
existing in the bitartrate.  These are  carbonate of  lime, arising from the
decomposition of tartrate of lime, alumina, silica, and minute portions of
the oxides of iron and manganese; and, being all insoluble  in water, are left
behind when  the mass is acted  on by that liquid,  the alkaline carbonate
 alone  being taken up.
   The London College does not recognise a separate preparation under the
title of " pure carbonate  of  potassa," but, to the formula for preparing the
ordinary  carbonate,  subjoins  directions for obtaining the pure carbonate
by igniting the bicarbonate.  (See  preceding article.)  When thus prepared,
the second equivalent of  carbonic acid, and the water of  crystallization of
 the bicarbonate are expelled, and  nothing remains but the carbonate in a
very pure state.  This is a ready  and eligible mode of obtaining a pure  car-
bonate of potassa, and forms the first process given in the Edinburgh Phar-
macopoeia.
   Properties, fyc.  Pure carbonate of  potassa, obtained from cream of tar-
tar or from the bicarbonate, differs from the same salt procured from pearl- 
1088
Potassa.
PART II.
 ash, only in containing fewer impurities.  It was  formerly called salt of
 tartar, in allusion to its source; but at present this name is familiarly applied
 to any pure carbonate of potassa, without reference to its mode of prepara-
 tion.  It may, indeed, be very much doubted whether the real salt of tartar
 is often kept in our shops;  the ordinary carbonate as purified from pearlash
 being generally substituted for it, and  answering every medicinal purpose
 that could be expected from the use of the purer salt.
   Medical Properties and Uses. These are precisely the same with those
 of the carbonate  of potassa described in the preceding article.   The pure
 carbonate furnishes the best material for forming the solution of citrate of
 potassa,  or neutral mixture.
   Off. Prep. Liquor Potassae Arsenitis, U. S., Dub.; Potassae Acetas, Dub.;
 Potassae Carbonatis Aqua,  Dub.                                   B.
   LIQUOR POTASSAE  CARBONATIS. U. S, Lond.  Potass*
 Carbonatis Aqua. Dub.  Solution of Carbonate of Potassa.
   " Take of Carbonate of Potassa a pound; Distilled Water, twelve fluid-
 ounces.   Dissolve the Carbonate of Potassa  in  the Water, and filter  the
 solution." U.S.
   " Take of Carbonate of  Potassa twenty ounces;  Distilled Water apint
 [Imperial measure].   Dissolve the Carbonate of Potassa in the Water, and
 strain."  Lond.
   " Take of Carbonate of  Potassa from  Crystals of Tartar one part; Dis-
 tilled Water two parts.  Dissolve and  filter.   The  specific gravity of this
 solution  is 1-320."  Dub.
   This is simply a solution of carbonate of potassa  in water, and furnishes
 a convenient form for the administration of the salt.   An ounce is dissolved
 in a fluidounce of water in  the U. S.  formula, and  in an Imperial fluidounce
 in the London.   This will  be understood, when the fact is adverted to that
 the London pint  contains twenty Imperial fluidounces.   The London solu-
 tion is somewhat  stronger than that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia; because the
 Imperial fluidounce weighs a  little less than a fluidounce,  wine measure.
 Thus  the sp. gr.  of the London solution, is 1-473;  of the  U. S. solution,
 1*446.  The Dublin process differs in using the pure form of the carbonate
 and in furnishing a solution considerably weaker.  This solution should be
 colourless and inodorous, and  possess the general alkaline qualities of the
 salt from which it is formed.   The dose of the U.  S. or London solution
 is from ten minims to a fluidrachm, sufficiently diluted with  water or other
 bland liquid.
   Off. Prep. Potassae Hydriodas, Dub.                           B.
  POTASSAE  BICARBONAS.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Bicar-
 bonate of Potassa.
  " Take of Carbonate of Votassa four pounds; Distilled Water ten pints.
 Dissolve  the Carbonate of  Potassa in the Water,  and pass Carbonic  Acid
 through the  solution till it is fully saturated.  Then filter, and evaporate the
 filtered liquor that crystals may form, taking  care  that the heat does not
 exceed 160°.  Pour off the supernatant  liquid, and dry the crystals upon
 bibulous  paper.   Carbonic  Acid is obtained from Marble by the addition of
 dilute Sulphuric Acid." U. S.
  "Take of Carbonate of  Potassa six pounds; Distilled Water a gallon
 [Imperial measure].  Dissolve the  Carbonate  of Potassa in  the Water;
afterwards pass Carbonic Acid through  the solution to saturation.  Apply a
gentle  heat, so that whatever crystals have been formed may be again dis-
solved.  Then set aside the solution, that crystals  may be  again formed;
and,  having  poured off the liquor, dry them.   Carbonic Acid is very easily 
part ii.
Potassa.
10S9
 obtained from Chalk, rubbed to powder, and mixed with water to the con-
 sistence of a syrup, upon which Sulphuric Acid  is then poured, diluted
 with an equal weight of water."  Lond.
   " Take of Carbonate of Potassa from Pearlash, one part; Distilled Water
 two parts.   Dissolve, and expose the solution, in a suitable apparatus, to a
 current of  Carbonic Acid gas,  evolved from White  Marble by the action of
 dilute  Muriatic Acid, until the liquid becomes turbid.  Then filter it, and
 again expose it to the stream of Carbonic Acid gas, until the alkali is satu-
 rated.   Lastly, put  the solution  in  a  cool  place, that crystals may form,
 which are  to be dried without heat, and kept in a well-stopped bottle." Dub.
   " Take  of Carbonate  of  Potash six  ounces;  Carbonate  of  Ammonia
 three ounces and a  half.   Triturate the  Carbonate of Ammonia to  a very
 fine powder; mix with it the Carbonate of Potash; triturate them thoroughly
 together, adding by degrees  a very little water, till a smooth  and uniform
 pulp be formed.   Dry this gradually at a temperature  not exceeding 140°,
 triturating  occasionally towards the  close; and continue the desiccation till
 a fine powder be obtained, entirely free of ammoniacal odour." Ed.
   In these  processes, the  monoearbonate of potassa, consisting of one  eq.
 of  acid and one of base,  is combined with  an additional equivalent of car-
 bonic aeid.  In  the  U. S., London,  and Dublin processes the combination
 is effected  by passing a stream of this acid through a solution of the car-
 bonate, so  long  as it is absorbed.   The solution employed is directed of
 different strengths.  In the U. S. formula, the distilled water taken is about
 three times the  weight of the  carbonate; in the London  and Dublin pro-
 cesses, it is twice  the weight of the  latter.  As the bicarbonate of potassa
 requires four times its weight of  water to dissolve it, the quantity of water
 ordered in  these processes would seem not to be sufficient to dissolve  the
 new salt; unless it be assumed  that the  solution becomes heated  in conse-
 quence of  the reaction.  The non-solution of the whole of  the new salt is
 not material, in case filtration  is not practised, which would remove part of
 the bicarbonate with the impurities.  The London  College omits filtration,
 applies a gentle heat to dissolve any crystals which may have formed, and
 allows them to form again more perfectly by the slow cooling of the solu-
 tion.   In conducting the  process filtration  is not necessary, provided  the
 carbonate  of potassa employed is perfectly pure; but  the  Pharmacopoeias
 order the carbonate, as procured  from  pearlash, and when thus obtained it
 always contains silica.  As, during the progress of  the saturation, the silica
 is deposited, this should be got rid of by straining, conducted in such a way
 as to avoid  the removal of a part of the  bicarbonate.  These two objects
 might, probably, be  effected by heating the solution before filtration,  taking
 care that the temperature does not exceed 160°.   A heat  thus  regulated
 would  keep the  bicarbonate in solution, without risk of its decomposition.
 In the U.S. process  filtration is performed after the  saturation is completed;
 in the Dublin, so soon as the  solution  becomes turbid by the liberation of
 silica.   If  it be  questionable whether the proportion of water used  in  the
 U. S. formula is sufficient, the lesser quantity ordered by the Dublin Col-
 lege must be quite inadequate to hold in solution the generated salt.   On a
 small scale this process is best performed in a Wolfe's apparatus of three
 bottles;  the first  containing water, to wash the carbonic acid gas, the two
 other solutions of the carbonate. The bottles should be connected  by  means
 of wide tubes, to prevent their  being  obstructed by the  crystals formed.
 On a large  scale, the saturation is performed in  strong vessels, into  which
the carbonic acid is driven under pressure.   Sulphuric  acid is always used
by  the  manufacturing chemist for generating  the  carbonic acid; but  for 
1090
Potassa.
PART II.
small operations,  muriatic acid, diluted with twice its  bulk of water, is
more convenient; inasmuch as it generates with the marble or chalk a soluble
salt (chloride of calcium), which does not interfere with the extrication of the
carbonic acid as the insoluble sulphate of lime does.
  The  formula of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia is one newly introduced
into  that work, in place of the  process  by means of a stream of carbonic
acid, formerly adopted. In this process  carbonate of ammonia, in very fine
powder, is thoroughly incorporated with carbonate of potassa, by the assist-
ance of a little water, so  as  to  form  a uniform  pulp,  which is  dried by a
gentle heat.   By the  combined  influence of the volatility of the ammonia,
and  the affinity of the carbonate of potassa for carbonic acid, the carbonate
of ammonia  is totally decomposed; its carbonic  acid generating the bicar-
bonate with the potassa, and  its  ammonia being evolved during the drying
of the pulp,  which is thus reduced to the state of  a  fine powder.  This
process is alleged by Dr. Christison  to  be superior to the other process,
"in  point of economy, despatch, and certainty in small operations."1
  Mr.  Brande reports the following proportions as suitable for the prepara-
tion  of bicarbonate of potassa on the large scale:  "100 lbs. of purified car-
bonate of potassa  are dissolved  in  17 gallons of  water, which, when satu-
rated with carbonic acid, yield from 35 to 40 lbs. of crystallized bicarbonate;
50 lbs. of carbonate of potassa are then  added to the mother liquor, with a
sufficient quantity of  water to make  up 17 gallons, and the  operation re-
peated."
  It is  stated on the authority of Wohler, that charcoal, when mixed with
the carbonate, facilitates, by its  porosity, in a  remarkable degree, the for-
mation  of the bicarbonate.   Thus  he found that when crude  tartar  was
charred in a covered crucible, and the carbonaceous mass, after having been
slightly moistened with water, was subjected to a stream of carbonic acid,
the gas  was absorbed with great rapidity, and heated the mass so consider-
ably, as to render  it necessary to surround the vessel with cold water, to
prevent the  decomposition of the bicarbonate that had been formed.  When
the   temperature diminished, the saturation was  known to  be  completed.
The mass was lixiviated in the  smallest quantity of water, at the tempera-
ture  of from 85° to 100°,  and the solution, after  filtration  and cooling, de-
posited  the greater part of the bicarbonate in fine crystals. (Am. Journ. of
Pharm. x. 82, from the Annalen der Physik und Chemie.)
  According to Berzelius, the cheapest method of obtaining the bicarbonate
of potassa is to suspend a concentrated solution of the purified  carbonate,
contained in a stoneware dish, within  a cask over a liquid undergoing  the
vinous fermentation.  The alkali is thus surrounded  by an atmosphere of
carbonic acid,  and, by absorbing  it,  crystallizes into bicarbonate in  the
course of five or six weeks.   Distillers and brewers particularly are enabled
with great facility to  prepare this salt by suspending the alkaline  solution
in the fermenting  tun.  The salt in powder called sal a'eratus, which is
made principally in the New England States,  is, we  believe, prepared in
this way.   It is, however, not a perfect bicarbonate.
  Properties, «y-c. Bicarbonate of potassa is in transparent, colourless, in-
odorous crystals, slightly alkaline to the  taste and to test paper, permanent
in the air, and having the shape of irregular eight-sided prisms with two-
sided summits.  It dissolves  in four times its weight of cold water, and in
five-sixths  of its weight of boiling water, by which it is  partially decom-
posed, and converted  into sesquicarbonate.  It is insoluble in alcohol.  Ex-
posed to a low red heat, it loses 30-7 per cent., comprising half its carbonic
acid  and the whole of  its water of crystallization, and returns to the  state 
PART II.
Potassa.
1091
of carbonate, which, when thus obtained, is free from silica, and otherwise
very pure.   This method is now adopted by the London College  for ob-
taining the  pure carbonate.   Supersaturated with nitric acid, it should give
a clear solution,  the transparency of which is not disturbed by chloride of
barium, nitrate of silver, or carbonate of soda.  When a perfect bicarbonate,
its solution, unless  heated, does not precipitate  a solution of sulphate of
magnesia.   This negative indication, however, cannot be depended upon
as showing the absence of carbonate;  for, according to Dr. Christison, no
precipitate  will be occasioned, even when fifty per cent, of this impurity is
present.  Calomel is not decomposed by it, and,  when dissolved in 40
parts of water, it produces a white  haze merely with a solution of corrosive
sublimate,  instead of the brick-red one caused  by the carbonate.  (Ed.
Pharm.)  Bicarbonate of potassa  consists of two  eqs.  of carbonic  acid
44-24, one  of potassa 47-15, and one of water 9 = 100-39.
   Medical  Properties.  The medicinal  properties of this  salt are the same
as those of the carbonate, to which it is preferable on account of its milder
taste, and greater acceptability to the stomach.   The dose  is from twenty
grains to a  drachm.
   Off. Prep. Liquor Potassae  Effervescens, Lond., Ed.; Pulveres Effer-
vescentes, Ed.                                                  B.
   LIQUOR POTASSAE  EFFERVESCENS. Lond.    Potass*
Aqua Effervescens.  Ed.   Effervescing Solution of Potassa.
   " Take  of Bicarbonate of Potassa  a drachm; Distilled Water a pint
[Imperial measure].  Dissolve the Bicarbonate  of  Potassa in the Water;
and pass into it Carbonic Acid,  compressed by force,  more than is suffi-
cient for saturation.  Keep the solution in a well-stopped vessel." Lond.
   The Edinburgh formula is the same  as the above.
   This preparation may be considered as the bicarbonate of potassa  dis-
solved in carbonic  acid water.  It is,  however, altogether superfluous in
this country, in consequence of the general introduction  into the shops of
carbonic acid water (artificial Seltzer  water), which may  be readily em-
ployed for  dissolving  any desired  proportion of the bicarbonate, with the
result of forming a much brisker preparation.  This solution has the gene-
ral sparkling qualities and acidulous taste of carbonic acid water; the alkaline
taste being covered in a great measure  by the large excess of carbonic acid.
The after-taste is more purely saline  than  that of the corresponding prepa-
ration made with soda.  (See Liquor  Sodas Effervescens.)           B.
   LIQUOR POTASSAE  CITRATIS. U. S.   Solution of Citrate of
Potassa.   Neutral Mixture.
   " Take of fresh Lemon-juice half a  pint;  Carbonate of Potassa a suffi-
cient quantity.  Add the Carbonate of Potassa gradually to the Lemon-juice
till it is perfectly saturated; then filter.  Or,
   " Take of Citric Acid half an ounce; Oil of Lemons two minims; Water
half apint; Carbonate of Potassa a sufficient quantity.  Rub  the Ci4ric
Acid with the Oil of Lemons, and  afterwards with  the Water till it is dis-
solved;  then add the Carbonate of Potassa gradually  till the Acid is per-
fectly saturated;  lastly, filter." U. S.
   These are equivalent preparations; the solution of citric acid flavoured
with oil of  lemons being intended as a  substitute  for fresh lemon-juice when
this cannot be had.   In both, the potassa of the  carbonate unites  with the
citric acid,  and the carbonic acid is liberated.  A portion of the latter re-
mains in the solution, and a portion escapes with effervescence. The result,
therefore, is a solution of citrate  of potassa in water impregnated with car- 
1092
Potassa.
PART II.
bonic acid.   When lemon-juice  is employed, the solution  has a greenish
colour; but prepared with the pure acid it is colourless.  A flocculent pre-
cipitate is, in either case, apt to  exhibit itself in  small quantity, owing to
the silicate of potassa generally present as an impurity in  the carbonate of
potassa.  This gives up its base to the citric  acid, and the silica is depo-
sited in the state of a hydrate. It is to separate this impurity that the solution
is directed to be filtered.  About 33 grains of pure and perfectly dry carbonate
of potassa, or 45 grains of the hydrated salt found  in the shops, are sufficient
to saturate a  fluidounce of good lemon-juice; but  the  strength of the juice
is variable, and the carbonate is apt to absorb moisture from the air,  so that
precision as to quantities cannot be readily attained.   Hence the propriety
of the direction to add the alkaline carbonate to saturation.   The point of
saturation may be determined by the cessation of effervescence, the absence
of either an acid or alkaline  taste, and still more  accurately by the  test of
litmus paper, which should not be rendered bright red by the solution, nor
restored to its blue colour if previously reddened by an acid.
   The  bicarbonate of potassa has been sometimes employed instead of the
carbonate to  saturate the acid.  It is recommended  by its greater purity; and,
as it contains no silicate  of potassa, it  produces no precipitate of hydrate of
silica.   But as the carbonate is less expensive, and the  impurities which it
contains are not such as affect its medicinal efficacy, it has been preferred
in the arrangement of the officinal  formula.  About one-third  more of the
bicarbonate is required than of the dry carbonate to saturate the acid.
   The  inequality of strength in the lemon-juice renders the neutral mixture
more  or less uncertain;  though, if the apothecary select ripe and  sound
fruit, and express the juice himself, the preparation will be found to approach
sufficiently near a  uniform standard for all practical purposes. Nevertheless,
if the physician wish absolute precision, be may order the  neutral mixture
to be made with crystallized citric acid as  directed in the  second officinal
formula; or he may pursue the following plan suggested in former editions
of this work.  Dissolve two drachms of bicarbonate  of potassa  in two
fluidounces of water; saturate the solution with good fresh lemon-juice,  and
strain; and lastly add enough water to make the mixture measure six fluid-
ounces. A fluidounce of  this solution,  containing the alkali in twenty grains
of the bicarbonate, may  be given  for a dose.
   Effervescing Draught. Under this name, the citrate of potassa is often pre-
pared extemporaneously, and given in the state of  effervescence.  The most
convenient mode of exhibition, is to add to a fluidounce of a mixture consist-
ing of equal  parts of lemon-juice and  water, half a fluidounce of a solution
containing fifteen grains  of carbonate  of potassa, or twenty grains  of the
bicarbonate.   Should effervescence not occur, as sometimes hnppens, when
the carbonate is used, in  consequence  of the weakness of the  lemon-juice,
more of the  juice should be  added; as, unless sufficient aeid is present to
neutralize the potassa,  part of the  carbonate passes into the  state  of
bicarbonate,  and  the  gas  is thus  prevented  from  escaping.   A solution
of citric  acid of  the  strength  of that directed  in  the officinal formula
may be substituted  for  lemon-juice,  if this  is not to  be  had.   The fif-
teen grains of carbonate  of potassa above  mentioned are scarcely  sufficient
to saturate the lemon-juice, if of ordinary strength; but  a little excess of the
acid renders  the preparation  more agreeable to the taste.  Some prefer the
bicarbonate in the preparation  of the  effervescing draught,  because it will
always  effervesce with lemon-juice, no matter what may be  the strength of
the latter.  But this is an objection. The  carbonate serves, by the absence
of effervescence, to indicate when the lemon-juice  is very weak in acid; and 
PART II.
Potassa.
1093
the defect may then be easily remedied by the addition of more juice. When
the bicarbonate is used, if there should be a deficiency of acid, it is not dis-
covered;  and  the patient takes  a considerable portion of undecomposed
bicarbonate, instead of the full quantity of citrate intended.
   The citrate of potassa in substance has within  a few years been intro-
duced into notice, and is  now kept in many shops.   It  is  very readily
obtained  by evaporating  to  dryness  a solution of citric acid saturated by
carbonate of potassa.  It is a deliquescent and  very soluble salt, of difficult
crystallization.  Its solution in water was proposed by Mr. Scattergood as
a substitute for  the neutral mixture, which is liable to the disadvantage,
when prepared with lemon-juice, of being of uncertain strength.  According
to Mr. Scattergood, fifty  grains of it equal the amount of the salt contained
in a fluidounce of ordinary lemon-juice  saturated  with potassa.  (Journ. of
the Phil. Col. of Pharm. v. 16.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.   The solution  of citrate of potassa has
long been  used under the  name  of  neutral mixture,  saline mixture, or
effervescing  draught.  It is an  excellent refrigerant diaphoretic, adapted
to almost all  cases of  fever with  a hot dry skin, and especially to the pa-
roxysms of our remittent and intermittent fevers.  The effervescing draught
is peculiarly useful.   The carbonic  acid serves to cover  the taste of the
citrate of potassa, and adds to the diaphoretic powers  of  the salt, its own
cordial influence over the  stomach.  No preparation with  which we are
acquainted is equally efficacious in allaying  irritability of stomach, and
producing  diaphoresis,  in  our remittent fevers.  It is  usually also very
grateful to  the stomach.  In order to increase the sedative and diaphoretic
properties of the neutral  mixture, it is customary to add to it a portion of
tartar emetic;  and a little sweet spirit of nitre will  be  found an excellent
adjuvant in fevers with nervous disturbance.  Should the solution irritate
the bowels, as occasionally happens, it may be combined with a little laud-
anum or solution of sulphate of morphia.  Sugar may be  added if desired
by the patient.
   The dose of the officinal solution is a tablespoonful or half a fluidounce,
which should be somewhat diluted when taken.  The whole of each effer-
vescing  draught, prepared  as above  stated, is to be taken at once.  The
solid citrate may be given in the  quantity of twenty-five grains, dissolved in
a  fluidounce of  water.  Each dose should be repeated every hour, two, or
three hours, according to the urgency of the symptoms.             W.
   POTASSAE NITRAS PURIFICATUM. Dub.   Purified Ni-
trate of Potassa.
   " Take of Nitrate of Potassa one part.   Dissolve it in two parts of boil-
ing Water, filter the solution, and set it aside, so  that,  on cooling, crystals
may form." Dub.
   The purified  nitre of commerce is sufficiently pure for medicinal use; so
that this  formula of the Dublin College is entirely unnecessary.  The pro-
perties of nitre,  and the manner in which it is  purified, have been fully ex-
plained under another head. (See Potassae Nitras.)
   Off. Prep.  Aether Nitrosus,  Dub.                              B.
   POTASSAE  SULPHAS  CUM  SULPHURE. Ed.   Sulphate
of Potassa with Sulphur.
   "Take  of Nitrate  of Potash and  Sulphur equal parts.  Mix them
thoroughly; throw the mixture in small successive portions into  a red-hot
crucible; and  when the deflagration is over, and the salt has cooled, reduce
it  to powder, and preserve it in well closed bottles." Ed.
       93 
1094
Potassa.
PART II.
  When the  mixture,  indicated in this formula, is  thrown into a red-hot
crucible, each successive portion melts, and the sulphur floats on the sur-
face  of the nitre  with  the appearance  of a brown  oil, burns vividly, and
gives rise to a copious evolution of sulphurous acid gas.  The product of
the deflagration is a grayish-white friable mass, intermixed apparently with
undecomposed sulphur.
  The nature of  this preparation  has not been well determined.   On  the
supposition that it is the sulphate of potassa, mixed with a portion of sul-
phur, as  the Edinburgh name implies, its formation  may be thus explained.
By the combined influence  of  the sulphur and of the heat employed, the
nitric acid of the  nitre is totally decomposed, and is  thus enabled to furnish
sufficient oxygen to convert a  portion of the  sulphur into sulphuric acid,
which, as soon as formed, combines  with the base of  the nitre,  to form the
sulphate  of potassa.   This is left mixed with a portion of sulphur, which
has escaped  combustion;  but the greater part of the latter undergoes ordi-
nary combustion, and is dissipated as sulphurous acid  fumes.
  Supposing the  saline matter to  be  a  sulphate containing a little free sul-
phur, this combustible is  evidently used in great  excess;  but whether this
excess is necessary to obtain the exact preparation desired by the Edinburgh
College,  it is not  easy to determine.  The late Dr. Duncan ascertained that
the product amounted only to four-tenths of the materials employed.  It is,
therefore, smaller than it ought  to be, even supposing that the residue con-
sisted of nothing but sulphate of potassa.
  Dr. Duncan was of opinion that the preparation under consideration can-
not be viewed as  a sulphuretted sulphate, and for the following satisfactory
reasons.   In  the  first place, it  is  more  soluble in water than sulphate  of
potassa,  and forms a yellowish solution, the water leaving undissolved only
a small residue of a black colour, which is not sulphur.  In  the second place,
it exhales during  solution  a  sulphurous  smell, and its  taste is sulphurous.
These facts seem to show that a small portion of sulphite of potassa is pre-
sent  in the preparation, or at least some sulphurous  acid in a state of loose
combination.   It  does  not yield sulphuretted hydrogen on the  addition of
an acid, and is not precipitated  by tbe salts of  lead.    These  characters are
inconsistent  with the opinion of Mr.  John Mackay, of Edinburgh, who
believes  that  this preparation contains sulphuret  of potassium.   (See  his
remarks  on it, in  the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for  Jan. 1842.)
  Properties, fyc. This salt has an  acid and sulphurous taste, and an acid
reaction  with test paper.   When pulverized, it  yields a pale yellowish-
white powder.  It is soluble in eight times its weight  of cold water.  It is,
however, not  a uniform preparation; different specimens, apparently pre-
pared with equal care, exhibiting  some points of difference in properties.
It was called by the earlier chemists, sal polychrestus Glaseri or sal poly-
chrest.   Its  other properties coincide  generally with those  of sulphate of
potassa,  which may be considered as its basis.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.   The medical effects of this  preparation
differ but little, if at all, from those  of sulphate of  potassa.   Its action on
the system is stated by Dr. Duncan  to resemble  that of the  sulphurous
mineral waters which contain a portion of neutral salt.  The dose is from
half a draehm to a drachm.                                        B.

  POTASSAE  BISULPIIAS. Lond., Ed.,  Dub.   Bisulphate of
Potassa.
  "  Take of the Salt which  remains  after the distillation of Nitric Acid two
pounds; Sulphuric Acid apound; boiling Water six pints [Imperial mea- 
PART II.
Potassa.
1095
sure].  Dissolve the Salt in the Water, and add  the Acid to it, and mix.
Lastly, boil down  the solution, and set it aside that crystals may form."
Lond.
   The Edinburgh formula is the same with the London, the sulphuric acid
being merely taken by measure,  equivalent to a pound by weight.
   " Take of commercial Sulphuric Acid two parts;  Carbonate of Potassa
from Pearlash a sufficient quantity; Water six parts. Mix one  part of the
Sulphuric Acid with the Water, and saturate the mixture with the Carbonate
of Potassa;  then add the other part of the Acid to the liquor, and evaporate
it, so that on cooling crystals may form."  Dub.
   The Dublin process for forming this  bisalt is more precise than those of
the London and Edinburgh Colleges, but at the same time less economical.
The object being to obtain a salt, containing twice as much sulphuric acid
as exists in the neutral sulphate, it is plain  that by  dividing the acid em-
ployed into two equal parts, and saturating one of these parts with potassa,
the resulting neutral sulphate must be converted into a bisulphate by the addi-
tion of the other part.  By this process a pure bisulphate cannot be obtained
in crystals.   If the attempt be made to  procure them by allowing a mode-
rately  concentrated solution  to  cool, crystals of neutral  sulphate will  be
chiefly deposited.  In order to get the  bisulphate pure, the solution must
be so far concentrated as to form  on cooling a uniform crystalline mass.  In
explaining the other formulae, it is only necessary to recall to the reader's
attention, a part of the  explanations  given under the head of Nitric Acid.
It was there stated, that for the proper decomposition of nitre, for the pur-
pose of obtaining nitric acid,  it  is necessary to use  two eqs. of sulphuric
acid to one of the salt.  Consequently, the salt which remains after the dis-
tillation of nitric acid is really a bisulphate, and would seem only to require
to be dissolved, and the solution filtered and  duly evaporated, in  order to
obtain the salt in crystals.   But Mr. Phillips  states, that when the bisul-
phate of potassa is dissolved in water,  and the solution is allowed to crys-
tallize,  some  sulphate  and much sesquisulphate  are obtained  instead  of
bisulphate, owing to  the water retaining a part of the excess of acid in so-
lution.   This result is prevented by the sulphuric acid directed to be added
by the London and  Edinburgh Colleges, and,  consequently, the real bisul-
phate is obtained in crystals.
   Properties, fyc.  Bisulphate of potassa is a white salt, having the form of
a right rhombic prism,  so flattened as to be tabular, and  a bitter and ex-
tremely acid taste.  It is soluble in twice its weight of cold water, and in
less than its weight of boiling  water.  Alcohol does not  dissolve it, but
when added to an aqueous solution, precipitates the neutral sulphate.  Ex-
posed to the air, it effloresces slightly on the surface,  and, when moderately
heated, readily melts, and runs like oil.  At a red heat, it  loses water and
the excess of acid, and is reduced to  the state  of neutral  sulphate.   From
its excess of acid, it  acts precisely as an  acid on  the carbonates, causing
them to effervesce.  It is incompatible with alkalies, earths, and  their car-
bonates, with many  of  the metals, and most oxides.  This salt  was for-
merly called  sal  enixum.  It  consists  of  two  eqs. of sulphuric acid 80-2,
one of potassa 47*15, and two of water 18=145-35.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   Bisulphate of potassa unites the proper-
ties of an aperient with those of a tonic, and may be  given in cases of con-
stipation with languid appetite, such as often occur in  convalescence from
acute diseases.   Dr. Paris states  that it forms  a grateful adjunct to rhubarb.
It answers, also, according to Dr. Barker, for  preparing an aperient effer-
vescing draught at little expense.  Equal weights, a drachm for instance, of 
1096
Potassa.
PART II.
the bisulphate and of carbonate of soda, may be dissolved separately, each
in two fluidounces of water, then mixed, and taken in the state of effer-
vescence.  The dose of the bisulphate is one or two drachms.       B.
   POTASSAE TARTRAS. U. S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.   Tartrate  of
Potassa.   Soluble Tartar.
   " Take  of Carbonate of Potassa  sixteen ounces; Bitartrate of Potassa
[cream of  tartar] in fine powder, three pounds, or a sufficient quantity;
boiling Water a gallon.   Dissolve the Carbonate of Potassa in the Water;
then gradually add  the Bitartrate of Potassa to  the solution till  it is per-
fectly saturated, and boil.   Filter the  liquor,  evaporate  it until a pellicle
forms, and set it aside  to crystallize.   Pour off the liquid,  and, having dried
the crystals on bibulous paper,  keep  them in closely stopped bottles." U. S.
   " Take  of Bitartrate of  Potassa, powdered,  three pounds;  Carbonate of
Potassa sixteen ounces, or a sufficient quantity; boiling Water six pints
[Imperial  measure].  Dissolve the  Carbonate of Potassa in  the boiling
Water;  then add the  Bitartrate of Potassa, and boil.   Strain  the liquor,
and afterwards boil it down till a pellicle appears, and set it aside that crys-
tals may form.  The liquor being poured off,  dry these, and again evapo-
rate the liquor that crystals may form." Lond.
   The Edinburgh process  is the same as  the London.
   "Take of Carbonate of Potassa  from  Pearlash five parts; Bitartrate  of
Potassa fourteen parts; boiling Water forty-five parts.   Add gradually the
Bitartrate of Potassa, in very'fine powder, to the Carbonate of Potassa, dis-
solved in the Water.  Filter the solution through paper, and evaporate  it,
so  that on cooling crystals may form." Dub.
   In these processes,  the excess  of  acid  in  the  bitartrate is  saturated by
the potassa of the carbonate, the carbonic acid is extricated with efferves-
cence, and the neutral  tartrate of potassa is  obtained.  On account of the
greater solubility of the carbonate  than of the bitartrate, the  former  is
first dissolved, and the latter added  to the solution  to  full saturation.  As
the bitartrate is  gradually added,  the mutual action of the salts should be
promoted by constant stirring; and the addition should be continued so long
as effervescence takes  place, which is  a better  mode  of proceeding than to
add any specified quantity  of the bisalt; since  from its variable quality, it
is impossible to  adjust precisely the  proportion applicable to  all cases.   It
is necessary that the solution should  be exactly neutral, or a little alkaline;
and hence, if inadvertently too much bitartrate has been  added, the proper
state may be restored  by adding a little of the alkaline carbonate.  When
the saturation has been completed, the solution is filtered in order to sepa-
rate the tartrate of lime, which  appears in white flocks, and which is always
present in  cream of tartar  as an impurity.  The  evaporated liquor should
then be placed in warm earthenware vessels, to ensure a slow refrigeration;
and after remaining at rest for several days, the crystals begin to form.   In
order that the crystallization  should  proceed favourably, it is necessary
according to Baume, that the solution should be  somewhat alkaline.  Iron
vessels should not  be used in any part  of the process;  as this metal is apt
to discolour the salt.
   Tartrate of potassa  is sometimes  made  in the process  for preparing tar-
taric acid.  When thus obtained, the excess of acid in the  bitartrate is
neutralized by means  of carbonate  of lime.   This generates an  insoluble
tartrate of  lime, and leaves the neutral tartrate in  solution, from which it
may be obtained by evaporation and crystallization. (See Acidum Tartar-
icum.) 
PART II.
Potassa.
1097
  Properties, fyc.  Tartrate of potassa, prepared according to the officinal
processes, is in white crystals, which are slightly deliquescent, and usually
in the form of irregular six-sided prisms with dihedral  summits.  Its taste
is saline and  bitter.  It dissolves in about twice  its weight of cold water,
and in much  less  boiling water, and  is nearly insoluble  in alcohol.  Ex-
posed to heat it undergoes fusion, swells up, blackens, and is  decomposed;
being converted  into  carbonate of potassa.  For medicinal use, it  should
always be crystallized;  but as it ordinarily occurs in the shops, it  is  in a
white granular powder, obtained  by evaporating the solution to dryness,
while it is constantly stirred.   In this  state it is said to require four times
its weight of water for  solution.  It is  never purposely adulterated; but if
it be obtained by evaporation to dryness, it is liable to contain an excess of
carbonate or  of bitartrate of potassa, when it will have either an alkaline or
acid reaction.  It is decomposed by all the strong  acids, and  many acidu-
lous salts, which  cause the precipitation of minute crystals of bitartrate of
potassa, by abstracting one eq. of alkali from two of the salt.  Acetate of
lead occasions a white  precipitate of tartrate of lead, distinguishable from
sulphate of lead  by being wholly soluble in diluted nitric acid.   Tartrate of
potassa is composed of one eq. of tartaric acid 66-48,  and one of potassa
47-15=113-63.   According to Berzelius, the crystals contain no water of
crystallization.
  Medical Properties  and Uses.  Tartrate of potassa  is a  mild  cooling
purgative, operating, like most of the neutral salts, without much pain,  and
producing watery stools.   It is applicable to febrile  diseases, and  is occa-
sionally combined with senna, the griping effects  of which  it has a  ten-
dency to obviate.   The dose is from  a drachm  to an ounce,  according to
the  degree of effect desired.                                        B.
  POTASSII BROMIDUM. Lond.  Bromide  of Potassium.
  " Take of Bromine two ounces; Carbonate of Potassa two ounces and a
drachm; Iron Filings an ounce; Distilled Water three pints [Imperial mea-
sure]. First add the Iron, and afterwards the Bromine, to a pint and a half
of the Distilled  Water.  Set them by for  half an hour, frequently stirring
them with a  spatula.   Apply a gentle heat, and when a greenish colour oc-
curs, pour  in the Carbonate of Potassa dissolved in the remainder of the
Water. Strain,  and wash what remains in  two pints [Imperial measure] of
boiling Distilled Water, and again strain.   Evaporate the  mixed liquors, so
that crystals  may  form."  Lond.
  In the first step of  this process, a solution of bromide of iron is  formed;
and this, by  the addition of the solution of carbonate of potassa, is decom-
posed so as  to generate carbonate of the protoxide of iron which  precipi-
tates, and bromide of potassium in solution.  By  straining, the precipitated
carbonate is separated, and  from the strained liquor  crystals of bromide of
potassium are obtained  by due evaporation.
  Properties, fyc.  Bromide  of  potassium is  a permanent, anhydrous,
colourless salt, crystallizing in cubes or quadrangular prisms,  and having a
pungent, saline  taste, similar  to that of common salt, but more acrid.   It
is very soluble in cold water,  more  so in hot, and  but slightly soluble in
alcohol.  When  heated it decrepitates, and, at  a red  heat, fuses  without
decomposition.   The  following characters are given of bromide of potas-
sium  by the London  College.  "Totally  soluble  in water.   It does  not
alter the colour of litmus or turmeric.  Chloride of barium throws down
nothing from the solution.  Sulphuric acid  and starch added together render
it yellow.   Subjected  to heat it loses  no weight.   Ten grains of this  salt
                                  93* 
1098
Potassa.
PART II.
decompose just 14*28 grains of nitrate of silver, and precipitate a yellowish
bromide  of silver, which is dissolved by ammonia,  and but very sparingly
by nitric acid."   The object of adding sulphuric acid along with the starch
is to set free the bromine.  If the  salt decomposes more nitrate of silver
than is above stated,  its saturating  power is  greater than it should be, and
the presence of a chloride, probably of potassium or sodium, may be sus-
pected.  Bromide of potassium is incompatible with acids, and with acidu-
lous and metallic salts.  It consists of one eq. of bromine 78*4, and one of
potassium 39-15 = 117-55.
  Medical Properties.   Bromide  of potassium is  deemed  alterative and
resolvent.   In 1828, Pourche  used it with benefit, both internally and in
the form of ointment, in the treatment of bronchocele and scrofula.  It was
introduced into the London Pharmacopoeia of 1836, in consequence of the
favourable results obtained by  Dr. Williams,  of London, from its use as an
internal remedy  in several cases of enlarged spleen.  It may be given in the
form of pill or in sweetened water, in doses of from three to ten grains, three
times a day. In irritable conditions of the bowels it is apt to occasion diar-
rhoea,  to obviate which effect  it may  be necessary to give opium.   The
ointment may be  made by mixing from a  scruple  to two  drachms of the
bromide  with an ounce of lard.  Of this from half a drachm to  a drachm
may be rubbed on a scrofulous tumour, or other part where  its local action
is desired, once in twenty-four hours.                               B.
  POTASSII  CYANURETUM. U.S.   Cyanuret of Potassium.
  " Take of Ferrocyanuret of Potassium,  in powder, eight ounces;  Dis-
tilled  Water six fluidounces.  Expose the  Ferrocyanuret  to a moderate
heat until it becomes nearly white, and is  wholly deprived of its water of
crystallization.  Put  the residue in an earthen retort, with the beak loosely
stopped, and expose it to  a red heat for two  hours, or till gas  ceases to be
disengaged.   Withdraw the retort from the fire, close the orifice with lute,
and then let the whole remain until  quite cold.   Break the  retort, remove
the black mass, reduce it to coarse powder, introduce it into a bottle of the
capacity of twelve fluidounces, and then add  the  Distilled Water.  Agitate
the mixture occasionally for half an hour, throw it on a filter, evaporate the
filtered solution rapidly to  dryness,  and keep the dry mass  in a closely
stopped  bottle." U. S.
  In order to understand the process adopted  for obtaining this new officinal
of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, it is necessary to bear  in mind that  the ferro-
cyanuret of potassium consists of two eqs. of cyanuret of potassium, one of
cyanuret of iron, and  three of water.  The  salt is first deprived of its water
of crystallization by exposure  to a moderate heat, and then calcined at a red
heat for  two hours, in order to decompose the cyanuret of iron.   The pro-
duct of the calcination is  a black, porous mass,  consisting of cyanuret of
potassium, mixed with  carburet of iron  and  charcoal.  As the  cyanuret is
very prone to absorb oxygen, especially when hot, whereby it  is decom-
 posed, atmospheric air  is excluded from the  retort, while it is  cooling, by
luting its  orifice.   When the whole is cold, the black mass is  reduced to
 coarse powder,  and exhausted by cold  distilled water, which dissolves the
cyanuret of potassium and leaves the carburet of iron and charcoal behind.
 The filtered liquor, therefore,  is an aqueous  solution of cyanuret of potas-
 sium,  which is obtained in a solid state, by a rapid  evaporation to dryness.
 During  the  evaporation,  a small portion of  the cyanuret is decomposed,
 attended with the evolution of ammonia, and the production of formiate of
 potassa.   A portion  of this salt, therefore,  contaminates the cyanuret, as
 obtained by this process;  but  the quantity is too small to interfere with its 
PART II.
Potassa.
1099
medicinal action.   The decomposition here referred to takes place between
one eq. of cyanuret of potassium and four of water, and is represented by
the following equation in which the cyanogen is expressed by its full symbol
C2N, and formic  acid by  C2HO.,;—K,C?N + 4HO=NH3+KO,C3H03.
This decomposition is avoided by exhausting the  black mass with boiling
alcohol of 60 per cent. (0-896) instead of water.   The  alcoholic  solution,
by evaporation to a pellicle, lets fall the salt, upon  cooling, as a crystalline
precipitate, perfectly white and pure.
   According to the process of the French Codex, this cyanuret is  obtained
in the dry way, without  the use of any solvent.   The calcination is per-
formed in a retort, to  which a  tube is attached for collecting the gaseous
products.  When  these cease  to be disengaged, the heat is gradually raised
to a  very high  temperature, at  which it  is  kept for  a quarter of  an  hour.
When the calcination is thus conducted, the retort  will be found to contain
a black matter, covered by a fused layer of pure cyanuret of potassium, re-
sembling white enamel.   This is detached by means of a knife, and imme-
diately transferred to a bottle,  with an accurately fitting stopper. The black
matter under the name of black cyanuret, is  also  kept  for medicinal use;
but the dose of this cannot be accurately fixed, on account of its containing,
at different times,  more or less impurity. Its filtered solution should be per-
fectly colourless.
   Other processes have been recommended for obtaining cyanuret of potas-
sium, which may here be briefly noticed. The process of Wiggers, which is
said to excel all others, consists in passing the vapour of hydrocyanic acid
into  a receiver containing an alcoholic solution of pure potassa. The hydro-
cyanic  acid is formed by slowly  distilling two parts of ferrocyanuret of
potassium, contained  in a retort, with one and a half parts of sulphuric acid,
previously diluted with an equal weight of water and allowed to cool. The
acid is made to pass  into a cooled receiver,  furnished with a safety tube,
and  containing one part of pure hydrate of potassa, dissolved in three or
four parts of alcohol  of 90 per cent. (0*822).  As soon  as the ebullition
slackens, the operation should be stopped; and the  liquor in the receiver will
be found thick from the precipitated cyanuret of potassium, mixed with the
alcoholic solution of the undecomposed potassa.  The precipitate is then col-
lected on a filter, freed from the mother-water, washed with alcohol,  and with-
out being removed from the filter, pressed and dried. (Pharm. Trans. Dec.
1841.)  The ferrocyanuret of potassium yields about a tenth of its weight
of cyanuret by this process. It will be noticed here  that the hydrocyanic acid
is generated by the same  process as that adopted for obtaining it in the last
U. S., London, and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias; but instead of being con-
densed by itself, it is  allowed to pass into a solution of caustic potassa. (See
page 786.)  Liebig has proposed the following process, which gives a large
product of cyanuret of potassium, but contaminated with cyanate of potassa.
Mix eight  parts  of ferrocyanuret of potassium, well dried, with three of
dry carbonate of potassa,  and  throw the mixture into a red-hot Hessian cru-
cible, which is to  be  maintained at this heat.   The melted mass becomes
successively brown and  yellow;  and finally, when it  becomes  white, as
known by its concreting, on a warm glass rod dipped into the liquid, in a
brilliant white mass, it is  to be poured out into a warm porcelain capsule to
solidify.  Two eqs. of ferrocyanuret of iron react with two eqs.  of carbo-
nate of potassa.  The iron is reduced, the carbonic acid evolved, and a com-
pound of five eqs. of cyanuret of  potassium  and one of cyanate of potassa
is formed.  The reaction is explained by the following equation;—2(FeCy+
2KCy)+2(KO,CO*J=5KCy+KO,CyO f 2Fe-|-2COa.  (Pharm. Journ. 
1100
Potassa.
PART II.
and Trans., Aug. 1812.)  The cyanate of potassa may be readily detected
by saturating the  compound, as  thus obtained, with an acid, which will
cause an  effervescence  of carbonic acid, and the generation  of a  salt of
ammonia.
  Properties. Cyanuret of potassium is a white substance, having a sharp,
somewhat alkaline and bitter-almond taste,  and  an alkaline reaction.   It is
deliquescent in  moist air, very soluble  in  water, and  sparingly  soluble in
strong alcohol.   Its solution, when exposed to the air,  exhales the odour of
hydrocyanic acid.  Effervescence on the addition of an  acid shows carbonic
acid; a yellow colour, iron; and a blackening when heated, the presence of
a formiate.  It consists  of one eq. of cyanogen and one of potassium.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Cyanuret of potassium is  pre-eminently
poisonous, acting  like  hydrocyanic  acid.  The tenth of a  grain killed a
small bird in the space of a minute; and a solution of five grains destroyed
a laro-e dog in a quarter  of an hour.  As a  medicine it  is  considered appli-
cable to all cases in which hydrocyanic acid  has  been found useful. (See
Acidum Hydrocyanicum.) The grounds on which it has been proposed as
a substitute for that acid by Robiquet and Villerme, are its uniformity as a
chemical  product,  and  its less liability to undergo  decomposition.  The
dose is a quarter of a grain, gradually increased to a grain.   The  solution,
extemporaneously  made, is the  most convenient form for exhibition, and a
standard solution has been proposed by Magendie, prepared by dissolving
the cyanuret in eight times its weight of distilled water.  A solution of this
strength is equivalent to the medicinal hydrocyanic acid, and may be pre-
scribed  in  mixtures in the dose of two or  three drops.  A solution, made
with from one to  four grains to the fluidounce of water, has been recom-
mended in neuralgic and other  local pains, applied by means of pieces of
linen.                                                            B.
  POTASSII IODIDUM. U.S., Lond,,Ed.  Potass* Hydriodas.
Dub.   Iodide of Potassium.   Hydriodate of Potassa.
  " Take of Iodine six ounces;  Iron Filings three  ounces; Carbonate of
Potassa four ounces, or a sufficient quantity; Distilled Water four pints.
Mix the Iodine with three pints of the  Distilled Water,  and add the Iron
Filings, stirring frequently with a spatula for  half an hour.  Apply a gentle
heat, and, when the liquor assumes a greenish colour, add gradually the
Carbonate of Potassa, previously dissolved in half a pint of the Distilled
Water,  until it ceases to produce a precipitate.   Continue the heat for half
an hour, and then filter.    Wash the residuum with half a pint of the Dis-
tilled Water boiling hot, and filter.  Mix the  filtered liquors, and evaporate
so that  crystals  may form.  Pour off the  liquid, and  dry the crystals on
bibulous paper." U. S.
  The London College  takes six ounces of  iodine, two ounces  instead of
three of iron filings, four ounces of carbonate  of potassa, and  six pints [Im-
perial measure]  of distilled water, and proceeds as above; except that the
quantity of carbonate  of  potassa in solution,  added to the solution of
iodide of iron, is taken  at a fixed weight, and not left to be determined by
the amount necessary to complete the precipitation, and that, after the pre-
cipitation of the  carbonate of iron, heat  is not applied  for sometime before
the liquid is filtered.
  "Take of Iodine (dry)five ounces; fine Iron Wire three ounces;  Water
four pints [Imperial measure]; Carbonate  of Potash (dry) two ounces and
six drachms.   With the Water,  Iodine, and Iron Wire  prepare the solu-
tion of iodide of iron as  directed [under Ferri Iodidi Syrupus].   Add im- 
PART II.
Potassa,
1101
mediately, while it is hot, the Carbonate of Potash  previously dissolved in
a few ounces of water, stir carefully, filter the product, and wash the pow-
der  on  the filter with a little water.  Concentrate the liquor at a tempera-
ture short of ebullition, till a dry salt be  obtained, which is to be purified
from a little red oxide of iron and other impurities, by dissolving  it in  less
than its own weight of boiling water, or still better by boiling it in twice
its  weight of rectified spirit, filtering the  solution, and  setting it aside to
crystallize.  More crystals will be obtained by concentrating and cooling
the residual liquor." Ed.
   "Take  of Iodine one  part;  Sulphuret of Iron,  in coarse powder,five
parts;  Sulphuric Acid seven parts; Distilled  Water forty-eight parts;
Water of Carbonate of Potassa  a sufficient quantity;  Rectified Spirit six
parts.  Mix the Iodine by trituration with  sixteen parts of the Water,  and
put  the mixture into a glass vessel.  Pour the Acid, previously diluted with
thirty-two  parts of the Water, on the Sulphuret, contained in a matrass;  and
by means of a tube  adapted to the neck of the matrass, and reaching to the
bottom  of the  vessel  containing the Iodine and  Water, transmit the  gas
through the mixture, until the Iodine entirely disappears.  Filter the liquor,
and immediately evaporate  it, by a superior heat, to  one-eighth  part,  and
again filter  it.   Then gradually add as much Water of Carbonate  of  Po-
tassa as will be sufficient to saturate the acid, which is known by the  ces-
sation of the effervescence.   Then expose  the mixture  to  heat, until the
residual salt is  dry  and of a white colour.   On  this pour the Spirit,  and
digest by the aid of heat.   Lastly, from the  remaining  salt, pour  off the
solution, evaporate it to dryness, and keep the residuum in a  close vessel."
Dub.
   Since the appearance of the last edition of this  work, the revisers of the
U.S. Pharmacopoeia have substituted the  process of Baup and Caillot for
that previously adopted for obtaining iodide of potassium.   The French
Codex  and London Pharmacopoeia had previously adopted  this process;
and  the Edinburgh College, upon  making  this iodide officinal for the first
time in  the last edition of its Pharmacopoeia, has selected it also.   The first
step of the process is to form the iodide of iron in solution,  precisely as is
done in the formula for that compound; and the  second,  to  decompose  it
by carbonate of potassa, which gives rise  to iodide of potassium in solu-
tion and  a precipitate of carbonate of protoxide of iron.   The solution
of iodide of potassium is then separated by filtration from the precipitated
carbonate,  and evaporated so  that crystals  may form.   As the precipitated
carbonate,  after the filtration, still retains a portion of the solution of iodide
of potassium, it is washed, in order to dissolve this portion, and the resulting
solution, after filtration, is added to that first obtained.   The explanations
above given, apply also to the London process.  The London  College takes
the iron at one-third the weight of the iodine, instead of one-half as in the
U.S. Pharmacopoeia; and even this smaller quantity gives an excess of iron,
but the larger proportion  does no harm.   The London process varies  dis-
advantageous^, in several particulars, from that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia*
In the first place it is  not easy to fix beforehand the quantity of carbonate
of potassa  necessary to decompose the  iodide of iron,  on account of the
variable quality both of iodine and the alkaline carbonate.  It is, therefore,
better to add the alkaline solution only so long as it  produces  a precipitate;
and, this rule being adopted, the  quantity added in different operations, will
be found sometimes more and sometimes less.  The direction of the London
College to  strain immediately after  the addition of the alkaline carbonate,
gives rise to the inconvenience of obtaining a liquid, which becomes turbid 
1102
Potassa.
PART II.
from a fresh formation of the ferruginous  precipitate, and which requires a
new filtration before it can be submitted to evaporation.  This inconvenience
is avoided by continuing the heat for half an hour after the addition of the
alkaline solution, during which interval the  salts  fully react on each other
and the precipitate is  rendered less bulky, and more easily separable by the
subsequent filtration.   The  London  College have erred in using, in  the
different steps of their process, a quantity of water inconveniently large,
which causes a waste of time and fuel in bringing the solution of the iodide
of potassium to the  necessary degree  of  concentration.   The Edinburgh
College, for no obvious  reason,  abandons the proportion of the  iodine to
the iron of 2 to 1, given in its formula  for Ferri  Iodidi  Syrupus,  and
adopts the ratio of 2 to 1*2, thus  using a still greater excess of metal.  The
carbonate of potassa  is  ordered  in less proportion than in the U. S.  and
London formulae, because  it is directed to be dry.   We have  already ex-
pressed our preference of the plan of using a quantity of the  alkaline car-
bonate, just adequate to  complete the decomposition of the iodide of iron;
but where a determinate  quantity is used, it is  desirable that  it should be
deficient rather than in excess;  for if deficient, the only effect is to waste  a
portion of the iodide  of iron, but if redundant, the excess contaminates the
iodide of potassium obtained.  The proportion of alkaline carbonate taken
by the London and Edinburgh Colleges is not in excess, provided the iodine
be  dry;  but if  it  contain  considerable moisture,  the  carbonate ordered
will be more than sufficient to  decompose  the iodide of iron formed.   The
solution  of  iodide of potassium, obtained by filtration, is directed by the
Edinburgh College to be evaporated  to dryness, in order to get rid of iron
and other impurities, and the  dry salt is purified by solution in water or
alcohol,  filtration, and crystallization.  The  evaporation to dryness,  here
directed, would be unnecessary, if the plan had been adopted of completing
the reaction between  the iodide of  iron and alkaline carbonate, by the ap-
plication of heat for a short time  before filtration.
  In the Dublin process, a stream of hydrosulphuric acid gas being passed
through water in which iodine is diffused,  the gas is decomposed, its sulphur
is precipitated, and its hydrogen, by combining with the iodine,  generates
hydriodic acid, which remains in solution.   The  sulphur being  separated
by filtration, and the  solution duly concentrated,  the acid is converted into
iodide of potassium by saturating it with carbonate of potassa, the carbonic
acid of which, by being  extricated, causes the effervescence.   By evapora-
tion to dryness,  the iodide is obtained in the solid state.  But lest it should
be contaminated with some  iodate  and carbonate of potassa, the  dry mass
is directed to be digested with  a  portion of rectified  spirit which takes up
the iodide of potassium,  and leaves these salts behind.  The alcoholic solu-
tion is  then  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  the pure iodide obtained in the
solid  state.   This process is not an  eligible  one;  as it requires the forma-
tion of hydriodic acid, and the  use  of alcohol.
  The simplest process  for preparing iodide  of potassium in quantity, and
that preferred by many manufacturing chemists, is to add iodine to a hot
solution of caustic  potassa  until  the  alkali is neutralized, when  iodide of
potassium and iodate  of  potassa will be generated, to evaporate to dryness,
and to fuse the dry mass by a  gentle red  heat, in order  to decompose the
iodate.   The fused mass is then dissolved in water, and the  solution ob-
tained crystallized.  According  to  Mr.  Scanlan  the  deoxidation  of the
iodate is easily effected by the  intermixture of powdered charcoal with the
two salts before they  are subjected  to heat. (Pereira.)
  Properties, $"C.  Iodide of potassium is in white or transparent crystals, 
PART II.
Potassa.
1103
permanent in a dry air, slightly deliquescent  in a moist one, and having a
sharp saline taste.  It generally crystallizes in cubes.  It is soluble in about
two-thirds of its weight of cold water, and freely in rectified spirit; and when
a hot saturated alcoholic solution is  allowed  to cool, it deposits the salt in
crystals.  Its solution imparts  a blue colour to starch upon  the addition of
sulphuric acid, which acts by setting free iodine. Ether partially decomposes
it, developing a yellow colour, and setting  iodine free. ( Vogel.) The aqueous
solution is capable of taking up a large quantity of iodine, forming a liquid,
containing the ioduretted iodide, of a  deep brown colour.   Exposed to heat
it fuses, without losing weight, into a mass having a crystalline and pearly
aspect, and at a red heat  is volatilized without decomposition.   The  most
usual impurities  contained in this  salt are the chlorides of  potassium and
sodium, and iodate and carbonate of potassa.  The iodate  and carbonate
may be detected  by their insolubility in alcohol.  Iodide of potassium, con-
taining iodate, becomes yellow by keeping, and evolves the odour of iodine.
The iodate may be detected by adding a solution of tartaric acid to a solu-
tion of the suspected iodide.  Bitartrate of potassa will be precipitated, and
if the iodide be pure, a yellow colour is  developed from the action of the
air on the liberated hydriodic acid; but if  any iodate be present, the test will
set free both iodic  and  hydriodic acid,  which, by their reaction, will  in-
stantly develope free iodine. (Pereira.)  Carbonate of potassa is generally
present in the proportion of from one to  ten per cent., owing to faulty pre-
paration; but sometimes it  is fraudulently introduced.   Dr.  Christison has
 detected 74£ per cent, of this impurity, and Dr. Pereira as  high as 77 per
 cent.   An adulteration by the carbonate  under ten per cent, does not alter
 the crystalline appearance of the  iodide,  but  gives it a greater  tendency to
 deliquesce than the pure salt possesses; but when  it is larger it renders the
 salt granular and highly deliquescent.  This  impurity may  be detected by
 chloride of barium, which throws down  a white precipitate  of carbonate of
 baryta; by lime-water,  which causes  a milkiness  (carbonate of lime); and
 by tincture of iodine, the colour of which is  destroyed.   The  presence  of
 a chloride  may be determined by the use of nitrate of silver.   This test
 will  throw down nothing from the pure  salt  but iodide of silver, which is
 scarcely soluble in ammonia; while  chloride of silver is readily soluble  in
 it.  If then a solution of the suspected iodide be precipitated by an excess
 of nitrate of silver, and agitated with ammonia, the latter will dissolve any
 chloride which may have been thrown down, and  yield  it again as a  white
 precipitate on being saturated with nitric acid.  If, on the  other hand, the
 iodide of potassium be  pure, the ammonia will  only  take up a minute
 quantity of iodide of silver, and the addition of the nitric acid will scarcely
 disturb the transparency of the solution.  Iodide of potassium consists of
 one eq. of iodine 126*3, and one of  potassium 39*15=165-45.   It contains
 no water of crystallization.
    Medical Properties and  Uses.  This salt  is diuretic  and alterative.   It
 is thought  to have  similar medical properties  to those of iodine, which
 have  been fully detailed under the head of Iodinum.  It has a tendency to
 irritate the mucous membrane of the air-passages, as is shown by its some-
 times occasioning cough, and an  affection like cold in the head.   When its
 use is long-continued, it occasionally excites ptyalism.   Its  obvious effects
 on the system are very variable, arising probably either from  peculiarities
 of constitution,  or from the unequal quality of the medicine itself.   Thus
 in some cases it produces  nausea, colic,  and  diarrhoea,  in moderate doses;
 and in  others is borne in  large  doses without inconvenience.   Dr.  Lugol
 considers it inferior to iodine as a therapeutic agent, and uses it, apparently, 
1104
Potassa.
PART II.
for no other purpose than to promote the solubility of iodine in water.  It
has, however, been preferred by some practitioners for the purpose of pro-
ducing the constitutional effects of iodine. Dr. De Renzy, of Carnew, used it
with great success in haemoptysis, and Dr. Graves of Dublin  employed it
with advantage  in a very obstinate  erythematic swelling of the hand.  Dr.
Williams, of London, considers it applicable to the treatment of various forms
of secondary syphilis.  He used it with success, in a majority of cases, in
removing  hard periosteal  nodes, and found it beneficial in the  treatment of
tubercular forms of venereal eruptions.  It is also considered as one of the
best alterative remedies in mercurio-syphilitic sorethroat.  Dr. Isaac Parrish,
of this city, used it successfully in  several cases of strumous inflammation
of the eye, given in the compound syrup of sarsaparilla.   It  appeared to be
particularly useful in promptly  relieving the severe, neuralgic, circumorbital
pain.   (Medical Examiner, N. S.  i. 241.)  The dose is from two to ten
grains or more,  two or three times a day, given in solution.  Some practi-
tioners have reported the  exhibition of enormous doses, such as two, four,
and even  six drachms daily,  without inconvenience.  Dr. Buchanan, of
Glasgow,  assures us  that he has given  the pure  salt in  doses of half an
ounce, without any precaution  being observed by the patient, except that
of drinking freely of diluents.   Notwithstanding this testimony, Dr.  Law-
rie, of the same city, reports several  cases of dryness and irritation of the
throat, ending in severe spasmodic croup, and one case of death following
the sudden occurrence of  dyspnoea, caused by the use of small doses of this
iodide. (Am. Journ. of the Med. Sciences, from the London Med. Gazette.)
There are certainly  wanting  new  facts, to explain these  discrepancies.
Iodide of potassium passes quickly into the secretions, especially the urine.
It may be detected in the latter by first adding to  the cold secretion a por-
tion of starch, and then a few drops of nitric acid, when a blue colour will
be produced.
  Iodide of potassium is employed as an external application in the form of
ointment.  (See  Unguentum Potassae Hydriodatis.) M. Breslau, of Mu-
nich,  uses it externally  in powder, mixed  with eight  parts of muriate
of ammonia, and enclosed in a fine linen bag, which is applied  to the  part
intended to be affected. The mixture soon becomes brown, in consequence
of the commencement of decomposition, resulting in the formation of chlo-
ride of potassium, and the slow evolution of  iodine.
  Off. Prep.  Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum, U. S.; Liquor Iodini Compo-
situs,  U. S., Lond., Ed.; Plumbi Iodidum,  Lond,, Ed.; Tinctura  Iodini
Composita, U. S., Lond.; Unguentum Iodini Compositum,  U.S., Lond.,
Ed.;  Unguentum Potassae Hydriodatis, Dub.                      B.
  POTASSII  SULPHURETUM.   U.S., Lond., Ed.   Potass*
Sulphuretum. Dub.   Sulphuret of Potassium.   Sulphuret  of
Potassa.
  " Take  of Sulphur an ounce;  Carbonate of  Potassa two  ounces.  Rub
the Carbonate of Potassa,' previously dried, with  the Sulphur; melt the
mixture in a covered crucible over the fire; then pour it out,  and when it is
cold put it into a bottle, which  is to be well stopped." U. S.
  " Take  of Sulphur an ounce; Carbonate of Potassa four  ounces.  Rub
them  together,  and place the mixture over the fire  in a  covered crucible,
until they unite." Lond.
  The Edinburgh and Dublin processes are  essentially the same as that of
the London College.
  When carbonate of potassa is melted with  half its weight  of sulphur, as 
PART II.
Potassa.
1105
in the U. S. process, the carbonic acid is  expelled.  Four eqs. of potassa
and ten of sulphur may be supposed to react on each other.  Three eqs.
of potassa are decomposed into three eqs. of potassium and three of oxy-
gen.  The three eqs. of potassium unite with nine eqs. of sulphur to form
three eqs. of tersulphuret of potassium.  The three eqs. of oxygen, by
uniting  with the remaining eq. of sulphur,  forms sulphuric  acid, which
combines  with  the undecomposed eq. of  potassa to form sulphate of po-
tassa.   Thus the  U. S.  preparation may be  considered to be a mixture of
tersulphuret of potassium with sulphate of potassa; and the French Codex
sulphuret, made from the same  proportion  of carbonate and sulphur, is
stated in  that work to have the  same composition.  It may be presumed
that the product of the  processes of the British Pharmacopoeias has the
same constituents, plus a certain portion of undecomposed  carbonate of
potassa, on account of the large excess of alkali taken.  In performing the
process, the mass, after it has  become completely fused, should be  poured
out on  a  marble slab, and, as soon  as it concretes, should be broken into
pieces,  and immediately transferred to a well-stopped bottle.
  The  different Pharmacopoeias use  the carbonate of potassa from  pearlash;
but this is considered by some as not sufficiently pure.  In the process of
M.  Henry, which is stated to be the best that has yet been devised, the pure
carbonate of potassa  is employed.    His  formula is as follows:  Mix two
parts of real salt of tartar with one of roll sulphur'reduced to  powder, and
put the  mixture into  flat-bottomed matrasses, which should be only  two-
thirds filled by it.   These are placed on a sand-bath, at equal  distances,
and the fire is applied, so as, at first, to produce only a gentle heat, which
is afterwards increased.   Care must be taken that  the necks of the ma-
trasses  do not become obstructed.  The heat is continued until  the matter is
brought to the  state of tranquil fusion, when it is allowed to cool.  The
mass obtained, which is compact, smooth, and of a fine yellow colour, is
broken  into pieces and preserved in well-stopped bottles.
  Properties, fyc.  Sulphuret of potassium, when properly prepared, is  a
hard brittle substance, having a nauseous, alkaline, and bitter taste.  Its
colour is  liver-brown, and hence  its former name  of hepdr  sulphuris or
liver of sulphur.   The colour of the  surface of a fresh fracture  is brownish-
yellow.  It is inodorous when dry, but  emits a slightly fetid smell when
moist, owing to the extrication of a small portion of sulphuretted hydrogen
gas. It is completely soluble in water, forming a liquid of an orange-yellow
colour,  and exhaling the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen.   By exposure to
the air  it attracts oxygen, and  the sulphuret of potassium is gradually con-
verted into sulphate of potassa, when the preparation  becomes inodorous,
and white on  the surface.  The  solution is decomposed by the mineral
acids, which extricate sulphuretted hydrogen, and precipitate the  excess of
sulphur in the state of hydrate.  It  is  also incompatible with solutions of
most of the metals, which are precipitated as sulphurets.            B.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Sulphuret of potassium is a local irritant,
and, in  small frequently repeated doses, is said to increase the frequency of
the pulse, the heat of skin, and the different secretions, especially those of
the  mucous membranes.  Occasionally it vomits and purges.  It acts, more-
over, as an antacid,  and produces the general effects of sulphur  upon the
system.   By some it is  maintained  to be sedative,  and directly  to  reduce
the  action of the heart.  This effect it probably produces, when taken in
considerable quantities, by the development of sulphuretted hydrogen.  In
over doses, it acts, according to Orfila, as a  violent poison, corroding the
       94 
1106
Potassa.—Pulpae.
PART II.
stomach,  and depressing  the powers of the nervous system.  The com-
plaints in which  it has been most  advantageously  employed  are  chronic
rheumatism and gout, and various cutaneous affections.   It has been given
with less  benefit  in  painter's colic,  asthma,  and chronic catarrh,  and ac-
quired a short-lived reputation as a remedy in croup, after the publication
of the essay to which  the prize offered by Napoleon for the best disserta-
tion on that disease was awarded.   It is said, in some cases of cancer, to
have assisted  the palliative operation of hemlock.   In consequence of its
property of forming insoluble  sulphurets when  mixed  with  the  metallic
salts,  it has been proposed as an antidote for some of the mineral poisons,
such  as corrosive sublimate, arsenious  acid, the salts of copper,  and the
preparations of lead.   Orfila, however, has proved that it does not prevent
the effects of these poisons, but on the contrary is itself highly poisonous
when given in large doses.  Dissolved in water it has proved very efficacious
as an external application  in cutaneous diseases,  and in scabies is an almost
certain remedy.  It may be used for this purpose in the form of lotion, bath,
or ointment.  For a lotion it may be dissolved in water in the proportion of
from fifteen to thirty grains to the fluidounce, and for a bath, the same quan-
tity or rather more may be added to a gallon of water.  A very small propor-
tion of muriatic or sulphuric acid may in either case be added to the solution.
The ointment is made by mixing  half a drachm of the sulphuret with an
ounce of lard.
   The dose of the sulphuret of  potassa is from two to ten grains, repeated
several times a day, and given in  pill  with liquorice, or  in solution  with
syrup. In infantile cases of croup, from one to four grains were given every
three  or four hours.                                              W.
   POTASSAE SULPHURETI AQUA. Dub.   Water of Sulphu-
ret of Potassa.
   " Take of Washed Sulphur one part; Water of  Caustic Potassa eleven
parts.  Boil for ten minutes, and filter through paper.   Keep the liquor in
well stopped bottles.  The specific gravity of this solution is 1-117."Dub.
   When sulphur  is boiled with  a solution of caustic  potassa, sulphuret  of
potassium  and hyposulphite of potassa are formed in  solution.   Accord-
ingly, this preparation is not a solution of sulphuret of potassa, as  it is
called  by the Dublin College; neither is it  identical with an aqueous solu-
tion of the preceding preparation.
   Properties, fyc.  This  liquid has an unctuous feel and a deep orange
colour.  It is  decomposed by acids, which cause an  effervescence of hydro-
sulphuric acid, and  a milky appearance from the precipitation of sulphur.
Upon exposure to the air it is  gradually converted into  a solution of the
sulphate of potassa.   It is similar in medicabproperties to the last prepara-
tion,  and is used internally and externally for  the most part in  cutaneous
eruptions.   The  dose is  from  ten  minims to a fluidrachm,  diluted  with
water, and  given two  or three times a  day.   When  used as a bath it im-
parts  an orange colour to the skin.                                 B.


                              PULPAE.

                               Pulps.

   The following  general  directions  are given in the Pharmacopoeias in re-
lation to the extraction of pulps:
   "Fruits of which the pulps are to be extracted, if unripe, or ripe and dry, 
PART II.
Pulpae.
1107
are to be boiled in a little water until they become soft.  Then the pulps,
expressed through a hair sieve, are to be slowly evaporated to a proper con-
sistence." Dub.
   " Set pulpy fruits, if unripe, or ripe and  dry, in a moist place to soften;
then express the pulps through a hair sieve;  afterwards boil them with a
gentle fire, frequently stirring; lastly, evaporate  the water by means  of a
water-bath, until the pulps become of a proper consistence.  Of fruits which
are ripe and fresh, express the pulp or juice through a sieve, without  boil-
ing." Lond.
 '  There are very few fruits the pulps of which are now employed  in phar-
macy.   For these few the  directions of  the  Dublin College are preferable
to those of the London, which are indeed impracticable; as dried fruits often
do not become sufficiently moist, by mere exposure in a damp place, to ad-
mit of the subsequent treatment ordered, and besides, would almost always
become mouldy.                                                W.

   CASSIAE FISTULAE PULPA.  U.S.  Cassia.  Lond.   Cassi*
Pulpa. Ed.  Cassia Fistula. Dub.   Pulp of Purging Cassia.
   " Take of Purging Cassia, bruised, a convenient quantity.  Pour  boil-
ing water on the  bruised pods so that the pulp may be softened; then strain,
first through a  coarse sieve, and  afterwards  through a hair one, and evapo-
rate by means  of a water-bath to the proper consistence." U. S.
   " Pour boiling Water upon bruised  Cassia Pods, so that the pulp may be
washed out, and press  this  first through  a coarse sieve, and afterwards
through a  hair sieve;  then  evaporate  by means  of a water-bath until the
pulp acquires a proper consistence." Lond.
   Cassia pulp  has  a  blackish colour,  a slight rather sickly odour, and a
sweet mucilaginous taste.   It is apt to become sour by exposure.   For its
composition and effects, see Cassia Fistula.
   Off. Prep. Confectio Cassiae, Lond.; Confectio Sennae, U. S., Lond.
   PRUNI PULPA. U.S.  Pulp of Prunes.
   " Take  of Prunes  a convenient quantity.  Soften the Prunes in the
vapour of boiling water, and having separated the  stones, beat the remainder
in a marble mortar, and press it through a hair sieve."  U. S.
   The prunes may be softened, as above directed, by placing them on a
perforated plate or diaphragm, or a wire sieve, or suspending them in a net,
over boiling water.
   Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae, U. S.                             W.
   TAMARINDI PULPA. U.S.  Tamarindus. Lond., Ed.  Tama-
rindus Indica. Dub.   Pulp of Tamarinds.
   " Take of Tamarinds a convenient quantity.   Digest them with a small
quantity of water until they become of a uniform consistence; then sepa-
rate the seeds and filaments by pressing through  a hair sieve." U. S.
   They should be digested in  an unglazed earthenware vessel  over hot
ashes, or by means of a sand-bath.
   Off. Prep.  Confectio Cassiae, Lond.;  Confectio Sennae, U. S., Lond,
                                                              W. 
1108                          Pulveres.                     part ii.
                           PULVERES.

                             Powders.

   The form of powder is convenient for the exhibition of substances which
are not given in very large doses,  are not very disagreeable to the taste,
have  no corrosive property, and do not deliquesce  rapidly on exposure.
As the effect of pulverization is to expose a more extended surface to the
action of the air,  care should be taken to keep substances which are liable
to be injured  by such exposure, in closely stopped bottles. In many in-
stances  it is also important to exclude the  light,  which exercises  a very
deleterious  influence  over numerous medicinal  agents  when minutely
divided.   In relation to substances most liable to injury from these causes,
the best plan is to powder them in small quantities as they  are  wanted for
use.
   Powders  may be divided  into the  simple, consisting of a  single sub-
stance,  and the compound,  of two  or  more mixed together.   The latter
only are embraced under the present bead.  In the preparation of the com-
pound powders,  the  ingredients, if of different degrees  of cohesion or
solidity, should be pulverized separately and then united.   An exception,
however, to this rule, is the employment of one substance  to facilitate by
its greater hardness the minute division of another, as in  the  powder of
ipecacuanha and opium.  Deliquescent substances, and those containing
fixed  oil in large proportion, should  not enter into  the composition of pow-
ders;  the former,  because by absorbing moisture,  they render the prepara-
tion  damp and liable  to spoil, the latter, because they are  apt to  become
rancid, and impart an  unpleasant odour and taste to the mixture.
   The lighter powders may in general be administered suspended in water
or other thin liquid; the heavier, such as  those of metallic  substances, re-
quire a  more consistent vehicle, as syrup, molasses, honey,  or some of the
confections.  Resinous powders, if given in water, require the intervention
of mucilage or sugar.
   The Dublin College gives the following general directions for the prepa-
ration of powders: "  The substances to  be powdered, having been  pre-
viously  dried,  are to be beaten in an iron mortar.   The powder is then to
be separated, by sifting it through  a hair sieve,  and  is to be kept in close
vessels."   These  directions, however, are not sufficiently  explicit.  It is
not proper to  beat the substance in the mortar till it  is completely pul-
verized; as  the portion already powdered interferes with the action of the
pestle upon that remaining unpowdered, while the finer matter is apt to be
dissipated;  so  that there is a loss both of time and material. The proper
plan is  to sift off the  fine powder after a short trituration,  then to return
the coarser  parts  to the mortar, and to repeat several times this alternate
pulverization and  sifting, until the whole is brought to the proper degree of
fineness.                                                       W.

   PULVIS  ALOES  COMPOSITUS.  Lond.,  Dub.   Compound
Powder of Aloes.
   " Take of Aloes an  ounce and a half; Guaiacum Resin an ounce; Com-
pound Powder of Cinnamon half an ounce.   Rub the Aloes and the Guai-
acum Resin, separately, into powder; then mix  them with  the Compound
Powder of Cinnamon." Lond.
  The Dublin College gives the same directions, particularizing the hepatic 
PART II.
Pulveres.
1109
aloes, and substituting their own aromatic powder for the compound powder
of cinnamon of the London College.
   The tendency of pulverized guaiac to concrete, and the excessively bitter
taste of aloes, which is but imperfectly concealed by the aromatic addition,
render the form of powder ineligible for the exhibition  of these medicines.
The preparation is a warm stimulant cathartic, but is little used.  The dose
is from fifteen to thirty grains.                                   W.

   PULVIS ALOES  ET CANELLAE.  U.S.  Pulvis Aloes cum
Canella. Dub.   Powder of Aloes and Canella.   Hiera Picra.
   " Take of Aloes [hepatic, Dub.] apound; Canella  three ounces.  Rub
them, separately  into verv fine  powder, [into  powder,  Dub.]  and mix
them."  U. S., Dub.
   This preparation has long been known under the name of hierapicra. The
canella serves to correct the griping  property, and imperfectly to cover  the
taste of the  aloes; but the unpleasant bitterness  of the latter is still very
obvious in the mixture, which would be better given  in  the form of pill than
of powder.  It is a popular remedy in amenorrhoea, and  may be used  for
all the purposes to which aloes is applied.  It is  sometimes administered,
in domestic practice, infused in wine  or spirit.  The  dose is from ten to
twenty grains.                                                 W.
   PULVIS ALUMINIS COMPOSITUS. Ed.   Compound Pow-
der of Alum,
   " Take of Alum four ounces;  Kino one ounce.   Mix them and reduce
them to fine  powder." Ed.
   A solution of alum is decomposed  by a solution of kino, and it is probable
that the same effect takes place when the two substances, mixed in the state
of powder, are introduced into the stomach; but whether their astringency
is materially affected by the change is uncertain.   The preparation may be
employed in diarrhoea, menorrhagia, and hemorrhage from the stomach or
bowels, and  externally to suppress hemorrhage, or as an astringent applica-
tion to flabby ulcers.  The dose is from five to twenty  grains.      W.
   PULVIS AROMATICUS. U.S., Ed., Dub.  Pulvis Cinnamomi
Compositus.  Lond.   Aromatic Powder.
   "Take of Cinnamon, Ginger,  each, two ounces; Cardamom  deprived
of the capsules, Nutmeg, grated, each, an ounce.   Rub them together into
a very fine powder."  U. S.
   The London College directs two  ounces of cinnamon, an ounce and a
half of cardamom, an ounce of ginger, and half an  ounce of long pepper;
the Edinburgh, equal parts of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger; the Dub-
lin, two ounces of cinnamon, an ounce of cardamom seeds freed from their
capsules, an ounce of ginger, and a  drachm of long pepper.
   The cardamom  seeds should always be separated from their capsules  be-
fore pulverization;  and the powder,  when prepared,  should be kept in well
stopped bottles.  The London and Dublin  preparations are more pungent
than those of the U. S. and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, in consequence of
the long pepper which  they contain.  These powders are stimulant and
carminative,  and may be given in the dose  of from ten  to thirty grains, in
cases  of enfeebled digestion  accompanied with flatulence; but  they  are
chiefly used  as corrigents and adjuvants of other medicines.
   Off. Prep. Confectio Aromatica, U. S., Ed.; Confectio Opii, U. S., Ed.;
Pilulae Aloes et Ferri, Ed.; Pilulae Cambogiae, Ed.; Pulvis Aloes Comp.,
Lond., Dub.                                                 W.
                               94* 
1110
Pulveres.
PART II.
   PULVIS ASARI  COMPOSITUS. Dub.   Compound  Poioder
 of Asarabacca.
   " Take of dried Leaves of Asarabacca an ounce; dried Lavender Flowers
 a drachm.  Rub them together to powder." Dub.
   This is an agreeable and efficacious errhine, useful in some cases of obsti-
 nate headache, toothache, and chronic ophthalmia.   Five or  six  grains,
 snuffed up the nostrils at bedtime, excite sneezing and a copious  discharge
 of mucus, which continues to flow on the following day.           W.
   PULVIS CRETAE COMPOSITUS. Lond.,  Ed., Dub.   Com-
pound Powder of Chalk.
   " Take of Prepared Chalk half a pound; Cinnamon/owr ounces; Tor-
 mentil, Gum Arabic, each, three ounces; Long Pepper half an ounce. Rub
 them separately into very fine  powder, and then mix them." Lond., Dub.
   " Take of Prepared Chalk four ounces; Cinnamon, in fine powder, one
 drachm and a half; Nutmeg, in fine powder,  a  drachm.  Triturate them
 well together." Ed.
   In the Edinburgh preparation, the aromatics are in too small a quantity to
 serve any other purpose than  to communicate an agreeable  flavour to the
 chalk,  which is the only active  ingredient.  The powder of the London
 and Dublin Colleges is, on the contrary, warm,  stimulant, and astringent,
 as well as antacid; and  is well  calculated for the treatment of diarrhoea,
 connected with acidity and unattended with inflammatory symptoms.   In
 such a combination, however, the proper proportion, and even the  choice of
 the ingredients, varies so much with  the symptoms of the case, that they
 might  with propriety be left to extemporaneous prescription.  The dose of
 the compound powder of chalk is from ten to twenty grains, given in muci-
 lage or sweetened water, and frequently repeated.
   Off. Prep. Pulvis Cretae Comp. cum Opio, Lond., Ed., Dub.    W.
   PULVIS CRETAE COMPOSITUS CUM OPIO.  Lond., Dub.
 Pulvis Cret* Opiatus.  Ed.  Compound Powder of Chalk with
 Opium.
   " Take of Compound Powder of Chalk six ounces and a half; Hard
 Opium, in powder,/owr scruples.  Mix them."  Lond., Dub.
   " Take of Compound  Chalk  Powder six  ounces;  Powder of Opium
four scruples.   Triturate them together thoroughly." Ed.
   The addition of the opium greatly increases the efficacy of the compound
 powder of chalk in -diarrhoea; and its  equal diffusion through the powder
 presents this advantage, that it may be conveniently given in minute doses
 applicable  to  infantile  cases.  Two  scruples of the  London or Dublin
 powder, and thirty-seven grains of the Edinburgh, contain a grain of opium.
 In the  diarrhoea of adults from ten to twenty grains may be given for a dose,
 and repeated several times a day, or after each evacuation.         W.
   PULVERES EFFERVESCENTES. Ed.  Effervescing  Pow-
 ders.
   " Take of Tartaric Acid one ounce; Bicarbonate of Soda one ounce and
 54 grains, or Bicarbonate of Potassa one ounce and 160 grains.  Reduce
 the Acid and either Bicarbonate separately to fine powder, and divide each
 into sixteen  powders.  Preserve  the acid and alkaline powders in separate
 papers of different colours." Ed.
   This is a  formula, introduced into the last edition of the  Edinburgh Phar-
 macopoeia, for a preparation which has been long in use under the name of 
PART II.
Pulveres.
1111
Soda powders.  The common soda powders contain the ingredients in some-
what different proportions; consisting of twenty-five grains of the acid in one
paper, and thirty of the bicarbonate in the other.   Besides, they are always
prepared with the bicarbonate of soda;  while the  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia
allows a choice  between that  and the bicarbonate of potassa.   This want
of precision is highly objectionable in officinal formulae.   If it was thought
advisable that the  practitioner should  have  the opportunity of prescribing
either of these  preparations at his  option, they should have had  different
names.
  The  powders are administered  in solution.   An  acid and  an  alkaline
powder may be dissolved in separate portions of water and  then mixed; or
they may be thrown together, or successively, into the same portion of water.
The whole draught should be half a pint or somewhat less.  It may be ren-
dered more agreeable by adding two or three fluidrachms of syrup of ginger
or orange peel to the  water before dissolving the powders.   The rationale is
simple.   The tartaric acid seizes the alkali  of the bicarbonate, forming a
tartrate of soda  or of potassa as the case may be, while the carbonic acid
escapes  with effervescence.   The effervescing powders are refrigerant and
very slightly laxative; and afford an  agreeable and refreshing drink, suitable
to febrile complaints.                                            W.

  PULVIS IPECACUANHAE ET OPII.  U.S.  Pulvis Ipecacu-
anh*  Compositus. Lond., Ed,, Dub.   Powder of Ipecacuanha
and Opium.   Dover's Powder.
  "Take of Ipecacuanha, in  powder, Opium,  in powder, each, a  drachm;
Sulphate of Potassa an ounce. Rub them together into a very fine powder."
U.S.
  All the British Colleges employ the same ingredients as above, and in  the
same proportions.  The London College having ordered  them in  the state
of powder, simply directs them to be mixed  together.   The  Edinburgh
College orders eight times the amount of the materials, and directs them to
be triturated thoroughly together.  The Dublin College first rubs the  opium
and sulphate of potassa together into powder, and then mixes the pulverized
ipecacuanha with them.
  The sulphate of potassa in this preparation serves, by the hardness of its
particles, to promote that minute division and consequent thorough intermix-
ture of the opium and ipecacuanha, upon which  the peculiar virtues of  the
compound depend.   It also  serves to dilute the active ingredients,  and thus
allow of  their division into  minute  doses adapted to  the complaints of chil-
dren.   This composition, though usually called  Dover's  powder,  does  not
precisely correspond  with that originally recommended by  Dr. Dover, which
was prepared as follows.  Four ounces of nitrate of potassa and the same quan-
tity of sulphate of potassa, were mixed together in  a red-hot crucible, and
afterwards very finely powdered; one ounce of opium, sliced, was then added,
and ground to powder with  the saline mixture; lastly, an ounce of  ipecacu-
anha and an ounce of liquorice root, in powder, were mixed with the other
ingredients.   This process  was adopted in the former French  Codex, and
has been retained with very slight change in the  present.
  The powder of ipecacuanha and opium is an admirable anodyne diapho-
retic, not surpassed, perhaps, by any other combination in its power of pro-
moting the cutaneous secretion.  Opium itself has a strong tendency to  the
skin, evinced both by the  occasional  diaphoresis and by the  itching and
tingling  sensation  which it excites.   While the vessels of the  skin  are 
1112
Pulveres.
PART II.
stimulated by this  ingredient of the powder, the secreting orifices are  re-
laxed by the ipecacuanha, and the combined effect is much greater than
that which results from either  separately.  At the  same time the general
stimulating influence of the opium, and its tendency to operate injuriously
on  the  brain,  are  counteracted; so that the  mixture may be given with
safety in cases which  might not admit of the use of opium  alone.  The
preparation  is applicable to all cases, not attended with much fever, or
cerebral disease,  or  sick stomach,  in which there is an indication for pro-
fuse diaphoresis, especially in  painful affections, or those connected with
unhealthy discharges.  It is admirably adapted to the  treatment of the
phlegmasiae, particularly  rheumatism and  pneumonia, when complicated
with a typhoid tendency, or after  a sufficient reduction of arterial excite-
ment  by the lancet or other mode of  depletion.  Under similar circum-
stances it is  useful  in dysentery, diarrhoea, and  the various  hemorrhages,
especially that from the uterus.   It is sometimes also given in dropsy.   In
bowel affections, and whenever the hepatic secretion is deranged,  it  is
frequently combined with small doses of calomel.
  Ten grains of the powder contain one grain of opium.  The dose is from
five to fifteen grains, given  diffused in water, or mixed with  syrup, or  in
the  form of  bolus, and repeated at intervals  of four, six, or  eight hours,
when it  is desirable  to maintain a  continued diaphoresis.  Its action  may
be materially promoted by warm  drinks, such as lemonade, or balm tea,
which, however,  should not be given immediately after the powder, as they
might provoke vomiting.
  Off. Prep. Pilulae Ipecacuanhae  Compositae, Lond.; Pilulae Ipecacuanhae
et Opii,  Ed.                                                  W.
  PULVIS JALAPAE COMPOSITUS.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
Compound Powder of Jalap.
  " Take of Jalap, in powder, an  ounce; Bitartrate of Potassa, in powder,
two ounces.   Mix them." U. S.
  The London College takes three ounces of jalap, six ounces of bitartrate
of potassa, and  two drachms  of  ginger.  The Edinburgh and  Dublin
Colleges take the same ingredients in  the same proportion  as the U.  S.
Pharmacopoeia, and direct  them  to be rubbed together to a very fine
powder.
  The bitartrate, by being rubbed with the jalap, is thought to favour its
more minute division, while it increases its hydragogue effect. A combina-
tion of these two ingredients, though with a larger proportion of cream  of
tartar (see Jalapa), is  much  used  in this country as a cathartic in dropsy
and scrofulous affections of the joints and glands.  The dose of the officinal
powder  is from thirty grains to  a drachm.                        W.
  PULVIS KINO COMPOSITUS. Lond., Dub.  Compound Pow-
der of Kino.
  " Take of Kino fifteen  drachms; Cinnamon half an ounce; hard Opium
a drachm.  Rub  them separately to a very fine powder, and then mix them."
Lond., Dub.
  This is an anodyne astringent powder, useful in some forms of diarrhoea,
but  of which the composition would be  better  left to extemporaneous pre-
scription, as the  proportion of the ingredients should vary with the circum-
stances of the case.  Twenty grains contain  one grain  of opium.   The
dose is from five  grains to a scruple.                             W. 
PART II.
Pulveres.
1113
   PULVIS PRO CATAPLASMATE. Dub.  Powder for a Ca-
 taplasm.
   " Take of Flaxseed which remains after  the expression  of the oil one
 part; Oatmeal two parts.  Mix them." Dub.
   This is a good material for the  formation of poultices, but hardly de-
 serves a place among  the officinal preparations.  The unpressed flaxseed
 meal is preferable to that which has been pressed, as the oil which it con-
 tains causes it to retain longer a soft consistence.                   W.
   PULVIS RHEI  COMPOSITUS. Ed,   Compound Powder  of
 Rhubarb.
   " Take of Magnesia one pound; Ginger, in fine powder, two ounces;
 Rhubarb, in fine powder, four ounces.  Mix them thoroughly, and pre-
 serve the powder in well-ciosed bottles." Ed.
   This is a very good antacid laxative combination, well adapted to bowel
 complaints, especially in  children.  The dose for an adult  is from half a
 drachm to a drachm, for  a child  two  or three years old,  from five to ten
 grains.                                                        W.

   PULVIS  SALINUS  COMPOSITUS. Ed., Dub.   Compound
 Saline Powder.
   "Take of  Pure Muriate  of Soda, Sulphate of  Magnesia, each, four
 ounces; Sulphate of Potassa three ounces.   Dry the salts separately with
 a gentle heat, and pulverize each, then triturate them well together, and
 preserve the mixture in well-closed vessels." Ed.
   The Dublin process is essentially the same as the above.
   This is an aperient powder, and may be given with advantage  in costive
 habits, in the dose of two  or three drachms, dissolved in half a pint of water
 or carbonic acid water, before breakfast.                          W.
   PULVIS  SCAMMONII  COMPOSITUS.   Lond., Ed.,  Dub.
 Compound Powder of Scammony.
   " Take of Scammony,  hard Extract of Jalap, each, two ounces;  Ginger
 half an ounce.   Rub them separately to a very fine powder; and then mix
 them." Lond., Dub.
   " Take of Scammony, and Bitartrate of Potash, equal parts.  Triturate
 them together to a very fine powder." Ed.
   It should  be observed,  that the compound of the Edinburgh College is
 essentially different from  that of the London and Dublin Colleges;  but we
 do not think that either of them is an  eligible preparation.   The cream  of
 tartar in the former can serve little other purpose than  to assist in the pul-
 verization of the scarrimony, which does not require any peculiar care in
 this  respect.  In  the  latter,  though the ginger may  tend  to correct the
 griping property  of the  purgative ingredients, the extract of jalap  too
 closely resembles the scammony  in its mode of  operation to  exert any im-
 portant modifying influence upon it.  The dose of  the London powder is
 from ten to twenty grains, of that directed by the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia,
 from fifteen to thirty grains.                                     W.
   PULVIS TRAGACANTHAE COMPOSITUS. Lond.,Ed.  Com-
pound Powder of Tragacanth.
  "Take of Tragacanth, in powder, Gum Arabic, in powder, Starch, each,
 an ounce and a half;  Sugar [refined] three  ounces.  Rub the Starch and
 Sugar together to powder, then add the Tragacanth and Gum  Arabic, and
 mix  them all." Lond.
  The Edinburgh process corresponds with the above. 
1114
Pulveres.— Quinia.
PART II.
   This is applicable  to  the  general purposes of the demulcents; but is
chiefly employed in Great Britain as a vehicle for heavy insoluble powders.
The dose is from thirty grains to a drachm, mixed with water or other mild
liquid.                                                          W.

                             QUINIA.

                      Preparations  of Quinia.

   QUINIAE SULPHAS. U S.   Quin* Disulphas. Lond.  Quin*
Sulphas. Ed,   Quinin* Sulphas.  Dub.  Sulphate of Quinia.
   " Take of Yellow Bark, in  coarse powder, four pounds;  Muriatic Acid
three fluidounces; Lime,  in powder,  five  ounces;  Water  five  gallons;
Sulphuric Acid, Alcohol,  Animal  Charcoal,  each,  a sufficient quantity.
Boil the Bark in one-third of the Water mixed with one-third of the Muriatic
Acid, and strain  through linen.   Boil the residue twice successively with
the same quantity of Water and Acid as  before, and strain.   Mix the de-
coctions, and, while the liquor is hot, gradually add  the Lime, previously
mixed with two  pints  of  water, stirring constantly, until  the quinia is
completely precipitated.  Wash the precipitate with distilled water, and,
having pressed and  dried  it, digest it  in boiling Alcohol.  Pour off the
liquor and repeat  the digestion several times, until the Alcohol is no longer
rendered bitter.   Mix the  liquors, and distil off the Alcohol, until a brown
viscid mass remains.   Upon this substance, removed from the vessel, pour
about half a gallon of Distilled Water,  and, having heated the  mixture to
the boiling point,  add as much Sulphuric Acid as may be necessary to dis-
solve  the  impure alkali.   Then  add an ounce and a  half of  Animal Char-
coal, boil for two  minutes, filter the liquor  while  hot,  and set it  aside to
crystallize.   Should  the liquor, before filtration, be entirely neutral, acidu-
late it very slightly with Sulphuric Acid; should it, on the contrary, change
the colour of  litmus paper to a bright red,  add  more Animal Charcoal.
Separate the crystals  from the liquor,  dissolve them  in  boiling water
slightly acidulated with Sulphuric Acid, add a little Animal Charcoal, filter,
and set aside to crystallize.  Wrap the  crystals in bibulous paper, and dry
them with a gentle heat.   The mother-waters may be made to yield an ad-
ditional quantity of Sulphate of Quinia by precipitating the Quinia with Solu-
tion of Ammonia, and treating the precipitated alkali with Water, Sulphuric
Acid,  and Animal Charcoal, as before." U. S.
   The London College exhausts yellow bark by water acidulated with
sulphuric  acid, throws down the acid by hydrated oxide of lead, washes
the precipitate with distilled water, boils down the liquors to  a fourth  part,
filters, adds water of ammonia in order  to decompose the  kinate of quinia,
washes the precipitated quinia  till the water ceases to be rendered  alkaline,
saturates the residue  with diluted sulphuric acid, digests with animal char-
coal, filters,  and finally, having thoroughly washed the charcoal, cautiously
evaporates the liquor so that it may crystallize.   This process, however,
has not been found to answer well in practice.  It may not be irrelevant to
mention here  that the London College, .though it thus gives a process for
the preparation of sulphate of quinia, places the alkali  itself, under the name
of Quinia, in its Catalogue of  the Materia Medica.
   " Take of Yellow Bark, in coarse  powder, one pound; Carbonate of Soda
eight  ounces; Sulphuric Acid half a fluidounce; Purified  Animal Charcoal
two drachms.  Boil the bark for an hour in four pints  [Imperial measure] of
water, in which half the carbonate of soda has been dissolved; strain and ex- 
PART IL
Quinia.
1115
press strongly through linen or calico; moisten the residuumwith water and
express again; and repeat this twice.  Boil the residuum for half an hour with
four pints of water and half the Sulphuric  Acid; strain,  express strongly,
moisten  with water, and  express again.   Boil the residuum  with three
pints of water and a fourth part of the Acid; strain  and squeeze as before.
Boil again the  residuum with the same quantity of  water and Acid,  strain
and  squeeze as formerly.   Concentrate the whole  acid  liquids to about a
pint; let the  product cool;  filler it, and dissolve in  it the remainder of the
Carbonate of Soda.  Collect the  impure quina on a cloth, wash it slightly,
and squeeze  out the liquor with the hand.   Break down the moist precipi-
tate in a pint of distilled water, add one fluidscruple  of Sulphuric Acid, heat
it to 212°, and stir occasionally.   Should any  precipitate  retain its  gray
colour, and the liquid be neutral,  add Sulphuric  Acid drop by drop, stirring
constantly, till the gray colour disappears. Should the liquid redden litmus,
neutralize  it with a little carbonate of  soda.  Should crystals  form on the
surface, add boiling distilled water to dissolve them.  Filter through paper,
preserving the funnel  hot; set the liquid aside to  crystallize;  collect and
squeeze  the  crystals; dissolve  them  in a pint of distilled water heated to
212°; digest the solution  for fifteen minutes with  the Animal Charcoal;
filter, and crystallize as before.  Dry the crystals with a heat not exceeding
140°.   The mother liquors of each crystallization  will yield a little more
salt by concentration and cooling." Ed.
  It should  be observed,  that the Imperial measure is  employed in the
above process.
  The  Dublin College exhausts  the bark by digestion with water  acidu-
lated with sulphuric acid,  adds to the liquor sufficient lime to saturate the
acid, dries the precipitate on blotting paper, digests  it with  rectified  spirit,
filters, distils the spirituous  liquor to dryness,  adds diluted sulphuric acid
to the residuum in slight excess,  and finally  crystallizes by concentration
and cooling.
  The present U. S. process, which is essentially that of the French Codex,
differs from the one given  in the Pharmacopoeia of 1830, in  the use of muri-
atic instead of  sulphuric acid for  acidulating the water first employed, and
in the greater minuteness of the details.  Both  this  and the French Codex
process, as well as that of the Dublin College, are modifications of the
plan originally proposed by M. Henry, Jun., of Paris, for which  he received
a prize  from the French Academy of Sciences,  and  which has been almost
universally employed where alcohol is not too expensive.  Henry's  process,
with all its details,  may be found in previous  editions of this work; but, as
its  repetition is rendered  unnecessary by the greater precision of the offi-
cinal formula,  we omit it in the present edition.   An explanation of the
several  directions given in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia will  be useful to the
student by enabling him to comprehend each step of the process.
  The  yellow bark (Calisaya, or royal yellow) is  the variety selected, be-
cause this contains quinia in the largest proportion,  and most free from ad-
mixture with cinchonia.  The alkali exists in  the bark combined with kinic
acid, and probably also, with one or more of the colouring principles, as
suggested  by M. Henry.   As  in this latter  state it is of difficult solubility,
if it be not insoluble in water,  the whole of the quinia cannot be extracted
from the  bark by means of that  liquid alone.   Berzelius, however, attri-
butes the difficulty of exhausting the bark to the circumstance, that water
converts the  native neutral kinates into soluble superkinates which are dis-
solved,  and  insoluble  subkinates which remain.   By adding  muriatic or
sulphuric acid to the water in such quantities as to  be in excess in relation 
1116
Quinia.
PART II.
to the quinia, the whole of the alkali combines  with the acid  to  form a
very  soluble muriate or sulphate, in which  state it exists, together with
various impurities, in the decoctions procured by the first steps of the pro-
cess.   By the addition of lime to the filtered and mixed decoctions, the salt
of quinia is decomposed, giving up its acid  to the  lime, while the quinia is
liberated,  and being insoluble in water, is precipitated—the water retaining
most of the impurities.   If sulphuric acid was employed in the commence-
ment  of the process, sulphate of lime is deposited along with the quinia;
but if muriatic acid was  employed, the resulting chloride of calcium is re-
tained in solution; and a reason is thus afforded  for the preference of the
latter  acid. But, in either case, the excess of lime, and a compound formed
of the lime and colouring matter, which is insoluble both in water and alco-
hol, are thrown down with the alkali.  The precipitate having been washed
in order to purify it from every  thing soluble  in water, the next step is  to
separate the quinia from the insoluble impurities.   This is accomplished
by the agency of alcohol, which dissolves  the former, and  leaves most  of
the latter behind.  The whole  of the alkali  having been abstracted, the
alcoholic  solution of quinia  is then  concentrated so as to afford a brown
viscid mass, which is impure quinia.  Portions of this may be reserved, if
thought advisable, for the preparation of other salts of quinia.   The mass
is treated  with boiling distilled water acidulated with  sulphuric acid, which
forms a disulphate (the officinal sulphate) with the quinia, and, being some-
what  in excess, enables the salt to be readily dissolved.  The animal char-
coal now  added should be the unpurified bone-black, the carbonate of lime
contained in  which neutralizes  a  portion  of  the  sulphuric acid, and thus
facilitates the  crystallization  of the  sulphate of quinia when the solution
cools.   Should the quantity  of the bone-black added be sufficient to render
the solution quite neutral, so  as in  no degree to affect litmus paper, as much
sulphuric acid should be added as will give the paper  a slightly vinous tint;
for otherwise the crystallization  may commence before the liquor is com-
pletely filtered.   If, on the contrary,  the bone-black has been deficient, and
the solution colours litmus paper cherry-red, more  of that substance is to be
added.   This, however, is  merely  an incidental  advantage of the animal
charcoal;  its chief use being  to decolorize the liquid.   The second crystal-
lization is necessary to obtain the salt of quinia free from colour;  and some-
times, it cannot be rendered perfectly white without a third.  It is essential
that the heat employed in drying the crystals  should  be gentle, in order  to
prevent their efflorescence.   The  small  quantity of cinchonia contained  in
Calisaya bark is extracted in this process along with the quinia, but, as the
sulphate of the former alkali is more soluble than that of the latter, it remains
in the mother liquors.
   The Edinburgh process  was contrived so as to avoid the use of alcohol,
which is so costly in Great  Britain  as materially  to affect the economy  of
the operation.  The object of the first boiling with  water and carbonate  of
soda, is  to get  rid of  the  colouring principles, resin,  and kinic acid,
while the quinia is left behind.  The residuum is next exhausted by means
of water  acidulated  with sulphuric  acid,  which  affords  an  impure solu-
tion of sulphate of quinia.    This, after being sufficiently concentrated,  is
decomposed by carbonate of soda, which seizes the acid and precipitates
the quinia with some colouring matter.  The remaining steps of the opera-
tion are similar to those of the U.  S.  process,  except that animal  charcoal is
employed only previous to the  last  crystallization; and the advantage inci-
dentally obtained from it, of neutralizing the acid when in excess, is gained
in the Edinburgh process  by the use of carbonate of soda.  Both Pereira 
PART II.
Quinia.
1117
and Christison speak favourably of this process; but it is scarcely probable
that it will supersede the former where alcohol can  be  had cheaply.
  According to the French Codex, one thousand parts of yellow bark ought
to yield from 29 to 30 parts of sulphate of quinia, when treated by the pro-
cess first described.  But this amount is  not often reached.  We have been
informed  by Mr. John Farr, of Philadelphia, who  is  largely concerned in
the manufacture of sulphate of quinia, that the Calisaya bark employed by
him  yields  an average product of about two per cent, of the salt; and a
manufacturer in London  told Dr. Christison that  the extremes which he
obtained from different specimens of bark were one  and a  half and three
per cent.
  Sulphate  of quinia may be obtained from any of the varieties of Peruvian
bark by the  above  processes; but should any other than the Calisaya bark be
employed, a large proportion of sulphate of cinchonia will necessarily result
from the operation, and, being much more soluble than the sulphate of quinia,
will remain dissolved in the residuary liquor from which the latter will have
crystallized.  To obtain the cinchonia separate, the following method,  ori-
ginally suggested  by Pelletier and Caventou, may be employed.  Magnesia,
lime, or a solution of potassa as employed by M.  Callaud, is added to the
mother waters in  excess.  The cinchonia is precipitated together with a
portion of quinia  which has remained in the  solution, and with the excess
of magnesia or lime if  one of  these earths has been  employed.   The  pre-
cipitate is  collected on a filter, washed with hot water, then dried,  and
treated with boiling alcohol, which dissolves  the vegetable alkalies.  The
alcoholic  solution  is filtered while hot, and the residue afterwards treated in
the same manner with  successive portions  of alcohol, till  it is  quite ex-
hausted.  The solutions having been mixed  together,  are now concentrated
by the  distillation of the alcohol, and allowed to  cool, when they deposit
 cinchonia in the crystalline state.   Successive evaporations  and  refrigera-
 tions afford new crops of crystals, and the process should be continued till
 no more  can be obtained.  The cinchonia thus procured, if impure, should
be reconverted into  a sulphate and treated as before, animal charcoal being
 employed to free  it from colour.  The quinia which remains in the mother
 waters, as  it will not crystallize, may be obtained by evaporation  to  dry-
 ness, or may be converted into the  crystallizable  sulphate by the addition
 of sulphuric acid.  To  obtain the sulphate of cinchonia,  mix the alkali
 with a small quantity of water, heat the mixture,  and add  gradually dilute
 sulphuric acid sufficient to saturate it; then boil with animal charcoal'pre-
 viously washed with muriatic acid,  and filter the liquor while hot.  Upon
 cooling it will deposit crystals of the sulphate, and, by repeated evaporation
 and crystallization,  will yield  all the  salt which it  holds in solution.
   Properties.  Sulphate of quinia is in  fine,  silky, slightly flexible, needle-
 shaped crystals, interlaced among each other, or grouped in  small star-like
 tufts.   Its  taste is intensely bitter, resembling that of the yellow bark.  It
 effloresces  slightly on exposure to the air, and, at a moderate heat, loses its
 crystalline  form in consequence of the escape of its water of crystallization.
 At a temperature of 212° it becomes luminous, especially  when  rubbed.
 At about 240° it melts, assuming the  appearance of wax.  It is very slightly
 soluble in cold water, requiring, according to M. Baup, 740 parts at 54° F.
 for solution, while at the boiling point it is dissolved  in 30 parts of water,
 which deposits it upon cooling.   Its cold solution  is opalescent.   It is solu-
 ble in about 60 parts of cold alcohol of 0835, but only to a  very small ex-
 tent in ether.   The diluted acids, even  tartaric and oxalic acids in excess,
 dissolve it  with great facility.   With an additional equivalent of sulphuric
        95 
1118
Quinia.
PART II.
acid it forms another sulphate, which is much more  soluble in  water than
the officinal salt, and crystallizes from its solution with much greater diffi-
culty.   It was at first supposed that, of these two sulphates, the officinal
salt consisted of one equivalent of each of its components, while the other
contained two equivalents of acid to one of base.   The former was, there-
fore, denominated  simply sulphate,  the latter supersulphate of quinia.   A
different view has  now been generally adopted, according to which the salt
formerly considered a supersulphate is in fact strictly neutral, and therefore
entitled to the name of sulphate of quinia, while the officinal salt is  thought
to contain two equivalents of base to one of  acid,  and is therefore properly
a subsulphate or disulphate of quinia.   The latter name has been  adopted
by the London College.   In the U. S., Dublin, and Edinburgh  Pharmaco-
poeias, as well as  in the French Codex, the original name of sulphate of
quinia is still  applied to the officinal salt.   Hence has arisen a  confusion
of nomenclature which must be embarrassing to the student.  It is the salt
formerly called supersulphate which remains in  the  mother waters when
an  excess of acid  is added in the  process  for procuring the sulphate  of
quinia. According to M. Baup, it is soluble  in 11  parts of water at 54° F.,
and in its own water of crystallization at the boiling point.  It is very solu-
ble in  diluted, and somewhat less  so in absolute  alcohol.   It may be ob-
tained  by adding to a boiling concentrated solution of the ordinary sulphate,
as much sulphuric acid  as already  exists in the salt, and then evaporating
the solution.
   Composition.  The officinal sulphate of quinia, the subsulphate or disul-
phate of chemists,  is the only one  used in  medicine,  and to this we have
allusion in the  present work whenever the sulphate of quinia is mentioned
without any distinguishing epithet.   In  the crystalline form it is stated  to
consist of one equivalent  of sulphuric  acid  40*1, two  equiv. of quinia
329-1, and eight equiv.  of water 72 = 441-2; or,"  in the  hundred parts, of
9-09 of sulphuric acid, 74-59 of quinia,  and 16-32 of water.  On exposure
to the  air or to a heat of  212° it  effloresces, losing  one-half of its water
of crystallization,  (according to  Soubeiran, six equivalents), and at 240° it
loses one-half of the remainder, retaining two equivalents  or about  4 per
cent, of  water, of  which it cannot be deprived without undergoing decom-
position. (Phillips.)
   Incompatibles and tests.   Sulphate of  quinia  is  decomposed  by the
alkalies  and their  carbonates, and  by the alkaline earths.   In solution, it
affords white precipitates  with potassa, soda, and  ammonia,  which  are
partly  soluble in an excess of alkali.  It is  also precipitated by vegetable
astringent infusions, the  tannic acid of which forms a  white  insoluble com-
pound with quinia.   The soluble salts  of lead and of baryta occasion pre-
cipitates; and that produced by the salts of baryta is insoluble in the acids.
A  freshly prepared solution of chlorine, added to a solution of the sulphate
of quinia, and followed  by the addition of water of ammonia, occasions an
emerald-green colour, and, in certain proportions,  the  deposition of a green
precipitate.
   Adulterations.   The  high price  of sulphate of quinia  has led to various
attempts at adulteration.  Sulphate of lime, and  other  alkaline or earthy
salts, gum,  sugar,  mannite,  starch,  stearin or margarin, caffein, salicin, and
sulphate of cinchonia, are among the substances which are said to have been
fraudulently added.  By attending  to the degree of  solubility of the sul-
phate  in different  menstrua, and to its chemical  relations with other sub-
stances already described,  there  can be  little difficulty in  detecting these
adulterations.  The presence of  any mineral  substance not readily  volati-
lizable, may be at once ascertained  by exposing the salt to a red heat, which 
PART II.
Quinia.
1119
will completely dissipate the sulphate of quinia, leaving the mineral behind.
A volatile  ammoniacal  salt may be detected  by the smell of  ammonia
emitted upon the addition of potassa.  Gum and starch are left behind by
alcohol, and fatty matters by water  acidulated with  sulphuric acid.  Sugar
and mannite cause a solution  of the  salt in acidulated water to have  a
sweet  taste after the  precipitation of the quinia by an alkaline carbonate.
Salicin imparts the property of becoming red upon the contact of sulphuric
acid.  Caffein alters the degree of solubility in different menstrua.  If upon
dissolving the salt in  acidulated water, precipitating by ammonia, and dis-
solving the precipitate  in  boiling  alcohol, the alcoholic solution should
deposit crystals upon  cooling, the presence of cinchonia may be suspected.
The Edinburgh College gives the  following mode  of testing the  purity of
sulphate of quinia.   "A solution of ten grains in a fluidounce of distilled
water and  two or three drops of sulphuric acid, if  decomposed by a solu-
tion of half an ounce of carbonate of soda in two waters [twice its weight
of water],  and heated till the precipitate shrinks and fuses, yields on cool-
ing a solid mass, which when  dry weighs 7*4 grains, and in powder  dis-
solves entirely in solution of oxalic acid."
   Medical Properties  and Uses.  Sulphate of quinia produces  upon the
system, so far as we  are enabled to judge by observation, the  same effects
with Peruvian bark, without being  so  apt to nauseate and oppress the sto-
mach.  (See Cinchona.)  Its effects  upon the brain are even more striking
than those  of cinchona, probably because it is  given in larger proportional
doses.   Even in the  ordinary therapeutical doses, it often produces consi-
derable  cerebral disturbance, evinced by a feeling of tightness or distension
in the head, ringing, buzzing, or roaring in the ears, hardness of hearing,
&c.   Some individuals are much more liable to these effects than others,
and in some even small  doses  produce  them.  A certain degree of this ob-
servable action on the brain is rather desirable  than otherwise, as the  evi-
dence that the medicine is  affecting the system.  In very large quantities,
as from a scruple to a drachm  or more, besides  the  phenomena mentioned,
it has been observed  to  occasion severe headache, vertigo, deafness, dimi-
nution or loss of sight,  dilated  and  immovable  pupil, loss of speech, gene-
ral  tremblings, intoxication or delirium, coma, and  great prostration.   In
some instances the pulse  has  been remarkably diminished in frequency,
down even to fifty or  even  a smaller number  of beats in the minute.  In an
instance recorded  by Giacomini, in which a man  took by mistake about
three  drachms, the patient became insensible,  and  some hours afterwards
was found  by the physician in a state of great general prostration, from
which he recovered under  the use of laudanum and aromatic waters. (An-
nuaire de Therapeutique  for 1843, p. 176.)  Besides  its  effects  on the
brain, sulphate of quinia sometimes also occasions  great gastric and intes-
tinal irritation, marked by oppression at stomach, nausea, abdominal pains,
vomiting, and purging.   In general  these effects of excessive doses gradu-
ally pass off, although partial deafness  often continues for several days, and
sometimes much longer.  It is even said that permanent deafness has re-
sulted.   We have  seen no well authenticated  case of death produced by
the direct action  of sulphate  of quinia in health.   Given  largely in  dis-
eased  slates  it has been the  obvious  cause of fatal results, not  so  much
however by its peculiar action, as by co-operating with the disease in estab-
lishing intense local irritation or inflammation.  Though capable, therefore,
of doing much mischief if improperly used, sulphate of quinia can scarcely
be ranked among the  poisons.
  From its occasional effect in diminishing the frequency of the pulse and 
1120
Quinia.
PART II.
the general strength, it has been supposed to be essentially sedative in large
doses.  Such an opinion, unless well founded, might lead  to  hazardous
practice; and the observations  hitherto reported are not such as to enable
us to come to a just conclusion.  In most instances in which  the effect was
observed the patient was in a morbid state, sometimes labouring under ma-
lignant  diseases;  and in such cases it is  well  known that powerful stimu-
lants often have the  effect of diminishing the frequency of the pulse.   In
the case observed by  Giacomini,  the patient was not seen until some hours
after taking the sulphate, and might have been in the condition of universal
prostration which follows all excessive excitement.   In the present state of
our  knowledge upon the subject, it is safest to consider  the sulphate of
quinia in a  greater or less degree excitant, in whatever dose it  may  be
taken.
   Sulphate  of quinia may be  substituted for  cinchona in all diseases to
which the latter is applicable; and, in the treatment of intermittents, it has
proved so efficacious as to have almost entirely superseded the use  of bark.
It has the advantage  over this  remedy, not only that it is  more easily ad-
ministered in large doses, and  more readily retained by the  stomach, but
that in cases which require an  impression to be made through the rectum
or the skin,  it is much more effectual, because, from the smallness  of  its
bulk, it is more readily retained in the former case, and  more speedily ab-
sorbed in the latter.  Still we  cannot be certain that there  are not other
active principles  in bark  besides the quinia and  cinchonia, the  latter of
which possesses  properties analogous to those of the former; nor that the
mode of combination in which these principles exist, may not so modify
their action as  to render  them more effectual in certain forms of disease.
The question can be solved only by careful and long continued observation.
In the mean time, we may resort to the bark if the sulphate of quinia should
not answer the ends in view; and instances  have occurred, under our own
notice, in which it has proved successful in intermittents after the salt has
failed.
   Sulphate  of quinia may be  given in pill or  solution, or  suspended  in
water by the intervention of syrup  and mucilage.  The form of pill is
usually  preferred. (See Pilulae  Quiniae Sulphatis.)  The solution may  be
readily effected by the addition of a little acid of almost any kind to  the
water.  Eight grains  of the sulphate will dissolve in a fluidounce of water
acidulated with about twelve minims of the diluted sulphuric acid, or aro-
matic sulphuric acid of the Pharmacopoeias; and this  is the most eligible
mode of exhibiting  the  medicine in the  liquid form.   The  addition of a
small proportion  of sulphate of morphia or  of laudanum,  will  often  be
found advantageous when the stomach is disposed to be sickened, or  the
bowels to be disturbed by the quinia.
   Twelve grains of the sulphate of quinia are equivalent to about an ounce
of good  bark. The dose varies  exceedingly, according to the circumstances
of the patient and the object to be accomplished.  As a tonic simply, a grain
may be  given three or four times a day, or more frequently in acute cases.
In intermittents, from  twelve to  twenty-four grains should be given  between
the paroxysms, divided into smaller or larger doses according to the condition
of the stomach, or the length of the intermission.  From one  to four grains
may be  given at once, and some even advise the whole amount.  In malig-
nant intermittents and remittents the quantity may be  increased to  thirty
grains or even a drachm  between the paroxysms.  M. Maillot gave one
hundred and twenty-eight grains, in the course of a few hours, in a case of
malignant fever  occurring in Northern Africa, with the happiest results. 
PART II.
Q u inia.—Soda.
1121
 (Bell, in Stokes and Bell's Lectures on Theory and Practice, <y-c.)  The
 caution, however, is necessary, not  to employ this heroic practice  against
 easily conquerable diseases.   When the stomach will  not retain the medi-
 cine, it may be  administered with nearly as  much efficacy by enema; from
 six to twelve grains, with two fluidounces of liquid starch, and from  twenty
 to forty drops of laudanum, being injected into the rectum, in ordinary cases,
 every six  hours.   Should circumstances render  this mode  of application
 impracticable, an equal quantity, diluted with  arrow  root  or other mild
 powder, may be sprinkled, at  the same  intervals, upon a  blistered surface
 denuded of the cuticle.  The epigastrium, or  the inside of the thighs and
 arms, would be the proper place for the blister.  The sulphate  has also
 been employed by friction in the  form of ointment, in cases of malignant
 intermittent.  The ointment should  be made by incorporating a saturated
 alcoholic solution of the salt with lar'd, and should be applied to the inside
 of the thighs and arms.
    Off. Prep.  Pilulae Quiniae Sulphatis, U. S.                      W.


                               SODA.

                       Preparations of Soda.

   SODAE CARBONAS EXSICCATUS. U.S.  Sod*  Carbonas
 Exsiccata.  Lond.  Sod* Carbonas Siccatum. Ed., Dub.  Dried
 Carbonate of Soda.
   " Take  of Carbonate of Soda a convenient quantity.  Expose it to heat,
 in a clean  iron vessel, until it  is thoroughly dried, stirring constantly with
 an iron spatula;  then rub it into powder." U. S.
   The London  College takes apound of the salt, exposes it to heat in a
 proper vessel, until it is dried,  and, having subjected it to a red heat, rubs it
 to powder.  The  Edinburgh College heats any convenient quantity in a
 shallow vessel till it is dry, then urges it with a red heat in a crucible, and
 reduces it  to powder when cold.
   Liquefy the crystals of Carbonate  of Soda in  a silver crucible over the
 fire.  Then, having increased  the heat, stir the liquefied salt, until, by the
 evaporation of the water, it becomes dry.  Reduce the residual salt  to fine
 powder, and keep it in close vessels." Dub.
   Carbonate of  soda contains  ten equivalents  of water of crystallization,
 and, when heated, readily undergoes  the watery fusion.   Upon continuing
 the heat, the water is dried off, and a white porous mass remains, which is
 easily reduced to powder.  The London and Edinburgh Colleges expose
 the dry mass to a red heat before powdering it.   Dried carbonate of soda is
 in the form of a while  powder, and differs  in  no respect from the carbo-
 nate, except in being devoid of water of crystallization.  (See Sodas  Car-
 bonas.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  This preparation was introduced into re-
 gular practice on the recommendation of Dr.  Beddoes, who extolled its vir-
 tues in calculous complaints.   It is  only applicable  to  the  cure  of such
 affections, when dependent on a morbid secretion of uric  acid.  Its advantage
 over the common carbonate is that it admits of being made up into  pills, in
 consequence of being in  the dried  state.  As the water of crystallization
 forms more than half of the carbonate, the dose of the  dried salt must be
reduced in  proportion. From five to fifteen grains maybe given  three times
a day in the form of pill, prepared  with soap and aromatics.  The general 
1122
Soda.
PART II.
medical properties of this salt have been given under another head.  (See
Sodae Carbonas.)
   Off. Prep. Sodae Bicarbonas, Ed.                               B.
   SODAE  CARBONATIS AQUA. Dub.   Water of Carbonate of
Soda.
   " Take of Carbonate  of Soda any quantity.  Dissolve it  in  Distilled
Water so as to form a solution of the specific gravity 1-024.  A solution of
this density is obtained by dissolving an ounce  of Carbonate of Soda in a
pint of  Distilled Water." Dub.
   This  preparation furnishes a solution of carbonate of soda of determinate
strength, each fluidounce of which contains half a drachm of the  salt.  It
is convenient for prescribing the alkali in solution, and forming effervescing
draughts, each  fluidounce being saturated, on an average, by  half a fluid-
ounce of lemon juice. The dose is from one to two fluidounces, sufficiently
diluted  with water, and given two or three times a day.              B.
   SODAE  BICARBONAS. U.S.,Ed.,Dub. Sod* Sesquicarbonas.
Lond.   Bicarbonate of Soda.   Sesquicarbonate of Soda.
   " Take of Carbonate of Soda, in crystals, a convenient quantity. Break
the crystals in pieces, and put them into a wooden box, having  a transverse
partition near the bottom pierced with numerous small holes, and a cover
which can be tightly fitted on.  To a bottle having two tubulures, and half
filled with  water, adapt  two tubes, one connected  with  an apparatus  for
generating  carbonic acid and terminating  under the water in the bottle,
the other commencing at the tubulure in which it is inserted, and  entering
the box by an opening near  the  bottom,  beneath the  partition.  Then
lute all  the joints,  and cause a stream  of Carbonic Acid to pass through  the
water into the box until the  Carbonate of Soda is fully saturated. Carbonic
Acid is  obtained from  Marble by the  addition of dilute Sulphuric Acid."
U.S.
   " Fill with fragments of Marble a glass jar, open at the  bottom and
tubulated at the top;  close  the  bottom in such a  way as to  keep-in  the
Marble  without preventing  the free  passage of  a fluid; connect the tubula-
ture closely by a bent tube  and corks  with an empty bottle, and this in like
manner with another  bottle, filled with one part of Carbonate  of Soda  and
two parts of Dried Carbonate of Soda well triturated together;  and let the
tube be long  enough to reach the bottom of  the bottle.  Before closing
the last cork closely, immerse the jar to the  top in diluted Muriatic Acid,
contained in any  convenient vessel;  when  the whole  apparatus is thus
filled with  carbonic acid gas,  secure the last cork tightly;  and let  the
action go on till next morning, or till gas is no longer absorbed by the salt.
Remove the damp salt which is formed, and dry it, either in the air without
heat, or at a temperature not above  120°." Ed.
   " Take of Carbonate  of  Soda seven pounds; Distilled Water  a gallon
[Imperial measure].  Dissolve  the  Carbonate of  Soda in the  Water, and
strain;  then pass Carbonic Acid into the solution to saturation, that the  salt
may subside.   Dry this  with a gentle heat, after it has been wrapped  and
pressed in  a linen cloth." Lond.
   " Take of Carbonate of Soda two parts; Water five parts.  Dissolve,
and in a proper apparatus, expose the solution to a stream of Carbonic Acid
gas, evolved during the solution  of  White Marble  in dilute Muriatic  Acid,
until  it ceases  to absorb gas; and let  it remain  at rest that crystals may be
formed. Then, with a heat not exceeding 120°, evaporate the solution  that 
PART II.
Soda.
1123
crystals may again be formed, which are to be  mixed with those first ob-
tained, dried, and preserved in a close vessel."  Dub.
  The object of these processes is to combine the alkali with an additional
equivalent  of carbonic acid, whereby it becomes converted into  the bicar-
bonate.  The officinal processes are different, and, therefore,  require a
separate notice.
  The process adopted in the last U. S. Pharmacopoeia, is that which has
been  practised for many years  in  the United  States, and which was de-
scribed in 1830, by Dr. Franklin R. Smith, in the first volume of the Jour-
nal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.  This process is attributed to
Dr. Smith by Soubeiran, who  characterizes it as  the best that can be em-
ployed. (Nouv. Traite de Pharm.)  It was adopted  in the French Codex
on its revision of 1837.  A stream of carbonic acid is  passed into  a suitable
vessel, containing the crystallized carbonate placed on a diaphragm, pierced
with  numerous holes.   As the  bicarbonate combines  with  much less water
of crystallization than is contained in the carbonate, it follows that, during
the progress of the  saturation of the carbonate, a considerable quantity of
water is  liberated.   This  water would  finally dissolve  the  bicarbonate
formed, were it not for the diaphragm, through which it is  allowed to drain
off, holding in solution a part of the carbonate.  When  the  saturation  is
completed, the  pieces  of crystals, still supported on the diaphragm, are
found to have retained their original form,  but to have become of a porous
and loose texture.
   The process newly adopted in the last Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia is that
of Berzelius,  described in  former editions of  this Dispensatory.  In the
U. S. process, the excess of water over the quantity necessary for the bicar-
bonate, is  allowed  to drain off;  but it holds a certain portion  of  carbonate
in solution which thus  escapes the action of the carbonic acid.   To  avoid
this  result it  is  only necessary to prepare a  carbonate, containing just
sufficient water of crystallization to accommodate the bicarbonate; and the
process recommended by Berzelius accomplishes  this purpose.   Thus  the
salt which he prepares  to be submitted to the stream of carbonic acid, is an
intimate mixture, in fine  powder, of four parts  of  effloresced carbonate,
with  one of the crystallized salt.  The proportion adopted by  the Edin-
burgh College is different; namely, two parts of the dried carbonate to one
of  the  crystallized  carbonate, and is such as to afford  a slight excess of
water over what is  required to constitute the bicarbonate.   Hence the Edin-
burgh processs furnishes a damp salt, which is  dried in the air without heat,
or at a temperature  not exceeding 120°.   The apparatus employed by the
 College for generating  the  carbonic acid is precisely the  self-regulating re-
servoir devised  by Dr. Hare on  the principle of Gay-Lussac's.  The empty
bottle,  placed between  the generating apparatus and that containing the salt,
is intended to  detain  any impurity  which may be carried  over with  the
stream of carbonic acid.
   The London College employs the old process of dissolving the carbonate
in water  berore  submitting  it to the action of carbonic acid.   The solu-
tion,  when saturated, lets fall the sparingly soluble bicarbonate  in minute
 crystals, which are pressed in a linen cloth, and dried by a gentle heat.   In
this process, the mother water is not evaporated, although it contains a con-
siderable portion of bicarbonate.  The reason  of this omission is, no doubt,
the difficulty of applying heat  in  such a manner as  not  to decompose the
salt.   The Dublin  process  is similar to the  London.  The points of dif-
ference are that a weaker alkaline solution  is employed, and that the mother
water is evaporated at a heat not exceeding 120° for the production of a 
1124
Soda.
PART II.
 second crop of crystals.   Both these processes are unproductive, and, be-
 sides, furnish  an imperfect bicarbonate.  At  present they are superseded
 by processes similar to those of the U. S. and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias.
   Properties,  8fC.  As obtained  by the  U. S.  formula, bicarbonate of soda
 is in opaque, porous masses, made up of numerous, aggregated crystalline
 grains, and having a snow-white  colour.  For the convenience of the apo-
 thecary these  masses are  reduced to powder.   As procured by the Edin-
 burgh process, it is in small, white, opaque, irregular scales.  The London
 and Dublin preparation is in minute, colourless, indistinct crystals.   Bicar-
 bonate of soda is permanent in the air, and slightly alkaline to the taste and
 to turmeric paper.  It is soluble in thirteen parts of cold water.  When the
 solution is exposed to heat, the salt gradually parts with carbonic acid, and,
 at the temperature of 212°, is converted into sesquicarbonate.  At a red
 heat, the water of crystallization and the second equivalent of carbonic acid
 are expelled, and the anhydrous monoearbonate is left.  One eq., or 84-54
 parts of the crystallized bicarbonate, should lose, by complete decomposi-
 tion by dilute  sulphuric acid, two eqs. or 44-24  parts of  carbonic acid.
 The salt is seldom so perfect as to withstand this test; as good commercial
 samples generally contain  from two to three per cent, of carbonate.   The
 presence of this impurity  may be  known by a decided alkaline taste and
 reaction, by a  cold solution of the salt yielding a precipitate with sulphate
 of magnesia, and  by a solution in  forty parts of water, yielding, without
 agitation, an orange-coloured or reddish-brown precipitate with  corrosive
 sublimate; whereas the pure salt produces a slight  opalescence only with
 the latter test.   This test is adopted in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, and,
 according  to  Dr. Christison, readily detects  one per cent,  of carbonate.
 The pure bicarbonate is not precipitated  by chloride of platinum, nor, when
 supersaturated with  nitric  acid, by chloride of barium or nitrate of silver.
 The non-action of these tests  proves the  absence of salts of potassa, and
 of sulphates and chlorides.   The  incompatibles of this salt are the same as
 those  of the carbonate, except sulphate of magnesia in  the cold, which
 decomposes the carbonate, but not the bicarbonate.
   Composition. Bicarbonate of soda, when perfect, consists of two eqs. of
 carbonic acid 44*24,  one of soda 31*3, and one of water 9=84-54: but, as
 found  in the shops,  it seldom contains so large a  proportion of carbonic
 acid.   The London College calls  the product of its formula, a sesquicar-
 bonate; but, though  it contains less  carbonic acid than the  bicarbonate, it
 by no  means has a constant composition corresponding with  the sesquisalt.
 The London name for this  salt should, therefore, be  abandoned, as an un-
 successful  attempt to express its  composition when imperfectly made.   It
 is admitted that the bicarbonate is  now made nearly perfect on a large scale;
 and the U. S. and Edinburgh processes furnish a pure salt.
  Medical  Properties and Uses. This  salt has the general medical pro-
 perties of the carbonate; but, from  its mild taste and less  irritating qualities,
 proves more acceptable to the palate and stomach.   It is often  resorted  to
 in calculous cases, characterized by predominant uric acid.  When the car-
 bonate is given in these cases, its continued  use is  liable to induce  phos-
 phatic  deposits, after the removal of the  uric acid.   According to D'Arcet,
who made  the observation at the springs of Vichy, this objection does not
lie to the bicarbonate, especially when  taken  in carbonic acid water;  for
 this salt, by its superabundant acid, has the power of maintaining the  phos-
phates in  solution, even  after the alkali  has caused the uric acid to  disap-
pear.   The same remark is applicable to  the bicarbonate of potassa.  Bicar-
bonate of soda has been given in infantile croup, with apparent  advantage 
PART II.
Soda.
1125
 in promoting the expectoration of the false membrane, in the dose of a grain
 every five minutes, dissolved in milk and water.   The dose for an adult is
 from ten grains to a drachm, and is taken  most  conveniently in a glass of
 carbonic acid water.  This  salt is principally consumed in making what
 are called soda and Seidlitz powders.  (See  page 52.)  It is sometimes made
 into lozenges.  (See Trochisci Sodae Bicarbonatis.)
   Off. Prep.  Liquor Sodae  Effervescens, Lond., Ed.;  Pulveres Efferves-
 centes, Ed.; Trochisci Sodae Bicarbonatis, Ed.                    B.

   LIQUOR SODAE  EFFERVESCENS. Lond.   Sod* Aqua Ef-
 fervescens.  Ed.  Effervescing Solution of Soda.
   " Take of Sesquicarbonate of Soda a drachm;  Distilled Water  a pint
 [Imperial measure].  Dissolve the Carbonate of Soda in the Water,  and
 pass  into it, compressed by force, more Carbonic Acid than is  sufficient for
 saturation.   Keep the solution in a well-stopped vessel." Lond.
   The Edinburgh formula corresponds with the above.
   This  is merely a solution of bicarbonate of soda in carbonic acid water,
 in the proportion of three grains to the Imperial  fluidounce.   Such a solu-
 tion,  however, is not a proper object of officinal direction.   The names
 given to it are incorrect. Indeed, the authors of the London Pharmacopoeia
 appear to have been undecided what to call their preparation; as they have
 denominated it by another name, " Sodae Carbonatis Liquor Effervescens,"
 in their " Notes."                                               B.

   AQUA CARBONATIS  SODAE ACIDULA. Dub.   Acidulous
 Water  of Carbonate of Soda.
   "Take of Carbonate  of Soda any quantity. Dissolve it in such a quan-
 tity of Water that each pint may  contain a drachm of Carbonate of Soda.
 Then, in an apparatus adapted for retaining the gas, subject it to a stream of
 carbonic acid gas, evolved during the solution of pieces of White Marble
 in Muriatic Acid, diluted with six times its weight of water, until  the car-
 bonic acid is in excess." Dub.
   This  preparation  is  a  solution of  carbonate of soda  in carbonic acid
 water.   As, however, an excess of carbonic  acid is passed into the solu-
 tion, the alkali may be  presumed to become  a bicarbonate; and if so, the
 preparation is  equivalent to that last  described.   It corresponds with  the
 solution  formerly called soda water, which  was made by impregnating,
 under strong pressure, a weak solution of carbonate of soda with carbonic
 acid;  but at present, this name is applied, in popular language, to carbonic
 acid  water without soda.   This solution, however, is  superfluous  as an
 officinal  preparation; as it may be made extemporaneously by adding any
 desired quantity of carbonate of soda to carbonic acid water.         B.
   LIQUOR  SODAE  CHLORINATAE. U.S., Land.  Solution  of
 Chlorinated Soda.   Solution of Chloride of Soda.  Labarraque's
 Disinfecting Soda Liquid.
   " Take of  Chlorinated Lime a pound; Carbonate of Soda two pounds;
 Water a  gallon and a half.  Dissolve  the Carbonate of Soda in three pints
 of the Water, with the aid of heat.  To the remainder of the Water add, by
 small  portions at a time, the Chlorinated  Lime previously well triturated,
stirring the mixture  after  each  addition.   Set the  mixture by for  several
hours that the dregs  may subside; then decant the  clear liquid, and mix it
with  the solution of Carbonate  of Soda.   Lastly, decant the  clear  liquor
from the precipitated carbonate of lime, pass  it through  a linen cloth, and
keep it in bottles secluded from the light."  U. S. 
1126
Soda.
PART II.
   " Take of Carbonate of Soda a pound; Distilled Water forty-eight fluid-
ounces [Imperial measure]; Chloride of Sodiumybwr ounces; Binoxide of
Manganese  three ounces; Sulphuric Acid four ounces.  Dissolve the Carbo-
nate of Soda in  two pints of Water.  Then put the Chloride of Sodium
and Binoxide of  Manganese, rubbed to powder, into a retort; and add to
them the Sulphuric Acid, previously mixed with three fluidounces of Water
and cooled.  Heat the mixture, and pass the chlorine first through five fluid-
ounces of Water, and afterwards  into the solution of Carbonate  of Soda
above directed."  Lond.
   This solution was first brought into notice as a disinfecting agent by  La-
barraque,  an apothecary of Paris.'  It was afterwards used as a medicine,
and found to possess valuable properties.  The process of the U. S.  Phar-
macopoeia is that of Payen, which was  adopted  in  the French  Codex of
1837.  It consists in decomposing a solution of carbonate  of soda by  one
of chlorinated lime.   Carbonate of lime is precipitated, and the chlorinated
soda remains in  solution.   The proportion  employed gives  an  excess of
carbonate of soda, the presence of which renders the solution more perma-
nent.  The London process is that of  Labarraque.   All  the chlorine
generated from the prescribed  quantity of the materials for forming that
gas, is passed  into  the solution of  carbonate of soda;  and when the  gas
is limited  to this  quantity, no carbonic acid is  disengaged.   The  chlorine
is first passed through water to free it from muriatic acid, which, if  suf-
fered to come over, would convert the alkali into common salt.
   Properties.  The U. S. solution  is  a colourless  liquid.   The London
preparation has a pale yellow colour, and a sharp, saline, astringent  taste.
When it is boiled, chlorine is not given off, nor is its bleaching property sen-
sibly impaired; and, when carefully evaporated, a mass of damp  crystals is
obtained, which,  when redissolved  in water, possess  the properties of the
original liquid.   Both solutions  contain an excess of carbonated alkali, and,
therefore,  have an alkaline reaction.  Hence they are precipitated by lime-
water, which throws  down carbonate of lime.   They both decolorize  the
solution of sulphate of indigo, and emit a slight odour of chlorine.  When
dilute muriatic acid is added to  them, carbonic  acid and chlorine are  extri-
cated.  Exposed to the  air, carbonic acid is absorbed, and  chlorine slowly
evolved.   It is on this property of  gradually evolving  chlorine that their
disinfecting  power depends.
   Nature and Composition.  The  chemical nature  of these solutions is
different.  Assuming the chlorinated lime to be essentially hypochlorite of
lime with  chloride of calcium (see  page 151), the U. S. solution  will con-
tain  hypochlorite of soda with  chloride of sodium.  Besides these there
will be present more or less carbonate of soda, according as there happens
to be in  the  chlorinated lime more or less chlorine to decompose it.   In all
cases, however, there will be an excess of carbonate;  as the best chlorinated
lime does  not contain sufficient chlorine to effect its entire decomposition,
in the proportion in which it is  taken in  the formulae.  The constitution of
the London  preparation is more  complicated.   As it is  a peculiarity in its
formation that no carbonic acid is evolved, it is necessary to assume the pre-
sence of all  the carbonic acid  of the carbonate of soda; and hence it is con-
sidered to be a combination of hypochlorite of soda, chloride of sodium,  and
bicarbonate of soda.  The reaction is supposed to take  place between four
eqs. of carbonate of soda and two of chlorine.  By a transfer of carbonic acid
from two eqs. of carbonate to the remaining two eqs. of the same salt,  two
eqs. of bicarbonate  are formed, and two of soda left.   The sodium  and
oxygen  of one eq. of soda, unite, each, with one eq. of chlorine, so as to 
PART II.
Soda.
1127
form one eq. of chloride of sodium, and one of hypochlorous acid.   This
acid then unites  with  the  remaining eq. of soda  to form hypochlorite  of
soda.  The view here taken makes these  solutions analogous in constitu-
tion; but differing in one containing the carbonate, the other the bicarbo-
nate of soda.  In  the London preparation, half the  soda remains carbonated;
in the  U. S. solution, from a half to a third, according to the quality of the
chlorinated lime used.  It is not easy to compare these solutions as to  their
chlorine strength; but it may be roughly estimated that the London prepa-
ration  is  between two and  three times as strong as that of the U. S. Phar-
macopoeia.   The London  solution, though made  on  Labarraque's plan, is
considerably stronger than his preparation; for the  London College dis-
solves the carbonate in about three times its weight of  water, before trans-
mitting the  chlorine;  whereas Labarraque dissolved it  in  four  times  its
weight.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Solution of chlorinated soda is stimulant,
antiseptic, and resolvent. Internally it has been employed in diseases termed
putrid or malignant,  as typhus fever, scarlatina maligna, &c.  The condi-
tions which indicate the propriety of its use are great prostration of strength,
fetid evacuations, and  dry and  furred tongue.  Under such circumstances it
promotes urine,  creates a moisture on the skin, and improves  the secre-
tions and evacuations.   It has  also  been given in dysentery accompanied
with peculiarly fetid stools, in  dyspepsia  attended with putrid eructations,
and in glandular  enlargements  and chronic mucous discharges.  Other dis-
eases  in  which it has  been recommended, are  intermittents  as a substitute
for quinia, secondary syphilis, scrofula, bilious  disorders  as a substitute for
chlorine, and chronic  diseases of the skin.   M.  Chailly speaks in praise
of it in suppressed or  deficient menstruation. In asphyxia from sulphuretted
hydrogen it forms, like chlorinated lime, an efficacious  antidote.  The dose
of the U. S.  solution is from thirty drops to a teaspoonful, given in a cupful
of water or mild aqueous liquid, and repeated every two  or three hours.
   As  a local remedy it is susceptible of many valuable applications, and
acts not merely in its quality of disinfectant, but as  a peculiar stimulant to the
living tissues.  It is found useful  in all external affections attended with
fetor,  such as gangrenous, cancerous, scrofulous, and syphilitic ulcers, ulce-
ration of the gums, carbuncle, ozaena, mortification, putrid sorethroat, &c.
In these cases it is  applied in  a more or less dilute state, as a gargle, wash,
ingredient of poultices, or imbibed by lint.  In the sloughing of the fauces
attendant  upon  severe cases of scarlatina,  Dr. Samuel Jackson, late of
 Northumberland, found it efficacious, used as a gargle, or injected into the
throat. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. xxii. 45.)  In the sore  mouth from ptyal-
ism, it forms a good mouth-wash, when diluted with eight parts or more of
water.  In fetid  discharges from the vagina, uterus, and bladder, it has been
employed with advantage as an injection,  diluted with from fifteen to  thirty
 parts of water for the vagina and uterus, and with sixty parts when the object
is to wash out the bladder by means of a double cannula.  The  solution of
chlorinated soda  has also been  applied successfully to burns, and to cutaneous
 eruptions, particularly psoriasis, tinea capitis, scabies, and obstinate herpetic
 affections.   In these cases it is diluted  with from ten  to  thirty parts of
water, the strength varying according to circumstances.  For  the cure of
 sore nipples, Dr. Chopin found nothing so successful as frequently repeated
lotions with this solution.
   Solution of chlorinated  soda is a  powerful disinfectant, possessing in  this
respect  the  same general  properties as chlorinated lime.   It is, however,
much better suited for disinfecting operations than the latter;  as it doe3 not, 
1128
Soda.
PART II.
when exposed to the air, become covered with a crust of carbonate of lime,
an objection to which the solution of the bleaching salt is  liable.  Yet the
comparative expensiveness of chlorinated soda will restrict its use to dis-
infecting operations on a small scale.  In the bed-chambers of the sick, espe-
cially with infectious diseases, it will be  found highly useful, sprinkled on
the floor or bed, and added to the vessels intended to receive the excretions.
In short it  is applicable to most of the disinfecting purposes detailed under
the head of Calx Chlorinata, to which title the reader is referred.     B.
   SODAE ET  POTASSAE TARTRAS.  U.S., Dub.  Sod* Potas-
sio-tartras. Lond.  Potass* et Sod* Tartras.  Ed.  Tartrate
of Potassa and Soda.  Tartarized Soda.  Rochelle Salt.
   "Take of  Carbonate of Soda apound; Bitartrate  of Potassa [cream of
tartar],  in powder, sixteen ounces; boiling Water five pints.  Dissolve the
Carbonate  of Soda in  the Water, and gradually add the  Bitartrate of Po-
tassa.   Filter the solution, and evaporate until a pellicle forms; then set it
aside to crystallize.   Pour off the liquor, and dry the crystals on  bibulous
paper.  Lastly,  again evaporate the  liquor, that  it may furnish more crys-
tals." U.S.
   The London  and Edinburgh processes correspond with the above.
   " Take of Carbonate of Soda five parts; Bitartrate of Potassa, in very
fine powder, seven parts; boiling Water fifty parts.  Dissolve the Carbo-
nate of  Soda in the  Water, and  gradually add  the Bitartrate of Potassa.
Filter the liquor through paper,  evaporate, and set it aside, so that on slow
cooling  crystals  may form."  Dub.
   This  is a double salt, consisting of tartrate of potassa combined  with tar-
trate of soda.    The theory of its formation  is exceedingly  simple, being
merely the saturation of the excess of acid in the bitartrate of potassa by car-
bonate of soda, the carbonic acid of which is extricated with effervescence.
The proper quantities of the materials  for mutual  saturation are 143-42
parts of carbonate to 189-11  of bitartrate, or one eq. of each.  This gives
the ratio of 10 to 13*1.  The proportion adopted in the U. S., London, and
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, is as 10 to 13-33, which is very near  the theo-
retical quantities.  As the salts  employed are apt to vary in composition
and purity, the carbonate from the presence of more or less water of crys-
tallization, and  the bitartrate from that of tartrate of lime, it is,  perhaps,
best in all cases, after indicating the nearest average proportion as  a general
guide, to present to the operator the alternative of using the cream of tartar
to the point of exact saturation.
   Berzelius states  that this  salt may be  formed by saturating six parts of
cream of tartar by means of carbonate of potassa, and then adding to the re-
sulting tartrate a solution of five parts of crystallized  sulphate of soda.  On
evaporation, sulphate of potassa will first crystallize, and afterwards the tar-
trate of potassa  and soda.  The rationale is obvious.
   Properties. Tartrate of potassa and soda is in the form of colourless, trans-
parent,  slightly  efflorescent crystals, often very large,  and having the shape,
when carefully prepared, of right prisms, with ten or twelve unequal sides.
As ordinarily crystallized, they are generally in half prisms, as if split in the
direction of their axis.   Its taste is  saline and slightly bitter. It  dissolves
in five times its  weight of cold water, and in much less boiling water.  Any
undissolved residue is  impurity,  probably tartrate of lime or bitartrate of
potassa, or both.  When exposed to a strong heat, the tartaric acid is de-
stroyed, and a  mixture  of the carbonates of potassa and  soda is left.  It
sometimes contains tartrate of lime, which may  be removed by solution and 
PART II.
Soda.
1129
crystallization; but when the crystals are large and well defined, it may be
assumed to be pure.  It is incompatible with most acids, and with all acidu-
lous salts except the bitartrate of potassa.   It is also decomposed by the
acetate and subacetate of lead, by the soluble salts of lime, and by those of
baryta,  unless the solution  of the tartrate  be  considerably diluted.   The
way in  which acids act in decomposing it,  is by combining with the soda,
and throwing down bitartrate  of potassa as  a crystalline  precipitate.   This
double salt was discovered  by Seignette, an apothecary of Rochelle; and
hence it is frequently called Seignette's salt, or Rochelle salt.
   Composition.  Tartrate of potassa and soda consists of two eqs. of tar-
taric acid 132-96, one  of potassa 47*15, one of soda 31*3,  and  eight of
water 72=283*41; or,  considered as a double salt, of one eq. of tartrate of
potassa 113*63, and one of  tartrate of soda 97*78, with  the same  quantity
of water.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  This salt is a mild, cooling purgative,  well
suited to delicate and irritable  stomachs, being among the least unpalatable
of the neutral salts.  As it is not incompatible with tartar emetic, it may be
associated with that salt in solution.   It is an ingredient in the effervescing
aperient called Seidlitz powders, the composition of which is given at page
52.  The dose is from half an ounce to an  ounce.                   B.  •
   SODAE MURIAS PURUM. Ed.  Pure Muriate of Soda.  Pure
Chloride of Sodium.
   " Take any convenient quantity of Muriate of Soda; dissolve it in boiling
water; filter the solution, and  boil it down  over the fire, skimming off the
crystals which form.   Wash the crystals quickly with cold water and dry
them."  Ed.
   This new  formula of the Edinburgh College is unnecessary.  If com-
mercial samples of chloride of sodium cannot be found pure enough to form
muriatic acid, the salt may be purified as a preparatory step to the process for
obtaining that acid;  as is ordered by the College  in the formula for Acidum
Muriaticum Purum, where the directions  for purifying the salt are unne-
cessarily repeated, after the admission of a distinct formula for that  purpose.
Pure muriate of soda is ordered by the College, with needless refinement,
as an ingredient in the  compound saline powder.
   Off. Prep. Pulvis Salinus Compositus, Ed.                      B.
   SODAE  PHOSPHAS. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Phosphate of
Soda.
   " Take of Bone, burnt to  whiteness and powdered, ten pounds; Sulphu-
ric Acid six pounds; Carbonate of Soda a sufficient quantity.   Mix the
powdered Bone with the Sulphuric Acid in an  earthen vessel; then add a
gallon of water, and stir them  well together.  Digest for three days, occa-
sionally adding a little  water to replace that which is lost by evaporation,
and frequently stirring the mixture.   At the expiration of this time, pour
in a gallon of boiling water, and strain through linen, gradually adding more
boiling water, until the liquid  passes nearly tasteless.  Set  by the strained
liquor that the dregs may subside, from which pour off  the clear solution,
and boil it down to a gallon.  To this  solution,  poured  off from the dregs
and heated in an iron  vessel,  add by degrees  the Carbonate  of Soda  pre-
viously dissolved in hot  water, until  effervescence ceases, and the phos-
phoric acid is completely neutralized; then filter the liquor, and set it aside
to crystallize.  Having removed the  crystals, add, if necessary,  a small
quantity of Carbonate of Soda  to the liquor,  so as to render it slightly alka-
      96 
1130
Soda.
PART II.
line; then alternately evaporate and crystallize, so long as crystals are pro-
duced.  Lastly, preserve the crystals in a well stopped bottle." U. S.
  The Edinburgh College takes the same materials and in the same pro-
portion, and proceeds substantially as above.   The two pints  and  four
fluidounces [Imperial measure] of sulphuric  acid ordered by the  College,
weigh six pounds.   The  London College made this salt officinal for  the
first time in its Pharmacopoeia for 1836, but  has placed it in the list of the
Materia Medica.
  " Take of burnt Bones, in powder, ten parts; Commercial Sulphuric Acid
seven parts.   Mix  the powder, in an earthen vessel, with the Sulphuric
Acid, add gradually seven parts of water, and stir the mixture.  Digest for
three days,  occasionally  adding more water to prevent the mixture from
becoming dry, and  continue the stirring:  then  add seven parts of boiling
water, and strain through linen, repeatedly pouring on boiling water, until
all the acid is washed out.   Set the  liquor by that the dregs may subside,
from which pour it off when clear, and reduce it by evaporation to  one-half.
Then add eight parts of Carbonate of Soda, dissolved in hot water, and
filter; and by alternate evaporation and refrigeration, let crystals be formed,
which are to be kept in a well-stopped vessel. If the salt be not sufficiently
pure, dissolve it again in water and recrystallize." Dub.
  The incombustible  part of bones, or bone-earth, is obtained  by burning
them to whiteness, and consists of a peculiar phosphate of lime, called bone-
phosphate, associated with some carbonate of lime, &c.  (See Os.)  When
this is mixed with  sulphuric acid, the carbonate of lime is entirely decom-
posed, giving rise to effervescence.   The phosphate  of lime undergoes
partial decomposition; the greater part of the lime being detached, precipi-
tates as  sulphate of lime, while the phosphoric acid, set free, combines with
the undecomposed  portion of the phosphate,  and remains  in solution as a
superphosphate of  lime, holding dissolved a certain portion of the sulphate
of lime.   In order to separate the superphosphate from  the  precipitated
mass of sulphate of lime, boiling water is added to the mixture, the whole
is strained, and the sulphate washed  as long as superphosphate is removed,
which is known by the water passing through in an acid state. The different
liquids which have passed the strainer, consisting of the solution of super-
phosphate of lime, are mixed  and  allowed to stand, and by cooling a por-
tion of sulphate of lime is deposited,  which is  got rid of by decantation.
The bulk of  the liquid is now reduced by evaporation, and, from  the dimi-
nution of the water, a fresh portion of sulphate of lime is deposited, which
is separated by subsidence and decantation as before.   The superphosphate
of lime is now saturated by means of carbonate of soda.  The carbonic acid
is extricated with effervescence, and the  alkali, combining with the excess
of acid of the superphosphate, generates phosphate of soda; while the super-
phosphate of lime, by the loss of its excess  of acid, becomes the neutral
phosphate, and precipitates.   This precipitate is next separated by a new
filtration; and the filtered liquor, consisting of the solution of phosphate of
soda, is evaporated so as  to crystallize.
  In the U. S. and Edinburgh process, the calcined  bone is to the acid as
10 to 6; in the Dublin process as 10 to 7.   The proportion recommended
by Berzelius is intermediate—as 10 to 6-66.  The acid, in the officinal pro-
cesses, is added to the calcined bone  in the concentrated state, and after-
wards diluted with more  or less water.   In the process given by Berzelius
it is first diluted with  twelve times its weight of water.  The  Dublin Col-
lege prescribes the quantity of carbonate  of  soda to effect the saturation;
but  the exact quantity cannot be known beforehand, and must vary under 
PART II.
Soda.
1131
different circumstances.  All the writers state that this salt crystallizes more
readily by allowing its  solution to be slightly alkaline;  and a remarkable
fact is that  a neutral solution, when it crystallizes, leaves  a  supernatant
liquid which is slightly acid and uncrystallizable.  Hence it is unnecessary,
after getting each  successive crop of crystals, to  render the mother  water
neutral or slightly  alkaline, before it will furnish an additional quantity.
  M. Funcke, a German chemist, has  given the following method for ob-
taining phosphate  of soda, which  is stated to be cheaper and more expedi-
tious  than the process  above  described.  Add to tbe powdered calcined
bone, diffused in  water, sufficient dilute sulphuric  acid to decompose all
the carbonate  of lime which it  contains.  As soon as the effervescence has
ceased,  the  matter is  acted on with nitric acid, which dissolves the  phos-
phate of lime, and leaves the  sulphate.   The  nitric  solution of  the  phos-
phate is then  treated with  sulphate  of  soda, equal in quantity to the bone
employed; and after the reaction is completed, the nitric acid is  recovered
by  distillation.  In consequence  of a  double decomposition,  sulphate  of
lime and  phosphate of soda are formed, the latter of which is then  sepa-
rated from the sulphate by the  action of water, and crystallized  in the  usual
manner.
  Properties, fyc.  Phosphate of soda is in large, colourless crystals, which
are transparent at first, but quickly effloresce and become opaque when ex-
posed to the air, and which have the shape of oblique rhombic prisms.  It
possesses  a pure saline  taste, resembling that of common salt.   With tests
it displays a slight alkaline reaction.   It dissolves  in four parts of cold
water, and two of boiling water,  but is insoluble in alcohol.  Before the
blowpipe  it first  undergoes  the aqueous fusion, and afterwards, at  a red
heat, melts into a  globule of limpid glass, which becomes opaque on cool-
ing.  It is not liable to any adulterations, but sometimes contains carbonate
of soda, from this salt being added in  excess; in which case  it  will  effer-
vesce with acids.  If it contain sulphate of soda, or any other soluble sul-
phate, the precipitate caused  by chloride of  barium will be a mixture of
sulphate and  phosphate of baryta, and will not be totally soluble in  nitric
acid.   If  a chloride be present, the yelloiv precipitate caused by nitrate of
silver will be  a mixed  one of chloride and phosphate of silver, not entirely
soluble in the same acid. It is incompatible with soluble salts of lime, with
which it gives a precipitate of phosphate of lime, and with neutral metallic
solutions.  Phosphate of soda is found in several of the animal secretions,
particularly  the  urine.   When crystallized it consists of one eq. of  phos-
phoric acid  71*4,  two of soda 62-6, and  twenty-five of water 225=359.
When heated gently, it loses twenty-four eqs. of water, retaining one which
acts the part of a base.   At a red heat the remaining eq. of water is  driven off,
and the salt is altered in its properties, and becomes pyrophosphate of soda,
which is characterized by giving a white precipitate with nitrate  of silver.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  This salt was introduced into regular prac-
tice about the  year 1800, on the recommendation of Dr. Pearson, of London.
It is a mild  purgative, and, from its pure saline taste, is well adapted  to the
cases  of children,  and  of persons  of delicate stomach.   The dose is  from
one to two ounces, and  is best given  in gruel or weak broth, to which it
communicates a taste, as if seasoned with common salt.  Heretofore its ex-
pensiveness, compared with the cost of other saline purgatives, has prevented
it from coming into general use.
   Off. Prep.  Ferri Phosphas,  U. S.                                B. 
1132
Spiritus.
PART II.
                 SPIRITUS. U.S., Lond., Dub.

                             Spirits. Ed.

   Spirits, according  to the Pharmacopoeia of the United States, are alco-
 holic solutions of volatile principles, obtained  by distillation.   They are
 prepared chiefly from aromatic vegetable substances, the essential  oils of
 which rise with the vapour of  alcohol, and condense with it in the re-
 ceiver.  Some of the oils, however, will not rise at the temperature of
 boiling alcohol, but may be distilled with water.  In this case it is  neces-
 sary to employ proof spirit or diluted alcohol, with the water of which the
 oil comes over in the latter part of the process.   As the proof spirit of the
 shops is often impregnated with foreign matters,  which give it an un-
 pleasant flavour, it is better to use alcohol which has been  carefully rec-
 tified, and to dilute it with the  due  proportion of water, as  directed by the
 U. S. Pharmacopoeia.  In preparing the spirits, care should be taken to
 avoid the colour and empyreumatic flavour arising from the decomposition
 of the vegetable matter by heat.  Sufficient water must, therefore, be added
 to cover the vegetable matter after the alcohol shall have been distilled; and,
 as a general rule,  the heat should be applied by means of a water-bath, or
 of steam.  It is proper that the aromatic should be macerated for some days
 with the alcohol, before  being submitted to distillation; as the oil, being
 thus dissolved, rises more readily with the spirituous vapour than when
 confined in the texture of the  vegetable.   It is  necessary, during the  pro-
 cess, frequently to renew the water in the refrigeratory, as otherwise a con-
 siderable portion of the vapour will escape condensation and be lost.  A
 good apparatus for the purpose is described and figured in page 772.
   The aromatic spirits are used chiefly to impart a pleasant odour and taste
 to mixtures, and to correct the nauseating and griping effects of other medi-
 cines.   They serve also  as  carminatives in flatulent colic, and  agreeable
 stimulants  in  debility of  stomach; but their frequent use may lead  to the
 formation of  intemperate habits,  and should, therefore, be avoided.  W.
   SPIRITUS ANISI.  Lond.  Spirit of Aniseed.
   " Take of Anise [seeds],  bruised, ten ounces; Proof  Spirit a gallon
 [Imperial measure]; Water two pints [Imperial measure].  Mix them; then
 with a gentle fire, distil a gallon." Lond.
   SPIRITUS ANISI COMPOSITUS. Dub.  Compound Spirit of
 Aniseed.
   " Take of Anise Seeds, bruised,  Angelica Seeds, bruised, each, half a
pound;  Proof Spirit a gallon;  Water sufficient to prevent empyreuma.
 Macerate for twenty-four hours, and distil a gallon." Dub.
   The dose of this and the preceding preparation, as stomachics and car-
 minatives, is  one or two  fluidrachms.  The compound spirit is a simplifi-
 cation of the Irish usquebaugh.                                  W.

   SPIRITUS ARMORACIAE COMPOSITUS. Lond., Dub.  Com-
pound Spirit of Horse-radish.
   "Take of  Horse-radish [root], sliced, Dried Orange Peel, each, twenty
 ounces; Nutmeg, bruised, five drachms; Proof Spirit a gallon [Imperial
 measure]; Water  two pints [Imp. measure].   Mix them;  then, with a
 slow fire, distil a gallon."  Lond.
   The Dublin College takes of horse-radish and orange peel, each, apound, 
PART II.
Spiritus.
1133
  bruised nutmeg half an ounce, proof spirit a gallon, and water sufficient to
 prevent empyreuma; macerates for twenty-four hours, and distils a gallon.
    This may be used advantageously  as an addition  to diuretic remedies, in
  dropsy attended with debility, especially in the cases of drunkards.  The
  dose is from one to four fluidrachms.
    Off. Prep.  Infusum Armoraciae  Compositum, Lond.

    SPIRITUS CARUI. Lond, Ed, Dub.  Spirit of Caraway.
    " Take of Caraway [seeds], bruised, twenty-two ounces; Proof Spirit a
  gallon [Imperial  measure];  Water two pints [Imperial  measure].  Mix
  them; then with a slow fire distil a gallon." Lond.
    " Take of Caraway Seeds, bruised, a  pound; Proof  Spirit  a gallon;
  Water sufficient to prevent empyreuma.  Macerate for twenty-four hours,
  and distil a gallon."  Dub.
    " Take of Caraway, bruised, half a pound; Proof Spirit seven pints
  [Imperial measure].  Macerate  for  two  days in a covered vessel;  add a
 pint and a half [Imp. meas.] of water; and distil off seven pints."  Ed.
    The dose as a carminative is one or two fluidrachms.
    SPIRITUS CASSIAE. Ed.   Spirit of Cassia.
    " Take of  Cassia, in  coarse powder, one pound.  Proceed as for the
 spirit  of caraway."  Ed.  (See Spiritus Carui.)
    This  is essentially the same as the spirit of cinnamon.

    SPIRITUS  CINNAMOMI.  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.   Spirit of Cin-
 namon.
    " Take of  Oil of  Cinnamon two drachms;  Proof Spirit a gallon [Im-
 perial  measure]; Water a pint [Imperial measure].  Mix them;  then with
 a slow fire distil a gallon." Lond.
   " Take of Cinnamon Bark, bruised, a  pound; Proof Spirit a gallon;
 Water sufficient to prevent empyreuma.  Macerate  for twenty-four  hours,
 and distil a gallon."  Dub.
  _ By the Dublin College the spirit is also prepared by distilling together
 six scruples of the  oil, and a gallon of  proof spirit. The  Edinburgh
 College prepares it from a pound of  cinnamon, in  coarse powder, in the
 same manner as spirit of caraway.  (See Spiritus Carui.)
   The spirit  of cinnamon is an  agreeable  aromatic cordial, and may be
 given in debility of the stomach in the dose of one or two  fluidrachms.
   Off. Prep. Infusum Digitalis, Ed.;  Infusum Rhei, Ed.; Mistura Cretae,
 Ed.                                                          \V.

   SPIRITUS JUNIPERI COMPOSITUS. U.S., Lond., Ed, Dub.
 Compound Spirit of Juniper.
   " Take of Juniper [berries], bruised, apound; Caraway [seeds], bruised,
 Fennel-seed, bruised, each, an ounce  and a half; Diluted Alcohol a gal-
 lon; Water two pints.  Macerate the Juniper, Caraway, and Fennel-seed
 in the Diluted  Alcohol for twenty-four hours; then  add the Water, and with
 a slow  fire distil a gallon." U. S.
   "Take of Juniper Fruit,  bruised, fifteen ounces; Caraway [seeds],
 bruised, Fennel [seeds], bruised, each, two ounces; Proof Spirit a  gallon
 [Imperial  measure];  Water two pints [Imperial  measure].   Mix  them;
 then with a slow fire distil  a gallon." Lond.
  The  Dublin and Edinburgh processes are essentially the same with that
 of the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia;  the Edinburgh directing seven pints [Imp.
 meas.]  of  Proof Spirit, and two pints  [Imp. meas.] of water, macerating
for two days, and distilling seven Imperial pints.
                                96* 
1134
Spiritus.
PART n.
  This spirit is  a useful addition to diuretic infusions and mixtures in de-
bilitated cases of dropsy.  The dose is from two to four fluidrachms.
  Off. Prep.  Mistura Creasoti, Ed.                             W.
  SPIRITUS LAVANDULAE. U. S, Lond., Ed, Dub.  Spirit of
Lavender.
  " Take  of Fresh Lavender [flowers] two pounds; Alcohol a gallon;
Water two pints.  Mix them, and  with a slow fire distil a gallon."  U. S.
  The London  College takes two pounds and a half of the fresh flowers,
a gallon [Imperial measure] of rectified spirit, and two pints of water;
mixes them; and distils a gallon.  The Dublin College employs two pounds
of the flowers, a gallon of proof spirit, and sufficient water to prevent em-
pyreuma;  macerates for  twenty-four hours; and distils  five  pints.   The
Edinburgh College takes two pounds and a half of the fresh flowers, and
a gallon [Imp.  meas.]  of rectified spirit;  mixes them, and with the heat
of a vapour-bath distils seven pints.
  The Dublin process, in which proof spirit is employed, is said to yield a
product less highly impregnated with the oil of lavender than the others.
Mr. Brande asserts that the dried flowers produce as fragrant a spirit as the
fresh.  Spirit of Lavender is used chiefly as a perfume, and as an ingredi-
ent in other preparations.  The perfume usually sold under  the name of
lavender water is not a distilled spirit, but  an alcoholic solution of the oil,
with the addition of other odorous substances.  The following is given by
Mr. Brande as one of the most approved recipes for preparing it.  " Take
of rectified spirit of wine five gallons, essential oil of lavender twenty
ounces, essential oil of bergamot five ounces, essence  of ambergris (made
by digesting one drachm of  ambergris and  eight grains of musk in half a
pint of alcohol)  half an ounce. Mix."
   Off. Prep. Linimentum Camphorae Compositum, Lond., Dub.; Mistura
Ferri  Composita, U. S.; Spiritus  Lavandulae Compositus, U.S., Lond.,
Ed., Dub.                                                    W.

   SPIRITUS  LAVANDULAE COMPOSITUS. U. S, Ed.,  Dub.
Tinctura Lavandul*  Composita. Lond.  Compound Spirit of
Lavender.
   " Take  of Spirit of Lavender three pints;  Spirit of Rosemary a pint;
Cinnamon, bruised, an  ounce; Cloves, bruised, two drachms; Nutmeg,
bruised, half an ounce;  Red Saunders, rasped, three drachms.   Macerate
for fourteen days, and filter through paper." U. S.
   The London College  takes a pint, and a half [Imperial  measure] of
spirit of lavender,  half a pint [Imp. meas.] of spirit  of rosemary, two
drachms and a half of bruised cinnamon, the same quantity of bruised
nutmegs, and five drachms of sliced red saunders;  and proceeds as above.
The  Edinburgh College  takes  two  pints  [Imp. meas.]  of  spirit of
lavender,  twelve fluidounces of spirit of rosemary, an ounce of cinnamon
in coarse powder, two drachms of bruised cloves, half an ounce of bruised
nutmeg, and three drachms of red saunders; macerates for seven days, and
then strains the  liquor through calico.  The Dublin College orders half an
ounce only of cinnamon, and an  ounce of red saunders,  and digests for
ten days;  but in other respects conforms with  the directions of the U. S.
Pharmacopoeia.
   This is  a delightful compound of spices,  much employed as an adjuvant
and corrigent of other medicines, and  as a remedy for gastric uneasiness,
nausea, flatulence, and general languor or faintness.  The dose is from thirty
drops to a fluidrachm, and is most  conveniently administered on a  lump
of sugar. 
PART II.
Spiritus.
1135
  Off.Prep. Aqua Laurocerasi,  Ed.; Liquor Potassae Arsenitis, U.S.,
Lond., Ed.                                                  W.
  SPIRITUS  MENTHAE PIPERITAE. Lond., Dub.  Spiritus
Menth*.  Ed.   Spirit of Peppermint.
  " Take of Oil of Peppermint three drachms; Proof Spirit a gallon  [Im-
perial measure]; Water a pint [Imperial measure].  Mix them; then with
a slow  fire distil a gallon." Lond.
  The  Edinburgh College prepares this spirit from one pound and a half
of fresh peppermint, in the same manner as spirit of caraway. (See Spiritus
Carui.)
  " Take of Oil of Peppermint, by weight, half an ounce; Rectified Spirit
a gallon.  Add the  Spirit to the Oil, and pour on them as much water as
will prevent empyreuma, after distillation; then by a gentle fire, distil a gal-
lon." Dub.
  The  spirit of peppermint has no advantage over a simple solution of the
oil in alcohol.  Such a  solution is  usually kept in  the  shops, under the
name of essence of peppermint, and was adopted among the officinal prepa-
rations, at the  last revision  of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, with the  title of
tincture of oil of peppermint. (See Tinctura Olei Menthae Piperitae.) W.
  SPIRITUS MENTHAE PULEGII. Lond., Dub.  Spirit of Eu-
ropean Pennyroyal.
  This is prepared by the London College from the oil of European penny-
royal,  in the manner directed by the same  College for the preparation of
spirit of peppermint.  The Dublin College prepares it by distilling together
six scruples of the oil and a gallon of proof spirit.  It is never used in this
country.                                                      W.
  SPIRITUS MENTHAE VIRIDIS. Lond., Dub.  Spirit of Spear-
mint.
  This is prepared by the London and Dublin Colleges from the oil of
spearmint, in the manner directed by the two Colleges respectively for the
preparation of  the spirit  of peppermint.
  The two spirits are used for the  same purposes, in the dose of from
thirty drops to a fluidrachm.                                    W.
  SPIRITUS MYRISTICAE. U.S., Lond., Ed.   Spiritus Nucis
Moschat*.  Dub.  Spirit of Nutmeg.
  " Take of Nutmeg, bruised,  two  ounces; Diluted  Alcohol a  gallon;
Water  apint.   Mix them, and with a slow fire distil a gallon." U. S.
  The London and Edinburgh Colleges take two ounces and a half of
bruised nutmegs, a gallon [Imperial  measure] of  proof spirit, and a pint
[Imp.  meas.]  of  water; mix them; and  distil a gallon.   The  Dublin
College macerates together for twenty-four  hours two ounces of bruised
nutmeg, a gallon of proof spirit, and enough water to prevent empyreuma,
and then distils a gallon.
  The spirit  of nutmeg is used chiefly for its  flavour, as an addition to
other medicines.   The dose is one or two fluidrachms.
  Off. Prep. Mistura Ferri Composita, Lond., Ed.               W.
  SPIRITUS PIMENTAE.  U. S, Lond., Ed., Dub.   Spirit of Pi-
mento.
  " Take of Pimento, bruised,  two ounces; Diluted Alcohol a  gallon;
Water  apint.   Macerate the Pimento in the Diluted Alcohol for twenty-
four hours; then add the  Water, and with a slow fire distil a gallon."  U. S.
  The London College  orders  it to be prepared in  the  same manner as 
1136
Spiritus.—Spongia.
PART II.
spirit of nutmeg; the Edinburgh, from half a pound of bruised pimento, in
the same manner as spirit of caraway.  The Dublin macerates together for
twenty-four hours three ounces of bruised pimento, a gallon of proof spirit,
and sufficient water to prevent empyreuma, and then distils a gallon.
  This  preparation may be used for the general purposes of the aromatic
spirits, in the dose of one or two fluidrachms.                    W.
  SPIRITUS  ROSMARINI.  U.S., Lond., Ed.  Spiritus Roris-
marini. Dub.  Spirit of Rosemary.
  " Take of Oil of Rosemary [by weight] two drachms; Alcohol a gallon;
Water a pint.   Mix them, and with a slow fire distil a gallon." U. S.
  The  London College takes two drachms  of oil of rosemary, a gallon
[Imperial measure] of rectified spirit,  and a pint [Imp. meas.] of water;
mixes them; and then, with a slow fire, distils a gallon.   The Edinburgh
College takes two pounds and a half of rosemary, and proceeds as for the
spirit of lavender.  The Dublin College employs a pound and a half of
the fresh tops and a gallon of proof spirit, and distils five pounds with a
moderate heat.  This College also prepares the spirit by distilling together
six scruples of the oil, and a gallon  of proof  spirit.
  Spirit of rosemary is a  grateful perfume, and is used chiefly as an ingre-
dient in lotions or liniments.
  Off. Prep. Linimentum Ammoniae Compositum, Ed.; Linimentum  Sa-
ponis, Lond., Dub.;  Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, U. S., Lond., Ed.,
Dub.                                                         W.

                           SPONGIA.

                     Preparation of Sponge.

  SPONGIA USTA.  U. S.  Pulvis Spongi* Ust*. Dub.  Burnt
Sponge.
  " Take of Sponge a convenient quantity. Cut it into pieces, and beat it,
that any extraneous matters may be separated;  then burn it in a close iron
vessel until it becomes black  and friable; lastly, rub it into very fine pow-
der." U. S.
  The Dublin process does not materially differ from the above.
  The sponge  is  decomposed, the volatile matters being driven off by the
heat, and a black friable coal remaining.  Preuss found that,  of 1000 parts
of sponge submitted to calcination, 343-848 were dissipated;  and the resi-
due consisted of 327-0 parts of carbon and insoluble matters, 112-08 of chlo-
ride of sodium, 16-43 of sulphate of lime, 21*422 of iodide of sodium, 7.57
of bromide of magnesium, 103*2 of carbonate of lime, 35-0 of phosphate of
lime, 4-73 of magnesia, and 28-72 of protoxide of iron.  (Pharm. Central-
Blatt, 1837,169.) Herberger found in burnt sponge one per cent, of iodide of
potassium, and 0-5 per cent, of bromide of potassium. (Annalen der Pharm.
xx. 204.)  As the  remediate value of burnt sponge depends chiefly upon the
presence of iodine, it cannot be esteemed good unless it afford purple fumes
when acted on by sulphuric acid assisted by heat.   It is said  that the pre-
paration is most efficient as a remedy when the sponge is kept on the fire no
longer than is necessary to render it friable.  The powder is then of a much
lighter colour.   Guibourt recommends that the sponge selected for burning
should  be unwashed, of a strong odour, firm, and compact, that it should
be put into a roaster similar to that  sometimes  used for coffee, and heated
over a moderate  fire till  it becomes of a blackish-brown colour, that it
should then be  removed, powdered, and enclosed in a well-stopped glass 
part ii.         Spongia.—Stannum.—Strychnia.           1137

bottle.  It is best when recently prepared; as the  iodine is  dissipated by
time, and the specimens at first richest in  this  principle, contain little of it
at the end of a year. (Journ. de  Chim. Med., Dec. 1831.)  According to
Herberger, the fine  and coarse sponges do not materially differ in the pro-
portion of their inorganic constituents; so that the coarse may be selected
for this operation.
   Burnt  sponge has been highly recommended in goitre, glandular swellings
of a scrofulous character, and obstinate cutaneous eruptions.  It is most
conveniently administered mixed with syrup or  honey, in the  form of an
electuary, with the addition  of some aromatic, as  powdered cinnamon. The
dose is from one to three drachms.                                W.


                           STANNUM.

                       Preparation of Tin.

   PULVIS STANNI. U. S.  Stanni Pulvis. Ed., Dub.  Powder
of Tin.
   " Take of Tin a convenient quantity.   Melt it in an iron vessel over the
fire, and, while it is cooling, stir it until it is reduced to a powder, which is
to be passed through a sieve." U. S.
   " Melt Tin in an iron vessel; pour  it into an earthenware mortar, heated
a little above the melting point of the  metal; triturate  briskly as  the metal
cools, ceasing as soon as a  considerable proportion is  pulverized; sift the
product,  and repeat the process with what remains  in the sieve."  Ed.
   " Take of very pure Tin  any quantity.   Having melted it over the fire,
agitate it strongly while congealing, so that it may be converted into a pow-
der, which, when cold, is to be passed through a sieve."  Dub.
   Tin, being a very fusible metal, is easily granulated by fusion and subse-
quent agitation when in the  act of congealing.  The process is most conve-
niently performed, on a small scale, in a wooden box, the inside  of which
has been well rubbed with  chalk.  This may be afterwards  washed away
by water; and, as the granulated powder is of unequal degrees of fineness,
the coarser particles must be separated by  a sieve.  For the properties  and
tests of purity of  this metal see Stannum.
  Medical Properties and  Uses.  Powder of tin is used exclusively as an
anthelmintic, and is supposed to act by its  mechanical properties.  It is con-
sidered particularly adapted to the expulsion of the Ascaris lumbricoides,
and is sometimes employed to expel the  tape worm, though for this pur-
pose, oil  of turpentine is more efficacious.  For internal exhibition it should
be free from oxidation.  The dose is  half an ounce, mixed with molasses,
given for several successive mornings, and then followed by a brisk cathar-
tic.  Dr.  Alston was in the habit of giving larger doses for the expulsion of
the tape worm.  He began by giving an ounce on an empty stomach, which
was followed, for two  successive days, by half an ounce each  day,  and
finally by a brisk purge.                                         B.

                         STRYCH1VIA.

                            Strychnia.

  STRYCHNIA.  U. S, Lond., Ed.   Strychnia.
  "Take of Nux Vomica,  rasped,four  pounds; Lime, in powder, six
ounces;  Muriatic Acid three fluidounces; Alcohol, Diluted Sulphuric Acid,
Solution of Ammonia, Purified Animal Charcoal, Water, each,  a  sufficient 
1138
Strychnia.
PART \l.
quantity.  Digest the Nux Vomica in two  gallons of Water, acidulated
with a fluidounce of the  Muriatic Acid, for twenty-four hours; then boil
for two hours, and strain with expression through a strong linen bag.  Boil
the residuum twice successively in the same quantity of acidulated Water,
each time straining as before.  Mix the decoctions and evaporate to the con-
sistence of thin syrup; then add the Lime previously mixed with a pint of
Water, and boil for ten minutes, frequently stirring.   Pour the mixture into
a double linen bag,  and, having washed the precipitate well  with  water,
press,  dry, and powder it.  Treat the powder repeatedly with boiling Alco-
hol,  until deprived  of its  bitterness;  mix  the liquors; and distil off the
Alcohol by means of a water-bath.   Mix the residue with Water, and, hav-
ing applied heat,  drop in sufficient Diluted Sulphuric Acid to neutralize and
dissolve  the Strychnia;  then add Purified Animal Charcoal, boil for a few
minutes, filter, evaporate, and crystallize.  Dissolve the crystals in Water,
and add  sufficient Solution of Ammonia to precipitate the Strychnia. Lastly,
dry the precipitate on bibulous paper." U. S.
   " Take of Nux Vomica, bruised, two pounds; Rectified Spirit three gal-
lons [Imperial measure]; Diluted  Sulphuric  Acid, Magnesia, Solution of
Ammonia, each, a sufficient quantity.   Boil the Nux Vomica with a gal-
lon of the Spirit, for an hour, in a retort, with a receiver fitted to it.   Pour
off the liquor, and boil the  residue  again, and a third time, with another
gallon of the Spirit,  and with the Spirit  recently distilled, and  pour off the
liquor.   Press the Nux Vomica, and, having mixed and filtered the liquors,
distil the Spirit.  Evaporate the residue to the proper consistence of an ex-
tract.  Dissolve this in cold water and filter.  Evaporate the solution, with
a  gentle heat, to  the consistence of  syrup.  To this, while  yet warm, gra-
dually add the Magnesia to  saturation, snaking them together. Set  aside
for two days, and then pour  off the supernatant liquor.   Press what re-
mains wrapped in a  linen cloth.  Boil it in Spirit, then filter, and distil the
spirit.  Add to what remains a very little Diluted Sulphuric  Acid mixed
with water, and macerate  with a gentle heat.   Set  it aside for twenty-four
hours  that crystals may form.   Press these and dissolve  them.  To their
solution  in water add Ammonia, occasionally shaking, that the Strychnia
may be  thrown down.   Lastly, dissolve this in boiling Spirit, and  set  it
aside that pure crystals may form."  Lond.
   " Take of Nux Vomica one pound;  Quicklime  one ounce and a half;
Rectified Spirit a sufficiency.  Subject the Nux Vomica for two hours to
the vapour of steam, chop or slice it, dry it thoroughly in the vapour-bath,
or hot air-press, and immediately grind it in a coffee-mill.   Macerate  it for
twelve hours in two pints [Imperial measure] of water and boil it;  strain
through  linen or  calico, and  squeeze the residuum;  repeat the maceration
and decoction twice  with a  pint and a half of water.  Concentrate  the de-
coctions to the consistence of thin syrup; add  the Lime in the form of milk
of lime; dry the  precipitate in the  vapour-bath; pulverize it, and boil  it
with successive portions of Rectified Spirit till the Spirit cease to acquire a
bitter taste.  Distil off the spirit till the residuum be sufficiently  concentrated
to crystallize on cooling.  Purify the crystals by repeated crystallizations."
Ed.
   It should be recollected that the British Imperial  measure is employed by
the London and Edinburgh Colleges throughout these processes.
   In preparing strychnia, the first step  is properly to comminute the nux
vomica.   This may be done by rasping the  seeds, or, as  directed  in the
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia,  by first softening  them  by  steam, then slicing,
drying, and grinding them.   The next object is to  extract the strychnia.
For this purpose water acidulated with  muriatic acid  is employed in the 
PART II.
Strychnia.
1139
U. S. process, alcohol in the London, and water alone in the Edinburgh. In
the two latter, the native igasurate of strychnia is taken up, in the first, the
muriate, which is a very soluble salt.  The menstruum of the U. S. Phar-
macopoeia is less costly than the London, and probably more effective  than
the Edinburgh.  Besides, when alcohol is used, it is necessary to evaporate
the tincture, and then treat the extract with water, in order to get an aqueous
solution of the  alkali.   The salt  of strychnia  existing in the solution is
next decomposed either by lime, as in the U. S. and Edinburgh processes,
or by magnesia, as in the London.   The alkaline base is precipitated along
with the excess of lime or magnesia and impurities.   The strychnia is ex-
tracted  from the precipitate by boiling  alcohol, and may be  obtained  in
crystals by the concentration of the solution.  But in this state it is much
coloured and impure.   The Edinburgh  College contents itself with direct-
ing it to be purified by repeated solutions and crystallizations.   In the two
other processes, the impure strychnia is converted  into a sulphate by the
addition of sulphuric acid,  and precipitated again by ammonia; being, while
in the state of the sulphate, decolorized, according to the directions of the
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, by means of animal charcoal.   The London College
proceeds one step further, and obtains the alkali in crystals by dissolving
the precipitated powder in boiling alcohol, and setting the solution aside to
crystallize.  Throughout the process, the brucia contained in the nux vomica
attends the strychnia, and  is only left  behind in the mother liquors, when
the latter alkali crystallizes from the alcoholic solution upon cooling; brucia
being much  more soluble than strychnia in cold alcohol.  It would, there-
fore, be better to conclude the U. S. process by one or more solutions and
crystallizations in alcohol,  as directed by the London  and Edinburgh  Col-
leges.  With this addition, we should give the preference to our own officinal
process.   To  free the  strychnia  entirely from brucia  requires repeated
crystallizations, and a  little of the latter  principle is consequently almost
 always retained; but the impurity is not injurious; as  the effects of the two
 alkalies upon the system are very similar.  The bean of St.  Ignatius yields
 strvchnia  more easily and  more largely than nux vomica;  but is less  plen-
 tiful.
   If thought desirable, brucia may be  in  great measure separated  from
 the strychnia of the shops, by dissolving the latter in nitric acid, very  much
 diluted, filtering,  and concentrating to  the  point  of  crystallization.  The
 nitrate of brucia crystallizes in short, thick, dense prisms, grouped together;
 the nitrate of strychnia in radiated tufts of long,  light, capillary needles.
 By gentle agitation  with  water, the latter salt is  suspended and may be
 poured off, leaving the former.  The alkalies may be obtained by dissolv-
 ing the salts separately in water,  and precipitating with ammonia.   (Chris-
 tison's Dispensatory.)
   As usually kept in the shops, strychnia is a grayish-white powder. When
 rapidly crystallized from its alcoholic solution, it has the form of a white,
 granular powder; when slowly crystallized, that of elongated octohedra, or
 quadrilateral prisms with  quadrilateral terminations.   It is permanent in the
 air, inodorous,  but excessively bitter, with a metallic aftertaste.  So intense
 is its bitterness, that one part of strychnia is said to communicate a sensible
 taste to 600,000 parts of water. It melts like a resin, but is not volatile, being
 decomposed at a comparatively low temperature.  It is soluble in 6667 parts
 of water at 50°, and about 2000 parts at the boiling point.   Boiling officinal
 alcohol dissolves it without difficulty, and deposits it upon cooling.  In abso-
 lute alcohol and in ether it is very sparingly soluble.  The volatile oils dissolve
 it freely.  It has an alkaline reaction on test paper, and forms salts with the 
1140
Strychnia.—Styrax.
PART II.
acids.   Nitric acid does not redden it if perfectly pure, but almost always
reddens it as found in the shops, in consequence of the presence of brucia.
It consists of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; but the proportion of
its constituents is very differently given by different authors.  In the edition
of Turner's Chemistry by Liebig and Gregory, the composition is stated to
be C^HsgO^jNa.   The salts  of strychnia are for the most part soluble and
crystallizable.  Their solution is decomposed  by the alkalies and their car-
bonates, and by tannic, but not by gallic acid; and  is not affected by the
sesquisalts of iron.   Strychnia is  apt to contain impurities, of which  the
chief, besides  brucia, are  colouring  matter  and lime  or magnesia.  The
Edinburgh College gives the following test of its purity.  "A solution of 10
grains in 4 fluidrachms of water by means of  a fluidrachm of pyroligneous
acid, when decomposed by one fluidounce of concentrated solution of car-
bonate of soda, yields on brisk agitation a coherent  mass, weighing when
dry 10 grains, and entirely soluble in solution  of oxalic acid."
  Medical Properties and Uses, $*c.  The  effects  of strychnia upon  the
system are identical in character with those of nux vomica, and it is  em-
ployed for the same purposes as a medicine.  (See Nux Vomica, page 478.)
It operates in the same way by whatever avenue it  may enter into the cir-
culation; but is said to  act most powerfully when injected into the veins
or applied to a fresh wound.   The blood of an animal under its influence
produces similar  effects in  another  if transfused into its veins.   In over
doses it is a most violent poison.  Pelletier  and Caventou killed a dog in
half a minute  with one-sixth of a  grain of the pure  alkali.  One grain or
even less might prove fatal in the human subject.   Different persons  are
very differently susceptible to its action, and some are powerfully affected
by the smallest doses.  Besides, being more or less impure as kept in the
shops, it cannot be relied on with certainty.   Hence  the necessity of great
caution in prescribing it, and  of carefully watching the patient during its
use.  The best plan is always to begin with very small doses, and gradually
increase till its effects are observed.   From  one-twelfth  to one-sixth of a
grain internally, and from  a quarter to half a grain externally upon a blis-
tered surface, may be employed at  first;  but, if the alkali is very pure, the
dose may be still  further reduced with propriety.  It  is most conveniently
given in the form  of pill.  It may be given  also dissolved in water acidu-
lated with sulphuric, muriatic, nitric, or acetic acid.   In  this form it is in
saline combination; but the effects  of  its salts are the same as those of the
pure alkali.                                                      W.


                             STYRAX.

                      Preparation of Storax.

  STYRAX  PURIFICATA. US.   StyraxColatus. Lond.  Ex-
tractum Styracis. Ed.  Purified Storax.
  " Take of Storax,  Alcohol, each, a sufficient quantity.   Dissolve the
Storax in the Alcohol, and strain the solution; then distil off the alcohol with
a gentle heat, until the Storax acquires the proper consistence." U. S.
  The purification of storax is directed by the London College, in a similar
manner, under the head of the gum-resins.
  " Take any convenient quantity of Storax,  in fine powder.   Exhaust it
by boiling it in successive quantities of Rectified Spirit; filter the spirituous
solutions; distil off the greater part of the spirit; evaporate the remainder
over the vapour-bath to the consistence of a thin extract." Ed. 
part ii.
Styrax.—Sulphur.
1141
   Storax, as found in the shops, is usually so much adulterated as to ren-
 der its  purification necessary, before it can be applied to the  purposes for
 which it is officinally directed.   As it is wholly soluble in alcohol, and little
 of its active  matter is driven off at the boiling point of that fluid, there can
 be no chemical objection  to the above process.   Another method, some-
 times followed, is to express between  heated iron plates the  balsam from
 the foreign  matters  with which it is associated;  but if the process be not
 very  carefully conducted, the heat employed to melt the storax  will be
 sufficient to  dissipate a portion  of the benzoic  acid,  which is one of its
 essential ingredients.
    Off. Prep. Pilulae  Slyracis  Compositae, Lond., Ed., Dub.; Tinctura
 Benzoini Composita, U. S., Lond., Dub.                          W.


                            SULPHUR.

                     Preparations of Sulphur.

    SULPHUR  PRAECIPITATUM. U.S.   Lac  Sulphuris.  Pre-
 cipitated Sulphur.   Milk of Sulphur.
   " Take of Sulphur [sublimed] a pound; Lime a pound and a half; Water
 tivo gallons; Muriatic Acid a sufficient quantity.  Slake the  Lime with a
 small portion of the Water, and, having mixed it  with the Sulphur,  add the
 remainder of the Water, boil for two  or three hours, occasionally adding
 water so as  to preserve the measure, and filter.   Dilute the filtered liquor
 with  an equal  bulk of water;  then drop into it sufficient  Muriatic  Acid to
 precipitate the Sulphur.  Lastly,  wash the precipitate repeatedly with water
 till the washings are  tasteless, and dry it."   U. S.
   In  this process two eqs. of lime react with six  of sulphur, so  as to form
 two eqs. of bisulphuret of calcium, and one  of hyposulphurous acid, which
 latter then unites with one eq. of lime to form hyposulphite of lime.  On
 the addition of the muriatic acid, six eqs. of sulphur are precipitated (four
 from  the bisulphuret  of calcium and two  from the hyposulphurous acid),
 and the calcium and oxygen unite with the muriatic  acid, so as to form
 chloride of calcium and  water.   This acid is  the most eligible precipitant
 for the sulphur, as it  gives rise to chloride of calcium, which is a very solu-
 ble salt, and easily washed away.  Sulphuric acid is altogether  inadmissible
 for the  purpose; as  it generates sulphate of lime, which, from its sparing
 solubility, becomes necessarily intermingled with the sulphur.
   Properties, fyc. Precipitated sulphur is  in white friable lumps of a pale
 yellowish-green tint,  consisting of finely divided particles, slightly cohering
 together, and,  when  recently prepared, devoid of taste, but possessing a
 peculiar smell.  When long exposed, in a moist state, to the air, it becomes
 strongly contaminated with sulphuric acid. (Annalen der Pharm. xx. 151.)
 From its colour it was formerly called lac sulphuris, or milk of sulphur.  It
 is insoluble  in  water, but dissolves in a boiling solution of caustic potassa.
 When of a brilliant white colour, the presence of sulphate of lime may be sus-
 pected, in which case the  sulphur will  not  be  wholly volatilized by heat.
 When pure it communicates a harsh feel when rubbed between the fingers,
 owing to the  friction between the crystalline  particles. (Dr. Bridges.)  We
 have seen a sample of so-called precipitated sulphur, which consisted almost
 entirely of sulphate of lime.   It differs from sublimed sulphur, in being in a
state of  more minute  division, and in  presenting,  after  fusion,  a softer and
less brittle mass.   Its peculiarities are  supposed to depend upon a portion
of water, which, however, is present in too small  a quantity to constitute a
      97 
1142
Sulphur.—Syrupi.
part ii.
regular hydrate.  According to Rose, its white colour  depends upon the
presence of a small proportion of bisulphuretted hydrogen.
  Medical Properties and Uses.  Precipitated sulphur possesses the same
medical properties with sublimed  sulphur, but is preferred by some practi-
tioners on account of its freedom from colour.  Its state of extreme division
renders it more readily suspended in liquids than sublimed sulphur; but its
liability to become acid by keeping is an objection  to it.  It is sometimes
selected for forming ointments, which have the advantage of appearance, in
being of a lighter colour than when made of sublimed sulphur.  The dose
is from two to three drachms.  (See  Sulphur.)                      B.
  SULPHURIS IODIDUM. U S.  Iodide of Sulphur.
  " Take of  Iodine four ounces; Sulphur an ounce.  Rub the Iodine and
Sulphur together in a glass,  porcelain, or marble  mortar until they are
thoroughly mixed. Put the mixture into a matrass, close the orifice loosely,
and apply a gentle heat so as to darken the  mass without melting it.  When
the colour has become  uniformly  dark throughout,  increase  the heat so as
to melt the Iodide; then incline the  matrass in different directions, in order
to return into the mass any portions of  Iodine which may have condensed
on  the inner surface of the vessel; lastly, allow the matrass to  cool, break
it, and put the Iodide into bottles, which are to  be well stopped."  U. S.
  The above process is that of the French  Codex.   The combination may
be  conveniently effected in a  Florence  flask.   The resulting  iodide has a
grayish-black colour, and  radiated crystalline appearance like  sulphuret of
antimony. Its smell resembles that of iodine, and it stains the cuticle in a
similar  manner.  It is entirely volatilized  by heat, and when  boiled with
water is decomposed, iodine escaping with the  steam,  and  sulphur being
deposited nearly pure.   It has not been analyzed, but is probably a bisul-
phuret.  Iodide of sulphur has been used by  Biett,  Rayer,  Lugol, and
others, as an external application in various skin  diseases, such as tinea
capitis, lupus, lepra, &c.   It is applied in  the  form of ointment,  made by
mixing from  ten to thirty grains of the iodide with an ounce of lard.  Of
this a drachm may be used at  each friction.                         B.


                             SYRUPI.

                               Syrups.

   Syrups are concentrated  solutions of sugar in watery fluids, either with
or  without medicinal impregnation.  When the solution is made with pure
water, it is named syrup or simple syrup, when with water charged with
one or more medicinal agents, it  is called in general  terms  a medicated
syrup, and receives its particular designation  from the substance or sub-
stances added.
    Medicated syrups  are  prepared  by incorporating sugar with vegetable
infusions, decoctions, expressed juices, fermented liquors, or simple aqueous
solutions.  When the active  matter of the vegetable is not  readily soluble
in water, or  is volatilized or decomposed by a heat of 212°, it  is sometimes
 extracted by diluted alcohol,  the spirituous  ingredient of which is subse-
 quently driven off.  Medicated syrups are also occasionally prepared by
 adding a tincture to  simple syrup and evaporating  the alcohol.  Since the
 introduction  of the process of filtration by displacement into use, it has been
 applied very advantageously to the preparation of various syrups, especially
 of those made from vegetables of  which the active principle is injured or 
PART II.
Syrupi.
1143
dissipated by decoction.   But, unless  the operator be at once skilful and
very careful, there will be great danger of imperfectly extracting the active
matters, and thus making  a feeble preparation.   For the mode of properly
conducting this process the reader is referred to pages 763 and 769.
  The quality and quantity of the sugar employed are points of importance.
Refined sugar should always be preferred, as it often saves the necessity of
clarification, and  makes a clearer and  better flavoured syrup than the im-
pure kinds.   The U. S. Pharmacopoeia simply directs sugar,  but explains
that it is the purified or refined sugar which is indicated by  that term.   In
relation to the quantity of sugar, if  in too small proportion, fermentation is
apt to  occur,  if  too abundant, crystallization.  The proper proportion is
about two parts to one  of the liquid.  A somewhat smaller quantity will
answer where acids, such as lemon  juice or vinegar, are used.
  As it is desirable, in many instances, that the active matters should be in
as concentrated a state as  possible in the  syrup, it is often necessary to eva-
porate  a  large proportion of the watery fluid in which they are dissolved.
This may be done either before the  addition of the sugar or afterwards.   In
either case, care is requisite not to  apply a heat too great or too long con-
tinued, lest the active principles should be injured.  When these are very
volatile or easily decomposed by heat,  it is necessary to dispense with con-
centration altogether.  Some substances which are volatilized  or decomposed
at the temperature of boiling water,  remain fixed and unaltered at that which
is necessary for the evaporation of alcohol.  These, as before observed, may
be dissolved in diluted alcohol, and the concentration effected  by evaporating
the spirituous part of the solvent.   Independently of the injury which the
medicinal ingredient of the syrup may  sustain, the syrup itself is apt to be-
come brown by a long continued application of heat, even when the degree is
not excessive.   It is recommended, therefore, that syrups which  admit of
concentration, should be boiled briskly over a lively fire, so as to accomplish
the object as quickly as  possible.   It  is important to  be able to ascertain
positively when they have attained the due consistence.  An operator skilled
in their preparation can judge with sufficient  accuracy by various familiar
signs;—such as the slowness with which the parts of a drop of syrup coalesce
when previously separated by the  edge  of a blunt instrument; and the  re-
ceding of the last portion  of each drop, when the syrup, after being cooled,
is poured out drop by drop.  A pellicle forming  upon the surface  of the
syrup  when it cools, indicates that  it has been too  much boiled.  But these
signs are not to be relied  on except by those who have acquired much ex-
perience.  The easiest method of ascertaining the proper point of concen-
tration is by the use of Baume's hydrometer.  This should  stand at 30° in
boiling syrup (30| in hot weather), and at  35° in the syrup when it is cool.
Another very accurate though less  ready method is to ascertain the  sp. gr.
by weighing a portion  of the liquid.  Syrup when boiling should have  a
sp. gr. of about  1-261—when cold,  about 1-319. Thomson and Duncan  are
mistaken in giving the proper sp.  gr. of cold syrup as 1-385.  We found
that of a specimen of simple  syrup made  with two pounds and a half of
sugar to a pint of water, to be 1*326 at 68° F.; and this consistence is rather
too great for  practical convenience in cold weather.   A third method of
ascertaining the  proper point of concentration is by the thermometer, which,
in boiling syrup of the proper consistence, stands at 221° F.  This indica-
tion is founded on the fact, that the boiling point of syrup rises in propor-
tion to the increase of its density.
   When carefully prepared with  double  refined  sugar,  syrups generally 
1144
Syrupi.
PART II.
 require no other clarification than to remove any scum which may rise to
 their surface upon standing, and to pour them off from any dregs which may
 subside.  Should they, however, want the due degree of clearness, they may
 be filtered through flannel, or, when not likely to be injured by the treatment,
 may be clarified by means of the white of eggs or animal charcoal, as men-
 tioned under the head of Syrupus.
   The medicated  syrups are liable to undergo various alterations according
 to their nature and mode of preparation.   The acid syrups, when too much
 boiled, often let fall a copious white precipitate, which is said to be a saccha-
 rine matter analogous to the sugar of grapes,  produced by the reaction of
 the acid upon the  sugar.  It has been shown that, even at ordinary tempera-
 tures, acids slowly convert common sugar into the sugar of grapes, which
 being less soluble than the former, is gradually deposited in the  form of
 crystalline grains.  Syrups which  contain too  little sugar  are apt  to pass
 into the vinous fermentation, in consequence  of the  presence of  matters
 which act as a ferment.  Those which contain too  much, deposit a  portion
 in the crystalline state, and the  crystals, attracting the sugar  remaining in
 solution,  gradually weaken the syrup,  and render it  liable  to  the same
 change as when originally  made with too little sugar.   The want of a due
 proportion of saccharine matter frequently also  gives rise to monldiness,
 when air has access to  the syrup.   It is said  that syrups,  enclosed, while
 they are still hot, in bottles, are apt to ferment; because the watery vapour,
 rising to  the  surface and there condensing, diminishes  the  proportion of
 sugar, so as to produce a commencement of  chemical action,  which gradually
 extends through the whole mass.    When syrups  undergo the vinous fer-
 mentation, they become covered at the surface  with  froth, produced by the
 disengagement of carbonic acid,  and  acquire  a vinous odour  from  the
 presence  of alcohol; while their consistence is diminished  by the loss of a
 portion of the sugar which has been converted into  that liquid.  When the
 quantity of alcohol has  increased to a certain point,  the fermentation ceases
 or goes on more slowly, owing to the preservative influence of  that prin-
 ciple; and, as the active ingredient of the  syrup has frequently undergone
 no material  change, the preparation may often be recovered  by boiling so
 as to  drive off  the alcohol and carbonic  acid, and concentrate the liquid
 sufficiently.  A syrup  thus revived  is less  liable  afterwards to undergo
 change, because the  principles  which acted as ferments have been dimin-
 ished or consumed.   It is obvious that syrups  which depend  for their vir-
 tues upon a volatile  ingredient, or one readily changeable  by heat, cannot
 be restored to their original condition.
   At best, syrups are too apt  to change, and various measures  have been
 proposed for their preservation.  According to Dr.  Macculloch,  the addi-
 tion  of a little sulphate of potassa, or of chlorate of potassa, which is taste-
 less,  prevents their fermentation.   M. Chereau  has  found sugar of milk
 effectual to the same  end,  in the instance  of the syrup of poppies;  and it
 may prove useful in others.  The proportion which lie employs is 32 parts
 of the sugar of milk to 1000 of  the syrup.   Mr. E. Durand has found that
 1*3 per cent, of Hoffmann's anodyne  (Spiritus JEtheris Sulphurici Com-
positus), added to syrups, has the property of completely arresting  or pre-
 venting fermentation, probably  through ihe agency chiefly of  the oil of
 wine which it contains.  (Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiii. 185.)   But the best
 plan is to make small  quantities of syrups at a time, and to keep them,
 unless when wanted for immediate use, in bottles quite full and well stopped,
 which should be put in  the cellar or other  cool place. 
PART II.
Syrupi.
1145
   The following general officinal directions are given in relation to syrups.
   " Syrups whose density is not  precisely determined by the process,
should have  the specific gravity 1*261 when boiling, and about 1*319 at
ordinary temperatures."  U. S.
   " Let the syrups be preserved in a place where the heat never exceeds
55°." Lond.   It would be difficult  to comply exactly with such a rule in
this country.
   " When no mention is made of the weight of  sugar or the mode of  dis-
solving it, syrups are to be prepared according to the following rule. Take of
Refined Sugar, in fine powder, twenty-nine ounces; of the Liquor prescribed
a pint.   Add the Sugar by degrees, and digest it with a medium heat [from
100° to 200° F.] in a covered vessel, frequently shaking, till it is dissolved;
then set aside the  solution for twenty-four hours; remove the scum,  and
pour off  the syrup from the dregs if there be any."  Dub.          W.
   SYRUPUS.  U. S, Lond. Syrupus Simplex. Ed., Dub.  Syrup.
Simple Syrup.
   " Take of Sugar [refined] two pounds and a half; Water apint.  Dis-
solve the Sugar in  the Water with the aid of heat, remove any scum which
may form, and strain the solution while hot." U. S.
   " Take of Sugar [refined] ten pounds;  Water  three pints [Imperial
measure].  Dissolve the Sugar in the Water with a  gentle heat." Lond.
   " Take of  Pure  Sugar ten pounds; boiling Water three pints [Imperial
measure].  Dissolve the  Sugar in the Water with the aid of a gentle heat."
Ed.
   " Take of  Refined Sugar, finely powdered, twenty-nine ounces; Water
apint.  Add the Sugar gradually to the Water, and digest it with a medium
heat [from 100° to 200° F.] in a close vessel till it is dissolved, frequently
stirring;  afterwards pour off from the dregs if there be any." Dub.
   This  syrup, when properly  prepared,  is inodorous, of a sweet taste
without peculiar flavour, thick, viscid, nearly  colourless, and  perfectly
transparent.  If somewhat turbid, as it is apt to be when  made with sugar
not well refined, it may be clarified by beating the white of an egg to a
froth with three or  four ounces of water, mixing this with the syrup, boiling
the mixture for a short time that  the albumen may coagulate, and taking off
the scum which rises  to the  surface, or separating it by  filtration through
paper or flannel.   Two gallons of the  syrup may be thus clarified.  Any
colour  and peculiar flavour which  it may  possess, may be removed by
treating it, at the same time, with a  small proportion (about 5 per cent.) of
animal charcoal.
   The white of egg is beaten to  a froth  in order that, when it coagulates, it
may be  rendered by the  air which it contains specifically lighter than the
syrup,  and thus rise  to  the surface.  If not thus treated,  it floats when
coagulated in the syrup, or sinks to  the  bottom.   Now it is obvious that, if
the syrup and albumen be heated together, the latter  must be deprived of a
portion of the air which  it  contains, before  the  point of coagulation is at-
tained, and thus be rendered less disposed to rise to the surface.  Guibourt,
therefore, recommends that the albumen should not be added till the syrup
is boiling hot, and  should then be poured into it from a height in order to
increase the quantity of air entangled in it.
  M. Salles, an apothecary of Clermond-Ferrand, in France, recommends
that syrups which  require clarification  should be treated  in the following
manner.  Allow the liquor with which the syrup is to be prepared, without
previously decanting or filtering it, to become quite cold; then, mix with it
                                 97* 
1146
Syrupi.
PART II.
the white of eggs unbeaten, in the proportion of one egg for every five or
six pounds (avoirdupois) of sugar employed; and, having added the sugar
or honey,  boil the whole for half an  hour, or until a portion of the syrup
upon cooling exhibits flocculi of albumen floating in a transparent medium.
During the ebullition care must be  taken to agitate the syrup in such a
mariner as to prevent the formation  of foam upon its surface.  When
allowed to cool, the  coagulated albumen with impurities subsides, and the
clear syrup floats above, and  may be drawn off or decanted.   In this pro-
cess the albumen sinks because not incorporated with air.   M. Salles calls
it clarification per descensum, and states that it is applicable to all syrups
of a density below  30° Baume at the boiling  point. (Journ. de Pharm.
xxiv. 490.)*                                        ,    .
   Syrup is very useful  in the  formation of  pills and  mixtures, and in
various other  pharmaceutical  operations in which sugar in solution is  re-

   Off.Prep. Confectio Opii,  Lond., Dub.;  Infusum Catechu, Ed.;  Sy-
rupus Rhei Aromaticus, U. S.; Syrupus Tolutani, U. S., Ed., Dub.; Sy-
rupus Zingiberis, U. S.                                          W.
   SYRUPUS ACETI.  Ed.   Syrup  of Vinegar.
   " Take  of  Vinegar,  French  in preference, eleven fluidounces;  Pure
Sugar fourteen ounces.  Boil them together " Ed.
   Syrup of vinegar forms with water a refrigerant and grateful  drink in
febrile complaints.   It may be added to barley water and other farinaceous
and  mucilaginous beverages  and mixtures, when  a vegetable acid is not
contra-indicated.                                                 **•
   SYRUPUS ALLII. US.   Syrup of Garlic.
   "Take  of  fresh  Garlic, sliced, six ounces;  Distilled Vinegar a pint;
Sugar [refined] two pounds.   Macerate  the  Garlic in the Vinegar, in a
glass vessel, for four days; then express the liquor, and set  it by that the
dregs  may subside; lastly, add the Sugar to the  clear liquor, and proceed
in the manner directed for Syrup." U. S.
   This preparation is made  upon correct principles, as vinegar is a much
better solvent of the active matter of garlic than water.   In the last edition
of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the proportion of garlic has been judiciously
increased to three times its former amount.  The syrup is given in chronic
catarrhal  affections  of the lungs,  and  is particularly beneficial in infantile
cases, by the stimulus  which  it affords to the  nervous  system.   A tea-
spoonful may be given for a dose to a child a year old.              W.
   SYRUPUS  ALTHAEAE. Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.   Syrup of Marsh-
ma Univ.
   "Take  of  Marshmallow Root, bruised,  eight  ounces;  Sugar  [refined]
two pounds and a half; Water four pints [Imperial measure]. Boil down
the  Water with the Root  to one-half,  and express the liquor when cool.
Set it by for twenty-four hours that  the dregs may subside; then  pour off
 the liquor, and having added  the Sugar, boil  down to the  proper consist-
 ence." Lond.
   The Edinburgh process  corresponds  with the above, except  that  it
 closes with dissolving the sugar with the aid of heat, without boiling down
 the syrup.
   The Dublin College takes half a pound of the fresh root, two pounds
 of refined sugar, and four pints of water, and proceeds in the same manner
 as the London College. 
PART II.
Syrupi.
1147
  This syrup contains a considerable quantity of starch, besides mucilage,
and is very liable to ferment.  The French prepare it with cold water, and
thus avoid the starch.  It is simply demulcent;  but is inferior to the muci-
lage of gum Arabic, and in  this country is very seldom  prepared.    W.
  SYRUPUS AMYGDALAE.  U.S.   Syrup of Almonds.  Syrup
of Orgeat.
  "Take of Sweet Almonds a pound; Bltier Almonds four ounces; Water
three pints;  Sugar six pounds.  Having  blanched the Almonds, rub them
in a mortar to a very fine paste, adding,  during  the trituration, three fluid-
ounces of the Water and a pound of the Sugar.  Mix the  paste thoroughly
with the remainder of  the  Water,  strain  with strong expression,  add  the
remainder of the Sugar to the strained liquor, and dissolve it with  the aid
of a gentle heat.  Strain  the Syrup through fine linen, and having allowed
it to cool, put it into bottles, which must be well stopped, and kept in a cool
place."  U. S.
   This  process  corresponds  closely with  that  of  the  French  Codex.
Orange-flower water, however,  which is an ingredient of the  French pre-
paration, is wanting in ours.  It may be added to the syrup in the quantity
of half  a pint immediately  after the sugar has dissolved.
  This  is an elegant syrup, much employed in Europe,  and occasionally in
this country.  It is demulcent, nutritive, and, in  consequence  of the hydro-
cyanic acid  of  the bitter almonds, somewhat sedative.   It may be  added
to cough mixtures, or used for flavouring drinks  administered  in complaints
of the chest.                                                     W.
  SYRUPUS  AURANTII CORTICIS. U.S.   Syrupus Aurantii.
Lond., Ed., Dub.  Syrup of Orange Peel.
  "Take of Orange Peel, bruised, two ounces;  boiling Water a pint;
Sugar [refined] two pounds and a half.   Macerate the  Orange Peel in  the
Water,  in  a covered vessel, for twelve hours,  and  strain;  then  add  the
Sugar, and proceed in the manner directed for Syrup."  U. S.
  The  British  Colleges  direct the fresh  peel  of Seville oranges. The
London  College takes two ounces and a half of the fresh peel, a pint [Im-
perial measure]  of boiling water, and three pounds of refined sugar;  mace-
rates the peel  in the water for twelve hours, in a lightly-covered  vessel;
then pours off the liquor, and adds the sugar to it.  The Edinburgh Col-
lege takes the same materials in the same quantities; infuses the peel in the
water for twelve hours in a covered vessel, pours off the liquor, filters if
necessary,  adds the  sugar,  and dissolves it with the  aid of heat. The
Dublin College employs eight ounces  of the  peel, six pints  of  boiling
water, and the quantity of sugar in its general directions (page 1145); and
dissolves the sugar without heat.
  In the preparation of this syrup, the solution of the sugar in the  infusion
of orange peel should be effected with as little heat as  possible, in conse-
quence of the volatile nature of the active  principle of the peel; and, to faci-
litate the solution, the sugar should be previously powdered.
  The syrup has an agreeable flavour, for which alone  it  is employed.   A
fluidounce of the tincture of orange peel  added  to a pint  of simple syrup,
affords a preparation little inferior to the officinal, though the presence of the
spirit may in some instances be objectionable.
  Off. Prep. Confectio Aromatica, U. S., Ed.; Electuarium Cassiae, Dub.;
Pilulae Rhei Compositae,  U. S.                                    W. 
1148
Syrupi.
PART II.
   SYRUPUS CROCI. Lond., Ed.   Syrup of Saffron.
   " Take of Saffron  ten drachms; boiling Water a pint [Imperial mea-
sure]; Sugar [refined] three pounds.   Macerate the Saffron in  the Water
for twelve hours, in a lightly covered vessel; then strain the liquor, and  add
the Sugar.  Lond.
   The Edinburgh College takes the  same materials, in the same quanti-
ties, and proceeds in the manner directed for syrup of orange peel.
   This is slightly stimulant, but is valued chiefly for its fine colour. W.
   SYRUPUS  IPECACUANHAE. U.S., Ed.  Syrup of Ipecacu-
anha.
   " Take of Ipecacuanha, in coarse powder, an ounce;  Diluted Alcohol a
pint; Syrup two pints.  Macerate the Ipecacuanha in the Alcohol for four-
teen days, and filter.   Evaporate the filtered liquor to two fluidounces,  and
again filter;  then mix it with the syrup, and evaporate by means of a water-
bath to the proper consistence.
   " Syrup  of Ipecacuanha may also be  prepared by putting the Ipecacu-
anha, previously moistened with Diluted  Alcohol, into  an  apparatus for
displacement; pouring upon it gradually Diluted Alcohol until a pint of
filtered liquor is  obtained;  then evaporating to  two fluidounces, and com-
pleting the process as above directed." U. S.
   " Take of Ipecacuanha, in coarse powder, four ounces; Rectified Spirit
one pint [Imperial measure];  Proof  Spirit and Water, of each, fourteen
fluidounces; Syrup seven pints.  Digest the Ipecacuanha in fifteen fluid-
ounces of the Rectified Spirit at a gentle heat for twenty-four hours; strain,
squeeze the residuum  and  filter.   Repeat this  process with the residuum
and Proof Spirit, and  again with  the Water.   Unite the fluids, and distil
off the Spirit till  the residuum amount to  twelve ounces; add to the resi-
duum five fluidounces  of the Rectified Spirit, and then the Syrup." Ed.
   By the process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia,  a tincture of ipecacuanha is
first formed with diluted alcohol, then concentrated, and incorporated with
syrup.   The alternative of preparing  the tincture by maceration or perco-
lation is allowed;  but the latter mode  should be resorted to  only by those
who have experience in conducting the prosess.  The  tincture is by con-
centration reduced chiefly to an aqueous solution of  the active principles of
ipecacuanha; and the water contained  in it is evaporated after incorporation
with the syrup.  The French Codex dissolves the alcoholic extract of
ipecacuanha in water,  and then mixes it with syrup; but it  is obvious  that
the U. S. process is preferable, as it spares the continued heat requisite to
reduce the tincture to  dryness.  The Edinburgh process is unnecessarily
complex; and the addition of the rectified spirit to the  syrup, if thought
necessary for its preservation, might  have been dispensed with, had the
direction been given to concentrate the syrup.
   This syrup  is chiefly applicable to the cases of children.   One fluid-
 ounce  of it, prepared  according to the U. S. formula, should  contain the
virtues of fifteen grains of ipecacuanha.   The  dose of it, as an emetic, is
for an adult from one to two fluidounces, for a child  a year or two old, from
 one to two fluidrachms, to  be repeated every fifteen or twenty minutes till
 it operates.  As  an expectorant, the dose  for an  adult is one  or two  flui-
 drachms, for a child from five to twenty minims.  The Edinburgh syrup is
 somewhat,  but not materially, weaker.                           W.
    SYRUPUS KRAMERIAE.  U S.  Syrup of Rhatany.
    " Take  of Extract  of Rhatany two ounces; Water  a pint;  Sugar two 
PART II.
Syrupi.
1149
 pounds and a half.  Dissolve the Extract in the Water and filter; then add
 the Sugar, and proceed in the manner directed for Syrup." U. S.
   In making this syrup care should be  taken  to select the extract of rha-
 tany  as free as possible from insoluble matter;  and that prepared according
 to the U. S. process will be found  the best.  (See Extractum Krameriae.)
 This preparation affords a convenient mode of exhibiting rhatany to infants.
 The  dose for an adult is half  a fluidounce, for  a child a year or two old,
 twenty or thirty minims.                                         W.
   SYRUPUS LIMONIS. U.S., Dub.   Syrupus Limonum. Lond.,
 Ed.   Syrup of Lemons.
   "Take of Lemon-juice, strained, apint;  Sugar [refined] two pounds.
 Add  the Sugar to the Juice, and proceed in the manner directed for Syrup.''
 U.S.
   " Take of Juice of Lemons, strained, a pint [Imperial measure]; Sugar
 [refined] two pounds and a half.   Dissolve the Sugar in the Lemon Juice,
 with  a gentle  heat:  then set it aside for  twenty-four hours; afterwards re-
 move the scum, and pour off  the clear liquor  from  the dregs, if there be
 any." Lond.
   " Take of Lemon-juice, freed of impurities by subsidence  and filtration,
 a pint [Imperial measure];  Sugar  two pounds and  a half.  Dissolve the
 Sugar in the Lemon-juice with the aid of a gentle heat, and  after  twenty-
 four hours'  rest remove the same, and pour the clear liquor from the dregs."
 Ed.
   " Take of Juice of fresh Lemons two pints.  As soon as the dregs have
 subsided, put the Juice into  a  matrass, and subject it for fifteen minutes to
 the heat of boiling water.  When cold, strain it through a sieve, and form
 a syrup." Dub.
   This syrup  forms  a  cooling  and grateful addition to  beverages in febrile
 complaints,  and serves to conceal the taste  of saline  purgatives given in
 solution.                                                       W.
   SYRUPUS MORI. Lond.  Syrup of Mulberries.
   "Take of Mulberry Juice, strained, a  pint [Imperial measure]; Sugar
 [refined] two pounds  and a half.   Dissolve the Sugar in the Mulberry
 Juice, with  a gentle heat, and  proceed in the manner directed for Syrup
 of Lemons." Lond.
   This may be used for the same purposes with lemon syrup.  In like man-
 ner syrups may be  prepared from various succulent  fruits, such as straw-
 berries, raspberries, pineapples, &c.   When the juice is thick, it  may be
 diluted with from one-third of its bulk to an equal bulk of water, previously
 to the addition of the sugar.  In the preparation of raspberry syrup, which,
 as ordinarily made,  is apt to gelatinize, M. Blondeau recommends that the
 strained juice be allowed to stand from eight to fifteen hours, according to
 the temperature, in  order  to ferment.  The  juice separates into two por-
 tions, the upper thick, the lower clear.   The latter  is to be  separated by
 straining and made into a syrup with the usual proportion of sugar. These
 syrups are  employed to flavour drinks, and are much used as grateful  ad-
 ditions to carbonic acid water.                                    W.
   SYRUPUS  PAPAVERIS. Lond., Ed,  Syrupus  Papaveris
 Somniferi. Dub.   Syrup of Poppies.
  " Take of Poppy [capsules] three pounds; Sugar [refined] ^tre pounds;
 boiling Water five gallons [Imperial measure].  Boil down  the Capsules
in the Water to two  gallons, and press strongly.  Boil down the strained
liquor again to four pints, and strain it while hot. Set it by for twelve hours 
1150
Syrupi.
PART II.
that the dregs may subside, then boil down the elear liquor to two pints,
add the Sugar, and dissolve."  Lond.
   " Take of Poppy-heads, without the seeds, one pound and a half; Boil-
ing Water fifteen pints  [Imperial measure];  Pure  Sugar three pounds.
Slice the  Poppy-heads, infuse them in the Water for twelve hours, boil
down to five pints, strain  and express strongly through calico, boil again
down to two pints and a half;  then add  the Sugar and dissolve it with  the
aid of heat." Ed.
   " Take of the Capsules of the White Poppy, dried, deprived  of their
seeds, and bruised, seventeen ounces;  Boiling Water  two gallons.   Mace-
rate the Capsules in the Water for twenty-four hours; then, by means of a
Tcater-bath, boil  down to a gallon, and strongly express.  Boil down  the
strained liquor  again to two pints, and strain it while  hot.  Set it by for
twelve hours that the dregs may subside; then boil down the clear liquor to
a pint and form a syrup."  Dub.
   As the capsules contain variable proportions of the narcotic principle, the
syrup prepared from  them is necessarily of variable strength.  It is, more-
over,  very apt to spoil.  Its place might, with great propriety, be supplied
by a syrup prepared from one of the salts of morphia, which would keep
well and have the advantage of uniform strength.  Four grains of the sul-
phate of morphia dissolved in  a pint of syrup, would afford  a preparation
at least equal to the  average strength of the syrup of poppies, and much
more  certain in its operation.
   The syrup of poppies is employed, chiefly in infantile cases,  to allay
cough, quiet restlessness, relieve  pain, and promote  sleep.  The dose is
from half  a fluidrachm to a  fluidrachm for an infant, from half a fluidounce
to a fluidounce for an adult.                                      W.
   SYRUPUS  RHAMNI. Lond., Ed., Dub.   Syrup of Buckthorn.
   " Take of fresh Juice of Buckthorn [berries] four  pints [Imperial mea-
sure]; Ginger, sliced, Pimento, in powder, each, six  drachms; Sugar [re-
fined] four pounds.   Set  by the  Juice for three days  that the dregs may
subside, and then strain it.  To a pint of the clear Juice  add the Ginger
and Pimento; then macerate for four hours with a gentle heat, and strain.
Boil down the remainder of the Juice to a pint and a half; mix the liquors;
add the Sugar and dissolve  it."  Lond.
   The Edinburgh process is the same as the above.
   " Take of the fresh  Juice of Buckthorn Berries two pints and a half;
Ginger Root, sliced, Pimento Berries,  in powder,  each,  three drachms.
Set by the Juice that the dregs may subside, and then strain it.  Add  the
Ginger and Pimento to ten ounces of the clear Juice, macerate for twenty-
four hours, and filter.  Boil down the remaining Juice  to a  pint, mix  the
liquors, and form a syrup." Dub.
   The syrup of buckthorn is a brisk cathartic, but  having  an unpleasant
taste, and  being apt to gripe violently, is very seldom employed. In Europe
it  is used occasionally as  an adjunct  to other medicines in cathartic and
diuretic mixtures.  The dose is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce. The
patient should drink freely of thin gruel, or other demulcent beverage, during
its operation.                                                   W.

   SYRUPUS  RHEI.  U.S.   Syrup of Rhubarb.
   " Take of Rhubarb, bruised,  two ounces; boiling  Water a pint; Sugar
[refined] two pounds.  Macerate the Rhubarb in the Water for twenty-four
hours, and strain; then add the Sugar, and proceed in the manner directed
for Syrup." U. S. 
part n.
Syrupi.
1151
  This is a mild cathartic, adapted to the cases of infants, to whom it may
be given  in the dose of one or two fluidrachms.
  It has been proposed to form the syrup of rhubarb in the manner directed
in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for the aromatic syrup, by first preparing  a
tincture  with diluted  alcohol,  then  evaporating the  spirituous portion by
means of a water-bath, and incorporating the remainder  with sugar.  It is
questionable, however, whether this would be an improvement on the offi-
cinal formula;  as, though a stronger syrup might be  obtained, there would
be some  risk that a portion of the alcohol might  remain, and render the
preparation too stimulating to meet the indication for which it was originally
intended.                                                     W.
  SYRUPUS RHEI  AROMATICUS. U. S.  Aromatic Syrup of
Rhubarb.
  " Take of Rhubarb, bruised, two ounces  and a half; Cloves, bruised,
Cinnamon, bruised, each, half an ounce; Nutmeg, bruised, two drachms;
Diluted Alcohol two pints; Syrup six pints.   Macerate the Rhubarb and
aromatics in the Diluted Alcohol for fourteen  days, and strain;  then, by
means of a water-bath, evaporate the liquor to a pint, and, while it is  still
hot, mix it with the Syrup previously heated.
  " Aromatic Syrup of Rhubarb may also be prepared by putting the Rhu-
barb and Aromatics,  previously reduced to coarse powder and moistened
with Diluted Alcohol, into an  apparatus for displacement;  pouring upon
them  gradually Diluted Alcohol until two  pints of filtered liquor  are ob-
tained; then evaporating to  a  pint,  and completing  the process  as above
directed."  U.S.
  Of these two modes of proceeding, the first should always be preferred
by those  not experienced in conducting  the process of filtration by displace-
ment.  In preparing the syrup, the apothecary should be careful to  employ
aromatics of the best quality, and to effect the evaporation of the tincture,
according to the officinal direction, by means of a water-bath.
  The aromatic syrup of rhubarb is a warm stomachic  laxative, too feeble
for adult cases,  but well  calculated for the bowel complaints of  infants,
which are  so  frequent in our cities during the summer season, and as a
remedy for which the preparation, or one analogous to it, has been long in
use under the name of spiced syrup of rhubarb.  The  dose for an infant
with diarrhoea is a fluidrachm,  repeated every two hours till the passages
indicate by their colour that the medicine has operated.             W.
   SYRUPUS RHCEADOS. Lond., Ed.  Syrupus  Papaveris Rh(e-
adis. Dub.   Syrup of Red  Poppy.
   " Take of Red Poppy [petals] apound; boiling Water a pint [Imperial
measure];  Sugar [refined] two pounds and a half.  To the Water heated
by a water-bath, gradually add the Petals, occasionally stirring; then, having
removed the vessel, macerate for twelve hours; express the liquor, and when
the dregs have subsided add the Sugar, and dissolve it." Lond.
   The Edinburgh process is a close imitation  of the London.
   " Take of the fresh Petals  of the Red  Poppy a pound; boiling Water
twenty fluidounces.  Add the Petals gradually to the boiling Water; then,
having removed the  vessel from the fire, macerate with an inferior  heat
[between 90° and 100°] for twelve hours;  express the liquor, and set it by
that the dregs may subside; lastly, add the Sugar, and form a syrup." Dub.
   The object of introducing the petals into water heated  by a water-bath, is
that they may shrink  by being scalded,  as otherwise they could not be com-
pletely immersed in the quantity of water directed.  After this has been 
1152
Syrupi.
part n.
accomplished, they should be immediately removed from  the fire, lest the
liquor should become too thick and ropy.  The fine red colour of this syrup
is its only recommendation.  It has no medical virtues, and is very liable to
ferment.                                                        W.
  SYRUPUS ROSAE. Lond., Dub.  Syrupus Ros* Centifoli*.
Ed,  Syrup of Roses.
  " Take of Hundred-leaved roses, dried, seven ounces; Sugar [refined] six
pounds;  boiling Water three pints [Imperial measure].   Macerate the Pe-
tals in the water for twelve hours, and strain.  Evaporate the strained liquor,
by means of  a water-bath, to  two pints; then add the Sugar, and dissolve
it." Lond.
  The Dublin process differs from the above only in having four pints
[wine measure] of water, evaporating to two pints and a half, and using the
proportion of sugar directed in its general formula.  (See page 1145.)
  " Take of  fresh  Damask-rose  Petals one pound;  boiling Water three
pints [Imp.  meas.]; Pure Sugar three  pounds.   Infuse the  Petals in the
Water for twelve hours, strain the liquor, and dissolve the Sugar in it with
the aid of heat." Ed.
  This syrup is gently laxative, and, on account of its mildness, may be given
with advantage to infants and persons of delicate habit.   It is without the
fragrance of the rose; but has a reddish colour which is rendered bright red
by acids, and green or yellow by alkalies. The dose is from two fluidrachms
to one or two fluidounces.
  Off. Prep.  Confectio Cassiae, Lond.; Confectio Scammonii, Lond.  W.
  SYRUPUS ROSAE  GALLICAE.  Ed.  Syrup of Red Roses.
  "Take of dried Red-rose petals two ounces; boiling Water one pint;
Pure Sugar  twenty ounces.   Proceed  as for the Syrup of damask-rose."
Ed.
  The syrup of red roses is mildly astringent;  but is valued  more  for its
fine red colour, on account of which it is occasionally added to mixtures.
  Off. Prep.  Electuarium Catechu, Ed.                          W.
  SYRUPUS SARSAPARILLAE. Dub.  Syrupus Sarz*. Lond.,
Ed.  Syrup of Sarsaparilla.
  " Take of Sarsaparilla, sliced, fifteen ounces; boiling Water a  gallon
[Imperial measure];  Sugar fifteen ounces.   Macerate the Sarsaparilla in
the Water for twenty-four hours;  then boil down to  four pints, and  strain
the liquor while hot; afterwards add the Sugar and evaporate to the proper
consistence."  Lond.
  The Edinburgh process is the same as the above.
  The Dublin College obtains in the same manner four pints of a concen-
trated strained decoction, and  prepares  a syrup with this, according to the
general directions of the College.  (See page  1145.)
  This syrup is necessarily a weak if not inert preparation; the virtues of
sarsaparilla being only partially extracted by water, at least by the quantity
of this menstruum  ordinarily employed, and being injured or destroyed by
long boiling.   It is scarcely used in this country, our own compound  syrup
being preferred.                                                 W.

  SYRUPUS SARSAPARILLAE  COMPOSITUS.  U.S.  Com-
pound Syrup of Sarsaparilla.
  "Take of  Sarsaparilla, bruised, two pounds;  Guaiacum Wood, rasped,
three ounces;  Hundred-leaved Roses, Senna, Liquorice Root, bruised, each,
two ounces; Oil of Sassafras, Oil of Anise, each^ye minims; Oil of Par-
tridge-berry three minims; Diluted Alcohol ten pints; Sugar eight pounds. 
PART II.
Syrupi.
1153
Macerate the  Sarsaparilla, Guaiacum Wood, Roses, Senna, and  Liquorice
Root in  the Diluted  Alcohol for fourteen days;  then  express and filter.
Evaporate  the tincture  by means of a water-bath  to  four pints, filter, add
the Sugar,  and proceed in the manner directed  for Syrup.  Lastly, havino-
rubbed the Oils with a small quantity of the Syrup, mix them thoroughly
with the remainder.
   " Compound Syrup of Sarsaparilla may also be prepared in the follow-
ing  manner:—Take  of Sarsaparilla, ground   into coarse  powder,  two
pounds; Guaiacum Wood, rasped, three ounces; Hundred-leaved Roses,
Senna,  Liquorice Root, each, in coarse powder, two ounces;  Oil of Sassa-
fras, Oil of Anise, each,five minims; Oil of Partridge-berry three minims;
Water  a sufficient quantity; Sugar  eight pounds.  Mix the Sarsaparilla,
Guaiacum  Wood, Roses, Senna, and Liquorice Root  with three pints  of
Water,  and allow the mixture to stand for twenty-four hours.   Then trans-
fer the whole  to an apparatus for displacement, and pour on Water gradually
until one gallon of filtered liquor is obtained.  Evaporate this to four pints;
then add the Sugar, and proceed in the manner  directed for Syrup. Lastly,
having  rubbed  the Oils with  a small  portion of the Syrup,  mix them
thoroughly with the remainder." U. S.
   In the original edition of the  U.  S. Pharmacopoeia  published in 1820, a
process for a syrup of sarsaparilla  was  adopted, intended to represent  the
famous  French Sirop de Cuisinier.  This was  very much improved in the
revised  edition of the  Pharmacopoeia published in 1830;  and the amended
process is  retained  with very little alteration in the  present edition,, being the
first of the two quoted above.   In the original process,  the sarsaparilla was
subjected to long decoction with water, and the degree of concentration was
indefinite.   Now it has been proved that diluted alcohol more thoroughly ex-
tracts the acrid principles of the root, upon which its activity probably de-
pends, than water, and that these principles are either dissipated or destroyed
by the long continued application of a boiling heat.* In  the present formula,
therefore,  which employs diluted  alcohol as the menstruum, the root is
more completely exhausted of its active matter; while  the heat applied to
the concentration,  being no higher than is requisite for the evaporation of
the alcohol, is insufficient to injure the preparation.   The spirituous  men-
struum  has, moreover, the  advantage  of not  dissolving the inert fecula,
which encumbers the syrup prepared by decoction and renders it liable to
spoil.   At the late revision of the Pharmacopoeia, the  pale or hundred-
leaved roses were  very properly substituted for the red; as their  slightly
laxative  property accords better with the character of the preparation.  The
operator should be careful  to  comply  exactly  with  the directions of the
Pharmacopoeia in relation to the period of  maceration, and the use of the
water-bath.  The  essential  oils being intended solely  to communicate an
agreeable flavour, are  used in  very small proportion.  A syrup prepared
according  to this process has  been for several  years  in  use, and  has
given general satisfaction.   The only objection to it is, that a portion of
the resinous matter, extracted  by the alcohol from the guaiacum wood, is
deposited during the evaporation of the  tincture;  but this is  separated by
the filtration directed, and  is therefore of no disadvantage to the prepara-
tion.
  * See a paper by J. Hancock, M. D,  republished in  the Journ. of the Phil. Col. of
Pharm. i. 295; a communication by M. Beral to  the Journal de Pharmacie, xv. 657;
another by M. Soubeiran in the same  Journal, xvi. 38; and  a paper by T. J. Husband in
the American Journ. of Pharm. xv. 6.
      98 
1154
Syrupi.
PART II.
   It is perhaps unfortunate  that the second  process  above quoted was
 adopted by the revisers of the Pharmacopoeia.  It yields a handsome syrup,
 containing a certain amount of the active matter of the sarsaparilla; but has
 been shown by the experiments of Mr. Husband, to have less of the sensible
 properties, and consequently, in all probability, of the medical virtues of the
 root, than the syrup prepared with diluted alcohol.  (Am. Journ. of Pharm.
 xv. 6.)  We would  strongly  advise  an  adherence to  the first of the two
 officinal formulae.   But the practitioner should be aware that much of the
 sarsaparilla as it exists in the  market is nearly or quite inert, and should be
 prepared to meet with disappointment in the use of this or any other prepara-
 tion, unless satisfied of the  good quality of the drug from which it is made.
   The dose of the syrup of sarsaparilla is half a fluidounce, equivalent to
 somewhat less than a drachm of the root, to be taken three or four times a
 day.                                                           W.
   SYRUPUS SCILLAE. U.S.,  Ed.   Syrup of Squill.
   "Take of Vinegar of Squill  apint, Sugar [refined] two pounds.   Add
 the Sugar to the Vinegar of Squill, and proceed in the manner directed for
 Syrup."  U. S.
   "Take of Vinegar of Squill  three pints; Pure  Sugar, in powder, seven
pounds.   Dissolve the  Sugar in the Vinegar of  Squill, with the aid  of a
 gentle  heat and agitation." Ed.
   This syrup is much employed as an expectorant, especially in combina-
 tion with a solution of tartarized  antimony.  The dose is  about a fluidrachm.
 In infantile cases of catarrh and other pectoral complaints, it is sometimes
 given,  in the same dose, as an emetic.                            W.

   SYRUPUS SCILLAE  COMPOSITUS.  U.S.   Compound Syrup
 of Squill.  Hive-syrup.
   "Take of Squill, bruised, Seneka, bruised, each, four ounces; Tartrate
 of Antimony and Potassa forty-eight grains; Water  four pints;  Sugar
 three pounds and a half .   Pour the  Water upon  the  Squill and Seneka,
 and having boiled to one-half, strain and  add the Sugar; then evaporate  to
 three  pints, and, while  the Syrup is still hot, dissolve in it the Tartrate  of
 Antimony and Potassa.
   " Compound Syrup of Squill, may be advantageously prepared  in the
 following  manner by those  familiar with the process of  displacement.
   " Take of Squill, in  coarse  powder,  Seneka,  in  coarse powder,  each,
 four ounces; Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa forty-eight grains; Alco-
 hol half a pint;  Water a  sufficient quantity; Sugar  three pounds and a
 half.   Mix the Alcohol with two pints and a half of Water,  and macerate
 the Squill and Seneka in  the  mixture  for  twenty-four hours.  Put the
 whole  into an  apparatus for displacement, and  add as much  Water as  may
 be necessary to make the  filtered liquor amount to three pints.   Boil the
 liquor  for a few minutes,  evaporate to one-half,  and strain;  then add the
 Sugar, and evaporate until  the resulting syrup  measures  three  pints.
 Lastly, dissolve the Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa in the Syrup, while
 it is still hot." U.S.
   This is intended as a substitute  for that very popular preparation com-
 monly called Coxe's Hive-syrup, from which it differs chiefly in containing
 sugar instead of honey.  Prepared according  to the directions of the former
 Pharmacopoeia, it invariably fermented, from the want of sufficient concen-
 tration. This defect was corrected at the last  revision of the Pharmacopoeia,
 when sugar was also substituted for honey, in consequence of the uncertain 
PART II.
Syrupi.
1155
 consistence and constitution of the latter.   It will be observed that two for-
 mulae are given above, in the former of which the virtues of the squill and
 seneka are extracted by long boiling with water, in the latter, by percolation
 with water to which a small  portion of alcohol has been  added.   Either of
 them will furnish an efficient product; but the latter is preferable when skil-
 fully performed; as  it avoids in  great  measure the injurious influence of
 boiling upon  the seneka,  exhausts both this and the squill more readily in
 consequence of the addition of alcohol to the menstruum,  and affords  a solu-
 tion of their active principles less embarrassed with inert matters calculated to
 favour fermentation.  In this process, the filtered liquor is raised  to the boil-
 ing point  in order  to coagulate  the  albumen, after which the  evaporation
 should be conducted at a lower temperature.  But  the inexperienced ope-
 rator should always follow the  first  formula;  for, if the percolation be not
 properly effected,  the syrup will  inevitably be weaker than it is  designed
 to be.*
   The compound syrup of squill combines the virtues of seneka,  squill,
 and tartar emetic, of the last of which it contains one grain in every fluid-
 ounce.  It is emetic, diaphoretic, expectorant, and frequently cathartic, and
 may be given with advantage in mild cases of croup, in  the latter  stages of
 severe cases  when  the object is to promote  expectoration, and  in other
 pectoral affections in which the same indication is presented. As an  emetic
 in inflammatory croup and infantile  catarrh, we decidedly prefer  a  simple
 solution of tartar emetic in water.   The  dose of the compound  syrup of
 squill is,  for children, from ten drops to a fluidrachm, according to the age,
 and should be  repeated in cases of croup every fifteen or twenty minutes
 till it vomits.   As  an expectorant for adults the dose is twenty  or  thirty
 drops.                                                              W.

   SYRUPUS SENEGAE. U. S.   Syrup of Seneka.
   "Take of Seneka, bruised, four ounces; Water apint; Sugar [refined]
 a pound.  Boil  the Water with the Seneka to one.half, and strain;  then  add
 the Sugar, and  proceed in the manner directed for Syrup.  Syrup of Seneka
 may also be prepared in the following manner:—
   " Take of Seneka, in  coarse  powder, four ounces; Water a sufficient
 quantity; Sugar fifteen ounces.   Mix the Seneka with four fluidounces of
 Water and allow tbe mixture to stand for twelve hours; then put it into an
 apparatus  for displacement,  and  gradually pour  Water  upon  it until  the
 liquid passes nearly  tasteless.  Evaporate the filtered  liquor to  half a pint,
 strain, and, having  added  the Sugar, proceed in the manner directed  for
 Syrup." U. S.
   The latter of these processes  is preferable for an experienced operator;
 as it avoids the injury to the seneka  resulting from long boiling;  but they
 who are not practically acquainted with the process of percolation should
 employ the former.

 * In the Pharmacopcein of 1830, this preparation was named Mel Scilla Compositum, or com-
 pound honey of squill.  The following was the officinal  process:  "Take ot Squill, bruised,
 Seneka, bruised, each, four ounces; Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa forty eight  grains;
 Clarified Honey two pounds.   Pour the Distilled Water upon the Squill and Seneka, and
 boil to one-half; strain, and add the Clarified Honey; then boil down  to three pints, in
 which dissolve the Tartrate of Antimony  and  Potassa."  The preparation thus made
 was insufficiently  concentrated, measuring  only 2(>£° Baume, instead  of 30°, which is
 the proper standard of density for syrup. It therefore  speedily fermented.  By  boiling',
 however, down to two pints instead of three, it will have the proper consistence, and will
keep much better.   But in this  case only 32 grains of tartar emetic should  be added, so
that there may still be one grain of the antimonial to each fluidounce of the syrup. 
1156
Syrupi.
PART II.
  This is an active preparation, and affords a very convenient mode of ex-
hibiting seneka in pectoral complaints.   It may be given as a stimulant ex-
pectorant in the dose of one or two fluidrachms.                    W.

  SYRUPUS  SENNAE.  U. S, Lond., Ed.  Syrup of Senna.
  " Take of Senna two ounces; Fennel-seed, bruised, an ounce; boiling
Water apint; Sugar fifteen ounces.  Digest the Senna and Fennel-seed in
the  Water, with a gentle heat, for an hour; then strain, add the  Sugar, and
evaporate to the proper consistence." U. S.
  " Take of Senna two  ounces and a  half; Fennel [seeds], bruised, ten
drachms;  Manna three ounces; Sugar [refined] fifteen  ounces; boiling
Water apint [Imperial measure].   Macerate the Senna and Fennel in the
Water with a gentle heat for an hour.   Strain the  liquor and mix with it
the  Manna and Sugar; then boil down to the proper consistence." Lond.
  " Take of Senna four ounces; Boiling Water one pint and four fluid-
ounces [Imperial measure]; Treacle forty-eight ounces.  Infuse the Senna
in the Water for twelve hours; strain and express strongly through calico,
so as to obtain a pint and two fluidounces at least of liquid.  Concentrate
the  Treacle in  the vapour-bath as  far as possible, or till a little taken out
upon a rod becomes nearly  concrete on cooling;  and, while the Treacle is
still hot, add the infusion, stirring carefully, and  removing the vessel from
the  vapour-bath as soon as the mixture is complete.   If Alexandrian Senna
be used for this preparation, it must  be carefully freed of Cynanchum leaves
by  picking it." Ed.
  The molasses in the Edinburgh syrup almost completely covers the taste
of  the senna; and the preparation,  according to Dr. Christison, is very
effectual, and seldom occasions nausea or griping.  The U.S. and London
processes are liable to the objection that considerable evaporation  is neces-
sary to bring the syrup  to  the proper consistence;  so that, if  a boiling
heat be employed, the senna may be injured.   This  syrup is  intended
chiefly as a cathartic for children, to whom it may be given in  the dose of
one or two fluidrachms.*                                          W.
  SYRUPUS TOLUTANI. U.S. Syrupus Tolutanus. Lond., Ed.
Syrupus Balsami Tolutani. Dub.   Syrup of Tolu.
  "Take of Tincture of Tolu a fluidounce; Syrup a pint and a half.
Mix the Tincture with the Syrup, and by means of  a water-bath evaporate
to the proper consistence." U. S.
  "Take of Balsam of  Tolu ten drachms;  boiling Water a  pint [Im-
perial measure]; Sugar [refined] two pounds and a half.   Boil the Balsam
in the Water for half an hour, in a lightly-covered vessel, occasionally  stir-
ring, and strain the liquor when cold; then add the Sugar and dissolve it."
Lond.
  The  Edinburgh  College prepares this  syrup  by adding gradually one

  *  Under the name of fluid extract of senna, a preparation, originally suggested by
Mr.  Charles  Ellis,  has  been  considerably used in  this  city.  Mr. Duhamel, who has
modified the original formula, prepares it in the following manner.—Macerate eight ounces
of coarsely powdered senna with a pint of diluted Alcohol for twelve hours; then intro-
duce it into a displacement apparatus, and gradually pour in water  until three pints of
liquid shall have passed.  Evaporate with a gentle heat to Jive fluidounces, and, while the
liquor is still hot, dissolve in it five ounces of sugar.  Strain  the liquor, and when it is
cold  add for each fluidounce  Uco drops of the Od of Fennel, dissolved in  a  little  Hoff-
mann's Anodyne.  The last mentioned ingredient  serves to prevent  the  fluid extract
from fermenting.  Half a fluidounce is the dose for an adult. {Am. Journ.  of Pharm.
xiii.  290.) 
PART II.
Syrupi.
1157
 ounce of the tincture of tolu to two pounds of simple syrup just prepared,
 and before it has  become cold.  The Dublin  College pursues the same
 plan, using an ounce of the tincture to a pint and a half of syrup.
   The London process affords a syrup with a finer flavour than that pre-
 pared with the tincture.   The same portion of balsam is, according to Mr.
 Brande, usually employed in successive operations, and it long continues to
 impart odour and  taste to boiling water.  The  quantity of the balsam is
 rather less than two grains in a fluidounce of the  syrup, prepared according
 to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which is about equal in strength  to the Edin-
 burgh and Dublin,  and much stronger than the London.  The syrup of tolu
 may, therefore, be considered inert as a medicine; and its only use is to com-
 municate its pleasant flavour to mixtures.                          W.

   SYRUPUS  VIOLAS. Ed., Dub.  Syrup  of Violets.
   " Take  of Fresh  Violets one pound; boiling Water two pints and a half;
 Pure Sugar seven pounds and a half.  Infuse the flowers for twenty-four
 hours in the Water, in a covered glass  or earthenware vessel;  strain with-
 out squeezing, and  dissolve the Sugar in the filtered liquor." Ed.
  _ " Take  of the fresh Petals of the Violet two pounds; boiling Water five
 pints.   Macerate for twenty-four hours; then  filter the liquor through'fine
 linen, without expression; lastly, add the Sugar [twenty-nine ounces  for
 every pint of  liquor] and  form  a syrup." Dub.
   This  syrup has a deep  blue colour and  an agreeable flavour.  It  is said
 that its colour is most beautiful when it is  prepared in well-cleaned  pewter
 vessels;  but the action of  the metal has not been satisfactorily explained.
 As it is apt to fade  by time, it is sometimes counterfeited with materials the
 colour of which is  more permanent.  The fraud  may usually  be detected
 by the addition of an acid  or alkali, the former of which reddens the syrup
 of violets,  the latter renders it  green, while they produce no such  change
 upon the counterfeit.
   The syrup acts as a gentle laxative when given to  infants in the dose of
 one or two fluidrachms; but it is used chiefly as  a test of acids and alka-
 lies.   For the latter purpose, a syrup prepared from the juice of the red
 cabbage  may  be  substituted in its place.   It is  very seldom  kept  in  our
 shops.                                                          W.

   SYRUPUS  ZINGIBERIS.  U.S., Lond.,   Ed.,  Dub.    Syrup of
 Ginger.
   " Take of Tincture of Ginger four fluidounces; Syrup a gallon.  Mix
 the Tincture with  the Syrup, and  by means of  a water-bath  evaporate to
 the proper consistence." U. S.
   The London College macerates two ounces and a half of sliced ginger,
 for four hours, in apint [Imperial measure] of boiling water, and,  having
 strained  the infusion, adds  two pounds and a half of refined sugar, and
 dissolves it.  The  Edinburgh  College infuses two ounces and a  half of
 bruised ginger, for four  hours, in a pint [Imperial measure] of boiling
 water, strains, adds two pounds and a half of pure sugar, and  dissolves it
 with the  aid of heat.  The Dublin College macerates four ounces  of the
bruised root, for twenty-four hours, in three pints of boiling water,  filters
the liquor,  and adds twenty-nine ounces of refined sugar to each pint.
  The process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is the most easy, and affords a
syrup in  every respect equal to the others,  without being like them encum-
bered with  the mucilage and starch of the root.  In order that it may be of
                                 98* 
1158                    Syrupi.— Tincturx.                part ii.

the proper strength, it is necessary that the tincture should have been made
with the best Jamaica ginger.
   The syrup of ginger is much used as a warm stomachic addition to tonic
and  purgative infusions or mixtures, and  to impart flavour to drinks, par-
ticularly to carbonic acid water.
   Off. Prep. Electuarium Catechu Compositum, Dub.; Electuarium Opii,
Ed.; Pilulae Sagapeni Compositae, Lond.                          W.

                          TINCTURjE.

                              Tinctures.

   Tinctures, in the pharmaceutical sense of the term, are solutions of  me-
dicinal  substances in  alcohol or diluted alcohol, prepared by maceration,
digestion, or percolation.  Solutions in ammoniated alcohol and  ethereal
spirit are embraced under the same  denomination, but are severally distin-
guished by the addition of an epithet expressive of their peculiar character.
The advantages of alcohol as a menstruum are, that it dissolves principles
which are sparingly or not at all soluble in water,  and contributes to their
preservation when dissolved; while it leaves behind some inert substances
which are dissolved by water.  In no instance, however, is  pure  absolute
alcohol  employed.  The United States Pharmacopoeia directs it of the sp.
gr. 0-835;  the London  and Edinburgh, 0-838; and the  Dublin, 0-840.
When of  these densities it contains a considerable proportion of water,  and
is capable of dissolving more or less of substances  which are insoluble in
anhydrous alcohol, while its solvent  power, in relation to bodies soluble in
that fluid, is sufficient  for all practical purposes.  In numerous instances,
diluted  alcohol or proof spirit is preferable to alcohol itself; as it is capable
of extracting a larger  proportion of those active  principles of plants which
require  an aqueous menstruum, at  the same time that it is strong enough to
prevent spontaneous decomposition, and has the advantages of being cheaper
and less stimulating.   The diluted alcohol of the different Pharmacopoeias
is not of the same strength,  that of the United  States consisting of equal
measures  of officinal alcohol and water, and having  the sp. gr. 0-935, while
that of London has the sp. gr. 0-920, that of Edinburgh 0-912, and that of
Dublin  0-919.   The  difference, however, is not very material.  Alcohol or
rectified spirit is preferred as the solvent, when the substance to be extracted
or dissolved is nearly or quite insoluble in water, as in the instances of the
resins,  guaiac, camphor, and the essential oils.   The presence of  water is
here injurious, not only by diluting the menstruum,  but by exercising an
affinity  for  the alcohol which interferes with  its  solvent power.   Thus
water added to an alcoholic solution  of one of these bodies, produces a pre-
cipitate by abstracting the alcohol  from it.  Diluted alcohol or proof spirit
is employed, when the substance is soluble both in alcohol and water, or
when one or more of  the ingredients are soluble in the one  fluid,  and  one
or more in the other,  as in the case  of those vegetables which contain ex-
tractive or tannin, or the native salts of the organic alkalies, or gum united
with resin or essential oil.   As these include the greater number of medi-
cines from which  tinctures are  prepared, diluted alcohol is most frequently
used.
   In the  preparation of the  tinctures, the medicine  should  be in the dry
state, and properly comminuted by being bruised, sliced, or pulverized.  It
is usually better in the condition of a coarse than of a very fine powder; as 
PART II.
Tincturse.
1159
in the latter it is apt to agghitinate, and thus present an impediment to the
penetration of the  menstruum.   When several substances differing in solu-
bility are  employed, they should be added successively to the spirit, those
least soluble  first,  those most so last; as otherwise the menstruum  might
become saturated with the ingredient for which it has the strongest affinity,
and thus be rendered incapable of dissolving a due proportion of the others.
   Until recently, tinctures have been universally prepared by maceration or
digestion.  The Edinburgh College directs digestion to be continued usually
for seven days.  Our own Pharmacopoeia follows that of London, in direct-
ing maceration at ordinary temperatures, and extending the  period to two
weeks.  The latter plan is preferable, as it is most convenient, and equally
effectual, the lower temperature being compensated by the  longer macera-
tion. When circumstances require that the tincture should be speedily pre-
pared, digestion may be resorted to.   Care should always be taken to keep
the vessel well stopped, in order to prevent the evaporation  of the alcohol.
The materials should be frequently shaken during the  digestion or macera-
tion; and this caution is especially necessary when the substance acted on
is in the state of powder.  The tincture should not be  used till the macera-
tion is  completed, when it should  be separated  from  the dregs  either by
simply filtering it through  paper,  or, when force is requisite, by first ex-
pressing it through linen, and subsequently filtering.
   The plan of preparing tinctures by percolation or displacement has re-
cently been  extensively adopted; and has been found to answer an excellent
purpose,  when skilfully executed.   In the  last editions of the  U. S. and
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias,  this mode of  preparation has been given as an
alternative in numerous instances; and would probably have been exclusively
recommended in  some, except  for its liability to fail in the hands of inex-
 perienced persons.  The reader will find  rules for the proper management
of this  process at  pages 763 and 769.
   Tinctures have been long in  use on  the Continent of Europe, and have
 recently  been brought into notice  in Great Britain,  prepared by adding
 alcohol to the expressed juices  of  plants.  They are sometimes called in
 England preserved vegetable juices.  The tinctures of some of the narcotic
 plants might no doubt  be advantageously prepared in this way, as those of
 conium, hyoscyamus,  and  belladonna.  Mr. Squire and Mr. Bentley have
 paid particular  attention to these preparations.   According  to  Mr. Squire,
 the leaves only of the plants should  be  used,  and in the case of biennial
 plants those exclusively of the second year's growth; and they should always
 be preferably collected when the plant is in full flower.   Mr. Bentley re-
 commends the following  mode of preparation.   To  the expressed juice,
 after it has stood  for twenty-four hours,  and deposited its feculent matter,
 alcohol of 0-838 is to be added  in the proportion of one part by measure to
 four of the juice; and, after another period of twenty-four hours, the liquor
 is to be filtered.   The proportion of alcohol mentioned has been found suffi-
 cient for the preservation of the juice, while it causes the  precipitation of
 all the suspended mucilaginous  matter.
   Tinctures should be kept in bottles accurately stopped, in order  to pre-
 vent evaporation, which might, in some instances, be attended with serious
 inconvenience, by increasing their strength beyond the officinal standard.
   Medicines are most conveniently  administered  in tincture, which act
 powerfully in small doses; as the  proportion of alcohol in  which they are
 dissolved is too minute to produce an appreciable effect.  Those which re-
 quire to be given  in large doses, should be cautiously employed in this form,
 lest the injury done  by the menstruum  should  more than counterbalance 
1160
Tincturse.
PART IL
 their beneficial operation. This remark is particularly applicable to chronic
 cases of tlisease, in which the use of tinctures is apt to result in the establish-
 ment of fatal habits of intemperance.   The tinctures of the weaker medi-
 cines are  more frequently given  as adjuvants  of other remedies  than with
 the view of obtaining their own full effect upon the system.
   The  following general directions are  given in the  U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
   "Tinctures, when prepared  by maceration,  should be frequently shaken
 during the process, which should  be conducted  in glass vessels well stopped.
 When displacement is employed, great  care should be taken to observe the
 directions given at page 4 [page 769, U. S. Dispensatory], so that the sub-
 stances treated may be, as far as possible, exhausted of their soluble prin-
 ciples, and a perfectly clear  tincture obtained.   To those not familiar with
 this process,  the plan of maceration is recommended."
   The  London College states that "all tinctures should  be prepared in
 closed glass vessels, and frequently shaken during the maceration."  The
 general directions of the Edinburgh  College,  which relate to the process
 of percolation, have been given at page 770.                       W.
   TINCTURA ACONITI.  U.S.    Tincture of Aconite.
   " Take of  Aconite four ounces;  Diluted Alcohol  two pints.   Macerate
 for fourteen days, express, and  filler through paper.
   "This tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Aco-
 nite, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for twenty-four
 hours, then transferring it to an apparatus for  displacement, and gradually
 pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are ob-
 tained." U. S.
   This is a good preparation of aconite  when made from the recently dried
 leaves, and may be given in  the dose of twenty or thirty drops.      W.
   TINCTURA ALOES.  U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.    Tincture  of
 Aloes.
   "Take  of Aloes,  in powder, an ounce; Liquorice [extract] three ounces;
 Alcohol half a pint; Distilled  Water a pint  and a half.  Macerate for
 fourteen days, and filter through paper.  U. S.
   The London process differs  from the  above only  in the use of the Im-
 perial, instead of the wine  measure.   The  Edinburgh College takes an
 ounce of Socotrine or Indian Aloes, three ounces of liquorice, twelve fluid-
 ounces of  rectified spirit,  and  twenty-eight fluidounces of water; digests
 for seven days; and filters the liquor,  separated from the sediment.   The
 Dublin College dissolves an ounce and a half  of liquorice in eight ounces
 of boiling  water; then adds half an ounce of Socotrine aloes and eight fluid-
 ounces of proof spirit, digests the  whole  for seven days, and filters.
   The tincture of aloes of the  former U. S. Pharmacopoeia was  prepared
 with the officinal diluted alcohol,  without the  addition of water. In the
present edition it has  been  made to correspond with the tincture of the
British Colleges.   It  is little more than an  infusion, with the addition of
sufficient alcohol to  prevent spontaneous decomposition.  The liquorice is
 added to cover the  taste of the  aloes;  but it  answers  the  end imperfectly;
 and the preparation, on account of its unpleasant  bitterness, is little used,
aloes being generally administered in  the form of pill.   The dose is from
half a fluidounce to  a fluidounce and a half.                        W.
  TINCTURA  ALOES  ET   MYRRHAE. U.S., Ed.  Tinctura
Aloes Composita. Lond., Dub.   Tincture of Aloes and Myrrh.
  " Take of Aloes, in powder,  three ounces; Saffron an ounce; Tincture 
PART II.
Tincturae.
1161
 of Myrrh two pints.  Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through paper."

   The London College takes four ounces of aloes, two ounces of saffron,
 and two pints [Imperial measure] of tincture of myrrh,  and  proceeds as
 above.  The directions of the Dublin College correspond with  those of our
 Pharmacopoeia, except that Socotrine aloes is  specified  and  the  saffron
 omitted.  The Edinburgh College takes four ounces of Socotrine or  Indian
 aloes, two ounces of saffron, and two pints [Imperial measure] of tincture
 of myrrh; digests  for seven days; and filters the clear " superincumbent"
 liquor.
   This tincture is  a modification of the elixir propriefatis of Paracelsus.
 The saffron, which has been retained in compliance with former prejudices,
 can add little to the efficacy of the preparation; and, being very expensive,
 has with  great propriety been much reduced in  the present U. S. formula.
 It serves, however, to impart a  richness to the tincture, the want of  which
 might be considered a defect by those accustomed to its use.
   The tincture is purgative, tonic, and emmenagogue;  and is considerably
 employed in chlorosis, and other disordered states of health in females,
 connected with  suppressed, retained, or deficient menstruation, and with a
 constipated state of bowels.  It  may also be used as a stomachic laxative in
 cold, languid habits, independently of menstrual disorder.  The  dose is from
 one to two fluidrachms.                                         W.

   TINCTURA  AMMONIAE COMPOSITA. Lond.   Compound
 Tincture of Ammonia.
   " Take of Mastich two drachms;  Rectified Spirit nine fluidrachms; Oil
 of Lavender fourteen minims; Oil of Amber four minims; Stronger Solu-
 tion of Ammonia apint [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Mastich in the
 Spirit  that it  may be dissolved, and pour off the clear tincture; then add the
 other ingredients, and shake them all together."  Lond.
   This is the Spiritus Ammonias Succinatus of the former London Phar-
 macopoeia, and was intended as  a substitute for the eau de luce.   The tinc-
 ture has a milky appearanee,  owing to the separation  of the mastich from
 its alcoholic  solution  by the water of ammonia.   Its properties are  essen-
 tially  those  of  its  ammoniacal  ingredient; the mastich having no medica]
 action, and the oils of lavender and amber being in too small proportion to
 serve any other purpose than  that of imparting flavour.  It is used chiefly
 as a powerful  stimulant applied  to the nostrils, in  cases of fainting and
 torpor.  It had  at one time considerable reputation as an antidote  to the
 bite  of venomous animals, but is  not relied on  at present.  The dose for
 internal use is from ten to thirty drops.                           W.

   TINCTURA ANGUSTURAE. Dub.  Tinctura Cusparia Ed.
 Tincture of Angustura Bark.
   "Take of  Angustura Bark, in coarse powder, two ounces; Proof  Spirit
 two pints.  Macerate for fourteen days; then filter." Dub.
   The Edinburgh  College takes four  ounces and a half of  the bark, and
 two pints [Imperial measure^] of proof spirit, and proceeds as for the tinc-
 ture  of Peruvian bark.
   This tincture contains the active principles of  Angustura bark, and may
be given in the dose of one or two fluidrachms.                     W.
   TINCTURA ASSAFCETIDAE.  U.S., Lond, Ed.   Tinctura
 AssjEfoetid^. Dub.   Tincture of Assafetida.
   " Take of Assafetida four  ounces; Alcohol  two pints.  Macerate for
fourteen days, and filter through paper." U. S. 
1162
Tincturas.
PART II.
   The London College takes five ounces of assafetida, and two pints [Im-
perial measure] of rectified spirit, and proceeds as above.  The Edinburgh
College, with  the same quantity of materials, digests for seven days, and
filters the clear liquor.  The  Dublin process differs from that of the U. S.
Pharmacopoeia only in triturating the assafetida with half apint of water
previously  to the addition  of  the alcohol.
   This tincture becomes milky on the addition of water, in consequence of
the separation of the resin.  It possesses all the virtues of assafetida. The
medium dose is a fluidrachm.
   Off. Prep. Enema Foetidum, Dub.                             W.
   TINCTURA AURANTII. Lond.,Ed.   Tincture of Orange Peel.
   " Take of dried Orange Peel three ounces and a half; Proof Spirit two
pints [Imperial measure].  Macerate for fourteen days, and filter." Lond.
   " Take  of Bitter Orange Peel, dried, three ounces and a half; Proof
Spirit two pints [Imp. measure].   Digest for seven days, strain  and  ex-
press strongly, and filter  the liquor.   This  tincture may be prepared by
percolation, by cutting the Peel into small fragments,  macerating  it in a
little of the Spirit for twelve  hours, and  beating the mass  into a coarse
pulp before putting it into  the percolator."  Ed.
   It is the  peel of the Seville orange which is intended by the London Col-
lege; and the outer part only should be used, the inner whitish portion being
inert.  The tincture of orange peel is employed  as a  grateful addition to
infusions, decoctions, and  mixtures.  It was omitted by  mistake in the  last
edition of  the Dublin  Pharmacopoeia,  as it is an  ingredient in one of the
officinal preparations of that  work.
   Off. Prep. Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Dub.                      W.
   TINCTURA BELLADONNAE.  U.S.  Tincture of Belladonna.
   " Take of Belladonna [leaves] four  ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   " This tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Bel-
ladonna, in powder, with  Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for twenty-
four hours, then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and gradu-
ally pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol  until two pints of filtered liquor  are
obtained."  U. S.
   This tincture is an  efficient preparation when  made from the  recently
dried leaves; but the imported  leaves are of very uncertain strength, and a
tincture prepared  from them is  less  to be  relied  upon than  the extract.
The dose is from fifteen to thirty drops.                          W.
   TINCTURA  BENZOINI  COMPOSITA.  U.S.,  Lond,,  Ed.
Tinctura Benzoes  Composita. Dub.    Compound  Tincture of
Benzoin,
   " Take of Benzoin  three ounces; Purified  Storax two ounces; Balsam
of Tolu an ounce; Aloes, in powder,  half an ounce;  Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through paper." U. S.
   The London  College  takes  three ounces and a half of benzoin,  two
ounces and a half of strained storax, ten drachms of balsam of Tolu, five
drachms of aloes, and two pints [Imperial measure] of rectified spirit, and
proceeds as above. The Edinburgh College takes four ounces of benzoin,
two ounces and a half of balsam of Peru, half an ounce of East India
aloes, and two pints [Imp. meas.] of rectified spirit, digests for seven days,
pours off the clear liquor, and filters it.  The Dublin process  corresponds 
PART II.
Tincturse.
1163
with that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, except that digestion for seven days
is employed instead of maceration for fourteen.
  This  tincture is a  stimulating expectorant, occasionally used in chronic
catarrhal affections, but more frequently as a local application to indolent
ulcers.  It is the balsamum traumaticum of the older Pharmacopoeias, and
may be  considered as a simplified form of certain complex compositions,
such as  baume de commandeur, Wade's balsam, Friar's balsam, Jesuits'
drops, Sfc.  which were  formerly in repute, and are still esteemed among
the vulgar as pectorals and vulneraries.  Turlington's balsam, which is a
popular remedy in this country for such purposes, consists, as usually pre-
pared in Philadelphia, of the ingredients  of the officinal tincture, with the
addition of Peruvian balsam, myrrh, and  angelica root.*  It is  scarcely
necessary to state, that  the application of these remedies to fresh wounds
must frequently prove  injurious, by inducing too  much  inflammation, and
thus preventing union by the first  intention.  The compound tincture of
benzoin is decomposed by water.  The dose is from thirty minims to two
fluidrachms. A variety of court plaster is made by applying to black silk,
by means of a brush, first a solution of isinglass, and afterwards an alcoholic
solution of benzoin.                                              W.
  TINCTURA BUCHU. Dub.   Tinctura Bucku. Ed.  Tincture
of Buchu.
  "Take of the Leaves of the Diosma crenata two ounces; Proof Spirit a
pint.  Macerate for  seven days, and filter." Dub.
  " Take of Bucku five ounces; Proof Spirit two pints.  Digest for seven
days, pour off the clear liquor,  and  filler  it.   This tincture may be conve-
niently and  quickly made also by the process of percolation."  Ed.
  This  tincture  has  the virtues of buchu leaves, and may be given  in  the
dose of  from one to  four fluidrachms, either  simply diluted with water, or
as an addition to the  infusion  of the leaves.                         W.
   TINCTURA CAMPHORAE. U. S., Lond., Ed.  Tinctura Cam-
PHORiE sive Spiritus Camphoratus. Dub.   Tincture of Camphor.
  " Take of Camphor/owr ounces; Alcohol two pints.  Dissolve the Cam-
phor in the Alcohol."  U. S.
  The Dublin process corresponds with  the above.  The London College
dissolves^i'e ounces of camphor in two pints [Imperial measure] of recti-
fied  spirit;  the Edinburgh, two ounces and a half in two pints  [Imperial
measure].
  This is used chiefly as  an anodyne embrocation in rheumatic and gouty
pains, chilblains, and the  inflammation resulting from sprains and bruises.
It may also be employed internally, due regard being paid to the stimulant
properties of the alcohol.   The camphor is precipitated by the addition of
water, but may be suspended by the intervention of sugar.  The dose is from
five  drops to a fluidrachm, first poured upon sugar, and then mixed with
water.
   Off. Prep. Linimentum Ammoniae Compositum, Ed.            W.

  * The following is the formula for Turlington's balsam adopted by the Philadelphia
College of Pharmacy.   "Take of Alcohol Oviij, Benzoin ^xij, Liquid Storax §iv, Soco-
trine Aloes 3jj., Peruvian Balsam §ij., Myrrh t^j., Angelica Root, gss.. Balsam of Tolu,
^iv., Extract of Liquorice Root ^iv.  Digest for ten days and strain." Journ. of the Phil.
Col. of Pharm. v. 28. 
1164
Tincturae.
part n.
  TINCTURA CANTHARIDIS.  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Tinc-
ture of Spanish Flies.
  "Take of Spanish Flies, bruised, an ounce; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
  "This tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the flies,
in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing them to stand for twenty-four
hours, then transferring them to an apparatus for displacement, and gradually
pouring upon them  Diluted  Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are
obtained." U. S.
  The London College takes four drachms of the flies and two pints [Im-
perial measure] of proof spirit, macerates for fourteen days, and filters; the
Dublin, two drachms of the former and apint and  a half of the latter, and
digests for a week.  The Edinburgh College takes  the same proportions as
the London, digests for seven days, strains, expresses the residuum strongly,
and filters;  or prepares the tincture by percolation, having previously
moistened the coarsely powdered flies with a little of the spirit, and allowed
them to stand for twelve hours.
  This tincture is one of the most convenient forms for the internal use of
Spanish flies,  the virtues of which  it possesses  to their full extent. (See
Cantharis.)  It is occasionally employed externally as a rubefacient; but
its liability to vesicate  should be  taken into  consideration.  The British
tinctures are all too feeble, the strongest containing the virtues only of three
quarters of a grain of cantharides in  a fluidrachm.   The  dose of the U. S.
tincture is from twenty drops to a fluidrachm, repeated three or four times
a day.                                                          W.

  TINCTURA CAPSICI. U.S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.  Tincture of
Cayenne Pepper.
  " Take of Cayenne Pepper an ounce; Diluted Alcohol two pints.  Ma-
cerate for  fourteen days, and filter through paper.
  " This tincture may ateo be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Cay-
enne Pepper, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, putting it into an apparatus
for displacement, and gradually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two
pints of filtered liquor are obtained." U. S.
  The Dublin College prepares this tincture according to the first of the
above formulae. The London College takes ten drachms of bruised Cayenne
pepper and two pints [Imperial measure] of  proof spirit, macerates for four-
teen days,  and filters; the Edinburgh takes the  same proportions  as the
London,, digests for seven days, strains, expresses,  and filters; or prepares
the tincture by percolation,  having  previously made the  capsicum  into a
pulp with a little of the spirit.
  This form of capsicum is a useful stimulant in very low states of the system
with great gastric insensibility, as in malignant scarlet, and typhus fevers,
and in  the cases of drunkards.   It may also be used  as a gargle, diluted with
rose water or some mucilaginous fluid. (See Capsicum.)  Applied by means
of a camel's hair pencil to  the  relaxed uvula, it sometimes produces con-
traction, and relieves prolapsus of that part.   The dose is one or two flui-
drachms.                                                       W.

  TINCTURA CARDAMOMI. U.S., Lond, Ed.   Tincture of
Cardamom.
  " Take of Cardamom, bruised, four ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
  " This  tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Car- 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1165
damom, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for twenty-
four hours, then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and  gra-
dually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are
obtained." U.S.
  The London College takes three ounces and a half of bruised cardamom,
and two pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit,  macerates for fourteen
days, and filters.  The Edinburgh College takes four ounces and a  half
of the bruised seeds, and two pints [Imp. meas.] of proof spirit, digests for
seven days, strains,  expresses, and filters; or  prepares the tincture  by per-
colation, first grinding  the seeds in a coffee-mill, and making them into a
pulp with a little of the spirit.
  This  tincture is an agreeable aromatic, and may be advantageously added
to tonic  and purgative infusions.  The dose is one or two fluidrachms.
  Off. Prep. Tinctura Conii, Ed.                                W.

  TINCTURA CARDAMOMI  COMPOSITA. Lond, Ed., Dub.
Compound Tincture of Cardamom,
  "Take of Cardamom, Caraway, each, in powder, two drachms and a
half; Cochineal, in powder, a drachm; Cinnamon, bruised, five drachms;
Raisins five ounces; Proof Spirit two pints [Imperial measure].   Macerate
for  fourteen* days, and filter." Lond.
  The Edinburgh College,  taking the same materials in the same quanti-
ties as the London, but bruised instead of powdered, digests for seven days,
strains,  expresses strongly, and filters.   The same College allows the  tinc-
ture to be prepared also by percolation; the solid materials being first beaten
together, moistened with a little spirit, and allowed to stand for twelve hours
before being introduced into the instrument.   The Dublin College  takes of
cardamom seeds freed from their husks, and caraway, each, two drachms,
of cinnamon half an  ounce, and two pints of proof spirit, and proceeds in
the  same manner as the London College.
  This  is a  very agreeable  aromatic tincture, occasionally used as a car-
minative, in the dose of one or two fluidrachms, but more frequently as an
addition to mixtures,  infusions, &c, which it renders pleasant to the taste,
and acceptable to the stomach.
  Off. Prep.   Decoctum Aloes  Compositum, Lond., Ed.; Mistura Gen-
tianae Comp. Lond.                                            W.
  TINCTURA CASCARILLAE.  Lond., Ed., Dub.    Tincture of
Cascarilla.
  " Take of Cascarilla, in powder, five ounces; Proof Spirit two pints
[Imperial measure].   Macerate for fourteen days, and filter." Lond.
  The Edinburgh College employs^ve ounces of the bark, in  moderately
fine powder, and two pints  [Imp. measure] of proof spirit;  and proceeds
by percolation or digestion as directed for  the tincture of Peruvian bark.
(See Tinctura Cinchonae.)   The Dublin, takes four ounces of the bark in
coarse powder, and two pints of the menstruum, and macerates for seven
days.
  This tincture has the properties of cascarilla, but  is seldom if ever  used
in this country.                                                W.
  TINCTURA  CASSIAE. Ed.   Tincture of  Cassia.
  " Take of Cassia [Chinese Cinnamon], in moderately fine powder, three
ounces and a half; Proof Spirit two pints.   Digest for seven days, strain,
express  the residuum strongly, and filter.  This tincture is more conve-
      99 
1166
Tincturas.
PART II.
nientiy made by the process of percolation, the Cassia being allowed to
macerate in a little of the Spirit for twelve hours before being put into the
percolator." Ed.
   The properties of this tincture are identical with those of tincture of cin-
namon. (See Tinctura Cinnamomi.)                            W.
   TINCTURA  CASTOREI.  U.S., Lond., Ed.   Tinctura Cas-
torei Rossici. Dub.   Tincture of Castor.
   " Take of Castor, bruised,  two ounces; Alcohol two pints.  Macerate
 or seven days, express, and filter through paper."  U. S.
   The London College takes  two ounces and a half of powdered castor,
and two pints [Imperial measure] of rectified spirit, and macerates for four-
teen days.   The Dublin College directs two ounces of Russian castor, two
pints of proof spirit, and maceration for a week.  The Edinburgh College
directs two ounces and a half of bruised castor, and two pints [Imp.  meas.]
of rectified spirit, and allows the tincture to be prepared either by digestion
or percolation, like the tincture of cassia.
   As castor yields little if any of its virtues to water, alcohol is a better sol-
vent than proof spirit.   It is said also to form a more grateful preparation.
The  Russian  castor should always  be  preferred when attainable.   This
tincture is used for the same purposes with  castor in substance.  The dose
is from thirty minims to two fluidrachms.                         W.
   TINCTURA CASTOREI AMMONIATA.  Ed.  Ammoniated
 Tincture of Castor.
   " Take of Castor, bruised, two ounces and a half; Assafetida, in small
fragments, ten drachms; Spirit of Ammonia two pints [Imperial measure].
Digest for seven days in a well-closed  vessel;  strain and express strongly
•the residuum; and filter the liquor/' Ed.
   This is  an active stimulant and antispasmodic, applicable  to cases of
severe spasm of stomach, and to various hysterical and other nervous affec-
tions, unattended with inflammatory symptoms.  The dose is  from thirty
minims to two fluidrachms.                                      W.
   TINCTURA CATECHU. U. S, Lond, Ed., Dub.  Tincture of
 Catechu.
   " Take  of  Catechu  three ounces; Cinnamon, bruised, two ounces;  Di-
luted Alcohol two  pints.  Macerate  for fourteen days, express, and filter
through paper." U. S.
   The Dublin process  differs  from  the above only in the  period of mace-
ration, which is seven days.   The London College takes three ounces and
a half of catechu, two ounces and a half of cinnamon, and two pints [Im-
perial measure]  of proof spirit, and macerates for  fourteen  days.  The
Edinburgh College takes threeounces and a half of catechu, in moderately
fine powder; two ounces and a half of cinnamon,  in fine powder; and two
pints  [Imp. meas.] of proof spirit; digests for seven  days,  strains,  ex-
presses strongly, and filters.   This College prepares the  tincture also by
percolation, introducing the mixed powders into the percolator without pre-
viously moistening them with  spirit.
   This is a grateful astringent tincture, useful in all cases to which catechu
is applicable, and in which small quantities of spirit are not objectionable.
It may often be advantageously added to cretaceous mixtures in diarrhoea.
The dose is from thirty minims to three fluidrachms, which may be given 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1167
with sweetened water or some mucilaginous liquid, or in Port wine when
this is not contra-indicated.                                      W.

   TINCTURA CINCHONAE. U. S, Lond, Ed., Dub.   Tincture
of Peruvian Bark.
  ^ " Take of Peruvian  Bark,  in powder,  six ounces; Diluted Alcohol two
pints.   Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   "This tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Bark
with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for forty-eight hours, then trans-
ferring it to an  apparatus  for displacement, and gradually pouring upon it
Diluted Alcohol until two  pints of filtered liquor are obtained." U. S.
   "Take  of Yellow Bark,  in  fine powder (or of any other  species of
Cinchona,  according to prescription,) eight ounces; Proof Spirit two pints
[Imperial measure].  Percolate the Bark with the Spirit, the  Bark being
previously moistened with a  very little Spirit, left thus for ten  or twelve
hours, and then firmly  packed in the cylinder.  This tincture may also be
prepared, though much less expeditiously, and with much greater loss,
by the usual process of digestion,  the  bark being in that  case reduced to
coarse powder only." Ed.
   The London  College orders  eight ounces of yellow bark and two pints
[Imp. meas.] of proof spirit,  and macerates for fourteen days; the Dublin,
four ounces to two pints,  and digests for a week.
   Of these tinctures, all, except the Dublin, are very properly made with a
large proportion of  bark;  as,  in the bitter tinctures, it is important that the
alcohol  should bear as small a proportion to the tonic principle as possible.
Even the strongest,  however, cannot, in ordinary cases, be given  in doses
sufficiently large to obtain the full effect of the bark, without stimulating
too highly.   The tincture of cinchona is used chiefly as an adjunct to the
infusion or decoction of bark, or the  solution  of  sulphate of  quinia,  to a
dose  of which  it may  be added in the quantity of from one to four  flui-
drachms.                                                       W.

   TINCTURA CINCHONAE  COMPOSITA.  U.S., Land., Ed.,
Dub.   Compound Tincture of Peruvian Bark.
   " Take of Peruvian Bark, in powder, two ounces;  Orange Peel, bruised,
an ounce and a half; Virginia Snakeroot, bruised, three drachms; Saffron
cut, Red Saunders rasped, each, a  drachm; Diluted  Alcohol twenty fluid-
ounces.  Macerate for  fourteen  days, express, and filter through paper.
   " Compound Tincture of Peruvian Bark may be prepared from the same
dry materials, by beating them well together,  moistening them thoroughly
with Diluted Alcohol,  allowing them to  stand for forty-eight hours,  then
transferring them to an apparatus  for displacement,  and gradually pouring
upon  them Diluted  Alcohol until  twenty fluidounces of filtered liquor are
obtained." U. S.
   " Take  of Cinchona lancifolia  [Pale  Bark], in  powder, four ounces;
dried Orange Peel three ounces; Virginia Snakeroot, bruised, six drachms;
Saffron two drachms;  Cochineal, in  powder, a drachm;  Proof Spirit two
pints [Imperial measure].  Macerate for fourteen  days, and filter." Lond.
   The Edinburgh  College takes the same materials in the same quantities
as the London,  but specifies yellow bark, which it orders in coarse powder,
if digestion,  in fine  powder, if percolation be employed.   Serpentaria is
directed  in moderately fine powder.   The  process  is conducted either by
digesting for seven days, straining, expressing strongly, and filtering; or by
percolation  in  the same way as compound tincture of cardamom.  The 
1168
Tincturas.
PART II.
Dublin College specifies the  pale bark, and  directs two scruples of cochi-
neal in place of the red saunders,  and  half an ounce of orange  peel; in
other respects, the process corresponds with the first formula of the U. S.
Pharmacopoeia.
  This  is the preparation commonly known by the name of Huxham's
tincture of bark.   It  is an  excellent stomachic cordial, and, though too
feeble in the principles of cinchona to serve as a  substitute for that tonic
when its full effect upon the system is required, may be very  usefully em-
ployed as an addition to the decoction or infusion, or to the salts of quinia,
in low forms of fever, particularly in  malignant intermittents,  and typhoid
remittents.  Huxham was in the habit of uniting with it the elixir of vitriol,
the aromatic sulphuric acid of the Pharmacopoeias.   The dose is from one
to four fluidrachms.                                             W.
  TINCTURA   CINNAMOMI. U.S.,  Lond.,  Ed., Dub.   Tinc-
ture of Cinnamon.
  " Take of Cinnamon, bruised, three ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
  " This tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Cin-
namon, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for forty-eight
hours, then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and gradually
pouring  upon it Diluted Alcohol  until  two pints of filtered liquor are ob-
tained."  U. S.
  The London College takes three ounces and a  half of cinnamon, and
two pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit, and  macerates  for fourteen
days; the Dublin, three ounces and a half of cinnamon and two pints of
proof spirit, and macerates for fourteen days; the Edinburgh, three ounces
and a half of  the former, in moderately fine powder, and two pints [Imp.
meas.] of the latter, and proceeds by percolation or digestion  as in the pre-
paration of  tincture of cassia.
   This tincture has the aromatic and astringent properties of cinnamon, and
may be used as an adjuvant to cretaceous mixtures, and astringent infusions
or decoctions.  The dose is  from one to three or four fluidrachms.
   Off. Prep.  Infusum Digitalis, U. S.                            W.
   TINCTURA CINNAMOMI COMPOSITA. U. S.,  Lond., Ed.
 Compound Tincture of Cinnamon.
   "Take of Cinnamon, bruised, an ounce; Cardamom [seeds], bruised,
 half an ounce; Ginger, bruised, three drachms; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
 Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   " Compound Tincture of Cinnamon may be prepared from the same dry
 materials,  in  the  state of powder, by moistening them  thoroughly with
 Diluted Alcohol,  allowing them to stand  for forty-eight hours, then trans-
 ferring them to an apparatus for displacement, and gradually pouring upon   .
 them Diluted  Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are obtained."  U. S.
   The London College orders an ounce of cinnamon, half an ounce of
 cardamom, two drachms and a half of  long pepper, the same quantity of
 ginger, and two pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit, and macerates for
 two weeks.  The Edinburgh College  directs an ounce of cinnamon in
 coarse or fine powder, according as digestion or percolation is followed, an
 ounce of bruised  cardamom seeds,  three drachms of finely ground long
 pepper, and two pints [Imp. meas.] of  proof spirit; and  allows the tinc-
 ture to be prepared either by digestion for seven days, straining, expressing,
 and filtering, or by percolation in the manner directed  for compound tinc-
 ture of cardamom;  preferring, however, the latter mode. 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1169
   This is a very warm aromatic tincture, useful in flatulence, spasm of the
 stomach, and gastric debility.  The dose is one or two fluidrachms.  W.

    TINCTURA COLCHICI  COMPOSITA.  Lond.   Compound
 Tincture of Colchicum.
   "Take of Colchicum  Seeds, bruised, five ounces; Aromatic Spirit  of
 Ammonia two pints [Imperial measure].  Macerate for fourteen days, and
 filter." Lond.                                                 J
   This  is the Spiritus Colchici Ammoniatus of the former London Phar-
 macopoeia.   It  may be  employed for the same purposes  as the wine  of
 colchicum, in cases which require or admit  of an active stimulant.  The
 dose is from thirty drops to a fluidrachm.                         W.

   TINCTURA COLCHICI SEMINIS. U. S. Tinctura  Colchici.
 Lond.,  Ed.  Tinctura Seminum Colchici.  Dub.   Tincture  of
 Colchicum Seed.
   "Take of Colchicum  Seed, bruised, four ounces;  Diluted Alcohol two
 pints.  Macerate for fourteen days, express,  and filter through paper.
   " This Tincture may  also be prepared by  thoroughly  moistening the
 Colchicum Seed, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for
 twenty-four hours, then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and
 gradually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor
 are obtained." U. S.
   The London  College orders five ounces  of the bruised seeds, two pints
 [Imperial measure] of proof spirit, and maceration  for two weeks;  the
 Dublin, two  ounces of the former and a pint of the  latter, and the same
 maceration.  The Edinburgh  College takes five ounces of the seeds
 finely ground in a coffee-mill, and two pints  [Imp. meas.] of proof spirit;
 and prepares the tincture in the same manner as the  tincture of Peruvian
 bark, either by  percolation or digestion; preferring, however,  the former
 process.
   This tincture  possesses the active properties of colchicum, and may be
 given whenever  that medicine is indicated; but the wine,  which contains
 less alcohol,  is generally preferred.   The  dose is from half a  fluidrachm
 to two fluidrachms.  The tincture is sometimes  used as an  embrocation in
 rheumatic, gouty, and neuralgic pains.                            W.

   TINCTURA  COLOMBO.  U.S., Dub.   Tinctura Calumbje.
 Lond., Ed.   Tincture of Columbo.
   "Take of Columbo, bruised, four ounces; Diluted Alcohol  two pints.
 Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through  paper.
   " This  Tincture  may  also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the
 Columbo, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for twenty-
 four hours; then transferring it to an  apparatus for displacement, and gra-
 dually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are
 obtained." U. S.
   The London  College  takes three  ounces  of sliced  columbo, and two
pints [Imperial measure] of proof-spirit; the  Dublin, two  ounces  and a
 half of the former, and two pints of the latter; and both macerate for four-
 teen days.  The Edinburgh  College  takes three ounces of columbo, in
 small fragments or moderately fine powder, according as digestion or per-
 colation is followed, and two pints [Imp. meas.] of proof-spirit; and  pre-
 pares the tincture either by digesting for seven days, decanting, expressing,
and filtering, or by the process of percolation, allowing the powder to be
macerated with a little spirit for six hours before being put into the cylinder. 
1170
Tinclurae.
PART II.
  The tincture of columbo  of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia was, with great
propriety, considerably  increased  in  strength at the last  revision.   The
larger the proportion of the tonic is to the alcohol in these bitter tinctures,
the better are they calculated  to  meet the indications for which they are
usually prescribed.   When the proportion is very small, the tonic power
of the bitter is overwhelmed by the stimulant influence of the alcohol.  The
tincture of columbo may be added to  tonic infusions or decoctions, to in-
crease their stimulant power; but, like all the other bitter tinctures, should
be used with  caution.  The dose is from one to four fluidrachms.    W.

   TINCTURA CONII. U.S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Tincture of Hem-
lock.
   " Take of Hemlock heaves four ounces;  Diluted  Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for  fourteen days, express, and filter, through paper.
   " This Tincture may also  be  prepared by thoroughly moistening the
Hemlock Leaves, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing them to stand
for twenty-four hours, then transferring them to an apparatus for displace-
ment, and gradually pouring upon them  Diluted Alcohol until two pints of
filtered liquor are obtained. U. S.
   The London College takes five ounces of the dried leaves, an ounce of
bruised cardamom, and two pints [Imperial measure]  of proof-spirit, and
macerates for fourteen days; the Dublin,  two ounces  of  the leaves, an
ounce of the  seeds, and a pint of proof spirit, and macerates for a week.
   " Take of fresh leaves of Conium twelve ounces; Tincture of Carda-
mom half a pint;  Rectified Spirit one pint and a half'.  Bruise the  Hem-
lock Leaves,  express the juice  strongly; bruise the residuum, pack it firmly
in  a percolator;  transmit  first the  Tincture  of  Cardamom, and  then the
Rectified Spirit, allowing the spirituous  liquors to  mix with the expressed
juice as they pass through; add gently water enough to the percolator for
pushing through the spirit remaining in the  residuum.  Filter the  liquor
after agitation." Ed.
   The tincture of hemlock necessarily partakes  of the  uncertainty of the
dried leaves from which it is prepared.  There can be little doubt that the
tincture of the Edinburgh  College, made  from the fresh leaves  and their
expressed juice, is the most efficient.   A  preparation made by adding one
measure of alcohol to four of the expressed juice, has been used in England
under the name of preserved juice of hemlock, and is probably quite equal
to the Edinburgh tincture. (See page 1159.)   The U. S. Pharmacopoeia has
very properly excluded cardamom from this  preparation;  as  it  can have
little influence upon its medical effects, and  tends  to obscure the  odour
which is an indication of the  activity  of the  tincture.   A strong odour of
conia  should  be emitted  by  the  tincture upon  the  addition of potassa.
The dose is  from thirty minims to a fluidrachm.                   W.

   TINCTURA  CROCI. Ed.   Tincture of Saffron.
   " Take  of Saffron, chopped fine,  two  ounces; Proof Spirit two pints
 [Imperial measure].  This Tincture  is to  be prepared like Tincture of Cin-
chona, either by  percolation or by digestion,  the former method being the
most convenient and expeditious."  Ed.
   This tincture possesses all the properties of saffron; but is of little other use
than to  impart colour to  mixtures.   The dose is from  one to  three flui-
drachms.                                                       W. 
part ii.                      Tincturas.                        1171

  TINCTURA  CUBEBAE.  U.S., Lond.  Tinctura Piperis  Cu-
beba. Dub.   Tincture of Cubebs.
  " Take of Cubebs,  bruised,  four ounces; Diluted Alcohol  two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
  " This  Tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the
Cubebs, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing  it to stand for  twenty-
four hours, then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and gradu-
ally pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are
obtained."  U.S.
   The London College takes five ounces of powdered  cubebs, and two
pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit; the Dublin, four ounces of the
former and  two pints of the latter; and both macerate for fourteen days.
   This may be used as a carminative, and has been applied with advantage
to the treatment of gonorrhoea in the advanced  stages.  The  dose is  one
or  two fluidrachms.                                              W.
   TINCTURA  DIGITALIS.  U.S., Lond., Ed,, Dub.    Tincture
of Foxglove.
   "Take of Foxglove four ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.  Macerate
for fourteen days, express, and  filter through paper.
   " This Tincture  may also be  prepared by  thoroughly moistening the
 Foxglove, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for twenty-
four hours,  then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and gra-
 dually pouring upon it Diluted  Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are
obtained."  U.S.
   The London College directs four ounces of  the dried  leaves, two pints
 [Imperial measure] of proof spirit, and  maceration  for fourteen days; the
 Dublin, two ounces  of the dried leaves (the  larger being rejected) and
apint of proof spirit,  and maceration for a week.
   " Take of Digitalis,  in  moderately  fine  powder, four ounces; Proof
 Spirit two pints [Imp. meas.].  This tincture is best prepared by the pro-
 cess of percolation, as directed for the tincture of capsicum.  If forty fluid-
 ounces of spirit be passed through, the density  is 0*944, and the solid con-
 tents of a fluidounce amount to twenty-four grains.   It  may also be made
 by digestion." Ed.
    In preparing this tincture, great attention should  be paid to the selection
 of the leaves, according to the  rules laid  down under the head of Digitalis.
 From a neglect of these, it is apt to be weak or inefficient.  We have observ-
 ed, in our  own experience, a decided  superiority in  the tincture  prepared
 from carefully preserved leaves imported from England.   The expressed
 juice of the leaves, preserved by means of alcohol, would probably be found
 a powerful preparation. (See page 1159.)  The tincture of foxglove pos-
 sesses all the virtues of that narcotic, and affords a  convenient method  of
 administering  it,  especially in  mixtures.  The dose is from ten to twenty
 drops, to be repeated two or three times  a day, and increased, if necessary,
 with great  caution.  (See Digitalis.)                              W.
    TINCTURA GALBANI. Dub.   Tincture of Galbanum.
    " Take of Galbanum, cut into small pieces, two ounces; Proof Spirit two
 pints.  Digest for seven days, and filter." Dub.
    The tincture of galbanum is analogous in properties to that of assafetida,
 but  weaker and less nauseous.  It is very seldom used.  The dose is from
 one to three fluidrachms.                                         W. 
1172
Tincturas.
PART II.
   TINCTURA  GALLAE.  U.S., Lond.   Tinctura  Gallarum.
 Ed., Dub.   Tincture of Galls.
   "Take of Galls, bruised, four ounces; Diluted Alcoholtwo pints.  Ma-
 cerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   " This Tincture may also be prepared by  thoroughly moistening  the
 Galls, in  powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing  them to stand for forty-
 eight hours, then transferring them to  an apparatus  for displacement, and
 gradually pouring upon them Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered
 liquor are obtained."  U. S.
   The London  College directs five ounces  of powdered galls, two pints
 [Imperial measure] of proof spirit, and  maceration  for fourteen days;  the
 Dublin, four owxces of the galls, two pints  of  the spirit, and digestion for
 seven days.  The Edinburgh College takes the same quantity of materials
 as the London, and prepares the tincture either by digestion or percolation
 as directed for tincture of capsicum.
   The tincture of galls is powerfully astringent; but is more used as a test
 than as a medicine.  The dose is from one to three fluidrachms.     W.
   TINCTURA  GENTIANAE  COMPOSITA. U. S., Lond., Ed.,
 Dub.   Compound Tincture of Gentian.
   " Take of Gentian, bruised, two ounces; Orange Peel [dried] an ounce;
 Cardamom [seeds], bruised,  half an  ounce; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
 Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   " This Tincture may also be prepared from the same dry materials, in the
 state of powder, by moistening them thoroughly with Diluted Alcohol, al-
 lowing them to  stand for forty-eight hours,  then  transferring them to an
 apparatus for displacement, and gradually pouring upon them Diluted Alco-
 hol until two pints of filtered liquor are obtained." U. S.
   The Dublin process corresponds with the first U. S. process.  The Lon-
 don College takes two ounces and a half of sliced gentian, ten drachms of
 dried orange-peel, five drachms of bruised cardamom, and two pints [Im-
 perial measure] of proof spirit, and macerates for fourteen days.  The Edin-
 burgh College takes two ounces and a half of bruised gentian, ten drachms
 of bruised dried bitter orange-peel, six drachms of canella in moderately
 fine powder, half a  drachm  of  bruised  cochineal, and  two pints  [Imp.
 meas.] of proof spirit; digests for seven days,  strains, expresses strongly,
 and filters; or  prepares the  tincture by percolation as directed for the com-
 pound tincture of cardamom.
   This is an elegant bitter, much used in dyspepsia, and as an addition to
 tonic mixtures in debilitated states of the digestive organs, or of the system
 generally.  There is, however,  much danger  of its  abuse, especially in
 chronic cases.   The dose is one or two fluidrachms.               W.
   TINCTURA GUAIACI. U. S.,  Lond, Ed., Dub.   Tincture of
 Guaiac.
   " Take of Guaiac, in powder, half a pound; Alcohol two pints.  Mace-
 rate for fourteen  days, and filter through paper." U.S.
   The London College takes seven ounces of guaiac and two pints [Impe-
 rial measure] of rectified spirit, and proceeds as above.   The  Edinburgh
 College orders the same quantity of materials as the London, and digests
 for a week.  The Dublin College directs four  ounces of guaiac and  two
pints of alcohol, and macerates for a week.
   This tincture is given in chronic rheumatism and gout, in the dose of from
 one to  three fluidrachms three or four times a day. As it is decomposed by
 water,  it is most conveniently administered in mucilage, sweetened water, or
 milk, by which the separated guaiac is held in temporary suspension.  The 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1173
following is a form of tincture of guaiac which the late Dr. Dewees found
very efficient in the cure of suppression of the menses, and dysmenorrhoea.
" Take of the best Guaiac, in powder, four ounces; Carbonate of Soda or
of Potassa one drachm and a half; Pimento, in powder, an ounce; Diluted
Alcohol apound.  Digest for a few days."  The dose is a teaspoonful three
times a day, to be gradually increased if necessary.  Within  our own ex-
perience, this  remedy has proved highly useful in painful menstruation,
given in the intervals of the attacks.   The quantity of alkaline carbonate is
too small to produce  any sensible effect, and the pimento can act only as a
spice;  so that the virtues of the tincture reside in the guaiae, and  the offici-
nal tincture would probably be found equally effectual.             W.
   TINCTURA GUAIACI AMMONIATA. U.S., Ed., Dub.  Tinc-
tura  Guaiaci Composita.  Lond.    Ammoniated  Tincture  of
Guaiac.
   "Take of Guaiac, in powder, four ounces; Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia
a pint and a half.  Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through paper."
U. S.
   The London College takes seven ounces of guaiac, and two pints [Im-
perial  measure]  of aromatic spirit of ammonia, and macerates for fourteen
days.  The Edinburgh College takes the same quantity of materials as the
London, and digests  for seven days in a well-closed vessel.   The Dublin
corresponds with the U. S. process, except that the maceration  continues
only for a week.
   This tincture is very celebrated in the treatment of  chronic rheumatism.
It is more stimulating and is thought to be more effectual than the preceding.
Like that, it is  decomposed by water, and should be  administered in some
viscid  or tenacious vehicle which may hold the guaiac in suspension.  The
dose is one or two fluidrachms.                                   W.

   TINCTURA HELLEBORI.  U.S.,  Lond.   Tinctura Helle-
bori Nigri. Dub.   Tincture of Black Hellebore.
   " Take of Black Hellebore, bruised, four ounces;  Diluted Aleohol two
pints.  Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   " This Tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Black
Hellebore,  in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for forty-
eight  hours,  then transferring  it to an apparatus for displacement, and
gradually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor
are obtained." U. S.
   The London College takes five ounces of the bruised root, and two pints
[Imperial measure]  of proof-spirit,  and macerates for fourteen  days;  the
Dublin, four ounces of the former and two pints of the  latter, and mace-
rates for a week.
   This tineture possesses  the properties of black hellebore, and, upon the
recommendation of Dr. Mead, has  been  much used in suppression of the
menses.  It is said to be  peculiarly applicable to cases in which  the grade
of action is too high for the use of chalybeates.  At best, however,  it is an
uncertain remedy, and should always be administered with caution, as it is
sometimes violent in  its action.   The dose is from thirty minims to a flui-
drachm, to  be taken night  and morning.                           W.

   TINCTURA HUMULI. U.S., Dub.  Tinctura Lupuli. Lond.
Tincture of  Hops.
   " Take of Hops five ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.  Macerate for
fourteen days,  express, and filter through paper."  U. S.
   The London College takes  six ounces of hops and two pints [Imperial 
1174
Tincturas.
part n.
 measure] of proof spirit, macerates for fourteen days, and filters.   The Dub-
 lin process differs from ours only in the omission of expression.
   Hops are so light and bulky, that, in the proportion directed,  they absorb
 almost all the spirit, which, after the requisite maceration, can be separated
 only by strong pressure.   As this absorption of the spirit obstructs its pro-
 per action on all parts of the hops, it is necessary that the mixture  should
 be frequently stirred during the maceration.  By thoroughly drying the hops
 and rubbing them between the hands, or by cutting and bruising them, they
 may be brought to a state of division which will in a great measure obviate
 the disadvantages alluded to.   As the virtues of hops depend chiefly on the
 lupulin, and as the quantity  of this substance  is not the  same in different
 parcels, the tincture is necessarily unequal in strength;  and the tincture of
' lupulin itself is greatly preferable. (See Tinctura Lupulinae.)  The tincture
 of hops is  tonic and narcotic, and has been  proposed  as a substitute for
 laudanum when the latter  disagrees with the patient;  but  little reliance can
 be placed upon it.   The condition of disease to which it appears to be best
 adapted, is  the wakefulness,  attended  with tremors and general  nervous de-
 rangement, to which habitual  drunkards  are liable, and which frequently
 precedes an attack of delirium tremens.   The dose is from one to three
 fluidrachms.                                                     W.
   TINCTURA  HYOSCYAMI.  U S, Lond., Ed, Dub.    Tinc-
 ture of Henbane.
   " Take  of Henbane Leaves four  ounces;  Diluted Alcohol two pints.
 Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter  through paper.
   " This tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Hen-
 bane Leaves, in  powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing  them to stand for
 twenty-four hours, then transferring them  to an apparatus  for displacement,
 and gradually pouring upon them Diluted  Alcohol until two pints of filtered
 liquor are obtained." U. S.
   The London College ta\ies five ounces  of the dried leaves, and two pints
 [Imperial  measure] of proof  spirit, and  macerates for fourteen days; the
 Dublin, five  ounces of the former  and two pints of the latter, and digests
 for a week.  The Edinburgh College orders the same amount of materials,
 the henbane being in moderately fine powder, and  directs  the tincture to be
 prepared either by digestion, or, preferably, by percolation as  directed for
 the tincture of capsicum.
   This tincture may be advantageously substituted, as an anodyne and so-
 porific, for  that of opium,  when  the latter disagrees with the patient, or is
 objectionable  on  account of  its property of inducing constipation.   When
 the tincture of henbane purges, as it sometimes does, it may be united with
 a very small proportion of laudanum.  The dose is a  fluidrachm.  The
 expressed  juice  preserved by  means of alcohol may be used for the same
 purposes as the tincture. (See page 1159.)                         W.
   TINCTURA IODINI.   U.S.   Tinctura Iodinei. Ed.   Iodinii
 Tinctura. Dub.   Tincture of Iodine.
   " Take  of Iodine an ounce;  Alcohol  a pint.  Dissolve  the Iodine in
 the Alcohol.
   The Edinburgh College  directs two ounces and a half of iodine to be
 dissolved, with  the aid of  a  gentle  heat and agitation, in  two pints [Impe-
 rial measure] of rectified spirit.   The Dublin College  takes two  scruples
 of iodine, and an ounce, by  weight, of rectified spirit, mixes and dissolves
 the iodine with  the aid of heat.   Both Colleges  direct the tincture to be
 kept in well-stopped bottles. 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1175
  These tinctures contain so nearly the same proportion of iodine that, for
all practical purposes, they  may be considered identical.  They are of very
nearly the strength of the tincture employed by Coindet, which contained one
part of iodine to twelve of alcohol by weight; while the U. S. tincture con-
tains one part of the former to about 12*7 parts of  the latter.   It is best to
prepare the tincture in small quantities at a time; as the iodine reacts on the
alcohol, especially when  exposed to solar light, uniting with  its hydrogen
to form hydriodic acid, which  in its  turn is said  to produce a portion of
hydriodic ether by reaction with the alcohol.   The iodine should be tho-
roughly dried  before  being weighed out.  The tincture should be kept in
well-stopped bottles in order to prevent the evaporation of  the alcohol, and
the consequent crystallization of the iodine.
   The tincture of iodine  has a deep brown colour.   Sixteen minims, equal
to about thirty-five drops, contain one grain of iodine.   It is at present less
used internally than it formerly was, in consequence of an impression that
it is apt to irritate the stomach.  Water decomposes the tincture, and when
this is swallowed, it is supposed that the iodine is precipitated upon the
mucous membrane.  It is now, therefore, almost exclusively employed as
an  external application.   Undiluted, it  acts as a powerful irritant to the
skin,  producing inflammation, desquamation  of the  cuticle,  &c.  Neverthe-
less, it is  much used in this state in erysipelas, chilblains, and other cases
of cutaneous and  subcutaneous  inflammation, and  often with very happy
effects.  But its application requires  some caution; and in erysipelas, we
are in the habit rather of surrounding the inflamed  surface  with a border of
the tincture, embracing a portion of both the sound and the diseased skin,
so as  to prevent the progress of the inflammation, than of attempting a com-
plete cure by covering the whole surface affected.   It is  most conveniently
applied by means of a camels'-hair  pencil.   Diluted with the  camphorated
tincture of soap, or other alcoholic  liquid, it is sometimes  employed as an
embrocation in scrofulous tumours and other affections requiring the pecu-
liar influence of iodine.  The dose of the tincture  is  from ten to twenty
drops, which may be  gradually increased to  thirty or forty drops, three
times a day.   It may be  given in  sweetened water, and still better in wine
when this is not contraindicated.                                  W.

   TINCTURA IODINI COMPOSITA.  U.S.   Tinctura Iodinii
Composita. Lond.  Compound  Tincture of Iodine.
   " Take of Iodine half  an ounce;  Iodide of Potassium an ounce; Alcohol
a pint.  Dissolve the Iodine and  Iodide of Potassium in the  Alcohol."
U.S.
   The London College  takes  an  ounce of iodine,  two ounces of iodide of
potassium, and two pints [Imperial measure] of rectified spirit;  macerates
till they are dissolved, and  filters.
   The  U. S. tincture is  rather stronger than the  London, the  wine  pint
employed in the former- containing about one-fifth less than the Imperial
pint employed in the latter. The difference, however, is of no great prac-
tical importance.   The advantage of this  tincture over the  simple tincture
above  described is, that the former  may be diluted with water without de-
composition; so that, when it is swallowed, iodine is  not precipitated upon the
mucous coat of the stomach, and will not, therefore, be so likely to produce
gastric irritation.   This is a good theoretical recommendation; but we are
by  no means confident that the difference of the two preparations in  irri-
tating properties will  be  found very striking in practice.   The compound
tincture of iodine may be given internally for all the purposes  which iodine 
1176
Tincturas.
PART II.
is capable of answering.  The dose is from twenty to forty drops, to be
gradually increased  if necessary.   It should be diluted with water when
administered.                                                   W.
  TINCTURA  JALAPAE. U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.   Tincture of
Jalap.
  "Take of Jalap, in  powder, eight  ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days,  express, and filter through paper.
  "This Tincture may also  be prepared by moistening the Jalap thoroughly
with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for forty-eight hours, then trans-
ferring it to an  apparatus for displacement, and  gradually pouring upon it
Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are obtained." U. S.
  The London College takes ten ounces of jalap,  and two pints [Imperial
measure] of proof spirit; the Dublin, eight ounces of the former and two
pints of the latter; and both continue the maceration for two weeks.  The
Edinburgh College orders  seven ounces of jalap, in moderately fine pow-
der, and two pints [Imp. meas.] of proof spirit, and allows  the tincture to
be prepared  either by digestion or percolation, as directed  for tincture of
cinchona.
  This tincture possesses  the medical virtues of jalap, and is sometimes
added to cathartic mixtures in the quantity of one or two fluidrachms, to in-
crease their activity.                                             W.
  TINCTURA  KINO. Lond., Ed., Dub.  Tincture of Kino.
  " Take of Kino, in powder, three ounces and  a half; Rectified Spirit
two pints [Imperial measure].   Macerate for fourteen  days, and filter."
Lond.
  The Edinburgh College takes the same  ingredients in the same propor-
tion as the London, and digests for a  week; the Dublin, three  ounces of
kino, and two  pints of proof spirit, and macerates for a week.
  This tincture very frequently becomes gelatinous if kept, and at length
almost entirely loses its astringency.  The circumstances which favour this
change, and the characters  of the chemical reaction which takes place re-
main to be investigated.  Until some mode is discovered of obviating this
evil, the tincture seems scarcely to be a proper object for officinal direction.
The dose is one or two fluidrachms.  It is used chiefly as  an addition to
cretaceous and other astringent mixtures, in diarrhoea.              W.
  TINCTURA  KRAMERIAE.  U. S.    Tincture of Rhatany.
  " Take of Rhatany, in powder,  six ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
  " This tincture may also be prepared by moistening the  Rhatany tho-
roughly with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it  to stand for forty-eight  hours,
then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and gradually pouring
upon it  Diluted Alcohol  until  two pints of filtered liquor  are  obtained."
 U.S.
  According to F. Boudet, the tincture of rhatany sometimes  gelatinizes
like that of kino.  (Journ.  de Pharm. N.  S. i. 338.)  We  have not our-
selves seen this result in the specimens which have come under our notice.
This is a good preparation of rhatany in cases which  admit of  the use of
small quantities of alcohol.   The dose is one or two fluidrachms.   W.
   TINCTURA  LACTUCARII. Ed.   Tincture of Lactucarium.
  "Take of Lactucarium,  in fine  powder, four ounces; Proof Spirit two
pints.  This tincture is best prepared by percolation as directed for tincture 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1177
 of myrrh; but may also be prepared by digestion with coarse powder of
 Lactucarium." Ed.
   The dose of this tincture is from thirty minims to two fluidrachms.  W.

   TINCTURA LOBELIAE.  U. S, Ed.   Tincture of Lobelia.
   " Take of Lobelia [the herb] four ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
 Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   "This Tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Lo-
 belia, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for twenty-four
 hours, then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and  gradually
 pouring upon  it Diluted Alcohol until  two pints of  filtered liquor are ob-
 tained." U.S.
   The Edinburgh  College directs five ounces  of Lobelia, in moderately
 fine powder, and two pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit; and states
 that the tincture is  best prepared by percolation as directed for tincture of
 capsicum, though it  may also be made by digestion.
   This tincture possesses the emetic and narcotic properties of lobelia, and
 is sometimes used in  asthma,  in the dose of one or two fluidrachms, re-
 peated every two or three hours till its effects  are experienced.   The emetic
 dose is half a fluidounce.                                        •yV",

   TINCTURA LOBELIAE AETHEREA. Ed.  Ethereal Tincture
 of Lobelia.
   " Take of dry Lobelia, in moderately fine powder,^t*e ounces;  Spirit of
 Sulphuric Ether two pints [Imperial measure].  This  tincture is best  pre-
 pared  by percolation, as  directed  for tincture  of  capsicum; but it may  also
 be obtained by digestion in a well-closed vessel for seven days." Ed.
   The  stimulant operation of  the  ether in this preparation  can  scarcely
 favour the relaxing and nauseating  action for which  lobelia is usually  em-
 ployed.   The  dose  is the  same as  that of the alcoholic tincture.   W.
   TINCTURA  LUPULINAE. U S.    Tinctura  Lupuli.  Ed.
 Tincture of Lupulin.
   " Take of  Lupulin four ounces;  Alcohol two pints.  Macerate for four-
 teen days, and filter through paper." U. S.
   " Take any convenient quantity of Hops, recently dried;  separate by
 friction and  sifting  the yellowish-brown powder attached to  their scales.
 Then take of this powder five ounces, and of  rectified spirit two pints,  and
 prepare the tincture  by percolation or digestion,  as directed for tincture of
 capsicum." Ed.
   This is much superior to the tincture of hops of the first United States
 Pharmacopteia, in the place  of which  it was introduced  into the second
 edition.  In the original preparation, a certain quantity of hops was directed
 from which the lupulin was to be separated by beating, and then digested in
 alcohol.   As  hops contain a variable proportion  of lupulin, a  tincture  thus
 prepared must be of unequal strength; an objection to which the tincture of
 hops, however prepared,  is liable.  Besides, the amount of  lupulin con-
 tained in any quantity of hops upon which alcohol can conveniently act, is
 too small in proportion  to the alcohol, to  afford a tincture  of  the  due
 strength.  The present tincture is,  therefore, in all  respects, preferable.
 The dose is one or two fluidrachms, to be given in sweetened water or some
 mucilaginous  fluid.                                              W.

   TINCTURA  MOSCHI.  Dub.  Tincture of Musk.
   " Take of Musk, in powder, two drachms;  Rectified Spirit  apint.   Di-
gest for seven days, and filter."  Dub.
       100 
1178
Tincturas.
PART II.
   This tincture is much too feeble in musk to be capable of producing
beneficial eflects in any dose which would not contain too large a quantity
of alcohol.  Musk should always be given in substance.            W.
   TINCTURA  MYRRHAE. U. S,  Lond., Ed., Dub.  Tincture of
Myrrh.
   " Take of Myrrh, bruised, four ounces; Alcohol three pints.  Macerate
for fourteen days, and filter through paper." U. S.
   The London College takes three ounces of powdered myrrh, and two
pints [Imperial measure] of rectified spirit, and proceeds as above.  The
Dublin College takes three ounces of bruised myrrh, a pint and a half of
proof spirit, and half a pint of rectified spirit; and digests for  a week.
   " Take of Myrrh, in  moderately fine powder, three ounces and a half;
Rectified Spirit two pints [Imperial measure].  Pack the  Myrrh very gently
without any spirit  in a percolator; then pour  on the Spirit; and when
thirty-three fluidounces  have passed  through, agitate well to dissolve the
oleo-resinous matter which first  passes, and which  lies at the  bottom.
This tincture  is much less conveniently obtained by the process of diges-
tion  for seven days." Ed.
   Undiluted alcohol is preferable, as a solvent of myrrh,  to that fluid mixed
with water; because it forms a perfectly clear solution, which  is not attain-
able  with  the  latter  menstruum.  The addition of water  to the  tincture
renders it turbid.   The  tincture of myrrh is  scarcely ever used internally.
As a local application it is employed to stimulate indolent and foul ulcers,
and promote the exfoliation of bones, and, diluted with water, is applied to
spongy gums,  aphthous sore mouth,  and ulcerations of the throat.  The
dose, as a stimulant expectorant and emmenagogue,  is from half a flui-
drachm to a fluidrachm.
   Off. Prep.  Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhae. U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  W.
   TINCTURA NUCIS  VOMICAE.  Dub.   Tincture of Nux Vo-
mica.
   "Take of Nux Vomica,  rasped, two ounces;  Rectified  Spirit eight
ounces.  Macerate for seven days, and filter." Dub.
   The tincture is not an eligible form for administering the nux vomica, as
it is  equally uncertain with  the medicine in substance,  and has the disad-
vantage of excessive bitterness.  The alcoholic extract, or strychnia is pre-
ferable.  The dose of the  tincture  is  from  five to twenty drops.  It is
sometimes  employed externally in cases of local paralysis.         W.
   TINCTURA OLEI MENTHAE PIPERITAE.- U S.   Tincture
of Oil of Peppermint.   Essence of Peppermint.
   "Take of Oil  of  Peppermint two fluidounces; Alcohol a pint.  Dis-
solve the Oil in the Alcohol." U. S.
   This is  a very popular preparation, which has long been kept in the
shops under the name of essence of peppermint, and has now for the first
time been introduced into the Pharmacopoeia.   It affords a very convenient
method of hastily administering a dose of the oil of peppermint,  being of
 such a strength that, when  dropped on loaf sugar, it may be taken without
 inconvenience by the patient. The dose is from ten to twenty drops, which
 may be given as just mentioned, or mixed with sweetened water.    W.
   TINCTURA OLEI  MENTHAE VIRIDIS. U.S.   Tincture of
 Oil of Spearmint. Essence of Spearmint.
   " Take  of Oil of Spearmint two fluidounces;  Alcohol apint.   Dissolve
 the  Oil in  the Alcohol." U. S. 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1179
   The remarks made upon the preceding article are applicable also to  the
 present.  The dose of the essence of spearmint  is from twenty to forty
 drops.                                                          \Y#

   TINCTURA OPII. U. S, Lond, Ed., Dub.  Tincture of Opium.
 Laudanum.
   " Take of Opium, in powder, two ounces and a half;  Diluted Alcohol
 two pints.  Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper."

   The process of the Dublin College corresponds with the above.  The
 London College takes  three ounces  of hard opium, in powder, and  two
pints (Imperial measure) of proof spirit, macerates for fourteen days,  and
 filters.
   " Take of Opium,  sliced, three  ounces;  Rectified  Spirit  one pint  and
 seven fluidounces [Imperial  measure]; Water thirteen fluidounces  and a
 half.   Digest the Opium in the Water at a temperature near 212° for  two
 hours;  break down the Opium with the hand; strain and express the infu-
 sion; macerate the residuum  in the Rectified Spirit for about twenty hours,
 and then strain and express very strongly.   Mix the watery and spirituous
 infusions, and  filter.
   " This Tincture is not easily obtained by the process of percolation; but
 when the Opium is of fine  quality,  it may be  prepared thus.  Slice  the
 Opium finely;  mix the Spirit and Water;  let the Opium macerate in four-
 teen fluidounces of the mixture for twelve hours, and then break it down
 thoroughly with the hand;  pour the whole pulpy mass and fluid into a per-
 colator, and let the fluid part  pass through; add the rest of the Spirit with-
 out packing the Opium in  the cylinder, and  continue the process of perco-
 lation till  two pints are obtained." Ed.
   The  proportion of opium in  the  several officinal formulae is so nearly
 the same that  the resulting  tinctures may be considered  identical.   The
 apparent  difference between  the  formulae of the London  and Edinburgh
 Colleges and ours will vanish, when the relative value of the Imperial mea-
 sure which  they employ and the wine measure of our Pharmacopoeia is
 estimated.  The drying and powdering of the opium directed in  all the
Pharmacopoeias except the Edinburgh, is  clearly a useful  provision; as it
ensures greater uniformity in the strength of tiie tincture.   Crude opium
contains very variable  proportions of moisture; and laudanum prepared
from  a moist specimen  will obviously be much weaker than that from  an
equal weight of the dried.  The pulverization ensures the previous drying
of the drug, and is thus useful independently of the greater facility which
it gives to the action of the menstruum.  It  is troublesome,  however,  and
is often neglected.   Innovation  in so  important  a preparation, and one in
which uniformity  of strength is  so  desirable, should be avoided  unless
clearly shown to be necessary.  For these reasons  we object to the  Edin-
burgh formula, and greatly prefer the old standard of the U. S., London,
and Dublin Pharmacopoeias.
  In the United States  and  Great Britain, this tincture is universally known
by the name of laudanum.  As  this  term was formerly applied to  other
preparations of opium,  and still  continues to be so on the  Continent of
Europe, the tincture is  sometimes distinguished by the epithet  liquidum,
which, however, is  seldom used  in  this country.  Tinctura Thebaica is
another title by which the preparation  is known.
  About two-thirds of the opium used  in the  preparation of the tincture are
dissolved, the residue  consisting chiefly of  inert  matter.   Allowing  the
opium to be wholly exhausted of its active principles, one  grain would  be 
1180
Tincturas.
PART II.
represented by 12-8 minims, according to the U. S. formula; but a  small
quantity of morphia has been detected in the  residuary matter, so that  the
tincture is  rather weaker than the  proportion of opium employed would
indicate.
  The tincture of opium is used for all the purposes to which opium itself
is applied.  (See Opium.)  The dose, equivalent to a grain of opium, is
about thirteen minims, or twenty-five drops.  Mr. Phillips, in his transla-
tion of the  London Pharmacopoeia of  1836, states that, by evaporating  the
tincture and also by determining the quantity of opium left undissolved, he
found the preparation  to contain one grain of opium in 19 minims; and this
quantity, therefore, is given as the  dose equivalent to a  grain  of opium.
But this mode of calculation is obviously fallacious; as the  portion of  the
drug dissolved is much more active than that left behind by the menstruum.
It should be recollected that a fluidrachm or teaspoonful of laudanum  (sixty
minims) will afford, on an average, about one hundred and twenty drops.
Laudanum, when long kept, with occasional  exposure to the air, becomes
thick, in  consequence of the evaporation of a portion of the  alcohol, and
the deposition of opium.   If given  in this state, it often acts with  unex-
pected energy;  and cases of death have resulted in infants from its  use in
doses which would have been entirely safe if  the tincture had been clear.
   Off. Prep.  Enema  Opii, Lond., Ed., Dub.;  Linimentum Opii, Lond.,
Dub.                                                           W.
   TINCTURA OPII  ACETATA.  U. S.   Acetated  Tincture of
Opium.
   " Take of Opium two ounces; Vinegar twelve fluidounces;  Alcohol half
a pint.  Rub the Opium with the Vinegar; then add the Alcohol, and,
having macerated for fourteen days, express,  and filter  through paper."
U.S.
   This preparation was introduced into the second edition of  our Pharma-
copoeia as  a substitute for the Acetum Opii  or  black drop of the original
work, the  advantages of which it was supposed to possess, without being
liable to the same objection of uncertainty of strength.  The Acetum Opii,
however, having maintained its standing in  the estimation of the profession
and of the public, was restored, in  the  last edition of the Pharmacopoeia,
to its officinal rank, but so modified as to ensure a preparation as  uniform as
is consistent with the variable quality of  the opium used.   (See  page 776.)
At the same time the formula  for  the acetated  tincture was retained, as
affording a useful preparation of the drug.  It was originally employed by
Dr. Joseph Hartshorne of Philadelphia.
   The acetated tincture of opium  may  often be advantageously used in
cases in which laudanum or opium itself produces unpleasant effects, such
as nausea and vomiting,  intense headache, great nervous disorder, &c;  but
the introduction of the salts of  morphia into use has in a great measure
superseded the necessity of the preparation.   The dose is  ten  minims, or
about twenty drops, equivalent to a  grain of opium.                W.
   TINCTURA  OPII  AMMONIATA.  Ed.  Ammoniated  Tinc-
 ture of Opium.
   "Take  of Benzoic Acid, and Saffron, chopped, of each, six drachms;
 Opium, sliced, half an ounce; Oil of Anise a drachm; Spirit of Ammonia
 two pints  [Imperial measure].  Digest for seven days, and then filter."  Ed.
   This tincture is used in Scotland under the title of paregoric elixir, but
 differs both in  composition and strength from  the preparation known by
that name  in the United  States.   Some doubts  have been entertained whe-
ther  it contains morphia.  It  is well known  that ammonia precipitates 
ART II.
Tincturas.
1181
 morphia from its solutions; but a great excess of ammonia redissolves the
 precipitate.   To  decide the question, Mr.  Gilbert, of Nottingham, sub-
 mitted several portions of the tincture  to a chemical examination, and was
 unable to detect  morphia in them.  (Med. Exam. iv. 493, from Ed. Med.
 and Surg. Journ.) But we are not informed by the experimenter, whether
 the tincture was prepared, as directed by the College, with the Edinburgh
 spirit  of ammonia, which is a strong alcoholic solution of the caustic alkali,
 or with  the London spirit, which is a comparatively feeble solution of car-
 bonate of ammonia.   In  the former case the  ammonia, according to Dr.
 Christison, is in sufficient excess to hold the morphia in solution.  At best,
 however, the preparation  is of doubtful propriety; as, if  the  ammoniacal
 spirit  should not happen to have the due strength, or if the  ammonia should
 escape or become carbonated  by  exposure, the  strength of  the tincture
 would be  affected.  It is employed  in  spasmodic complaints,  such as
 hooping cough and asthma.   Eighty minims should contain about a  grain
 of opium.                                                       W.

   TINCTURA  OPII  CAMPHORATA.  U. S, Ed, Dub.   Tinc-
 tura Camphorje  Composita.  Lond.   Camphorated Tincture of
 Opium.  Paregoric Elixir.
   " Take  of Opium, in  powder, Benzoic Acid,  each, a  drachm; Oil of
 Anise, a fluidrachm; Clarified Honey two ounces; Camphor two scruples;
 Diluted Alcohol two pints.  Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through
 paper."  U. S.
   The London College takes fifty grains  of camphor, seventy-two grains
 of powdered opium, the same quantity of benzoic  acid, afluidrachm of oil
 of anise, and tivo pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit,  and proceeds as
 above.  The  Dublin process agrees with that of the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia,
 omitting the honey, and employing a drachm instead of afluidrachm of oil
 of anise.   The Edinburgh  College directs fifty grains of camphorj^bwr
 scruples  of opium,four scruples  of benzoic acid, afluidrachm of  oil of
 anise,  and  two pints [Imp. meas.]  of proof spirit, and  digests  for a week.
   This is the well known paregoric elixir.  It is  a very pleasant anodyne
 and antispasmodic, much used to  allay cough in  chronic catarrh, asthma,
 consumption,  pertussis, &c; to  relieve nausea and slight pains in the sto-
 mach  and  bowels; to check diarrhoea;  and, in infantile cases, to  procure
 sleep.   Haifa fluidounce of the U.S., London, and Dublin tincture con-
 tains rather less than a grain of opium; of the Edinburgh, about a grain. Li-
 quorice,  which was directed in the former U. S. Pharmacopoeia, has  been
 omitted in  the present edition, in consequence of giving to the  preparation
 the dark  colour of laudanum, and thus leading to mistake. The dose for an
 infant is from five to twenty drops, for an adult from one to two fluidrachms.*
   Off. Prep. Mistura Cascarillae Composita, Lond.                W.

  * The following formulae have been adopted by the Philadelphia College  of Pharmacy
 for the  preparation of the two compound  tinctures of opium, so much used under the
 names of Bateman's drops and Godfrey's cordial.  So long as these  nostrums are em-
 ployed,  it is important that they should be prepared in a uniform manner, and of a certain
strength; as serious consequences may happen from diversity in the  formulas, when-so
active a substance as opium is the chief ingredient. Such diversity has existed  to a very
great extent;  so much so that in one formula for Bateman's drops the  quantity of opium
was seven  and a half grains  to the pint, while in another it exceeded one hundred grains.
It  was in order to remedy this evil, that the College was induced to adopt the formulae
here presented.
  " Bateman's pectoral drops.  Take of Diluted Alcohol Cong, iv., Red Saunders, rasped,
3ij. Digest  for  twenty-four hours, filter, and add of Opium in powder ^ij., Catechu in
                                 100* 
1182
Tincturas.
part II.
  TINCTURA QUASSIiE.  U. S., Ed, Dub.   Tincture of Quas-
sia.
  " Take of Quassia, rasped, two ounces; Diluted  Alcohol two pints.  Ma-
cerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
  "This Tincture  may also be prepared by moistening the Quassia tho-
roughly with  Diluted  Alcohol, allowing  it  to stand  for forty-eight hours,
then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and gradually pouring
upon it  Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered  liquor are  obtained."
U.S.
  The  Edinburgh  College takes ten drachms  of quassia, and two pints
[Imperial measure]  of  proof spirit, and digests for a week;  the Dublin, an
ounce of quassia, and two pints of proof spirit, and macerates for a week.
  In the  formula of the last edition  of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the pro-
portion of the quassia to the menstruum  was very judiciously doubled.   A
tonic tincture  can scarcely contain too large a proportion of the active  in-
gredient.   The  Edinburgh and Dublin preparations are much too feeble.
  This tincture  may be employed as  an addition to tonic infusions or mix-
tures, in the quantity of one or two fluidrachms at a dose.   It is a pure and
intense bitter.                                                    W.
   TINCTURA  QUASSIAE   COMPOSITA.  Ed.     Compound
 Tincture of Quassia.
   "Take of  Cardamom seeds, bruised, and  Cochineal, bruised, of each,
half an ounce; Cinnamon, in moderately fine  powder, and  Quassia,  in
chips, of each,  six drachms; Raisins seven ounces; Proof Spirit two pints
[Imperial measure].   Digest for seven  days,  strain the  liquor, express
strongly the residuum, and  filter.   This tincture may also  be obtained  by
percolation  as directed  for compound tincture of cardamom, provided  the
Quassia be  rasped or in powder." Ed.
   This is tonic  and aromatic, and may be given in the dose of one or two
fluidrachms.                                                     W.
   TINCTURA RHEI.  U.S., Ed.   Tincture of Rhubarb.
   " Take of  Rhubarb, bruised, three otinces; Cardamom [seeds], bruised,
half an  ounce;  Diluted  Alcohol two pints.   Macerate  for  fourteen days,
express, and filter through paper.
   " This Tincture  may also  be prepared by  thoroughly moistening  the
Rhubarb and  Cardamom, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing them
to stand for forty-eight hours, then transferring them  to an apparatus  for
displacement, and gradually pouring  upon them  Diluted Alcohol until  two
pints of filtered liquor are obtained." U. S.
   The Edinburgh  College takes three  ounces  and a half of  rhubarb, in
moderately fine powder, half an ounce  of bruised cardamom  seeds, and
two pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit; and prepares the  tincture,
like that of cinchona, either by percolation or by digestion.         W.

powder §ij.,  Camphor  §ij., Oil of Anise fgiv. Digest for ten days."  This preparation
is about equal in strength to the Camphorated tincture of opium or paregoric elixir of the
 U. S. Pharmacopoeia, containing about two grains of opium to (he fluidounce.
  " Godfrey's cordial.  Take of Tincture of Opium Oiss.. Molasses (from the sugar re-
 finers) Oxvj., Alcohol Oij, Water Oxxvj., Carbonate of Potassa giiss., Oil of Sussafras
f^iv.  Dissolve  the Carbonate of Potassa in the Water, add the Molasses, and heat over
 a gentle fire till they simmer; take off the scum which rises, and add the Laudanum  and
 Oil of Sassafras, having previously mixed them  well together."  This preparation  con-
 tains the strength  of rather more  than one grain of opium in a fluidounce.  {Journ. of
 the Phil. Col. of Pharm. v. 26 and 27.) 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1183
  TINCTURA  RHEI  COMPOSITA.  Lond., Dub.    Compound
Tincture of Rhubarb.
  " Take  of Rhubarb, sliced, two  ounces  and a half; Liquorice Root,
bruised, six  drachms; Ginger, sliced, Saffron, each, three drachms; Proof
Spirit two pints  [Imperial measure].  Macerate  for fourteen  days, and
filter." Lond.
  The Dublin College employs  two ounces  of rhubarb, half an ounce of
cardamom seeds, husked and  bruised, half an ounce of bruised ginger, two
drachms of  saffron, and two pints of proof spirit; and macerates for seven
days.                                                          W.

  TINCTURA  RHEI ET ALOES.  U. S, Ed.   Tincture of Rhu-
barb and Aloes.  Elixir Sacrum.  Sacred Elixir.
  " Take of Rhubarb, bruised, ten drachms; Aloes, in powder, six drachms;
Cardamom [seeds], bruised, half an ounce; Diluted Alcohol two pints. Ma-
cerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper."  U. S.
  The Edinburgh  College takes an ounce and a half of rhubarb, in mode-
rately  fine powder, six drachms of  Socotrine or East India aloes,  in
moderately  fine powder, five drachms of bruised  cardamom  seeds, and
two pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit; mixes the  dry materials, and
proceeds as  for the tincture of cinchona.                           W.
  TINCTURA  RHEI  ET GENTIANS.  U. S, Ed.    Tincture
of Rhubarb and Gentian.
  " Take of Rhubarb, bruised, two ounces; Gentian, bruised, half an ounce;
Diluted Alcohol two pints.   Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter
through paper.
  " This  Tincture  may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the
Rhubarb and Gentian, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing  them to
stand for forty-eight hours, then transferring  them to an  apparatus for dis-
placement, and gradually  pouring upon them Diluted Alcohol until two
pints  of filtered liquor are obtained." U. S.
  The Edinburgh  College takes two ounces of rhubarb, in moderately fine
powder, half an ounce of gentian, finely cut  or in coarse powder, and two
pints [Imperial measure] of  proof spirit; mixes the powders, and proceeds
as for tincture of  cinchona.
  The  above tinctures of  rhubarb are all  in a greater or less degree purga-
tive, stomachic, and tonic; but, except in low states of the  system, or in
cases of individuals accustomed to  the use of ardent spirits, they are too
feebly cathartic in proportion to their stimulant power, to be advantageously
employed, unless as  adjuvants to other  medicines.   Combined with the
neutral salts or other laxatives, or with tonic  and stomachic  infusions,
mixtures, &c, they serve  to render  them warmer and more cordial to the
stomach, and often  prove beneficial  in flatulent  colic, dyspepsia,  the cos-
tiveness of cold inirritable habits, diarrhoea, and other analogous complaints.
One of them is to be preferred to another, according as its peculiar compo-
sition  may,  in the judgment  of the  practitioner, appear  to adapt it to the
circumstances of  the case  under treatment.   In  low forms of fever, when
the indication is to evacuate the bowels, and at the same  time stimulate the
patient, the  simple  tincture (Tinctura Rhei) may  be  very advantageously
used in doses of two or three fluidrachms, repeated at proper intervals till
it operates.   The ordinary dose of these tinctures, as purgatives, is from
half a fluidounce  to a  fluidounce; as stomachics, from one to two  or three
fluidrachms.                                                    W. 
1184
Tincturas.
PART II.
   TINCTURA RHEI ET  SENNA. U.S.   Tincture of Rhubarb
 and Senna.
   " Take of Rhubarb, bruised, an ounce; Senna two drachms; Coriander
 [seeds],  bruised, Fennel-seed, bruised,  each,  a drachm;  Red Saunders,
 rasped, two drachms; Saffron, Liquorice [extract], each, half a drachm;
 Raisins,  deprived of their seeds, half a pound; Diluted  Alcohol  three
pints.  Macerate for fourteen days, express,  and filter through paper."
 U.S.
   This is the stomachic so well known, and so much used in this country,
 under the name of Warner's gout cordial. It is a feeble purgative, usually
 very acceptable to the stomach, and well adapted to cases of  costiveness,
with gastric uneasiness, in persons of a gouty habit, and accustomed to the
 free use of wine or other stimulant drink.  The dose is from half  a  fluid-
ounce to  two fluidounces.                                        W.
   TINCTURA SANGUINARIA.  U S.   Tincture of Bloodroot.
   "Take of Bloodroot, bruised, four ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   " This Tincture may also  be  prepared by  thoroughly moistening the
Bloodroot, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for forty-
eight hours, then transferring it  to  an  apparatus for displacement, and
gradually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor
are obtained."  U. S.
   This will prove emetic in the dose of three or four fluidrachms; but it is
rather  intended to act as a stimulant to the stomach, or as an alterative, for
which  purposes it may be given in the quantity of from thirty to  sixty
drops.                                                         W.
   TINCTURA SAPONIS  CAMPHORATA.  U S.  Linimentum
Saponis.  Lond,, Ed.,  Dub.  Camphorated Tincture of Soap.
   " Take of Soap [Castile  soap],  in shavings, four  ounces;  Camphor
two ounces; Oil of Rosemary half a fluidounce;  Alcohol two  pints.   Di-
gest the Soap with the Alcohol by means of a water-bath till it is dissolved;
then filter, and add the Camphor and Oil." U. S.
   The London and  Dublin  Colleges take three ounces of soap, an ounce
of camphor, and apint [sixteen fluidounces, Lond.] of spirit of rosemary.
The former dissolves the  camphor in the spirit, then  adds the soap, and
macerates with a gentle heat till it is dissolved;  the latter digests the  soap in
the spirit till it is dissolved, and then adds the camphor.  The  Edinburgh
 College takes five ounces  of Castile soap, two ounces and a half of  cam-
phor, six fluidrachms of oil of rosemary, and two pints [Imperial measure]
of rectified spirit; digests the  soap in the spirit for three  days, adds the
camphor  and oil, and agitates briskly.
   It is necessary, in  preparing this tincture, that the soap employed should
not have  been made  with  animal oil, as otherwise the preparation will not
be fluid at ordinary temperatures.  The soap indicated  by the  U. S. Phar-
macopoeia is that " prepared from soda and  olive  oil," commonly called
 Castile soap.  Even with this, the U. S. tincture coagulates upon cooling,
and requires the addition of a portion of water to enable it to retain the
liquid form.  If made with hard  old Castile soap, the tincture becomes a
soft solid upon cooling, and requires  a temperature of 84° to render it again
perfectly fluid; and  the least proportion  of water  adequate to cause the
preparation to remain fluid between 45° and 50° is one part, by  measure, to
ten of  the alcohol. Three fluidounces of water, added to  the quantity of 
part n.
Tincturas.
1185
 materials indicated in the formula, are sufficient to prevent the tincture from
 coagulating at ordinary temperatures; and the same result may be obtained
 by using alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-848 instead of the officinal. "  The prepa-
 ration  is usually  called  soap liniment, a name which more properly be-
 longs  to the  Linimentum Saponis  Camphoratum of  the Pharmacopoeia,
 or common opodeldoc.
   The camphorated tincture of soap is much used, as  an anodyne and
 gently rubefacient embrocation, in sprains,  bruises, and local rheumatic or
 gouty  pains.
   Off. Prep.  Linimentum Opii,  Lond., Dub.                      W.
   TINCTURA SCILLA.  U S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.   Tincture of
 Squill.
   " Take of Squill four ounces;  Diluted Alcohol two pints. Macerate for
 fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   "This  Tincture may also  be prepared by thoroughly moistening the
 Squill, in powder, with  Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand  for twenty-
 four hours,  then transferring  it to  an  apparatus for displacement,  and
 gradually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol,  until two pints of filtered liquor
 are obtained." U. S.
   The London College takes five ounces of recently dried  squill,  and two
 pints  [Imperial measure]  of proof spirit, and  macerates for fourteen days;
 the  Dublin,  four ounces  of the former and two pints of the latter, and
 macerates for seven days.   The Edinburgh College takes five ounces of
 coarsely powdered squill, and two pints [Imp. meas.] of proof spirit; and
 proceeds by  percolation,  as  for the  tincture of Peruvian bark, but without
 pressing the pulp firmly in  the percolator.   The College also allows the
 tincture to be prepared by digestion from the sliced bulb.
   The tincture possesses all the virtues of squill, and may be given for the
 same purposes, whenever the  spirituous  menstruum is not  objectionable.
 The dose  as an expectorant  or diuretic  is from ten to twenty  minims
 (twenty to forty drops), and the latter quantity usually nauseates.    W.
   TINCTURA SENNA COMPOSITA. Lond., Dub.  Compound
 Tincture of Senna.
   " Take  of Senna three ounces and a  half; Caraway, bruised,  three
 drachms and a half; Cardamom, bruised, a drachm; Raisins^j-e ounces;
 Proof  Spirit  two pints [Imperial measure].  Macerate for fourteen days,
 and filter." Lond.
   The  Dublin College  takes a  pound of senna, an ounce and a half of
 caraway, half an ounce  of cardamon seeds without  the capsules, and  a
 gallon of proof spirit, and proceeds  as above.
  This tincture  is  the elixir salutis of the old Pharmacopoeias.   It is  a
 warm cordial  purgative, useful  in costiveness attended with flatulence, and
 in atonic gout, especially when occurring in intemperate persons.  It is also
 added  to cathartic infusions and mixtures.  The  dose is  from two flui-
 drachms to  a  fluidounce or more.                                 W.
  TINCTURA SENNA ET JALAPA.  U S.  Tinctura  Sennje
 Composita.  Ed.   Tincture, of Senna and Jalap.
  " Take of  Senna  three ounces; Jalap,  in powder,  an ounce; Coriander
 [seeds] bruised,  Caraway [seeds] bruised, each, half an  ounce;  Carda-
mom [seeds]  bruised two drachms;  Sugar  [refined] four ounces;  Diluted
Alcohol three pints. Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through
paper.
  " This Tincture may also be prepared by beating well  together the Senna, 
1186
Tincturas.
PART II.
 Jalap, and Aromatics,  moistening them thoroughly with Diluted Alcohol,
 allowing them to stand for forty-eight hours, then transferring them to an ap-
 paratus for displacement, and gradually pouring upon them Diluted Alcohol
 until three pints of filtered liquor are obtained." U. S.
   " Take of Sugar two ounces and a half;  Coriander, bruised, one ounce;
 Jalap, in moderately  fine powder, six drachms; Sennafour ounces; Cara-
 way,  bruised,  and  Cardamom  seeds, bruised,  of  each,  five drachms;
 Raisins, bruised, four ounces; Proof Spirit two pints [Imperial measure].
 Digest for seven  days, strain the liquor, express strongly the residuum,
 and  filter the liquids.  This tincture may be more conveniently and expe-
 ditiously prepared  by percolation, as directed for  the compound tincture of
 cardamom." Ed.
   This is another form of the elixir salutis, and scarcely differs from the
 preceding in virtues.   It is given for the same  purposes, and in the same
 doses.                                                         W.
   TINCTURA  SERPENTARIA.  US, Lond, Ed., Dub.   Tinc-
 ture of Virginia Snakeroot.
   "  Take of  Virginia Snakeroot, bruised, three  ounces;  Diluted Alcohol
 two pints.  Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
   "  This Tincture may also  be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Vir-
 ginia Snakeroot, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for
 twenty-four hours; then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and
 gradually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor
 are obtained." U. S.
   The London College takes three ounces and a half of the root, and two
pints [Imperial measure] of proof spirit, and macerates for fourteen days;
 the  Dublin, three ounces of the former  and two pints of the latter, and
 macerates for seven days; the Edinburgh, three ounces and a half of the
 root, in moderately fine powder,  a drachm  of  bruised cochineal, and two
pints [Imp. meas.] of proof spirit,  and proceeds either by percolation or
 digestion as for the tincture of Peruvian bark.
   This tincture possesses the tonic and cordial properties of the root, and
 may be advantageously added to the  infusion of Peruvian bark in low states
 of the system.  The  dose is  one  or two fluidrachms.               W.
   TINCTURA  STRAMONII.  U.S.   Tincture of Stramonium.
   "  Take of Stramonium Seed, bruised, four ounces; Diluted Alcohol two
pints.   Macerate for  fourteen days, express, and  filter through paper.
   "This Tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the Stra-
 monium Seed, in powder, with  Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for
 forty-eight hours, then  transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and
 gradually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor
 are obtained." U. S.
   This tincture may  be used for  all  the  purposes for which stramonium is
 given,  in the dose of  from ten to twenty minims, repeated twice or thrice a
 day, and gradually increased till it obviously affects the system.     W.
   TINCTURA   TOLUTANI. U.S.    Tinctura Tolutana. Ed.
 Tinctura Balsami Tolutani. Lond,, Dub.   Tincture of Tolu.
   "  Take of Balsam  of Tolu three ounces; Alcohol two pints.   Macerate
 until the Balsam is dissolved; then filter through paper." U. S.
   The  London College employs two ounces of the balsam to two pints
^Imperial measure] of rectified spirit;  the Edinburgh, three ounces and a
 half of the balsam to  two pints [Imp. meas.] of rectified spirit; the Dublin,
 an ounce  to a pint. 
PART II.
Tincturas.
1187
  The tincture of tolu has the properties of the balsam, and may be em-
ployed as an addition to expectorant mixtures in chronic catarrhal affections;
but the proportion of alcohol  is too large to allow of its advantageous use in
ordinary cases.  The dose is one or two fluidrachms.   In smaller quanti-
ties it is often  employed to flavour cough mixtures.   It is decomposed by
water.
  Off. Prep.  Syrupus Tolutani, U. S., Ed.,  Dub.;  Trochisci Morphiae,
Ed.; Trochisci Morphiae et Ipecacuanhae, Ed.; Trochisci Opii, Ed.   W.
  TINCTURA VALERIANA.  U. S, Lond., Ed., Dub.    Tinc-
ture of Valerian.
  "Take of Valerian, bruised, four  ounces;  Diluted  Alcohol two pints.
Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
  " This Tincture  may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the
Valerian, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for twenty-
four hours, then transferring it to an  apparatus for displacement,  and gra-
dually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are
obtained."  U.S.
  The London College takes five ounces of bruised valerian, and two pints
[Imperial  measure] of proof spirit,  and macerates  for fourteen days; the
Dublin, four  ounces of the  powdered root, and  two pints of proof spirit,
and macerates for seven days; the Edinburgh, five ounces of the former
and two pints [Imp. meas.]  of the latter, and proceeds by percolation or
digestion as for the tincture of Peruvian bark.
  This tincture possesses the properties of valerian, but cannot be  given in
ordinary cases, so as to produce the full effects of  the root, without stimu-
lating too  highly in  consequence of the large proportion of spirit.  The
dose is from one to four fluidrachms.                              W.
  TINCTURA VALERIANA AMMONIATA. U.S., Ed., Dub.
Tinctura Valeriana Composita. Lond.   Ammoniated Tincture
of  Valerian.
  " Take of Valerian, bruised, four ounces; Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia
two pints.  Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.
  " This Tincture  may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening the'
Valerian, in powder, with Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia, allowing it to stand
for  twenty-four hours in a covered vessel, then  transferring it to an appa-
ratus  for displacement, and  gradually pouring upon it Aromatic"  Spirit of
Ammonia until two pints of filtered liquor are obtained." U. S.
  " The London College  takes five  ounces  of  bruised valerian,  and two ■
pints  [Imperial measure] of  aromatic spirit of ammonia, and macerates for
fourteen days; the Dublin, two ounces of the powdered root, and apint of
spirit of ammonia, and macerates for  seven  days;  the Edinburgh, five
ounces of valerian, and two pints [Imp. meas.] of spirit of ammonia, and
proceeds either by percolation, or by digestion in  a well-closed vessel, as
directed for tincture of Peruvian bark.
  The ammonia in this preparation is thought to assist the solvent powers
of the alcohol, while it co-operates with the valerian  in medical action.
The tincture is employed as an antispasmodic in hysteria and other nervous
affections.   The dose is one or two fluidrachms,  and should be  given in
sweetened water, milk, or some mucilaginous fluid.                W.
  TINCTURA ZINGIBERIS. U.S., Lond.,  Ed., Dub.   Tincture
of Ginger.
  " Take of Ginger, bruised, eight ounces; Alcohol two pints.  Macerate
for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper. 
1188
Tincturas.— Trochisci.
PART II.
  " This  Tincture may also be prepared by thoroughly moistening  the
Ginger, in powder, with Diluted Alcohol, allowing it to stand for twenty-
four hours, then transferring it to an apparatus for displacement, and gra-
dually pouring upon it Diluted Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor  are
obtained." U.S.
  The London College takes two ounces and a half of sliced ginger, and
two pints [Imperial measure] of rectified spirit, and macerates for fourteen
days; the  Dublin, tivo ounces and a half of coarsely  powdered ginger, and
two pints of rectified spirit, and macerates for seven days; the Edinburgh,
two ounces and a half of coarsely powdered ginger,  and two pints [Imp.
meas.] of rectified spirit, and proceeds either by percolation or digestion,
as for tincture of Peruvian bark.
  The tinctures of the British Colleges are too weak with ginger to be
used advantageously for any other purpose than  merely to impart flavour.
We greatly prefer the process of the U. S.  Pharmacopoeia, which yields a
preparation in which the virtues of the ginger are not completely swallowed
up in the  menstruum.  In consequence of the mucilaginous matter contained
in ginger, the tincture  made with diluted alcohol,  or proof spirit, is apt to
be turbid.  Alcohol or rectified  spirit  is, therefore,  properly preferred.
Good Jamaica ginger should be used.
  The tincture  of ginger is a useful carminative, and  may often be benefi-
cially added to tonic and purgative infusions or mixtures, in debilitated states
of the alimentary canal.   It is, however, in this  country, chiefly used for
the preparation of syrup of ginger, for which purpose it is necessary to
employ the strong  tincture of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
   Off. Prep. Syrupus Zingiberis, U. S.                           W.


                          TROCHISCI.

                              Troches.

  Troches or lozenges are small, dry, solid  masses, usually of a flattened
shape, consisting of powders incorporated with sugar and mucilage.  They
are designed to be held in the mouth, and dissolved  slowly in the  saliva,
and  are, therefore, adapted for the  administration of those medicines only
which do not require to be given in very large quantities, and are destitute
of any very disagreeable flavour.   They are much  more used, and more
skilfully prepared, in Europe than in  this country.   Tragacanth, from  the
greater tenacity of its mucilage, is better suited to their formation than gum
Arabic.   The following directions  for preparing them are taken from  the
Dictionnaire des  Drogues.   A mucilage  of tragacanth is  first prepared
with cold water and strained.  With this the powders, including sugar,  are
thoroughly mixed by rubbing upon  a  marble  slab, and are thus formed into
a paste, which  is spread out by means of a roller upon the surface of  the
marble, previously powdered over with a mixture of sugar and starch. The
thickness of the extended mass is rendered uniform by a frame upon which
the ends of the roller are placed.    The upper surface is now covered with
a thin layer of sugar and starch, and the  mass is  divided into small cakes of
a  particular shape  by means of a  punch.   These cakes are  placed upon
paper, and having  been exposed to  the air for twelve  hours, are carried into
a  drying room moderately heated.   When perfectly dry they are thrown
upon a sieve to separate the sugar and  starch,  and  are then enclosed in
bottles.   In this way lozenges may be prepared from almost any medicine
which  the physician  may  deem it advisable to  administer in  that form.      / 
PART II.
Trochisci.
1189
The following formula will serve as a guide.   Take of citric acid, in pow-
der, a drachm; refined sugar eight ounces; oil of lemons  twelve  minims;
mucilage of tragacanth a sufficient quantity.  Form  them in the manner
above directed into troches of twelve  grains  each.   A species of lozenge
is made by uniting the aromatic essential oils with sugar  alone;  but their
preparation belongs to the confectioner rather than to the apothecary.  The
London and Dublin Pharmacopoeias have omitted  troches altogether.  W.
  TROCHISCI ACACIA. Ed.   Troches of Gum Arabic.
  " Take of  Gum Arahic four ounces; Starch one ounce;  Pure Sugar one
pound.   Mix and pulverize them, and make them into a proper mass with
rose-water for forming lozenges." Ed.
  These are  useful  in allaying the irritation of the fauces which excites
coughing, and may be employed at pleasure.                      W.
  TROCHISCI ACIDI TARTARICI. Ed.   Troches of Tartaric
Acid.
  " Take of  Tartaric Acid two drachms; Pure Sugar eight ounces; Vola-
tile Oil of Lemons ten minims.  Pulverize  the  Sugar and  Acid, add the
Oil, mix them thoroughly, and with Mucilage beat them into a proper mass
for making lozenges." Ed.
  These may be  used as an agreeable refrigerant and demulcent in slight
colds and fevers;  but  in large quantities  they are apt  to  derange  the
stomach.                                                      W.
  TROCHISCI CRETA.  U S, Ed.  Troches of Chalk.
  "Take of Prepared Chalk four ounces; Gum  Arabic, in powder, an
ounce;  Nutmeg,  in powder,  a drachm; Sugar, in powder, six ounces.
Rub them together until they are intimately mixed; then with water form
them  into a mass, to be  divided into  troches, each weighing ten  grains."
U.S.
  The Edinburgh College uses the same ingredients in the same propor-
tion,  and beats them with a  little water into  a proper mass for making
lozenges.
  These are  used as a gently astringent antacid in diarrhoea.        W.
  TROCHISCI GLYCYRRHIZA. Ed,   Troches of Liquorice.
  " Take of  Extract of Liquorice [Liquorice, U. S.], and Gum Arabic, of
each, six ounces; Pure Sugar one pound.   Dissolve them in a sufficiency
of boiling water;  and then concentrate the solution over the vapour-bath to
a proper consistence for making lozenges."  Ed.
  These lozenges are useful in allaying cough, but have  been superseded
in great measure by refined liquorice.                             W.
  TROCHISCI GLYCYRRHIZA ET OPII.  U.S.   Trochisci
Opii. Ed,  Troches of Liquorice and. Opium.
  "Take of Opium, in powder,  half an  ounce;  Liquorice in  powder,
Sugar in powder, Gum Arabic in  powder, each, ten ounces;  Oil of Anise
two fluidrachms.  Mix the powders intimately; then add the Oil of Anise,
and with water  form them  into a mass, to  be divided into troches each
weighing six  grains."  U. S.
  " Take of  Opium two drachms; Tincture of Tolu half an ounce; Pure
Sugar, in fine powder, six ounces; Powder of Gum Arabic, and Extract of
Liquorice [Liquorice, U. S.],  of each,five ounces.   Reduce the Opium to
a fluid extract by formula [page 947 U. S. Dispensatory]; mix it intimately
with the Liquorice previously reduced to the  consistence of treacle; add the
       101 
1190                         Trochisci.                     part ii.
Tincture;  sprinkle the Gum and Sugar into the mixture, and beat it into a
proper mass, which is to be divided into lozenges of ten grains."  Ed.
   The U. S. formula is more easy of execution than the Edinburgh, and
affords a product probably not inferior. A preparation equivalent to the above
is much used in Philadelphia under the name of TVistar's cough lozenges.
   These troches are  demulcent and anodyne, and  are very useful in allay-
ing cough when the state of  the case admits the employment of opium, of
which each of them, prepared according to the U. S. formula, contains about
one-tenth  of a grain.                                           W.
   TROCHISCI IPECACUANHA. U.S.  Troches of Ipecacuanha.
   " Take of Ipecacuanha, in powder, half an ounce;  Sugar, in powder,
fourteen ounces;  Arrow-root, in powder,/owr ounces; Mucilage of Traga-
canth a sufficient quantity.   Mix the powders intimately,  and  with the
Mucilage  form them into  a mass, to be divided  into troches each weighing
ten grains."  U. S.
   These are useful expectorant lozenges in catarrhal complaints.  Each of
them contains about one-quarter of a  grain of ipecacuanha.          W.
   TROCHISCI LACTUCARII.  Ed.   Troches of Lactucarium.
   " To be prepared with Lactucarium in the same proportion and in the
same manner as the Opium Lozenge." Ed.
   This is a very feeble  preparation, and scarcely deserves the officinal rank
which has been given to it.   Each lozenge contains only between the fifth
and sixth  of a grain of  lactucarium.                              W.
   TROCHISCI MAGNESIA.  U.S., Ed.  Troches of Magnesia.
   " Take of Magnesia/owr ounces;  Sugar a pound; Nutmeg, in powder,
a drachm; Mucilage of Tragacanth a  sufficient quantity.  Rub the Mag-
nesia, Sugar, and Nutmeg together until they are  thoroughly mixed; then
with the Mucilage form  them into a  mass, to be divided into troches each
weighing  ten grains." U. S.
   " Take of Carbonate of Magnesia  six ounces; Pure Sugar three ounces;
Nutmeg one scruple.  Pulverize them, and with Mucilage of Tragacanth
beat them into a proper mass for making lozenges." Ed.
   These  are useful in  acidity of stomach,  especially when attended with
constipation.                                                  W.
   TROCHISCI MENTHA PIPERITA. U.S.   Troches of Pep-
permint.
   " Take of Oil of Peppermint afluidrachm; Sugar, in powder, apound;
Mucilage  of Tragacanth a sufficient quantity.  Rub the Oil of Peppermint
with the Sugar until they are thoroughly mixed;  then  with  the Mucilage
form  them  into a mass, to be divided  into  troches each weighing ten
grains." U. S.
   Useful  in  slight gastric or intestinal pains,  nausea,  and flatulence; but
employed more for their agreeable flavour than for their medicinal effects.
   TROCHISCI MORPHIA. Ed.   Troches of Morphia.
   " Take of Muriate of Morphia one scruple; Tincture  of Tolu  half an
 ounce; Pure Sugar twenty-five ounces.  Dissolve  the Muriate of Morphia
 in a little hot water;  mix it and the  Tincture of Tolu with the Sugar; and
 with a sufficiency of Mucilage form a proper  mass for making  lozenges;
 each of which  should weigh about fifteen grains."  Ed.
   Useful for alleviating cough, and for other  purposes which are answered
 by minute doses of morphia, of the muriate of which each lozenge contains
 about one-fortieth of a grain.                                    W. 
PART II.
Trochisci.— Unguenta.
1191
   TROCHISCI MORPHIA ET IPECACUANHA. Ed.  Troches
of Morphia and Ipecacuanha.
   " Take of Muriate of Morphia  one scruple; Ipecacuan, in fine  pow-
der, one drachm; Tincture of Tolu half a fluidounce; Pure Sugar tioenty-
five ounces.  Dissolve the  Muriate  in a little hot water; mix it with the
Tincture and  the  Ipecacuan  and Sugar; and with a sufficiency of Muci-
lage beat the whole into a proper mass, which is to be divided into fifteen
grain  lozenges." Ed.
   Expectorant and anodyne, useful especially  in allaying cough.   Each
lozenge contains about one-fortieth of a grain of muriate of morphia, and
three times as much ipecacuanha.                               W.
   TROCHISCI SODA BICARBONATIS. Ed.  Troches of Bicar-
bonate of Soda.
   " Take of Bicarbonate of  Soda one ounce; Pure  Sugar three  ounces;
Gum Arabic half an ounce.  Pulverize them, and with Mucilage beat them
into a proper mass for making lozenges." Ed.
   Antacid and antilithic,  useful in heart-burn and uric acid gravel.   W.


                          UNGUENTA.

                             Ointments.

   These are fatty substances, softer than  cerates, of a consistence resem-
bling that of butter, and  such that they may be readily applied to the skin
by inunction.   Many of  them become rancid when long kept, and should,
therefore, be prepared in small quantities  at a  time,  or only when wanted
for use.                                                        W.
   UNGUENTUM ACIDI NITRICI.  Dub.  Ointment of Nitric
Acid.
   " Take of Olive Oil a pound; Prepared Lard four ounces; Nitric Acid
five and a half fluidrachms.  Melt the Oil and Lard together in a glass
vessel,  and  when they begin to congeal, add the Acid, and stir the  mixture
constantly with a glass rod till it stiffens."  Dub.
   The  acid is partially  decomposed, evolving binoxide of nitrogen, and
giving oxygen to the fatty  matter, which becomes yellow, and assumes a
firm consistence upon cooling.  A similar ointment, prepared with lard and
nitric acid, was originally employed by Alyon, under whose name it is still
known  on the continent of Europe.  It was formerly  one of the Edinburgh
officinals, but was discarded at  the last revision of the Pharmacopoeia.  It
was used as an application to syphilitic ulcers, and  eruptive affections, par-
ticularly psora and the different forms of porrigo; but it has  been super-
seded by the ointment of nitrate of mercury, which is more efficient.   The
present Dublin ointment possesses the same properties, and is used for the
same purposes.                                                 W.
   UNGUENTUM  ACIDI  SULPHURICI.  Dub.  Ointment of
Sulphuric Acid.
   " Take of Sulphuric  Acid  a  drachm; Prepared Lard an ounce.   Mix
them."  Dub.
   In  this process  the acid is partly converted  into sulphurous acid which
escapes, and a portion of the lard is charred.  The ointment was a favourite
application with Dr. Duncan, Sen., in scabies, and we have found it effec-
tual in the same complaint;  but it should be diluted with an equal weight of 
1192
Unguent a.
PART II.
 lard.   Thus  diluted, it may also be used with advantage in other eruptive
 affections, particularly ringworm; and still weaker, has been used in rheu-
 matism and neuralgia.                                          W.

   UNGUENTUM   ANTIMONII.  U.S.  Unguentum Antimo-
 niale. Ed.  Unguentum Antimonii Potassio-tartratis. Lond.
 Unguentum Tartari  Emetici. Dub.   Antimonial  Ointment.
 Tartar Emetic Ointment.
   " Take of Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa, in very fine powder, two
 drachms; Lard an ounce.   Mix them." U. S.
   The London and Edinburgh Colleges mix an ounce of tartar emetic and
four ounces of lard; the Dublin, a drachm of the former and  an ounce of
 the latter.
   This may be more  conveniently  prepared with simple ointment, as  lard
 is too soft to  be spread on linen, and simple ointment is sufficiently so to be
 applied by inunction.
   The peculiar eruptive effect of tartar emetic may be procured in various
 ways,  either by means of a strong solution, or of the  powder sprinkled
 upon the surface of some  adhesive plaster, or of  the ointment as above
 directed.  The  last method is,  perhaps, the most  convenient, and most
 generally resorted to.   The proportion of tartar emetic may vary from one
 drachm with the ounce of lard, as in the Dublin formula, to two drachms,
 as  in  the  other officinal  formulae, or even to three  drachms  when a
 speedy effect is  required, or the skin is not very susceptible to its action.
 A small portion  of the ointment may be rubbed twice a day, or more fre-
 quently, upon the surface to be affected, or it may be applied  spread upon
 a piece of linen.  Care should be taken that the cuticle be entire, and that
 the application be not too long continued, as otherwise very severe inflam-
 mation, and even gangrenous ulceration, may result.  We have, however,
 in  some instances of  great urgency, applied the ointment to  a surface re-
 cently scarified in the  operation of cupping;  but under such circumstances,
 it should be used with much caution.                             W.
   UNGUENTUM  AQUA  ROSA.   U S.   Ointment  of Rose
 Water.
   " Take of Rose Water, Oil of Almonds, each, two fluidounces; Sperma-
 ceti half an ounce;  White Wax a drachm.   Melt together,  by means of a
 water-bath, the Oil, Spermaceti, and Wax;  then add the Rose Water, and
 stir the mixture constantly until it is cold."  U. S.
   This preparation  is much employed under the name of cold cream.  It
 is a white, very soft, and elegant unguent,  deriving a grateful odour from
 the rose water, which remains incorporated with the  other constituents if
 kept enclosed in glazed vessels.   It is a pleasant,  cooling application to
 irritated and excoriated surfaces; and may be used with great advantage for
 chapped lips  and hands, so frequent in cold weather.               W.

   UNGUENTUM CANTHARIDIS. U.S., Lond, Dub. Unguen-
 tum Infusi Cantharidis.  Ed.   Ointment of Spanish Flies.
   " Take of Spanish Flies, in  powder  [very  fine powder,  Dub.],  two
 ounces; Distilled Water half a pint;  Resin 'Cerate eight ounces.  Boil
 down the Water with  the Spanish Flies to one-half, and strain;  then  mix
 the Cerate with the strained liquor, and evaporate  to the proper  consist-
 ence."  U.S., Dub.
   The London College takes an ounce of  the flies, in very fine powder, 
PART II.
Unguenta.
1193
four fluidounces of distilled water, and four ounces of resin  cerate,  and
 proceeds as above.
   " Take of Cantharides, in moderately fine powder, Resin,  and Bees'-
 wax, of each, one ounce; Venice Turpentine, and Axunge [Lard], of each,
 two ounces; Boiling Water five fluidounces.  Infuse the Cantharides in
 the Water for one night, squeeze strongly, and filter the expressed liquid.
 Add the Axunge, and  boil till the water is dispersed.  Then add the Wax
 and Resin;  and when  these have become liquid,  remove the vessel from
 the fire, add the Turpentine, and mix the whole thoroughly." Ed.
   By these processes, the active matter of the flies is more uniformly diffused
 through the ointment, than when  they are directly incorporated, in  the
 state of powder, with the other ingredients.  The preparation is thus better
 calculated to meet the end proposed of maintaining the discharge from blis-
 tered surfaces, without producing  undue irritation.   It has  been said  that
 the  virtues of the  flies are impaired by the boiling; but experience  has
 proved  the contrary.   The  Edinburgh College, by ordering  merely an in-
 fusion of the flies, and a subsequent boiling down of the filtered infusion, loses
 any advantage which decoction may have in extracting the  virtues of the
 flies, without  avoiding whatever disadvantage  may  accrue from the heat.
 It is necessary, in the U. S., London,  and Dublin  processes,  after  the
 strained decoction  and  cerate  have been mixed,  to stir constantly during
 the  continuance  of the evaporation, in  order  to prevent  the former from
 sinking to the bottom.  It should  be recollected, that this ointment is in-
 tended  as a dressing for blisters, not to produce vesication.  The Edin-
 burgh ointment differs from the others  in containing Venice  turpentine,
 which renders it more stimulating.   Dupuytren employed, as a local appli-
 cation  to prevent the  loss  of hair, an  ointment made by  macerating  a
 drachm of flies in a fluidounce of alcohol, and incorporating one part of the
 tincture thus formed with nine parts of lard.                      W.
   UNGUENTUM CANTHARIDIS.  Ed. Ceratum Cantharidis.
 Lond.   Ointment of the Powder of Spanish  Flies.
   " Take of Resinous  Ointment seven ounces; Cantharides, in very  fine
 powder, one ounce.  Melt  the Ointment;  sprinkle into it the Cantharides
 powder, and stir the mixture briskly as it concretes on cooling." Ed.
   "Take of Spanish Flies, in very  fine powder,  an ounce; Spermaceti
 Cerate  six ounces.   To the Cerate softened by  heat, add the Flies,  and
 mix." Lond.
   This  ointment, like the two  preceding, is intended as a dressing  for blis-
 tered surfaces, with a view to maintain the discharge.  The flies should be
 very finely powdered,  in order that they may be diffused as uniformly as
 possible through the mass.   It  is unfortunate that the term ceratum cantha-
 ridis has  been conferred upon this  preparation by the London College, as
 the same name is properly employed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia to express
 the preparation of flies  intended to be used as a vesicatory.   None  of these
 ointments can be used in individuals liable to strangury from the external
 application of cantharides.                                       W.

   UNGUENTUM  CETACEI. Lond.   Spermaceti Ointment.
   " Take of Spermaceti  six drachms; White Wax two drachms; Olive
 Oil three fluidounces.  Melt them together over a slow fire,  and stir them
constantly until cold."  Lond.
   This  ointment is employed as a mild dressing for blisters, wounds,  and
excoriated surfaces.   It should be made in small quantities at a time, as it
is  apt to become rancid when long kept.                          W.
                                 101* 
1194
Unguenta.
PART II.
  UNGUENTUM COCCULI.  Ed.   Ointment of  Cocculus  In-
dicus.
  " Take any convenient quantity of Cocculus Indicus, separate and pre-
serve  the kernels, beat them well in a mortar, first alone and then with a
little Axunge [Lard]; and then add Axunge till it amounts altogether to five
times  the weight of the kernels." Ed.
  This ointment is used for the  destruction of vermin, and in the cure of
scabies and ringworm of the scalp.  In the latter complaint it was found
very useful by the late Dr.  Hamilton, Sen., of Edinburgh.          W.
  UNGUENTUM CONII. Dub.  Ointment of Hemlock.
  " Take of fresh Hemlock  Leaves,  Prepared  Lard, each, two pounds.
Boil the  Leaves in  the Lard till they become  crisp, and then express
through linen."  Dub.
  This ointment has been used as an anodyne application to irritable piles,
painful glandular  swellings and  scirrhous tumours, and to cancerous and
other  painful ulcers; but there is reason to  believe that the virtues of the
hemlock are impaired  by the heat necessary in its preparation.  An oint-
ment prepared by mixing good extract of hemlock with lard would proba-
bly be more efficient.                                           W.
  UNGUENTUM CREASOTI.  U. S, Lond., Ed.   Ointment  of
Creasote.
  " Take of Creasote half a fluidrachm; Lard an ounce.  Add  the Crea-
sote to the Lard previously melted with a moderate heat, and stir them
constantly till they are cold."  U. S.
  The London  College  mixes half a fluidrachm of creasote and an ounce
of lard.  The Edinburgh  College takes a drachm  of creasote and three
ounces of lard, and proceeds as above directed.
  For the use of this ointment see Creasoton, in the first part of this work.
It may sometimes  be advantageously diluted with lard when found to irri-
tate.                                                          W.
  UNGUENTUM  CUPRI  SUBACETATIS.  U. S,  Dub.  Un-
guentum Aruginis.  Ed.  Ointment of Subacetate  of Copper.
  " Take of Subacetate of Copper, in fine  powder, a drachm;  Simple
Ointment fifteen drachms.   Add the Subacetate of Copper  to the Ointment
previously melted  with a moderate heat, and stir  them constantly till they
are cold." U.S.
  " Take of Resinous Ointmenti/?/item ounces; Verdigris,  in fine powder,
one ounce.  Melt the  Ointment, sprinkle into  it  the powder of Verdigris,
and stir the mixture briskly as it cools and concretes." Ed.
  " Take of Prepared Subacetate of Copper half an ounce; Olive Oil  an
ounce; Ointment of White Resin [resin cerate] a pound.  Rub the Sub-
acetate with the Oil; then add them  to the Ointment previously melted, and
mix." Dub.
  This ointment is employed as a mild escharotic in  fungous granulations,
and, more or less  diluted with lard, as a stimulating application to foul and
flabby ulcers, scrofulous ulcerations of the edges of the eyelids, disease of
the external meatus of the  ear with purulent discharge, to warts and corns,
and to certain cutaneous eruptions, particularly that form of  porrigo  denomi-
nated ringworm of the scalp.                                    W.
  UNGUENTUM  ELEMI. Lond., Dub.   Ointment of Elemi.
  " Take of Elemi apound;  Common Turpentine ten ounces; Suet two
pounds;  Olive  Oil two fluidounces.  Melt the Elemi with  the Suet,  and 
PART II.
Unguenta.
1195
having removed them from the fire, immediately mix with them the Tur-
pentine and Oil, and express through linen." Lond.
  " Take of Resin of Elemi a pound; White Wax half a pound; Prepared
Lard four pounds.   Make an ointment, and strain it through a sieve while
hot."  Dub.
  This ointment is  applied as a  gentle stimulant to weak ulcers, and may
be used for maintaining the discharge of issues  and setons.  It is the lini-
mentum arcaei of the older pharmacy.                           W.

  UNGUENTUM  GALLA.   U.S.    Unguentum  Gallarum.
Dub.   Ointment of Galls.
  " Take  of Galls, in powder [very fine powder, Dub.], an ounce; Lard
seven ounces [eight ounces, Dub.].'  Mix them."  U. S., Dub.
  This is  used chiefly in piles and  prolapsus ani, though it may also be ad-
vantageously applied to flabby and  indolent ulcers.                W.
  UNGUENTUM GALLA COMPOSITUM.  Lond.  Unguen-
tum Gallje et Opii. Ed,   Compound Ointment of Galls.
  " Take  of Galls, in very fine powder, two drachms; Lard two ounces;
Hard  Opium, in powder, half a drachm.  Mix  them."  Lond.
  The Edinburgh College takes  two drachms  of galls,  a drachm of
opium, and an ounce of lard, and rubs them together into a uniform mass.
  This combination of galls and opium is sometimes employed, preferably
to the simple gall ointment, in cases of irritable piles.  From half a drachm
to a drachm  of camphor is sometimes added to the London ointment. W.
  UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI.  U.S., Ed.,  Dub.  Unguen-
tum Hydrargyri Fortius. Lond.  Mercurial Ointment.  Strong
Mercurial  Ointment.
  " Take of  Mercury two pounds; Lard twenty-three ounces; Suet an ounce.
Rub the Mercury with the Suet and a small  portion of the Lard until the
globules disappear;  then add the remainder of the Lard, and mix."  U. S.,
Lond.
  "Take of Mercury two pounds; Axunge [Lard] twenty-three ounces;
Suet one ounce.  Triturate the Mercury with the Suet and a little of the
Axunge till globules are.no longer visible; then add  the rest of the Axunge,
and mix the  whole  thoroughly.   This ointment is not well  prepared so
long as metallic globules may be seen in it with  a magnifier of four powers.
The Mercurial Ointment with the proportions here  directed may be diluted
at pleasure with twice or thrice its weight of axunge." Ed.
  " Take  of Purified Mercury, prepared Lard, equal weights.  Rub them
together in a marble or iron mortar, till the globules of mercury disappear."
Dub.
  Off.Prep. Ceratum Hydrargyri  Compositum, Lond.; Linimentum  Hy-
drargyri Comp.,  Lond.;  Unguentum Hydrargyri Mitius.  Lond.
  UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI MITIUS. Lond, Dub. Mild
Mercurial  Ointment.
  " Take of Strong  Mercurial Ointment a pound; Lard two pounds.  Mix
them." Lond.
  The Dublin College prepares this ointment with twice the quantity of lard
used in the preparation of the stronger ointment.
  The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs only one  mercurial ointment, which
accords in strength with  the strongest ointment  of  the London and  Dublin
Colleges, containing equal weights of mercury and fatty matter. When the 
1196
Unguent a.
PART II.
physician wishes a weaker preparation, he may direct the ointment to  be
diluted with such a proportion of lard as may answer his  purposes.   The
Edinburgh College, in allowing dilution of the ointment in certain fixed
proportions, should have given names, by which these weaker preparations
might be designated.  The milder ointment  of the London  College contains
one part of mercury to five  of fat, that of the Dublin College, one of the
former to two  of the latter.   If the apothecary keeps a  milder preparation
in his shop, it  should  be that  of the  London College,  which, from the
smaller proportion of mercury, is preferable to that of the Dublin College
for the purposes to which the milder ointment is usually applied. It should
always be understood that the stronger ointment is intended by the physi-
cian,  unless the contrary is expressly stated.
   In  the preparation of mercurial  ointment, care is  requisite that the mer-
cury should be completely extinguished.  The trituration is best performed
in a  marble mortar,  as  it is difficult to keep iron so clean as  not  to im-
part  more or  less oxide  to  the  ointment.  The  mercury is known to be
extinguished,  when a portion of the mass,  rubbed upon paper or the back
of the hand, exhibits no metallic globules under a magnifying glass of four
powers.  The operation cannot be  considered as satisfactorily accomplished
when the globules are invisible merely to the naked eye.  To facilitate the
process, which is very tedious,  the addition of various substances has been
proposed, calculated to hasten the disappearance of the metal.  Turpentine
and sulphur have been employed for this purpose, but are both inadmissible,
the former because it renders the ointment  too irritating, the latter because
it forms with  the  mercury  an inactive  sulphuret.  Their presence  in the
ointment may be detected  by the  peculiar  odour which they respectively
emit when exposed to heat.   Sulphur, moreover, gives the ointment a darker
colour than it has when pure.  Rancidity in the lard employed also facili-
tates the extinguishment of the mercury, but is liable to the same objection
as turpentine.   M. Guibourt recommends the addition of one-sixteenth of
old mercurial  ointment, which experience has shown to be very useful in
promoting  the thorough mixture of the mercury and lard.  M. Simonin
recommends the use of lard  which has been exposed in  thin layers  to a
damp air for fifteen days.  This facilitates the extinguishment of the  metal;
but it may be doubted whether  it does not  render  the preparation more
irritant by the  chemical alteration of  the lard.  The following plan of pre-
paring the ointment has been proposed by M.  Chevallier.  Having taken
a pound of mercury and the same quantity of fresh lard, he  introduces the
metal with half the lard previously melted into a stone or glass bottle, shakes
the mixture till it acquires the consistence of  very thick syrup, then pours
it into a mortar, and adds the remainder of the lard, stirring constantly. In
this manner, according to Chevallier, a perfect ointment  may be made in
half an hour.  But when prepared with lard alone, the ointment is apt, in
hot weather, to become so  soft  as  to allow  the metal to  separate.  Hence
the addition of suet in the processes of the  U. S., London, and Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeias; and  even a larger proportion  might be  employed  when
the ointment is prepared for use in  the summer season.
  Upon the whole, it may be considered doubtful whether any of the expe-
dients for  saving labour and time in the preparation of the ointment are
wholly unobjectionable.   Dr. Christison states that  the better plan is not
to complete the process by a continuous trituration, but to operate for  a
short time every day, and allow the ointment in the mean time to be ex-
posed to the air.  But so much labour is required in the process, that the 
PART II.
Unguenta,
1197
 ointment is preferably made by machinery on the large scale.  The fatty
 matters, kept in the fluid state by a temperature of about 100°, are triturated
 with the metal by means of two iron balls, which are driven rapidly round
 in a circular iron trough by means of steam power.   The extinguishment
 of the mercury is thus effected in about twelve hours.
   Mercurial ointment has  when  newly  prepared a bluish colour, which
 becomes darker by age.   It was formerly thought to contain  the mercury
 in the state of  protoxide;  but it has been shown that most of the metal can
 be separated from the lard by  methods not calculated to reduce  the oxide;
 and chemists now generally admit that by far the greater portion of it exists
 in the preparation in a state of minute division, not of chemical combination.
 It is probable,  however, that the metal is partially oxidized; and  the darker
 colour  which  the ointment  acquires by  age  is attributable to the further
 oxidation of the mercury.  If the ointment be kept long in a  melted state
 in a narrow vessel, metallic  mercury subsides,  and an oily liquid floats upon
 the surface.  Afler this has been filtered  so as to  separate every thing un-
 dissolved,  it is blackened by sulphuretted hydrogen,  and yields oxide of
 mercury to acetic acid.   Dr. Christison states  that he has examined various
 samples of the ointment,  and never  failed to detect oxide of mercury;  and
 he has  inferred  from his observations, that the oxide  amounts  to rather
 more than one per cent.  (Christison's Dispensatory.)   But the propor-
 tion is variable according  to  the age and mode of preparation of the oint-
 ment.  It  scarcely admits of  a doubt  that the oxide of mercury formed
 enters into chemical combination with the lard or one of its oily acids. Mr.
 Donovan advanced the idea that the  medicinal activity of the ointment de-
 pended exclusively on this compound of the lard with the mercurial oxide.
 An ointment made by merely mixing lard and black oxide of mercury has
 not the same effect, because there is  no chemical union  between the ingre-
 dients.   But, upon exposing such a mixture to a temperature of  350°, and
 continually agitating it for two hours, he found  that every ounce of lard
 dissolved and combined with twenty-one grains of oxide, and the resulting
 compound  was found to  be equally  effectual  with the common  ointment,
 and capable of being introduced into the  system in  one-third of the time.
 (Paris's Pharmacologia.)  It has been proposed to  substitute an ointment
 thus prepared for that made  according to the  officinal direction, as  being
 more manageable, and of more uniform strength.  Care,  however, would
 be required in preparing it to avoid a  temperature either too high or too low;
 as the former might decompose the  oxide and the latter would  be insuffi-
 cient to effect  its  union with the  lard.   There would be danger also that
 the lard might  be rendered irritant by the influence of the heat.
  Mercurial ointment, when rubbed upon the surface of the body, produces,
 in consequence of its absorption, the same general effects upon the system
 as the other preparations of the metal.   It is resorted to either alone,  when
 circumstances  prevent or discourage the internal  use of mercury, or con-
jointly with the internal use of the medicine, to produce  a more  speedy or
 powerful effect in urgent cases.  It may also be advantageously employed as
 a resolvent in local affections, as in the case of venereal buboes, and of chro-
 nic glandular swellings, upon which it  may be made  to operate directly by
 being applied in  the course of the absorbents which pass through the en-
larged  glands.   The proper quantity to be employed at one time, with a
view to salivation, is about a drachm,  which should be applied  night and
 morning, by means of friction,  to the inner surface of the thighs, legs, or
 arms, and continued till the system is affected.
  In urgent cases, or in local affections, it may also be rubbed on other parts 
:198
Unguent a.
PART II.
of the body, or applied to blistered surfaces.  The friction  should on each
occasion be continued till the whole of the ointment is absorbed.  When
frequently rubbed  upon  the same  part, it  is apt to produce a disagreeable
eruption which interferes with its continued application. Camphor is some-
times added in order to render it more easy of absorption; but, without pro-
ducing this effect, it increases the liability of the ointment to  irritate the
skin, and is of no  other  advantage than to soften its consistence, when too
firm  from a large proportion of suet.
  Mercurial ointment has been employed, with some success, to prevent the
maturation of the small  pox pustule, and the consequent pitting.  For this
purpose it may be  applied to the face or other part, thickly spread on patent
lint or muslin,  care being taken  to prevent the  access of the air to the
covered part.  To  be successful it  must be applied before the third or fourth
day of the eruption; and the  practitioner should always bear in mind the
possible salivation which may result from its use, and regulate the extent of
its application accordingly.   The  ointment has been recommended also in
erysipelas and chilblains.
  The weaker ointment is employed only as  an application to  ulcers, and
to certain cutaneous eruptions.                                  W.
   UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI  AMMONIATI. U.S.  Un-
guentum  Hydrargyri  Ammonio-chloridi. Lond.   Unguentum
Precipitati Albi. Ed.   Unguentum Hydrargyri Submuriatis
Ammoniati. Dub.   Ointment of Ammoniated Mercury. Oint-
ment of White Precipitate.
   " Take of Ammoniated Mercury a drachm; Simple Ointment an ounce
and  a half.   Add the Ammoniated Mercury  to the Ointment previously
softened over a gentle fire, and mix them." U. S.
   The processes of the British Colleges are essentially the same as the
above.
   This ointment is employed  chiefly in cutaneous eruptions, such as psora,
porrigo, and herpes.                                           W.
   UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI  IODIDI. Lond.   Ointment
of Iodide of Mercury.
   UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI  BINIODIDI.  Lond.  Oint-
ment of Biniodide of Mercury.
   These two ointments  are prepared by the London College from the iodide
and biniodide of mercury, respectively, in the  manner directed by the Col-
lege  for their ointment of nitric oxide  of  mercury. (See Unguentum Hy-
drargyri Oxidi Rubri.)
   They are both employed as dressings to scrofulous ulcers, the ointment
of the biniodide being preferred, on account of its  much  greater activity,
when the ulcers are very indolent.                              W.
   UNGUENTUM  HYDRARGYRI NITRATIS.  U.S., Lond.
Unguentum Citrinum. Ed.  Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis
vet Unguentum  Citrinum.  Dub.   Ointment of Nitrate  of Mer-
cury.   Citrine Ointment.
  "Take  of  Mercury an ounce;  Nitric  Acid eleven fluidrachms;  fresh
Neats-foot Oil nine fluidounces;  Lard three  ounces.   Dissolve the Mer-
cury in the Acid; then melt the Oil and Lard together, and  when they begin
to stiffen upon cooling, add the solution and mix."  U. S.
   " Take of Mercury an ounce; Nitric Acid eleven fluidrachms [Imperial
measure]; Lard six ounces;  Olive Oil four fluidounces [Imp.  measure]. 
PART II,
Unguent a.
1199
First dissolve the Mercury in the Acid; then, while the solution is hot, mix
it with the Lard and Oil previously melted together." Lond.
  " Take of Purified Mercury an ounce; Nitric Acid eleven drachms and a
half;  Olive  Oil a  pint; Prepared Lard four ounces.  Dissolve the Mer-
cury in the Acid, then mix the solution with the Oil  and Lard previously
melted together, and form an  ointment, in the manner directed for the Oint-
ment of Nitric Acid." Dub.
  " Take of Pure Nitric Acid eight fluidounces and six fluidrachms [Im-
perial  measure];  Mercury four  ounces; Axunge  [lard] fifteen  ounces;
Olive Oil thirty-two fluidounces.   Dissolve the Mercury in the Acid with
the aid of a gentle heat.  Melt the Axunge in the Oil  with  the  aid of a
moderate heat in  a vessel capable of holding six times the quantity; and,
while the mixture is hot, add the solution of mercury, also  hot, and mix them
thoroughly.   If the mixture do not froth up, increase the heat  a little till
this take place.   Keep this ointment in earthenware vessels, or  in glass
vessels secluded from the light."  Ed.   Dr.  Christison in his Dispensatory
states  that, in  this formula,  in  order to meet the  intentions of its framers,
the quantity of Olive Oil should  be thirty-eight fluidounces  and a half,
and of  Nitric Acid (sp. gr.  from  1-380 to 1-390) nine fluidounces and a
half-
   The chemical changes  which  take place  in  the preparation of this oint-
ment are not precisely known.  They are somewhat different according to
the circumstances  under which the operation  is performed;  for example,
according to the proportion and strength of the acid, the  nature of  the fatty
matter, and the degree of heat employed.  The  mercury,  in the first step of
the process, is oxidized at the expense of a  portion of the  acid, nitrous
fumes escape,  and  the undecomposed acid  unites with the oxidized metal,
forming nitrate of the deutoxide  of mercury if heat be employed, and a
mixture of this with nitrate  of the protoxide, if the  process be  conducted at
a low  temperature.  If the officinal formulae are strictly complied with in
relation to the  strength of the acid, this will be in excess, and  it is not  im-
probable  that a portion of nitrous or hyponitrous acid may at the same time
exist in the mixture.  When the  mercurial solution is  added to the  fatty
matter, a reaction  takes place,  which probably results in the production of
 the yellow subnitrate  of the deutoxide of mercury, of one or more of the
fatty  acids,  as the oleic,  margaric, and stearic, and of elaidin or elaidic
acid, or both.  (See page 481.)  It is also highly probable that portions of
these  fatty  acids  combine  with the oxide of mercury.  But  the degree
to which these changes take place is  influenced greatly by  the tempera-
ture  to which the mixture is  exposed.   If  this be low there is  little
or  no  escape of gas, if it be  elevated, there is a copious evolution of nitrous
fumes.  In the former case the changes are obviously less considerable than
in the latter.
   As frequently prepared, this ointment, though at first beautifully yellow
 and of the proper  consistence, soon begins to change, acquiring in time a
 dirty greenish and mottled colour,  and  becoming so  hard and friable as to
 be unfit for use unless mixed with lard.  These results have  been ascribed
 to various causes, and as many different modifications of the  process  have
been proposed in order to obviate  them.  Dr.  A. T. Thomson  considered
 the main defect of the British processes to be too large a proportion of lard;
 but it has been ascertained  that a very good ointment may be  made with
lard as the only fatty ingredient.  The  U. S. process is based  upon the fact
 that olive oil is hardened by nitrous acid or the nitrate  of mercury, while
the same effect is not produced upon neat's-foot  oil. (See Oleum Olivas, 
1200
Unguenta.
PART IT.
page 493.)   This process  produces a  good ointment, which,  though it
sometimes assumes a greenish colour on exposure, retains a soft unctuous
consistence for a long time.  We have in our possession specimens of oint-
ment, prepared several years since according to the U. S. formula, which
have at this time a uniform orange-yellow colour and a perfectly good
unctuous  consistence.*  It is probable that other animal  oils will answer
the same purpose; and it is asserted that a good preparation may be made
with lard or butter.  The drying vegetable oils do not appear, like olive  oil,
to be converted by nitrous  acid or the nitrate of mercury into elaidin, and it
was a  fair inference that they might be employed advantageously in  the
preparation  of citrine  ointment.  Accordingly, Dr. Fessenden,  of North
Carolina,  states, in his inaugural essay,  that he substituted the linseed oil
for the neats-foot oil of the U. S. process, and succeeded in  obtaining a
perfectly  good and durable ointment.   It is  now stated  that  the  want of
success with many operators who have  followed  the British officinal pro-
cesses, has been owing not to the character of the particular oil employed,
but to deficiency of strength in the nitric  acid, and the want of a due degree
of heat.   Mr. Alsop asserts that if the nitric acid be of the sp. gr. 1*5 as
directed by the Colleges, or if the quantity of a weaker acid be increased
so as  to compensate for its deficiency in  strength, and  if the  fatty matters
be mixed  with the mercurial solution at an elevated temperature, a perma-
nently soft and  golden-coloured ointment will result. (Pharm. Transact.
Sept. 1841.)  It is probable that the discoloration which is so apt to take
place in the preparation  is  owing to the deoxidizing influence of  the fatty
matter upon the mercurial oxide.  Now if by a sufficient excess of acid
and an elevated temperature the fats be thoroughly oxidized during the pro-
cess, they will have less affinity for oxygen afterwards, and consequently
less ability to take it from  the oxide of mercury.   That they are  oxidized
at the expense either of the nitric acid or nitrate when  heat is  used, is
proved by the abundant extrication  of nitric  oxide during the operation.
The process of  the Edinburgh College above given meets these requisites,
and is  said  to yield  an excellent ointment.  The  same process, before its
adoption  by the College, had  been long  employed  by  Mr.  Duncan, a
chemist and druggist  of Edinburgh, who appears  to have been the first to
ascertain the advantage of heat in the preparation of the ointment.
   In applying heat, according to the Edinburgh  process, when  the fatty
matter and mercurial solution are  mixed, care must be  taken that it be  not
in excess.   Gas is extricated at 180°, and at 212° escapes so abundantly
that the mixture boils  over  unless the vessel be very large. (Alsop.)   Be-
sides, if the heat be  too great, a portion of the mercury is  reduced, and  the
colour of  the ointment impaired.  When large quantities of materials  are
operated upon,  the  reaction which  occurs produces  of itself a sufficient
heat; but in ordinary cases  the temperature should be kept at about 190° by
means of a water-bath.   It should always be sufficient to produce a copious
extrication of gas.  The ointment should be prepared in a glass, porcelain,
or well-glazed earthen vessel; and a glass rod or wooden spatula should be
employed for stirring the mixture.
   Medical Uses. This ointment is much and very advantageously employed,
as a stimulant and  alterative application, in  various forms of porrigo, as

  * See "Remarks on  the preparation of Citrine Ointment, by  W. R. Fisher," in the
Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, i. 171.  It is said that the three ounces
of lard directed in the U.S. formula may be  advantageously dispensed with, and its
place supplied  by three  additional  fluidounces of the neats-foot  oil.   Sue the same
Journal, iv. l'J7. 
PART II.
Unguent a.
1201
tinea capitis and crusta lactea, in psoriasis and ptyriasis, in certain forms of
herpes,  in  psorophthalmia and inflammation of the eye and eyelids  con-
nected with porrigo of the face or scalp, and in various other ulcerative and
eruptive affections.  It should be diluted with lard, unless in cases which
require  a very stimulant application.  Some care is requisite in its use, to
avoid the risk of salivation.  When hard and friable, it must be rubbed up
with fresh  lard before it can be applied.                           W.
   UNGUENTUM  HYDRARGYRI  OXIDI  RUBRI. U. S.   Un-
guentum Hydrargyri Nitrico-oxydi.  Lond.  Unguentum Oxidi
Hydrargyri.  Ed.   Unguentum  Hydrargyri Oxydi Nitrici.
Dub.   Ointment of Red  Oxide of Mercury.
   " Take of Red Oxide of Mercury, in very fine powder, an ounce; Sitnple
Ointment eight ounces.  Add the Oxide of Mercury to the  Ointment pre-
viously softened over a gentle fire, and mix them."  U. S.
   " Take of  Nitric-oxide of Mercury an ounce; White Wax two ounces;
Prepared  Lard six ounces.   To the Wax and Lard, melted together, add
the Nitric Oxide of Mercury, in very fine powder, and mix." Lond., Dub.
   " Take of Red Oxide of Mercury one ounce; Axunge [Lard] eight ounces.
Triturate them into a uniform mass. Ed.
   The U. S.  Pharmacopoeia contemplates the same red oxide of mercury as
the British Colleges, that, namely, prepared from  the nitrate,  and usually
called red precipitate.  It is  highly important that the oxide should be
thoroughly pulverized before being mixed with the lard; as otherwise it might
prove very injurious in cases of ophthalmia,  in which it is sometimes used.
   This ointment loses its fine red colour when long kept, probably in con-
sequence of the conversion of the red oxide into the black.  It is best to
prepare it only in small quantities at a time.  It is a highly useful stimulating
ointment, much  employed in indolent and  foul ulcers, in  porrigo of the
scalp, psorophthalmia, and in chronic conjunctival  ophthalmia, especially
when attended with thickening of the inner membrane of  the eyelids, or
with specks upon the  cornea.  It may be diluted with lard if found too sti-
mulating,                                                      w.
   UNGUENTUM IODINI.  U S.   Unguentum Iodinii.  Dub.
 Ointment of Iodine.
   " Take  of Iodine  twenty grains; Alcohol twenty  minims;  Lard an
ounce.   Rub the Iodine first with the Alcohol and  then with the Lard until
they  are thoroughly mixed." U. S.
   " Take  of Iodine a scruple; Prepared Lard an ounce. Rub them together
so as to form an ointment."  Dub.
   This ointment, when rubbed upon the skin, imparts to it an orange colour,
which, however, slowly disappears with the  evaporation of the  iodine. It is
useful as a local application in goitre, scrofulous swellings of the glands, and
other chronic tumefactions, operating probably through the  medium of  ab-
sorption.   When continued  for some time, it occasionally produces  a pus-
tular  eruption upon the portion of skin to which it is applied. Dr. Cerchiari
strongly recommends  it in cases of enlarged tonsils after the disappearance
of inflammation.   It should be applied to the  tonsils morning  and evening
by means of a camel's  hair pencil. In two  months, according  to^ the
author, the enlargement disappears. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. viii. 83.) The
ointment should be prepared only as wanted  for use; for it undergoes change
if kept, losing its deep-orange brown colour and becoming pale upon  the
surface.                                                         ** •
        102 
1202
Unguent a.
PART II.
   UNGUENTUM  IODINI COMPOSITUM. U. S.  Unguentum
Iodinii  Compositum.  Lond.  Unguentum  Iodinei.  Ed.   Com-
pound Ointment of Iodine.
   " Take of Iodine half a drachm;  Iodide of Potassium a drachm;  Alco-
hol a fluidrachm; Lard two ounces.  Rub the Iodine and Iodide of Po-
tassium first with the Alcohol and then  with the  Lard until they  are
thoroughly mixed." U. S.
   The London formula is the same  as the above.  The Edinburgh Col-
lege directs a drachm of iodine and two drachms of the iodide of potas-
sium to be rubbed together, four ounces of  lard to be gradually added, and
the trituration to be continued till a uniform ointment is obtained.
   This preparation is employed for the  same purposes as the preceding,
from which it differs chiefly in being  somewhat  stronger with iodine; as
the iodide of potassium adds little to its virtues, and the spirit is employed
only to facilitate the admixture.                                  W.
   UNGUENTUM  MEZEREI. U S.   Ointment of Mezereon.
   " Take of Mezereon, sliced transversely, four ounces; Lard fourteen
ounces; White  Wax two ounces.   Moisten the Mezereon with a little  Al-
cohol,  and  beat it in an iron mortar until reduced to a fibrous mass; then
digest it with  the  Lard, in a salt-water  bath, for twelve hours, strain with
strong  expression, and allow the strained liquid to cool slowly, so that any
undissolved matters may subside.  From these separate the medicated  Lard,
melt it with the Wax at a moderate heat,  and  stir them constantly  till they
are cold." U. S.
   This is equivalent to the pommade epispastique au garou of the French
Codex, which is prepared from the  bark of the Daphne Gnidium.  The
ointment  may also be made, as proposed  by Guibourt, by mixing two
drachms of the  alcoholic extract of mezereon with nine ounces of  lard and
one of wax.  It is used as a stimulating application to blistered surfaces in
order to maintain  the discharge, and to obstinate, ill-conditioned, and indo-
lent ulcers.                                                    W.

   UNGUENTUM  PICIS  LIQUIDJE. U.S.,   Lond.,  Ed.,  Dub.
Tar Ointment.
   " Take of Tar, Suet,  each,  a pound.  Add  the  Tar to the Suet pre-
viously melted with a moderate heat, and stir them constantly till  they are
cold."* U. S.
   The London and Dublin  Colleges melt  together equal parts of the  tar
and suet, and strain the mixture, the former  through linen, the latter through
a sieve.  The Edinburgh College takes five ounces of tar and two ounces
of bees'-wax, and having melted the wax with a gentle heat, adds  the tar,
and stirs  the mixture briskly while it concretes.
   Tar ointment is highly useful as a stimulant application in various scaly
and scabby eruptions, particularly in psoriasis, and in that form of porrigo
usually called tinea capitis or scald head.   In the  last mentioned affection.
it should  be applied night and morning; and in bad cases the patient should
constantly wear a cap thickly spread with  the ointment upon its  internal
surface.                                                        W.

   UNGUENTUM  PICIS NIGR^. Lond.   Ointment of Black
Pitch.
   " Take of Black Pitch, Wax, Resin, each, nine ounces; Olive Oil sixteen
fluidounces [Imperial measure].  Melt them together, and strain  through
linen." Lond. 
PART II.
Unguenta.
1203
  This is a stimulant  ointment, applicable to the same purposes as the
preceding.                                                    W.

  UNGUENTUM  PIPERIS NIGRI. Dub.  Ointment of Black
Pepper.
  "Take  of Prepared Lard a pound;  Black Pepper, in powder, four
ounces.   Make an ointment." Dub.
  This is  highly irritating, and has  been used as a remedy in tinea capitis,
but is not now employed.                                       W.
  UNGUENTUM  PLUMBI  ACETATIS. Ed., Dub.   Ceratum
Plumbi Acetatis.  Lond.  Ointment of Acetate of Lead.
  " Take of Simple Ointment  twenty  ounces;  Acetate of Lead, in fine
powder, one ounce.  Mix them thoroughly." Ed.
  The London College  melts two ounces of white  wax in seven fluid-
ounces of olive oil; then  adds  gradually two  drachms of acetate of lead
previously rubbed with a fluidounce of olive oil; and stirs with a spatula till
they are mixed.  The Dublin College mixes  an ounce of acetate of lead
with apound and a half of ointment of white wax.
  This is  an excellent ointment in burns, and other excoriated or ulcerated
surfaces, particularly blisters in an inflamed state.                 W.
  UNGUENTUM   PLUMBI  CARBONATIS. U.S.,  Ed, Dub.
Ointment of Carbonate of Lead.
  "Take  of Carbonate of Lead, in very fine powder, two ounces; Simple
Ointment  a pound.   Add the Carbonate of  Lead  to  the Ointment pre-
viously softened over a gentle fire, and mix them." U. S.
  The Edinburgh College prepares  this ointment by mixing  thoroughly
one ounce of carbonate of lead with five ounces of simple ointment.  The
Dublin College employs the proportions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
  This ointment is used for the same purposes as the preceding.    W.
  UNGUENTUM  PLUMBI COMPOSITUM. Lond.  Compound
Ointment of Lead.
  " Take  of Prepared Chalk eight  ounces; Distilled  Vinegar six fluid-
ounces;  Lead Plaster three pounds; Olive Oil a pint [Imperial measure].
Dissolve  the Plaster  in  the Oil with a slow fire, then  gradually add the
Chalk previously mixed  with the Vinegar, the effervescence  having sub-
sided, and stir them constantly until they become cold." Lond.
  Employed as  a dressing for indolent ulcers.                     W.
  UNGUENTUM  PLUMBI IODIDI. Lond.  Ointment of Iodide
of Lead.
  " Take  of Iodide of Lead an ounce;  Lard eight, ounces.  Rub and mix
them." Lond.
  Employed as a discutient in chronic glandular swellings, and enlarge-
ments of  the joints.                                            W.
  UNGUENTUM   POTASSAE  HYDRIODATIS.  Dub.   Oint-
ment of Hydriodate of Potassa.
  " Take  of Hydriodate of Potassa [Iodide of Potassium] a scruple; Pre-
pared Lard an ounce.  Rub them together so as to form an ointment." Dub.
  It is said that these  ingredients incorporate better, if the iodide  of potas-
sium be first dissolved in its own weight  of distilled water, and then mixed
with the lard. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. N. S. iii. 203.)
  This ointment is employed for  the discussion of goitres, scrofulous tu-
mours, and other indolent swellings; and is usually preferred to the oint- 
1204                        Unguent a.                   part ii.

ment of iodine, as it does not like that discolour the skin.  It is probably,
however, of inferior virtue, and certainly contains too small a proportion of
the iodide.   One drachm to the ounce of lard would not be too much, and
may  sometimes be exceeded.                                    W.
   UNGUENTUM SAMBUCI. Lond., Dub.  Elder Ointment.
   " Take of Elder [flowers], Lard,  each,  two pounds.  Boil  the Elder
Flowers  in the Lard till they become crisp, then express through linen."
Lond.
   " Take of fresh Elder Leaves three pounds; Prepared *ijar d four pounds;
Prepared Mutton Suet two pounds.  Boil the  leaves in the  Lard till they
become crisp;  then strain with expression;  lastly, add the Suet, and melt
them together." Dub.
   Elder flowers impart odour to lard without  adding to its virtues.  The
Dublin ointment of the leaves has a green colour, and is popularly em-
ployed as a cooling application in England.                       W.
   UNGUENTUM SCROPHULARIA. Dub.   Ointment of Fig-
wort.
   "Take of fresh Figwort Leaves, Prepared Lard, each, two pounds; Pre-
pared Mutton  Suet a pound.  Boil the leaves in the fat till they become
crisp, then strain with expression." Dub.
   For  the properties of this ointment, see  Scrophularia Nodosa.    W.
   UNGUENTUM  SIMPLEX.  U.S., Ed.   Unguentum  Cerje
Alb^j.  Unguentum Cer.e Flav.2e. Dub.   Simple Ointment.
   "  Take of White Wax a pound; Lard four pounds. Melt  them together
with a moderate heat, and stir them constantly till they are cold." U. S.
   The Edinburgh College  orders five fluidounces and a half of olive  oil,
and  two  ounces of white wax.  The Dublin College makes two prepara-
tions, one with white, the other with yellow wax, in each  case mixing the
wax with lard in the same  proportion as  directed in the U. S. Pharmaco-
poeia.
   This is a useful emollient ointment, occasionally employed  as  a mild
dressing to blistered or excoriated surfaces, but more frequently as a vehicle
for the application of more active substances.  It is the basis  of several offi-
cinal ointments.
   Off. Prep.  Unguentum Cupri Subacetatis, U. S.;  Unguent. Hydrargyri
Ammoniati, U. S.; Unguent. Hydrarg.  Oxidi  Rubri,  U. S.;   Unguent.
Plumbi Acetatis, Ed.; Unguent. Plumbi Carbonatis, U. S., Ed.    W.
   UNGUENTUM  STRAMONII. U.  S.   Ointment  of Stramo-
nium.
   " Take of fresh Stramonium Leaves, cut into pieces, a pound; Lard three
pounds; Yellow Wax half a  pound.   Boil the  Stramonium Leaves in the
Lard, until they become friable; then strain through linen.  Lastly, add the
Wax previously melted, and stir them until they are cold." U. S.
   Fresh narcotic vegetables yield  their active  principles, and chlorophylle
or green colouring matter, to oleaginous substances, when heated with them;
and  several officinal ointments besides the present are prepared in this man-
ner.  In the pharmacy of the continent of Europe, olive oil is frequently  em-
ployed as the solvent; and the resulting preparations are  called olea infusa.
Several of these are ordered by the French Codex, as the oils of henbane,
stramonium, tobacco, &c.   Lard is preferred in British and American phar-
macy, as affording preparations of a more  convenient consistence.  The
boiling takes place at a lower temperature  than that necessary for the evapo-
ration  of the lard or oil, and is owing to the escape of the watery parts of 
PART II.
Unguent a.
1205
 the plants.   It should be continued till  all the water is driven off; as this,
 if allowed to remain, would render the ointment more liable to spontaneous
 decomposition;  and, besides,  the colouring  matter of the narcotic is not
 freely extracted till after the dissipation of the water.
   The ointment of stramonium is a useful anodyne application in irritable
 ulcers, in painful hemorrhoids, and in some cutaneous eruptions.    W.

   UNGUENTUM  SULPHURIS.  U.S., Lond., Ed.,  Dub.  Sul-
 phur Ointment.
   " Take of Sulphur a pound; Lard two pounds.  Mix them." U. S.
   The London College employs three ounces of sulphur, half a pound of
 lard, and twenty minims of oil of bergamot;  the Edinburgh, four ounces
 of lard and one ounce of sublimed sulphur;  and the Dublin, four pounds
 of prepared lard and a pound of sublimed sulphur.
   Sulphur ointment is a specific for the itch.  It should be applied every
 night till the complaint is cured; and it is recommended that only one-fourth
 of the body should be covered at a time.  We have usually directed it to be
 applied over the  whole surface, and have found no inconvenience  to result.
 Four applications  are usually sufficient  to effect  a cure.   It is thought by
 some  that powdered roll sulphur is  more efficacious than  the sublimed.
 Sulphur ointment, applied freely over the variolous  eruption, in  its early
 stage, is said to prevent the maturation of the pustules and consequent pitting.
 (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. N S. ii. 196.)  The disagreeable odour of the
 ointment may be in some measure concealed  by a little oil of lemons, or oil
 of bergamot as in the London preparation.                        W.

   UNGUENTUM  SULPHURIS  COMPOSITUM.  U.S., Lond.
 Compound Sulphur Ointment.
   " Take of Sulphur an ounce; Ammoniated  Mercury, Benzoic Acid,  each,
 a drachm; Oil of Bergamot, Sulphuric Acid,  each, a fluidrachm: Nitrate
 of Potassa two drachms; Lard half a pound.   To  the Lard, previously
 melted with a moderate heat, add the other ingredients, and stir them  con-
 stantly till they are cold." U. S.
   This ointment is essentially different from that which is directed, under
 the same name, by the London College.    Though, perhaps, not more effi-
 cient than the simple sulphur ointment in the cure of  itch, it has a less un-
 pleasant smell, and  may be advantageously  applied to  the cure  of other
 eruptive affectidns, such as  tinea capitis and crusta lactea.
   " Take of Sulphur half a pound;  White Hellebore, in  powder,  two
 ounces;  Nitrate of Potassa a drachm; Soft  Soap half a pound; Lard a
pound and a half; Oil of Bergamot thirty minims. Mix them." Lond.
   This is thought  to be more efficacious  than the  simple sulphur ointment;
 but the white hellebore renders it also  more irritating.              W.
   UNGUENTUM TABACI.  U.S.  Tobacco Ointment.
   "  Take of fresh Tobacco, cut in pieces, an ounce; Lard  apound.  Boil
 the Tobacco in the Lard over a gentle fire till it becomes friable; then strain
 through linen." U. S.
   In the first edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia,  this ointment, under
 the name of " Tobacco Liniment," was directed to be prepared with com-
 mon dried tobacco; but in this condition the leaves do not yield their virtues
to lard.   The error was corrected in the second edition.   Though the to-
bacco plant is not an object of general culture in the  Northern States, it
may readily be produced in gardens, in quantities sufficient to supply any
demand for the fresh leaves which can  possibly arise.  The remarks made
                               102* 
1206                   Unguent a.— Veratria.              part ii.

under the head of Unguentum Stramonii, in relation to the preparation of
ointments from the fresh narcotics, are applicable in this instance.
  Tobacco  ointment is useful in irritable ulcers, and various cutaneous erup-
tions,  particularly tinea capitis; but great care must be taken, especially in
children, not to employ it in such quantities as to endanger the production
of the constitutional effects of the narcotic.                        W.
  UNGUENTUM VERATRI ALBI.  U S.   Unguentum Vera-
tri. Lond., Dub.   Ointment of  White  Hellebore.
  " Take  of White Hellebore [root],  in  powder,  two  ounces;  Oil of
Lemons twenty minims; Lard eight ounces.  Mix them." U. S., Lond.
  The Dublin College employs the same proportion of  white  hellebore
and lard, but omits the oil of lemons.
  This ointment is sometimes employed with advantage  in the itch.   It is
less disagreeable, but also less  certain than the sulphur ointment.  It should
be employed with caution in children.                            W.
  UNGUENTUM  ZINCI  OXIDI. US.    Unguentum Zinci.
Lond., Ed.  Unguentum Zinci Oxydi. Dub.  Ointment of Oxide
of Zinc.
  " Take  of  Oxide of Zinc an ounce; Lard six ounces.  Mix them."
U. S., Lond.
  The Edinburgh College employs six ounces of simple liniment,  and
one ounce of oxide of zinc; the Dublin, a  pound of ointment of white
wax (simple  ointment), and tivo ounces of the prepared oxide.  By the
latter the ointment is  melted before the addition of the oxide.
  The oxide of zinc  directed  in the  U. S.,  London, and Edinburgh Phar-
macopoeias, is that obtained by precipitation  and  ignition, and, being in the
state of fine powder, requires no previous preparation.  That employed by
the Dublin College, being procured by the combustion of the metal, requires
to be levigated before it can be used for the formation of the ointment.
  This preparation is employed as a mild astringent application in chronic
ophthalmia with a  relaxed state of the vessels, in various  cutaneous erup-
tions,  and  in sore nipples and other  instances of excoriation or ulceration.
It has taken the place of the old and discarded unguentum tutiae, or tutty
ointment, prepared from tutty or the impure oxide of zinc, by mixing it
with five parts of  simple ointment.                               W.


                          VERATRIA.

                              Veratria.

  VERATRIA.  U.S., Lond, Ed.    Veratria.
  " Take  of  Cevadilla, bruised, two pounds; Alcohol three gallons;  Di-
luted  Sulphuric  Acid,  Solution of Ammonia, Purified  Animal Charcoal,
Magnesia, each, a  sufficient quantity.   Boil the Cevadilla in a gallon of
the Alcohol, in a retort with a receiver  attached, for an hour,  and pour off
the liquor.  To  the  residue  add another gallon of the  Alcohol, together
with the portion  recently distilled, again boil for an hour, and pour off the
liquor.  Repeat  the  boiling a third time with the remaining  Alcohol, and
with that distilled in the previous operation.  Press the Cevadilla, mix and
strain the  liquors, and by means of a  water-bath distil off the Alcohol.
Boil the  residue  three or four  times  in water  acidulated with Sulphuric
Acid,  mix and strain the liquors, and evaporate to the consistence of syrup.
Add Magnesia in slight excess, shake the mixture frequently, then express,
    v 
PART II.
Veratria.
1207
and wash what remains.   Repeat the expression and washing two or three
times, and, having dried  the residue, digest  it with a gentle heat several
times in Alcohol, and  strain after each digestion.  Distil off the Alcohol
from the mixed liquors, boil the residue for  fifteen minutes in water with
a little Sulphuric Acid and Purified Animal Charcoal, and strain.  Having
thoroughly  washed  what  remains,  mix  the  washings with the strained
liquor,  evaporate with a moderate heat to the consistence of syrup, and
then drop in as much  Solution of Ammonia, as may be necessary to pre-
cipitate the veratria.   Lastly, separate and dry the precipitate."  U. S.
  The  London process  is, in all essential points, the same as  the above,
of which it was the  original.
  " Take any convenient  quantity of Cevadilla; pour  boiling water over
it in a covered vessel, and let it macerate for twenty-four hours;  remove the
Cevadilla, squeeze  it, and dry it thoroughly with  a gentle  heat.   Beat  it
now in a mortar, and separate the  seeds from the capsules by a  brisk agita-
tion in  a deep narrow vessel.  Grind the seeds in a coffee-mill, and  form
them into a thick paste with Rectified Spirit.  Pack this firmly in a perco-
lator, and pass Rectified Spirit through it till the Spirit ceases to be coloured.
Concentrate  the spirituous solutions  by distillation so  long as no deposit
forms;  and  pour the residuum while hot into twelve times its volume of
cold water.   Filter through calico, and wash the residuum on the filter so
long as the washings precipitate with ammonia.   Unite the filtered liquid
with the washings, and add an excess of ammonia.   Collect the precipitate
on a filter, wash it  slightly with cold water, and dry it first by imbibition
with filtering paper,  and  then in the vapour-bath.   A small additional quan-
tity may be got by concentrating the filtered ammoniacal fluid and allowing
it to cool."  Ed.
  In the U. S. and London process the first step is to obtain a tincture of
cevadilla.  In  the Edinburgh process, the use of alcohol is preceded by
measures calculated to bring the  seeds into a proper  state for its action.
This is not satisfactorily effected by mere  bruising.  The seeds  are not thus
separated from the capsules; and, on account of their elasticity,  they cannot
be conveniently comminuted in a  mortar.  The mode of  proceeding given
in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia was suggested by Christison, and is said
by him to answer the purpose.   In  the U. S. process, the  tincture, when
made,  is evaporated to the consistence of an extract.  This contains the
veratria combined with some vegetable acid as it exists in the seeds.  From
the extract the alkali is dissolved by the acidulated water, which  at the same
time converts it in great  measure into a sulphate, a small portion possibly
remaining in the solution combined with an excess of the native acid.  The
mao-nesia combines with the acids and throws down the veratria, which  is
then taken up by alcohol, and again yielded in a purer state by evaporation.
To purify it still further, it is  redissolved in water by the  agency of sul-
phuric  acid, is  submitted  to the action of animal charcoal, and is finally
precipitated by ammonia.   In the Edinburgh process,  the tincture is con-
centrated until it begins to let fall a precipitate, and is then poured into
water, which throws down the resin and oil with a portion of the colouring
matter, and  retains  the salt of veratria.   This is then decomposed by am-
monia,  and  the precipitated veratria is slightly washed  with cold water  to
free it from  adhering impurities.   If  much water is employed in the wash-
ing, a  considerable  portion of the veratria is lost, in consequence of being
in some degree soluble in that menstruum in its ordinary impure state.
  Obtained by either of the above processes veratria is not entirely pure,
though  sufficiently so for medical  use.   It is a grayish or brownish-white 
1208
Veratria.
PART II.
 powder, without odour, and of a bitter, acrid taste, producing  a  sense  of
 tingling or numbness  in  the  tongue,  and exciting violent  sneezing and
 coryza when admitted into  the  nostrils.  For the properties of the pure
 alkali  the reader is referred to page  610.   The composition of veratria is
 expressed, according to Couerbe, by the formula C34H2S!06N.  It may be
 recognised by its sensible properties,  incapability of being crystallized,
 combustibility, fusibility, peculiar solubilities (see page 610), alkaline reac-
 tion, the intense red colour it assumes upon contact with concentrated sul-
 phuric acid, the  yellow solution it forms  with nitric  acid, and the white
 precipitates which its solution in dilute acetic acid yields with ammonia
 and the infusion  of galls.  (Pereira's Mat. Med.)  It may be used either
 in the uncombined  state or united with acids; as in both forms it produces
 essentially the same effects.
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Veratria is a powerful irritant, capable
 of producing inflammation in the parts to which it is applied, and extending
 a peculiar action  to the nervous system.  Rubbed upon the skin it  excites a
 sensation of warmth and a peculiar tingling, which, when the application is
 continued for a considerable length of time, extends, according to Turnbull,
 over the whole surface of the body. Sometimes an evanescent blush is pro-
 duced, and still more  rarely an eruption upon the skin,  but, according  to
 the same author,  no marks of inflammation are in general evinced.  Upon
 the denuded  cutis, however, veratria  and its salts are  powerfully irritating;
 so much so as to prevent their advantageous application in this way.  In the
 mouth and fauces they produce an almost insupportable sense of acrimony;
 and snuffed up the nostrils excite violent sneezing.  Magendie states that,
 when  taken  internally in  the dose of a quarter of a  grain, they promptly
 produce abundant alvine evacuations, and  in larger doses provoke more or
 less violent vomiting.  Dr. Turnbull, on the contrary, says that he  has very
 seldom found them to  purge, even when largely administered, and  that not
 unfrequentiy a state of constipation comes  on  during their employment, re-
 quiring the use of aperient medicine.   According to this  author, their first
 effect, when given in moderate doses,  is  a feeling of warmth in the stomach,
 gradually extending  itself over the abdomen  and lower part of the chest,
 and ultimately to the  head and extremities.  If the medicine  is  continued,
 this feeling of warmth is  followed by  a sense of tingling, similar to that
 produced by the  external use of the medicine, which manifests  itself in
 different parts of the  body and sometimes  over the whole  surface, and  is
 frequently accompanied  by perspiration and  some feeling of oppression.
 Occasionally also diuresis is produced.   A still further continuance of the
.medicine, or  the use of large doses excites  nausea and vomiting.   It occa-
sions no narcotic effects.
  The diseases in  which veratria has been  employed are chiefly gout,
rheumatism,  and neuralgia.   Dr. Turnbull  has found it useful also in dropsy
 and in diseases of the heart, particularly those of a functional character.  He
 thinks he has also seen it do good in organic diseases of this organ, but chiefly
 by  acting as  a diuretic  and thereby removing effusion in the pericardium.
 Veratria has also  been employed  in various nervous affections, as paralysis,
hooping-cough, epilepsy, hysteria, and disorders dependent upon spinal
 irritation.  For internal use the salts of veratria are preferred.  From one-
 twelfth to one-sixth of a grain may be given  in  the form of pill, and re-
 peated every three  hours till the effects of the medicine are experienced.
 Dr. Turnbull prefers the tartrate, as less disposed to  irritate the stomach.
 The sulphate or  acetate, however, may be used.  Any one  of these salts 
PART II.
Veratria.— Vina Medicata.
1209
may be readily prepared by treating veratria with water acidulated with the
acid to perfect neutralization, and then evaporating to dryness.
   But veratria is much more employed externally than by the stomach; and
is applicable in this way, to all the complaints already mentioned.  It may
be used either dissolved in alcohol, or rubbed up with lard or other unctuous
substance, in the proportion  of from ten to twenty grains  or more to the
ounce.  Of the ointment thus prepared, Dr. Turnbull directs a portion of
the size of a large nut to be rubbed upon the skin over the part affected,
night and morning, from  five to  fifteen minutes, or until the more urgent
symptoms  are relieved.   The veratria may be used  in this way to the
amount of from four to eight grains in the day.   Care must be taken  that
the cuticle is sound over the parts to which it is applied.  When the skin is
irritable, smaller quantities than those above mentioned must be used.
                                                                W.


                      VINA  xMEDICATA.

                         Medicated Wines.

   The advantages of wine as a pharmaceutic menstruum are, that in conse-
quence of the  alcohol it contains, it dissolves substances insoluble in water,
and, to a certain extent, resists their tendency to spontaneous change; while,
at the same time, it is less stimulant than rectified or proof spirit, both from
its smaller proportion of  alcohol, and from the modified state in which this
fluid exists in  its composition.  The acid which it usually contains, serves
in some instances to increase its solvent power.   But most wines, particu-
larly  the light varieties, are liable to undergo decomposition; and even the
strongest acquire such a liability  from the  principles  which they extract
from vegetable substances; so that medicated wines, though they keep much
better than infusions or decoctions, are inferior in this respect to the tinc-
tures.   The proportion of alcohol, moreover, is not constant; and the pre-
parations, therefore, made with them, are of unequal strength.  From  these
causes, few medicated wines are at present retained.  In the choice of wine,
the purest and most generous should be selected.   Sherry as directed by the
U. S. and British  Pharmacopoeias, Teneriffe, or Madeira, should be  pre-
ferred.   The medicated wines, in  consequence of their liability to change,
should be prepared in small quantities, without heat, and should be kept in
well stopped bottles in a cool place.                               W.
   VINUM ALOE'S.  U. S., Lond., Ed,, Dub.    Wine of Aloes.
   " Take of Aloes, in powder, an ounce; Cardamom [seeds], bruised, Gin-
ger, bruised, each, a drachm;  Wine  [Sherry] a pint.   Macerate for four-
teen days, with occasional agitation, and filter through paper."  U. S.
   " Take of  Aloes, in  powder,  two ounces; Canella, in  powder, four
drachms; Sherry Wine two pints  [Imperial measure].  Macerate for four-
teen days, occasionally stirring, and filter." Lond.
   " Take of Socotrine or East Indian Aloes an ounce and a half;  Carda-
mom Seeds, ground, Ginger, in coarse  powder, of each, a drachm and a
half; Sherry two pints.  Digest for seven days,  and strain through linen
or calico." Ed.
   The Dublin College takes four  ounces of Socotrine  aloes and an ounce
of canella, powders them separately, mixes them, and  macerates for four-
teen days in  a menstruum consisting of three pints of Sherry  wine and a
pint of proof spirit. 
1210
Vina Medicata.
PART II.
   The wine of aloes is a warm stomachic purgative, useful in constipation
dependent on a want of due irritability of the alimentary canal, and in com-
plaints connected with  this state of the bowels.  It has long been used in
chlorosis, amenorrhoea,  dyspepsia, gout, paralysis, &c.   It is said to leave
behind it a more lax condition of the bowels than most other cathartics.  The
dose as a stomachic is one or two fluidrachms, as  a purgative from half a
fluidounce to two fluidounces.                                    W.

   VINUM  COLCHICI RADICIS. U. S.  Vinum Colchici. Lond.,
Ed.   Wine of Colchicum Root.
   "Take of  Colchicum Root, well  bruised, apound;  Wine [Sherry] two
pints.   Macerate for fourteen days,  with occasional agitation; then express
strongly, and filter through paper.
   " Wine of Colchicum  Root may also be  prepared  by macerating as
above, then  transferring to  an  apparatus  for displacement, and, after the
liquor has ceased to pass, pouring so much Wine upon the residue that the
filtered liquor obtained  may measure two pints." U. S.
   " Take of dried  Meadow-saffron  Cormus  [bulb], sliced, eight ounces;
Sherry  Wine two pints [Imperial measure].   Macerate  for fourteen days,
and filter." Lond.
   The Edinburgh  College directs the same quantities of materials as the
London, and  orders digestion for seven days, straining, strong  expression,
and filtering.
   This is intended  to be a saturated vinous tincture  of colchicum.   The
dried bulb is  necessarily employed in this  country, as  the fresh is not kept
in  the shops.  As  the colchicum  imported  into  the United  States  is of
variable  strength, the only method by which an active preparation can be
ensured, is to employ a large quantity of the bulb in proportion to that of the
menstruum.  If the former should happen to be in  excess; no other injury
could result than  a slight pecuniary loss; while a deficiency in the strength
of the preparation would frequently  be of serious detriment in urgent cases
of  disease.   We  have  never been disappointed in  obtaining the effects of
colchicum from the  wine which we  knew to have been prepared according
to the direction of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia; while that which has been made
with a smaller quantity of the bulb has often failed in our hands.   The dose
is from  ten minims to a fluidrachm,  to be repeated three or four times a day,
or more  frequently in severe cases, till its effects are experienced.  In gout
it is frequently given in connexion with magnesia  and its sulphate; and in
neuralgic cases we  have found much  advantage  from combining it  with
the solution  of sulphate of  morphia, especially when we  have desired to
give it a direction rather to the skin than  the bowels. It has been employed
externally with asserted advantage in rheumatism.   In over doses it is ca-
pable of producing  fatal effects.  Death is said to have  occurred in one
instance from two drachms  of the  wine;  but  much more would probably
in general be requisite  to produce this result.                       W.
   VINUM  COLCHICI  SEMINIS.  U S.    Wine of Colchicum
Seed.
   " Take of Colchicum Seed, bruised,  four ounces;  Wine [Sherry] two
pints.  Macerate  for fourteen days, with  occasional agitation; then express,
and filter through paper."  U. S.
   As the seeds of  colchicum  are less liable to injury than the bulb,  and
are, therefore, of more  uniform  strength, there is not the  same necessity
for preparing a saturated tincture.  As directed, however, in the old Phar-
macopoeia, this wine was too feeble; and in the last edition, the proportion 
PART II.
Vina Medic at a.
1211
of the seeds  has very properly been doubled.   It  now  corresponds  in
strength with the  tincture of colchicum seeds.  (See Tinctura Colchici
Seminis.)  Dr. Williams, who introduced the seeds into use, recommends
that they should not be bruised, as their virtues  reside in  their outer coat;
but this is probably a mistake.  The dose of this wine is  one or two flui-
drachms.  Two fluidounces have proved fatal.                     W\
   VINUM  ERGOTS. U.S.   Wine of Ergot.
   " Take of Ergot,  bruised,  two ounces; Wine [Sherry] a pint.   Mace-
rate for fourteen days, with  occasional  agitation;  then express, and filter
through paper."  U. S.
   The dose of this wine is for a woman in labour two or three fluidrachms;
for other purposes, one or two fluidrachms,  to be repeated several times a
day, and gradually increased if necessary.                         W.
   VINUM GENTIANyE. Ed.  Wine of Gentian.
   "Take of  Gentian,  in  coarse powder, half an ounce;  Yellow Bark, in
coarse  powder,  one ounce;  Bitter-orange   Peel, dried   and sliced,  two
drachms; Canella, in coarse powder, one drachm; ProofSpirit four fluid-
ounces and  a half;  Sherry  one pint and sixteen fluidounces [Imperial
measure].   Digest the root and  barks for twenty-four hours in  the  Spirit;
add the Wine, and digest for seven days more;  strain and express  the re-
siduum strongly, and filter the liquors."  Ed.
   This is a stomachic bitter,  sometimes  employed to promote appetite  and
invigorate digestion.   The dose is from  four to eight fluidrachms.   W.
   VINUM IPECACUANHA.  U.S.,  Lond., Ed.,  Dub.  Wine of
Ipecacuanha.
   " Take of Ipecacuanha, bruised, two ounces;  Wine [Sherry] two pints.
 Macerate for fourteen days,  with occasional agitation;  then express,  and
 filter through paper."  U. S.
   The London College takes two ounces and a half of  the bruised root,
 and two pints  [Imperial  measure] of Sherry wine;  the  Dublin,  two
 ounces of the bruised root, and two pints of Sherry wine;  both macerate
 for two weeks.  The Edinburgh College employs the same proportions as
 the London, and digests  for a week.
    The preparations of the different Pharmacopoeias are virtually  of the same
 strength.  Wine of ipecacuanha possesses all the medical properties of the
 root, and may be used as a substitute when it is desirable  to administer the
 medicine in a liquid form. As it is milder, without being less efficacious than
 antimonial wine, it is in some instances  preferable as an emetic  in infantile
 cases, especially when the antimonial, as not unfrequentiy happens, is dis-
 posed to produce griping and irritation of the bowels.  Under the same cir-
 cumstances, it  may be used as an  expectorant and diaphoretic;  and the
 effects of the  Dover's  powder may  be  obtained  by combining  it  with
 laudanum or other liquid preparation of opium.   The dose as an emetic for
 an adult is  a fluidounce; as an expectorant and diaphoretic, from ten to
 thirty minims.   A fluidrachm may be given as an emetic to a child one or
 two years old, and repeated every fifteen minutes till it operates.    W.
    VINUM OPII. U S., Lond., Ed., Dub.  Wine of Opium.  Syden-
 ham's Laudanum.
    " Take of Opium,  in  powder,  two  ounces;  Cinnamon bruised,  Cloves
 bruised, each,  a drachm; Wine [Sherry] a pint.  Macerate for fourteen
 days, with  occasional agitation;  then  express, and filter through paper."
  U.S. 
12P2
Vina Medicata.
PART II.
   The London College takes two ounces and a half of purified extract of
opium, two drachms and a  half of bruised cinnamon, the same quantity
of brttised cloves, and two pints [Imperial measure] of Sherry wine;  and
macerates for fourteen days.   The Edinburgh College, to the  same quan-
tity of cinnamon and cloves, adds three  ounces of opium, and two pints
[Imperial measure] of Sherry wine, and digests for a week.  The Dublin
College takes an ounce of Turkey opium, a drachm of cinnamon, a drachm
of cloves, and apint of Sherry wine, and macerates for eight days.
   The wine made according  to the directions of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia is
a stronger preparation than that of the British  Colleges, being  a saturated
vinous tincture of opium.   It contains about the same proportions of the
ingredients as the laudanum of Sydenham, from  which it differs only in
wanting a drachm of saffron.   The spices which it contains are thought to
adapt it to certain states of the stomach or system, in which the  simple tinc-
ture of opium is found  to produce unpleasant effects; but the same end may
be obtained  by an extemporaneous  addition  of some  aromatic oil to the
latter.   Mr. Ware recommends it  as a local application to the eye, in the
latter stages of ophthalmia, when the vessels of the conjunctiva still remain
"turgid with blood.   Two or three drops are introduced into the eye every
morning till the redness disappears.   The dose of the wine of opium is
the same with that of the tincture.                                W.
   VINUM RHEI.  U. S,  Ed.  Wine of Rhubarb.
   " Take of Rhubarb, bruised, two ounces;  Canella, bruised, a drachm;
Diluted Alcohol two fluidounces; Wine  [Sherry] a pint.  Macerate for
fourteen  days, with  occasional agitation;  then  express, and filter through
paper."  U. S.
   The Edinburgh College takes five ounces of rhubarb, in coarse powder,
two drachms of canella, in coarse powder, five fluidounces of  proof spirit,
and one pint fifteen fluidounces [Imperial measure] of Sherry wine,  and
digests for seven days.
   This is a warm cordial laxative, applicable to debilitated conditions of the
system or alimentary canal requiring evacuation of the  bowels.   The dose
is from one to four fluidrachms or more, according to the amount of effect
required, and the condition of the patient.                          W.
   VINUM TABACI.  U.  S, Ed.   Wine of Tobacco.
   " Take of Tobacco, cut  in pieces, an ounce;  Wine  [Sherry] a pint.
Macerate for fourteen days, with occasional agitation; then express, and
filter through paper." U. S.
   The Edinburgh College takes three ounces and a half of tobacco and two
pints [Imperial measure] of  Sherry wine, and digests for seven days.
   The dose of the wine of tobacco, as a diuretic, is from ten to thirty minims.
It is very seldom used.                                          W.

   VINUM  VERATRI   ALBI.  US.    Vinum  Veratri. Lond,
 Wine of White Hellebore.
   " Take of White Hellebore [root], bruised,/om*  ounces; Wine [Sherry]
apint.  Macerate for fourteen days, with occasional agitation; then express,
and filter through paper." U. S.
   The London College takes eight ounces of the sliced  root, and two pints
[Imperial measure] of Sherry wine, and macerates for fourteen days.
   It has  been supposed that the wine of white  hellebore, in consequence of
the veratria which it contains, would act in the same manner with colchicum
in the cure of gout and rheumatism; but it is uncertain  and occasionally 
PART II.
Vina Medicata.—Zincum.
1213
violent in its operation, and is very little used.  The dose is ten  minims
two or three times a day, to be  gradually increased till the  peculiar effects
of the medicine are experienced.                                  W.


                              ZINCUM.

                       Preparations  of Zinc.

   ZINCI  ACETAS. U.S.   Acetate of Zinc.
   " Take of Acetate of Lead a pound; Zinc, granulated, nine ounces;  Dis-
tilled  Water three pints.   Dissolve the  Acetate of Lead in the Water and
filter.   Add the Zinc to the solution, and agitate them occasionally together,
in a stopped bottle, for five or six  hours, or until the liquid yields no pre-
cipitate with a solution of iodide of potassium.  Filter the liquor, evaporate
it with a  moderate heat to one-fifth, and set it aside  to  crystallize.  Pour
off the liquid, and dry the  crystals on bibulous paper.   Should the  crystals
be coloured, dissolve them in Distilled Water, and, having heated the solu-
tion, drop into it, while hot, a filtered solution of Chlorinated Lime until it
ceases to let fall sesquioxide of  iron; then filter the liquor, acidulate it  with
a few drops of Acetic Acid, evaporate, and crystallize."  U.  S.
   In this process the  lead of the acetate of lead is  wholly precipitated by
the zinc, which forms with the  acetic acid the acetate of zinc in solution.
In order to  be sure that the solution is  entirely free  from lead, it is tested
with iodide of potassium which  will produce a yellow precipitate in case
any of the metal remain unprecipitated.   The crystals of acetate of zinc,
at first obtained, are apt to be coloured from the presence of iron.   In this
case they are  directed to be dissolved in distilled water and treated with a
solution of  chlorinated lime.   The chlorine of this  compound, by decom-
posing  water, furnishes oxygen which  sesquioxidizes  the iron and  thus
renders it insoluble.   During the heating,  a small portion of acetic acid is
generally lost, and hence  the necessity  of acidulating with a few drops of
this acid before crystallizing.   After the evaporation of the first solution to
one-fifth, it should be acidulated if found  deficient in  acid.   This process is
better than  the one by double decomposition between sulphate of zinc and
acetate of lead, formerly adopted in our Pharmacopoeia; as the  product is
purer, the materials cheaper, and the manipulation  easier. (See the paper
of Mr.  Ambrose Smith on this  acetate,  contained in the seventh volume of
the Amer. Journ. of Pharmacy.)
   Properties, #c. Acetate of zinc, when carefully crystallized, is in colour-
less, transparent  hexagonal plates which effloresce in a dry air.  As found
in the shops it is in opaque, white, micaceous scales.  It is very soluble in
water, moderately soluble in rectified spirit, and has  an astringent, metallic,
very disagreeable taste.  The solution yields a white precipitate with ferro-
cyanuret of potassium and hydrosulphate  of ammonia.  The precipitate
thrown down by ammonia, is entirely redissolved by an excess of  the pre-
cipitant; but if iron be present, though thrown down, it will not be redis-
solved.   Acetate of zinc  is  decomposed by  the mineral acids, with the
escape of acetous vapours.   By destructive  distillation, it yields a consider-
able quantity of acetone.  (See page 782.)   It consists of one eq. of acetie
acid 51-48,  one of protoxide of  zinc 403,  and seven of water 63= 154-78.
   Medical Properties and Uses. Acetate of zinc  is  used as an external
remedy only,  for the most part as an  astringent collyrium in ophthalmia,
and injection in  gonorrhoea, after the  acute stage in  these affections has
       1U3 
1214
Zincum.
part n.
passed.   It is officinal, in the crystallized state, only in the U. S. Pharma-
copoeia.  The Dublin  College orders a tincture of it; but this is not an
eligible preparation.  It is certainly proper to have the salt officinal in the
solid form; as when in that state it may be prescribed in  any desired pro-
portion in solution, according to the nature of the case to which it is to be
applied.   The strength of the solution, usually employed, is one  or two
grains to a fluidounce of distilled water.                            B.
  ZINCI ACETATIS  TINCTURA.  Dub.   Tincture of Acetate
of Zinc.
  " Take of Sulphate of Zinc, Acetate of  Potassa, each, one part.  Rub
them together, and add of Rectified Spirit sixteen parts.  Macerate  for a
week, with occasional agitation, and filter through paper."  Dub.
  In this process, the acetate of potassa first dissolves in the rectified spirit,
and then reacts upon the sulphate of zinc,  and in consequence of a double
decomposition, sulphate of potassa and aceiate of zinc are formed.  Of these
salts, the latter only is soluble in  the spirit, while the former remains un-
dissolved, and is removed by filtration.  As the acetate of potassa is  used
in excess, this preparation may be viewed  as  a spirituous  solution of  both
the acetate of potassa and acetate of zinc.   The rectified  spirit ordered is
hardl)' sufficient to dissolve all the acetate of zinc formed.
  Properties, fyc.  This tincture  is transparent  and colourless, and when
evaporated nearly to dryness, affords crystals of acetate of  zinc, recogniza-
ble by their shape  and micaceous appearance.  (See Zinci Acetas.)  It is
employed as an astringent collyrium and injection, but requires to be diluted
with water.                                                       B.
   ZINCI CARBONAS PRJEPARATUS. U. S.  Calamina Pr.ze-
parata. Lond.,  Ed.  Zinci  Carbonas  Impurum  Prjeparatum.
Dub.   Prepared Carbonate of Zinc.   Prepared Calamine.
   "Take of Carbonate of Zinc a convenient quantity.   Heat it to red-
ness, and afterwards  pulverize it; then reduce it to a very fine powder in
the manner directed for Prepared  Chalk."  U. S.
   The London and Dublin  Colleges prepare calamine by  processes agree-
ing with the  above.   The Edinburgh College places the  prepared sub-
stance in the list of the Materia Medica with this explanatory note—" levi-
gated impure carbonate of zinc."
   The  nature, properties, and composition of the native carbonate of zinc
have  been explained  under another head. (See Zinci  Carbonas.)  The
Object of this process is to bring it to the state of an impalpable powder.  It
is first calcined, to render it more readily pulverizable, and  then levigated
and  elutriated.   During the calcination, water and more  or less  carbonic
acid are driven off; so  that little else remains but  the oxide of zinc, and
the earthy impurities originally existing in the mineral.  For the nature of
these impurities, see page 748.  Considering the objection to this prepara-
tion on account  of impurity, which is  very variable  in amount, it would,
perhaps, be an improvement to discard the native carbonate altogether, and
to use in its stead a pure artificial carbonate, obtained by double decompo-
sition between sulphate of zinc and carbonate  of ammonia.
   Properties, fyc.  Prepared carbonate of zinc is in the form of a pinkish
or flesh-coloured powder, of an earthy appearance.   Sometimes it is made
tip into  small masses.   When  pure it dissolves in the mineral acids with
effervescence.  It is used only as an external  application, being employed
as a mild astringent and exsiccant in excoriations and superficial ulcerations. 
FART ii.
Zincum.
1216
Fot this  purpose, it is dusted  on the part, and  hence the necessity for its
being very finely levigated.  It  is often employed in the form of cerate.
By an oversight, the  London  College has directed the  calamine, and not
the prepared calamine to make the cerate. (See Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis.)
   Off. Prep. Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis, U. S., Ed., Dub.          B.
   ZINCI  CHLORIDUM.  US.  Chloride of Zinc.   Butter of Zinc,
   " Take of Zinc, in  small pieces, two ounces  and a half; Nitric  Acid,
Prepared Chalk, each, a drachm; Muriatic Acid a sufficient quantify. To
the Zinc, in a glass or porcelain vessel, add gradually sufficient Muriatic
Acid to dissolve it;  then strain, add the  Nitric Acid, and  evaporate to dry-
ness.   Dissolve the  dry mass in Water, add the Chalk, and, having allowed
the mixture to stand for twenty-four hours, filter, and  again evaporate  to
dryness."  U. S.
   This process  is that of the French Codex slightly modified.  A chloride
of zinc is first formed  in solution by dissolving  zinc in muriatic acid. The
nitric  acid  added has the effect to  sesquioxidize and render insoluble any
iron  which may have formed an  impurity  in  the  zinc employed.  By
evaporating to dryness and redissolving  in water, the sesquioxide of iron is
left.   Lastly, in order to  remove any excess of acid, a  small portion  of
chalk is  added;  and the mixture, after standing, is filtered to remove the
excess of chalk, and then evaporated to dryness.
   M.  Righini  prepares  this  chloride by  double decomposition  between
solutions of chloride of barium and sulphate of zinc.  Sulphate of baryta is
precipitated,  and chloride  of zinc remains  in  solution,  from which it  is
obtained  in white  flaky  crystals  by  due evaporation.  (Am. Journ.  of
Pharm.  xiv. 350, from the Journ. de Chim.  Med.)
   Properties, 8,'C.   Chloride of zinc  is a whitish, semitransparent, deli-
quescent substance, having the  softness of wax.   It is wholly soluble  in
water, alcohol, and  ether.  When exposed  to  heat it first melts and then
sublimes.  When  pure it  gives white  precipitates with ferrocyanuret  of
potassium  and  hydrosulphate of ammonia.  A blue  precipitate with the
former test would indicate iron, a black  one with the latter, lead.   It con-
sists of one eq.  of zinc 32*3,  and one of chlorine 35-42 = 67*72.
   Medical Properties  and Uses.  This  chloride was introduced into medi-
cine  by  Papenguth, and  subsequently recommended by Prof.  Hancke,  of
Breslau,  and Dr. Canquoin, of Paris.  Internally  it has been given,  as
an alterative and antispasmodic, in scrofula, epilepsy, chorea, and, com-
bined with hydrocyanic acid,  in facial neuralgia.  Its  chief employment,
however, has been  externally as an  escharotic, applied to scirrhous and
cancerous affections, and to ulcers  of an anomalous and  intractable charac-
ter.   When thus used it acts not merely by destroying the diseased  struc-
ture, but by exciting a new and healthier  action in  the surrounding  parts.
As a caustic it has the  advantage of not giving rise to constitutional disorder
from absorption, an effect  which is sometimes  produced by the arsenical
preparations.
   Dr. Canquoin prepares  the  chloride of zinc as an  escharotic,  by tho-
roughly and quickly mixing it with wheat flour and water, into a paste  of
four  different strengths, containing an ounce of the chloride, severally
incorporated with two, three,  four, and five  ounces of flour; fifteen drops
of water  being added for every ounce of flour, or sufficient to form the paste.
It is applied in  cakes of from  a  twelfth  to  a  third of an inch in thickness,
and produces an eschar more or less  deep (from a line to  an  inch and a
half), according to the  thickness of the paste, the length of the application, 
1216
Zincum.
PART II.
 and the nature of the part acted on.  The strongest paste is applied  to
 lardaceous and fibro-cartilaginous structures; the second to  carcinomatous
 tumours, and very painful cancers which have not much thickness, and the
 third to cancerous affections in persons who have a dread of violent pain.
 These preparations, applied to the skin  denuded of its cuticle by means  of
 a blister, excite in a few minutes  a sensation of heat, and afterwards violent
 burning pain.   The eschar, which  is white, very hard, and thick, falls off,
 by the  aid of  an emollient poultice, between the eighth  and twelfth day.
 To destroy thick cancerous tumours, having an uneven surface, and situated
 in fleshy parts, Dr. Canquoin uses a caustic formed of one part of chloride
 of zinc, half a part of chloride of antimony, and two and a half of flour,
 made up with  water into a paste.  In all cases, the caustic is to be reapplied,
 after the falling off of the  eschar, until the whole morbid structure is de-
 stroyed.  Instead of flour, Dr. Alex. Ure, of Glasgow, mixes the chloride
 with pure  anhydrous sulphate of lime  in impalpable powder.   He states
 that it has  the  advantages of furnishing a porous medium from which the
 escharotic gradually exudes into the morbid structure, and of forming after-
 wards, by acquiring a firmer consistence, an impervious case  for the eschar.
 Mr. Calloway, of Guy's Hospital, has employed the chloride of zinc with
 considerable success in the treatment of naevi materni.  He rubs it at inter-
 vals on  the part until  the skin  becomes  slightly discoloured.   Mr. Guthrie
 has used it with success for penetrating the hard case of new bone which
 forms over a sequestrum, in order to expose the latter, so as to permit of its
 convenient extraction.  M. Gaudriot  recommends it in gonorrhoea in both
 sexes, as having remarkable remedial powers. For men he uses an injection
 composed of from 24 to  36 drops of the liquid  chloride, mixed with four
 fluidounces of water.  A small quantity only is injected about an inch down
 the urethra two or three  times  a  day.   For women he employs  a vaginal
 suppository, formed of five drops  of the liquid chloride, ha\f  a grain of sul-
 phate of morphia, and three drachms of a paste consisting of three parts  of
 starch, two of mucilage of tragacanth,  and one of sugar.  The suppository
 is  introduced every day,  or every second day.   By the  liquid chloride  is
 probably meant a neutral solution  of zinc in ordinaiy muriatic acid.
   For internal exhibition,  the most convenient form is solution in the spirit
 of sulphuric ether in the  proportion  of half an ounce of the chloride  to
 three fluidounces of the menstruum.   Of this from four to eight drops may
 be given twice a day.                                              B.
   ZINCI  OXIDUM.  U.S.,  Ed.   Zinci Oxydum. Lond., Dub.
 Oxide of Zinc.
   " Take of Sulphate of Zinc apound;  Carbonate of Ammonia six ounces
 and a half; Distilled Water three gallons.   Dissolve the Sulphate of Zinc
 and  Carbonate of Ammonia, separately, in twelve  pints of the  Distilled
 Water,  strain the solutions, and mix them. Wash the precipitate frequently
 with water, and expose it to a strong heat so as to  drive off the  carbonic
 acid." U.S.
   The London  process is essentially  the same  with the above, which was
 adopted from the London Pharmacopoeia.
   " Take of Sulphate of Zinc twelve ounces; Carbonate of  Ammonia six
 ounces.   Dissolve each in two pints [Imperial measure] of Water; mix the
 solutions; collect the precipitate on a  filter of linen or calico;  wash it tho-
 roughly; squeeze and dry it, and  expose it for  two  hours to a red heat."
Ed.
   " Take of Zinc, broken into  pieces, any quantity.  Throw  it at intervals 
PART II.
Zincum.
1217
 into  a  sufficiently deep  crucible heated to redness,  and placed with its
 mouth inclined  towards the mouth of the furnace.  After the injection off
 each piece of Zinc, cover  the crucible with another inverted over it, but
 loosely, so that the air may not be  excluded.   Preserve the light and very
 white sublimed powder for use." Dub.
   Oxide of zinc is now obtained in the U. S.,  London, and Edinburgh
 Pharmacopoeias by precipitating a solution of sulphate of zinc  by one of
 carbonate of ammonia, and then igniting the carbonate  of  zinc thus formed
 to drive off the carbonic acid.  During the precipitation, half an  equivalent
 of carbonic acid is given  off with effervescence from the  carbonate of am-
 monia,  which, it will be recollected, is a sesquicarbonate.  The old formula
 directed the precipitation of the sulphate by ammonia,  and it was supposed
 that the precipitate was the oxide of zinc; but it has been proved that it is
 not a pure oxide, but the  oxide mixed with the subsulphate of zinc.  The
 London College first abandoned  this process for the one  above  explained,
 and  its  example has been followed by the revisers of  the U. S.  and Edin-
 burgh Pharmacopoeias.   In the process of the  Dublin College the oxide is
 obtained by burning the metal.   Zinc melts at 773°, and immediately be-
 comes covered with a film of gray oxide.   When the  temperature reaches
 nearly to redness, it takes fire and burns with an intense white light, gene-
 rating the  oxide in the form of very light and white flocculi, resembling
 carded wool, which quickly fill the crucible, and  are in part driven into the
 atmosphere by the current of air.  It is  to  prevent loss from the latter cir-
 cumstance, that the crucible is inclined towards the mouth of the furnace, a
 position which prevents the axis of the crucible  from  coinciding with the
 direction of the draught.   The zinc is directed to be thrown into the cruci-
 ble in successive pieces;  but  a  better and more  expeditious  method is to
 put the  whole of the zinc, intended to be converted into oxide, into a cruci-
 ble large enough to be only two-thirds filled by it.  Heat being applied, the
 zinc soon melts, and afterwards catches fire, and  the oxide, as it is formed,
 is to be removed by means of a ladle with a long handle, until the whole of
 the metal is consumed.
   Properties, fyc.  Oxide  of zinc is  an inodorous, tasteless,  white powder,
 insoluble in water and alcohol.  It dissolves readily in acids and  in potassa,
 soda, and ammonia, but not in their carbonates.  When  heated moderately it
 becomes yellow; but upon cooling it regains its white colour, unless iron is
 present, when the yellow tint remains. At a low white heat it fuses, and at a
 full white one sublimes.  When  prepared by combustion, it was formerly
 called pompholix,  nihil album,  lana philosophica, and flowers of zinc.
 This oxide is often impure.  Much of that  sold  in the shops is  the carbo-
 nate and effervesces with  acids.   Its neutral solution in acids should give a
 white precipitate with ferrocyanuret of potassium and hydrosulphate of am-
 monia.   If the precipitate with the  former test is  bluish-white, iron is indi-
 cated; if black with the latter, lead is shown.   When obtained  by means
 of caustic ammonia, it will contain  the subsulphate, the acid of which may-
 be detected by  dissolving the oxide in  nitric acid, and precipitating by
nitrate of baryta.   The precipitate produced in the pure  salt  by ammonia
 should be entirely soluble  in an excess of the precipitant.  If iron  be present
it will be thrown down  and  left undissolved as a yellowish powder.  If the
 oxide contain white lead or chalk, it will not  be entirely soluble in dilute
sulphuric acid,  but an  insoluble sulphate of lead or of lime will be left
behind.   Oxide of zinc consists of one eq. of zinc 32-3, and one  of oxygen
8=40-3.
                                 103* 
1218
Zincum.
PART ii.
  Medical Properties and Uses. Oxide of zinc is tonic and antispasmodic.
It has been given in chorea, epilepsy, hooping-cough, spasm of the stomach
dependent on dyspepsia, and other similar affections.  Externally it is em-
ployed as an exsiccant to excoriated surfaces;  sometimes by sprinkling it
on the affected  part,  but generally in the form of ointment. (See Unguen-
tum Zinci Oxidi.) The dose is from two to eight  grains or more, several
times a day, given in the form of pill.
  Off. Prep. Unguentum Zinci Oxidi, U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.     B.
  ZINCI  SULPHAS.  U. S, Lond., Ed, Dub.  Sulphate of Zinc.
White  Vitriol.
  " Take  of  Zinc,  in  small pieces, four  ounces; Sulphuric Acid  six
ounces; Distilled Water four pints.  To the Zinc  and  Water, previously
introduced  into  a  glass vessel, add by degrees the Sulphuric Acid,  and,
when the effervescence shall have ceased, filter the solution through paper;
then boil it down  till a pellicle begins to form, and set it aside to crystal-
lize." U. S.
  " Take of Zinc, in  small pieces, five ounces; Diluted Sulphuric Acid
two pints  [Imperial measure].   Pour  gradually  the  Diluted Sulphuric
Acid upon  the pieces of Zinc, and,  the effervescence being finished, strain
the  liquor; then boil it down until a pellicle begins  to appear.   Lastly, set
it aside that crystals  may form." Lond.
  " This salt may be  prepared  either by dissolving fragments of Zinc in
Diluted  Sulphuric Acid till  a neutral liquid  be obtained, filtering the solu-
tion, and concentrating sufficiently  for it  to crystallize on cooling,—or by
repeatedly  dissolving and crystallizing the impure Sulphate of Zinc" of com-
merce, until the product when dissolved  in water does not yield  a black
precipitate  with  tincture of galls, and corresponds with the characters laid
down for Sulphate of Zinc in the list of the  Materia Medica."  Ed.
  "Take of Zinc, broken into small pieces, thirteen parts; Sulphuric Acid
twenty parts; Water one hundred and twenty  parts.  Put the Zinc into a
glass vessel, and gradually add the Acid, previously diluted with the Water.
When the  effervescence has ceased, digest for a little while.   Then filter
and evaporate the solution, and after sufficient concentration,  set  it aside
that crystals may form." Dub.
  By this  process,  a pure  and  crystallized  sulphate of  zinc  is obtained.
Strong sulphuric acid has very little action on zinc, but when  diluted,
water is instantly decomposed, and  while  its  hydrogen escapes with rapid
effervescence, its oxygen combines with  the  zinc,~and the oxide  formed,
uniting  with the sulphuric  acid, generates  the sulphate of the oxide of
zinc.  Thus it  is perceived that hydrogen  is a collateral product of the
process, which, being  easily performed, is  generally resorted to for ob-
taining this gas.   The proportion of the zinc  to the strong acid is as 4 to
6 in the U. S.  process;  as  4 to  5.33* nearly in the London;  and  as 4 to
6*15 in  the Dublin.   The equivalent numbers  give the ratio of 4 to 6-08;
which indicates that the U. S. numbers approach  very nearly to  the  true
proportion.  If the materials be mixed at once, without any precaution, the
effervescence of hydrogen is  apt to be excessive,  and to cause the over-
flowing of the liquid.  This is avoided by ihe London and Dublin direction
to add  the diluted acid gradually to the zinc, and more completely still in
the  U.S.  formula,  in which  the solution of the zinc  is  commenced by  a
very dilute acid, which, as the action slackens, is made by degrees stronger

  * This number is calculated on the assumption that a fluidounce [Imperial measure] of
the  London diluted acid contains eighty grains of strong acid. 
PART II.
Zincum.
1219
and stronger, by the addition,  at intervals, of small portions of fresh acid.
The formula of the  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia is a new one, adopted on the
last revision of that work.   It  embraces  directions  for  obtaining the salt
either by direct combination, or by purifying the white vitriol of commerce
from iron by repeated solutions and crystallizations.
   Preparation on the Large Scale.  Sulphate of zinc  in an impure  state,
as  it occurs in commerce,  is called  white vitriol.  It is manufactured by
roasting blende (native sulphuret of zinc) in a reverberatory furnace.  This
mineral,  besides sulphuret of  zinc, contains small quantities of the sul-
phurets of iron,  copper,  and  lead; and by roasting is  converted, in conse-
quence of the  oxidation of its constituents,  into sulphate of zinc,  mixed
with the  sulphates of iron, copper, and lead.  The roasted matter is then
lixiviated, and  the solution  obtained, after having been allowed to settle, is
concentrated by evaporation; so that,  on cooling,  it may  concrete into a
white crystalline mass,  resembling  lump sugar.  In  this stale,  it always
contains  sulphate of iron,  and sometimes a small  portion of sulphate of
copper.   It may be purified to a certain  extent by dissolving  it in water,
and boiling the solution with oxide of zinc, which converts the sulphates of
iron and  copper, by precipitating their bases, into sulphate of  zinc.   The
purified  solution is  then  decanted  or filtered,  and, after due evaporation, is
allowed  to crystallize.  It has  generally been proposed to purify the  white
vitriol of commerce by digesting its solution with metallic zinc, under an
impression that this is capable of precipitating all the foreign metals; but,
according to Berzelius, though it will precipitate copper readily,  it has no
action on the sulphate of iron.  The best way of separating iron is to add
to  the solution  of  the sulphate of zinc a filtered  solution of chlorinated
lime, which will sesquioxidize the iron and  render it insoluble.   (Dr. W.
R. Fisher in the Am.  Journ. of Pharm. viii. 107.)
   Properties, $*c.   Sulphate of zinc is a colourless transparent salt, having
a disagreeable, metallic, styptic taste, and crystallizing usually in small four-
sided prisms, terminated by four-sided  pyramids.   Its  crystals  have consi-
derable resemblance to those of sulphate of magnesia.  It effloresces slightly
in dry air, and, though neutral in composition, is  still capable of reddening
vegetable  blues.  It dissolves  in two  and a  half times  its weight of cold
water, and in less than its weight of  boiling water, and is insoluble in alco-
hol.  When heated, it dissolves in its water of crystallization,  which gradually
evaporates; and  by  a prolonged ignition, the  whole of  the acid  is expelled,
and the oxide of zinc left.  The caustic  alkalies throw down a white precipi-
tate of mixed  oxide and subsulphate,  which is  redissolved by  the  alkali
when added in excess.   If iron be present it is precipitated also, but not
redissolved.   The alkaline  carbonates  precipitate the  metal in  the state of
white carbonate.  Pure  sulphate of zinc  is precipitated white  by ferrocy-
anuret of potassium.  If copper be  present,  ammonia will produce a blue
tinge; if iron, the ferrocyanuret of  potassium  will cause a bluish-white pre-
cipitate  instead  of  a  white one.   Sulphate  of zinc  is  incompatible with
alkalies and alkaline carbonates, hydrosulphates, lime-water, and astringent
vegetable infusions.
   The impure commercial  variety  of sulphate of zinc, called white vitriol,
is in the  form of irregular opaque  masses,  having some  resemblance to
lump sugar.   The lumps usually present, here and  there, on the surface,
yellow stains, produced by the sesquioxide of iron. It is less soluble than the
pure  salt, on account of its  containing less water of crystallization.
   Composition.  Crystallized sulphate of zinc consists   of  one eq.  of 
1220
Zincum.
PART II.
sulphuric acid 40*1, one of oxide of zinc 40*3, and seven of water 63= 143*4.
The white vitriol of commerce contains but three eqs. of water.
  Medical Properties and Uses.   This salt  is  tonic,  astringent, and, in
large doses, a prompt emetic.   As  a tonic, it is supposed to be well suited to
cases of debility attended with irritation, being less heating than sulphate of
iron.  In dyspepsia it has been used with advantage in very minute doses,
as for instance, a quarter of a grain, repeated several times a day; but if its
good effects are not soon apparent, it should be laid aside.   In obstinate in-
termittents, it is a valuable  resource, and may be  given alone, or conjoined
with cinchona or sulphate of quinia.  But it is in  spasmodic diseases, such
as epilepsy, chorea, pertussis, &c, that it has been principally employed as
an internal remedy.   Dr. Paris speaks of its efficacy in high terms, in spas-
modic cough, especially when combined with  camphor or myrrh, and " in
affections of the chest attended with inordinate secretion."  As an astringent
it is chiefly employed externally.  In this mode of application, its solution
constitutes a good styptic to bleeding surfaces, and is frequently resorted to
as an injection  in fluor albus and the advanced stages of gonorrhoea, and as
a collyrium in ophthalmia.   In some conditions of ulcerated sorethroat, it is
found useful as a gargle.   It has been used also in solution with success as
a remedy in  nasal polypi, in the proportion of two scruples gradually in-
creased to an ounce of the salt to seven fluidounces of water, applied by
means  of lint and  by injection.   (Am. Journ.  of Med. Sci. xix. 251.)
Before the discovery of tartar emetic, sulphate of zinc was  almost exclu-
sively employed to produce vomiting; but at present its use as an emetic is
restricted principally  to the dislodging  of  poisons, for which purpose its
property of operating  rapidly renders it particularly well suited. The dose,
as a tonic, is from one to two grains; as an emetic, from ten to thirty  grains.
To children affected with hooping  cough, it may be given  in doses of from
an eighth to a quarter of a grain two or  three times a day.  When used as
a collyrium, injection, gargle, or wash for indolent ulcers, from one to three
grains, or more, may  be  dissolved  in a fluidounce of water.   For medical
purposes, the crystallized salt should be used, and in no  case the impure
white vitriol of commerce.
   Off. Prep. Liquor  Aluminis Compositus, Lond.; Zinci Acetatis Tinc-
tura, Dub.; Zinci Oxidum, U. S., Lond., Ed.                      B. 
APPENDIX.
I. DRUGS AND  MEDICINES NOT  OFFICINAL.*

   In the progress of the medical art, numerous remedies have at different
times risen into notice and employment, which, by the revolutions of opinion
to which our science is incident, or by the discovery of more efficient sub-
stitutes, have  so far fallen into  disrepute as to have been  discarded from
general practice, and no  longer to  hold a place in the officinal catalogues.
Of these, however, some are still occasionally employed by practitioners
and referred to by writers, and many retain a popularity as domestic reme-
dies, or among empirics, which they have lost with the medical profession
generally.  The attention of physicians must, therefore, frequently be called
to them in the course of practice; and it is highly desirable to possess some
knowledge of their properties and effects, in order to  be enabled to judge of
their agency in any particular case, and at the same  time to  avoid the sus-
picion of incompetence which might attach  to the exhibition of entire igno-
rance in relation  to them.   The remark is true also of other substances,
which, though at no time ranked among regular medicines, are yet habitually
employed in families, and the influence of which, either remediate or other-
wise, must  often enter into our estimate of the causes  which produce or
modify disease.  New medicines, moreover, are frequently brought forward,
which, without having obtained  the sanction of the medical  authorities,  are
occasionally prescribed, and  therefore merit notice.  To supply, to a certain
extent, the requisite  means of information in regard to these extra-officinal
remedies, is the object of the following brief notices,  among which are also
included accounts of substances not employed as medicines, but usually kept
in the drug stores for various  purposes  connected  with  the  arts, or with
domestic convenience. In a  work intended for the use as well of the apothe-
cary and druggist, as of the physician and medical student, the introduction
of such accounts is obviously proper, if  kept  in due subordination  to  the
more important object of  teaching the properties of medicines, and the mode
of preparing them.  The authors regret that the limits which practical con-
venience appears to require in a Dispensatory,  do not admit of a more com-
plete enumeration of  the various drugs  and medicines of the kind  above
alluded to, or of ampler details in relation to those actually treated of, than
will be found in the  following pages.   They have endeavoured, however,
in the selection of objects, to choose those which  are likely most frequently
to engage the attention of the Medical and Pharmaceutical professions, and,
in the extent of  the descriptions, to consult as far as possible the relative
importance of facts, of which they could  not detail  the whole.  In relation
to the nomenclature employed, it may be proper to observe, that all those
vegetable remedies, which, not being generally kept  in the shops, have  no
current commercial name, are described under the scientific title of the plant
producing them; while other substances are designated by the names which
ordinary usage has assigned  them.

  * By the term officinal medicines, here as well as elsewhere in this  work, are meant
euch at) are embraced in the United Slates and British Pharmacopoeias. 
1222
Appendix.
  ACETIC ETHER. JEther Aceticus.  This ether was discovered by Lauraguais, in
1759.  It may be formed by several processes, the chief of which are the following:—
1. Mix 100 parts of alcohol (sp.gr. 0-83)  with 63  parts of concentrated acetic acid,
and 17 parts of strong sulphuric acid, and distil 125 parts into a receiver, kept cold
with wet cloths.   2. Distil to dryness, a mixture of 3 parts of acetate of potassa, 3 of
alcohol, and 2 of sulphuric acid, and mix the distilled product with one-fifth  of sul-
phuric acid, and distil  a second  time  an amount of ether equal to the alcohol em-
ployed.   3. Distil 2 parts of effloresced acetate of lead, with 1 part of alcohol, and
a little more than  1 part of sulphuric acid.   In the two latter processes, the acetic
acid is set free by the action of the sulphuric acid  on the acetate employed.
  Acetic ether is colourless, and possesses a very grateful odour, and a peculiar, agree-
able taste.  Its sp. gr. is 0-866 and its boiling point 1G0°.   It undergoes no change by
being kept.  By contact of  flame, it burns readily, diffusing  an acid odour.  It dis-
solves in seven and a half parts of water, and unites in all proportions with alcohol.
It consists of one eq. of acetic acid 51-48, one of etherine 28-48, and one of water
9=88-96.   It is classed by Thenard as an organic-oxacid ether.
  Acetic ether is occasionally used in medicine as a stimulant and antispasmodic.
The dose is from fifteen to thirty drops, sufficiently diluted with water.  It is some-
times employed externally, in frictions, as a  resolvent, and for rheumatic pains.
  ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM.  Milfoil.  Yarrow.  This is  a perennial herb, com-
mon to the old and new continents, though  supposed to have been introduced into
this country from Europe.  It is abundant in old fields, along fences, and on the bor-
ders of woods and of cultivated grounds, throughout the  United States.  It is from a
foot to eighteen  inches high, and is distinguished  by its doubly pinnate minutely
divided  leaves, from which it derived the name of milfoil, and  by its dense corymb
of whitish flowers, which appear  throughout the  summer, from June  to September.
The whole herb is medicinal.  Both the flowers and leaves have  an agreeable, though
feeble aromatic odour, which continues after drying, and a bitterish, astringent, pun-
gent taste.   The aromatic properties are strongest in the flowers, the astringency in
the leaves.  The plant owes its virtues to a volatile oil, a bitter extractive, and tannin.
The oil, which may be obtained separate by distillation with water, has the peculiar
flavour of milfoil in a high degree.  The active principles are extracted both by water
and alcohol.  The medical properties of the  herb are those of a mild  aromatic tonic
and astringent.  In former times  it was  much used as a vulnerary, and was also
given internally for  the suppression of hemorrhages, and of profuse  mucous dis-
charges.  It has been recommended in intermittents, and as an antispasmodic in
flatulent colic, and various affections dependent on  nervous debility.   At present it
is little used.  In  some parts of Sweden it is said  to be employed as a substitute for
hops in  the preparation of beer, which it  is thought to render more intoxicating.   It
is most conveniently administered in  the form of infusion.  The volatile oil has been
given in the dose of twenty or thirty drops.
  ACT^-EA SPICATA. Baneberry.   Herb Christopher.  This is a perennial, herba-
ceous, European plant, growing in the woods of mountainous regions, and attaining
a height of two feet or more.  The root is of a dark brown colour, and bears some
resemblance to that of the Helleborus niger, for which it is said to be  occasionally
substituted in  some parts of continental Europe.  Its odour, in the recent state,  is
sweetish and rather  nauseous, but is in  great measure dissipated by drying.  The
taste is  bitterish and  somewhat acrid.  In its operation on the system, the  root  is
purgative and sometimes emetic, and is  capable, in over doses, of producing dan-
gerous effects.  It is unknown in this country.  We have, however, a native  species
of Actsea—the A. Americana of Pursh—of which there are two varieties—the alba and
rubra—distinguished  by the colour of their  berries, which in the former are white,
and in the latter red.  Th cy are sometimes called white and red cohosh, a name  derived
from the language of the Aborigines.   By some botanists they are considered as dis-
tinct species, under the name of Actsea alba, and Actsea rubra.   They grow in the rich
deep mould of shadowy and rocky woods, from Canada  to Virginia.  They are said
to have  been much esteemed by the Indians.   Their medical properties are probably
similar to those of the A. spicata.  The name baneberry, applied to different species
of Actasa, was derived from the reputed poisonous properties of their berries.
  ADIANTUM PEDATUM.  Maidenhair.   An indigenous fern, the leaves of which
are bitterish and aromatic, and have  been supposed to be useful in chronic catarrhs
and other pectoral affections.  A European species known by the same vulgar name,
is the A. Capillua  Veneris,  which has similar properties with the former, though
feebler,  and has been much used as a pectoral on the continent of Europe, from very 
Appendix.
1223
early times.  It is given in the form of infusion, sweetened with sugar or honey; and
a syrup prepared from it is popular in France, under the name of sirop de capillaire.
The name of maidenhair has also been given to the Asplenium Trichomanes, the leaves
of which have a mucilaginous, sweetish, somewhat astringent taste, and have been
nsed for the same purposes with those of the plants above mentioned.  Another
species of Asplenium, the A. Adiuntum-nigrum, has been substituted for the genuine
maidenhair, but neither of them has the aromatic flavour of that fern.
  ^ESCULUS HIPPOCASTANUM.  Horsecliesnut.  The horsechesnut is a native
of Asia, and was introduced about  the middle of the sixteenth century into Europe,
where, as well as in this country, it is now  extensively cultivated as an ornamental
tree.  The fruit and bark have been used in medicine.  The fruit abounds in starch,
but has a rough, disagreeable, bitter taste, which renders it unfit for food, though it is
said to be eaten with  avidity by horses, oxen, hogs, and sheep.  It  may be deprived,
in great measure, of the bitter principle by maceration in an alkaline solution.  It is
asserted that the starch may be readily  obtained in a state of purity, and that it excels
as  an article of diet that procured  from the potato.  (Diet, de Mat. Med.)   The pow-
dered kernel of the fruit, snuffed  up the nostrils, produces  sneezing, and has been
used with advantage as a sternutatory in complaints of the head and eyes. The bark
of  the  horsechesnut  has attracted much  attention on the continent of Europe, as a
substitute for cinchona.  That of  the  branches  from three to  five years old is con-
sidered best.  It should be collected in  the spring.  The bark has little odour, but an
astringent and bitter, though not very disagreeable taste.  It contains, among other
ingredients, bitter extractive and tannin, and imparts its virtues to boiling water.  By
numerous physicians it has been found very efficacious in the treatment of intermit-
tent fever; but has entirely failed in the hands of many others; and certainly cannot
be considered comparable to the Peruvian bark in its  power over this complaint.  It
is at present very seldom used, and never in this country.  It has been given in sub-
stance, decoction, and extract.  From half an ounce to an ounce of the powder may
be given in the course of twenty-four hours.  The decoction is prepared and admin-
istered in the same manner as that of Peruvian bark.
   AGARIC.  Touchwood.  Spunk.   Tinder.  This is the product of different species
of a genus of mushrooms denominated Boletus.  Several species  of this genus are
used as food,  several  are poisonous, and two  at  least have been ranked among
officinal medicines in Europe.  The Boletus laricis, which  grows upon the larch  of
the old world, is the white agaric or purging agaric, of medical writers.   It is of va-
 rious sizes, from  that of the fist to that of  a child's head, or even  larger, hard and
 spongy, externally brownish or reddish; but as found in commerce, is deprived of its
 exterior coat, and consists of a light, white, spongy,  somewhat farinaceous, friable
mass, which, though  capable of being  rubbed into powder upon a  sieve, is not easily
 pulverized in  the ordinary mode, as it flattens under the pestle.   It has a sweetish
 very bitter taste, and consists, according to Braconnot, of 72  parts of resinous matter,
 2 of bitter extractive, and 26 of fungin, a nutritious animalized principle, constituting
 the base of the fleshy substance of mushrooms.  It contains also  benzoic acid and
 various saline compounds.  In the dose of four or six grains it is said  to act power-
 fully as a cathartic; but Lieutaud asserts that it may be given in the quantity of thirty
 grains or a drachm without sensibly purging.  M.  Andral has  found it useful in
 checking  the night  sweats  of phthisis.  He uses it in doses of eight  grains, and
 gradually increases  to a drachm during  the day, without any  observable incon-
 venience to the digestive functions. (Journ. de  Pharm. xx.  599.)   In this country it
 is scarcely employed, though  we have met with it in the shops. That which is most
 esteemed is said to be brought from Siberia, but it is probably produced wherever tbs
 European larch tree  grows.
    The Boletus igniarius, or agaric  of the oak, like the  species just described, is com-
 pared in shape to the horse's hoof.  Its diameter is from six to ten inches.  It is soft
 like velvet when young, but afterwards becomes hard and ligneous.  It usually rests
 immediately upon the  bark of the  tree, without any supporting footstalk.  On th»
 upper  surface it is smooth, but marked with circular ridges  of different colours more
 or  less brown or blackish; on the under, it is whitish or yellowish and full of small
 pores; internally it is fibrous, tough, and of a tawny brown colour.   It is composed Of
 short tubular fibres compactly arranged in layers, one of which is added every  year.
 The best is that which grows on the oak, and the season for collecting it is August or
 September.  It has neither taste nor smell.  Its  constituents, according to Bouillon-
 Lagrange, are  extractive, resin in very small proportion, azotized matter also m 
1224
Appendix.
 small quantity, chloride of potassium, and sulphate of lime; and in its ashes are found
 iron and phosphate of lime and magnesia.  It is prepared  for use by removing the
 exterior rind or bark, cutting the inner part into thin slices,  and beating these with a
 hammer until  they become soft, pliable, and easily torn by the fingers.  In this state
 it was formerly much used by surgeons for arresting  hemorrhage, being applied im-
 mediately, with pressure, to the bleeding vessel.  It was at one time thought to check
 the hemorrhage  by a  peculiar property; but it is now believed to act mechanically,
 like any other  soft porous substance, by absorbing the blood and causing it to coagu-
 late, and is not relied  on in severe cases.  In the obstinate hemorrhage which occa-
 sionally takes  place from leech bites, especially those of the European leech, it may
 be  used advantageously, though perhaps not more so  than  well prepared lint.   It
 has been sometimes applied to the  purposes of moxa.
  When prepared agaric is steeped in a solution  of nitre, and afterwards dried, it
 becomes very  readily inflammable, and is applicable to the purposes of tinder. Some
 recommend the  substitution of chlorate of potassa for nitre. The  preparation  is
 usually known by the  name of spunk, and is brought to us from Europe.   Spunk or
 tinder, the amadou of the French, is in  flat pieces, of a consistence  somewhat like
 that of very soft  rotten  buckskin leather, of a brownish-yellow colour, capable of
 absorbing liquids, and inflammable by the  slightest spark.  It is said to be prepared
 from various other species of Boletus, as the B. ungulatus,B.fomentarius, B. ribis,Src.
  AGAVE AMERICANA.  American Agave.  American Abe.  An evergreen succu-
 lent plant, indigenous  in Florida, Mexico, and other parts of tropical America.  This
 and other species of Agave bear a considerable  resemblance, in appearance, to the
 plants of the  genus Aloe, with which they are  sometimes confounded.   From the
 root and leaves of the  American agave,  when  cut, a saccharine juice  flows out,
 which may be  converted by evaporation into syrup  and even  sugar, and by ferment-
 ation into a vinous  liquor.   This  juice, when fresh,  is said to be laxative, diuretic,
 and emmenagogue.  The expressed juice, evaporated to  the consistence of a soft
 extract, has  the property of forming a lather with water, and is employed in some
 places as a substitute for soap. The fibres of the eld leaves, separated by bruising
 and maceration in water, are used for forming thread.
  AGRIMONIA EUPATORIA.   Common Agrimony.  This  species  of agrimony is
 a perennial herb, inhabiting Asia, Europe, and North  America, and in this country,
 found in fields and on  the borders of woods, and flowering during the summer months.
 Its  stem, which  rises  from one to three feet in height, is hairy, furnished with inter-
 ruptedly pinnate leaves, and terminated by a long simple  spike  of  yellow flowers.
 Both the herb  and root have been employed.  The former has a weak but  agreeable
 aromatic odour, and a rough, bitterish, somewhat  aromatic  taste.  The fragrance is-
 strongest in the flowers.   The root has similar properties; but its taste is more bitter
 and astringent.  A volatile oil  may be obtained  from the plant by distillation with
 water.  Agrimony is a mild corroborant and  astringent.  The herb has  been con-
 siderably employed in relaxed conditions of disease, as in passive hemorrhages, and
 chronic affections of the  mueous membranes.  It has been highly recommended also,
 as a deobstruent in jaundice and  visceral  obstructions, and as an alterative in dis-
 eases of the  skin.  In Europe it is  said to be popularly used, in the form of gargle, in
 affections  of the  throat.  The Indians of  North America and the  Canadians are
 reported to have employed the root with advantage in  fevers. The  plant may  be
 given in substance, infusion, or decoction.  The dose of the powder is a drachm  or
 more.
  AJUGA  CHAM.<EPITYS.  Ground Pine.  Chamsepitys.  A low creeping, annual,
 labiate plant, a native  of Europe, and found also in some parts of  the  United States.
 The leaves,  which bear some resemblance to those of the pine  in shape, have a strong,
 peculiar, resinous, not disagreeable  odour, and a  bitter, balsamic taste.  They  yield
 by distillation  with water a small proportion of volatile oil, resembling that of turpen-
 tine.  They are said to be stimulant, diuretic, and aperient; and have been given in
rheumatism, gout, palsy, and amenorrhoea.  The  dose of the leaves in powder is one
 or two drachms; but their infusion in wine is considered the best preparation.
  The Ajuga reptans or common bugle, and  the  A. pyramidalis, perennial plants of
 Europe, have  also been  used in medicine.  They are nearly inodorous, but  have a
 somewhat astringent, bitterish, and saline taste.  Their virtues are probably those of
 a mild astringent and tonic.  They have been recommended in pulmonary consump-
 tion, haemoptysis and other hemorrhages, and in hepatic  obstructions, and have en-
 joyed considerable reputation as vulneraries; but they are at present nearly obsolete. 
Appendix.
1225
   ALCHEMILLA VULGARIS.  Ladies-mantle.  A perennial European herb, grow-
ing in meadows, on the banks of rivulets, and in the borders of woods. The  whole
plant has an astringent bitterish taste, which is strongest in the root.  It was formerly
employed in diarrhoea, and other complaints requiring the use of astringents.  By the
ancients it was highly esteemed; and extraordinary powers were ascribed to it by the
alchemists, from whom, according to Linnseus, it derived its generic title.
   ALCORNOQUE.   Under  this name, a bark was  introduced into  Europe from
South America, thirty or forty years since, and for a short time attracted considerable
attention.  It has been conjecturally referred by different writers to different plants,
but  its precise origin is unknown.  In the Dictionary of Materia Medica of Merat
and De Lens, it is described as being in large thick pieces, composed of two layers,
of which the external is reddish, cracked, granular, spongy, and two or three lines in
thickness, the internal lamellated, woody, and possessed of the property of imparting
a yellow colour to the saliva when  chewed.  It is inodorous.  The outer layer is of
an astringent, somewhat bitter taste, and was thought to have febrifuge powers; the
inner is much more bitter, and is decidedly emetic.  The bark was brought into no-
tice chiefly as a remedy in phthisis; but, failing to produce any favourable impression
upon that complaint in the hands of European practitioners, it has fallen into entire
neglect.  It was given in the form of powder, in the dose of thirty grains; or half an
ounce of it was boiled in a pint of water down to half a pint, and two or three table-
spoonfuls of the decoction were administered every two hours.  In these doses it acted
as an emetic.
   ALISMA  PL ANT AGO.   Water plantain. A perennial herbaceous plant, common
to Europe and the  United States, and growing in streams, pools, ditches, and other
standing waters.  The root has when fresh an odour like that of Florentine orris, but
loses it when  dried.  Its  taste is acrid and nauseous.  It acquired at one time con-
siderable credit as a preventive of hydrophobia, for which purpose it was said to have
been used with great  advantage in Russia; but subsequent experiments have proved
its total inefficacy.  The Calmucks are said to use it for food.  The leaves are rube-
facient, and will sometimes even blister when applied to the  skin.  They have been
recommended in gravel and complaints of the bladder, in the dose of a drachm.
   ALKANET.  This is the root of the Anckusa tinctoria, or dyer's alkanet, an  herba-
ceous perennial plant, growing in the Grecian Archipelago and the South of Europe.
The plant is said  in some medical works to be cultivated abundantly in the South of
France; but another plant is probably referred to—the Lithospermum tinctorium of Lin-
naeus and De Candolle (the Anchusa tinctoria of Lamarck), which is  a native of that
country, and the root of  which is considered  as  the true  alkanet by the French
writers.
   Alkanet, as found in the shops, is in pieces three or four inches in length, from the
thickness of a quill to that of the little finger, somewhat twisted, consisting of a dark-
red,  easily separable bark, and an internal ligne*ous portion, which is  reddish exter-
nally, whitish near the centre, and composed of numerous distinct, slender, cohering
fibres.  As it comes to us it is usually much decayed internally, very light, and of a
loose almost spongy texture.  The fresh root has a faint odour, and a bitterish astrin-
gent taste; but when dried  it is nearly inodorous and insipid.  Its colouring principle,
which abounds most in the cortical part, is soluble in  alcohol, ether, and the oils, to
which it imparts a fine deep red; but is insoluble in water.  It may be obtained sepa-
rate by first exhausting the root with water, and then treating it with a weak solution
of the carbonate of potassa or soda, from which the colouring principle  may be pre-
cipitated by an acid.   According to Pelletier, by whom it was discovered, it possesses
decided  acid properties, uniting with  the  alkalies and  earths to form neutral com-
pounds, which are of  a blue colour, and have the singular  property of being soluble
in alcohol and ether.  He calls it anchusic acid, and states that it is capable of being
sublimed unchanged.   (Journ. de Pharm. xix. 105.)  The tincture of alkanet has its
colour deepened by the acids, changed to blue by the alkalies, and again restored by
neutralizing the latter substances.  It may, therefore, be used as a test.  The extract
obtained by evaporating the tincture is dark brown.
   Alkanet root is somewhat astringent, and was formerly applied to the treatment of
several diseases; but it is now employed exclusively for colouring oils, ointments, and
plasters, which are beautifully reddened by one-fortieth of their weight of the root.
It is said also to be used in the preparation of spurious Port wine.
  ALLIARIA OFFICINALIS.  Erysimum Alliaria, Linn.  Hedge Garlic.  A  peren-
nial  European herb,  having when rubbed an  odour  like  that of garlic, and of  a
bitterish somewhat acrid taste.  When eaten it communicates an alliaceous smell to
        104 
1226
Appendix.
the breath.  The herb and seeds are esteemed diuretic, diaphoretic, and expectorant,
and have been given in humoral  asthma, chronic catarrh, and other complaints in
which garlic is considered useful.   The herb has also been recommended as  an ex-
ternal application in gangrenous affections, and to promote suppuration.
  ALNUS GLUTINOSA.  Common European Alder.  A European tree, of twenty-
five feet or more in height, growing in swamps, on the sides of streams, and in other
damp places.  The bark and leaves are very astringent, and  somewhat bitter. The
former has been used in intermittent fever, the latter as a topical remedy in wounds
and ulcers.  The bruised leaves are sometimes applied to the breast for the purpose
of repelling the milk.  The cones  also are said to be astringent, and to form a useful
gargle in  complaints of the throat.  All these  parts of the tree are  used in dyeing,
and the leaves and bark in tanning. The Alnus serrulata, or common American alder,
has properties analogous to those  of the European species.
  AMBERGRIS.  Ambra grisea.   This substance, which is found floating on the sea,
or thrown by the waves upon the shores of various countries, particularly  in the
southern hemisphere, is now generally believed to  be produced in the intestines of
the Physeter macrocephalus or spermaceti whale, and perhaps in those of some other
fish.  It is in roundish or amorphous pieces, usually small, but  sometimes of con-
siderable  magnitude;  and masses have  been found weighing 50, 100, or even 200
pounds.   These pieces are often composed of concentric layers.   They are of vari-
ous colours, usually gray, with brownish, yellow, and white streaks, often dark brown
or blackish on the external surface.  They are opaque, lighter than water, and of a
consistence like that of wax.   Ambergris has a peculiar  aromatic agreeable odour,
is almost  tasteless, softens with the warmth of the hand, melts under 212°, is  almost
completely volatilizable by heat, and takes fire when heated  in the  open air. It is
insoluble  in water, but is readily dissolved, with the aid of heat, by alcohol, ether,
and the volatile and fixed oils.  It consists chiefly of a peculiar fatty matter analogous
to cholesterin, and denominated by Pelletier  and Caventou ambrein. This  may be
obtained by treating ambergris with heated alcohol, filtering the solution, and allow-
ing it to stand.  Crystals of ambrein are deposited.  It differs from most other fatty
matters in not forming soaps with the alkalies. When pure it has little or no odour.
The other constituents of ambergris do not appear  to have been  thoroughly investi-
gated.  It is often  adulterated;  but does  not then exhibit its ordinary fusibility and
volatility.  Ambergris was long regarded as a cordial and antispasmodic, somewhat
analogous to musk in its mode of action; and has been recommended in typhoid
fevers, and various nervous  diseases.  It formerly entered into a  great variety of
officinal preparations, and is still retained by some of  the Pharmacopoeias of the
continent  of Europe.   It is, however, in all probability, very feeble in  remediate
power, and is much more used in perfumery than in  medicine.  The dose is from
five grains to a drachm.
  AMMONIO-TARTRATE OF IRON.  Ferri Ammonio-tartras.   This salt was first
employed by Mr. Aikin, of London.  According to Mr. Wm. Procter, Jr., of this city,
it is best prepared by dissolving to saturation, freshly precipitated hydrated  sesqui-
oxide of iron in a solution  of bitartrate  of ammonia.  The bitartrate may be made
by saturating fifty drachms of tartaric acid, dissolved in a gallon of water, with car-
bonate of ammonia, and then adding fifty drachms of the acid to the solution formed.
This is heated, by means of a water-bath, with the fresh hydrated sesquioxide, derived
from fifty-three and a third drachms of U. S. subcarbonate of iron, dissolved in muriatic
acid and precipitated by ammonia. The sesquioxide is dissolved, and a deep reddish-
brown solution results, which is  evaporated to dryness  by means of a water-bath.
This double salt, when prepared in small quantities, is in brilliant scales, dark-brown
in mass, but gamet-red by transmitted light.   When obtained in  considerable quan-
tities, it forms angular grains, resembling kino.  It  is very soluble in water, and has
a strongly saccharine  taste.  Its aqueous solution undergoes  no change by a  boiling
temperature.  According to an analysis by Mr. Procter, it consists of one eq. of ses-
quioxide of iron,  one of ammonia, two of tartaric acid, and four of water.  (See Mr.
Procter's  paper in the Am. Journ.  of Pharm. xii. 275.)
   This salt has the general properties of the other  ferruginous compounds.  Its ad-
vantages  are its ready solubility,  palatable taste, and permanency.  The dose is five
grains or more, given in pill or solution.  For a notice  of the tartrate of protoxide
of iron, see page 959.
   ANACARDIUM OCCIDENT ALE, Linn.   Cassuvium, pomiferum, Lam.  Cashew-
nut. A small and elegant tree, growing in the West Indies, and other parts of  tropical
America.  A gum exudes spontaneously from the bark, which  bears some resem- 
Appendix.                          1227
blance in appearance to gum Arabic, but is only in part soluble in water, and con-
sists of proper gum and bassorin.  It is the gomme d'acajou, of the French writers.
The fruit is more important.  It is a fleshy,  pear-shaped receptacle, supporting at its
summit, a hard, shining, ash-coloured, kidney-shaped nut, an inch or more in length,
and three-quarters of an inch broad, consisting of two shells, with a black juice between
them, and of a sweet oily kernel within the inner shell.   The receptacle is of a red or
yellow colour, and of an agreeable sub-acid flavour with some astringency.  It is
edible, and affords a juice which has been recommended as a remedy in dropsy.  This
juice is converted by fermentation into a vinous liquor, from which a spirit is obtain-
ed by distillation, much used in making punch, and said  to be powerfully diuretic.
The nuts are well known under the name of cashew-nuts.  The black juice contained
between their outer and inner shell, is extremely acrid and corrosive, producing when
applied to the skin, severe inflammation, followed by blisters or desquamation of the
cuticle.  It is used in the West Indies for the cure of  corns, warts, ringworms, and
obstinate ulcers, and is said to be sometimes applied to the face by females in order
to remove the cuticle, and  produce a fresher and more  youthful aspect.   The worst
case of external poisoning which  has ever come under our notice, was produced in
a lady who was exposed to the fumes  of the nut  while roasting.   The face  was so
much swollen that for some time not a feature was discernible.   The kernel, when
fresh, has a sweet, agreeable taste, and is eaten like chestnuts, either raw or roasted.
It is also used as an  ingredient of puddings, &c, and forms an  excellent chocolate
when ground with cocoa.  By age it becomes rancid and loses its agreeable flavour.
The black juice of the nut, and a  milky juice which flows from the tree by incision,
are  sometimes used for marking linen, upon which  they leave a nearly indelible
brown or black stain.
  ANAGALLIS ARVENSIS. Scarlet Pimpernel.   An  annual plant, growing in Eu-
rope and this country, with small, delicate,  procumbent stems, furnished with oppo-
site branches, opposite ovate  leaves, and small scarlet flowers, which are supported
upon axillary, solitary peduncles,  and  appear in June and July.   It is inodorous, and
has a bitterish somewhat acrid taste.  The ancients esteemed it a counter-poison, and
in modern times it  has been used as a preventive of hydrophobia;, but at present
no faith is placed in its alexipharmic powers. It is, nevertheless, not wholly inac-
tive; as Orfila found three drachms of an extract prepared from it sufficient to destroy
a dog, with marks of inflammation of the bowels. It  has been recommended as a
local application in old and ill-conditioned ulcers, and has been given internally in
visceral obstructions, consumption, dropsy, epilepsy,  mania, &c. But too  little is
known of its precise properties, to authorize its indiscriminate employment in these
complaints.   Another species, considered by Linnaeus as a mere variety of the A.
arvensis, is the A. ccerulea, distinguished by its blue flowers.  It is incorrectly desig-
nated by the older writers as the female plant, the  former being called male. The
medical properties of the two, so far as is known, are the same.
  ANCHUSA OFFICINALIS. Bugloss.  This species of Anchusa is a native of
Europe, and unknown in the United States.  It is a biennial plant, from one to three
feet high, and was  formerly much  esteemed as a medicine.  The root, leaves, and
flowers, were all officinal.   These are inodorous, and  nearly tasteless.  The root is
mucilaginous and slightly sweetish, and the  flowers very feebly bitter.  The plant has
no claim whatever to the credit, formerly attached to it, of possessing cordial and ex-
hilarating properties.  It was used by  the ancients in hypochondriacal affections;  but
as it was given in wine, the elevation  of spirits experienced may with propriety be
ascribed to the vehicle.  In France, the Anchusa Italica, which is there known as
buglosse, is employed for the same purposes and in the same manner as the  Borago
officinalis.
  ANDROMEDA ARBOREA. Sorrel-tree.  A beautiful indigenous tree,  growing in
the valleys of the Alleghany mountains, from Pennsylvania  to Florida.  The leaves
have a very pleasant acid  taste, which has given rise to the common name of the tree.
They are  frequently used by hunters  to allay thirst, and in decoction they form a
grateful refrigerant drink in fevers.
  The other species of Andromeda are shrubs, and some of them are ornamental.  Dr.
Barton, in his " Collections," states that a decoction of the A. Mariana is usefully em-
ployed in the Southern States, as a wash in  a disagreeable ulceration of the feet to
which the negroes are liable.  The powder upon the leaves and buds of the A. speciosa
is said to be a powerful errhine.
  ANEMONE  PRATENSIS. Meadow Anemone.  This plant enjoyed at one time con-
s iderable credit from the recommendation of Storck, who  believed that he had found 
1228
Appendix.
 it useful in amaurosis and other complaints of the eye, in secondary syphilis, and in
 cutaneous eruptions.  The A. Pulsatilla, an analogous species, has been employed for
 similar purposes;  and favourable reports have been made of its efficacy in obstinate
 diseases of the skin, and in hooping-cough.   The preparation employed was an  ex'
 tract of the herbaceous part of the plant, which was given by Storck in the dose of
 one or two grains  daily, gradually increased to twenty grains or more.  In large doses
 it was found frequently to produce nausea and vomiting, or griping and looseness of
 the bowels, and sometimes acted as a diuretic.  The species of Anemone above men-
 tioned are European plants, and are not cultivated in this country.  We have several
 native species, which, however, are  not employed.  One of  them, the A. nemorosa,
 which is common to Europe and the United States, is said to act as apoison to cattle,
 producing bloody urine and convulsions.  It is stated also to have proved, when ap-
 plied to  the head, a speedy cure for  tinea capitis.  Most of the species are, in the
 recent state, acrid and rubefacient, resembling in this  respect other Ranunculaceae,
 to which family they belong.  They contain a peculiar crystallizable principle, named
 anemonin, which is converted into anemonic acid by the action  of alkalies.   (Annalen.
 der Pharm. xxxii. 276.)
   ANIME. Gum Anime.  The substance  known  at present by the name ofanime, is
 a resin supposed to be derived from the Hymencea Courbaril, a tree of South America;
 though this origin is denied by Hayne, and is at least doubtful. It is in small, irregu-
 lar pieces, of a  pale  lemon-yellow colour, sometimes  inclining  to reddish, more or
 less transparent, covered with a whitish powder, brittle and pulverizable, with a shin-
 ing fracture, a weak but agreeable odour, and a mild resinous taste.  It softens in the
 mouth, adheres  to the fingers when  in the state of powder, and readily melts  with
 heat, diffusing its agreeable odour in an increased degree.  It  consists of two distinct
 resins, one soluble, the other insoluble in cold alcohol, and  of a small proportion of
 volatile oil.  There is a variety of a  darker colour, less transparent, and exhibiting
 small cavities in the interior; in other respects resembling  the preceding.   Another
 variety of anime is the East Indian, supposed to be derived from the Valeria Indica;
 but this never reaches us as a distinct article of commerce.  Anime formerly entered
 into the composition of various ointments  and plasters; but is now used only as  in-
 cense, or in the preparation of varnishes.  The Brazilians are said to employ it inter-
 nally in diseases of the lungs.
   ANNOTTA.  Orleana.  The colouring substance called annotta, arnotta,  or roucou,
 is the reddish pulp surrounding the seeds in the fruit of the Bixa Orellana, a middling
 sized tree growing in Guiana, and other parts of South America.  The pulp is sepa-
 rated by bruising the fruit, mixing it with water, then straining through a sieve, and
 allowing the liquid to stand till the undissolved portion subsides.  The water is then
 poured off, and the mass which remains, having been sufficiently dried, is formed into
 flat cakes or cylindrical rolls, and sent into the market.   Annotta is of a brownish-
 red colour, usually rather soft, but hard and brittle when  dry, of a dull fracture, of a
 sweetish peculiar odour, and a rough, saline, bitterish  taste.  It is inflammable, but
 does not melt with heat.  It softens in water, to which it imparts a yellow colour, but
 does not dissolve.  Alcohol, ether, the oils,  and alkaline solutions dissolve the greater
 part of it. The chief uses to which it is applied, are for dying silk and cotton orange-
 yellow, and for colouring cheese.  The colour, however, which it imparts to  cloth is
 fugitive.  It has been given internally as a medicine; but is not now used, and pro-
 bably exercises little influence upon the system.  In pharmacy it is occasionally used
 to colour plasters, and has sometimes been substituted for  saffron.  It is said to  be
 sometimes largely adulterated; and red ochre, powdered bricks, and colcothar have
 been employed  for the  purpose.  If these substanees be present, they will be  left
 behind when the annotta is burned.
  ANTHRISCUS  CEREFOLIUM. De Cand.  Chxrophyllum sativum. Lam. Scandix
 Cerefolium. Linn.  Chervil.  An annual  European plant, cultivated in gardens as a
 pot-herb, and supposed by some physicians  to possess medicinal powers.  It has a
 strong agreeable odour, especially when  rubbed, and a pungent slightly bitterish
 taste.  These properties it owes to a volatile oil, which may be separated by  distilla-
 tion with water.  It is said to be deobstruent, diuretic, and emmenagogue, and has
 been recommended by different authors in consumption, scrofula, dropsy, cutaneous
 and scorbutic affections, and as an external application to swollen breasts, bruises,
and other local complaints or  injuries.  It  is, however, a very feeble remedy, and is
more employed as an addition to broths than as a medicine.
  ANTIRRHINUM LINARIA, Linn.  LINARIA VULGARIS,  Lindley.   Common
 Toadflax.  This species of Antirrhinum is a perennial herbaceous plant, from one to 
Appendix.
1229
two feet high, with numerous narrow linear leaves, and a terminal crowded spike of
large yellow flowers.  It is a native of Europe, but has been introduced into this
country, where it is now naturalized, and grows in great abundance along the road
sides, throughout the Middle States.  It is readily distinguishable  by the shape of its
leaf, and by its conspicuous  yellow flowers, which appear in succession from June
to October.  The herb is the part used.  It should be collected when in flower, dried
quickly, and kept excluded from the air.  When fresh it has a peculiar, heavy, rather
disagreeable odour, which is in a great measure dissipated by drying.  The taste is
herbaceous, weakly saline, bitter, and slightly acrid. This plant is said to be diuretic
and cathartic, and has been used in  dropsy, jaundice, and various  cutaneous erup-
tions.  It is most conveniently employed in the state of infusion.  The fresh plant is
sometimes applied externally, in  the shape  of poultice  or fomentation, to hemor-
rhoidal tumours, and an ointment made from the flowers has been employed for the
same purpose, and also as a local application in diseases of the skin.
   AQUA  BINELLI.   An Italian nostrum, named after a physician of Turin, which
at one time enjoyed great reputation  in Europe as a styptic; but has been proved to
possess very little efficacy.  It was  a transparent liquid, with little  taste and an empy-
reumatic odour, and,  after the  discovery of creasote, was conjectured to  contain a
small proportion of that principle.  It is now out of use.
  AQUILEGIA VULGARIS.  Columbine. A perennial herbaceous plant, indigenous
in Europe, but cultivated in our gardens as an ornamental flower.  All parts of it
have  been medicinally employed.  The roots, leaves, and flowers have a disagree-
able odour, and a bitterish,  acrid taste.   The seeds are small,  black, shining,  in-
odorous,  and of  an oleaginous sweetish taste, followed by a sense of acrimony.
Columbine has been  considered diuretic, diaphoretic, and antiscorbutic, and  has
been employed in jaundice, in small-pox to promote the eruption, in scurvy, and ex-
ternally as  a vulnerary.  It is not  used at present, and is even suspected to possess
dangerous properties, like most other plants of the natural order of Ranunculaceae to
which it belongs.
  ARECA NUT.  Betel Nut.   This is  the  product of the Areca Catechu, an East
India tree belonging to the family of palms.  The fruit, which  is  about the size and
shape of a small egg, and of an orange-yellow colour, contains the nut embedded  in
a fibrous fleshy envelope, and invested with a brittle shell which adheres to the ex-
terior flesh.  The kernel, which is the betel-nut of commerce, is of a roundish-conical
shape, rather larger than a chestnut, externally of a deep-brown, diversified with a
fawn  colour, so as to present a reticular appearance, internally brownish-red with
whitish veins, very hard, of a feeble odour when broken, and of an astringent, some-
what acrid taste.  It abounds in tannin, and contains also gallic acid, a fixed oil, gum,
a little volatile oil, lignin, and various saline substances.   It yields its astringency to
water; and, in  some parts of Hindostan, an extract is prepared  from it having the
appearance and properties of catechu.  Immense quantities  are consumed in the
East, mixed with the leaves of the Piper Betel, and with lime, forming the mastica-
tory so well known by the name of betel.  The red colour which this mixture imparts
to the saliva and the excrements is owing to the Areca nut, which is also powerfully
astringent, and, by its  internal use, tends to counteract  the relaxation of bowels  to
which the heat of the climate so strongly predisposes.  The nut is used in this
country almost exclusively in the preparation of tooth-powder, for which purpose it
is first reduced by heat  to the state of charcoal.   The superiority of this  form  of
charcoal over  that from  other sources is  probably owing to the extreme hardness of
its particles.
  ARSENIATE  OF  AMMONIA.  Ammoniae Arsenias.   This salt is  obtained  in
crystals by saturating  a concentrated solution of arsenic acid with ammonia or car-
bonate of ammonia, and allowing it to evaporate spontaneously.  It has been used
with advantage by Biett,  as an internal remedy, in several inveterate diseases of  the
skin.   It is given in solution, formed by dissolving a grain of the salt in a fluidounce
of distilled water.  Of this the dose is from twenty to twenty-five  drops, given in the
course of the day, and gradually increased.
   ARSENIATE  OF IRON.   Ferri Arsenias.  This salt may be formed by double
decomposition,  by adding a  solution of sulphate of iron to one of arseniate of soda.
It precipitates in the form of  a dirty-green powder.  It has been used by Carmichael,
diluted with four times its weight  of phosphate of iron,  as  a  caustic application to
cancerous ulcers.  It may be made into ointment by being mixed with twelve times
its weight of spermaceti cerate.  Internally it has been given in cancerous affections,
in the form of pill, in the dose of a sixteenth of a grain,  three times a day.
                                     104* 
1230
Appendix.
  ASPARAGUS OFFICINALIS.  Asparagus.  This well known  plant, so abun-
dantly cultivated as a garden vegetable, is a native of Europe.  It is perennial  and
herbaceous.  The root, which  is inodorous, and of a weak sweetish taste, was  for-
merly used as a diuretic, aperient, and purifier of the blood; and it is stated to be  still
employed to a considerable extent in France.  It is given in the form of decoction,
made in the proportion of  one or two ounces of the root to a quart of water.   Hayne
asserts that, in the dried state, it is wholly inert.   The young shoots, as every  one
knows, are much used in spring as  an article of diet.  Before being boiled they have
a disagreeable taste; and their juice was found by Robiquet and Vauquelin to contain
a peculiar  crystallizible  principle,  called asparagin (see  p. 76), which, however, is
not known  to exert any special influence on the system.  The sprouts themselves
are not without effect, as  the urine acquires a disagreeable odour very soon after
they have been eaten.  They are considered by some writers as diuretic, aperient,
and deobstruent, and as constituting a very wholesome  and useful article  of diet,
early in the spring, when  so few vegetables are to be obtained.  Broussais thought
that they exerted a sedative influence over the heart, and recommended them espe-
cially in hypertrophy and other diseases of that organ attended with excessive action,
and without phlogosis of the stomach.  M. Gendrin, however, after much experience
with asparagus,  affirms  that he has never found it to  exercise the slightest influence
over the  actions of the heart, and ascribes  its palliative effects in  diseases  of  that
organ, to its diuretic action.  From the experiments  of  M. Gendrin it appears,  that
this medicine operates powerfully on the kidneys. He found it, in all the cases in
which he administered it, to increase the quantity of urine, which, in some instances
was quintupled.  The most convenient forms for exhibition  are those of syrup  and
extract, prepared from the  shoots.  The former may  be  given in the dose of one or
two fluidounces, the latter  of half a drachm or a drachm. The  syrup may be made
by adding  a sufficient quantity of sugar to  the  expressed juice of the shoots,  pre-
viously deprived of its albumen by exposure to heat and by filtration; the extract, by
evaporating the same juice to  the consistence  of a pilular mass.  The berries are
capable of undergoing the vinous fermentation,  and affording  alcohol by distillation.
In their unripe state they possess the same properties as the shoots, and probably in
a much higher degree.   We have  employed a  syrup prepared  from them, with ap-
parent advantage, in a case of diseased heart.
  ASPLENIUM FILIX FCEMINA.  R. Brown.   Female Fern.  This is the Polypo-
dium Filix foemina of Linn, the Aspidium Filix faemina of Swartz, and the Athyrium
Filix fosmina of Roth.   It has  a root analogous in character to that of the male  fern
(Aspidium Filix mas), and has been supposed to possess similar vermifuge properties.
At present, however, it is  not used.  The vulgar name of female fern has also been
bestowed upon the Pteris aquilina, or common brake, which  is asserted by some authors
to have the property of destroying the  tape-worm.   The leaves of two species of
Asplenium, the  A. Trichomanes or common  spleenwort, and A. Adiantum-nigrum, or
black spleenwort, are somewhat mucilaginous, and have been  used as substitutes for
the Maidenhairs (Adianfum Capillus Veneris and A. pedatum) as pectorals, though des-
titute of the aromatic  flavour, which is, perhaps, the chief recommendation of these
plants.
  BALM OF GILEAD.  Balsam  of Gilead.  Balsamum Gileadense. Baume de la
Mecqiie, Fr.  The genuine balm of Gilead is the resinous juice of the Amyris Gile-
adensis of  Linn., the Balsamodendron Gileadense of Kunth,  a small evergreen tree,
growing on the  Asiatic  and African shores of the Red Sea.  It was in high repute
with the ancients, and still retains  its value in the estimation of the eastern nations,
among whom it is employed both  as a medicine and cosmetic. In western Europe,
and in this country, it is seldom found in a state  of purity, and its use has been en-
tirely abandoned.  It is described  as a turbid,  whitish,  thick, gray, odorous liquid,
which becomes  solid by exposure.   It possesses no medical properties which do not
exist in other balsamic or  terebinthinate juices.  It was formerly known by the name
of opobalsamum,- while the dried twigs of the tree  were called xylvbalsamum, and the
dried fruit, carpobakamum.
  BALSAM OF SULPHUR. This name was formerly given to a substance resulting
from the reaction of sulphur upon olive oil at a high temperature.  It was directed
in  the old  Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, under the  name of Oleum Sulphuratum,- but
was discharged from that work at the late revision. The directions of the College
were to boil eight parts of  olive oil and one part of sublimed sulphur together, with a
gentle fire, in a large iron pot, stirring them constantly till they unite.  The  iron pot
should be large enough  to hold three times the quantity of the materials employed, as 
Appendix.
1231
the mixture might otherwise boil over.  As the vapours which rise are apt to take fire,
a lid should be at hand to cover the pot, and thus extinguish the flame if necessary.
Sulphur is soluble to a considerable extent in heated oil, from which, if the solution
be saturated, it is  deposited in a crystalline state  on cooling.   But it is not a mere
solution which this process is intended to effect.  The oil is partly decomposed, and
the resulting preparation is an extremely fetid, acrid, viscid, reddish-brown fluid.  In
order that it may be obtained, the oil must be heated to the boiling point.  Sulphurated
oil or balsam of sulphur was formerly thought useful in chronic catarrh, consumption,
and other pectoral complaints; but inconvenience has arisen from its acrid properties,
and its internal use has been abandoned.  It is said to be sometimes applied as a stimu-
lant to foul ulcers. The dose is from five to thirty drops.
  BAPTISIA TINCTORIA.  Sophora tinctoria, Linn.  Podalyria tinctoria, Michaux.
 Wild indigo.  This is an indigenous perennial  plant, found  in all parts of the United
States,  growing abundantly in woods and  dry barren uplands.  It  is from one  to
three feet high, with a smooth, very branching stem, small,  ternate, cuneate-obovate,
bluish-green leaves, and yellow flowers, which appear in July and August, and, like
the whole plant, become black when dried.  The root, which is the part most highly
recommended, is of a dark-brown colour, inodorous, and of  a nauseous, somewhat
acrid taste.   Its virtues appear to reside chiefly in the cortical portion. In large quan-
tities, it is said to operate violently as an emetic and cathartic;  but in smaller doses, it
produces only a mild  laxative effect.  Its  general influence upon the system has not
been  accurately investigated.  It is said to have proved useful  in scarlatina, typhus
fever, and in that state of system which attends gangrene or mortification.   Dr. Thacher
speaks highly of its efficacy as an external application to obstinate and painful ulcers;
and Dr. Comstock, of Rhode Island, found  it  extremely useful, both as an internal
and external remedy, in threatened or existing mortification.  By the latter physician
it was given in decoction, made in the proportion of an ounce of the root to a pint of
water, of which half an ounce  was administered every four or eight hours, any tend-
ency to operate on the  bowels  being checked with laudanum.   It may be  used ex-
ternally in the form of decoction or  cataplasm.  The stem and leaves are said  to
possess the  same virtues as the root, though in a less degree.  A pale blue colouring
substance has been prepared from the plant as a substitute for indigo, but  is greatly
inferior.
  BASSORA GUM.  We  are wholly ignorant of the plant which yields this  sub-
stance.  It came into commerce  originally from the neighbourhood of  Bassora, on
the Gulf of Persia, but is frequently found mixed with gum brought from other coun-
tries, and is probably not  the  product  of one plant exclusively.  It is  in  irregular
pieces, of various sizes, never very large, white or yellow, intermediate in the degree
of its transparency between gum Arabic and tragacanth,  inodorous, tasteless, and
possessed of the property of yielding a slight sound when broken under the  teeth.
But a small  portion of  it is soluble in water, whether hot  or cold.  The remainder
 swells  up  considerably, though  less than tragacanth, and does not, like that sub-
stance, form a gelatinous  mass, as it  consists of independent granules which have
little  cohesion.  The soluble portion is pure gum, or as it is  now sometimes named
arabin,- and,  according to M. Guerin, constitutes 11-2 per cent.  The insoluble portion
consists of a peculiar principle called bassorin, associated with a small proportion of
various saline  substances,  which yield, when the gum is burnt, 5-6 per cent, of ashes.
The gum is useless both in medicine and pharmacy, and is  described  here only as
an object to be avoided, and  as affording  a principle  which enters into the com-
position of several officinal substances, and the nature of which, therefore,  should
be known.
   Bassorin is insoluble  in water, alcohol, and ether, but softens  and swells up in hot
or cold water.  Diluted nitric and  muriatic acids, with the aid of heat, dissolve it
almost entirely.   The acidulous  solution, concentrated by evaporation, and treated
with  alcohol, lets  fall a flocculent  precipitate which has all  the characters of pure
gum, into wrhich the bassorin  appears to have been converted  by the action of the
acid.  This does not, however, constitute more than a tenth part of the bassorin dis-
 solved.  By gradually evaporating  the  alcoholic acidulous solution, a thick bitterish
liquid is obtained, which exhales a  strong odour of ammonia when treated with po-
tassa.  Strong nitric acid converts bassorin into mucic and oxalic acids; and, treated
with sulphuric acid, it yields a sweet crystalline substance which is incapable of the
vinous fermentation. (Guerin.) Vauquelin was the first to call attention  to this prin-
ciple, upon which he conferred its present name, from having first observed it in the
Bassora gum.   Buchholz  afterwards discovered the same or a closely analogous 
1232
Appendix.
principle in tragacanth; and John, a principle which was supposed to be the same, in
the gum of the  cherry tree; hence  it has sometimes  been called trugacanthin and
cerasin.  M. Guerin, however, has demonstrated that the insoluble principle  of the
cherry gum is essentially different from bassorin.  Berzelius considers the latter as
belonging to the  class of substances which he associates together under the name of
mucilage, and of which examples are furnished in the mucilages of flaxseed  and of
quince seed. For his views on this subject the reader is referred to the article Linum,
in the first part of the work.
  BDELLIUM.  This name has been given to two different gum-resins, distinguished
as Indian and African bdellium. Dr. Royle was informed that  the former was ob-
tained from the Amyris Commiphora of Roxburgh, growing in India and Madagascar.
The latter is said to be the product of the Heudelotia Africana, which grows in Senegal.
Bdellium  sometimes comes mixed with gum  Arabic and gum Senegal.  It is either
in small roundish pieces, of a reddish colour, semi-transparent, and brittle  with a
wax-like fracture, or in larger irregular lumps, of a dark brownish-red colour, less
transparent, somewhat tenacious, and adhering to the teeth when chewed.  It has an
odour and taste  like those of myrrh, but weaker.  It is infusible and inflammable,
diffusing while it burns a balsamic  odour.  According to Pelletier it consists of 59
per cent, of resin, 9-2 of gum, 30-6 of bassorin, and 1-2 of volatile oil including loss.
In medical properties it is analogous to myrrh, and was  formerly used for the same
purposes; but it is now scarcely ever given internally.  In Europe, it is still occasion-
ally employed as an ingredient in plasters.  The dose is from ten to forty grains.
  BEAN OF  SAINT  IGNATIUS.  Faba Sancti Ignatii.  This is the product of the
Ignatia amara of the younger Linnaeus, which is now generally considered by botanists
a species of Strychnos, and entitled S. Ignatia. (See Nux Vomica.)  It  is a tree of
middling size, with numerous long, cylindrical, glabrous, vine-like  branches, which
bear opposite, nearly sessile, oval,  pointed,  entire, and very smooth leaves.  The
flowers are  white, tubular,  fragrant, and  arranged in  short axillary racemes.  The
fruit is of the size and shape of a pear, with a smooth, whitish, ligneous rind, enclosing
about twenty seeds  embedded in a dry pulpy matter, and lying  one upon the other.
These seeds are  the part used.  The tree  is a  native of the Phillipine Islands, where
the seeds were highly esteemed  as a medicine, and, having attracted the attention of
the Jesuits, were honoured with the name  of the founder of their order.
  They are  about an inch long, rather less in breadth, still less in thickness, convex
on one side, obscurely angular with two, three, or four faces on the other, and marked
at one end with  a small depression indicating their  point of attachment.  They are
externally of a pale brown colour, apparently smooth, but covered in fact with a short
down or efflorescence, which may be removed by scraping them  with a knife.  They
are somewhat translucent, and their  substance is very hard and horny.   They have
no smell, but an excessively bitter taste.   To Pelletier and Caventou they afforded
the same constituents as the nux vomica,  but a much larger proportion of strychnia.
(See Nux Vomica.)   One thousand parts contain twelve of this alkali.
  MM. Magendie and Delile have proved that they act on the human system in the
same manner as the nux vomica.  In the  Phillippines  they have been employed for
the cure of obstinate intermittents, and in numerous other diseases. It is probable
that in small doses they act as a tonic.  In this country they are never employed; nor
have they a place in the British Pharmacopoeias.  We have introduced them here on
account of their comparatively large proportion of strychnia, which is triple that con-
tained in the nux vomica.  In France they are profitably employed for the extraction
of this principle.
  BEDEGUAR.   Fungus Rosarum.   An  excrescence upon the sweet briar or eglan-
tine, and upon other species of Rosa,  produced by the puncture of several insects,
especially by one or more species of Cynips.  It is of an irregidar, usually roundish
shape, about an inch in diameter, having numerous cells internally, in each of which
is  the  larva of an insect.  It has little smell, and  a  slightly astringent taste,  and
probably contains tannic acid.  Though formerly considered diuretic, anthelmintic,
and lithontriptic, and employed as a remedy for toothache, it has fallen into entire
disuse.  It was given in doses of from ten to forty grains.
  BENZOIN  ODORIFERUM.  Nees.   Laurus Benzoin. Linn.  Spice-wood.  Spice-
bush.  Fever-bush. An indigenous shrub, from four to ten feet high, growing in moist,
shady places, in  all parts of the United States.  Its flowers appear early in spring,
long before the leaves, and  are  succeeded by small  clusters of oval berries,  which
when ripe, in the latter part of September, are of a shining crimson colour. All parts
of the shrub have a  spicy, agreeable flavour, which is strongest in the bark and ber. 
Appendix.
1233
 ries.  The small branches  are  sometimes used as a gently stimulant aromatic, in
 the form of infusion or decoction.  They are said to be employed in this way by the
 country people as a vermifuge,  and an agreeable drink in low fevers.  Dr. William
 Barton says that the bark, as he has been informed, is extensively used in the country,
 and with much  success, in intermittents.  The berries, dried and powdered,  were
 sometimes substituted, during the revolutionary war, for allspice.  According to Dr.
 Drake, the oil of the berries is used as a stimulant
   BERBERIS VULGARIS. Barberry.  A shrub growing  wild  in Europe and the
 United States, and sometimes cultivated in gardens on account of its berries.  These
 grow in loose bunches, are  oblong and  of a red colour, have a grateful, sour, astrin-
 gent taste, and contain malic and  citric acids.  They are refrigerant,  astringent, and
 antiscorbutic, and are sometimes used in Europe, in the form of drink, in febrile dis-
 eases and diarrhoeas.  An agreeable syrup is prepared from  the juice;  and the  berries
 themselves are  sometimes preserved for the table.  The root and inner bark have
 been used for dyeing yellow, and are said to have been employed beneficially in jaun-
 dice.  They owe their colouring property to a peculiar crystallizable principle, which
 has been denominated berberin, and  which is  said,  in the dose of from  one to ten
 grains, to act as a tonic and purgative. (Journ. de Pharm. xxi. 309.)   It is a vulgar
 error to suppose that the vicinity of this plant is very injurious to wheat The Ameri-
 can plant differs slightly from the  European, and is described by Pursh as a  distinct
 species, under the name of B. Canadensis.  It grows in mountains and hilly districts
 from Canada to Virginia.  The berries are smaller  and much less juicy  than those
 of the garden barberry.
   BETONICA  OFFICINALIS.  Wood betony.  A perennial European herb,  belong-
 ing to  the natural order of labiate plants, the general properties of which  it  pos-
 sesses in some degree.   It has a pleasant but feeble odour,  and a warm,  somewhat
 astringent, and  bitterish taste.  By the ancients it was very highly esteemed, and
 employed in numerous diseases;  but it is at present little used.  It appears to be
 slightly warming and corroborant, but is inferior in this respect to many other plants
 belonging to  the same family.  The root has been considered emetic and purgative.
   BETULA ALBA.   Common European birch.  Various parts of this  tree  have been
 applied to medical uses.  The inner bark, which is bitterish and astringent, has been
 employed in  intermittent fever.  The epidermis is separable into  thin layers, which
 may be employed as a  substitute for paper, and are  applied to various economical
 uses.  The  bark contains a peculiar  principle, called betulin,  which is obtained
 by first exhausting it  with  boiling water,  then  treating  it  with boiling  alcohol
 which  deposits  impure betulin upon cooling,  and  finally purifying the deposited
 matter by repeated  solutions and crystallizations in ether.  (Annal. der Pharm. xxix.
 135.)  Betulin is white, uncrystallizable, fusible at about 400°, sublimable, insoluble
 in water,  and soluble in hot alcohol and in ether.  In the fused state it emits the
 peculiar odour of heated birch bark, and when sublimed is apt to suffer partial de-
 composition.  It consists of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen,  and is ranked among the
 subresins.   The bark, when distilled, affords an empyreumatic volatile oil,  having
 the peculiar odour of Russia leather, in the preparation of which it is employed.  The
 leaves, which have a peculiar, aromatic, agreeable odour, and a bitter taste, have been
 employed in  the form of infusion, in  gout, rheumatism, dropsy, and  cutaneous dis-
 eases.   The  same complaints, particularly dropsy, are said to have been successfully
 treated by enveloping the body in the fresh leaves, which thus applied excite  perspi-
 ration.  When the stem or branches of the tree  are wounded, a sweet juice flows out,
 which is considered useful in complaints of the kidneys and bladder. In consequence
 of the sugar it contains, it is susceptible, upon the addition of yeast, of the vinous and
 subsequently of the acetous fermentation.  A beer, wine, vinegar, and spirit are  pre-
 pared from it, and habitually used in some parts of Europe.
  Of the American species  of  birch, the Betula lenta, variously called sweet birch,
 black birch, cherry birch, and mountain mahogany, is remarkable for the aromatic
 flavour of its  bark and leaves, which have the odour and taste of the Gaultheria pro-
 cumbens, and are sometimes used  in infusion, as an agreeable, gently stimulant, and
 diaphoretic drink.  This  species  also affords a saccharine liquor, which,  indeed,
 appears to be common to all the  birches.  The bark of the B. papyracea very  closely
 resembles that of the common European birch, and is much employed by the  North-
 ern Indians for making canoes.   Thin  layers of the epidermis may  be advantage-
 ously placed  inside of boots to prevent the access of moisture.
  BEZOAR.  This name has been applied to concretions which form in the stomach
or intestines of animals, and which were at one time thought to possess extraordinary 
1234
Appendix.
medical virtues.  Numerous varieties have been noticed; but they were arranged in
two classes, the oriental bezoars (Lapis bezoar orientalis),  and western bezoars  (lapis
bezoar occidentalis),  of which the former were most highly  esteemed.  They have
fallen into merited neglect.
  BIRD-LIME.  A viscid substance existing in various  plants,  particularly in the
bark of  the Viscum album, and Ilex aquifolium or European holly, from  the latter of
which it is usually procured.  The  process for preparing it consists in boiling the
middle bark for some hours in water, then separating it from  the liquid,  and placing
it in proper vessels in a cool situation, where it is allowed to remain till it becomes
viscous.   It is then washed to separate impurities, and constitutes  the substance in
question.  Bird-lime thus prepared is greenish, tenacious, of a glutinous  consistence,
of a bitterish taste, and of an odour analogous to that of flaxseed oil.  Exposed to the
air in thin layers it becomes dry, brown, and pulverizable, but re-acquires its viscidity
upon the addition of water.  It consists of several proximate principles, but is thought
to owe its characteristic properties to the presence of a peculiar substance, identical
with that which exudes spontaneously from certain  plants, and which has received
the name of glu from the French chemists.  This principle is without odour or taste,
extremely adhesive, fusible by heat,  inflammable, insoluble in water, nearly insoluble
in alcohol, but dissolved freely by sulphuric ether, and the oil  of turpentine.  Accord-
ing to M. Macaire, it is insoluble in  the fixed oils, either hot  or cold.  This property
distinguishes it from  the resins,  to  which Berzelius is  disposed to attach it.  M.
Macaire proposes for it the name of viscin. (Journ. de Pharm. xx. 18.)   Bird-lime is
so tenacious, that it may be employed to catch  small birds, which, when they alight
on a stick thickly covered with it, are unable to escape.
  BISULPHURET OF CARBON.  Carburet of Sulphur. This compound, discovered
by Lampadius in  1796, is formed by passing the vapour of sulphur over fragments of
charcoal heated to redness in a porcelain  tube.  It is a transparent,  colourless, ex-
ceedingly volatile liquid,  having a pungent, somewhat aromatic taste, and a very
fetid smell.  Its sp. gr. is 1-272.  In composition it is  a bisulphuret.   It was formerly
employed in obstinate rheumatic and arthritic affections,  in paralysis and cutaneous
eruptions, and more recently as  a  resolvent in indolent tumours.  It  is used both
internally and externally.  For internal exhibition in gout and rheumatism, Dr. Otto,
of Copenhagen, employed an alcoholic solution, in the proportion of two drachms to
the fluidounce, of which four drops  were given every two hours.   At the same time
the affected parts were rubbed with a liniment, made by dissolving the bisulphuret
in the same proportion in olive oil.  Dr. Krimer applied it to an indolent tumour, by
allowing forty or fifty drops to fall upon it three  times a day.   This treatment, which
may be supposed to act by the cold  produced, assisted by the internal use of animal
charcoal and cicuta, and the employment of warm alkaline baths, was attended with
success.  He also succeeded in reducing  several strangulated hernise, by applying
some drops of the bisulphuret to the hernial tumour. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm. ix.
264, from the Journ. de Pharm.)
  BOLE ARMENIAN.  The term bolus or bole was formerly applied to various forms
of argillaceous earth, differing in their colour, or place of origin.  Thus we find men-
tioned, among others, the Armenian, Lemnian, and French boles, and the red and white
boles.  Some of these substances were  so  highly valued  as to be formed into small
masses and impressed with a seal, and hence received  the name of terrae sigillotx.
They were  all similar in effect, though the small proportion  of oxide of iron con-
tained in the coloured boles may have given them greater activity.  The only one at
present kept in the shops is that called bole Armenian, from its resemblance  to the
substance originally brought from Armenia. It is prepared by trituration and elutri-
ation from certain native earths existing in different parts of Europe.  It is in pieces
of various sizes, of a reddish colour, soft and unctuous to the touch, adhesive to the
tongue, and capable of mixing with water  so as to form a paste.  It consists chiefly
of alumina and silica, coloured with oxide of iron.   The boles were  formerly em-
ployed as absorbent medicines and astringents;  and they  were undoubtedly useful in
some cases of acidity of the stomach and relaxed bowels; but they have been super-
seded by more active medicines.  The bole Armenian is  now used chiefly as an in-
gredient in tooth powders.
  BORAGO OFFICINALIS. Borage.  This is an annual, hairy, succulent European
plant, one or two feet high, with  fine blue flowers, on account of  which it is some-
times cultivated in our  gardens.  All parts of it abound in  mucilage, and the stem
and leaves contain the  nitrate of potassa with other saline ingredients.  To these
constituents the plant owes all its virtues.   It is much used in France.   An infusion 
Appendix.                            1235
of the leaves and flowers, sweetened with honey or syrup, is employed as a demulcent,
refrigerant, and gently diaphoretic drink in catarrhal affections, rheumatism, diseases
of the skin, &c.   The expressed juice of the stem and leaves  is also given  in the
dose of from two to four ounces.   The flowers are sometimes applied externally as
an  emollient  A distilled water, extract, and syrup were formerly used,  but have
fallen into neglect.  Borage is scarcely known in this country as a medicinal  plant,
and is altogether too feeble  to merit much attention.
  BRAZIL WOOD.  A red dye-wood, the product of different species of Caesalpina,
growing in the West Indies and South America.   Two varieties are known in com-
merce:—1. the proper  Brazil-wood, said to be derived from  the Caesalpina echinata,
and sometimes called Pernambuco or Fernambuca wood, from the province of Brazil,
where it is collected; 2. the brasilleto, produced by the C. Braziliensis and C.  Crista,
which grow in Jamaica and other parts of the West Indies.  The former is the most
highly valued. The sappan or sampfen wood may be referred to the same head, being
obtained from the Caesalpina Sappan, and possessing properties analogous to those
of the brasilleto.  The Nicaragua  or peach wood  is  also  analogous  to the  brasilleto,
and is said by Bancroft to be derived from a species of Caesalpina.  It is  produced
in the East Indies.  Brazil wood is  nearly inodorous, has a slightly sweetish taste,
stains the  saliva red, and  imparts its colouring matter  to water.  It was formerly
used  in medicine; but has been abandoned as  inert.  In pharmacy it sometimes
serves to colour tinctures, &c; but its chief use is in dyeing.  A red lake is prepared
from it, and it is an ingredient in a red ink.
  BROMIDE  OF IRON.  Ferri  Bromidum.  This bromide is obtained  by heating
gently in thirty parts of water, two parts of bromine and one of iron filings.   When
the liquid  becomes greenish, it is filtered and evaporated to dryness; and the dry
mass, again dissolved and  evaporated to dryness, furnishes  the bromide.  Bromide
of iron is a brick-red  deliquescent salt, very soluble, and extremely  styptic.  It is
employed as a tonic and resolvent, and given in the dose of a grain twice  a day, in
the form of pill, made up with conserve of roses and gum Arabic.  It is formed as
the first step of the process for preparing the officinal bromide of potassium.
  BROMIDES OF  MERCURY.   The protobromide is formed by adding bromide of
potassium to nitrate of protoxide of  mercury.  It falls as a white  curdy precipitate.
The bibromide may be obtained by  digesting the protobromide with water containing
bromine.  It is in the form of colourless crystals, soluble in water and alcohol.  Ex-
posed to heat it enters into  fusion and sublimes.  Both these bromides are analogous
in composition and medicinal properties to the corresponding iodides of mercury.
(See pages 992 and 993.)   The protobromide is given in the dose of a grain daily,
gradually increased.   The  bibromide, like  corrosive sublimate, is an irritant poison,
and may be administered in doses  of the sixteenth of a grain, gradually increased to
a fourth, either in the form of pill, or in ethereal solution, made by dissolving a grain
in a fluidrachm  of ether.
   BRYONY.  White Bryony.   This is the root of the Bryonia alba or white  bryony, a
perennial,  climbing, herbaceous plant, growing  in thickets and hedges, in different
parts of Europe. It bears rough, heart-shaped, five-lobed leaves, small yellow mo-
noecious flowers arranged in  racemes, and roundish black berries about the size of a
pea.  Another species called B. dioica, with dioecious flowers and red berries, bears
so close a resemblance in character and properties to  the preceding, that  it is con-
sidered by some botanists  merely  a  variety.  The roots of both plants are gathered
for use. When fresh they are spindleshaped, sometimes branched, a foot or  two< in
length,  as thick as the arm, or even thicker, externally yellowish-gray and circularly
wrinkled, within white, succulent, and fleshy, of a nauseous odour which disappears
in great measure upon drying, and of a bitter, acrid, very disagreeable  taste. The
peasants are said sometimes  to hollow out the top of the root, and to employ the juice
which collects in the cavity as a drastic purge. (Merat and De Lens.)  The  berries
of the plant are  also purgative and are used in dyeing.
  As kept in the shops, the root is in circular transverse slices, of a large  diameter,
externally yellowish-gray and longitudinally wrinkled, internally of a whitish  colour
becoming darker by age, concentrically striated, light, brittle, and readily pulveriza-
ble, yielding a whitish powder. A peculiar bitter principle called bryonin has been
discovered in  the root, but has not  been isolated for practical purposes.  It contains,
besides, starch in considerable proportion, gum, resin, a concrete oil, albumen, and
various saline substances.  It yields its active properties to water.
  Bryony is an active hydragogue cathartic, in large doses sometimes proving emetic,
and disposed,  if  too largely administered, to occasion inflammation of the alimentary 
1236
Appendix.
 mucous membrane.  The recent root is highly irritant, and is said, when bruised and
 applied to the skin, to  be capable of producing vesication.  The medicine was well
 known to the ancients, and has been employed by modern physicians, but is  now
 nearly superseded by jalap, which is more certain, and less liable to lose its strength
 by age.  The dose of the powdered root is from a scruple to a drachm.
   CAHINCA.   Though not admitted into the Pharmacopoeias, this  medicine has at-
 tracted so much attention as to have just claims to notice in the present work.   The
 name  of cahinca or  cainca was adopted from the language  of the Brazilian Indians.
 The Portuguese of  Brazil call  the medicine raiz pretta or black root.  When first
 noticed in Europe, it  was supposed to be derived from the Chiococca racemosa  of
 Linnaeus, which was known  to botanists as an inhabitant of the West Indies.  But
 Martius, in  his  "Specimen  Materiae  Medicae Brasiliensis," describes two  other
 species of Chiococca, the  C. anguifuga and C. densifolia, which afford roots having
 the properties of that  ascribed to the C. racemosa,- and as the medicine is brought
 from Brazil, not from the West Indies, there is  reason to believe that it is  really de-
 rived from one  or both of the plants named by that botanist.  A. Richard, however,
 states that he has received from more than one source in Brazil, specimens of the
 C. racemosa as the cahinca plant:  and it is not  impossible that the roots of the three
 species possess identical properties  and are indiscriminately used.
   The cahinca root, as found in French commerce, is described by M. Achille Richard
 in the following  terms.  "It is of a reddish-brown colour and consists of cylindrical
 branches, two or three feet long, of  the thickness of a quill or smaller, occasionally
 putting forth  slender and branching fibres, obscurely striated longitudinally, present-
ing at certain distances small irregular tubercles, and here and there transverse fis-
 sures produced  by drying.  These  branches are composed of a very thin whitish
 bark, covered externally with an adhering brown epidermis, and of an internal ligne-
 ous  centre, which forms almost  the whole  mass of the root.  The  cortical portion,
 which is of a resinous  character, has a bitter disagreeable taste, somewhat acrid and
astringent; the ligneous  part  is  quite tasteless.  Together with the pieces just de-
 scribed, others are sometimes found, derived from the branches of the stem  above
ground, or from  those which  run along the ground and have taken  root  They are
 distinguishable from the  true  root by being straighter and more regular, and present-
ing a medullary canal  in their centre.  The taste of their cortical portion is much
weaker, and they are probably less active."  (Elem. d'Hist. Nat. Med. ii. 331.)
  A specimen brought  into our market as the cahinca, consisted of cylindrical pieces,
varying in size from  the thickness of a straw to that of the little finger, somewhat bent
 or contorted,  slightly wrinkled longitudinally, with occasional small  asperities, inter-
nally ligneous, externally covered with a thin brittle  reddish-brown bark,  having a
light brown or brownish ash-coloured epidermis.  The virtues  of the root reside
almost exclusively in the cortical portion.  They are extracted by  water and alcohol.
 Cahinca has  been analyzed by several chemists.  Four distinct principles were dis-
covered in it by Pelletier and  Caventou:—1. a crystallizable substance, in  which all
the bitterness of the  root resides; 2. a green fatty matter of a nauseous odour;  3. a
yellow colouring matter; and 4.  a  coloured  viscid substance.  The crystallizable
principle appears to be that in which the medical virtue resides.   Under  the belief
that it is essentially acid, its  discoverers have named it cahincic acid.  It is white,
without smell, of a taste at first scarcely perceptible, but afterwards extremely bitter
 and slightly astringent, of difficult solubility in  water, but readily soluble in alcohol,
permanent in the air, and unaltered at the temperature of boiling water.  It reddens
vegetable blues, and unites with  the alkalies, but does not form crystallizable com-
pounds.  The form in which  it exists in the root is thought to be that of a  subcahin-
cate of lime.
   Medical Properties.  Cahinca is tonic, diuretic, purgative, and emetic.  In moderate
doses it gently excites the circulation, increases  the discharge of urine, and produces
 evacuations from the bowels;  but is rather  slow in its operation.   Like most other
diuretics, it maybe  so administered as  to prove diaphoretic, by keeping the skin
warm, using  warm drinks, and counteracting its  purgative tendency.  In some pa-
 tients it occasions nausea and griping pains  in the bowels, and in  very large doses
always acts powerfully both as an emetic and  cathartic. In Brazil it has  long been
used by the natives as a remedy for the poisonous effects resulting from the bites  of
 serpents; and its Indian name is said to have been derived from this property.  Ac-
cording to Martius, the bark  of  the fresh root  is rubbed with  water till  the latter
becomes charged with  all its active matters; and the liquid, while yet turbid, is taken 
Appendix.
1237
 in such quantities as to produce the most violent vomiting and purging, preceded by
 severe spasmodic pains.  Patrick  Brown  speaks of the root of the  C. racemosa as
 resembling seneka in taste, and as very useful in obstinate  rheumatisms.  But the
 virtues of cahinca in dropsy, though well known in Brazil, were first communicated
 to the European public in the year 1826, by M.  Langsdorff, Russian Consul at Rio
 Janeiro.  Achille Richard afterwards published a few observations in relation to it
 in the Journal de Chimie Medicale,- and its properties were subsequently investigated
 by numerous practitioners. M. Francois of Paris contributed more than any other
 physician to its reputation as a cure for dropsy.  It was  considered by him supe-
 rior to all  other remedies in  hydropic  complaints.  General experience  appears
 to have been in its favour,, but by no means to the extent  of the partial estimate
 of Dr. Francois; and, having  been  found equally liable with other diuretics to
 the charge of uncertainty, it is now little used.  It may be employed in substance,
 decoction, extract, or tincture.   The powdered bark of  the root may be given as a
 diuretic and purgative, in a dose varying  from a scruple to a drachm; but in this
 form the remedy is considered very uncertain.  The aqueous extract is usually pre-
 ferred. The dose of this is from ten to twenty grains.  An extract may also be prepared
 with diluted alcohol, and given in the same dose.  Dr. Francois recommends that in
 the treatment of dropsy, a sufficient quantity should be  given at once to produce a
 decided impression, which should afterwards be maintained by smaller doses, re-
 peated three or four times in the twenty-four hours.
    CALENDULA OFFICINALIS. Marygold.  This well known garden plant was
 formerly much employed in medicine.  It has a  peculiar, rather disagreeable odour,
 which is lost by drying, and a  bitter, rough, saline taste.  Among its constituents is
 a peculiar principle, called calendulin, discovered by Geiger most abundantly in the
 flowers, and considered by Berzelius  as analogous to  bassorin, though soluble in
 alcohol.  The plant was thought antispasmodic, sudorific, deobstruent, and emmena-
 gogue, and  was given in  low forms of fever, scrofula, jaundice, amenorrhoea, and
 various other complaints.  Both the  leaves and flowers were used; but the latter
 were preferred, and were usually administered in the recent state, in the form of tea.
 An extract was also prepared, and employed with supposed advantage in cancerous
 and other ulcers, sick stomach, &c.  At present marygold is very seldom if ever used
 in regular practice.
   CALOTROPIS GIGANTEA. Brown.   Asclepias gigantea, Linn.   Under the name
 of madar, or mudar, a medicine has been  employed in  the East Indies, with  great
 asserted advantage, in numerous complaints.   It is the bark of the root of a species
 of Calotropis, which has been generally considered as the C. gigantea,- but which is
 asserted by Dr. Casanova to  be a distinct species, and  has received  from him the
 name of C. Madarii Indico-orientalis.  The C. gigantea is a native of Hindostan, and
 has been introduced into the West Indies, where it is now naturalized.  The  bark, as
 employed, is destitute of epidermis, of a whitish colour, nearly or quite inodorous, and
 of a bitter,  somewhat nauseous taste.  It appears to have  the general properties of
 many other acrid medicines; in small doses, increasing the secretions, and in larger,
 producing nausea and  vomiting.  According to Dr. Casanova,  who published an
 essay upon  the subject at Calcutta, it is more especially directed to the skin, the capil-
 laries and absorbents of which it stimulates to increased action.  It is ehiefly recom-
 mended as  a remedy in the obstinate cutaneous  diseases of tropical climates, such
 as elephantiasis and leprosy.  It has been employed also with advantage in syphilis,
 dropsy, rheumatism, and hectic fever.  It is administered in substance in the dose of
 from three to twelve grains, three times a day, and gradually increased till it affects
 the system.
   CAM  WOOD.  A red dye-wood, procured from the Baphia nitida of De Candolle,
 a  leguminous tree, growing on the Western Coast of Africa.  The wood is  usually
 kept in the shops in the ground state.
   CANARY SEED.  The seeds of the Phalaris Canariensis, an annual plant, belong-
 ing to  the family of  grasses, originally from the Canary Islands, but now growing
 wild in Europe and the United States, and  cultivated in many places.   The seeds
 are ovate, somewhat  compressed, about  two lines long, shining and of a light yel-
 lowish-gray colour externally, and brownish  within.  Their chief constituent is starch.
 They were  formerly esteemed medicinal, but are  not now employed unless  for the
 formation of emollient cataplasms.  They are nutritive, and their meal is said to be
mixed, in some places, with wheat flour, and made into bread.  They are much used
 as food for Canary birds.
        105 
1238
Appendix.
  CANNABIS  SATIVA. Hemp.  An annual plant, originally  from Asia, but now
cultivated in various parts of Europe and North America.  The leaves are possessed
of narcotic properties, and are employed in Persia and the East Indies, in the form of
infusion, as an  intoxicating drink.  They are also smoked, in these and other coun-
tries of the East, in the  same manner as tobacco, with which they are  frequently
mixed.  A resinous exudation from the plant is  much employed for the  same pur-
pose.   Even the odour of the "fresh plant is stated to be capable of producing vertigo,
headache, and a species of intoxication. According to Dr. O'Shaughnessy, of Calcutta,
who has experimented with  this narcotic, it alleviates pain, exhilarates the  spirits,
increases the  appetite, acts decidedly as an aphrodisiac, produces  sleep, and in large
doses, occasions intoxication, a peculiar kind of delirium, and catalepsy.  Its opera-
tion, in the hands of Dr. Pereira, appeared to resemble very much that  of opium.
(Pereira's Mat. Med.)  Dr. O'Shaughnessy employed an alcoholic extract of the dried
lops with great advantage in tetanus, and  with alleviating  effects in a fatal  case of
hydrophobia.   He gave the remedy usually in doses of two or three grains, at inter-
vals of two, three, or four hours; though, in these violent affections, the quantity may
be much increased; and in hydrophobia from ten to twenty grains may be given at
once.   He employed the remedy also in rheumatism and cholera, giving, in the latter
affection, ten  drops every half hour, of a solution made with three grains of  the
extract and a drachm of proof spirit.  (Medical Examiner, iii. 530.)  The  seeds of
hemp have also been used in medicine.  They are about the eighth of an inch long,
roundish-ovate, somewhat compressed, of a shining gray colour, inodorous, and of a
disagreeable,  oily, sweetish taste.  They contain a considerable quantity of fixed oil,
which is separated by expression, and used to some extent in the arts.  They contain
also uncrystallizable sugar  and albumen, and when rubbed  with water afford an
emulsion, which may be used advantageously in inflammatory  affections  of  the mu-
cous membranes, though it is not superior to a similar prepartion from other emul-
sive seeds.  They are much used as food  for birds, which are  fond of them.  It is,
however, for the fibrous bark of hemp, and the various products manufactured from
it, that the plant is chiefly cultivated.  Some consider the hemp cultivated in the East
as  specifically different from the common hemp; and name it  Cannabis Indica,-  but
most botanists think the two plants identical.
  CAOUTCHOUC.  Gum elastic.   The substance known by this name in commerce
is the concrete juice of the Siphonia Cahuchu of  Schreber  and Willdenow, identical
with the Siphonia elastica of  Persoon, the Jatropha elastica of the  younger Linnaeus,
and the Hevea Guianensis of Aublet  This is a large tree growing in Brazil,  Guiana,
and probably also in  Central America.  (Journ.  Phil. Col. of Pharm. iii. 292.)   On
being wounded it emits a milky juice, which concretes on  exposure, and constitutes
the substance in question.  A similar product is  afforded by several other lactescent
plants; but the  juice of the Siphonia alone is extensively collected for use.  Caout-
chouc comes to us in different forms, sometimes in large flat pieces, sometimes in the
shape of various animals, but usually in that of  small flasks.   These are formed by
applying successive layers of the juice upon models of clay, which are broken  and
removed when the coating has attained a sufficient thickness  and consistence.  In
the drying of these layers they are said to be exposed to smoke,  which gives to the
concrete mass  a blackish colour.  The  juice, when it concretes  by exposure to the
air, assumes  on the outer surface a yellowish-brown colour, while the mass remains
white or yellowish-white within.  The recent juice is not a pure proximate principle;
but contains, according to Faraday, 1-9 percent of vegetable albumen, traces of wax,
7-13 per cent, of a bitter azotized substance soluble in water and alcohol, 2-9 of a sub-
stance soluble  in water but insoluble in alcohol, 56-37 of water  with a little free acid,
and only 31*7 of the pure elastic principle to which chemists have given the  name of
caoutchouc.  Some of these principles exist also in greater or less proportion in the
concrete juice, which, as it reaches us, is usually contaminated with the soot derived
from the smoke used in  drying it.   Pure caoutchouc is nearly colourless,  and in  thin
layers transparent.  It is highly elastic, lighter than water, without taste and smell,
fusible at about 248°, remaining unctuous and adhesive upon cooling, inflammable at
a higher temperature, insoluble in water, alcohol, the weak acids, and alkaline solu-
tions, soluble in ether when entirely freed from alcohol, soluble  also in most of the
fixed and volatile  oils, though at the expense of its elasticity.  It is said, however,
that the oils of lavender and sassafras dissolve it without change, and that when pre-
cipitated by alcohol from its solution in cajuput oil, it is  still  elastic.  But its best
 solvent, for practical purposes, is an empyreumatic volatile oil obtained by the dis-
tillation of caoutchouc itself.  Caoutchouc is not affected by common air, chlorine, 
Appendix.
1239
muriatic or  sulphurous acid gas, nor by ammonia.  It consists, according to Fara-
day, of 87*2 parts of carbon, and 12-8 of hydrogen.
  Caoutchouc is used for erasing pencil marks; in the formation of flexible tubes for
the laboratory, and of catheters and bougies for surgical purposes; in the melted
state, as a luting to the joints of chemical apparatus; in the shape of thin layers, for
covering the mouths of bottles, and for other purposes in which the exclusion of air and
moisture is requisite; in the manufacture of water-proof cloth; and for numerous other
objects, to which its elasticity, and the resistance  which it offers to the ordinary sol-
vents and to other powerful chemical agents peculiarly adapt it  Every one is aware
of the highly important application which  has recently been made of caoutchouc to
the manufacture of water-proof shoes.  It is most conveniently brought to the state
of thin  layers, in  which it  may often be used advantageously by the chemist and
apothecary, by softening  the small flasks in ether containing alcohol, or by boiling
them in water for fifteen minutes, and then distending them by means  of air forced
into them.   Tubes of cautchouc may be made from its ethereal solution, or from the
juice imported in the liquid state.
  CAPPARIS  SPINOSA.  Caper-bush.  A low, trailing shrub, growing in the South
of Europe and North of Africa.  The buds or unexpanded flowers, treated with salt
and vinegar, form a highly esteemed pickle, which has an acid burning taste, and is
considered useful in scorbutic  affections.  The dried bark of the root  was formerly
officinal.  It is in pieces partly or wholly quilled,  about one-third of an inch in mean
diameter, transversely wrinkled, grayish externally, whitish within, inodorous, and of
a bitterish, somewhat acrid, and aromatic  taste.  It is  considered  diuretic, and  was
formerly employed in obstructions of the liver and spleen, amenorrhoea, and chronic
rheumatism.
  CARANNA.  Gum Caranna.  A resinous substance, in pieces of a blackish gray
colour externally,  dark-brown internally, somewhat shining and translucent, brittle
and pulverizable when dry, but, in the recent state, soft and adhesive like pitch,
easily fusible, of an agreeable  balsamic odour when heated, and of a bitterish resi-
nous taste. (Geiger.)  It  is said to  be derived from the Amyris Caranna of Hum-
boldt, a tree growing in  Mexico and South America.  Geiger refers  it  also to  the
Bursera gummifera of the West India Islands; but the resin obtained from this tree
is described by the French writers under the name of resine de Gomart, or  resine de
chibou or cachibou, and is  said to bear a close resemblance to the resin tacamahac.
  CARBURET OF IRON.  Ferri  Carburetum.  Plumbago.  Black  Lead.  This sub-
stance has been used both internally and externally in herpetic and other cutaneous
affections.   For medicinal use it is reduced to very fine powder, and freed from  im-
purities by being boiled with water,  and digested with dilute nitro-muriatic acid.  The
dose is from five to fifteen grains or more, three or four times a day, given in the form
of powder or pill.  The ointment is made by mixing from two to six drachms of the
carburet with an ounce of lard.
  CATALPA CORDIFOLIA.  Bignonia Catalpa.  Linn.  Calalpa tree, or Catawba
tree.  This is a beautiful  flowering tree, growing  wild in this country, and occasion-
ally cultivated for ornamental purposes. It has been introduced into the gardens of
Europe.  It is commonly reputed to possess poisonous properties.  The seeds have
been advantageously employed by several practitioners  of Continental  Europe in
asthma.  M. Automarchi recommends a decoction made by boiling  twelve ounces
of water with three or four ounces of the seeds down to six ounces, the whole to  be
given morning and night. (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. vi. 352.)
  CEANOTHUS AMERICANUS.  New Jersey  Tea. Red-root.  A small  indigenous
shrub, growing throughout the United States.  The root is astringent, and imparts a
red colour to water.  It is said to be useful in syphilitic complaints, in which  it is
given in the form of decoction, made in the proportion of two drachms of the root to
a pint of water. Schoepf states that it is purgative. The leaves were used during
the revolutionary war as a substitute for tea.  Dr. Hubbard, in  a communication to
the Boston Medical and  Surgical Journal, (Sept. 30th, 1835,) speaks  very highly of
the use of the Ceanothus as a local application in aphthous affections of the mouth
and fauces, and in the sorethroat of scarlatina, and  as an internal remedy in dysen-
tery. He used a strong infusion of  the dried leaves and seeds.
  CHELIDONIUM MAJUS.  Celandine.  A perennial herbaceous plant,  growing
wild in this country, about old houses  and in rocky places; but supposed to have been
introduced from Europe, where it is indigenous.  It is one or two feet high, bears pin-
nate leaves and small peduncled umbels of yellow flowers, and, when wounded, emits 
1240
Appendix.
a yellow, opaque juice.  It was employed by the ancients, and is occasionally used in
modern practice, but little on this side of the Atlantic.  The whole plant is used. It
has a faint unpleasant odour, and a bitter, acrid, durable taste, which is stronger in
the roots than in the leaves. The odour is nearly lost by drying, but the taste remains.
The yellow juice is bitter and exceedingly acrid, and when applied to the skin pro-
duces inflammation and even vesication. The plant, analyzed by MM. Chevallier and
Lassaigne, afforded a bitter resinous  substance  of a deep yellow colour; a kind of
gum-resin of an orange-yellow colour, and  bitter, nauseous taste; mucilage; albumen;
and various  saline substances, besides free malic acid and silica.  Dr. Probst, of Hei-
delberg, has  more recently found in it a peculiar acid denominated cheledonic acid,- two
alkaline principles, one  of  which forms neutral salts with the  acids and  is called
cheleryihrin in consequence of the  intense redness of its salts, the other unites with
but does not neutralize the acids, and is  named chelidonin,- and lastly a neuter, crys-
tallizable, bitter principle, which from its yellow colour he calls chilidoxanthin.  Of
these principles,  chelerythrin appears  to rank  among the acrid narcotic  poisons.
(Annul, der Pharm. xxix. 113.) The discovery of two alkaline principles in celandine
is ascribed in the  Journal de Chim. Med.  to M. Polex.  (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. xii.
328.)  Celandine  is an acrid purgative, possessed also  of diuretic, and perhaps dia-
phoretic and expectorant properties.  In over doses, it  produces  unpleasant effects,
and is by some considered poisonous. By the ancients it was much esteemed as a
remedy in jaundice; and it has been  found useful in the same complaint by some
modern physicians.  It  was the chief ingredient of the old decoctum ad ictericos of
the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.  It has been given also, with  asserted advantage, in
various other complaints,  especially  those of a scrofulous  character, affecting the
mesenteric and lymphatic  glands, the  skin, and the eyes.  The yellow juice is  often
applied, in domestic practice, to corns and warts, which it destroys by stimulating
them beyond their vital  powers. The dose of the dried root or herb is from thirty
grains to a drachm, that of the fresh root one or  two  drachms; and the same quan-
tity may be given in infusion.  The watery extract and the expressed juice have also
been employed.   The dose of the former is from five to ten grains, that of the  latter
from ten to twenty drops.   In each case, the dose is to  be gradually increased, until
the effects of the  remedy are experienced.
   CHELTENHAM SALT, ARTIFICIAL.  Several artificial mixtures have been
prepared, professing to be  exact imitations of the saline ingredients in the chalybeate
Cheltenham water; but the only one which appears worthy of confidence, is that pre-
pared by Robert Alsop, Chemist, of  London.  The composition of the natural  Chel-
tenham chalybeate is given at p. 113, under the head of Aqua.  The imitation of Mr.
Alsop, as analyzed by Mr. Faraday, contains the same solid and gaseous contents as
the natural water, except the sulphate of lime, which is  very properly omitted; and
in the same  proportions precisely, with the exception that there  is  about twice as
much free carbonic acid in the artificial preparation. The iron is present in the state
of protoxide, and is immediately dissolved by the free carbonic acid, upon adding a
sufficient  quantity of water to the mixed salts.  The  free carbonic acid probably
exists as such in  the dry mixture; as there is no obvious agent present to cause it to
be disengaged in  the mere act of solution.
   This saline mixture is in the form of a white powder, possessing a saline and slightly
ferruginous  taste. It is put up in bottles of two sizes, the  smaller containing two and
a half ounces, or sufficient to make  thirty doses of forty grains each. It forms a
good combination, in which the aperient property of the salts present is combined
with the tonic virtue of  the iron.  It is considered to be useful in glandular obstruc-
tions, especially of the liver, and in scrofulous affections, attended with feeble diges-
tion, sluggish bowels, and pallidness of skin.  It is employed also, with advantage, in
sick headache, habitual costiveness,  and hemorrhoids.   The dose is a teaspoonful,
quickly dissolved in half a pint of cold water, and swallowed immediately, before the
iron has time to separate in an insoluble state.  This quantity may be taken in the
morning, fasting, and repeated once or twice after an interval of  twenty minutes, or
in the course of the day.  To obtain its full tonic and alterative effects, it should be
persevered in for a month  or six weeks.
   CHLORIDE  OF POTASSA, SOLUTION OF.   Liquor Potassae  Chlorinatae.  Ja-
velk's Water. EaudeJavelle. This is obtained precisely as the solution of chlorinated
soda. (See Liquor Sodae Chlorinatae.)  It is employed for  taking out fruit stains, &c,
from linen.   In chemical constitution  it is probably a hypochlorite.
   CHLORIDE  OF SILVER.  Argenti Chloridum.  This has been  already referred
to as being inevitably formed when nitrate of silver is given internally.  (See page 
Jlppendix.
1241
870.)  It is readily prepared by adding a solution of common salt to one of nitrate of
silver, as long as it produces a precipitate.  As first thrown down it is a white curdy
substance, but it soon becomes discoloured when exposed to the light  It has been used
rubbed on the tongue in  syphilis, and internally in epilepsy, chronic  dysentery and
diarrhoea, and other diseases  in which nitrate of silver has been given. The dose is
three grains or more four or five times a day.  It is a  compound of doubtful thera-
peutic value.  The crystallized ammonio-chloride of silver has been given in syphilitic
affections, in the dose of one fourteenth of a grain.  It is formed by saturating solu-
tion of ammonia, by the assistance of heat, with chloride of silver, and allowing the
liquid to cool in a stopped bottle.   It crystallizes in cubes, and is  very liable to de-
composition.
   CHLORINE ETHERS.  There appear to be three species  of chlorine ether, each
consisting  of some form of hydrocarbon, united with different proportions of chlorine.
The first is called protochlorine ether, and is formed by passing an excess of chlorine
through  cold  alcohol.  It consists of one eq. of chlorine 35-42, and one of etherine
28-48. The second, denominated  bichlorine ether, consists of two eqs. of chlorine and
one of etherine, and is the long known oily liquid of the Dutch chemists, obtained by
the action of olefiant gas on chlorine. The third species was discovered within a few
years  by three chemists, independently of each other—Soubeiran in  France, Liebig
in Germany, and Guthrie in this country.  Dumas has determined its composition to
be three eqs. of chlorine to  one of bicarburet of hydrogen, and ascertained that it
differs from formic acid, into which it is susceptible of conversion by the action of
potassa, in containing an equivalent quantity of chlorine, in place of the oxygen of
that acid.  On account of its connexion with formic acid, it is called by the  French
chemists chloroforme, which may be rendered in English chloroformid. It is this
latter compound which it is the object more particularly of this article to describe.
   Chloroformid was obtained by Mr. Guthrie  by distilling a gallon from a mixture of
three pounds of chloride of lime and two gallons of alcohol of sp. gr. 0-844, and recti-
fying the product by redistillation, first from a  great excess of chloride of lime, and
afterwards from  strong sulphuric acid.  Thenard recommends it  to be obtained by
dissolving one part of chloride of lime in three parts of water,  decanting the solution,
adding from one-fifth to one-tenth  of alcohol, and distilling from a retort sufficiently
capacious to guard against the overflowing of the materials when they swell.   In the
receiver water will condense, swimming over  an oleaginous liquid.  The water is
decanted, and the oily liquid, being agitated several times with concentrated sulphuric
acid, and rectified from  finely powdered baryta,  will furnish pure chloroformid.
   This compound is a colourless oleaginous liquid, of a sweetish ethereal  odour, and
hot, aromatic, peculiar  taste.  It boils at 142°, and has the sp. gr. of 1-480.  It is not
inflammable, but  renders the flame of an alcohol lamp yellow and fuliginous.  It is
scarcely acted on by sulphuric acid in the cold, but dissolves readily in alcohol and
ether, from its solution in which it is precipitated by water.   The alcoholic solution
forms, when sufficiently diluted with water, an aromatic and  saccharine liquid of a
very grateful taste.
   Medical Properties.  Mr. Guthrie was led to prepare this ether by his peculiar pro-
cess from  noting  a passage  in Professor Silliman's Elements of Chemistry, which
referred to the chloric ether of the Dutch chemists as being a grateful diffusible
stimulant, when properly diluted.  He supposed that he had fallen upon a cheap and
easy process for obtaining this long known ether, without being aware that in reality
he had obtained a new compound of the same class.  Specimens  of  it were trans-
mitted to Professor Silliman, who distributed portions among his medical friends.  It
appears to act as a  diffusible soothing stimulus, in the same manner as sulphuric
ether,  but with this decided advantage, that  when sufficiently diluted, it possesses a
bland, sweet taste, which renders  its administration easy, even to  children.   It  has
been used with advantage in  asthma, spasmodic cough, the sorethroat of scarlet fever,
atonic  quinsy, and other  diseases in which a grateful and composing medicine is
indicated.  Professor Ives, and Dr. N. B. Ives, of New Haven,  speak favourably of its
effects. The dose for  an adult is a teaspoonful, diluted with water. In affections
characterized by difficult respiration, it may be used by inhalation.  It is employed for
medicinal purposes in alcoholic solution.
   CHROME YELLOW.  This is the neutral chromate of  lead, prepared by pre-
cipitating a solution of the nitrate of lead with chromate of potassa.  It is of a beautiful
lemon-yellow colour.  The subchromate of lead, consisting of one eq. of acid, and two
eqs. of base, is of a red colour, and is  sometimes used as a pigment.  Chrome green
is a mixture of chrome  yellow and Prussian blue.
                                      105* 
1242
Appendix.
  CICHORIUM INTYBUS.  Succory.  A perennial herbaceous plant, indigenous in
Europe, but naturalized in this country, where it grows in  fields, and in roads along
the fences, in neighbourhoods which have been long settled.   It is one or two feet
high, with large, compound, beautifully blue flowers, which appear in July and August,
and serve to distinguish the plant at first sight.  The whole plant has a bitter taste,
without acrimony, or any very peculiar flavour. The taste is strongest in the root and
weakest in the flowers. The leaves, when young and tender, are said to be sometimes
eaten as salad in Europe.  Succory is gently tonic without being irritating, and is
considered by some authors as  aperient and  deobstruent  It is said to be useful, if
freely taken, in hepatic congestion, jaundice,  and other visceral obstructions in the
early stages;  and it is affirmed  to have done  good even in pulmonary consumption.
The usual form of  administration is that of decoction, which is prepared by boiling
one or two ounces of the root, or a handful of the herb, in  a pint of water.   The root
dried and roasted has acquired some popularity in certain parts of Europe, as a sub-
stitute  for coffee.  The common garden endive is a species of Cichorium, denominated
C.Endivia.
   CICUTA VIROSA.   Water Hemlock.  Cowbane.   A perennial,  umbelliferous Eu-
ropean plant, growing on the borders of pools and streams.  It is exceedingly poison-
ous, proving fatal to most animals which feed upon it, though said  to be eaten with
impunity by goats and sheep.  Several instances are on record of children who have
died from eating the root by mistake for  parsnip.   It operates  as an acrid narcotic,
producing inflammation of the stomach, together with symptoms which indicate cere-
bral disturbance, such as vertigo, intoxication, and convulsions. When it vomits, as
it frequently does, fatal eflects  are less apt to ensue.  The plant is said to be  less
poisonous in the dried  than the recent  state;  and it  has been hence  inferred that the
active  principle is  volatile.  But the volatile oil, obtained by  distillation, was found
by Simon, an  apothecary of  Berlin, not to be poisonous. On the  other  hand, the
alcoholic  extract of the dried root operated as a violent poison upon the animals to
which  it was given. (Annal. der Pharm. xxxi.  258.)  It is at present never used inter-
nally as a medicine, having been superseded by the Conium maculatum, which is con-
sidered safer.  Externally, it is sometimes applied  as  an anodyne  poultice in local
pains, particularly those of a  rheumatic or gouty nature.
   The Cicuta maculata or American water hemlock is closely analogous, in botanical
character, and in its operation upon the system, with  the European species. In several
instances, children  have been fatally poisoned by eating its root  It is never used in
medicine.  For a full account of this plant, the reader is referred to Bigelow's Medical
Botany, vol. i. page 125.   In  cases of poisoning by either of these  plants, vomiting
should  be  induced  as  speedily as possible, and maintained till the stomach is tho-
roughly evacuated.
   CITRATE OF AMMONIA.   Ammoniae  Citrus.  This  is employed in  the liquid
form.  The solution is made by saturating lemon or  lime-juice, or an equivalent solu-
tion of citric acid (see page 429), with carbonate of ammonia, and may be given in the
dose of a tablespoonful.  A more elegant mode of exhibition is that of an  extempo-
raneous effervescing draught.  To half a fluidounce of lemon-juice mixed with an
equal quantity of water, or to a fluidounce of a solution of citric acid containing
seventeen grains of the acid,  is  to be added half a fluidounce of a solution containing
thirteen grains of the carbonate (sesquicarbonate) of ammonia; and  the mixture is to
be given while effervescing.  The dose, in either case, may be repeated every hour,
two, or three hours.  The preparation is given as a refrigerent diaphoretic in febrile
complaints, and is especially applicable to typhoid fevers with a hot, dry skin.
   CITRATE OF IRON.   Ferri Citrus.  The citrates of iron were first introduced to
the notice of the medical profession, in  1831, by M. Beral, of Paris. The citrate of
the protoxide is  prepared by digesting iron  filings  in an  aqueous solution of citric
acid.  It is a white, pulverulent, slightly soluble salt, having  a strongly chalybeate
taste,  and absorbing oxygen  readily when  exposed to the  air.   The  citrate of
the sesquioxide is the salt usually  recommended for medical use. It is  made by
saturating a  boiling solution of crystallized citric acid in  an equal  weight of water,
with  moist hydrated sesquioxide of iron.  The  solution, when cold, is  filtered, and
diluted so as to be equal to four times the weight of the acid employed.  It is  then
spread out on a  surface of glass, where it speedily dries  in thin layers, which are
separated, and broken into fragments. As thus obtained, it is in  thin pieces, of  a
brilliant golden red colour.  It is an uncrystallizable acid  salt, slowly soluble in cold
water, readily soluble in  boiling water, and  having an  acid, not unpleasant taste.
When the excess of acid is neutralized by adding ammonia to its solution, the double 
Appendix.
1243
salt is formed, called amnwnw-citrate of iron.  This is in yellowish-green, soft, porous
masses, having an acidulous,  slightly chalybeate  taste.   It is much more readily
soluble in water than the citrate of the sesquioxide.  The citrate of the black or mag-
netic oxide is an uncrystallizable greenish-yellow salt, susceptible of being formed
into  transparent laminoe,  very  soluble in water, unalterable in solution, even when
exposed to the air, and having a decidedly chalybeate  taste.  These different citrates
have latterly been used as pleasant chalybeates.  The  dose is five grains or more, re-
peated several times a day.  The citrate of the sesquioxide is best given in  pill; the
ammonio-citrate and the citrate  of the black oxide, in solution.  The citrate of the ses-
quioxide may be readily rendered soluble in water, by the addition of a few drops of
the officinal liquor ammonias.
  CIVET.  Zibethum.  This is an odorous substance, obtained from two animals of
the genus Viverra, viz., the V. Civetta or civet-cat of Africa, and the V. Zibetha which
inhabits the East Indies.   It is secreted into  a cavity which opens between the  anus
and external genitals, and is  collected from animals confined for the purpose.  It is
semi-liquid, unctuous, yellowish, becoming brown and thicker by exposure to the air,
of a very strong, peculiar odour, similar  to that of musk, though less agreeable and
less diffusible, and of a bitterish, subacrid, disagreeable, fatty taste.  When heated it
becomes quite fluid, and  at a higher temperature takes fire, and burns with a  clear
flame, leaving little residue.  It is insoluble in water, and only slightly soluble in
ether and cold alcohol; but heated  alcohol dissolves it almost entirely, depositing it
again upon  cooling.   It contains, among other ingredients, a volatile oil, fat, and free
ammonia.   In medicine it was  formerly employed as a stimulant and antispasmodic,
like castor and musk;  but it is now used exclusively as a perfume.
  CLEMATIS ERECTA.  Upright Virgin's Bower. A perennial plant growing wild
on the continent of Europe.  The leaves and flowers have an acrid burning  taste,
and if long  retained in the mouth produce blisters.  When bruised in a mortar they
irritate the eyes and throat, giving rise to a flow of tears and to coughing; and applied
to the skin they produce inflammation and vesication.   Hence the name ofjlammula
Jovis, by which the plant was known in older pharmacy. The acrimony is greatly
diminished  by drying.  Storck  found this species of Clematis very useful in secon-
dary syphilis,  cancerous and other foul  ulcers, and severe headaches.  He gave it
internally, and  at the same time applied the powdered leaves to the surface of the
sore.  It acted as a diuretic  and diaphoretic.  Two or three drachms of the leaves
were infused in a pint of water, of which he administered four ounces three times
a day.  He  also employed an extract, in the  dose of a grain or two in the course of a
day; but this preparation must have been nearly inert  At present  the plant is not
used.
  Other species of Clematis have the same acrid properties.  Among these are the C.
Flammula, or sweet-scented virgin's bower, which, though a native of Europe, is  culti-
vated in our gardens, the C. Vitalba or traveller's joy, also a native  of Europe, and
several indigenous  species, of  which the C. Virginica or common virgin's bower, the
C. Viorna or leather flower, and  the C. crispa have been particularly cited by authors
as proper substitutes for the C.  erecta used by Storck.  All these are climbing plants.
The C. Vitalba has been used in Europe  with success in the  cure  of itch.  For
this  purpose the roots and  stems, bruised, and boiled for a short time to  diminish
their acrimony, were infused in boiling oil, which, thus impregnated, was applied to
the skin several times a day.   Twelve or fifteen applications  were usually suffi-
cient to effect a cure.
  COBALT BLUE.  This beautiful pigment is a compound of oxide of cobalt and
alumina, obtained by precipitating the mixed  solutions of a salt of alumina and of
cobalt by means of an alkali, and washing, drying, and strongly calcining the preci-
pitate. (Berzelius.)  The cobalt blue of Thenard  is  made by heating  together the
hydrated subphosphate of cobalt and hydrate of alumina. It is used in painting.
  COBWEB.  Spider's Web.   Tela Aranese.  The genus Aranea  of Linn, has been
divided by  subsequent naturalists into several genera,  of which the  Tegeneria of
Walkenaer is the one that includes the medicinal species of spider. The T.  domestica
of Europe, and T. medicinalis of this country (Henz, Journ. Acad, of Nat. Scien. ii. 53),
are the particular species which have attracted most attention.  They inhabit cellars,
barns, and other dark places, and are of a brown or blackish colour.  It is affirmed
that the web of the field spider  is inefficacious, while  that collected in the cellars of
houses, &c, has extraordinary medical virtues.  Several authors speak in very de-
cided terms of its powers as a febrifuge and antispasmodic.  According to Dr. Robert
Jackson, it is superior even to bark and arsenic in the cure of intermittents, and is, 
1244
Appendix.
moreover, highly useful in various spasmodic and nervous diseases, controlling and
tranquillizing irregular nervous action, exhilarating the spirits, and disposing to sleep,
without producing any of the narcotic effects of opium on the brain. These praises are
to a certain extent echoed by Dr. Chapman and Dr. Eberle, in their respective works
on Therapeutics and Materia Medica.  Among the complaints in which it has been.
found useful, besides  intermittent  fever, are periodical headache, the hectic fever  of
consumption, asthma, hysteria, and nervous irritations attended with morbid vigi-
lance and irregular muscular action.  It will be observed that these are, for the most
part, affections  over which the imagination has much control.  The dose of spider's
web is five or six grains, to be given in the form of pill, and repeated every three or
four hours.   Dr. Jackson states that its influence is not in proportion to  the quantity
administered, and  that he obtained the same effects from ten as  from twenty grains.
This might well be, if the supposition be  allowed, that its chief operation is through
the mind of the patient.  Spider's web has also been  used externally, with asserted
advantage, as a styptic in  wounds, and a healing application in superficial ulcers.
Spiders themselves were formerly employed  in the treatment of intermittent fever,
and the application of the web to  the cure of this disease is not a measure of recent
origin.
   COCOA.  Cacao.  Chocolate Nuts.  These are the seeds of the  Theobroma Cacao, a
handsome tree, from twelve to  twenty feet in height,  growing in Mexico,  the West
Indies and South America, in some parts of which it is largely cultivated, particu-
larly in Guayaquil  and Venezuela. The fruit is an oblong  ovate capsule or berry,
six or eight inches in length, with a thick, coriaceous, somewhat ligneous rind,
enclosing a whitish pulp, in which numerous  seeds are embedded. These are ovate,
somewhat compressed, about as large as an almond, and consist of an exterior thin
shell, and a brown oily kernel.  Separated from the matter in which they are enve-
loped, they constitute the cocoa of commerce. They have a slightly aromatic, bitterish,
oily taste, and, when bruised or heated, an agreeable  odour. They contain a large
quantity of fixed oil, together with albumen and bitter extractive.  The oil is obtained
by hot expression, or  by decoction.  It is a soft solid, whitish or yellowish, with a
peculiar agreeable odour, and a bland pleasant taste,  and is known by the name of
cocoa butter.  According to  Brandes, it has peculiar properties, and yields a peculiar
acid when saponified. He calls  the  oil cocin, and the acid cocinic acid. (Journ. de
Pharm. xxiv. 652.)  The oil  is  said to be frequently adulterated with animal fats.
The chief use to which it is applied, is as an ingredient  in cosmetic unguents. A pecu-
liar crystallizable azotized  principle, called theobromine, has been found  in the seeds
by M. Woskresensky.  It is  said  to contain a larger proportion of nitrogen than
cafe'in.  (Journ.  de Pharm. N. S. i. 136.)  The shells of the nuts  are sometimes em-
ployed in the state of infusion, as a substitute for tea or coffee. They impart to boil-
ing water a taste analogous to that of chocolate, but weaker. The  kernel is consumed
in great quantities, in  the shape of chocolate, or in some analogous form.
   Clwcolaie is differently prepared in different countries.  In Great Britain and the
United States, it usually consists, when pure, exclusively of the cocoa nuts, which are
first roasted, then  deprived of their shell, and lastly  reduced, by grinding between
heated stones, to the state of a paste, which is moulded into oblong cakes.   Not un-
frequentiy rice flour or other farinaceous substance, with butter or lard, is added; but
these must be considered as adulterations.  On the continent of Europe, sugar is
generally incorporated with the paste, and spices, especially cinnamon,  are often
added.  Vanilla is a favourite addition in South America, France, and Spain.  Cocoa
is often sold in  the state of powder, which is sometimes mingled with other ingredi-
ents, such as ground rice, barley flour, sugar, &c.  Chocolate is prepared for use by
reducing it to powder, and boiling it in milk, water, or a mixture  of these fluids.  In
this state it  is  much employed as a drink at the morning and evening meals, and
serves as an excellent substitute for coffee in dyspeptic cases, being nutritive  and
digestible, without  exercising any  narcotic or otherwise injurious  influence.  It  is
also a good article  of diet  for convalescents, and may sometimes be given advan-
tageously as  a mild nutritive  drink in cases of disease, though, under these circum-
stances, it  should  usually  be prepared without  milk, and of less strength than as
ordinarily used.
   COD-LIVER OIL.  Oleum Jecoris Aselli.  Huile de Morue, Fr. A fixed  oil obtained
from  the livers of codfish, Gadus Morrhua of naturalists, and from those of other
allied species.  It is procured by exposing the livers, in tubs or vats, to the sun's rays.
The oil flows out spontaneously, and is collected in proper vessels. That which first
flows is limpid and of a light-yellowish colour.  After the commencement of putrefac- 
Appendix.
1245
tion, a darker coloured, and offensive oil flows out, which is unfit for medical use.
The oil is also  separated by expression, and by means of heat; and in both ways, if
the livers be quite fresh, and proper care be taken, it may be procured of good qua-
lity.  Mr. Donovan recommends the following mode of preparation.  The  livers,
perfectly sound and fresh, are to be placed in a clean iron pot over a slow fire, and
stirred until they assume the condition of a pulp, care being  taken that the mass be
not heated beyond 192°. When this temperature is attained, the pot is to be removed
from the fire, and its contents introduced into a  canvass bag, through which water
and oil will flow into a vessel beneath.  After  twenty-four hours, the oil  is to be de-
canted and filtered  through paper.  In this state it is pale yellow, with little odour,
and a bland not disagreeable taste.   As ordinarily found in the market, and employed
for manufacturing purposes, the oil is brown, very offensive, and scarcely fit for inter-
nal use.  On the continent of Europe, three,  and according  to some, four varieties
are distinguished, viz. the white, the yellow,  the red, and the brown.  It is possible
that the colour may sometimes depend upon the species of fish from which the oil is
procured; but more commonly the difference arises from the  degree of care used in
the preparation.   If the livers be putrid, or be exposed  to too great  a heat, or too
strongly expressed, or if they be originally diseased or of bad  quality, the oil is more
or less inferior.  That  should  be selected for medical use which is least offensive
to the palate and nostrils.
   Cod-liver oil has been found to contain variable proportions of iodine and bromine.
The former  was detected by L. Gmelin (Annal. der Pharm. xxx. 321); and both by
Herberger (Pharm. Central-Blatt, 1837, s. 536).  It has long been popularly used in
various diseases, but has only within a few years attracted the general notice of the
profession.  It has  been much lauded on the continent of Europe, particularly in
Germany and Switzerland,  as a remedy in chronic gouty and rheumatic affections,
scrofula and rickets, chronic pectoral complaints, tabes mesenterica, obstinate  consti-
pation, incontinence of urine, and intestinal  worms.  The dose is a  tablespoonful
three or four times a day for adults, a teaspoonful repeated as  frequently for children,
which may be gradually increased as the stomach will permit, and  continued for a
long time.  It may be  taken alone, or mixed  with some mucilaginous liquid.  It is
sometimes applied externally by friction, and, in  cases of ascarides or lumbricoides,
is injected into the rectum.  It has been  recommended also as a local application in
paralysis, various chronic cutaneous eruptions, and opacity  of the cornea, after the
subsidence of inflammation.  In the last mentioned affection, one or two drops of the
oil are applied by means of a pencil to the cornea, and  diluted, if found too  stimu-
lating, with olive or almond oil.
   COFFEE.  The coffee plant—Coffea Arabica—belongs to the class and order Pen-
tandria Monogynia of the sexual system, and to  the natural  order Cinchonaceae  of
Lindley.  It is a small  tree, rising from fifteen to twenty feet in height, and in favour-
able situations  sometimes  even thirty feet.  The branches are opposite, the lower
spreading, the upper somewhat declining, and gradually diminishing in length as they
ascend, so as to form a pyramidal  summit,  which is covered with green  foliage
throughout the year.  The  leaves are opposite, upon short footstalks,  oblong-ovate,
acuminate, entire, wavy, four or five inches long, smooth and shining, of a dark green
colour on their upper surface, paler beneath, and accompanied with a pair of small,
pointed stipules. The flowers are white, with an odour not unlike that of the jasmine,
and stand in  groups in the axils of the upper leaves.  The calyx is  very small, the
corolla salverform, with a nearly cylindrical  tube, and a flat  border divided into five
lanceolate, pointed segments.   The stamens project above the  tube. The fruit, which
is inferior, is a  roundish berry, umbilicate at top, at first green,  then red, and ulti-
mately of a dark purple colour.  It is about as large as  a cherry, and contains two
seeds, surrounded by a paper-like membrane, and enclosed in a yellowish pulpy mat-
ter.  These seeds, divested  of  their coverings, constitute coffee.
   This tree is a native of Southern  Arabia and Abyssinia,  and  probably pervades
Africa about the same  parallel of latitude, as it is found growing wild at Liberia on
the western coast of the continent   The value of its produce has  led to its extensive
cultivation in various parts of the world where the temperature is sufficiently elevated
and uniform.  Considerable attention has long been paid to its culture  in its native
country, particularly in Yemen, in the vicinity of Mocha, from which  the demands of
commerce were  at first almost exclusively  supplied.  About the  year 1690, it was
introduced by the Dutch into Java,  and in 1718 into their colony of Surinam.   Soon
after this latter period, the French succeeded in introducing it into their West India
islands, Cayenne, and the Isles of France and Bourbon;, and it has subsequently made 
1246
Appendix.
its way into the other West India  Islands, various  parts of tropical America, the
peninsula of Hindostan, and Ceylon.
  The tree is raised from the seeds, which are sown in a soil properly prepared, and
germinating in less than a month, produce plants which at the end of the year are
large enough to be transplanted. These are then set out in rows at suitable distances,
and in three or four years  begin to bear fruit. It is customary to top the trees at this
age,  in order  to prevent their attaining  an inconvenient height, and to increase the
number of fruit-bearing branches.   It is said that they continue productive for thirty
or forty years.  Though almost always covered with flowers and fruit,  they  yield
most abundantly at two seasons, and thus afford two harvests during the year. Various
methods are employed for freeing  the seeds from their external coverings; but that
considered the best, is by means of machinery to remove  the fleshy portion of the
fruit, leaving the seeds surrounded  only by their papyraceous envelope, from which
they are afterwards separated by drying, and by the action of peeling and winnowing
mills.
  The character of coffee varies considerably with the climate and mode of culture.
Consequently several varieties exist in commerce, named usually from the sources
from which they are derived. The Mocha coffee, which is in small and roundish grains,
takes precedence of all others; but very little of it is now imported into Europe or Ame-
rica.  The Java  coffee is generally esteemed most  highly in this country, and com-
mands the highest price; but our chief supplies are derived from the West Indies and
South America.  Some good coffee has been brought from Liberia.  Coffee is thought
to improve by age, losing a portion  of its strength, and thus acquiring a more agree-
able flavour.   It is said to be much better when allowed  to become perfectly ripe
upon the tree, than as ordinarily collected.  The grains should be hard, and so heavy
as readily to sink in water.  When soft, light, black or dark coloured, or musty, they
are inferior.
  The general aspect of coffee is too well known to need description. It has a faint
peculiar odour, and a slightly sweetish, somewhat austere taste, entirely different from
that  developed by roasting.  From the experiments of Seguin, Schrader, Robiquet and
Pelletier, and other chemists, it appears  to contain a minute quantity of volatile oil, a
£xedoil, gum, resin, an extractive matter having the characteristic taste of the coffee and
affording a dark green precipitate with the salts of iron, albumen, a little sugar, saline
(substances, lignin, and a peculiar crystallizable principle which has received the name
of cqffein.  This was first discovered by Runge, and afterwards'by Robiquet It may
be obtained in the following manner.  Exhaust bruised coffee by two successive por-
tions of boiling water, unite the infusions,  add acetate of lead in order to precipitate
the principles which accompany the caffein, filter, decompose the  excess of acetate
of lead in the filtered liquor by sulphuretted hydrogen, and evaporate to the point of
crystallization.  The crystals which form may be purified by again dissolving them
in water and evaporating.  This is the process employed by Runge.  (Berzelius,  Trait.
de Chim.)  Pelletier obtained caffein by submitting the alcoholic extract  of coffee to
the action of water, treating the solution thus obtained with magnesia, filtering, evapo-
rating the filtered liquor to the consistence of syrup, treating the residue with alcohol,
and  filtering and  evaporating  the  alcoholic solution.  (Diet,  des Drogues.)  Caffein
crystallizes, by the cooling of its  concentrated solution, in  opaque, silky, flexible
needles; by slow and spontaneous evaporation, in long, transparent prisms. It has a
feebly bitter and disagreeable taste, is soluble in water and alcohol, but insoluble in
ether and oil of  turpentine, has neither an acid nor alkaline reaction, melts when ex-
posed to heat, and at a higher temperature sublimes, without residue, into needles analo-
gous to those formed by benzoic acid. It is remarkable for containing a larger propor-
tion  of nitrogen than almost any other proximate vegetable principle, and in this respect
equals some  of the most highly animalized products.  The present views of its com-
position are represented by  the formula CSH N202; and it is  believed to be identical
with thein, or the peculiar principle of tea. ( Turner's  Chemistry, 7th Lond. Ed.)   Not-
withstanding  the quantity of nitrogen  in its composition, caffein does not putrefy,
even when its solution is kept for some time in a warm place.  In addition to the facts
above stated  in relation to  the composition of coffee, Pfaff  ascertained that,  in the
precipitate produced by acetate of lead with the  decoction, there are two peculiar
principles, one resembling tannin, the other having acid properties, and called by him
caffeic acid.
   Coffee undergoes considerable change during the  roasting process.  It swells up
very much, acquiring almost double its original volume, while it loses about 20 per
cent, of its weight.   It acquires, at  the same time, a peculiar odour entirely different
from that of  the unaltered grains,  and  a decidedly bitter taste.  A volatile oil  is de- 
Appendix*
1247
veloped during the process, and, according to Chenevix, a portion of tannin.  The
caffein does not appear to undergo material change, as, according to Garot, it may be
extracted unaltered from the roasted coffee.   The excellence of the flavour of roasted
coffee depends much upon the manner in which the process is conducted, and the
extent to which it is carried.  It should be performed in a  covered vessel, over a
moderate fire, and the grains should be kept in constant motion.   When these have
acquired a chestnut-brown colour, the process  should cease.   If too long continued,
it renders the coffee  unpleasantly bitter and acrid, or by reducing it to charcoal, de-
prives it entirely of flavour.  The coffee  should not be burnt long before  it is used,
and should never be kept in the ground state, as it loses much of its agreeable flavour
and activity.
   Medical and Economical Uses.—More attention has been paid to the effects of coffee
on the system in the roasted than in the crude state.  Unroasted coffee has been em-
ployed by Dr. Grindel of Russia in intermittent fevers, and the practice has been fol-
lowed by some other physicians;  but the  success, though considerable, was not such
as to lead to the conclusion that this medicine would answer as a substitute for Peru-
vian bark.  It was given in powder in the dose of a scruple every hour, or in decoc-
tion prepared by boiling an ounce with eighteen ounces of water down to  six, or in
the state of extract in the dose of from four to eight grains.   Whether its operation
corresponds with that of the roasted coffee we are unable to say.  The following ob-
servations relate only to the latter.
   The action of coffee is directed chiefly  to the nervous system.  When swallowed it
produces a warming cordial impression on the stomach, quickly followed by a diffused
agreeable nervous excitement, which extends itself to the cerebral functions, giving
rise to increased vigour of imagination  and intellect, without any subsequent con-
fusion or stupor such as characterizes the action of narcotic  medicines.  Indeed one
of its most extraordinary effects is a disposition to wakefulness, which continues for
several hours after it has  been taken.  It is even capable of resisting, to  a certain
extent, the intoxicating and soporific influence of alcohol and opium, and may some-
times be advantageously employed for this purpose.   It also moderately excites the
circulatory system, and stimulates the digestive function.  A cup of coffee taken after
 a hearty meal, will often relieve the sense of oppression so apt to be experienced, and
enable the stomach to perform its office with comparative facility. These exhilarating
 effects of coffee, united with  its delicious flavour when suitably qualified  by cream
 and sugar, have given rise to its  habitual employment as an article of diet  Its use
 for this purpose has prevailed from time  immemorial in Persia and Arabia.  In 1517
 it was introduced by the Turks into Constantinople, whence it was carried to France
 and England about the middle of the succeeding century, and has since gradually made
 its way into almost  universal use. It cannot be supposed that a substance capable
 of acting so energetically upon the system, should  be entirely destitute of deleterious
 properties.  Accordingly, if taken in very large quantities,  it leaves, after its  first
 effects are passed, a degree of nervous derangement or depression equivalent to the
 previous excitement; and its habitual  immoderate employment is well known very
 greatly to  injure the tone of the stomach, and frequently to give rise  to troublesome
 dyspeptic and nervous affections.  This result is peculiarly  apt to take place in indi-
 viduals of naturally susceptible nervous systems, and in those of sedentary habits.
 We have repeatedly known patients who have long suffered with headache and ver-
 tigo, to get rid of these affections by abstaining from coffee.
    In the treatment of disease, coffee has been less employed than might have been
 expected from its effects upon the system.   There  can be no doubt that it may be ad-
 vantageously used  in various  nervous disorders.  In a  tendency to  stupor or
 lethargy dependent on deficient  energy  of  the brain, without congestion or inflam-
 mation, it would be found useful by stimulating the cerebral functions.  In  light
 nervous headaches, and even in sick headache not caused by the presence of  offend-
 ing matter in the stomach, it often proves temporarily useful.  It has acquired much
  reputation as a palliative in  the paroxysm of spasmodic asthma, and is recommended
  by some writers in hysterical  affections.  The  Egyptians are said to have formerly
  employed it as a remedy in amenorrhoea. Hayne informs us that in a case of violent
  spasmodic disease,  attended with short breath, palpitation of the heart, and a pulse so
  much increased in frequency that it could scarcely be counted, immediate relief was
  obtained from a cup of coffee, after the most powerful antispasmodics had been used
  in vain for several  hours.   It is said also to have been used very effectually in ob-
  stinate chronic diarrhoea; and Dr. Chapman, of  Philadelphia, has found it highly
  useful in  calculous nephritis.  In all inflammatory  affections of a high grade it is
  contra-indicated. 
1248
Appendix.
   Coffee is usually prepared in this country by boiling the roasted grains, previously-
ground into a coarse powder, in water for a short time, and then clarifying by the
white  of an  egg.  Some prefer  the infusion, made by a process  similar to that of
displacement.  It has more of the aroma of the coffee than  the decoction, with less
of its bitterness.  It  is usually made by a process similar to that of displacement
The proper proportion for forming the infusion for medical use is an ounce to a pint
of boiling water, of which a  cupful may be  given warm for a dose, and repeated if
necessary.
   COLLINSONIA  CANADENSIS.  Horse-weed.  Horse-balm.  Richweed.   Heal-all.
Stone-root.  Knot-root. An indigenous plant, with a perennial, knotty root, and an
herbaceous simple stem  about two  feet high,  furnished with two or three pairs of
broad, cordate ovate, smooth leaves, and terminating in a panicle of yellow flowers
in branched racemes.  The  flowers are diandrous and monogynous, with a labiate
calyx and corolla, the latter of which has the lower lip fringed. The plant grows in
woods from Canada to Carolina, and  flowers  from July to  September.  The whole
plant has a strong disagreeable odour, and a warm pungent taste.  It is considered
tonic, astringent,  diaphoretic, and diuretic; and the root in substance is said to irri-
tate the stomach and produce vomiting even in small doses.  The plant is used in
numerous complaints in domestic practice.  It is preferred in the  fresh state, as the
active principle is volatile.  A decoction of the fresh root is said  to have been  used
with advantage in catarrh of the bladder, leucorrhoea, grave!, dropsy, and other  com-
plaints; and the leaves are applied by the country people, in the form of eataplasm or
fomentation, to wounds, bruises, and sores, and in cases of internal abdominal pains.
   COLUTEA ARBORESCENS. Bladder Senna.   A shrub, growing spontaneously
in the southern and  eastern  parts of Europe, and cultivated in gardens as an  orna-
mental plant.  Its leaves are pinnate, consisting of from  three to five pairs of leaflets,
with an odd one at the end. The leaflets are obovate, slightly emarginate, smooth and
of a deep-green colour on the upper surface, grayish-green and somewhat pubescent
beneath. The flowers are yellow, and  the fruit vesicular, whence the plant derived
its vulgar name.  The leaflets are possessed of purgative properties, and, in  some
parts of Europe, are  used as  a substitute for senna, which is said to be sometimes
adulterated with them.  The bladder senna is comparatively very feeble.  It is ad-
ministered in infusion or decoction, of wrhich the dose is  about half a pint, containing
the virtues of from one to three ounces of the leaves.
   COMPTONIA ASPLENIFOLIA.  Sweet Fern. A shrubby indigenous plant, named
from the resemblance of its leaves to the spleenwort fern, but belonging to the Lin-
naean class and order Monoecia Triandra.  It grows in thin sandy or stony woods,
from New England  to Virginia.  All  parts  of it  possess a resinous  spicy odour,
which  is increased when the plant is rubbed.  It is said to be tonic and astringent,
and to be occasionally used in domestic practice as a remedy in diarrhoea, and various
other complaints.  It is employed in the form of decoction.
  CONVALLARIA  MAJALIS.  Lily of the  Valley.  This  charming little garden
flower is a native  of Europe,  and is found growing wild in  the United States,  upon
the highest mountains of Virginia and Carolina.  The flowers  have  a strong  delightful
odour, which  is in great measure lost by drying. Their taste is nauseous, bitter, and
acrid.  Taken internally  they are said to be  emetic and cathartic, and their extract
purges actively in the dose of half a drachm.  They were formerly used in epilepsy
and against worms.  At present they are employed only as a sternutatory, for which
purpose they are  dried and  reduced to a coarse powder.  The root, which  is also
bitter,  has similar purgative  properties, and,  reduced to  powder,  is said to be
sternutatory.
  CONVALLARIA  POLYGONATUM,  Linn.  Polygonatum uniflorum, Desfon-
taines.  Solomon's seal.  A perennial, herbaceous, European  plant, the root of which
is horizontal,  jointed, white, and  marked, at  short intervals, with  small circular im-
pressions, which  bear a  remote resemblance  to  those made by a seal, and  have
served to give a name to the  plant.  The root is inodorous, and of a sweetish muci-
laginous taste, followed by a slight degree of bitterness  and acrimony.  It is said to
be emetic.  In former times it was used externally in bruises, especially those about
the eyes, in tumours, wounds,  and  cutaneous eruptions, and was highly esteemed as a
cosmetic.  At present it is not employed, though recommended by Hermann  as a good
remedy in gout and rheumatism. The hemes and flowers are said to be acrid and
poisonous.
  The C. multijUrra (Polygonatum multiflorum,  Desf.), which grows in this country,
as well as in Europe, is analogous to the preceding in properties. 
Appendix.
1249
  COPAL. A resinous substance, brought from the East Indies, South America, and
the western coast of Africa, but most abundantly from the first-mentioned source.  It
is the concrete juice of different trees, and is furnished by exudation.  The East India
copal has been  supposed to be derived from  the Vateria Indica of Linn, the Elaeo-
carpus copalliferus of Retzius;  and the Brazilian is attributed  by Martius and Hayne,
probably with justice,  to different species of Hymenaea.  There is  some reason to
believe that the E. India copal is also the product of a species of Hymenaea; at least a
specimen of this resin was collected by M. Perottet from the Hymenaea Verrucosa, which
he found growing in the Isle of Bourbon.  This tree  is a native of Madagascar, and
probably of the neighbouring parts of Africa; and M. Perottet  was informed that the
copal of India is taken thither by the Arabs of Muscat, who obtain it from the  East
coast of Africa. (Journ. de Pharm. 3eme serie, i. 406.)  Copal varies somewhat in
appearance and properties, as  procured from different sources.  It is in roundish,
irregular, or flattish pieces, colourless, yellowish, or brownish-yellow, more or less
transparent, very hard, with a shining conchoidal fracture, inodorous and tasteless,
of a sp. gr. varying from  1-045 to 1-139, insoluble in alcohol,  soluble in ether, and
slightly so  in oil of turpentine.  Some varieties unite with  alcohol  if suspended in
its vapour while boiling.  By heat it  melts and is partially decomposed, becoming
thereby soluble in alcohol and oil of turpentine.  It is not a proximate principle, but
consists of various resins united in different proportions. The East India copal is in
flatter pieces than the American or African, and is whiter, softer, and less transparent
Two kinds are known in the drug market—the crude and the scraped—the former of a
dull opaque appearance externally, the latter much clearer and more transparent, in
consequence of  being deprived of its outer coat.  The process of scraping is said to
consist  in  the  removal of the exterior portion by  means  of an alkaline solution,
which readily dissolves copal.  This resin is used chiefly in the preparation of var-
nishes.
   CORAL.   A substance  found at the bottom of the Mediterranean  and other seas,
supposed originally to belong to the precious stones, afterwards considered as a
plant, but now universally admitted to belong to the  animal kingdom.  The red coral
(Corallium rubrum of Lamarck, Ms nobilis of Linn.)  is in the form of a small shrub,
a foot or two in height, with a stem sometimes  an inch or two in thickness, fixed to
the rock by an expansion of the base, divided above  into branches, and covered with
a pulpy membrane, which is properly the living part,  and  which is removed when
the coral is collected.  The central portion is extremely hard, of various shades of
red, susceptible of a brilliant polish, longitudinally striated, and formed of concentric
layers, which are rendered obvious by calcination.  Its chief constituent is carbonate
of lime, which is coloured by oxide of iron, and united, as in similar calcareous pro-
ducts, with more or less animal  matter.  It was  formerly  very highly valued as a
remedy in numerous diseases, but is in no respect superior to prepared oyster-shell,
or other form of carbonate of lime derived from  the animal  kingdom.  It was em-
ployed in the form of fine powder, or in different preparations, such as  troches, syrups,
conserves, tinctures, &c.  At present it is valued chiefly as an ornament.
   CORTEX CARYOPHYLLATA. Cassia Caryophyllata. Clove Bark.  These names
have been given to a bark, brought  from the West  Indies,  and derived from  a tree
belonging to the family of the Myrtaceae, supposed to be the Myrtus acris of Schwartz.
It is usually  in cylinders from one to two feet long by an inch  in diameter, composed
of numerous separate pieces rolled around one another, having a dark brown colour,
a pungent taste, and an odour similar to that of cloves.  It is sometimes in fragments,
of a similar  colour, taste, and smell, but softer and lighter, and supposed to be de-
rived from older branches.  A similar bark is said  to  be derived from the Myrtus
caryophyllata of Linn., which grows in Ceylon.  The  clove bark has aromatic pro-
perties not unlike those of the spice from which it derived its  name: but it is much
inferior, and is now never used in this country.  Some authors have confounded with
it a wholly different bark  produced by a tree  growing in  the  Moluccas, and known
by the Indian name of culilawan. (See Culilawan.)
   CORYLUS ROSTRATA.  Beaked Hazel.  This is a small indigenous shrub grow-
ing especially in mountainous districts.   The nut is  invested with a scaly involucre,
projecting beyond it like a beak, and thickly covered with short spiculae like those qf
the Mucuna pruriens.  These spiculae have been employed by Dr. Heubener of Beth-
lehem, Pennsylvania, as an anthelmintic, and found  to be efficacious. They operate
in the same  way as cowhage, and may be administered  in the same manner and
dose. See a communication from Mr. Dnhamel in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiv. 280.
   CRAB'S CLAWS.   C/ielae Cancrorum.  These, in a prepared state, were formerly
        106 
1250
Appendix.
included in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, but were very properly omitted upon  the
recent revision of that work.  Supposing them identical with the crust of the lobster,
they consist, in  the 100 parts, of 60  parts of carbonate of lime, 14 of phosphate of
lime, and 26 of  animal matter.  They are prepared by levigation and elutriation, so
as to bring them to a fine powder.  They were formerly used as an absorbent and
antacid; but the animal matter in their composition confers on them  no peculiar
virtues.  They are given in the same  dose  with  prepared chalk, over which they
possess no superiority.
  CRAB STONES. Lapilli Cancrorum. Crabs' Eyes.  These are concretions, found in
the stomach, one on each side, of the European crawfish, at the time the animal is
about to change  its  shell.  They are most abundantly procured in the  province of
Astracan in Asiatic Russia. The crawfish are bruised with wooden mallets, and laid up
in heaps to putrefy.  The animal remains are then washed away, and the stones picked
out They are inodorous, insipid bodies, somewhat hemispherical in  shape, of a
white or reddish  colour, hard and stony consistence, and laminated texture. They
are very variable in size, weighing from one to twelve grains each.  They effervesce
with acids, and, without dissolving, become converted, owing to the animal matter
which they contain, into a soft transparent mass, retaining the original shape of  the
stone.   By this  character they are distinguished from counterfeit stones, which  are
sometimes fabricated of chalk, mixed with mucilaginous substances.  They consist
of carbonate  and phosphate  of lime, cemented together by animal matter.  Crab
stones have been used as an absorbent and antacid, and given in the same dose with
prepared chalk.  They were prepared for exhibition by being levigated  in the usual
manner. But they are now nearly obsolete, and are no longer officinal, having been
expunged from the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.
  CUCURBITA CITRULLUS.  Watermelon.  The seeds of the  watermelon are em-
ployed, to a considerable extent, as a domestic remedy in strangury and other affec-
tions of the urinary passages.  They have the same properties with the  seeds of the
Other Cucurbitaceae, of which four different kinds were formerly officinal under the
name of the greater cold seeds—viz.  those of the Cucurbita Pepo or pumpkin,  the
Cucurbita Lagenaria or gourd, the Cucumis Melo or muskmelon, and the Cucumis
sativus or cucumber.  These, when bruised and rubbed up with water, form an emul-
sion which was formerly thought to possess considerable virtues, and was much used
in catarrhal affections, disorders of the bowels and urinary passages, fever, &c.  Of
late, however, they have been entirely neglected, having been superseded by other
more agreeable  demulcents.  The watermelon seeds  are esteemed by some diuretic,
as well as demulcent.  They are  usually given in the form of infusion,  made in  the
proportion of one or two ounces of the  bruised seeds to a pint  of water, and taken
ad libitum.
  CULILAWAN. Cortex Culilaban.  An aromatic bark, produced by the Cinnamo-
mum Culilawan (Laurus Culilawan, Linn.), a tree of considerable size, growing in the
Molucca islands, Cochinchina, and other parts of the East.  It is usually in flat or
slightly rolled pieces, several inches long, an inch or more in breadth, and one or two
lines thick.  Sometimes the bark is thinner and more quilled, bearing considerable
resemblance to cinnamon.  The epidermis is  for the  most part removed, but when
present is of a light brownish-gray colour, soft to the  touch, and somewhat spongy.
The colour of the bark itself is a dull dark cinnamon-brown, the odour highly fra-
grant, the  taste  agreeably aromatic, and not unlike that of cloves.  The active con-
stituent is a volatile oil which may be separated by distillation.   Culilawan has  the
medical properties common to the aromatics, but is scarcely used at present.
  CUNILA MARIANA.  American  Dittany.   A small  indigenous perennial herb,
growing on dry, shady hills, from New England to Georgia, and flowering  in June
and July.   The whole herb has a warm pungent taste, and a  fragrant odour, depen-
dent on an essential oil which may be  obtained separate by distillation with water.
The medical properties of the plant  are those of a gently stimulant aromatic, analo-
gous to the mints, pennyroyal, &c.  In  the shape of warm infusion, it is  popularly
employed to  excite  perspiration in  cold and slight  fevers, to promote suppressed
menstruation, to relieve  flatulent colic, and for various other purposes to which  the
aromatic herbs are thought applicable.
   CUTTLE-FISH BONE.  Os Sepiae.  This  is a calcareous body, situated under-
neath the skin, in the back of the Sepia officinalis, or cuttle-fish, which  inhabits  the
seas of Europe, especially the Mediterranean, in the waters of which the bone is not
unfrequentiy found floating.   It is oblong-oval, from five to ten inches long, and from
one and a half to three inches broad, somewhat convex on both sides, with thin edges, 
Appendix.
1251
 of a rather firm consistence upon the upper surface, very friable beneath, and com-
 posed of numerous layers, loosely connected, so as to give to the mass a porous
 consistence.   It is lighter than water, of a white colour, a feeble odour of sea-plants,
 and a saline taste.  It  contains, according to  John, from 80 to 85 per cent, of carbo-
 nate of lime, besides animal matter, a little common salt, and  traces of magnesia.
 Reduced by levigation and elutriation to a fine powder, it may be given as an antacid
 under similar circumstances with chalk or oyster-shell.  It is  sometimes used as an
 ingredient of tooth-powders.  Small pieces of it are often  put  into bird-cages, that
 the birds  may rub their bills against them; and the powder is employed for polishing.
 i  Another product of the cuttle-fish is a blackish-brown liquor,  secreted by a  small
 gland into an oval pouch, communicating externally near the rectum by a long excre-
 tory duct, through which the animal is said to have the  power of ejecting it at will.
 This, when taken from the fish, is  dried, and used in the preparation of the water
 colour called sepia.
   CYANURET OF ZINC.  Zinci Cyanuretum.  This cyanuret is  precipitated as a
 white insoluble powder, by adding cautiously, until it ceases to produce a precipitate,
 a recently filtered solution of cyanuret of potassium, obtained from  the impure black
 cyanuret, to a solution of sulphate of zinc.  It is used in  Germany as a substitute for
 hydrocyanic acid, and  is said to  possess  anthelmintic properties.  It has been em-
 ployed in epilepsy, chorea, and neuralgia, in several painful affections of the stomach,
 and in the colics attendant on difficult menstruation.  The dose is  a quarter of a
 grain, gradually increased to a ^rain and a half, given in mixture.  It is included in
 the officinal list of the  French Codex.
   CYNANCHUM  VINCETOXICUM.   R. Brown.   Asclepias  Vincetoxicum.  Linn.
 White Swallow-wort.  Vincetoxicum.  A  perennial herbaceous  European plant, the
 root of which was formerly esteemed a counterpoison, and  hence gave origin to the
 officinal name.  It has a bitterish acrid taste, and when  fresh, a disagreeable odour
 which is diminished by drying.   Taken internally, especially in the  recent state, it
 excites vomiting, and is  capable  in  large quantities of producing  dangerous if not
 fatal  inflammation of the stomach.  Its  former reputation  as alexipharmic was
 wholly without foundation.  It is said to be useful  in cutaneous diseases, scrofula,
 &c; but is little employed.  The leaves  of  the plant also are emetic. Feneulle
 found in the root a peculiar principle analogous to emetin.
   CYNOGLOSSUM OFFICINALE.  Hound's Tongue.  A  biennial plant, common
 both  in Europe and this country, and named  from the  shape of  its leaves.   The
 leaves and root have  been employed, but the latter has been  generally preferred.
 The fresh plant has a disagreeable narcotic odour resembling that of  mice, which is
 dissipated by drying.   The taste is nauseous, bitterish, and mucilaginous. Different
 opinions as to its powers have been entertained, some considering it as nearly inert,
 others as a dangerous poison; nor has the  difference been hitherto settled.  Hound's
 tongue has been used as a demulcent and sedative in coughs, catarrh, spitting of
 blood, dysentery, and  diarrhoea:  and has  been applied  externally  in  burns, ulcers,
 scrofulous tumours, and goitre. The pilulae de cynoglosso, which  are officinal in some
 parts of Europe, though  they contain a  portion  of the root of hound's tongue, owe
 their properties chiefly to opium.
   DIAPHORETIC ANTIMONY.  Antimonium Diaphoreticum.  White Oxide of An-
 timony.  Potassae Biantimonios.   This  compound is directed to be  formed  in  the
 French Codex by deflagrating in a red-hot crucible, and  keeping red-hot for half an
 hour,  a mixture  of pure antimony with twice its weight of nitrate  of potassa, both
 being in fine powder. The product is washed with  water and dried, and  forms  the
 washed diaphoretic antimony.  As  thus prepared, M. Oscar Figuier has shown that it
 contains  both sesquioxide  of antimony  and antimonious  acid, and probably  not
in constant proportions, the nitre not  being in sufficient quantity completely to
 peroxidize the antimony.   When, however, the antimony is deflagrated with three
 times its weight  of nitre, and the matter is kept at a red heat for  an  hour and a half,
 the whole of the  antimony is converted into antimonic acid, and,  when the product is
 thoroughly exhausted by boiling water, the solution obtained contains a large quan-
 tity of neutral antimoniate of potassa, and the  insoluble residue is impure bianti-
moniate.   M. Figuier rejects this  residue, which forms the  diaphoretic antimony of
the ordinary process, and obtains the preparation from  the solution of the neutral
 antimoniate, by passing through it a stream of carbonic acid gas, which takes  away
one eq. of potassa from two of the antimoniate, and  throws down the biantimoniate
in the form of a white  powder.  M. Figuier, by this process, obtained a quantity of
the preparation, equal to three-fourths of the weight of the materials employed. 
1252
Appendix.
  Diaphoretic antimony is a  perfectly whrte powder.   When properly prepared, as
by the process of M. Figuier, it consists of two eqs. of antimonic acid, one of potassa,
and six of water.   The  dose of this preparation is  two or  three  drachms.  On
account of its weak and variable nature, it has been very properly laid aside in prac-
tice.
  DICTAMUS  ALBUS.   White Fraxinella.  Bastard Dittany.  This is a perennial
European plant, the root of which is bitter  and aromatic, and  has been used as an
anthelmintic, emmenagogue, and stomachic tonic, though at present little employed
in Europe, and  not at all  in  this country.   Sti',rck gave it  in  intermittents, worms,
amenorrhoea, hysteria, epilepsy, and other nervous diseases.  The bark of the root
is the most active part  The  dose in powder is  from twenty grains to a drachm or
more.
  DIPPEL'S ANIMAL OIL.  Oleum Cornu Cervi.  This oil is obtained during the
distillation of animal matters,  in the processes for obtaining the  ammoniacal products
on a large scale. That portion which first  comes over is pale  yellow; but, in the
progress of the distillation, it  becomes gradually deeper coloured and thicker, and at
last black and viscid.  It is purified and rendered colourless by redistillation, a pyro-
genous resin being left behind.  Thus rectified it is a colourless liquid, very limpid
and volatile, and having a penetrating, extremely fetid odour, and burning taste.  By
repeating  the distillation till a dark residuum is no longer left in the retort, it may be
obtained free from fetor, and of an agreeable, aromatic odour; and in this mode it is
said to have been prepared by Dippel. Four or five distillations are necessary to this
end. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. ix. 244.)  The oil is soon  altered by the action  of air
and light,  becoming thick, yellow, brown, and finally black.  It possesses an alkaline
reaction, and probably contains the various principles which have been discovered
by Reichenbach in the results of the distillation of organic substances.
  This oil was  formerly much used in medicine, but its repulsive odour and taste, as
it is ordinarily prepared, have caused it to be  almost entirely laid aside.   It acts, in
the dose of a few drops, given  with water, as  a  stimulant  and antispasmodic.  Its
presence in the spirit  and salt of hartshorn gives to these preparations medicinal pro-
perties different from  those of the pure carbonate of ammonia.
  DIRCA PALUSTRIS.  Leather  Wood.  An indigenous shrub, usually very small,
but sometimes attaining the height of five or six  feet, growing in boggy woods, and
other low  wet places, in almost all parts of the  United States, though less abundantly
in the western than in the eastern  section.   The berries, which are small, oval, and
of an orange colour, are said to be narcotic and poisonous.  The bark is the part
which has attracted most attention.  It is extremely tough, and of very difficult pul-
verization. In the fresh state it has a peculiar rather nauseous odour, and an unplea-
sant acrid taste, and when chewed excites  a flow of  saliva.   It yields its acrimony
completely to alcohol, but imperfectly to water  even by decoction.   In the dose of six
or eight grains, the fresh bark produces violent vomiting, preceded by a sense of heat
in the stomach, and often followed  by purging.  Applied to the  skin  it excites red-
ness, and  ultimately vesicates; but its epispastic operation is very slow.  It appears to
be analogous in its properties to mezereon, to  which it is also botanically allied, as
the two barks are derived from plants belonging to the same natural order.
  DRAGON'S  BLOOD.   Sanguis  Draconis. This is a resinous  substance obtained
from  the fruit of several species of  Calamus, especially  the C.  Rotang and C. Draco,
small palms, growing in the Molucca Islands and other parts of the East Indies.  On
the surface of the fruit, when ripe, is an exudation, which is separated by rubbing, or
shaking in a bag, or by exposure to the vapour of boiling water, or finally by decoc-
tion.  The finest resin  is  procured by the two former methods.  It comes  in two
forms; sometimes in small oval masses, of a size varying from that of a hazlenut to
that of a walnut, covered with the leaves of the  plant, and connected  together in a
row like beads  in a  necklace; sometimes in cylindrical sticks eighteen inches long and
from  a quarter  to half an inch in diameter, thickly covered with palm leaves, and
bound round with slender strips of cane. In both these forms, it is of a dark reddish-
brown colour, opaque, and readily pulverizable, affording a fine scarlet powder. It
sometimes comes also in the form of a reddish powder,  and in  small irregular frag-
ments or  tears.  An inferior  kind, said to be obtained by boiling the fruit in water,
is in flat circular cakes, two or three inches in diameter and half an inch thick.  This
also yields a fine red powder.  A fourth variety, much inferior even to the last  men-
tioned, is in  large dislcs, from six to twelve inches in diameter by an inch in thickness,
mixed with various impurities, as pieces of the shell, stem, &c, and supposed to be
derived from the fruit by decoction with expression.   A substance known by the 
Appendix.
1253
 name of Dragon's blood is also derived by exudation from  the trunk of the Dracaena
 Draco, a large tree inhabiting the Canary Islands and the E. Indies, and another from
 the Pterocarpus Draco, a tree of the West Indies and South  America, by incision into
 the bark.  These last, however, are little known in commerce.  According to Lieut.
 Wellstead, much dragon's blood is obtained, in  the island of Socotra, by  spon-
 taneous exudation from a large tree, growing at a considerable elevation upon the
 mountains.
   Dragon's blood is inodorous  and tasteless, insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol,
 ether, and the volatile and fixed oils, with which it forms red solutions. According to
 Herberger, it consists of 90-7 parts of a red resin which he  calls draconin, 2-0 of fixed
 oil, 3-0 of benzoic acid, 1-6 of oxalate of lime, and 3-7 of phosphate of lime.  It was
 formerly used in medicine as an astringent, but is nearly  or quite inert, and is now
 never given internally.  It is  sometimes used to impart  colour to plasters, but is
 valued chiefly as an ingredient of paints and varnishes.
   DUTCH PINK.  A  yellow or brownish-yellow paint, consisting of  clay,  or a
 mixture of clay arid chalk, or carbonate of lime in the form of whiting, coloured by
 a decoction of woad, French berries, or birch leaves, with alum.
   EMERY.  A very hard mineral, the powder of which is capable of wearing down
 all other substances except the diamond.  As found in commerce, it is said to be de-
 rived chiefly from the island of Naxos in the Grecian Archipelago.  It is pulverized
 by grinding it in a steel mill; and the powder is kept in the  shops of different degrees
 of fineness.   It  is used for polishing metals and hard stones.
   EUPHRASIA OFFICINALIS. Eyebright.  A  small  annual plant, common  to
 Europe and the United States, without odour, and of a bitterish, astringent taste.  It
 was formerly used in various complaints, and among the rest in disorders of the eyes,
 in which it was thought to be very  efficacious, and in the  treatment of which it is
 still popular in some countries.  Its  ordinary name arose from its supposed efficacy
 in improving vision.  The probability is that it is nearly inert.
   FERROCYANURET  OF ZINC.  Zinci Ferrocyanuretum.  This  compound  is
 formed by double decomposition between hot solutions  of ferrocyanuret of potassium
 (ferroprussiate of potassa) and sulphate of zinc.  It is thrown down as a white  pow-
 der.  It has similar medical  properties to those of the cyanuret, and is used in the
 same diseases.  The dose is from one to four grains, given in pill.
   FRENCH CHALK.  A variety of indurated talc. It is compact, unctuous to the
 touch, of a greenish colour, glossy, somewhat translucent, soft and easily scratched,
 and leaves  a silvery line when drawn over paper.  It is used chiefly for marking
 cloth, &c, and for extracting grease spots.
   FUCUS VESICULOSUS.  Sea-wrack. Bladderojrack.  This was omitted by mis-
 take in the first part of this work; for, though discarded by the London College in the
 last revision of their Pharmacopoeia, it is  still retained by the Dublin College.   It
 belongs to Cryptogamia Algae in the sexual system, and to the natural order Algaceae.
 The following is the generic character.  " Male. Vesicles smooth,  hollow, with villose
 hairs within,  interwoven.  Female.  Vesicles smooth, filled with jelly, sprinkled with
 immersed grains, prominent at tip.   Seeds solitary."   This sea-weed is  perennial,
 with the frond or leaf flat, smooth and glossy, from one to four feet high, from half an
 inch to an inch and a half broad, furnished with a midrib throughout its length, dieho-
 tomous, entire upon the margin, and of a dark  olive-green colour.  Small  spherical
 vesicles, filled with air, are immersed in the frond near the midrib.  The fruit  con-
 sists of roundish, compressed receptacles, at the ends of  the branches, filled with a
 clear tasteless mucus. The plant grows upon the shores of Europe and of this con-
 tinent, attaching itself to the rocks  by its expanded woody root. On the coast of
 Scotland  and  of France, it  is much used in the preparation of kelp.  It is also em-
 ployed as a manure, and  is mixed with the fodder of cattle.
  The Fucus vesiculosus has a peculiar odour, and a nauseous saline taste. Several
 chemists have undertaken its analysis, but the results  are by no means satisfactory.
 It contains a large quantity of soda in  saline combination,  and iodine according to
 Gaultier de Claubry, in the state of iodide of potassium.  These  ingredients remain
 in its ashes, and in the charcoal resulting from its exposure  to heat in close vessels.
 This charcoal, which is sometimes called Mthiops vegetabilis or vegetable ethiops, has
 long had the reputation of a deobstruent, and been given in  goitre  and scrofulous
 swellings.  Its virtues were formerly ascribed chiefly to  the  carbonate  of soda, in
 which it abounds;  but since the  discovery of  the medical properties of iodine, this
has been considered as its most active ingredient.  The mucus contained in the vesi-
                                     106* 
1254
Appendix.
cles was applied externally, with advantage, by Dr. Russel, as a resolvent in scrofu-
lous tumours.
  Other species of Fucus are in all probability possessed of similar properties.  Many
of them contain a gelatinous  matter, and a saccharine principle analogous to man-
nite; and some are used as aliment in times of scarcity by the wretched inhabitants
of the  coasts where they are collected.  The F. Helminthocorton, the Gigartina Hel-
minthocorton of Greville, has  some reputation in Europe as  an anthelmintic.  It is
one of the ingredients in that mixture of marine  plants which is sold in Europe  under
the name of Corsican moss or helminthocorton.  This is used in the form of decoction,
from four to six drachms being boiled in a pint of water, of which a wineglassful is
given three times a day.
  FUMARIA OFFICINALIS. Fumitory. A small annual European plant, naturalized
in this country, growing in cultivated grounds, and flowering from  May to August.
It was  formerly considerably  employed  as a medicine, and is still  used in Europe.
The leaves are the officinal part.  They are inodorous, have a bitter saline taste, and
are very succulent, yielding by expression a juice which has  the sensible and medi-
cinal  properties of the  plant.  An extract prepared by evaporating the expressed
juice, or a decoction of the leaves, throws out upon its surface a copious saline efflo-
rescence.  The plant, indeed, abounds in saline  substances, and to  these in connex-
ion with its bitter extractive, are to be  ascribed any medical  virtues which it may
possess. It is gently tonic, in large doses is said to be laxative and diuretic, and is
thought, moreover, to exercise an alterative influence over the system.  Both in  an-
cient  and modern times it  has been  esteemed as  a valuable remedy in  visceral
obstructions, particularly those  of the  liver, in  scorbutic affections, and in various
troublesome eruptive diseases of the  skin.   Cullen  speaks  very favourably  of its
influence in these last complaints.  He gave  the expressed juice in the dose of two
ounces twice a day.  Others have prescribed it in much larger quantities. The  leaves
either fresh or dried may be  used in decoction, without precise limitation as regards
the dose.  The inspissated juice and an extract of the dried  leaves have also been
employed, and are said to have all the virtues of the leaves themselves.
   FUSTIC. A yellow dye-wood, obtained from the Morus tinctoria (Broussonetia tinc-
toria, Kunth), a tree growing  in the West Indies  and South America.  It is not used
in medicine or pharmacy.  According to Bancroft, two different woods  bear in Eng-
land the name of fustic, one the product  of the tree just, mentioned, distinguished as
old fustic, probably from the greater magnitude of the billets  in which it is imported;
the other dirived from the Rhus Cotinus or Venice sumach, and called young fustic.
   GALANGAL.  Galanga.  Two varieties of this drug are described by authors, the
galanga major or large galangal, and the galanga minor or small galangal.  They are
considered by some as the roots of two distinct plants; but there is reason to believe
that they are both derived from the Maranta Galanga of Linn., the Alpinia Galanga
of Willd., and that they differ in  consequence of the different stages  of growth at
which  they are  collected.  They are brought from the East Indies. The larger va-
riety is cylindrical, three or four inches long, as  thick as the thumb or thicker, often
forked, reddish-brown externally, slightly striated longitudinally, marked with whitish
circular rings, orange-brown internally, rather  hard and  fibrous, difficultly pul-
verizable, of an  agreeable aromatic odour, and a  pungent,  hot, spicy, permanent
taste.   The small galangal resembles the preceding in shape, but is smaller, not ex-
ceeding the little finger in thickness, of a darker colour, and of a stronger taste and
smell.  According to Morin, galangal contains a volatile oil, an acrid resin, extractive,
gum, bassorin, and lignin. R. Brandes  is said to have found a peculiar crystallizable
substance called kempferid. \(Annal.der Pharm. xxxii. 311.) The active principles are
the volatile oil, and acrid resin. Its medical effects are those  of a stimulant aromatic;
and it may be used for the same purposes as ginger.  It was known to the ancient
Greeks  and Arabians, and entered into  numerous compound preparations, some of
which  have but recently passed out of use.  At present the root is very seldom em-
ployed.  Its dose is from fifteen to thirty grains in substance, and twice as much in
infusion.
   GALEGA OFFICINALIS. Goat's Rue.  A perennial herb, growing  in  the South
of Europe, and sometimes cultivated in gardens. It is without smell unless bruised,
when it emits a  disagreeable odour.   Its taste is unpleasantly bitter and somewhat
rough, and when  chewed, it stains the saliva yellowish-brown.   In former times it
was much employed as a remedy in malignant fevers,  the plague, the bites  of ser-
pents, worms, &c; but it has now fallen  into merited neglect The roots of the Ga-
tega Virginiana, which is a native of the United States, are said to be diaphoretic and
powerfully anthelmintic.  They are given in decoction. 
Appendix.
1255
   GALIUM  APARINE.  Cleavers.  Goose-grass.  This is an annual, succulent plant,
 common to Europe and the United States, growing in cultivated grounds, and along
 lences  and hedges.  It is inodorous, and has a bitterish, herbaceous, somewhat acrid
 taste.   The expressed juice is said to be aperient, diuretic, and anti-scorbutic;  and
 has been  used  in dropsy, congestion of  the spleen, scrofula,  and scorbutic erup-
 tions.  In the last complaint it has been thought peculiarly useful.  Three ounces of
 the juice may be taken twice a day.  The fresh herb, prepared in the form of oint-
 ment or of decoction, has been applied externally to scrofulous swellings with sup-
 posed advantage.
   GALIUM  VERUM.  Yellow Ladies Bed-straw.  Cfteese-rennet.  This species of Ga-
 lium is perennial, and  a native of Europe.   The flowers, which are yellow, have a
 peculiar, agreeable odour, and have sometimes been given in nervous affections, with
 a view to their supposed antispasmodic powers.  The herb is inodorous, but has an
 astringent, acidulous, bitterish taste.  The property of coagulating milk was formerly
 ascribed  to  it, but is certainly not constant, as the experiment has been frequently
 tried without success.  The bruised plant is sometimes used to colour cheese yellow,
 being introduced into the milk before coagulation.   It is also used for dyeing yellow.
 The roots of this and of most other species dye red; and  the plant eaten by animals
 colours the  bones like madder.  This species of Galium was formerly highly  es-
 teemed as a  remedy in epilepsy and hysteria, and was applied externally in cutaneous
 eruptions.  It may be employed either in the form of the recently expressed juice, or
 of a decoction prepared from  the fresh plant.  Its medical properties, however, are
 feeble.
   Of the American species, the G. tinclorium is closely allied in properties to the G.
 verum.  It is said to be useful in cutaneous diseases; and the root is employed by the
 Indians for staining their feathers and other ornaments red.
   GENISTA TINCTORIA. Dyer's Broom. Dyer's Weed.  Green Weed. A low  shrub,
 growing wild in Europe, and sometimes cultivated in this country in  gardens.  The
 flowering tops of the  plant  are employed to dye a yellow colour, whence its name
 was derived.  Both these and the seeds have been employed in medicine. It is said
 that they are purgative  and even emetic,  especially the seeds, which were formerly
 used as a cathartic in the dose of a drachm and a half.   By some authors they are
 said to be diuretic, and  to be useful in dropsy;  but it may be a question whether they
 were not confounded with the seeds and tops of the common broom (Cytisus Sco-
 parius). Attention was  some  years since attracted to  the plant as a preventive of
 hydrophobia, for which purpose it was said to have been long used effectually  by the
 peasants of Podolia, the Ukraine, and other provinces of Russia.  It was employed
 in the  form of very strong  decoction, both internally and as an application  to the
 bitten part; and its use  was persevered in for six weeks;  but the trials made with it
 in other parts of Europe have not justified the hopes which were at first entertained.
 The Russians are said to use it in connexion with the Rhus coriaria.
   GERANIUM  ROBERTIANUM.   Herb Robert.  This species of Geranium  grows
 wild  both in Europe and the United States, but is rare in this country; and  Pursh
 states that the  American plant is destitute  of the  heavy smell by which  the Eu-
 ropean  is  so well  known, though the two  agree in all other respects.  The herb has
 a disagreeable,  bitterish, astringent taste, and imparts its virtues  to boiling water.
 It has been used internally in intermittent fever, consumption, hemorrhages, nephritic
 complaints, jaundice, &c, has been  employed as a gargle in affections of the throat,
 and has been applied externally as a resolvent to swollen breasts and other tumours.
   GLASS OF ANTIMONY.  Vitrum Antimonii.  This is prepared from the sesqui-
 sulphuret of  antimony by a  partial roasting and subsequent fusion.   The sesquisul-
 phuret  is reduced to coarse powder, and  strewed upon a shallow, unglazed, earthen
 vessel, and heated gently and slowly, being continually stirred to prevent it from run-
 ning into lumps.  White vapours of sulphurous acid arise; and  when these cease,
 the heat is increased a little to reproduce them.  The roasting is continued in this
 manner until, at a red heat, no more vapours are  given off.   The matter is then
 melted in  a  crucible with an intense heat, and kept in a state of fusion  until it as-
 sumes the appearance of melted glass, when it is poured out on a heated brass plate.
 In this process, part of the sulphur of the  sesquisulphuret is driven off by the  roast-
 ing;  while that  portion of the antimony  which loses its  sulphur  becomes sesqui-
 oxidized.  The roasted matter, accordingly, consists of sesquioxide of antimony and
 undecomposed sesquisulphuret; and these, by uniting during the fusion, form  the
glass.
  Properties.  Glass of antimony is in thin irregular pieces, exhibiting a vitreous frac- 
1256
Appendix.
 ture, and having a metallic steel-gray lustre.  When well prepared it is transparent,
 and, upon being held between the eye and the light, appears of a rich orange-red, or
 garnet colour; but if of inferior quality it is black and opaque.  It is hard and brittle,
 and rings when struck with a hard substance.  It is insoluble in water, but soluble
 in acids and in cream of tartar, with the exception of a few red flocculi.  Its essential
 constituents are the sesquioxide  and sesquisulphuret united in variable proportions.
 When of good quality it consists of about eight parts of sesquioxide to one of sesqui-
 sulphuret.  It usually contains about five per cent of silica, and three of sesquioxide
 of iron, which are derived from the crucible, and to the former of which the vitrifica-
 tion of the product is owing. When  good, it is dissolved, with the exception of a few
 red flocculi, in strong muriatic acid.  An excess of silica is known by the acid leaving
 a gelatinous residuum, and the iron may be detected by ferrocyanuret of potassium,
 and its  amount judged of by the bulk of the precipitate and the depth of its blue colour.
 Sometimes glass of lead is sold for glass of antimony;  a fraud easily detected by the
 difference in sp. gr. between the two substances;  the glass of lead having a density of
 nearly seven, while that of glass of antimony is not quite five.  The London College
 formerly  employed the glass of antimony for making tartar emetic; but in the last
 London Pharmacopoeia it has been dismissed from the officinal list, on account of
 the difficulty of obtaining it, and its liability to adulteration.
  Medical Properties,  fyc.   Glass  of antimony is  an active  antimonial; but, owing to
 its  variable composition and  uncertain operation, is  at present very seldom used.
 When the levigated powder is mixed with one-eighth of its weight of melted yellow
 wax, and the mixture roasted over a slow fire, with constant stirring, until it ceases
 to exhale vapours, a coal-like  pulverizable mass is formed, which is the cerated glass
 of antimony, a preparation formerly included in the Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeia.
  GLECHOMA HEDERACEA. Nepeta Glechoma.  Ground-ivy. A small perennial
 herb, indigenous in Europe and the United States, and growing in shady grassy places,
 as in orchards, and along fences and hedges. It belongs to the family of labiate plants,
 and shares their general properties.  The herb was formerly officinal, and still enjoys
 some credit as a domestic remedy.  It has a peculiar  disagreeable odour, and a bit-
 terish, rough, somewhat aromatic taste, and imparts its properties to boiling water.
 From the statements of authors it appears to be gently  stimulant and  tonic, with per-
 haps, a peculiar direction  to the lungs and  kidneys.  It  has  also been considered
 aperient  The complaints  in which it has been  most  used are chronic affections of
 the pulmonary and urinary organs; and at one time it had considerable reputation as
 a remedy in consumption.  It has also been employed as a vulnerary and  errhine.
 The usual form  in which it was administerd was  that of infusion, of which a quantity
 was given for a dose containing the virtues of half a drachm or  a drachm of the herb.
  GLUE.  An impure form of gelatin, obtained from various animal substances by
 boiling them in water, straining the solution, and evaporating  it till  upon cooling it
 assumes the consistence of jelly.  The soft mass which results is then  divided into
 thin slices, which are dried in the open air.   Glue, when of good quality, is hard and
 brittle, of a brown colour, and equally transparent throughout.  It softens and swells
 up very much in cold water, without dissolving; but is readily dissolved by hot water.
 It is employed chiefly for cementing pieces of wood together, being  too impure for
 the  purposes of a test, or for internal use.
  Cupsules of gelatin. Glue has within a few years been applied to an  important
 practical purpose in pharmacy.  Certain medicines are so offensive to the taste, and
 consequently so  apt to sicken the stomach, that it is an object of importance to ad-
 minister them in such a way as to prevent their  contact with the tongue and palate.
 This object is fully accomplished, so  far as regards many  disagreeable  liquid medi-
 cines, by the use of the capsules of gelatin, invented by  M. Dublanc of Paris.   These
 are prepared from the purest glue in the following manner.   Small pouches made of
 fine skin, of an oval form, are attached by a waxed thread to the smaller extremity of
 a hollow elongated metallic cone, which is bent  towards its point,  and has its base
 closed by a cover which is  screwed on so as to make the instrument air-tight. Into
this conical  tube sufficient mercury is poured to fill the pouch, which, thus distended,
is dipped into a concentrated sweetened solution  of glue, and afterwards exposed to
heat in a vertical position, so  as to dry the layer of gelatin which it has received.
In the same  manner a second coating may be given, and the process again repeated
till a sufficient thickness has been obtained.   The cone being then reversed, the mer-
 cury flows out of the pouch, which  collapses, and allows the capsule of gelatin to be
removed.  Into  this the medicine may now be introduced, care being  taken to avoid
any contact with the outer surface of the capsule.  The opening is  next to be closed 
Appendix.
1257
by means of a thin lamina of gelatin previously softened by steam; and a solution of
the same substance should be applied to the edges by means of a camel's hair pencil.
Another mode of preparing the capsules is as follows.  Take a cylinder of iron or
hard wood, four lines in diameter and a few  inches long, and smoothly rounded at
the end.  Dip half an inch of this end first into a saturated warm alcoholic solution
of soap, and afterwards, when the soap has concreted  upon the  surface, into a con-
centrated hot solution of gelatin, and repeat the latter  immersion once or oftener if
it be desired to have a firm capsule.   When the glue has concreted, remove the cap-
sule.  A top for it may  be  made in the same way, and,  after  the body has been filled
with the liquid to be given, is to be  applied and secured by rubbing a camel's hair
pencil moistened with hot water over the line of junction. (Med. Exam. N. S. i. 441.)
   The demand for these capsules was at first  supplied exclusively from abroad, but
they are now prepared  largely in this country, and according to various processes.
For an account of one  of these, invented and described by Mr. Alfred Guillou of
Philadelphia, the reader is referred to  the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol. ix. p. 20.
The capsules may be made of such a capacity as to contain from ten to fifteen grains
of copaiba.
   GNAPHALIUM MARGARITACEUM.   Cudweed.   Life-everlasting.   An indige-
nous herbaceous perennial, growing in fields and woods, and flowering in August
The herb of this and of the G. polycephalum, or sweet-scented life-everlasting, is some-
times used in the form  of tea by the country people, in diseases of the chest and of
the bowels, and in hemorrhagic affections, and externally, in the way of fomentation,
in bruises, languid tumours, and other local complaints;  but it probably possesses little
medical virtue.  Shoepf says  that it is anodyne.  In Europe, different species of
Gnaphalium are also occasionally employed for similar purposes.
   GOLD.  Aurum.  The preparations of this metal were introduced to the notice of
physicians by Dr. Chrestien of Montpellier in 1810.  They are employed both  inter-
nally, and  by frictions on the  tongue and gums.  The  principal affections in which
they have been recommended are secondary syphilis, syphilitic ulcerations, scrofula,
and inveterate  eruptions, particularly those of a leprous character.  The chief pre-
parations which have been used up  to the present time are metallic gold in  a finely
divided state, the oxide  (teroxide or auric acid), the chloride (let-chloride), the iodide,
the double chloride of  gold  and sodium,  the chloroaurate of ammonia  (a  com-
pound of terchloride \>f gold and  muriate  of ammonia),  and the  cyanuret  (tercya-
nuret) of gold.   Gold in powder maybe  obtained by rubbing up  gold-leaf with 10 or
12 times its weight of sulphate of potassa until  brilliant particles are no longer visible,
and then washing away the sulphate  with boiling water.  The oxide may be procured
by treating the nitro-muriatic solution of gold with an excess of magnesia, and washing
the precipitate, first with water, and  afterwards with dilute nitric acid.  The chloride
is obtained by dissolving pure gold in three times its weight of nitro-muriatic acid, by
the aid of a moderate heat  The solution is evaporated by a gentle heat nearly to
dryness, being at the same time stirred with a  glass rod.  It is in the form of a crys-
talline mass of a deep red  colour.  Its solution has a  fine yellow tint.  Being  deli-
quescent, it requires to be kept in ground stoppered bottles.   The iodide may be made
by precipitating a solution of  the terchloride of gold by one  of iodide of potassium,
and washing the precipitate with alcohol to remove the excess of iodine.  It is of a
greenish-yellow colour,  and, when heated  in a porcelain crucible,  is resolved into
iodine vapours  and a residue of pure gold.  The chloride of gold and sodium is pre-
pared by dissolving four parts of gold in nitro-muriatic  acid, evaporating the solution
to dryness, and dissolving the dry mass in  eight times its weight of distilled water.
To this solution one part of pure decrepitated common salt is added, previously dis-
solved in four parts of  water.  The mixed solution  is  then evaporated  to dryness,
being in the mean time  constantly stirred with a glass rod.  This salt is of a golden
yellow colour, and, when crystallized, is in  the form of long prismatic crystals, un-
alterable in the air.  The chloroaurate of ammonia is formed by dissolving one part of
the terchloride of gold and two parts of muriate of ammonia in distilled water, assisted
by a few drops of nitro-muriatic acid,  and evaporating the solution to dryness by a gen-
tle heat.  The cyanuret is best obtained, according to M. Oscar Figuier, as follows.
Prepare the chloride of gold as neutral as possible by repeated solutions and  crystal-
lizations; and to the solution of this salt add, very cautiously, avoiding any excess, a
solution of pure cyanuret of potassium, so  long as any precipitate falls.  The pre-
cipitate, consisting of cyanuret of gold, is to be washed  with pure water, and dried in
the dark.   The  solution  of the cyanuret of potassium may be obtained pure and free 
1258
Appendix.
from formiate and carbonate of potassa, by dissolving in water, soon after its prepa-
ration and before it has had time to undergo  any change,  the residue  obtained by
calcining the yellow ferrocyanuret of potassium.  Of these preparations  gold in pow-
der, and the oxide, chloride, iodide, double  chloride, and cyanuret are officinal in the
French Codex.
  The preparations of gold are decidedly poisonous, though in different degrees.  The
chloride is most virulent, and,  according to Dr. Chrestien, is even more active  than
corrosive sublimate.  In an overdose, it produces pain, inflammation, and even ulcera-
tion of the stomach and bowels, and otherwise acts as a corrosive poison.  The general
effects of these preparations, in moderate doses, is  to produce increased fulness and
frequency of the pulse, and to augment the urine and insensible perspiration, without
interfering with the appetite or the  regular action of the bowels; but if the dose is
pushed too far, general irritation is apt to be  produced,  inflammation  seizes upon
some organ, according to the predisposition of the individual, and fever is developed.
  Metallic gold, the oxide, chloride, and iodide are  not as much used as the  double chlo-
ride of gold and sodium.   The oxide may be given, in the form of pill, in the dose of
a tenth of a grain, in scrofula, and lymphatic swellings, beginning with one pill daily,
and afterwards gradually increasing to seven or eight in  the 24 hours.   The iodide
is given in the same cases in which  the other preparations of gold are administered.
The dose is  from the fifteenth to the  tenth of a grain.
  The chloride of gold and sodium is the preparation of  gold  most commonly em-
ployed.  It may .be given in lozenges, each containing the  twelfth  of a grain, by  mix-
ing intimately five grains of the salt with an ounce of powdered sugar,  and making
the whole with mucilage of tragacanth into a proper mass to be divided into  sixty
lozenges.  Pills, containing the same dose, may be formed by dissolving ten grains of
the dried salt in a drachm of distilled water,  and forming  the solution  into a pilular
mass  with a mixture of four drachms of potato starch and  one drachm of gum arabic,
to be divided into one hundred and twenty pills. (Journ. de Pharm. xx. 648.) For fric-
tions on the  gums and tongue, Chrestien recommends the following formula:—Crys-
tallized  chloride of gold and sodium, one grain;  powdered orris root, deprived of its
soluble parts by alcohol and water and dried, two grains.  Mix.  At first the fifteenth
part of this powder is used daily by frictions; afterwards the fourteenth, the thirteenth,
&c. until, increasing gradually, the tenth or eighth part is employed.  The use of four
grains of the salt in this way is said commonly to cure bad cases of recent syphilis,
such, for example, as are characterized by the co-existence of chancres, warts, and
buboes.  In  the preparation of  this powder, lycopodium may be substituted with ad-
vantage for  the orris.
  The chloroaurate of ammonia has  been recommended by Bouchardat in  amenor-
rhoea and dysmenorrhcea in  debilitated subjects, in the dose of about the tenth of a
grain.  A grain may be dissolved in five  teaspoonfuls of alcohol and five  of water,
and a teaspoonful given morning and evening,  mixed with sweetened water.
  The cyanuret of gold is employed, like the chloride of gold and sodium, mixed with
inert powders in frictions, and in the form of pill.   The fifteenth of a grain  may be
rubbed into the gums daily for fifteen days, next the fourteenth of a grain  for four-
teen  days, and so on, increasing until  the dose amounts to the ninth or eighth of a
grain.  The dose for internal  exhibition is the eighteenth  of a  grain,  gradually in-
creased to the eighth of a grain.  The cyanuret of gold has been found useful in the
treatment of syphilis  and scrofula  by  M. Pourche, and is  said  to be  less  exciting
than the double  chloride, when used in those diseases.  (Journ. de Pharm. xx. 599
et 649.)
  The different medicinal compounds of gold should not be prepared in pill, powder,
or otherwise, until they are wanted  for use; as they  are liable  to undergo decom-
position when kept  They should be carefully secluded from the light.
  GRATIOLA OFFICINALIS. Hedge Hyssop.  This is  a perennial herb, with  an
erect  quadrangular stem, about a  foot in height, furnished with opposite, sessile,
lanceolate, somewhat serrate leaves, and solitary,  peduncled, axillary flowers.  It is
a native of  the  South of Europe, where it flourishes in  meadows and other moist
grounds.  The whole herb is used.   It  is nearly inodorous, but has a bitter  nauseous
taste.  Both water and alcohol  extract its  active properties.  It is a drastic cathartic
and emetic,  possessing also diuretic properties, and is employed on the continent of
Europe in dropsy, jaundice, worms, chronic hepatic affections, scrofula, and various
other complaints. With us it is almost unknown as a remedy.  The dose of the pow-
dered herb is from fifteen to thirty grains; of the infusion, made  in the  proportion of
half  an ounce to the pint of boiling  water, half a fluidounce. 
Appendix.
1259
 fifS  f ^  lS  VIRGINICA*  Witch-hazel.  An indigenous shrub, from  five to
 fifteen feet high, growing m almost all sections of the United States, usually on hills
 or in stony places and frequently on the banks of streams.  It is remarkable for the
 late appearance of its yellow flowers, which expand  in September or October, and
 ™,Te    thf.,weauthe/ becomes very cold in winter. The fruit, which is a nut-like
 capsule not unlike the hazel-nut, ripens in the following autumn, and is often mingled
 on  the same plant with  the new blossoms.   The bark has a bitter, astringent, some-
 wha  sweetish and pungent  taste.  It appears to have attracted  notice as a remedy
 employed by the Indians, who are said to have applied it as a sedative and discutient
 to painful tumours, and other cases of external inflammation. It is used in the shape
    P°u tlce> or as  a wash in the  form of decoction, in hemorrhoidal affections and
 ophthalmia.   The leaves are said to possess similar properties, and, in the state of
 infusion, to be given internally in bowel complaints and  hemorrhages.  The seeds
 are black and  shining externally, white, oily, and farinaceous within, and are edible
 like the hazelnut.
  HEDERA  HELIX.  Ivy.  This well known  evergreen  creeper is  a native  of
 liurope.   The fresh leaves have a  balsamic odour, especially when rubbed, and a bit-
 terish, harsh unpleasant taste.  They are used externally for dressing issues, and, in
 tne lorm  of decoction,  have been recommended in sanious ulcers and cutaneous
 eruptions, particularly tetter and the itch.  Dried and powdered, they have been em-
 ployed in the  atrophy of children, and in complaints of the lungs, in the dose of a
 scruple or more.  The berries, which have an acidulous, resinous, somewhat pungent
 taste, are said to  be  purgative and even emetic.  MM. Vandamme and Chevallier
 have announced the existence  in ivy seeds  of a peculiar alkaline  principle, which
 they propose  to call hederin (hederia).  It is  very bitter, and  appears to be  closely
 allied to quinia in febrifuge properties.  It is obtained by treating the seeds with
 hydrate of lime, dissolving the precipitated alkali in boiling alcohol, and evaporating
 ™hollc  solution.  (Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiii.  172, from the Journ.  de Chim.
 Med.) From the trunks of old ivy plants, growing in the South  of Europe and the
 JNorthoi Africa, a resinous substance exudes through incisions in  the  bark, which
 has been  employed in  medicine  under the  name  of ivy gum.  It is  in pieces  of
 various sizes,  of a dark yellowish-brown colour sometimes inclining to orange, more
 or  less  transparent, sometimes of a  deep ruby-red  colour internally, of a vitreous
 fracture, pulverizable, yielding  a  lively orange-yellow powder, of a peculiar not dis-
 agreeable odour when heated or inflamed, and of a bitterish resinous taste.  Its chief
 constituent is  resin, though  some pieces contain a considerable proportion of bas-
 sorin, and others large quantities of ligneous matter.  It was formerly used as a
 stimulant  and emmenagogue, but is now scarcely employed.  Placed in the cavities
 of carious teeth, it is said to relieve toothache.  The wood of the ivy, which is light
 and porous, is sometimes used for making issue-peas.
  HELENIUM AUTUMNALE.  False Sunflower.  Sneezewort.   An  indigenous
 perennial  herbaceous plant, from three to seven feet high, with large golden-yellow
 compound flowers, which appear in  August.  It grows in  all parts of the  United
 States, flourishing best in meadows, moist fields, and  other low grounds.  All parts
 of it are bitter and somewhat acrid, and, when snuffed up the nostrils in the state of
 powder, produce violent sneezing.  The leaves and flowers have been recommended
 as an excellent errhine.   Clayton says that the plant is thought to be useful in intermit-
 tent fevers.
  HELLEBORUS  FCETIDUS.  Bears-foot.   This  is  a perennial European plant,
 growing under hedges  and in  shady places, and flowering in March and April.  It
 derived its botanical designation from the offensive odour  which it exhales.  The
 leaves are the part used.  Their taste is bitterish,  pungent, and acrid; and when
 chewed they excoriate  the mouth.   The footstalks are  even more acrid  than the
 leaves themselves.  The plant has not been  analyzed. This species of hellebore is
 said by Allioni to be the most acrid and energetic of all the plants  belonging to'the
 genus.  It is powerfully emetic  and cathartic, and in very large doses produces  dan-
 gerous effects.  It has long been used in Great Britain as a domestic remedy for worms,
 and was brought before  the notice of the profession by Dr.  Bisset   This physician
 found it a very efficacious anthelmintic, and prescribed it also in asthma, hysteria, and
 hypochondriasis. M. Decerfs has known it  to cause the  expulsion of taenia.  It  is
given in powder or decoction. The dose for a child from two to six vears old is from
five grains to a scruple of the dried leaves, or a fluidounce of the decoction made by
boiling a drachm of the dried leaves in half a pint of water.  This quantity should
be repeated morning and night for two or three days in succession.   A  syrup made 
1260
Appendix.
from the juice of the green leaves is used in England.  The remedy is scarcely known
in the United States.
  HEMIDESMUS INDICUS.  R.Brown.  Periploca Indica, Willd.  Asclepias pseudo-
sarsa, Roxburgh.  Indian Sarsaparilla.  A  climbing asclepiadaceous plant, growing
in all parts of the  peninsula of Hindostan.  The root is long, slender, tortuous, cylin-
drical, and little branched; consisting of a ligneous centre, and  a brownish corky
bark, which is  marked with longitudinal furrows and  transverse fissures.  It has a
peculiar aromatic odour,  and a bitterish taste.  M. Garden obtained from it a pecu-
liar volatilizable  principle  with acid properties, which he named smilasperic acid,
under the erroneous impression that the root was  derived from  the  Smilax aspera.
Pereira proposes  for it the name of hemidesmic acid. It is probably the active prin-
ciple.  It is used in India as a substitute for sarsaparilla, and has been introduced into
Great Britain. In  some instances it is said to have proved successful in syphilis, when
that medicine has failed; though it cannot be relied upon.  The native practitioners in
India are said to employ it in nephritic complaints, and  in the sore mouth of children.
It is given in infusion or decoction, made in the proportion of two ounces of the root
to a pint of water.  A pint  may be given,  in wineglassful doses,  in the course of a
day.
  HERMODACTYLS.  Hermodactyli.  Under this name are  sold in the  shops of
Europe the roots or bulbs of an uncertain plant, growing in the countries about  the
eastern extremity  of the Mediterranean.  By some  botanists  the plant is considered
a species of  Colchicum, and the C. variegatum, a native of the South of Europe and
the Levant, is particularly indicated by Fee, Geiger, and others; while by authors  not
less  eminent, the roots are confidently referred to the  Iris tuberosa.  They certainly
bear a considerable resemblance to the bulb of the  Colchicum  autumnale, being
heart-shaped, channeled on one side, convex on the other, and from half an inch to
an inch in length, by nearly as much in breadth.  As found in the shops, they are
destitute of their outer coat, of a dirty yellowish or brownish colour externally, white
and  amylaceous within, inodorous, and  nearly tasteless, though sometimes slightly
acrid.  They are  often  worm-eaten.  Their chief constituent is starch,  and they
contain no veratria  or  colchicia.  From  this latter circumstance, and from their
insipidity, it has been inferred that they  are probably not derived from a species of
Colchicum;  but Geiger  observes that they may have lost their acrimony by age.
They are in fact almost without action upon the  system, and are now seldom  used;
never,  we believe, in  this country.  It is doubted whether they are the hermodactyli
of the ancients, which were  certainly a powerful medicine, operating very much in
the same manner with our colchicum, and like it proving  useful in gout and rheu-
matism.  Pereira describes a bitter variety of hermodactyls, which was brought from
India by Dr. Royle.  The bulbs are smaller than the others, of a darker colour, and
have externally a  striped or reticulated appearance.  From their bitter taste they are
probably more active also as a medicine.
  HIBISCUS ABELMOSCHUS. Abelmoschus moschatus, Wight and Arnott. An ever-
green shrub, growing in Egypt, and in the East  and West Indies, and affording  the
seeds known under the name of semen Abelmoschi, alcese  Mgyptiacae, and grana mos-
chata.  These are of about the same size  as flaxseed, kidney-shaped, striated, of a
grayish-brown  colour, of an  odour  like that of musk, and  of a  warm somewhat
Spicy taste.   They were formerly considered  stimulant and  antispasmodic; but  are
now used only in  perfumery.  The Arabs  flavour their coffee with  them.  They are
said to be sometimes  employed in the adulteration of musk.  Another species, the
Hibiscus  esculentus or Abelmoschus  esculentus  of Wight and Arnott, is cultivated,
under the name of okra, bendee, or gombo, in various parts of the  world, for the sake
of its fruit, which abounds in mucilage, and is much employed for thickening  soup.
The leaves are sometimes employed for preparing emollient poultices.
   HYDRASTIS CANADENSIS. Yellow Root. Orange Root.  This is an indigenous
plant, growing in  different parts of the United States, but most abundantly beyond the
Alleghanies. It flourishes best in rich shady woods.  It has a perennial root, and an
herbaceous stem,  from six inches to a foot  high, with two unequal leaves, and a single
terminal whitish or rose-coloured flower.  The root consists of  a tortuous caudex,
and numerous long fibres, and is of a bright yellow colour.  It is  juicy in the recent
state, and loses much of its weight when dried.   It has a strong,  somewhat narcotic
odour, and an exceedingly bitter taste.  It probably possesses the  ordinary virtues of
the vegetable bitters, and is said to be popularly employed as a tonic in some parts
of the country.  In the form of infusion, it has been used in the Western  States as a 
Appendix.
1261
  topical application in ophthalmia; and the Indians are said to employ it in the same
  manner in old ulcers of the legs.  The notion of its efficacy in cancer, originating in
  a report which reached the late Professor Barton, that it was used in the cure of  this
  complaint by the Cherokees, is probably altogether groundless.  The Indians employ
  the juice of the root to  stain their clothing, &c, yellow.
   HYDRIODIC ACID.  Acidum Hydriodicum.  Dr. Andrew Buchanan, of Glasgow,
  recommends the following  formula for obtaining this acid for  medicinal purposes.
  Take of iodide of potassium 330 grains, tartaric acid 264 grains.  Dissolve, the salts,
  separately, each in a fluidounce and a half of distilled water,  and mix the solutions.
  Filter the liquor, in order to separate the bitartrate of potassa which precipitates,  and
  add to it sufficient distilled water to make the whole measure fifty fluidrachms. When
  of this strength,  each  fluidrachm of the acid contains five grains of iodine.  The
  solution of hydriodic acid, when thus prepared, is sufficiently pure for medicinal use,
  although containing  a  little cream of tartar in solution.  At first  it is limpid, or  has
  only a slight yellow tinge; but on keeping it assumes, first a wine-yellow, and after-
  wards a beautiful red colour, in consequence of the disengagement of free iodine.
   Dr. Buchanan considers the effects of uncombined iodine to be those of an irritant,
  and its alterative powers, when these are manifested, to depend upon  its conversion
  into hydriodic acid, of  a strength sufficiently moderate to be readily absorbed, and to
  pass into the current of the circulation. He conceives that when iodine is given, and
  proves to be absorbed,  it is  by being first converted into hydriodic acid by hydrogen
  derived from the gastric juices, or from the tissues of the stomach, which latter  un-
  dergo corrosion.  A desire to avoid this incidental irritant effect led  Dr. Buchanan
  at first to combine the iodine with starch, which  he supposes to furnish the necessary
 hydrogen  while undergoing digestion, and finally to use  the hydriodic acid ready
 formed.
   In giving the liquid hydriodic acid according to his  formula, Dr. Buchanan begins
 by exhibiting a few drops, and  afterwards increases the dose first to a fluidrachm and
 finally to half a fluidounce three times a day, equal to a drachm of iodine daily.  This
 was his ordinary maximum dose, but sometimes he gave a fluidounce three times a
 day. In all cases the acid was administered sufficiently diluted with water to reduce
 it to an agreeable sourness, in which  state it possesses no irritant action whatever.
 When, however, the acid has undergone a change of colour, as previously mentioned,
 Dr. Buchanan uses a  solution of starch  as a vehicle, in order to divest the free iodine,
 the presence of which is indicated by this change, of all irritant qualities.  Hydriodic
 acid, when thus used, exhibits the same therapeutic effects as free iodine,  with  the
 advantages of having no irritant property, and of affording the means of introducing
 much larger quantities of iodine into the system through the medium of absorption,
 than when given in the ordinary form. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. xx. 210, and 214, from
 the Med. Gazette.)
   HYDROCYANIC  ETHER.  Aether Hydrocyanicus.  Hydrocyanate of Etherine.
 Cyanuret of Ethule.  This ether was discovered by Pelouze.  It is formed by distilling
 a mixture  of sulphovinate of baryta and  cyanuret of potassium.  It is a colourless
 liquid of a penetrating garlic odour, soluble in alcohol and ether, sparingly soluble in
 water, boiling at 180°, and weighing specifically 0-78.   It is very poisonous, but less
 so than hydrocyanic acid, with  which it agrees in therapeutic action and dose.
   HYPERICUM PERFORATUM.  St. John's  Wort.   A perennial herb, abundant
 both in Europe and in this country, often covering whole fields, and proving extremely
 troublesome to farmers.   It is usually from one to two feet high,  with leaves, which,
 from the  presence of numerous transparent vesicles, appear as  if perforated, and
 have hence given origin to the botanical designation of the plant  The flowers, which
 are numerous and of  a  deep yellow colour, appear during the summer from June to
 August.  The flowering summits  are the  part used, though the unripe capsules are
 possessed of the virtues of the plant  in an equal  degree, and the seeds are said to be
 even stronger.   St. John's wort has  a peculiar  balsamic odour, which is rendered
 more sensible by rubbing or bruising the plant. Its taste is bitter, resinous, ;,nd some-
 what astringent  It imparts a yellow colour to cold water, and reddens alcohol and
 the fixed oils.  Its chief  constituents are volatile oil, a resinous substance, tannin, and
 colouring matter. As a  medicine, it was in high  repute among the ancients,  and was
 much employed by the earlier modern physicians.  Among the complaints for which
it was used, were hysteria, mania, intermittent fever, dysentery, gravel, hemorrhages,
pectoral complaints, worms, and jaundice;  but it  was, perhaps, most highly esteemed
as a  remedy in wounds and  bruises,  for which it was employed both internally and
externally.   It is difficult to ascertain its exact value as a remedy; but from its sen-
        lu7 
1262
Appendix.
sible properties, and from the character of the complaints in which it has been thought
useful, it may be considered, independently of its astringency, as somewhat analogous
in medical power to the turpentines. It formerly enjoyed great reputation for the cure
of demoniacs; and the superstition still lingers  among the vulgar  in some countries.
At present the plant is scarcely used except as a domestic remedy.  The summits
were formerly given in the dose of two drachms or more.  A preparation was at one
time officinal, under the name of oleum hyperici, made by treating them with a fixed
oil.  It has a red colour, and is still used in many families as a sovereign remedy for
bruises.
   HYSSOPUS  OFFICINALIS.   Hyssop.  This is a labiate plant, belonging to the
class  and order Didynamia Gymnospermia of the sexual  system.  It is perennial,
with numerous erect, quadrangular, somewhat branching stems, which are woody in
their inferior portion, about two feet  high, and furnished with opposite, sessile, lan-
ceolate  linear, pointed, punctate  leaves. The  flowers are violet coloured or blue,
sometimes white, turned chiefly to one side, and arranged in  half verticillated, ter-
minal, leafy  spikes. The upper lip of the corolla is roundish and notched at the apex,
the lower is  divided into three segments, of which the undermost is obovate.
   Common  hyssop is a  native of the continent of Europe, where, as well as  in this
country, it is also cultivated in gardens.   The flowering summits and leaves are the
parts  used.  They have an agreeable  aromatic odour, and a warm,  pungent,  bit-
terish  taste.  These properties they owe to an essential oil, which may be obtained
separate by  distillation with water, and rises also with alcohol.   Hyssop is a warm
gently stimulant aromatic, applicable to the  same cases with the other labiate  plants.
Its infusion  has been much employed in chronic catarrhs, especially in old people,
and those of a debilitated habit of body.  It acts by facilitating expectoration of the
mucus which is too abundantly secreted.  In this country, however, it is very seldom
used by regular practitioners.  The Edinburgh College discarded it at the last revision
of their Pharmacopoeia.
   ILEX.  Holly.   Several species of this genus of plants  are employed in different
parts of the  world.  The J. Aquifolium, or common European holly, has attracted much
attention in  France.  It is usually a shrub, but in some places attains the magnitude
of a middling-sized tree.   Different parts of it are used.  The viscid substance called
birdlime is prepared from the inner bark.  The leaves, which are of a bitter, somewhat
austere taste, were formerly much esteemed. They were considered diaphoretic, and
in the form of infusion were  employed in catarrh, pleurisy, small-pox, gout, &c.
Within a few years they have  gained some  reputation in France  as a cure for inter-
mittents, being considered by some as equal, if not superior  to Peruvian bark; but the
first reports in their favour have not been fully confirmed. They were used in the
form of powder, in the dose of a drachm two hours before the paroxysm; and this dose
was sometimes repeated frequently in the apyrexia.  Their febrifuge virtues are said
to depend on a peculiar bitter principle, for which the  name of ilicin has been pro-
posed.  The berries are about the size of a pea, red and bitter, and are  said to be
purgative, emetic, and diuretic. Ten or twelve of them will  usually act on the bowels
and sometimes vomit.  Their expressed juice has been used in jaundice.
   The  Ilex  opaca, or American holly, is a middling-sized  evergreen  tree, growing
throughout the Atlantic section of the United States, and especially abundant in New
Jersey.  It is so similar to the European plant, that it is, by some  writers, considered
as the same species.  It is said to possess the same medical properties.
   The Ilex Paraguaiensis, or J. Mate of St. Hilaire, is the plant which yields the cele-
brated Paraguay tea, so  extensively consumed as a beverage in the interior of South
America. The leaves, which are the part used, have a balsamic odour, and a bitter
taste, and are usually at first  disagreeable to the palate.  They have a pleasant cor-
roborant effect upon the stomach; but, when very largely taken, are said to purge and
vomit  They are used in the form of infusion.
   The  Ilex  vomitoria of Aiton and Linn., the I. Cassina of Michaux, is a handsome
evergreen shrub, growing in our Southern States, and especially  abundant along the
southern coast of Florida.  It is the cassina of the Indians, who formerly employed a
decoction made from the toasted leaves, called black drink,hoth as a medicine, and as
a drink of etiquette at their councils.  It acts as an emetic.  The leaves of the Ilex
Dahoon of Walter and Michaux have similar  properties, and are also said to  have
entered into the composition of the black drink.
   ILLICIUM FLORIDANUM.  Florida Anise-tree.  This is an evergreen shrub or
small tree,  growing in Florida, along the coast which bounds the Gulf of Mexico.
The bark, leaves, and probably also the seed vessels, are endowed with a spicy odour
and taste analogous to anise, and might, perhaps, be used  for the same purposes as 
Appendix.
1263
this aromatic.  It is a question worthy of investigation, whether the capsules of this
plant might not be substituted for those of the Illicium anisatum or star aniseed, which
yield much of the oil used in this country under the name of oilof anise. (See Anisum.)
Another species of Illicium, the I. parviflorum, a shrub found by Michaux in the hilly
regions of Georgia and Carolina, has a flavour closely resembling that of sassafras
root
  IMPATIENS FULVA and IMPATIENS PALLIDA.  Touch-me-not. Jewel-weed.
Balsam-weed.  These two species of Impatiens, considered by Michaux as varieties
of the I. Nolitangere of Linnaeus, are indigenous, annual, succulent  plants, from two
to four feet high, growing in low moist grounds in all parts of the Union, and flower-
ing in July and August.  They  may be known by their tender, juicy, almost transpa-
rent stems; by their yellow flowers, which in one species are pale and  sparingly
punctate, in the other, are deeper coloured and crowded with dark spots; and by their
capsules, which burst elastically and curl  up with the  slightest pressure. They
probably possess properties similar to those of the I. Nolitangere of Europe,  which has
an  acrid burning taste, and when taken internally, acts as an emetic, cathartic, and
diuretic, though considered a dangerous plant, and therefore little used.  Dr. Ruan,of
Philadelphia, has informed us that he has employed with great advantage, in piles, an
ointment made  by boiling  the American plants, in their recent state, in lard. The
flowers may be  used for dyeing a yellow colour.  The /. Balsamina or balsam-weed,
touch-me-not, Sfc., of the gardens, is said to possess similar properties with the other
species.
  IMPERATORIA OSTRUTHIUM.  Masterwort.  An umbelliferous plant, indige-
nous in the South of Europe. The root has a strong odour, similar to that of angelica,
and a pungent, biting, aromatic  taste, attended with a flow of saliva, and followed by
a glowing warmth which remains long in the mouth.  It was  formerly considered
alexipharmic, stomachic, corroborant, emmenagogue, diuretic, and diaphoretic; and
was used in a wide circle of complains with so much  supposed success as to have
gained for it the title  of divinum remedium.  The fact, however,  appears to  be, that it
is merely a stimulant aromatic,  analogous but inferior to Angelica, which has nearly
superseded it in European practice.  In this country, it is unknown as a remedy, and
its vulgar name has been applied to another plant
  INDELIBLE  INK.  This is prepared by dissolving two drachms of nitrate of silver
and a drachm of gum arabic in a fluidounce of distilled water, coloured with a little
Indian ink.   It is used for writing with a pen on linen and muslin.  The place tb
be marked  is prepared by being moistened with a solution of two ounces of crys-
tallized carbonate  of soda,  and  two drachms of gum  Arabic in four fluidounces of
water, and then dried.  The alkaline solution serves to decompose the nitrate, and to
protect the  cloth from the action of the free nitric  acid.  At the end of twenty-four
hours, the spot is to be washed.
  INDIAN  RED.  A purplish-red pigment, brought from  the island of  Ormus in the
Persian Gulf.  It is a red ochre, and owes its colour to the red oxide of iron.
  INDIGO.  This well known  and highly important dye-stuff, is obtained from va-
rious species of Indigofera, especially the I. tinctoria, I. Anil, and  I. argentea,- and is
said to  be  afforded also by other plants, such as the  Wrightia tinctoria, Polygonum
tinctorium,  Galega tinctoria, &c.  In the  process of preparing it, the plant is macerated
in water; fermentation takes place; the liquor becomes of a greenish colour, and in
due time is decanted;  the colouring principle dissolved  by the water absorbs oxygen
from  the air, and  assumes a blue colour, becoming at the same time insoluble; a
gradual precipitation takes place, favoured by the addition of lime-water or an alkaline
solution; and finally, the precipitated matter, having been washed upon linen filters,
is dried, shaped usually into cubical masses, and sent into market  Most of the indigo
consumed in dyeing is brought  from the East Indies, though considerable  quantities
are imported also from Guatemala and the northern coast of South America.  It is of
an  intensely blue  colour, but assumes a coppery or bronze hue when rubbed by a
smooth hard body, as the nail. Heated to 550°, it emits a reddish-violet vapour, which
condenses in minute  crystals.   It is insoluble in water or  alcohol, but is readily dis-
solved by sulphuric  acid, which, without destroying its blue colour, so far alters its
nature as to render it freely soluble in water, and thus  affords a convenient method
of applying it to the purposes of dyeing.  The solution in sulphuric acid is sometimes
kept in the shops under the name of sulphate of indigo. According to Berzelius, indigo
contains, among other ingredients, four distinct principles;—1, a substance resembling
gluten;  2, a brown colouring  substance; 3, a red colouring substance;  and 4, a blue 
1264
Appendix.
 colouring substance, which is the principle upon which its value  as a material  for
 dyeing depends, and which seldom constitutes so much as one-half of the indigo of
 commerce.  This blue colouring matter is called indigotin. By deoxidizing agents it
 is deprived of its blue colour, which it recovers by exposure to the air, in consequence
 of the absorption of oxygen.  Chlorine also destroys the blue colour.
   Indigo  has recently been introduced to the notice of the profession as a remedial
 agent  It has hitherto been chiefly employed by the German physicians, from whose
 statements our knowledge of its physiological  action and therapeutical  applications
 is derived.  Though without odour and taste, it is said, in most individuals, to pro-
 duce nausea and vomiting, frequently to operate upon the bowels, giving  a bluish-
 black colour to the stools, to render  the urine of a dark-violet or dark-green colour,
 without increasing its quantity, and sometimes to stimulate the secretory function of
 the uterus. From  these statements  it would appear to act as an irritant to the ali-
 mentary mucous membrane. The character of its general influence upon the system
 has not been well ascertained.   In some instances, it is asserted to have  been em-
 ployed in very large doses without any obvious effect.  The complaints in which it
 has been employed, with supposed advantage, are epilepsy, infantile convulsions,
 chorea, hysteria, and amenorrhoea.  It is given, usually in connexion with some aro-
 matic powder, in the dose of a scruple three times a day, which may be increased to
 a drachm or more; and from half an ounce to an ounce daily has been employed for
 months together without disadvantage.  (See Am. Jour, of Med. Sci. xx. 487.)
   IODIDE OF  AMMONIUM.   Ammonii Iodidum.  Hydriodate of Ammonia.   This
 salt is formed by saturating liquid hydriodic acid with caustic ammonia, and evapo-
 rating the solution.  It forms a deliquescent saline mass, which crystallizes with dif-
 ficulty in  cubes.  It is mentioned by Dr. Pennock as a good remedy in some cases of
 lepra and psoriasis, made up into an ointment.   (Amer. Journ. of Med. Sciences, xv.
 374.)   The proportions employed are from a  scruple to a drachm of the salt to  an
 ounce of  lard; the weaker preparation being used when  the disease is recent, the
 stronger when it is chronic.  The ointment was employed in frictions in the amount
 of half an ounce, morning and evening.  As the iodide is decomposed by exposure to
 the air, the ointment should be kept in well stopped bottles.
   IODIDE OF ARSENIC.  Arsenici Iodidum.   This compound may be formed by
 heating very gently a mixture of one part of finely powdered metallic arsenic with
 five of iodine.  The product is then sublimed, to separate the iodide from the excess
 of arsenic. It is an orange-red, volatile substance, soluble in water.  When in con-
 centrated  solution, it is decomposed  by standing  into arsenic  and hydriodic  acids.
 Iodide of arsenic has been used by Biett as an  external application to corroding
 tubercular skin diseases.  By Dr. A. T. Thomson it has been given internally with
 advantage in  lepra, impetigo, and diseases resembling  cancer.   Dr. F. C. Crane
 reports a cure, by its use  for nearly eight months, of what he  considered cancer of
 the breast.  The ointment used by Biett was composed of  three grains of the iodide
 to an ounce of lard.  The dose for internal exhibition is an eighth of a grain, gradu-
 ally increased to a third, given in pill three times a day.
  IODIDE OF BARIUM.  Barii Iodidum. This compound may be formed by double
 decomposition, by adding carbonate of baryta to a boiling solution of iodide of iron.
 M. Henry, Jun., obtains it by decomposing a solution of sulphuret of barium (see
 page 874) by a  concentrated alcoholic solution of iodine.  Sulphur is precipitated,
 which is separated by filtration, and iodide of barium formed in solution, from which
 it is obtained in the solid  state, by a rapid evaporation to dryness.   It crystallizes in
 small, colourless needles, which deliquesce slightly, and are very soluble in water.
 The solution promptly undergoes decomposition by exposure to the air, carbonate of
 baryta being precipitated, and iodine set free, which  colours  the solution. It has
 been used with  advantage by Jahn  as  an alterative, in  scrofulous affections and
 morbid growths.  Lugol employed it in scrofulous enlargements.  The  dose is the
 eighth of a grain three times a day, gradually increased to three  grains.  Biett applied
 it to scrofulous swellings  in the form of ointment, made with four grains of the iodide
 to an ounce of lard.
  IODIDE OF SILVER.  Argenti Iodidum. This compound  is formed by double
 decomposition, by adding a solution of iodide of potassium  to one of nitrate of silver.
 It is a greenish-yellow powder, nearly insoluble in ammonia.  It possesses the  gene-
 ral  medical properties of the preparations of silver, and, according to Dr. Charles
 Patterson, of Dublin, may be used without any danger of producing the discoloration
 of the skin which sometimes follows the use of the nitrate of silver.  Dr. Patterson
found it generally successful in curing the stomach affections of the Irish peasantry, 
Appendix.
1265
 in  the treatment of which nitrate of silver had been previously found useful.  He
 gave it in the form of pill, in the dose of  a fourth of a grain, mixed with an equal
 weight of nitrate of potassa, three times a day.
   IODIDE OF  STARCH.  Dr. A. Buchanan, of Glasgow, proposes this compound
 as a means of administering iodine  in large doses without causing irritation of the
 stomach.   He prepares  it by triturating twenty-four grains of iodine  with  a little
 water, adding gradually a drachm of very finely powdered  starch, and continuing the
 trituration until  the compound assumes a uniform blue colour.  The iodide  is then
 dried by a gentle heat, and kept in a well stopped  bottle.   The dose is a heaped tea-
 spoonful, given in water gruel, three times a day, and afterwards increased to a table-
 spoonful.   No nicety is necessary in apportioning  the dose.  In some  cases Dr.
 Buchanan has given half ounce doses of the iodide three times a day,  immediately
 increased to  an ounce.   Exhibited  in  this state  of combination, iodine  produces,
 according to this writer, little or no  irritation of the  alimentary canal, but is freely
 absorbed, as is proved by its detection in large quantity in the secretions. Dr. Bu-
 chanan conceives that, by means of the starch, the iodine is converted into hydriodic
 acid, and in this form of combination enters the circulation.  He prefers the iodide
 of starch to any other preparation of iodine for obtaining the  alterative apart from
 the irritant effects  of this substance.  See  Hydriodic acid,  page 1261.  (Amer. Journ.
 of Med. Sci. xx. 213 and 217.)
  IODIDE OF ZINC.  Zinci Iodidum.   This iodide  may be formed by digesting an
 excess of zinc, in small  pieces, with iodine diffused in water.  Combination takes
 place, and by evaporation, a deliquescent, very soluble saline mass is obtained, having
 a metallic, styptic taste, resembling that of sulphate of zinc. It may also be obtained
 by heating in a matrass a mixture of 20 parts of zinc and 170 of iodine, and subliming
 into a vial.  When thus prepared, it is in the form of white needles. It is very liable
 to undergo spontaneous decomposition.
   Iodide of zinc  is tonic  and astringent.  We have not met with any  notice of its
 internal exhibition; but Dr. A. T. Thomson proposes a syrup of it,  to protect it from
 change, made on the same plan as  the syrup of iodide of iron.   (See page 965.) Dr.
 J. J. Ross, of Scotland, employed a solution of iodide of zinc, containing from 10 to 30
 grains to the fluidounce of water, with great advantage in enlarged tonsils, applied
 by means of a piece of sponge tied to a quill.  After the use of the solution for some
 time, he applied the iodide, rendered liquid by deliquescence, by means of  a camel's
 hair brush.   A solution containing one or two grains to the fluidounce of water, has
 been used as an astringent injection in gonorrhoea.   An ointment, made  of a drachm
 of the iodide, rubbed up with an ounce of lard, has been  proposed by Dr. Ure as a
 substitute for iodide of potassium in the treatment of tumours, applied in  the quantity
 of a drachm twice a day.
  IODO-HYDRARGYRATE OF POTASSIUM.  It has been found by chemists that
 different iodides  will unite together in definite proportions, forming compounds which
 are called by Berzelius double iodides.  Bonsdorffof Finland, and Dr. Hare of this
 city, with greater reason, have viewed these combinations as a peculiar kind of salts,
 in which one of the iodides performs the part of an acid, the other of a base.  The
 substance, the name of which is placed at the head of this article, is one of these com-
 pounds, and was presented to the  notice of the profession, as  a new remedy of re-
 markable powers, in February, 1834,  by Dr. William Channing of New York. (Amer.
 Journ. of Med. Sci. xiii. 388.)  It consists of the biniodide of mercury acting  as an
 acid, united with the iodide of potassium as a base.   But  as these two iodides com-
 bine in at least two proportions, it is necessary to indicate the particular combination
 employed  by Dr. Channing in his therapeutic experiments.
  In a difficult case of pectoral disease, in which the ordinary remedies had  failed,
 Dr. Channing determined to make  trial of one of the  iodides of mercury.  He
 selected the biniodide; and in order  to have it in the  liquid form, it being  insoluble
 in water, he dissolved it in a  solution of iodide of potassium.   He was  struck  with
 the chemical changes which the compound solution underwent; and on pursuing his
 observations he found that the  two iodides really united by the intervention  of the
 water; for by the assistance of an operative chemist, he was enabled by  evaporation
 to obtain them in union in the form of straw-coloured, needleform, deliquescent crys-
tals.  He next found, upon consulting the European authorities, that Bonsdorff, who
had taken the lead in investigating similar compounds, had discovered the  same salt
in 1826.
  Dr. Channing analyzed the salt with which he experimented, and found that  it con-
sisted of one eq. of  biniodide of mercury, and two of  iodide of potassium.   This he
                                    107* 
1266
Appendix.
determined by ascertaining that  an aqueous  solution of a little more than eight
grains of iodide of potassium would dissolve, and combine with, eleven grains  of
biniodide of mercury, without being liable to decomposition when largely diluted
with water.
  The combination here indicated corresponds with one  of the double iodides  of
mercury and potassium, as described by Thenard.  (Traite de Chimie, 6eme Ed. iii.
493.) The other is represented by this  author as consisting of a single eq. of each
iodide.  When copiously diluted with water, every two eqs. of this iodide  let fall one
eq.  of the mercurial iodide; thus evidently converting the salt  into the medicinal
double iodide.  The same decomposition by the use of abundance  of water is noticed
by Dr. Channing.   For remarks on these double iodides see a paper by Mr. Ambrose
Smith, Am. Journ. of Pharm. xii. 265.
  Dr. Channing attributes to this  preparation the effects of diffusing excitement, and
equalizing the circulation.  In the different cases in which he tried it, he thought he
saw evidence of its favourable influence on the lungs, in allaying cough and im-
proving expectoration; on the  alimentary canal, in restoring the  healthy secretions;
on the kidneys, in reviving their activity; on the skin and cellular tissue, in cica-
trizing superficial ulcerations; and on the absorbent and exhalent systems, in causing
the disappearance of effused fluid.   The  principal  diseases  in which  he found it
useful were chronic bronchitis, hooping-cough,  tonsillitis, chronic  gastro-enteritis,
dyspepsia, ascites, anasarca, amenorrhoea, leucorrhoea, eruptions, and scrofula.  In
some cases of phthisis, it mitigated the symptoms and appeared to prolong life.  Dr.
Hildreth, of Ohio, has tried this preparation, and reports favourably of its effects in
ordinary dyspepsia unattended by organic disease, enlargement of  the spleen, ame-
norrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, leucorrhoea, scrofulous affections, ascites, and general dropsy.
(Am. Journ. Med. Sci. xxvi. 312.)
  The average dose of the remedy may be stated at the twelfth of a grain three times
a day; but in peculiar constitutions,  not  more than the forty-eighth, the ninety-sixth,
or even the two-hundredth of a grain daily can  be  borne.  For the convenience of
physicians who may wish to make trial of the remedy, we give the following formula,
deduced from the statements in Dr. Channing's paper.—Take of iodide of potassium
three and a half  grains; biniodide of mercury (red  iodide), four and a  half grains;
distilled water a fluidounce.  Dissolve first the iodide of potassium and then the bin-
iodide of mercury in the water. The compound salt in this solution may be assumed
to amount to eight grains, though there is a small excess of the iodide of potassium.
Of  the solution, from two to five drops, containing from the thirtieth to the twelfth of
a grain, may be given three times a day.
  IONIDIUM MARCUCCI. This name has been conferred by Dr. Bancroft upon a
South American plant, supposed to be the source of  a medicine used with great as-
serted advantage in Maracaybo and  elsewhere, in some of the horrible cutaneous
affections to which the inhabitants of the tropical regions of this  continent are sub-
ject  A specimen, however,received from Dr. Bancroft was found by Sir W.Hooker
to be identical with the lonidium parviflorum of Ventinat. The medicine is called by
the Indians cuichunchulli, and grows in the neighbourhood of Riobamba, a small town
at the foot of the great mountain of Chimborazo. It is said to be diaphoretic, diuretic,
occasionally sialagogue, and  in large doses emetic  and cathartic.  The root is the
part used.  It is  highly probable  that other vegetable  emeto-cathartics, having the
same property of stimulating the  secretions, would  be  found equally effectual.
For an account of what is known in relation to this  medicine the reader is referred
to a paper by Dr.  Bancroft, republished in the American Journal of Pharmacy, vol.
iii. p. 125.
  ISATIS TINCTORIA.   Woad.  Pastel.  A  biennial plant, indigenous in Europe,
where it is also cultivated.  The leaves have a fugitive pungent odour, and an acrid
very durable taste, and have  been used in  scorbutic affections, jaundice, and other
complaints;  but the plant is valuable only as a source of a blue dye-stuff, called
woad, which has been long employed in Europe, though at present nearly superseded
by indigo.  The leaves are prepared by grinding them to a paste, which is made into
balls, placed in heaps, and allowed to ferment.  When the fermentation is at an end,
the mass falls into a coarse powder, which is the dye-stuff in question.
  KALMIA  LATIFOLIA.  Laurel.   Mountain-laurel.  Broad-leafed-laurel.   Calico-
bush. This well known evergreen inhabits all sections of the United States, but is
particularly abundant on the sides of hills and mountains, which it adorns in summer
with its elegant flowers.  It is from  three to ten feet in height. The leaves are  en-
dowed with poisonous, narcotic properties, and have been used in medicine.   They 
Appendix.
1267
are said to prove fatal to sheep and some other animals, but are eaten with impunity
by deer, goats, and partridges.  Dr. Barton states in his " Collections," that the In-
dians sometimes use a decoction of the leaves to destroy themselves.  It is said that
death has been occasioned  by eating the flesh of partridges and pheasants which
have  fed  upon them during winter.  Dr. Shoemaker published, in the  North Ame-
rican Medical and Surgical Journal, two cases of poisoning which resulted from
eating a pheasant, in the craw of which laurel leaves were found.  The symptoms
were  nausea, temporary blindness, pain in the head, difficult breathing, pallid counte-
nance, cold extremities, and  very feeble pulse, which in one case was for some time
absent at  the wrist, in  the other beat only forty strokes in the minute.  In both in-
stances relief was afforded by vomiting produced by a tablespoonful of flour of mus-
tard mixed with warm  water.
  Dr. Barton was informed  that the powdered leaves were employed by an  empiric
with success in certain states of fever; and Dr. Thomas, in an inaugural dissertation,
published at Philadelphia, A.D. 1802, states that a case of diarrhoea, of eight weeks
duration, was cured by a decoction made by boiling an ounce of the leaves in eight
ounces of water down  to four ounces.  Thirty drops were given six times a day; but
this quantity produced  vertigo, and the dose was afterwards repeated only four times
daily.  The leaves are said also to have been  used advantageously in syphilis.  Ex-
ternally applied, in the shape of ointment or decoction, they have been found useful
in tinea capitis, psora, herpes, and other cutaneous affections; but some caution is
necessary in their application, as, according to Dr. Barton, nervous symptoms have
resulted from the external use of the decoction.  Dr. Bigelow has  seen the recently
powdered leaves given in doses  of from ten to twenty grains, without perceptible
effect
  It is probable that the other species of Kalmia—as the K. angustifolia, or sheep-
laurel, and the K. glauca, or swamp-laurel, have properties identical with those of the
K. latifolia.
  LABDANUM.  Ladanum.  A resinous substance obtained from various species of
Cistus, especially the C.  Creticus, C. ladaniferus, and C. laurifolius, small evergreen
shrubs, inhabiting the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, and the different countries
bordering on the Mediterranean.   Upon the leaves and branches of these shrubs a
juice  exudes, which is  collected by means of  an instrument resembling a rake, with
leather thongs instead of teeth, which is drawn over the plant.  The juice adheres to
the pieces of leather, and is  afterwards separated.  It is said that labdanum was for-
merly collected by combing  the beards of  goats which had been browsing upon  the
leaves of the cistus.   It comes  chiefly from the  Grecian islands.  Two varieties
exist  in commerce.  The purest labdanum is  in masses of various sizes, sometimes
weighing  several pounds, enclosed in  bladders, of a dark-red almost black colour
externally, grayish  internally when first broken, of the consistence of a plaster, soft-
ening in the hand and becoming adhesive, of  an agreeable  balsamic odour similar to
that of amber, and of a bitter, balsamic, somewhat acrid taste.  It  is very inflamma-
ble, burning with a clear flame.  On exposure it becomes dry, porous, and brittle.
Little of this variety is found in the markets.    Common labdanum is in pieces  of a
contorted  or  spiral form, light, porous,  blackish-gray, hard and  brittle, not softening
between the fingers, similar in odour and taste to the preceding variety, but less
inflammable, and mixed with much sand and  other earthy matter, which are  obvious
to the sight  Guibourt found in 100 parts of the labdanum  in  masses, 86 parts of
resin with a little volatile oil, 7 parts of wax, 1 of watery extract, and 6 of earthy
substances and hair.  In the contorted variety,  Pelletier found 20  per cent, of resin,
3*6 of gum  with malate of lime, 0-6 of malic acid, 1-9  of wax,  1-9 of volatile oil
including loss, and 72 of ferruginous sand.
  Labdanum is a stimulant expectorant, and was formerly given in catarrhal and
dysenteric affections.  At present it is  employed only as an ingredient in plasters,
and seldom even  for that purpose in  the United States.  It is sometimes  used in
fumigation.
  LAC.   A  resinous substance  obtained from several trees growing in the East
Indies, particularly from  the Croton lacciferum, and two species of Ficus, the F. reli-
giosa and F. Indica. It is found in the form of a crust  surrounding the twigs  or
extreme branches, and is generally supposed to  be  an  exudation from the bark,
owing to the puncture  of an insect belonging to the genus Coccus, and denominated
C.  Lacca.   By some it  is  thought to be  an exudation from the bodies of the insects
themselves, which collect in great numbers upon the twigs, and are embedded in the
concreted juice, through which the young insects eat a passage and escape.  Several 
1268
Appendix.
 varieties of lac are known in commerce.  The most common are stick lac, seed lac,
 and shell lac.
   Stick lac is the resin as taken from the tree, still encrusting the small twigs around
 which it  originally concreted.   It is of a deep reddish-brown colour, of a shining
 fracture, translucent at the edges, inodorous, and of an astringent, slightly bitterish
 taste.  Its external surface is perforated with numerous minute pores, as if made by
 a needle;  and when  broken it exhibits many oblong cells, often containing the dead
 insect  When chewed it colours the saliva beautifully red, and when burnt, diffuses
 a strong agreeable odour.  It is in great measure soluble in alcohol.  Little of this
 variety is imported.
   Seed lac consists of minute irregular fragments broken from the twigs, and partially
 exhausted by water.  It is of a light or dark brown colour, inclining to  red or yellow,
 feebly shining, almost  tasteless, and capable of imparting to water less  colour than
 the stick  lac, sometimes scarcely colouring it at all.  It is occasionally mixed with
 small fragments of the twigs.
   Shell lac is  prepared by melting the stick  or seed lac previously deprived of its
 soluble  colouring  matter, straining it, and pouring it upon a flat smooth surface to
 harden.   It is  in thin fragments of  various  sizes, from half a line to a line thick,
 often somewhat curved, of a lighter or darker brown  colour, inclining more or less to
 red or yellow,  shining, more or less  transparent, hard and brittle, inodorous and  in-
 sipid, insoluble in water, but easily and almost entirely soluble in alcohol, especially
 with the aid of heat.
  A variety of lac is mentioned by writers, in  the form of cakes, called  cake or lump
 lac (lacca  inplacentis); but this is at  present rare in commerce.
  According to John, lac consists of resin, colouring matter, a peculiar principle
 insoluble  in alcohol,  ether, or water, called laccin, a little wax, and various saline
 matters in small proportion.  The resin, according to Unverdorben, consists of seve-
 ral distinct resinous principles differing in their solubility in alcohol and ether.  The
 laccin is nearly or quite wanting in the sliell lac, which also contains scarcely any of
 the colouring principle.   Mr. Hatchet found in stick lac  68 per  cent, of resin and 10
 of colouring matter; in seed lac  88-5 per cent, of resin  and 2-5 of colouring matter;
 in shell lac 90-9 per cent, of resin  and  0-5 of colouring  matter. The other constituents,
 according to this chemist, are wax and gluten, besides foreign matters.
  Lac in its crude state is slightly astringent, and was formerly used in medicine.
 At present it is not employed.  Shell lac is wholly inert  Stick lac  and seed lac are
 used on account of the colouring principle which they contain.   Shell lac, as well as
 the other varieties deprived of their  colouring matter, is applied to numerous pur-
poses in the arts.   It is  the chief constituent  of sealing wax.   The best red sealing
xoax is made by melting together, with a very gentle heat, 48 parts of shell lac, 19 of
 Venice turpentine, and 1 of balsam of Peru, and mixing with the melted mass 32 parts
 of finely powdered cinnabar.  But common rosin is  often substituted in part for the
 lac, and a mixture of red lead and chalk for the cinnabar.  The best black sealing
wax consists of 60 parts of lac, 10 of turpentine, and  30 of levigated bone black; the
 best yellow sealing wax, of 60 parts of lac,  12 of turpentine, and 24 of chromate of
 lead. (Berzelius.)   Lac is also used as a varnish, and forms an excellent cement for
 broken porcelain and earthenware.
  LACTATE  OF IRON.  Ferri Lactas.  Lactate of Protoxide of Iron.  MM. Gelis
and Conte introduced this preparation to the notice of the profession.  It being ad-
mitted by physiologsts, except Liebig, that the lactic acid is the principal acid present
in the gastric juice, they concluded that the ordinary ferruginous preparations, when
efficacious, are dissolved by this acid in the stomach, and were led to  suppose that
the lactate of iron, ready formed, might prove a valuable remedy.  Their anticipa-
tions, thus far, have been realized;  for several French physicians of note, among
whom are MM. Fouquier, Bally, and Bouillaud, the committee appointed  on their
memoir by the French Academy of Medicine, have reported favourably in relation to
its therapeutic powers.
  M. Louradour recommends the  following process for obtaining lactate of iron.
Ferment whey by keeping it  at a temperature between  70°  and 80°,  whereby it
becomes charged with a considerable quantity of lactic acid.   Evaporate the liquor
to a third of its bulk, decant and filter, and then saturate with milk of lime.  This con-
verts the lactic acid into lactate of lime, which remains in solution, and  throws down
a precipitate, consisting principally of phosphate of lime.  The liquor is again filtered,
and precipitated by oxalic acid, which throws  down the lime as oxalate of lime, and
sets free the lactic acid.   By a new filtration a solution of lactic acid is obtained, con- 
Appendix.
1269
 taining lactin and certain salts, but pure enough for conversion into lactate of iron.
 For this purpose iron filings are digested with it on a sand-bath at a gentle heat.  At
 the end of six or seven hours, the liquor is made to boil; after which it is filtered, con-
 centrated, and allowed to cool and crystallize.  The lactin  and foreign salts remain
 in the mother-water. The crystals are drained in a funnel, washed with alcohol, dried
 rapidly, and then transferred to a bottle which must be well stopped. The salt, thus ob-
 tained, is in very white crystalline plates, undergoing little change in the air.  When
 in the form of a yellowish or greenish-white powder it is impure.  It is but sparingly
 soluble in water, requiring forty parts of boiling water to dissolve it  It has an acid
 reaction,  and possesses a mild  ferruginous taste.   The aqueous solution quickly
 becomes yellow, in consequence of the iron passing to a higher state of oxidation.
 M. Louradour has observed several samples of this lactate, variously adulterated; as
 by effloresced sulphate of iron, starch, and  sugar of milk;  the sophistication  being
 concealed by the salt being sold in powder. These impurities may be  detected by
 appropriate reagents; but M. Louradour recommends, as a  simpler way  of avoiding
 them, the rejection of the salt when not in crystalline plates.
    Medical Properties.  Lactate of iron has the general medical properties of the ferru-
 ginous preparations. It has a marked effect in increasing the appetite.   The disease
 in which it was  principally tried in Paris,  was chlorosis, with or  without amenor-
 rhoea, and in this disease, Andral,  Fouquier, Bouillaud and others, obtained very
 favourable results.  The dose is one or two grains, repeated at intervals and gradually
 increased.  As  much as 12 or even 20 grains may be given in the course of the day.
 It may be administered in lozenge, pill, or syrup.  The lozenge may be made of one
 grain of the lactate to twelve of sugar; and the pill, of one grain of the salt, made up
 with an equal weight of some inert powder free from astringent matter, and sufficient
 honey.  The  following is the formula for a  syrup proposed  by M. Cap, expressed in
 the nearest weights and measures used in this country.  Take of lactate of iron a
 drachm,- white sugar twelve ounces and a half- boiling distilled  water six fluidounces
 and a half.  Rub the salt to powder with four times its weight of the sugar; and dis-
 solve the mixture quickly in the boiling water. Pour the solution into a matrass placed
 on a sand-bath, and add  to it the rest of the  sugar in small pieces.   When the  sugar
 is dissolved, filter the syrup, and, as soon as it is  cold, transfer it to bottles which
 must be well  stopped.  This syrup has a very light amber colour and contains  about
 four  grains of the salt to the fluidounce.  The dose is from  two to four fluidrachms.
 Bread,  called chalybeate  bread, containing the lactate of iron,  in  the proportion of
 about a grain to the ounce, has been  used,  with advantage, by chlorotic patients in
 one of the hospitals of Paris.  The bread is not injured in taste or quality.
   LACTIC ACID.  Acidum Lacticum.  This acid was  discovered by Scheele.   It is
 interesting as having been found in a number of the secretions, particularly the urine.
 It is a product of the viscous fermentation of rice-water, and of the juices of the beet,
 turnip, and carrot  It may be conveniently obtained from the solution of impure
 lactic acid, mentioned in the last article, by concentrating it  to a syrupy consistence,
 and treating it with alcohol, which dissolves the acid and precipitates the lactin and
 foreign salts.  The solution is  filtered, and the lactic  acid is obtained pure by distil-
 ling off the alcohol.  It is a colourless syrupy liquid,  having a  very sour taste, and
 the sp. gr. 1-215.  When  heated to 480°, the greater part of it is converted into  a
 new body called concrete lactic acid.  It coagulates albumen, and dissolves a large
 quantity of freshly precipitated phosphate of lime, a  property which, doubtless, ren-
 ders it of importance in the animal economy.  The hydrated acid consists of six eqs.
 of carbon, five of hydrogen, and five of oxygen, plus one eq. of water.
  Lactic acid was proposed by  Magendie  on theoretical grounds as  a remedy  in
 certain forms of dyspepsia,  and for the removal of phosphatic deposits in the urine.
 It is most conveniently given in solution sweetened with  sugar, formed like lemonade.
 From one to three drachms may be taken in  the course  of the day.
  LAKES.  These are compounds of vegetable or animal colouring principles with
 alumina or metallic oxides, and are usually  obtained by adding  alum, or perchloride
 of tin, to the solution of the colouring matter in water, and precipitating by means of
 an  alkali.  The alumina or oxide of tin unites  with the colouring matter at the
 moment  of separation, and forms an insoluble compound.  Lakes are obtained in
this way from cochineal, madder, Brazil wood, seed lac, French berries,  &c.  They
are used in painting.
  LEDUM PALUSTRE.  Marsh  Tea.  Rosmarinus  sylvestris.   A small evergreen
shrub, growing in swamps  and other wet places, in the northern  parts  of Europe,
Asia,  and America, and in the mountainous regions of more southern latitudes.   The 
1270
Appendix.
leaves have a balsamic odour, and an aromatic, camphorous, bitter taste; and contain,
among other ingredients, volatile oil  and tannin.  They are  thought to possess nar-
cotic properties, and  have been employed in exanthematous diseases to allay febrile
irritation, in hooping-cough, in dysentery, and in various cutaneous affections, par-
ticularly leprosy and scabies.   In complaints of the  skin, they are used both inter-
nally  and externally, in the form of decoction.  When placed among clothes, they
are said to prevent the attacks of moths.  In Germany, they are sometimes substituted
for hops in the preparation of beer.  The Ledum latifolium, or Labrador tea, which is
a larger plant than the preceding, is a native of North America,  growing in damp
places in Canada  and the northern parts of the United States.  The leaves, as in the
former species, have  an agreeable odour and taste, and are esteemed pectoral and
tonic.  They are said to have been used as a substitute for tea during the war of
independence.
  LEPTANDRA  VIRGINICA. Nuttall.  Veronica Virginica, Linn.  Culver's Physic.
This  is an indigenous perennial plant, with an herbaceous stem three or four feet
high, furnished with leaves in whorls, and terminating in a long spike of white flowers.
A variety was seen by Pursh with purple flowers.  This was described and figured as
a distinct species  by Rafinesque,  under the title of L. purpurea.  The plant grows
throughout the  United States, affecting particularly calcareous hills  and sunny ex-
posures,  and flowering in August.  The root, which is the part  used, is  bitter and
nauseous, and yields  its active properties to boiling water. When recent it is said to
act violently as a cathartic, and sometimes as an emetic.  In  the dried state it is more
uncertain.  The dose of the powder is from twenty grains to a drachm. It was for-
merly among the officinals of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, but has been omitted in the last
edition.
  LIATRIS SPICATA.   Gay-feather. Button Snakeroot.  An indigenous  perennial
plant, growing in  natural meadows and  moist grounds throughout the Middle and
Southern States.  It has a tuberous root, and an erect annual stem, which terminates
in a spike  of beautiful, purple, compound flowers, which appear in August.  The
root is said by Schoepf to have  a terebinthinate odour, and a  warm, bitterish, terebin-
thinate taste; to be possessed of diuretic properties;  and to  be useful  in gonorrhoea
and sorethroat, being employed internally in the shape of decoction in the former
complaint, and as  a gargle in the latter.   Pursh informs us, that the  L. scariosa and
L. squarrosa,  are known in Virginia, Kentucky, and the  Carolinas, by the name of
Rattlesnake's master,-  and that their roots are employed to cure the bite of  the rattle-
snake, being bruised  and applied directly to the wound, while their decoction in milk
is taken internally.  According to Dr. William  Barton, all the tuberous-rooted spe-
cies of Liatris are active plants, and appear to be diuretic.
  LIGUSTICUM  LEVISTICUM.   Lavage.  An umbelliferous plant, growing wild in
the South of Europe, and cultivated in gardens.  The whole  plant  has a strong,
sweetish, aromatic odour, and a warm pungent taste.  When wounded it emits a yel-
low opaque juice,  which concretes  into a brownish  resinous  substance not unlike
opopanax.  The roots, stem, leaves, and seeds have all been employed; but the last
Have the aromatic properties of the  plant in  the highest degree.  They are small,
ovate-oblong, somewhat  flattened, curved, strongly ribbed, and of a yellowish-brown
colour.   The medical properties of lovage are closely analogous to those of angelica.
It is a stimulant aromatic, and has been employed as a carminative, diaphoretic, and
emmenagogue.  The best  form for administration is  that of  infusion.
  LIGUSTRUM VULGARE.  Privet. A shrub from four to ten feet in height, grow-
ing wild both in Europe and the United States, usually in hedges and by the roadside.
The leaves, which have an astringent, bitter taste, and the flowers, which  are small,
snow-white, and of an agreeable odour, have been  used, in the form of decoction, in
sorethroat, and aphthous and scorbutic ulceration of the mouth. The berries are black,
have  a sweetish, bitter taste, and are said to possess purgative properties, and to  co-
lour the urine brown. They are sometimes used for dyeing.  The  bark was analyzed
by M. G. Potex, who found a peculiar substance which he denominated ligustrin, be-
sides  mannite,  sugar, muco-saccharine matter, starch, chlorophylle, bitter extractive,
bitter resin, tannin, albumen, and salts. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. xii. 347.)
  LILIUM CANDIDUM.   Common White Lily.  This well  known plant is a native
of Syria and Asia Minor, but has been long cultivated in gardens. The bulb, which
consists of imbricated fleshy scales, is without odour, but has a peculiar, disagreeable,
somewhat bitter and  mucilaginous  taste.  It  contains much mucilage, and a small
proportion of an acrid principle, which is dissipated or destroyed by roasting or boil- 
Appendix.
1271
ing.  In the recent state it is said to have been employed with advantage in dropsy.
Boiled with water or milk it forms a good emollient cataplasm, more used in popular
than in regular practice.  The  flowers have an agreeable odour, which they impart
to oil or lard; and an ointment or liniment is sometimes prepared from them, and used
as a soothing application in external inflammations.
  LIQUIDAMBAR STYRACIFLUA.  Sweet-gum.  An indigenous tree, growing in
different parts  of the  United States from New England to  Louisiana, and flourishing
also in Mexico, where, as well as in our Southern States, it sometimes attains a great
magnitude.  In warm latitudes a balsamic  juice flows from its trunk when wounded.
This has  attracted some  attention in  Europe, where it is  known by the name of
liquidamber, or copalm balsam, and is sometimes, though erroneously, called liquid
storax.  It is not afforded by the trees  which grow in the Middle States, and is obtain-
ed from Mexico and Louisiana.  It is a liquid of the consistence of thin honey, more
or less transparent, of a yellowish colour,  of a peculiar,  agreeable, balsamic odour,
and a bitter, warm, and acrid taste. By cold it becomes thicker and less transparent
It concretes also by time, assuming a darker colour.  According to M. Bonastre, it
contains a colourless volatile oil, a semi-concrete substance which rises in distillation
and is separated from the water by ether, a minute proportion of benzoic acid, a  yel-
low colouring substance, an oleo-resin, and  a  peculiar principle, insoluble in water
and cold alcohol, for which M. Bonastre proposes the name of styracine. The propor-
tion of benzoic acid is greatly increased by  time. Mr. Hodgson obtained from a speci-
men which he examined 4-2 per cent  (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. vi. 190.)
  Another product is said to be obtained from the  same tree  by boiling the young
branches in water, and  skimming off the fluid which rises to the  surface.   It is of
a thicker consistence and  darker  colour than the preceding, is  nearly opaque,  and
abounds in impurities.  This  also has been confounded with liquid storax, which
it resembles in properties, though derived from a different source.
  Liquidamber may be employed for  the same purpose as storax, but is very seldom
used, and is almost unknown m the shops of the United States.
  LITHOSPERMUM OFFICINALE. Gromwell. Milium Soils.  A European peren-
nial, the seeds of which are ovate, of  a grayish-white or pearl colour, shining, rather
larger than millet seeds, and of a stony hardness, from which the generic name of the
plant originated.  From an opinion formerly prevalent, that nature indicated reme-
dies adapted to certain  diseases by some resemblance between the remedy and the
character  of the complaint or of the part affected, the seeds of this plant were applied
to the treatment of calculous disorders;  and they retained their ground in the estima-
tion of physicians as a diuretic, useful  in  complaints of the urinary passages, long
after the fanciful notion in which their use originated had been abandoned.   But
they are at present considered nearly  inert, and are not employed.
  LYCOPODIUM CLAVATUM.  Club-moss.  The  capsules of this  moss, and of
others belonging to the same genus, contain a fine dust or powder, which is collected
in Switzerland and Germany, and used in the shops of Europe under the name of
lycopodium, or vegetable sulphur.  This powder is considered by some as the pollen of
the plant, by others as the seed.  It is extremely fine, very light, of a delicate yellow
colour, inodorous and tasteless, and exceedingly inflammable, so much so that it
takes fire  like  gunpowder when thrown upon a burning body.  It is said to be often
adulterated  with the  pollen of  the  pines  and firs, and sometimes with talc  and
starch.  In medicine, it  is used  as an absorbent  application to excoriated  sur-
faces, especially those which  occur  in the folds of the skin  in infants.   In phar-
macy, it answers the purpose of facilitating the rolling of the  pilular mass, and of
preventing  the adhesion  of the pills when formed. It is  not much used in  this
country.  The moss  itself, from which the powder is derived, has been esteemed
diuretic, antispasmodic, &c; and has  been employed, in the  form of decoction, in
rheumatism, epilepsy, and complaints of the lungs and kidneys; but it has fallen into
discredit.
  MANDRAGORA  OFFICINALIS.   Atropa  Mandragora, Linn.  Mandrake. Man-
dragora.  A perennial  European plant, with spindle-shaped root, which is often
forked beneath, and is, therefore, compared,  in shape, to  the human  figure.  In
former times this root was supposed  to possess magical virtues, and was used as an
amulet to promote fecundity, &c; and the superstition is still cherished by the vulgar
in some parts of Europe.  The plant is a poisonous narcotic, somewhat similar in
its  properties to belladonna, to which it is  botanically allied.  It was much used by
the ancients, with a view to its narcotics effects; and the root has been recommended 
1273
Appendix.
 by some  eminent modern physicians, as an external application to scrofulous, scir-
 rhous, and syphilitic tumours.  It is unknown as a remedy in the United States.
   MEDEOLA VIRGINICA. Gyromia Virginica, Nuttall. Indian Cucumber. An indige-
 nous perennial herb, growing in all parts of the United States. The root, which in shape
 and flavour bears a strong resemblance to a small cucumber, is said by Pursh to be
 eaten by the Indians.   According to the  late  Professor Barton, it has  been thought
 useful in dropsies, and probably possesses  diuretic properties.  It is figured and de-
 scribed by Dr. William Barton in his Medical  Botany.
   MELILOTUS OFFICINALIS.  Melilot.  An annual or biennial plant, indigenous
 in Europe, and growing also in this country.   We have two varieties, one with yel-
 low, the other with white flowers, which are considered by some as distinct species.
 The  plant when in flower has  a  peculiar sweet odour, which, by  drying,  becomes
 stronger and more agreeable, somewhat like  that of the tonka  bean.  Indeed, ac-
 cording to M. Guillemette, the odorous principle of  the two  substances is  identical.
 (Journ. de Pharm. xxi. 172.)  The taste of melilot is slightly bitterish.  It has  little
 medical power, and, though formerly recommended in various diseases, is at present
 not employed internally.   As a local application, it is used, in the form of decoction
 or cataplasm, in moderate inflammations, though probably with little other advantage
 than such as results from the combination of warmth and moisture.
   MESEMBRYANTHEMUM CRYSTALLINUM. Ice-plant.  A biennial plant, grow-
 ing spontaneously in  the South of Europe, and cultivated as a curiosity in colder
 countries, by the aid of artificial warmth.  The stem and under surface of the leaves
 are covered with crystalline  drops, which  give the plant the appearance  of being
 coated with ice.  The herb is without smell, and has a saline somewhat nauseous
 taste.  It  is  considered demulcent and  diuretic, and has been  highly lauded as a
 remedy in various complaints, especially in those affecting the mucous membrane of
 the lungs  and urinary passages.  It has also been used in dropsy.  The expressed
 juice is the form in which the remedy has been generally employed.
   MOMORDICA BALSAMINA.  Balsam apple.  Balsamina.  An annual  climbing
 plant, a native of the  East Indies, but cultivated in  our gardens for the sake of the
 fruit  This is ovate, attenuated towards each extremity, angular, warty, not unlike a
 cucumber in appearance, of a lively red or orange-yellow colour, easily falling when
 touched, and  spontaneously separating into  several pieces.  It was formerly highly
 esteemed as a vulnerary, and is still in use among the common people.  A liniment
 formed by infusing the fruit, deprived of its seeds, in olive or almond oil, is applied
 to chapped hands, burns, old sores', piles, prolapsus  ani, &c; and the  fruit itself  is
 sometimes mashed and used in the form of poultice.  According to M. Descourtlitz, it
 is poisonous when taken internally, having proved fatal to a  dog in the quantity  of
 two or three drachms; and an extract prepared from it is said to be useful in dropsy,
 in the dose of from six to fifteen grains.
   MONESIA.  Under this name a vegetable extract from South America was, a few
 years since, introduced to the notice of the medical profession in France by M. Ber-
 nard  Derosne, and for a time  attracted much attention.  It  was obtained  from an
 individual who had long  resided in  South America, and who, having observed the
 beneficial effects of the medicine in the bowel affections of that country, was  desirous
 of having its properties investigated in Europe.  The information, however, was not
 given, from what part of the continent it was derived, nor by what plant afforded;  and
 a mystery hung over its origin, which, so far as we  know, has not yet  been cleared
 up.  It was said to have been  prepared  from a bark, specimens of which were re-
 ceived by M.  Derosne, and which was conjectured by him to  belong to  a tree of the
 genus  Chrysophyllum,- but nothing certain is known upon the subject.   An extract
 made from this bark was found to  be  identical with that imported.
  The bark is in pieces, some of which are three or four lines thick, is very com-
 pact and  heavy,  of a deep-brown or chocolate colour, contrasting strongly with
 the grayish colour of the epidermis when this  remains, and  of  a smooth fracture.
 The  extract was  received from S. America in cakes weighing rather more than  a
pound, from  three quarters of  an inch  to  an inch in  thickness, of a dark-brown
almost black  colour, very brittle, of  a fracture neither very dull  nor very  shining,
 and of a taste at first sweet, then astringent, and ultimately acrid, the acrimony being
 very persistent, and especially felt in the fauces.  It is entirely  soluble in water. The
bark was analyzed by MM. Derosne, Henry, and Paven, and was found to contain in
 100 parts, 1-2 of stearin, chlorophylle, and wax, 1-4  of glycyrrhizin, 4-7 of an acrid
principle analogous to saponin, called monesin, 7-5 of tannic acid, 9-2 of  a red colour-
ing substance, 1*3 of malic acid and  malate of lime, 3-0 of various salts, including 
Appendix.
127S
 oxides of iron and manganese and silica, and 71*7 of pectic acid or pectin and lignin
 including loss, besides traces of an aromatic principle and of gum.  Monesin was ob-
 tained by treating the bark or extract with alcohol,  adding to  the tincture an excess
 of hydrate of lime in fine powder, filtering, evaporating the clear liquor to dryness,
 treating the residue with water and animal charcoal, filtering, and again evaporating
 to dryness.  Thus procured it was in transparent yellowish scales, which were easily
 pulverized, forming a white powder.  It was readily dissolved  by  alcohol and water,
 to the latter of which it gave  the property of frothing; but was insoluble in ether.  It
 could not be made to crystallize.  It had no power to saturate the acids, was without
 odour, but had a slightly bitterish taste followed by a very decided and permanent
 acrimony in the posterior mouth and fauces. (Journ. de Pharm. Janvier, 1841.)  Mo-
 nesia owes its activity probably to this principle and to tannic  acid.
  The effects of  this  medicine upon the system appear to be those of a moderate
 stomachic excitant, a general alterative, and a feeble astringent.  According to M. St
 Ange, in moderate doses it increases the appetite and invigorates digestion; in over
 doses, produces heat in the epigastrium with obstinate  constipation and tenesmus.
 (Med. Examin. iii. 207, from Gazette Medicale.)  It has been used internally with
 asserted advantage  in diarrhoea, haemoptysis, menorrhagia,  scrofula, scurvy,  the
 chronic catarrh of old people, and dyspepsia.  As  a local remedy it has been found
 useful in leucorrhoea, ulcerations of the  mouth and fauces, spongy  and scorbutic
 gums, carious teeth, and  obstinate scrofulous and otherwise unhealthy ulcers  upon
 the surface.  The extract may be given  in pill or powder, in aqueous solution, in
 tincture, or in syrup.   The dose of it is from two to ten grains repeated every hour,
 two, or three hours, or less frequently.  From ten grains to a drachm  may be given
 daily. In scrofulous affections it must be given in large  quantities, and persevered in
 for several weeks, in order to  obtain its curative effects.  Monesia  is applied to ulcers
 either by being sprinkled in powder upon the surface, or in the form of ointment made
 with one part of the extract and seven parts of simple ointment. Monesin, or the acrid
 principle, has been given  internally in the dose  of  about half a grain, and  has  also
 been  applied to ulcers.
  MURIATIC ETHER.  Mther Muriaticus.  Muriate of Etherine.  Chloride of Ethule.
 This  ether was discovered by Rouelle, but first obtained  in sufficient quantities to
 permit the examination of its properties by Basse.  It may be procured by several
 processes, but the following is the best.—Distil a mixture of equal measures of con-
 centrated muriatic acid and alcohol, and  receive the product,  by means of  a curved
 glass tube, in a tubulated  bottle, half filled with water at a temperature  between  70°
 and 80°, and connected by means of a second tube with another bottle, loosely corked,
 and surrounded by a  mixture of common salt with  snow or pounded ice. The ether
 which comes over into the first bottle, is mixed with alcohol and  acid, which are re-
 tained by the water, while the pure ether passes forward,  and is condensed in the
 refrigerated bottle. This ether must be  kept in  strong  bottles, well-secured with
 ground  stoppers  covered with leather.  Before  being opened, the bottle should be
 cooled down to the freezing point.
  Muriatic ether  is colourless, has a strong, slightly saccharine, alliaceous taste, and
 a penetrating, ethereal, alliaceous smell.  Its sp. gr. at the temperature of 41° is
 0*774. It is  extremely volatile, entering into ebullition at  54°, so that in summer it
 may be collected  in the gaseous state, in bell-glasses  over water.  Its density in  the
 state  of vapour is 2-22.  When kindled as issuing  from a fine orifice, it burns with
 an emerald-green flame without  smoke, diffusing  a strong odour of muriatic acid;
 but when set on fire in quantities, it  burns with  a greenish-yellow smoky flame.
 Water dissolves  one-fiftieth  of its weight of this  ether,  and acquires a sweetish,
 ethereal taste, and alcohol unites with it in all proportions.  These solutions are  not
 precipitated by nitrate of silver, showing that the muriatic acid present is in a pecu-
 liar state of combination.  Like sulphuric and nitric ether, it dissolves sulphur and
phosphorus, the fat and volatile oils, and many other substances.  It consists pf one
 equiv. of muriatic acid 36-42, and one of etherine 28-48=64-9;  or in  volumes, of two
 volumes of the acid,  and one volume of the vapour of etherine, condensed  into two
 volumes.
  Muriatic ether, like the other substances of this class, is  a diffusible  stimulant,  but
 owing to its extreme volatility, cannot be kept in the shops.  It may, however, be pre-
 served in a cool cellar, the temperature of which does not rise above 45° or 50°, being
well secured in bottles, which should  be placed reversed.  When used in medicine,
it is generally mixed with an equal bulk of alcohol, when it is called alcoholic muriatic
        108 
1274
Appendix.
ether.  The dose is from five to thirty drops, given in sweetened water, or other con
venient vehicle.
  MUSHROOMS.  Fungi.  This extensive family of cryptogamous plants is  inter-
esting to the physician,  from the consideration,  that, while some of  them are very
largely consumed as food in different parts of the world,  others are deleterious in
their nature, and capable, when eaten,  of producing poisonous effects.  Their sub-
stance is made up of a cellular tissue, which is usually of that soft consistence de-
nominated fungous, but is sometimes corky, ligneous, or even gelatinous.   Many of
them have an agreeable odour and taste, while  others are unpleasant or offensive
both to the nostrils and palate. According to Braconnot most of them contain, among
other substances,  a  peculiar principle denominated fungin,  a peculiar acid  called
fungic acid usually combined with potassa, and a peculiar saccharine matter less
sweet than the other varieties of sugar, less soluble in alcohol and water than that of
the cane, and  distinguished by some writers as the sugar of mushrooms.  Fungin con-
stitutes the basis of these vegetables, and is the principle upon which their nutritive
properties chiefly depend. It is  the fleshy substance which remains when they are
treated with boiling water holding a little alkali  in solution.  It is whitish, soft, and
insipid;  inflammable; insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, weak sulphuric  acid, and
•weak solutions of potassa and soda; soluble in heated muriatic acid; decomposed by
nitric acid, and by  concentrated alkaline solutions; and  converted  by destructive
distillation into substances resembling those which result from the distillation of ani-
mal matters.
   It is highly  important for  those who employ mushrooms as food, to be able  to dis-
tinguish those which are wholesome from  the poisonous.  The following general rules
are given by M. Richard in the Dictionnaire des Drogues.  Those should be rejected
which have a narcotic or fetid odour, or an acrid, bitter, or very acid taste; which oc-
casion a sense  of constriction in the  throat when swallowed; which are very soft,
liquefying, changing colour, and assuming a bluish tint upon being bruised;  which
exude a milky, acrid, and styptic juice; which grow in very moist places, and upon
putrefying substances; in fine, all such as have a coriaceous, ligneous, or corky con-
sistence. The last, however, are injurious in consequence  rather of their indigestible
than of their  poisonous nature.  Even mushrooms which are usually edible, may
prove poisonous, if  collected too late, or  in  places which  are too  moist.   It is said,
moreover, that the poisonous species sometimes become  innocent when they grow
under favourable circumstances; and that the  most noxious may be rendered edible
by boiling them in  water acidulated  with vinegar.  Immense quantities of  mush-
rooms are eaten in  France, Germany, Italy, and other parts  of continental Europe;
and it is asserted  that they constitute  the chief food  of the people  in certain pro-
vinces.
   The symptoms produced by the poisonous mushrooms  are anxiety, nausea, faint-
ness, vomiting, and, if they  are not rejected from the stomach, somnolence, stupor,
 small and intermittent pulse, tension of the abdomen, cold  extremities, livid skin, and
 death in thirty-six or forty-eight hours. Sometimes violent pains in the stomach and
bowels  are experienced; and occasionally severe vomiting and purging occur and
 save the patient. The remedies are emetics, if the physician is called in time, accom-
 panied with the free use of warm drinks, and followed by cathartics.  After the evacua-
 tion of the alimentary canal, demulcent and nutritive beverages should be given, and
 the strength of the patient sustained by mild tonics or stimulants. Ether is particularly
 recommended. (Merat and De Lens.)
   Some of the poisonous species have been used as medicines; but in this country
 they are never employed; and too little seems to be precisely known of their modes
 of action, and their  qualities, even in the same species, vary too much, according to
 the circumstances of their growth and situation, to justify their introduction into the
 materia medica, without further investigation.
   MUSK, ARTIFICIAL.  Moschus Factitius.  This is  prepared by adding, drop by
 drop, three parts of fuming nitric acid to  one of unrecfifled oil of amber. The acid is
 decomposed,  and the oil converted into an acid  resin, which must be kneaded under
 pure water, until all excess  of acid is removed.  The substance which remains is the
 artificial musk, and is of a yellowish-brown colour, viscid, and of an  odour which re-
 calls that of musk.  It reddens litmus, dissolves  sparingly in water, and more freely
 in alcohol. According to Setterberg, it contains three resins, two of which are  soluble
 in boiling oil of turpentine;  the third, insoluble.  One of the soluble resins is obtained
 upon the cooling of the oil, when it separates; the other by evaporating  the  cold oil
 from which the first has precipitated. (Berzelius Traite de Chim. vi. 714.) 
Appendix.
1275
  Dr. S. W. Williams, in a paper contained in the  Boston Medical and Surgical
Journal, gives  the  following formula for the preparation of artificial musk.  Add
gradually, drop by drop, three drachms and a half of concentrated nitric acid to a
drachm of rectified oil of amber, contained in a glass tumbler, or very large wineglass.
The mixture grows hot, and emits offensive fumes which the operator must avoid.
When the ordinary nitric acid is employed, which is not of full strength, the reaction
must be assisted by heat; in which case Dr. Williams recommends that the vessel
containing the mixed ingredients be placed in a plate before the fire, they being, mean-
while, continually stirred with a glass rod.  The reaction is sometimes so violent as
to eject part of the contents from the glass.  After the mixture has remained at rest
for twenty-four hours, it acquires a  resinous appearance, and divides into two por-
tions, an acid liquid below, and a  yellow resin above, resembling musk in smell. This
being  thoroughly washed, first with cold  and then with hot water, until  all traces of
acid are removed, is the artificial musk. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm. viii. 14.)
   Artificial musk is an antispasmodic and nervine, and possesses the general thera-
peutic properties of the natural substance, though in  a weaker degree.   It is praised
by Dr. Williams, from his  personal  experience, in the treatment of hooping-cough,
typhoid states of fever, and nervous diseases generally. When combined with water
of ammonia, compound spirit of lavender, or laudanum, he has found no remedy so
efficient in the sinking faintness occurring in the last stage of pulmonary consumption.
The average dose for an adult is ten  grains;  for a child of two years old from half a
grain to a grain, repeated, in each case, every two or three hours.  It maybe prepared
as the musk mixture, or with almonds in  the form of emulsion. According to Berze-
lius the tincture is  formed by dissolving a drachm of artificial musk in  an ounce of
alcohol, equivalent  to ten fluidrachms of the sp. gr. 0-835.  Of this the  dose  for  an
adult is a teaspoonful.  The tincture recommended in the American Journal of Phar-
macy (a drachm of the musk to  four ounces of alcohol) is  altogether too spirituous.
Though artificial musk is not equal in power to the natural substance when genuine,
yet it is in  all probability superior to  the adulterated article, so frequently sold under
the name of musk.  On this account, as well  as in view of its comparative  cheap-
ness, it forms a useful substitute for musk, applicable to several forms of disease.
   MYROBALANS.  Myroba/ani.  These are the fruits of various  East India trees,
particularly of different species of  Terminalia.  They are noticed here partly on
account of their ancient reputation,  partly because they are still occasionally to be
found in the shops, though seldom, if ever, used in medicine.  Five  varieties are dis-
tinguished by authors.   1. Myrobalani belliricae.   These are obtained from the Termi-
nalia Bellirica.  They are roundish or ovate, from the size of a hazelnut to that of a
walnut, of a grayish-brown colour, smooth, marked with five longitudinal ribs, and
sometimes furnished with a short thick footstalk.  They consist of an exterior, thin,
firm, resinous, brown, fleshy portion, and an interior kernel, which is light  brown,
inodorous, and of a bitterish very astringent taste.  2. Myrobalani chebulas  This va-
riety is produced by the Terminalia  Chebula.   The fruit is oblong, pointed at  each
extremity,  from fifteen to eighteen lines in length, of a dark-brown colour, smooth and
shining, with five  longitudinal wrinkles, but without footstalks.  In their  internal
arrangement and their taste, they resemble the  preceding.  3. Myrobalani citrinee,vel
ftavae.  These are from a variety of the same tree which affords the last mentioned my-
robalans, from which they  differ only in being somewhat smaller, of a light brown or
yellowish colour, and of a taste rather more bitter.  They have been sometimes sold
in the shops in Philadelphia under the name of white galls, to which, however, they
bear no other resemblance than in  taste.  4. Myrobalani Indicae, vel nigrae.  These
are thought to be the unripe fruit of the Terminalia Chebula, or T. Bellirica.  They are
ovate  oblong, from  four to eight lines long, and from two to three lines thick, of a
blackish colour, wrinkled longitudinally, and presenting, when broken, a thick, brown
mass, without kernel, but with a small cavity in the centre.  They are  sourish and
very astringent  5. Myrobalani  emblicx.  This variety is wholly different from  the
preceding, and derived from a plant having no affinity to the Terminable—namely,
the Phyllanthus Emblica of Linnaeus.  It is  often in  segments, as kept  in the shops.
When the  fruit is entire, it is blackish, spherical, depressed, of the size  of a cherry,
presenting six obtuse ribs with as many deep furrows, and separating into six valves,
with a strongly astringent and acidulous  taste.
   These fruits were in  high  repute with the Arabians, and were long employed by
European practitioners as  primarily laxative, and  secondarily astringent, in  various
complaints, particularly diarrhoea and dysentery.  Their dose was from two drachms
to an  ounce.  They are not now employed as medicines.  We have been told that 
1276
Appendix.
they have sometimes been used as a substitute for galls in the preparation of ink-
powder.
  NAPLES YELLOW.  A yellow pigment prepared by calcining a mixture of lead,
common sulphuret of antimony, dried alum, and muriate of ammonia, or a mixture
of carbonate of lead, diaphoretic antimony, dried alum, and muriate of ammonia.
(Gray.)
  NARCISSUS  PSEUDO-NARCISSUS.  Daffodil. This well known bulbous plant
is a native of Europe, but is very common in the gardens of this country, where it
attracts attention by the early appearance of its conspicuous yellow flowers.  Both
the bulb and flowers have been used in medicine.  The latter have a feeble peculiar
"odour, and both  have a bitter mucilaginous  taste.  They are emetic, though uncer-
tain in their operation.  It is  probable that the flowers of the wild plant are more
powerful than those of the cultivated.  They may be given dried and powdered, or
in the form of extract  The dose of the powder, to produce an emetic effect, varies,
according to the statements of different physicians, from a scruple to two drachms;
while the extract is said to vomit in the dose of two or three grains.  It is conjectured
that the emetic  property is developed by the  agency of water.  The bulb  is most
powerful in  the recent state, and, within our own knowledge, is occasionally used as
an emetic in domestic practice in this country.  When dried  and powdered, it has
been given in the dose of thirty-six grains without vomiting. The  flowers  are said
also to possess antispasmodic powers, and have  been used in France, with supposed
advantage, in hooping-cough, epilepsy, and other convulsive affections. It is probable,
however, that they operated in these cases  by their nauseating or emetic property.
They have, moreover, been advantageously employed in diarrhoea, dysentery, and
intermittent  fever.  Other species of Narcissus are said to possess the same proper-
ties, though they have not been so much used.
  NARD. Spikenard.  Several aromatic roots were known to the ancients under the
name of nardus, distinguished, according to their origin or place of growth, by the
names of nardus Indica, nardus Ce/tica, nardus montana, &c.  They are supposed to
have been derived from different species of Valeriana.  Thus the nardus Indica is re-
ferred to the V. Jatamensi of Bengal, the  nardus Celtica to  the V. Celtica, inhabiting
the Alps, Apennines, &c, and the nardus montana to the V. tuberosa, which grows in
the mountains of the South of Europe.  The Indian nard,  or spikenard, sometimes
also called Syrian nard, is still occasionally to be found in the  shops.  It is  a small,
delicate root, from one to three  inches long,  beset with a tuft of soft, light brown,
slender fibres, of an agreeable  odour, and a bitter, aromatic taste.  It was  formerly
very highly esteemed as a medicine, but is now almost out of use.  Its properties  are
analogous to those of the  officinal valerian.
  NASTURTIUM OFFICINALE. R. Brown.  Sisymbrium Nasturtium, Linn. Water-
cress.   A small, perennial, herbaceous, succulent plant, growing in springs,  rivulets,
and ponds, in North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia.  The fresh herb has
a quick penetrating odour, especially when rubbed, and a bitterish, pungent taste, but
loses both when  dried.  In sensible and medical properties it bears some resemblance
to scurvy-grass, though milder, and on this account is preferred for the table.  It is
thought to be useful in scorbutic affections, and visceral obstructions.   The expressed
juice is sometimes given  in the dose of one or two ounces;  but the herb is more fre-
quently used in the form of a salad.  Other species of Nasturtium, as the N.palustre
or marsh water-cress, and the N. amphibium or water-radish, grow in similar situations
with the N. officinale, and  possess similar virtues.
  NIGELLA SATIVA.  Nutmeg flower.  Small fennel-flower.  A small annual plant,
growing wild in Syria and the South of Europe, and cultivated in various parts of the
world.  The seeds, which are sometimes kept in the shops under the name of semen
nigellse, are ovate, somewhat compressed, about a line long and half as broad, usually
three-cornered, with two sides flat and one convex, black or brown externally, white
and oleaginous within, of a strong, agreeable, aromatic odour, like that of nutmegs,
and a spicy pungent taste. Their chief constituents are a volatile and fixed oil.  They
are analogous to the other aromatics in properties, and though not at present used in
medicine, have been employed  in some countries from the  remotest times as a con-
diment.
  NITRATE OF SODA. Cubic Nitre.  This salt may be formed by treating carbo-
nate of soda  with nitric acid.  It exists naturally, in inexhaustible quantities, in the
desert of Atacamain Peru, where it forms a bed of variable thickness, covered with 
Appendix.
1277
 clay, of one hundred and fifty miles in extent.  Considerable quantities have been
 extracted for the purposes of commerce.  Occasionally a cargo is brought to  the
 United States.
   Nitrate of soda, when pure, is a white salt, crystallizing in rhomboidal prisms, and
 having a sharp, cooling, and bitter  taste.  It attracts moisture  slightly from the  air,
 and dissolves  in about twice its weight of water at 60°.   It  has been praised as a
 remedy in dysentery by two German physicians, Drs. Velsen and Meyer, given in  the
 quantity of from half an ounce to an ounce in the course of the day, dissolved in gum
 water, or other mucilaginous liquid.  The crude salt, as it comes from  Peru, is in
 dirty-white saline lumps, rather soft and friable, and damp on the surface.  It is
 cheaper than nitre, for which salt it may be substituted in the manufacture of sulphuric
 acid, and in the preparation of nitric acid, chrome yellow, &c.
   As nitrate of soda has been imposed upon our merchants for nitre, it may be useful
 to mention that the former salt may be distinguished by its giving rise to an orange-
 yellow flame when thrown on burning coals, and  by the rhomboidal shape of its
 crystals; those of nitre  being long six-sided prisms.  (See page 569.)
   NITROSULPHATE OF AMMONIA.  This compound, discovered by Pelouze in
 1835, may be formed by passing nitric oxide through a solution of sulphite of ammonia
 in five or six times its  volume of liquid  ammonia.   A large number of crystals are
 formed, which must be quickly washed with liquid ammonia previously refrigerated,
 and dried without heat.  Nitrosulphate of ammonia  has been used at the Hotel Dieu
 in Paris, in doses of twelve grains, with apparent advantage, in typhoid fevers.  Its
 composition corresponds with one equiv. of nitric oxide, one of sulphurous acid, and
 one of ammonia; but as the salt is not precipitated by  barytic water, Pelouze conceives
 that the nitric oxide and sulphurous  acid, together, form a peculiar acid which he calls
 nitrosulphuric acid, consisting of one eq. of nitrogen, one of sulphur, and four of oxygen.
   NYMPHiEA ODORATA.  Sweet-scented Water-lily.   An indigenous herbaceous
 perennial, growing in  most parts of the  United States, in fresh-water ponds and  the
 borders of streams, and distinguished by the beauty and delicious odour of its large,
 white, many petaled flowers.  Its root is, when fresh, large and fleshy, but becomes
 light, spongy, and friable  by drying.  It is very astringent  and bitter; and, according
 to Dr.  Bigelow, contains much tannin and gallic acid.  It is sometimes employed, in
 the form of poultice, as a discutient  application.  The root of the Nymphsea alba, or
 European white water-lily, was  esteemed aphrodisiac by the  ancients; but has long
 lost this reputation.  Like that  of the American plant, it  is  bitter and  styptic, and
 may have been useful  by its astringency in some cases  of leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea,
 dysentery, &c, in which it was formerly  employed for its reputed sedative virtues.
   OCHRES. These are native mixtures of argillaceous or calcareous earth and oxide
 of iron, employed in painting.  They are prepared  for use by agitating them with
 water, decanting the turbid liquor  after  the coarser particles  have subsided, then
 allowing it to rest in order that the finer parts may be deposited, and lastly drying  the
 sediment which forms.   The  colour of the ochres varies with the state of oxidation
 of the iron, and with the proportion which it bears  to the  other ingredients, and is
 sometimes artificially modified by the agency of heat.  Several varieties  are kept in
 our shops, under different names, according to their colour, or place of origin. Such
 are the brown ochre, the yellow ochre,  the red ochre, the Roman ochre of a brownish-yel-
 low changing by heat  to a purple red, the Oxford ochre of a brownish-yellow colour
 less deep than the Roman, and the  French ochre which is  yellow.  The Indian  red
 from the Persian Gulf,  and Spanish  brown, may also be  ranked in this class of pig-
 ments.  Sometimes ochres come in  a powdery state, and sometimes in hard masses;
 in the  latter state they are called stone ochres.
   OCIMUM BASILICUM.  Basil.  An  annual plant, a native of India and Persia,
 and cultivated in Europe and in this country  in gardens.  The whole plant has a
 strong, peculiar, agreeable, aromatic odour, which is improved by drying. The taste
 is aromatic, and somewhat cooling and saline.  Basil has the ordinary properties of
 the aromatic plants, and is in some  places considerably used as a condiment.  The
 seeds are said by Ainslie to be used  in India, in the form pf infusion, as a remedy in
gonorrhoea and nephritic affections.
  CENANTHE  CROCATA.  Hemlock Water-dropwort.  A  perennial, umbelliferous,
 aquatic, European plant, exceedingly poisonous  both to men and inferior animals.
 The root, which has a sweetish  not unpleasant taste, is sometimes eaten by mistake
for other roots, with the most  dangerous effects; and  numerous instances of fatal  re-
sults are  on record.  The symptoms produced are such as attend irritation or inflam-
                                     108* 
1278
Appendix.
mation of the stomach, united with great cerebral disturbance.  Externally applied
the root produces redness and irritation of the skin, with an eruptive affection.  It is
said to be sometimes used empirically as a local remedy in piles; and a case is re-
corded in which an obstinate leprosy was cured by the continued use of the juice of
the plant  Other species of  OSnanthe are poisonous, and the whole  genus should be
regarded among the suspected plants.  We have two or three  indigenous species.
The proper remedies, in cases of poisoning from these plants, are emetics, followed,
after the stomach has been thoroughly evacuated, by mucilaginous and other demul-
cent drinks.
  OENOTHERA BIENNIS.  Tree Primrose.  A biennial indigenous plant, growing
in fields and along fences, from Canada to Carolina.  It is from two to five feet high,
with a rough stem, alternate, ovate-lanceolate  leaves, and fine  yellow flowers, which
make their appearance in July and August.  Schoepf states that it is esteemed useful
as a vulnerary.  Dr. R. E. Griffith, late of the University of  Virginia, has found a
strong decoction of the small branches, with the leaves and cortical part of the stem
and larger branches, very beneficial in eruptive complaints, especially tetter.  He
applies the decoction several times a day to the affected part.  He thinks the virtues
of the plant reside in the cortical part, which  has a mucilaginous taste, and leaves a
slight sensation of acrimony in the fauces. (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm. iv. 292.)
   OIL OF EUPHORBIA.  A fixed oil, obtained from the seeds of the Euphorbia La-
thyris, a biennial plant growing wild in this country, though believed to have been
introduced from Europe, where it is indigenous.   It is often found near gardens and
in cultivated fields, and is generally called mole-plant, under the impression that moles
avoid the grounds where it grows. (Pursh.)  It is the Caper plant of England. (Loudon's
Encyc. of Plants.)  Like the other species  of  Euphorbia, it contains a milky juice,
which is extremely acrid; and the whole plant possesses the properties of a  drastic
purge; but the oil of the seeds is the only part used in  regular practice.   This may
be extracted by expression, or by the agency of alcohol or of ether.  In the first case,
the bruised seeds are pressed in a canvass or  linen bag, and the  oil which escapes is
purified by decanting it from the  whitish flocculent matter which it  deposits upon
standing, and by subsequent filtration.  By the latter process, the bruised seeds are
digested in alcohol or  macerated in ether, and the oil is obtained by filtering and
evaporating the solution. According to Soubeiran, however, the oil obtained by these
different processes is by no means identical. That procured by expression is pro-
bably the purest
   Oil of euphorbia is colourless, inodorous, and, when  recent, nearly insipid; but it
speedily becomes rancid, and acquires a dangerous acrimony.  Soubeiran has ascer-
tained that it has  a complex composition, containing, besides the pure oil, four dis-
tinct proximate principles. (Journ. de Pharm. xxi. 259.)  From 40 to 44 parts are
obtained by expression from 100 of the seed.
   This oil is a powerful purge, operating with much activity in  a dose varying from
five to ten drops.  It has within a few years been  much used  by some Italian and
French physicians, who have not found it to  produce inconvenient irritation of the
stomach and bowels.  Its want of taste, and the smallness of the dose, recommend
it especially in the cases of infants.  It is said to be less acrid and irritating than the
croton oil, over which it also has the advantage of greater cheapness.  Some trials
which have been made with it on this side of the Atlantic have not tended to confirm
these favourable reports.   It was found uncertain  in  its cathartic effect, and very
liable to vomit.  (Scattergood, Journ. of the Phil.  Col. of Pharm.  iv. 124.)   It may be
given in pill with the crumb of bread, or in emulsion.
   OIL OF JASMINE.  This oil is obtained from the flowers of the Jasminum offici-
nale, or common white jasmine, and from those  also of the J. Sambac and J. grandi-
florum.  Alternate layers of the fresh flowers, and of cotton saturated with the oil of
ben (expressed oil of Hyperanthera Moringa), or perhaps other fixed oil, are exposed
in a covered vessel to the warmth of the sun, the flowers being occasionally renewed,
till the oil becomes impregnated with  their odour, when it is  separated from  the cot-
ton by pressure.  This  method is necessary, as the  flowers do not yield their  aroma
by distillation.   The oil of jasmine is used only as a perfume.
   ORANGE RED.  Orange Mineral.   Sandix.   Red oxide of lead, prepared by cal-
cining carbonate of lead.  It is of a brighter  colour than minium, and  is used as a
pigment
   OROBANCHE VIRGINIANA.  Epifagus Americanus, Nuttall. Beech-drops.  Can-
coMroot,  A parasitic, fleshy plant, with a tuberous, scaly root, and a smooth stem, 
Appendix.
1279
branched from the base, from twelve to eighteen inches high, furnished with small
ovate scales, of a yellowish or purplish colour, and wholly destitute of verdure.  It
is found in all parts of North America, growing upon the roots of the beech tree,
from which it obtained its popular name.  It is in some places very abundant  The
plant has a bitter, nauseous, astringent taste, which is said to be diminished by dry-
ing.  It has been given internally in bowel affections; but its credit depends mainly
upon the idea that it is useful in obstinate ulcers of a cancerous character, to which
it is directly applied in the state of powder.  The late Professor Barton conjectured
that it was an ingredient of a secret remedy, at  one time famous as Martin's cancer
powder, of which, however, the most active constituent was arsenious acid.
   Other species of Orobanche, growing in America and Europe, have been employed.
They are all parasitic, fleshy plants, without verdure, and of a bitter nauseous taste.
In  Europe they are called broom-rape.  The  0. Americana and O. uniflora,  of this
country, are said to be used for the same purposes as the species above noticed, and
like it are called cancer-root.
   ORPIMENT.  King's Yellow.  A native sulphuret of arsenic,  consisting of two
equiv. of metal 75-4, and three equiv. of sulphur 48-3=123-7.  It is in masses of a bril-
liant lemon-yellow colour, composed of flexible laminae, and slightly translucent  It
exists in various parts  of the world, but is obtained for use from Persia and Chinai.
( Guibourt.)  It is sometimes mixed with realgar, which gives it a reddish or  orange
hue. A similar sulphuret may be made artificially by passing sulphuretted hydrogen
through a solution of arsenious acid in muriatic acid.  There is reason to believe
that neither the native sulphuret, nor the artificial, when prepared in the manner just
mentioned and well washed,  is poisonous, at least in a degree at all comparable to
other arsenical compounds.
   Artificial orpiment is prepared for use by fusing together equal parts of arsenious
acid and sulphur. (Turner.)  In Germany, according to Guibourt, it is prepared  by
subliming  a mixture of these  two substances.  In  this case, however, it retains a
large portion of the acid undecomposed, and is therefore highly poisonous.  Guibourt
found a specimen which he examined to contain 96 per cent, of arsenious acid, and
only 6 per cent of  the sulphuret of arsenic.
   Orpiment is an ingredient  of certain depilatories.  Atkinson's depilatory is said to
consist of one part of orpiment and six  parts of quicklime, with  some  flour  and a
yellow colouring matter. (Ann. der Pharm. xxxiii. 348.) But this arsenical sulphuret
is chiefly used in fireworks, and as a pigment.
   ORYZA SATIVA.  Rice.  This  is an annual plant,  originally, perhaps, derived
from the East Indies, but  now cultivated in all parts of the globe  where the climate
and soil are adapted to its growth.   The rice of commerce consists of the seeds of
the plant deprived of their husk.   Carolina rice was found by Braconnot to contain
85-07 per cent, of starch,  3-60 of gluten, 0-71 of  gum, 0-29 of uncrystallizable sugar,
0-13 of fixed oil, 4-80 of vegetable fibre, 5-00 of water, and 0-40 of saline substances.
This grain is highly nutritious, and of easy digestion, and constitutes the almost
exclusive diet of whole nations.  Being wholly free  from  laxative properties, it is
admirably adapted  to cases of weak bowels, in which there is a strong  tendency to
diarrhoea.   Care, however, should be taken that it be boiled till it.becomes soft.  A
decoction of  rice, usually called rice-water, is a good nutritive drink  in fevers and
inflammatory affections of the bowels, lungs, and kidneys.   There appears to be no
ground for the opinion, which has been entertained by some, that a diet of rice is in-
jurious to the eyes.
   OXALIC ACID.  Acidum  Oxalicum.  This acid is found both in animals and vege-
tables.   It is generated occasionally in consequence of a diseased action in the kid-
neys, and deposited in the bladder as oxalate of  lime, forming a peculiar concretion,
called from its appearance the mulberry calculus.  In vegetables, it occurs in a free
state in the bristles of the chick-pea (Cicer arietinum), combined  with  potassa as a
supersalt in the Rumex acetosa or common sorrel, and the  Oxalis Acetosella or wood
sorrel, and united with lime in several species of lichen, and in the roots of rhubarb,
valerian, and several other plants.  It.is from the generic appellation Oxalis, that it
takes its name.
   Preparation.  This acid may be prepared, by proper management, from the juice
 of the wood sorrel.  The first step is to obtain the binoxalate of potassa in crystals,
by a careful evaporation  of the juice of the plant.  The excess of acid is then neu-
tralized with carbonate of potassa, and the neutral oxalate is decomposed by acetate
of lead.  In consequence of a double decomposition, a precipitate of oxalate of lead
is obtained.   This  is to be well washed and dried, and decomposed by means of one- 
1280                            Appendix.
third of its weight of strong sulphuric acid, previously diluted with ten times its
weight of water.  An insoluble sulphate of lead is formed, and the oxalic acid, being
liberated, may be made to crystallize by evaporation.  The mother waters, by further
evaporation, furnish fresh portions  of crystals, until quite exhausted.  By this  pro-
cess a very pure acid may be obtained.
  The usual process for obtaining oxalic acid consists in decomposing sugar by nitric
acid.  Four parts of sugar are acted upon by twenty-four parts of nitric  acid of the
sp. gr. 1-22, and the mixture heated so long as any nitric oxide is disengaged.  A
part of the carbon of the sugar is  converted into carbonic acid, by oxygen  derived
from the nitric acid, which is thereby partially converted into nitric oxide. The un-
decomposed nitric acid, reacting on  the remaining  elements of the sugar, generates
oxalic and saccharic (oxalhydric)  acids, the former  of which crystallizes  as the
materials cool, while the latter remains in solution.   The crystals being  removed, a
fresh crop may be obtained  by further evaporation.   The thick mother water which
now remains is a mixture of saccharic, nitric, and oxalic acids; and by treatment
with six times its weight of  nitric acid, the greater part of the saccharic acid will be
converted into oxalic acid.  The new crop of crystals, however, will  have a yellow
colour, and contain a portion of nitric acid, the greater part of which may be got rid
of by allowing them to effloresce in a warm place.
  Many substances besides sugar  yield oxalic acid, by the action of nitric acid; as
for example molasses, potato starch, gum, wool, hair, silk, and many vegetable acids.
In every case in which it is  thus generated, the proportional excess of oxygen which
it contains, compared with every other organic compound, is furnished by the nitric
acid.  Organic substances yield oxalic acid also, when  heated with potassa.  Thus
shavings of wood, if mixed  with a solution of caustic potassa, and exposed to a heat
considerably higher than 212°, will be partially decomposed and converted into oxalic
acid, which  then combines  with the alkali.  This  process constitutes, perhaps, the
cheapest method of obtaining oxalic acid.
  Properties.   Oxalic acid is a colourless crystallized solid, possessing considerable
volatility, and a strong, sour taste.  Its crystals have the shape of  slender, flattened,
four or six-sided prisms, with two-sided summits;  and, when  exposed to a very dry
atmosphere, undergo a slight  efflorescence.  It  dissolves in about nine times its
weight of cold, and in its own weight of boiling water.   The solution of the crystals
takes place with slight crepitation.   It dissolves also, but not to the  same extent, in
alcohol.  The presence of nitric acid renders it more soluble in water.  It combines
with salifiable bases, and forms salts called oxalates.  The most interesting of these
are the three oxalates of potassa, severally called oxalate, binoxalate, and quadroxa-
late, and the oxalate of lime.  The  quadroxalate, sold under the name of binoxalate
of potassa or salt of sorrel, sometimes  absurdly called  the essential salt of lemons, is
employed for removing iron moulds from linen, and acts by its excess of acid, which
forms a soluble salt with the sesquioxide of iron constituting the stain.  Oxalic  acid
is used for removing ink stains and iron moulds, for cleaning the leather of boot-tops,
and for discharging colours  in calico-printing.
   This acid has a very strong affinity for lime, and  forms with  it an insoluble preci-
pitate consisting  of oxalate  of lime, whenever the  acid and earth are  brought into
contact.  Hence, oxalic acid and its soluble combinations are the best tests we pos-
sess for lime; and conversely, a soluble salt of lime for oxalic acid.   When lime is
searched for, the oxalate usually employed is the oxalate of ammonia, as being the
most convenient.  So strong is the mutual attraction between this acid and lime, that
the former takes the latter, even from sulphuric acid.  Hence, the addition of a  solu-
ble oxalate disturbs the transparency of a solution of sulphate of lime.
   Oxalic acid is distinguished from all  other acids, by the form of its crystals, and
by its solution yielding a precipitate with lime-water, insoluble in an  excess of the
acid.
   Composition.  Oxalic acid consists of two eqs. of carbon  12*24, and three of oxy-
gen 24=36-24.  When crystallized, three  eqs. of water 27 must be added, making the
eq. of the crystals 63-24.  Two eqs. of this water may be driven off by a regulated
heat, by which the acid is made to effloresce, but the third cannot be expelled without
destroying the acid itself.  Accordingly, as  in the  case of nitric acid, we have no
knowledge of anhydrous oxalic acid in an uncombined state.
   From the constitution of oxalic acid, as above given, it is plain that this acid cor-
responds in composition to carbonic acid and oxide  taken together, and is, therefore,
intermediate, in the quantity of oxygen which it contains, between this acid and oxide.
Notwithstanding it  contains less oxygen than  carbonic  acid, it is incomparably
stronger as an acid, which circumstance  may be accounted for by supposing  some 
Appendix.
1281
peculiarity in the mode in which its constituents are combined.  The composition of
the acid not only corresponds with the united constituents of carbonic acid and oxide,
but there is reason to believe  that these two compounds are actually its proximate
constituents; for if treated with strong sulphuric acid, the whole of the water will be
abstracted, and the  elements  of the dry oxalic acid will be instantly resolved into
equal volumes of carbonic acid and carbonic oxide.
  Oxalic acid combines with  salifiable bases in two principal ways.  Sometimes it
drops its essential equivalent  of water, which at other times it retains. Thus the ox-
alate of lead is a compound of  the dry acid and the protoxide of lead; while the oxa-
late of lime retains the one equivalent of water.
  Medical and Toxicological Properties.  According to Dr. A. T. Thomson, oxalic acid
in small doses, largely diluted with water and sweetened to the taste, forms an agree-
able, cooling beverage, which  may be used in febrile  diseases as a substitute for
lemonade.   M. Nardo recommends it as an antiphlogistic and anodyne in inflamma-
tion of the mucous membranes, given  in the dose of a grain  and a half dissolved  in
eight fluidounces of liquid.  Notwithstanding the safety of its employment in medi-
cinal doses, it is a virulent poison, producing death with great rapidity and certainty.
Instances are on record of its proving fatal in ten minutes, and few survive the effects
of a poisonous dose beyond an hour.  As this acid is generally kept in the  shops,
and not a few instances are on  record of its fatal  effects, when taken by design, or
by mistake for Epsom salt, we shall feel ourselves justifiable in being somewhat full
on its toxicological relations.
  Oxalic acid was first noticed  as a poison by Mr. Royston in 1814; since which time
it has been principally investigated in  this relation by Dr. A. T. Thomson of London,
Dr. Percy of Lausanne, Dr.  Coindet of Geneva, and Dr. Christison of Edinburgh.
Since its properties of certainty and rapidity as a  poison have been more generally
known, its employment for committing suicide has become more frequent.
  From the general resemblance which the crystallized oxalic acid bears to Epsom
salt, many fatal mistakes have occurred, since the acid has become so extensively an
article of commerce, in  consequence of its being sold for that saline purgative.  No-
thing, however, can be  easier than to distinguish them; for  upon tasting a minute
portion of the acid, which may be done with perfect safety, it will be found strongly
sour, whereas the salt in question is bitter.  Unfortunately, however, in the instances
of these fatal mistakes, no suspicions being awakened, the solution is swallowed with
the greatest rapidity, and the mischief is done before the victim  is aware of his
danger.
  Oxalic acid acts on the economy in two principal ways, according as its solution is
concentrated or dilute.   When concentrated, it causes exquisite pain, followed by vio-
lent efforts to vomit; then  sudden dulness, languor, and great debility, and finally
death without a  struggle.  When dilute, it acts in  a totally different manner.   Dis-
solved in twenty times its weight of water, it possesses no corrosive, and hardly any
irritating power, and yet it operates as a deadly poison, causing death  by acting on
the brain, spinal marrow, and heart.
  The morbid appearances caused by oxalic acid are various.  In a dissection re-
ported by Dr. Christison, the mucous coat of the throat and gullet had an appearance
as if scalded, and that of the gullet could be  easily scraped off.  The inner part of the
stomach was pultaceous, in many points  black, in others red, and  that of the  intes-
tines,  similarly but less violently affected.  In another case recorded by the  same
author, the whole villous coat of the stomach was either softened or removed, as well
as the inner membrane of the  oesophagus; so that the  muscular coat was exposed,
and this coat exhibited a dark  gangrenous  appearance, being much thickened, and
highly injected.  The  stomach usually contains a dark  fluid, resembling coffee-
grounds, consisting chiefly  of altered blood.  In a few cases after death  by this acid,
no morbid appearances  have  been discovered.
  In the treatment of poisbning by oxalic acid, the remedial  measures must be em-
ployed with great promptitude.  If the antidotes are not at  hand and vomiting is not
free, emetics will be proper.  The stomach pump would be  useful, but  no delay in
the application of other remedies is admissible, in the expectation of its use. Dr.
Christison objects to the use  of warm water to promote vomiting, from a fear that it
would increase the danger  by promoting the absorption of the poison; but it may  be
a question whether this evil, considering the incidental benefit of the water in pro-
moting vomiting, is not less than that of the corrosion of the stomach, which copious
dilution has a tendency to prevent  The proper antidote is chalk or magnesia, mixed
with water;  and as soon as either can be procured, it must be administered in large
and frequently repeated  doses.  Chalk was  first proposed for this purpose by Dr. A. 
1282
Appendix.
T. Thomson, of London.   These substances act by neutralizing the poison, forming
with it an insoluble oxalate either of lime or of magnesia, both of which are inert.
The soluble salts of oxalic acid, as the oxalate of ammonia, and the oxalates of po-
tassa, are likewise poisonous, and the antidotes for them are the same as for the acid.
  The best tests for the detection of  oxalic acid in the contents of the stomach or in
the vomited matter, in cases of suspected poisoning by this acid, are chloride of cal-
cium, sulphate of copper, and nitrate of silver.   The first causes a white  precipitate
of oxalate  of lime, known by its being soluble in nitric acid; the second, a bluish-
white precipitate of oxalate of copper; and the third, a dense white precipitate of
oxalate of silver, which, when dried and heated, becomes brown and detonates faintly.
When the antidotes have been freely used during life, the poison will be in the state
of oxalate either of lime or magnesia. Here the oxalate found is to be  boiled with a
solution of carbonate of potassa, whereby an oxalate of potassa will be  generated;
and this must then be examined by the re-agents above indicated.
  OX-GALL. Fel Bovinum. The bile of the ox is a viscid fluid, of a green or greenish-
yellow colour, a peculiar nauseous odour, and a bitter taste.   According to Gmelin,
it contains, besides water, 1. a volatile principle, having the odour of musk; 2. a pecu-
liar fatty matter, originally found in biliary calculi, called cholesterin,- 3.  oleic acid;  4.
margaric acid; 5. a new acid, called c/iolic acid,-  6. a bitter resinous substance, called
biliary resin,- 7. a crystalline  principle, called taurin,-  8. biliary sugar;  9.  a colouring
substance upon which the characteristic colour of the bile depends; 10.  a kind of ex-
tractive matter;  11. a substance analogous to vegetable gluten; 12. caseous matter;
13. salivary matter; 14. albumen;  15. mucus; 16. various saline substances.   The
resin and sugar, with the colouring matter, appear to be  the characteristic constitu-
ents.  Gmelin considers the picromel of Thenard as a mixture of the sugar of the bile
with a portion of the  resin which it renders soluble in water.
  Bile was  formerly highly valued as a remedy in numerous complaints, and was
considered peculiarly applicable to cases attended with deficient biliary secretion.  It
is supposed to be tonic, and laxative.   It is prepared for use by evaporating it to the
consistence of an extract.  The dose is from five to ten grains.   Refined  ox-gall, much
used by limners and painters, is prepared, according to Gray, in the following  man-
ner.  Take of "fresh ox-gall one pint; boil, skim, add one ounce of alum,  and keep it
on the fire for some time; to another pint, add one  ounce of common salt in the  same
manner; keep them bottled up for three months, then decant off the clear; mix them
in an  equal proportion; a thick yellow coagulum is immediately formed,  leaving the
refined gall clear and colourless."
  OXIDE OF SILVER.  Argenti Oxidum.  This oxide has been proposed as a sub-
stitute for nitrate of silver, as having the therapeutic action of the latter, without its
escharotic  effect, and its  objectionable power of discolouring the skin.   It is most
conveniently prepared by adding  a  solution of caustic potassa in  excess to one of
nitrate of silver.  The precipitate thrown down is to be carefully washed and dried,
and kept from the air and light.  It is an olive-brown powder.  When approaching to
black it is of bad quality, and is irritant and even caustic.  It consists of one  eq. of
silver and one of oxygen.
  Medical Properties.  Oxide of silver was first employed in  medicine  by Van Mons
and Scmentini.  More recently it has been  recommended by Mr. C. H.  B. Lane, who
considers it to act as a sedative.  Mr. Lane  has used it with more or less success in
nausea, cardialgia, pyrosis, various painful affections  of the stomach independent of
organic lesion, dysentery, diarrhoea,  night sweats without other obvious affection,
dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, leucorrhoea, chronic enlargement of the uterus, attended
with flooding, &c.  It appeared that the oxide exerted a peculiar control over uterine
fluxes.  Some of the cases treated required the use of tonics after the salutary influ-
ence  of the oxide had  been exerted.  Dr. Golding Bird has  also obtained favour-
able effects from the use of the oxide of silver, and confirms  to a certain extent the
results of Mr. Lane, especially as to its valuable powers in menorrhagia.  Thus far
no  case of cutaneous discoloration has occurred, though Mr. Lane has given the oxide
repeatedly for two months, and Dr. Bird in more than a hundred  cases, in one for
four months.  Mr. Lane has observed one case in which repeated salivation occurred,
and Dr. Bird, several in which the gums were affected.  In stomach disease, charac-
terized by a glairy discharge, instead  of a watery one, this physician derived not the
slightest benefit from the oxide, though he used it  in  thirty cases.   In epilepsy it is
supposed that the oxide will accomplish all that can be expected from  the nitrate,
with less risk to the stomach, and without  incurring the danger of blackening the
skin.  The dose of oxide of silver is  half a grain, twice or thrice a day, given in pill. 
Appendix.
12S3
In no case did Mr. Lane carry the dose beyond six  grains in the twenty-four hours.
It has been used in the form of ointment, composed of from five  to ten grains to the
drachm of lard, as an application to venereal sores, and to the urethral membrane in
gonorrhoea, smeared on a bougie.
  P^EONIA OFFICINALIS. Peony.  This well known  plant is a native of Southern
Europe, but is everywhere cultivated in gardens for the beauty of its  flowers.  The
root, flowers, and seeds were formerly officinal.  The root consists of a caudex about
as thick as the thumb, which descends several inches into the ground, and sends off
in all directions, spindleshaped tubers that gradually taper into thread-like fibres, by
which they hang together.   It has a strong, peculiar, disagreeable odour, and a nau-
seous taste, which is at first sweetish, and afterwards bitter and somewhat acrid.
The odour disappears or is much diminished  by drying.  Peony-root was  in very
great repute among the ancients, who  used it both as  a  charm and as a medicine in
numerous complaints, particularly epilepsy.  In modern times it has also been given
in epilepsy and various nervous affections, but is at present seldom used.  The dose
of the fresh root is from two drachms to an ounce, boiled in a pint of  water down to
half a pint, which should be taken daily.  It is said to be less active  when dried.
The expressed juice of the recent root is  recommended in  the dose of an ounce. It
is milky, of a strong odour, and very disagreeable taste.  The flowers are usually of a
deep-red colour, though in some varieties of a light-red, and even whitish.  They have,
when fresh, an odour similar to that of the root, but feebler, and an astringent, sweet-
ish, herbaceous taste.  When dry, they are inodorous. As a medicine they have little
power, and are  scarcely used.  The seeds are roundish oval, about as large as a  pea,
externally smooth, shining, and nearly black, internally whitish, inodorous when dry,
and of a mild, oleaginous taste.   By some authors  they are said to be emetic and
purgative, and by others are considered antispasmodic.  They may be given in the
same dose with the  root, but are not used in regular practice.
  PALM  OIL.   This highly valuable fixed oil is the product  of the Elais Guiniensis,
a palm growing on  the Western coast of Africa, and cultivated in the West Indies
and South America.   It is among the  handsomest trees of its graceful family which
flourish in the tropical regions of Africa.  The oil is obtained  by expression from the
fruit It is brought to this  country chiefly from Liberia, and other places on the Afri-
can coast, though prepared also in the West Indies, Cayenne, and Brazil.  It is not
improbable that various species of palms contribute to the supply of  this article of
commerce.
  Palm oil has the consistence of butter, a  rich orange-yellow colour, a sweetish
taste, and an agreeable odour, compared by some to that of violets, by others to that of
the Florentine orris.  By age and exposure it becomes rancid and of a whitish  colour.
It melts with  the heat of the hand, and when perfectly  fluid  passes readily through
blotting paper.   Highly rectified alcohol  dissolves it at common temperatures, and
in ether it is  soluble in all proportions.  According  to M. Henry, it consists of 31
parts of stearin and 69 of olein.   But from the experiments of Fremy and Stenhouse,
it appears that  the  stearin has peculiar  properties  entitling it to be  considered as
a distinct  principle,  and  has accordingly received the  name of palmitin.   This is
converted into palmitic acid by saponification.  (Kane's Chem.) It appears also that a
considerable proportion of this acid, together with some glycerin, exists  uncombined
in the oil,  as ascertained by MM. Pelouze and  Boudet; so that  the changes which
are effected in oils, through the agency of alkalies, in the process of  saponification,
takes place, to a certain extent, spontaneously in palm oil. (Journ. de Pharm. xxiv.
389.)  Hence it is  more easily saponified than any other  fixed oil.   It is  said to be
frequently imitated by a mixture of lard and suet, coloured with turmeric, and scented
with Florentine orris.  It is much employed in the manufacture of a toilet soap, which
retains its pleasant odour.  Palm  oil is emollient, and has sometimes been employed
in friction or  embrocation, though not superior for this purpose to many other olea-
ginous substances.
  PARIETARIA OFFICINALIS.  Wall Pellitory. A perennial European herb, grow-
ing on old walls and heaps of rubbish.  It is inodorous, has an herbaceous, somewhat
rough and saline taste, and contains nitre derived from  the walls where  it flourishes.
It is  diuretic and refrigerant, and is said  also, but without good reason, to be  demul-
cent and emollient.   The  ancients employed  it in various complaints, and it is still
considerably used on the continent of  Europe, especially in domestic practice.  It is
given in complaints of the urinary passages, dropsy, and febrile affections, usually in
the form of decoction. The expressed juice is also  used, and the fresh  plant is ap-
plied in the shape of a cataplasm to painful tumours. 
1284                           -Appendix.

  PATENT YELLOW. Mineral Yellow. A pigment, consisting of chloride combined
with  protoxide of lead. It is  prepared by mixing common salt and litharge  with
a sufficient quantity of water, allowing the mixture to stand for some time, then wash-
ing out the liberated soda, and  exposing the white residue to heat.
  PAULLINIA.  Guarana.  This is a new medicine introduced into Europe from
Brazil, which  has attracted some attention from the asserted fact,  that it contains a
principle identical with caffein. The name of paullinia has been bestowed upon it
from the generic title of the plant from which it  is obtained.  That  of guarana, by
which it was previously known, was derived from a tribe of aborigines, called Gua-
ranis, who are said  to use it extensively as a corrigent of their vegetable diet.   It is
prepared from the seeds of the Paullinia sorbilis of Martius, a climbing shrub, belong-
ing to the  class and  order Octandria Trigynia of the Linnaean system, and the natural
family of  the Sapindaceae.   The seeds, which are contained in a three-celled, three-
valved, coriaceous  capsule, are  lenticular and almost horny, and invested with a
flesh-coloured  arillus which is easily separable when dry.  They are prepared by
powdering them in a mortar or upon a chocolate stone previously heated, mixing the
powder with a little water,  exposing it for some  time to the dew, then  kneading it
into a paste, mixing with this some of the seeds either whole or merely bruised, and
finally forming the mixture into cylindrical or globular masses, which are  dried and
hardened  in the sun or by the smoke of a fire.  These  masses are of a reddish-
brown colour,  rugose on the surface, very hard, and of a marbled appearance when
broken.  Paullinia is of a somewhat  astringent  and bitterish taste, and in this as
well as in its odour, bears some resemblance to chocolate, though not oleaginous.  It
swells up  and softens in water, which  partially dissolves it.  Martius found in it a
crystallizable  principle which  he named guaranin, and which seems to have been
proved by the  researches of MM. Berthemot and Dechastelus to be identical  with
caffein.  The discovery of caffein  in three plants belonging to distinct natural fami-
lies, namely, the coffee and tea plants, and the Paullinia, is a highly interesting result
of recent chemical investigations.   It is said to be more  abundant in the paullinia
than in either  of the other vegetables.  According to Berthemot and Dechastelus, it
exists in the seeds, united with tannic acid, with which it  appears to form two com-
pounds, one crystallizable and soluble in water, the  other of a resinoid appearance
and insoluble.   Besides these  ingredients, the  seeds  contain  also free  tannic acid,
gum,  albumen, starch, and a  greenish fixed oil. (Journ. de  Pharm. xxvi. 514 and
518.)
  The effects of paullinia upon the system are said to be those of a tonic; but they do
not appear to  have  been very accurately investigated.   It is highly probable,  both
from its composition and the use made of it by the natives of Brazil, that it has an
influence over the nervous system similar to that of tea and coffee.   It is  habitually
employed  by the Indians, either mixed with articles of diet, as with cassava or choco-
late, or in  the  form of drink prepared by scraping it  and suspending the powder in
sweetened water.  It is considered  by them useful in the  prevention and cure of
bowel complaints.  Dr. Gavrelle, who was  formerly physician to  Don Pedro, in
Brazil, and there became  acquainted with the virtues of this medicine, called the
attention of the profession to it a few years since in France.  He had  found  it ad-
vantageous in  the diarrhoea of phthisis, sick-headache, paralysis, tedious convales-
cence, and generally as a tonic. It may be given  in substance, in the quantity of one
or two drachms, scraped into powder and mixed with sweetened  water; but the most
convenient form of administration  is that of spirituous extract.  According to M.
Dechastelus, alcohol is the only agent which completely extracts its virtues; ether
and water effecting this object but partially.  Of the extract eight or ten grains may
be given during the  day in the form  of pills.  Paullinia may also be taken along with
chocolate  as a drink.
  PHELLANDRIUM AQUATICUM, Linn. (Enanthe Phellandrium, Lamarck.  Fine-
leaved  Water-hemhck.  A biennial or perennial, umbelliferous, European water-plant,
the fresh leaves of which are said to be injurious to cattle, producing a kind of pa-
ralysis when eaten.  By drying, they  lose their deleterious properties.  The  seeds
have been used in Europe to a considerable extent, in the treatment of disease.  They
are from a line to a  line and a half in length, ovate-oblong, narrow above, somewhat
compressed, marked with  ten delicate ribs, and crowned with  the remains of the
calyx and with the erect or  reverted styles. Their colour is yellowish-brown,  their
odour peculiar, strong, and disagreeable; their taste acrid and aromatic.  Among
their constituents is a volatile oil,  upon which  their aromatic flavour depends.  By
different writers they are described as aperient, diuretic, emmenagogue,  expectorant, 
Appendix.
1285
and sedative.  They probably unite mild narcotic properties with the stimulant powers
which are common to most of the aromatics, and may be directed, according to cir-
cumstances,  to different secretory organs.  In over doses they produce vertigo, in-
toxication, and other narcotic effects.   The complaint  in which  they appear to have
been used most successfully is consumption, probably of the  catarrhal character.
They have been given also in asthma, dyspepsia, intermittent fever, obstinate ulcers,
&c. The dose of the seeds, to commence with, is five or six grains, so repeated as to
amount to a drachm in twenty-four hours.  They should be given in powder.
   PHLORIDZIN.  This is a bitter principle, discovered by Dr. Konink, of Germany,
in the bark of the apple, pear, cherry, and plum trees.  It is most abundant in the
bark of the root, and derived its name from this circumstance.  (From two Greek
words, <f>Xoiof bark, and pi(* a root)  It is light, white, crystallizable in silky needles, of
a bitter taste,  soluble  in about  1000 parts of cold and in  all proportions in boiling
water, very soluble in alcohol, scarcely soluble in ether cold or hot, dissolved without
change by solutions of  the alkalies, especially by ammonia, deprived of its water of
crystallization at 212°,  and fusible at a somewhat higher temperature.  It is without
acid or alkaline reaction, and consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.  To obtain
it, the fresh bark of the  root of the apple tree should be selected, as  the dried bark
is  said to contain it in much smaller proportion.   The bark is  to  be  boiled for an
hour or two successively in two separate portions of water,  each  sufficient to cover it,
and the decoctions  set aside.  At the end of thirty hours they will  have deposited a
considerable quantity  of coloured phloridzin, Avhich  may be purified by boiling for a
few minutes with distilled water and animal charcoal, filtering, repeating this process
two or three times, and then allowing the solution to cool slowly.  The phloridzin is
deposited  in the crystalline state.  An additional quantity may be obtained by evapo-
rating the decoction to one-fifth of its bulk, allowing it  to cool, and purifying the sub-
stance deposited in the same manner as before.
  Phloridzin is said to possess the  anti-intermittent property in a high degree, and to
have proved successful  where quinia had failed.  It  was employed by Dr. Konink in
the dose of ten or fifteen  grains, and in this quantity effected cures in several cases of
intermittent fever. (Journ.de Pharm.xx.ii. 78.)
  PHYSALIS ALKEKENGI.   Common  Winter  Cherry.  A perennial  herbaceous
plant, growing wild in  the South  of Europe, and cultivated in our gardens.  The
fruit is a round red berry, about as  large as a cherry, enclosed in the calyx, and con-
taining numerous flat kidney-shaped seeds. The berries are very juicy, and have an
acidulous, bitterish  taste.  The  calyx  is  very bitter.  By drying they shrink,  and
become of a  brownish-red colour.   They are said to  be aperient and diuretic,  and
have been highly recommended in suppression of urine, gravel, and other complaints
of the urinary passages. From six to twelve cherries, or an ounce of the expressed
juice, may be  taken for a dose; and even much larger quantities are  not injurious.
They are consumed to a considerable extent in some parts  of Europe as food.  The
berries of the  Physalis viscosa, of this country, are said by  Clayton to be remarkably
diuretic.
  PICHURIM BEANS. The seeds of a tree not well known, growing in  Brazil,
Guiana, Venezuela, and other parts of South America.  The tree has been supposed
to  be the  Ocotea  Pichurim of Kunth (Laurus Pichurim, Richard, Aydendron Laurel,
Nees); but this  is positively denied by F. Nees von  Esenbeck; and the brother of
that botanist refers the seeds to the  Nectandra Puchury.  The beans are the kernels of
the fruit separated into  halves.   They are ovate-oblong or elliptical, flat on one side,
convex on the other, of a grayish-brown colour externally, chocolate coloured within,
of an aromatic odour between that  of nutmegs and sassafras, and of a spicy pungent
taste. There are two kinds, one about  an inch  and a half long by half an inch in
breadth, the other little more than half as large, rounder, and of a dark-brown colour.
Their virtues depend on a volatile  oil.  In medical properties they resemble the  aro-
matics in  ordinary use, and may be employed for the same  purposes. They are very
rare in this country.
  PIMPINELLA SAXIFRAGA.  Small  Burnet Saxifrage.  Saxifraga.  A perennial
umbelliferous  European plant, growing on sunny hills, and in dry meadows and pas-
tures. The root is ranked among officinal remedies  in some parts of Europe.  It has
a peculiar, strong, aromatic,  yet unpleasant odour,  and a  sweetish, pungent, biting,
aromatic, bitterish taste.  Its active constituents are volatile oil, and an acrid resin.
It is considered diaphoretic, diuretic, and stomachic; and has been used in chronic
catarrh, asthma, dropsy, amenorrhoea, %c.  The  dose  in substance is  about half a
        109 
12S6
Appendix.
drachm, and in infusion two drachms.  The root  is also used as a masticatory in
toothache, as a gargle  in palsy of the tongue and in collections of viscid mucus in
the throat, and externally to remove freckles.
  PINCKNEYA  PUBENS.  Michaux.  A large  shrub or small tree, growing in
South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, in low and moist places along the sea coast.
It is closely allied, in botanical characters, to the Cinchonae, with which it is ranked
by some botanists, though it certainly does not belong to that genus as defined by De
Candolle.  The bark is bitter, and has been used with advantage in intermittent lever.
Dr. Law, of Georgia, cured six out of seven cases  in which he administered it.  The
dose and mode of preparation are the same with those of cinchona.  The chemical
composition and medical properties of this bark deserve a fuller investigation than
they have yet received.
  PLANTAGO MAJOR.  Plantain.  A well known perennial herb, growing in fields,
by the roadsides, and in grass plats, and abounding both in Europe and this country.
The leaves are saline, bitterish, and austere to the taste, the root saline and sweetish.
The plant has been considered refrigerant, diuretic, deobstruent, and somewhat as-
tringent. The ancients esteemed it highly, and emplo)ed it in visceral obstructions,
hemorrhages, particularly from the lungs, consumption, dysentery, and other com-
plaints.   In modern times it has  been applied  to similar purposes, and the root is
said to  have proved useful  in intermittents.  At  present, however, it is generally
believed to be very feeble, and is little used internally.   As an external application
it has been recommended in ulcers of various kinds, and in indolent tumours  of a
scrofulous character.  Among the vulgar it is still much used as a vulnerary, and as
a dressing for blisters and sores.  The dose of the  expressed juice is from one to four
fluidounces.  Two ounces of the fresh root or leaves maybe boiled in a pint of water
and given during the day.  Externally, the leaves are applied in substance or decoc-
tion.  The Plantago media, and the P. lancifolia or rib-grass,  which are also indige-
nous species, possess properties similar to those of the P. major, and may be  used
for the same purposes.
  Under the name  of semen psyllii, the seeds of several species of Plantago, growing
in different parts of Europe, are sometimes  kept in  the shops.  The best are  obtained
from the  Plantago Psyllium or fleawort, which grows  in the South of Europe and
Barbary.  They are small, about a line long by half a line in breadth, convex on one
side, concave on the other, flea-coloured,  shining, inodorous, and nearly tasteless, but
very mucilaginous when chewed.  They are  demulcent and  emollient, and may be
used internally and externally in the  same manner as  flaxseed, which  they closely
resemble in medical properties.
  PLATINUM.  In 1826 Prof. Gmelin, of Tubingen, made experiments to determine
the action of this metal on the economy.  Within a few years Dr. Ferdinand Hoefer
has investigated the same subject  The latter experimented chiefly with the bichlo-
ride, and the double chloride of platinum and sodium.  They are both poisonous; the
bichloride in the dose of 15 grains, the double chloride in that of 30 grains.  When a
concentrated solution of the bichloride is  applied to the skin, it produces violent itch-
ing, followed by an eruption.  Administered internally it irritates the mucous mem-
brane of the stomach, and occasions headache.  The double  chloride has no action
when externally applied, and, when given internally, operates on  the system in a less
sensible manner than the bichloride. It  possesses the power  of augmenting the
urine.  Dr. Hoefer  ranks the preparations of platinum with the alteratives, by the side
of those of gold, iodine, and arsenic.   He  considers them particularly suited to the
treatment of syphilitic diseases; the bichloride to cases of long standing and invete-
rate, the double chloride, to those which are recent.  The dose of the bichloride is
from one to two grains, twice a day, given in pill.   Eight grains may be made into
sixteen pills, with a drachm of the extract of guaiac of the French Codex and sufficient
powdered liquorice root.  Of these one, two, or three may be taken morning and
evening.  The double chloride may be prepared for administration by dissolving five
grains of the bichloride and eight of pure chloride of sodium in seven fluidounces of
gum-water.   This  quantity may be taken by  tablespoonfuls in  the course  of the
twenty-four hours.  Dr. Hoefer used for frictions  on indolent ulcers, an ointment
composed of sixteen grains of the bichloride, thirty-two grains of extract of belladonna,
and an ounce of lard.  (Journ. de Pharm.  xxvii. 213.)
  PLUMBAGO EUROPCEA.  Leadwort. Dentellaria. A perennial, herbaceous plant,
growing in the South of Europe.  It has  an acrid taste, and, when chewed, excites a
flow of saliva.  This is particularly the case with the root, which has been long  used
to relieve toothache.  Hence the plant derived the name of dentelaire, by which it is 
Appendix.
12S7
 known in France.  A decoction of the root in olive oil has been highly recommended
 for the cure of the itch.  Writers differ much in their statements in relation to the
 activity of the plant, some speaking of it as rubefacient, vesicatory, and caustic, and,
 when swallowed, as violently emetic and liable to produce dangerous irritation of the
 alimentary canal; while others consider it nearly inert.  Perhaps the difference may
 be ascribed in part to the use of the plant in the recent state  in one case, and dried or
 long kept in the other.  A crystallizable, acrid principle, calledplumbagin, has been
 extracted from the root by Dulong.
   POLYPODIUM VULGARE.  Common Polypody. A fern belonging both to the old
 and new continents, and growing in the  clefts of old walls, rocks, and decayed trunks
 of trees.  The root, which is the part considered medicinal, is rather long, about as
 thick as a  goosequill, somewhat  contorted, covered with  brown, easily separable
 scales, furnished with slender radicles, and marked by  numerous  small tubercles.
 As found in the shops, it is sometimes destitute of the scales and radicles.  Its colour
 is reddish-brown with a tinge  of yellow, its odour disagreeably oleaginous, its taste
 peculiar, sweetish, somewhat  bitter, and nauseous.   The root of the variety growing
 upon the oak has been preferred, though without good reason.  It was deemed purga-
 tive by the ancients, who employed it for the evacuation of bile and pituitous humours,
 in melancholic and maniacal cases.   Modern physicians  have used it in similar com-
 plaints, and as a pectoral in chronic catarrh and asthma.  At present, however, it is
 scarcely ever employed, being considered  nearly inert.  It was given in doses vary-
 ing  from one  or  two drachms to  an ounce, usually  in connexion with cathartic
 medicines.
   POPULUS.  Poplar. Several trees belonging to this genus of plants have attracted
 some attention in a medical point of view.  In most of them,  the leaf buds are covered
 with a resinous exudation, which has a peculiar, agreeable, balsamic odour, and a bit-
 terish, balsamic, somewhat pungent taste.  This is abundant in the buds of the Popu-
 lus nigraor  black poplar of Europe, which are officinal in some parts of that continent.
 They contain resin and a  peculiar volatile oil.  The buds of the P. balsamlfera, grow-
 ing in the northern parts of this continent  and Siberia, are also highly balsamic; and
 a resin is said to be furnished by the tree, which is sometimes, though erroneously,
 called tacamahac.  The virtues of the poplar buds are probably analogous to those of
 the turpentines and balsams.  They have been used in pectoral, nephritic, and rheu-
 matic complaints, in the form of tincture;  and a liniment, made by macerating them
 in oil, has been applied externally in cases of local rheumatism.  The unguentum
populeum of European pharmacy is made, according to the  directions of the  French
 Codex  of 1837, by bruising in a marble mortar, and boiling in  2000 parts  of lard,
 with a gentle fire, till the moisture is dissipated, 250 parts, each, of the fresh leaves of
 the black poppy, deadly nightshade, henbane, and black nightshade (Solanumnigrum);
 then adding of the dried buds of  the  black poplar, bruised, 375 parts; digesting for
 24 hours;  straining with strong expression; and finally allowing the ointment to cool
 after defecation.  This is an anodyne ointment, occasionally employed in Europe as
 an application in painful local affections.
  The bark of some species of poplar is possessed of tonic properties, and has been
 used in intermittent fever  with advantage.  Such is the case with that of the P. tre-
 muloides or American aspen, and of the P. tremula or European aspen.  In the bark of
 the latter species, Braconnot found salicin,  and another proximate crystallizable prin-
 ciple which he named populin.  It is in  these principles,  probably, that the febrifuge
 properties of the bark reside.  They may be obtained by  precipitating a saturated
 decoction of the bark with solution of subacetate of lead, filtering, precipitating the
 excess of lead by sulphuric acid, again filtering, evaporating, adding animal charcoal
 towards the end of the evaporation, and filtering the liquor while hot.  Salicin gra-
 dually separates, upon the cooling of the liquor, in the form of crystals.  If, when this
 principle has ceased to crystallize, the excess of sulphuric acid in the liquid be satu-
 rated by a concentrated solution of carbonate of potassa,  the populin will be precipi-
 tated.   If this be pressed  between folds  of blotting paper, and redissolved in boiling
 water, it will be  deposited, upon the  cooling of the liquid, in the crystalline state.
 The leaves of the P. tremula also afford populin, and in larger proportion even than
 the bark.  It is probable that both principles exist also in the bark of the P. tremuloides,
 and some other species.  Salicin is  described under the head of Salix.   Populin is
 very light, of a pure white colour, and of a bitter, sweetish taste, analogous to that of
 liquorice.   When heated it readily melts into a colourless and transparent liquid.   It
 is soluble in 2000  parts of cold, and about 70 parts of  boiling water; and is more 
1288
Appendix.
soluble in boiling alcohol.   Acetic acid and the diluted mineral acids dissolve it, and
upon the addition of an alkali, let it fall unchanged.
   PORTULACA OLERACEA.  Garden  Purslane.  An annual  succulent plant,
growing in gardens and cultivated grounds in  the Uniled States, Europe, and most
other parts of the globe.  It has  an herbaceous,  slightly saline taste, and is often used
as greens, being boiled with meat, or other vegetables.  It is- considered  a  cooling
diuretic, and is  recommended in  scorbutic diseases, and affections of the urinary
passages.  The  seeds have been thought  to be anthelmintic; but they are tasteless
and inert.
   POTENTILLA REPTANS.  Cinquefoil.  A perennial, creeping, European herb,
with leaves which are usually quinate, and have thus given origin to  the ordinary
name of the plant.  The root has a bitterish, styptic, slightly sweetish taste, and was
formerly used in diarrhoea  and  other complaints for  which astringents are usually
prescribed.
   PRUNELLA  VULGARIS.  Self-heal. Heal-all.  A small perennial  labiate plant,
common both in  Europe and the United States, growing especially by the way-sides.
It is inodorous, but has an austere bitterish taste.  The herb in flower  was formerly
used, in the state  of infusion or decoction, in  hemorrhages and diarrhoea, and as a gargle
in sorethroat.  In this country, it is not employed in regular practice.         ,-
   PULMONARIA  OFFICINALIS.  Lungwort.   An herbaceous  perennial, indi-
genous in Europe, and sometimes cultivated in this country in gardens.  The leaves,
which are the part used, are inodorous, and have an  herbaceous, somewhat mucila-
ginous, and feebly astringent taste.   They have been considered pectoral and demul-
cent, and have  been employed in catarrh,  haemoptysis, consumption, and other
affections of the  chest; but their virtues are doubtful, and they were probably applied
to the treatment of pectoral complaints as  much on account of the supposed resem-
blance of their speckled surface to that of the  lungs, as  from the possession of any
positively useful properties.
   PUMICE  STONE.  Pumex.  A very light porous stone, found in the vicinity of
active or extinct volcanoes, and believed to have been thrown up during their eruption.
The pumice stone of commerce  is said to be obtained  chiefly from Lipari.  It is used
whole, in the manner of a file, for removing the outer surface of bodies, or for rubbing
down inequalities, and, in the state of powder, for polishing glass, metals, stones, &c;
purposes to which it is adapted by the hardness of its particles.
   PYRETHRUM PARTHENIUM. Willd. Matricaria Parthenium, Linn.  Chrysan-
themum Parthenium, Pers.  Feverfew.  A perennial herbaceous plant, about two feet
high, with an erect, branching stem,  pinnate leaves, oblong, obtuse,  gashed, and
dentate leaflets, and compound flowers borne in a corymb upon branching peduncles,
It is a native of Europe, but cultivated in our herb gardens. The whole herbaceous
part is used.  The  plant has an odour and taste analogous to those of chamomile,
which it resembles also in the appearance of its flowers, and in its medical properties.
Though little  employed, it  is undoubtedly capable of useful application as a mild
tonic.
   REALGAR.  This is the protosulphuret of arsenic, consisting of one eq. of arsenic
37-7, and one of  sulphur 16-1=53-8.  It is found native in Saxony, Bohemia, Transyl-
vania, and in various volcanic regions.  Realgar is artificially made by  melting arse-
nious acid with about half its weight of sulphur. (Turner.)  Thus prepared, it is of a
crystalline texture, of a beautiful ruby-red  colour, of  a uniform conchoidal fracture,
somewhat transparent in thin layers, and capable of being sublimed without change.
Native realgar is said to be innocent when taken  internally, while  that artificially
prepared is poisonous, in consequence, according to Guibourt, of containing a little
arsenious acid.  Realgar is used only as a pigment.
   RED CHALK.  Reddle.  A mineral substance  of a deep red colour, of a compact
texture, dry to the touch, adhering to the tongue,  about as hard as chalk, soiling the
fingers when handled, and leaving a lively red trace when drawn over paper. It con-
sists of clay and  oxide of iron, and is intermediate between boh an&red ochre, contain-
ing more oxide of iron than the former, and less than the latter.  It is used for drawing
lines upon wood, &c, and  is sometimes made into crayons by levigating and elu-
triating it, then forming it into a paste with mucilage of gum Arabic, moulding this
into cylinders, and drying it  in the shade. It has been used internally as an absorbent
and astringent.
   RESEDA LUTEOLA.   Weld.  Dyer's weed.   An  annual  European plant, natu- 
Appendix.
1289
ralized in the United States.  It is inodorous, and has a bitter taste, which is very
adhesive. In medicine it has been employed as a diaphoretic and diuretic, but is now
neglected.  On the continent of Europe it is much employed for dyeing yellow, and
before the introduction of quercitron into England, was extensively applied to the
same purpose in that country.  The whole plant is used.
  RHODODENDRUM CRYSANTHUM.  Yellow-flowered Rhododendron.  This is a
beautiful evergreen shrub, about a foot high, with spreading branches, and oblong,
obtuse, thick leaves, narrowed towards their footstalks, reflexed at the margin, much
veined, rugged and deep green upon their upper surface, ferruginous or glaucous
beneath,  and surrounding the branches upon strong petioles.  The flowers are large,
yellow, on long peduncles, and arranged in terminal umbels.  The corolla is wheel-
shaped, with its border divided into five roundish, spreading segments.  The plant is
a native  of Siberia, delighting in mountainous situations, and flowering in June and
July. The  leaves are the part used in medicine.  When fresh they have  a feeble
odour, said to resemble that of rhubarb. In the dried state they are inodorous, but
have an  austere, astringent, bitterish taste.   They yield their virtues  to water  and
alcohol.
  The leaves of this species of Rhododendron are stimulant, narcotic, and diaphoretic,
producing, when  first taken, increase of  heat and arterial  action,  subsequently a
diminished frequency of the pulse, and in large doses, vomiting, purging, and delirium.
They have been long  employed by the natives of Siberia as a remedy in rheumatism,
and  their use has extended to various parts of Europe.  Their action  is said to be
accompanied with a sensation of creeping or pricking in the affected part, which sub-
sides in a few hours, leaving the part free from pain.  They have been recommended
also in gout, lues  venerea, and palsy.  In Siberia they are prepared by infusing two
drachms of  the dried  leaves in  about ten ounces of water, in a  close  earthen vessel,
and keeping the liquid near the boiling point during the night.  The  strained liquor
is taken  in the morning;  and a repetition of the dose three or four days successively
generally effects a cure.  The remedy is not used in this country.
  RIGA  BALSAM.  Balsamum Carpaticum.  Balsamum Libani.  This is a product
of the Pinus Cembra, a large tree growing  in the mountainous regions  and northern
latitudes  of Europe and Asia.  The juice exudes from the extremities of the young
twigs, and is collected in flasks suspended from them. It is a thin white fluid, having
an odour analogous  to that of juniper,  and possessing the  ordinary terebinthinate
properties.  In this country it is very rare; but it is occasionally brought from Riga
or Cronstadt in bottles.  A similar product, called Hungarian balsam, is obtained in
the same manner  from the Pinus Pumilio, growing on the mountains  of Switzerland,
Austria,  and Hungary. It is scarcely known in the United States.
  ROTTEN STONE.  Terra cariosa.  An earthy mineral, occurring in light, dull,
friable masses, dry to  the touch, of a very fine grain, and of an ash-brown colour. It
is obtained from Derbyshire in England, and is used for polishing metals.
  SALEP.  Though not directed by any of the British Colleges, nor  by our national
Pharmacopoeia, this substance deserves a slight notice, as it is frequently mentioned
by writers on the  Materia Medica, and is occasionally to be found in the shops. The
name is  given to  the  prepared bulbs of  the Orchis mascula and other species of the
same genus, belonging to the Linnaean class and order Gynandria Monandria, and to
the  natural family of the  Orchidactae.  The  mule orchis is a native of Europe, the Le-
vant, and northern Africa.  Its bulbs, which  are two in number, oval or roundish,
internally white and spongy, are prepared by removing their  epidermis, plunging
them into boiling  water, then stringing them together, and drying them in the sun or
by the fire.  By this process they acquire the appearance and consistence which dis-
tinguishes them as found in the shops. They were  formerly procured exclusively
from Asia Minor and Persia, but are now prepared in France and perhaps other parts
of Europe.
  Salep  is in  small, oval, irregular  masses, hard, horny, semitransparent,  of a yel-
lowish colour, a feeble odour, and a mild mucilaginous taste.  It is sometimes kept in
the  state  of powder.   In composition and relation to water it is closely analogous to
tragacanth, consisting of a substance insoluble, but swelling up  in cold  water (basso-
rin), of another in much smaller proportion,  soluble in cold water, and of minute
quantities of saline matters.  It also occasionally contains a little starch.  It  is highly
nutritive, and may be  employed for the same  purposes with tapioca,  sago, &c. The
reputation which it enjoyed among the ancients, and still enjoys in the East, of pos-
sessing aphrodisiac properties, is wholly without foundation.
                                     109* 
1290
Appendix.
  SANDARACH.   Sandaraca.   This is a resinous  substance  obtained  from  the
Thuya articulata, an evergreen tree growing in the North of Africa.  It is in small,
irregular, roundish oblong grains or tears, of a pale yellow colour, sometimes inclining
to brown, more or less transparent, dry and brittle, breaking into a powder under the
teeth, of a faint agreeable odour increased  by warmth, and  of a resinous slightly
acrid taste. It melts with heat, diffusing a strong balsamic odour, and easily inflames.
It is  almost entirely soluble in ordinary alcohol, and  entirely so in that  liquid when
anhydrous, and in ether.   Heated oil of turpentine also dissolves the greater part of
it, but very slowly.  According to Unverdorben, it consists of  three different resins,
varying in their relations to alcohol, ether, and the oil of turpentine.  The sandaracin
of Geise, which remains after sandarach has been exposed to the action of ordinary
alcohol, is a mixture of two of these resins. Sandarach was formerly given internally
as a medicine, and entered into the composition of various ointments and plasters.  At
present it is used chiefly as a varnish.  It is sometimes employed as incense, and its
powder is rubbed upon paper in order to prevent ink from spreading, after letters have
been scratched out.
  SAPONARIA OFFICINALIS. Soapwort.  A perennial herbaceous plant, growing
wild in this country, in the vicinity of cultivation, but probably introduced from Eu-
rope.  It is commonly known by the vulgar name of bouncing bet.  It is one or two
feet  high, with smooth, lanceolate leaves, and clusters  of conspicuous whitish  or
slightly purplish flowers, which appear in July and August.  The root and  leaves are
employed.  They are inodorous, and of a taste at first bitterish and slightly sweetish,
afterwards somewhat  pungent, continuing long, and leaving a slight sense of numb-
ness on the  tongue.  They impart to water the property of forming  a lather when
agitated, like a solution of soap, whence the name of the plant was derived.  This
property, as well as the medical virtues of the plant, reside in a  peculiar  extractive
matter, obtained from the root by Buchholz, and called by him saponin.  This prin-
ciple constitutes, according to Buchholz, 34 per cent, of the dried root, which contains
also a  considerable quantity of gum and a little bassorin, resin, and altered  extractive,
besides lignin and water.  Saponin is obtained, though not absolutely pure, by treat-
ing  the watery extract with alcohol and evaporating.  It is brown, somewhat trans-
lucent, hard and brittle, with a sweetish taste, followed by a sense of acrimony in the
fauces.  It is soluble in water and officinal alcohol, but is insoluble in  anhydrous
alcohol, ether, and the volatile oils.  Its watery solution froths when agitated.  Soap-
wort has been much used in Germany as a remedy in venereal and scrofulous affec-
tions, cutaneous eruptions, and visceral obstructions.  It appears to act as an alterative,
like sarsaparilla, to which it has been deemed superior in efficacy by some physicians.
The plant is given in the forms of decoction  and extract, which may be freely taken.
From two to four pints of the decoction daily are recommended in lues.  The inspis-
sated juice, given in the quantity of half an ounce in the course of a day, is said by
Andry generally to cure gonorrhoea in about two weeks, without any other remedy.
  SARCOCOLLA.   A  peculiar vegetable product, exuding spontaneously from the
Penaea Sarcocolla, P. mucronata, and other species of Penaea, small shrubs  growing at
the Cape of Good Hope, in Ethiopia, Arabia, &c. It is in the form of small, roundish,
irregular grains, sometimes agglutinated in masses, friable, opaque or semi-transpa-
rent, of a yellowish or brownish-red colour, inodorous unless heated, when they have
an  agreeable smell, and of a peculiar, bitter, sweetish, and  acrid taste. Sarcocolla,
according to  Pelletier, consists of 65-3 per cent, of a peculiar substance,  considered
by  Dr. Thomson, as holding  an intermediate place between gum  and  sugar, and
called sarcocollin or pure  sarcocolla, 4-6 of gum, 3-3 of a  gelatinous  matter having
some analogy with bassorin, and 26*8 of lignin, &c.   It is said to be purgative, but at
the same time to produce serious inconvenience by its acrid properties.  The Arabian
physicians used it internally, and by the ancients it was  employed as an external
application to wounds and  ulcers, under the idea  that it possessed the  property of
agglutinating the flesh, whence its name was derived. It is at present out of use.
   SASSA GUM.  This name has been  applied  by Guibourt  to a gum, occasionally
brought into market from the  east, and answering so exactly to  Bruce's  description
of the product of a tree which  he calls sassa, that there  is reason to believe in their
identity.  According to Guibourt's description, it is in mammillary masses or in con-
voluted pieces resembling an ammonite, of a reddish colour, and somewhat shining
surface, and more transparent than tragacanth.  Its taste  is like that of tragacanth,
but slightly acrid. When introduced into water, it becomes white, softens, and swells
to four or five times its original bulk; but it preserves its  shape, neither  like traga- 
Appendix.                           1291
canth forming a mucilage, nor, like  Bassora gum, separating into distinct flocculi,
It is rendered blue by iodine.
   SATUREJA  HORTENSIS.  Summer Savory.   An annual labiate  plant, growing
spontaneously in the South of Europe, and cultivated in gardens as a culinary herb.
a nas an  aromatic odour and taste, analogous to  those of thyme, and was formerly
used as a gentle carminative stimulant; but it is now only employed  to give flavour
to food.  The S. montana  or winter savory, which is also cultivated in gardens, has
similar properties, and is similarly employed.
   SCOLOPENDRIUM  OFFICINARUM, Smith.  Asplenium Scolopendrium,  Linn.
Harts-tongue.  A fern indigenous in Europe and America.  Its vulgar name was de-
rived from the shape of its leaves, which were the part formerly used in medicine.
They have a sweetish, mucilaginous, and slightly  astringent taste, and, when rubbed,
a disagreeable oily odour. They have been used as  a deobstruent in visceral affec-
tions, as an astringent in hemorrhages and fluxes, and  as a demulcent  in pectoral
complaints; but their properties are feeble, and they have been superseded by more
active medicines.
   SCUTELLARIA LATERIFLORA.   Scidkap.  This  is an indigenous perennial
herb, belonging to the Linnaean class and order Didynamia Gymnospermia, and to the
natural order Labiatae.  Its stem is erect, much branched, quadrangular, smooth, and
one or two feet high. The leaves are ovate, acute, dentate, subcordate  upon the stem,
opposite, and supported upon long petioles.   The flowers  are small,  of a pale  blue
colour, and disposed in long, lateral, leafy racemes. The calyx has an entire margin,
which, after the corolla has fallen, is closed with a helmet-shaped lid.  The tube of
the  corolla is elongated, the upper lip concave  and entire, the lower  three lobed.
The plant grows in moist places, by the sides of ditches and ponds, in  all parts of
the Union. To the  senses it does not indicate, by any  peculiar taste or smell, the
possession of remarkable medicinal virtues.  It  is even  destitute of the aromatic
properties which are found in many of the labiate plants.  When taken internally, it
produces no obvious effects upon the system.   Notwithstanding  this apparent inert-
ness, it obtained, at one period,  extraordinary  credit throughout the United States, as
a preventive  of  hydrophobia, and  was even thought to be useful in the disease itself.
A strong infusion of the plant was given in the dose of a teacupful, repeated several
times a day, and continued for three or four months after the bite was received; while
the herb itself was applied to the wound.  Strong testimony has been adduced  in
favour of its  prophylactic powers; but it has  already shared the  fate, which in this
case is no doubt deserved, of numerous other specifics  against  hydrophobia, which
have been brought into temporary popularity only to be speedily abandoned.   The
Scutellaria galericulata, or common European scullcap, which also grows wild in this
country, has a feeble, somewhat alliaceous odour, and a  bitterish  taste.  It has been
employed in intermittents, and externally in old ulcers, but is now out of use.   An-
other indigenous species—the  & integrifolia,  of which the & hyssopifolia, Linn., is
considered by some as a variety, has an intensely  bitter taste, and might probably  be
found useful  as a tonic.
   SECALE CEREALE. Rye. Syria, Armenia, and the southern provinces of Russia,
have been severally indicated by different authors as the native country of rye.  The'
plant is now cultivated in all temperate latitudes.  The grains consist, according  to
Einhof, of 24-2 per cent of envelope, 65-6 of  flour, 10-2 of water.  The flour, accord-
ing to the same chemist, consists of 61-07 per cent of starch, 9-48 of gluten, 3-28  of
albumen, 3-28 of uncrystallizable sugar, 11-09  of gum, 6-38 of vegetable fibre, besides
5-62 of loss, comprising an acid, the nature of which was not determined.  Rye flour
is much used, in the dry state, as an external  application to erysipelatous inflamma-
tion, and other eruptive affections, the  burning and unpleasant tingling  of which it
tends to allay, while it absorbs the irritating secretions.  In the form of mush it is an
excellent laxative article  of diet;  and, mixed with molasses, it  may  be  given with
great advantage in hemorrhoidal affections and prolapsus ani, connected with con-
stipation.
   SEDUM ACRE.  Biting Stone-crop.  Small Housekek.  A small, perennial, succu-
lent European plant, growing on rocks and old walls, with stems about as long as
the finger, and numerous very minute leaves.  It  is without odour, and has a  taste
which at  first is cooling  and herbaceous, afterwards burning  and  durably acrid.
Taken internally it vomits and purges, and applied to the skin, produces inflamma-
tion and vesication.   The fresh herb and the expressed juice have  been used as
an antiscorbutic, emetic, cathartic, and diuretic, and have been applied locally  to 
1292                            Appendix.
old ulcers, warts, and other excrescences; but the plant is at present little employed.
It has recently  been recommended in  Germany as a remedy in  epilepsy.   Other
species of Sedum  are  less acrid,  and are even eaten as salad in  some parts of
Europe.   Such are the & rupestre and  S. album.  The  S. Tekphium  was formerly
employed externally to  cicatrize wounds, and internally as an astringent in  dysen-
tery and haemoptysis; and is still esteemed by the common people in France as  a
vulnerary.
  SEMPERVIVUM TECTORUM.  Common Housekek.   A  perennial  succulent
^European plant, growing  on rocks, old walls, and the roofs of houses, and remark-
able for its tenacity of life.  It is occasionally cultivated in this country as an orna-
ment to the walls of houses, or as a domestic  medicine.  The leaves, which are the
part used, are oblong, pointed, from half an inch  to two  inches  in length, thick,
fleshy, succulent, flat on one side, somewhat convex on  the other, smooth, of a light
green colour, inodorous, and of a cooling, slightly saline, astringent,  and sourish
taste.  They are employed, in the recent state and bruised, as  a cooling application
to burns,  stings  of  bees, hornets, &c, ulcers, and other  external affections attended
with inflammation.  They contain  a large proportion of supermalate  of lime.
  SENECIO VULGARIS.  Common Groundsel.  An annual European plant, intro-
duced into this country, and growing in cultivated grounds.  The whole herb is used,
and should be gathered while in flower.   It has, when rubbed, a peculiar rather un-
pleasant odour, and a disagreeable, herbaceous, somewhat bitterish, and saline taste,
followed by a sense of acrimony.   It is emetic in large doses, and has been given in
convulsive affections, liver complaints, spitting of blood, &c, but is  now very little
used.  The bruised herb is sometimes applied externally to painful  swellings  and
ulcers.  The plant  is employed also as food for birds, which are very fond of it
Other species of Senecio have also been  medicinally used;  and  an indigenous
species, the & aureus or  ragwort, is said by Schoepf  to be a favourite vulnerary with
the Indians.
  SESQUINITRATE OF IRON, SOLUTION OF. Liquor Ferri Sesquinitratis.  Ses-
quinitrate  of the Sesquioxide of Iron.  Mr. William Kerr (Ed. Med. and Surg. Journ.) re-
commends the following formula for the preparation of this solution. Take of iron wire,
in pieces, an ounce and a half; nitric acid three fluidounces,- muriatic acid afluidrachm.
Add to the iron, the nitric  acid previously diluted with fifteen fluidounces of water,
and set the mixture  aside until the saturation  of the acid with the iron is completed,
which generally occupies from seven to twelve hours.  Then decant the liquor from
the iron remaining undissolved, and strain.  Lastly, add the muriatic acid, together
with sufficient water to make the whole  measure  thirty fluidounces.  The solution,
when properly prepared, is transparent, and has a beautiful dark red colour, and a
very astringent but  not  caustic taste. If it should become turbid  upon keeping, it
should be  rejected.  The small portion  of muriatic acid added is  intended to pre-
serve the  solution from decomposition.   The ferruginous  salt  present in it, is the
sesquinitrate of the  sesquioxide of iron, consisting of three eqs. of the acid to two of
the sesquioxide.
  Dr. R. J. Graves, of Dublin, (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. xviii. 216, from  the Lond. Med.
and Surg.  Journ.) praises this solution as a remedy in chronic diarrhoea,  especially
when occurring in delicate and nervous females, in which there is no  thirst, redness
of tongue, tenderness  of the abdomen on  pressure, or other indication of inflamma-
tion.  According to  him it acts  as a tonic and astringent.   By Mr. Kerr it is consi-
dered to possess  also the property of diminishing the irritability  of the intestinal
mucous membrane.   Dr. T. C. Adam, of Michigan, (Am. Journ. of Med.  Sci. xxiv.
61,) also reports favourably of this remedy in chronic diarrhoea, considering it, like
Mr. Kerr,  to act as a sedative, as well as astringent.  He employed  it, likewise, with
good effect in menorrhagia, and both internally and by injection in leucorrhoea, when
occurring  in pale,  exsanguine, and feeble subjects.  The dose, according  to Dr.
Graves, is seven or eight drops, gradually increased to fifteen, sufficiently  diluted, in
the course of the day.  Dr. Adam, however, gave it in doses of ten drops, two, three,
or four times a day,  and  sometimes increased  it to twenty-five drops.   As an  injec-
tion he employed it sufficiently diluted  to cause only a slight heat  and smarting in
the vagina.
  SIENNA.  Terra di Sienna.  An argillaceous mineral, compact, of  a  fine texture,
very light, smooth and glossy, of a yellowish-brown or coffee-colour, leaving  a dull
orange trace when moistened and drawn  over paper.  By calcination it assumes a
reddish-brown colour, and  is then called burnt sienna.  In both the  raw  and burnt 
Appendix.
12&3
 states it is used for painting.  The best sienna is brought from Italv, but an inferior
 kind is found in England.
    SILENE  VIRGINICA.  Catchfly.  Wild Pink.  An indigenous perennial plant,
 growing in Western Virginia and  Carolina, and in the states  beyond the Alleghany
 mountains.   Dr. Barton, in his " Collections," states  that a decoction of the roots is
 said to be efficacious as an anthelmintic.  We are told that it is considered poisonous
 by some of the Indians.  The <S. Pennsylvanica, which grows in the Eastern section
 of the Union from New York to Virginia, probably possesses similar properties.
    SISYMBRIUM OFFICINALE, Scopoli. Erysimum officinale, Linn. Hedge Mustard.
 A small annual plant, growing both in the United States and Europe, along the  road-
 sides, by walls and hedges, and on  heaps of rubbish.  It has an  herbaceous somewhat
 acrid taste, which  is strongest in the tops and  flower-spikes,  and  resembles that of
 mustard, though much weaker.   The seeds have considerable  pungency.  The herb
 is said to be diuretic and expectorant, and has been recommended in chronic coughs,
 hoarseness, and ulceration of the mouth and fauces.  The juice of the plant may be
 used mixed with honey or sugar, or the  seeds may be taken in substance.   The Si-
 symbrium Sophia orflix weed is also among the plants formerly considered  officinal.
 It is of a pungent odour when rubbed, and  of an acrid biting taste.  The herb has
 been used externally in indolent ulcers, and the seeds internally in  worms, calculous
 complaints, &c.
   SIUM  NODIFLORUM.  Water-parsnip.  A perennial, umbelliferous, aquatic Eu-
 ropean plant, growing also in the Southern section of the United States, where it is
 supposed to have been  introduced.   It is commonly considered  poisonous; but  the
 expressed juice given by Withering in the dose of three or four ounces every morn-
 ing, was not found to affect the head, stomach,  or bowels.  He  found it, in this quan-
 tity, very advantageous in obstinate cutaneous diseases; and the plant has been use-
 fully employed by others in similar complaints, and in scrofulous swellings of  the
 lymphatic glands.  It is considered diuretic.   The S. latifolium, which grows in Eu-
 rope and the United States, and is the common water-parsnip of this country, is posi-
 tively asserted to be poisonous; and madness and even death are said to have followed
 the use of the root  The «S. Sisarum or skirret, a plant  of Chinese  origin, cultivated
 in Europe, has a sweetish, somewhat aromatic root, which is  employed as food in
 the form of salad, and is supposed to be a useful diet in complaints of the chest
   SMALT.  Azure.  When the impure oxide  of cobalt, obtained  by roasting the na-
 tive arseniuret of that metal, is heated with sand and potassa, the  mixture melts, and
 a beautiful blue glass results, which, when reduced to powder,  receives the  name of
 smalt  It is  used chiefly in painting.
   SOLUTION  OF HYDRIODATE  OF  ARSENIC  AND MERCURY.   Liquor
 Hydriodatis Arsenici et Hydrargyri.  Liquor Hydrargyri  et Arsenici Iodidi.   This com-
 bination was introduced to the notice of the medical profession  in  1839, by Mr. Dono-
 van of Dublin, as  a therapeutic agent combining the medical virtues  of its three
 ingredients.   At present he prepares it by the following corrected  formula:—Tritu-
 rate 6-08 grains of finely levigated metallic arsenic, 14-82 grains of mercury, and 49
 grains of iodine with a fluidrachm of alcohol, until the  mass becomes  dry, and from
 being deep brown  has  become pale red.  Add eight fluidounces of distilled water,
 and, after  trituration for  a few moments, transfer the  whole to  a  flask, add half a
 drachm of hydriodic acid, prepared by the oxidification of two  grains of iodine, and
 boil for a few moments.  When the solution is cold, if it should  measure less than
 eight fluidounces, add sufficient distilled  water to  make it fill  exactly that measure.
 Lastly filter.
   This solution has a pale yellow colour, and a slightly styptic  taste.  Its sp.gr. is
 1-02.  It is incompatible  with laudanum, and the sulphate, muriate, and acetate of
 morphia.   The iodides of arsenic and mercury, formed  by trituration as the first step
 of the process, are  assumed by Mr. Donovan to  become, by  solution, hydriodates
 severally of arsenious acid (white  oxide  of arsenic), and of deutoxide of mercury
 (peroxide or red precipitate); and he has taken the  solid materials and water in such
 proportions as that each fluidrachm of the solution,  on this  theory of change, shall
 contain an eighth of a grain of arsenious acid, a fourth of a  grain of deutoxide of
 mercury, and about three-fourths of a grain of iodine in the state of hydriodic acid.
 Those who consult Mr. Donovan's  first paper on this  solution (Dublin Med. Journ.
for Nov. 1839) will not understand it, unless they are aware  that he means by pro
 toxide of arsenic, arsenious acid  (in composition a sesquioxide); and by protoxide of
 mercury, deutoxide  of mercury or red precipitate.  These corrections in  his nomen- 
1294
Appendix.
 clature he admits to be necessary in his paper of Nov. 1842, in which he states that
 he used the erroneous  terms through inadvertence.  In this preparation the iodide of
 arsenic present is the sesquiodide, and the iodide  of mercury, the red or  biniodide.
 If it be  assumed that these iodides are capable of uniting into a double iodide, the
 proportion will be one eq. of the sesquiodide 454-3 to one of the biniodide 454-6.   On
 the theory of their conversion into hydriodates by solution, five eqs. of water 45 will
 be required, three for the arsenical sesquioxide, and two for the mercurial biniodide;
 and the result will be one eq. of arsenious acid 99-4, one of deutoxide of mercury 218,
 and five of hydriodic acid 636-5, the  latter containing five eqs. of iodine 631-5.   The
 solution here supposed would contain about two and one-fifth times as much deut-
 oxide of mercury as of arsenious acid, instead of only twice as much, as in Mr. Dono-
 van's formula.   If his formula had been made thus, the quantity of the deutoxide asso-
 ciated with an eighth of a grain of the arsenious acid, would have been increased only
 a fortieth  of a grain above the  quantity intended by him to be present in a fluidrachm
 of the solution; and, while this increase of the mercurial oxide would be immaterial,
 the advantage would have been gained of having the two iodides present in equivalent
 proportions.
   Medical Properties. This preparation has been found decidedly useful as an altera-
 tive in the treatment of various diseases of the skin,  such as the different forms of
 psoriasis, impetigo, porrigo, lepra, pityriasis, lupus, and venereal eruptions, both papu-
 lar and  scaly.   In support of its efficacy in these affections, Mr. Donovan has adduced
 the  testimony of a number of respectable practitioners,  of Dublin and  elsewhere,
 who have communicated to him  the results of their experience.  The  disease in
 some of the cases cured had existed for a number of years.  Dr. E. I. Taylor, of New
 York, has employed it  in a number of cutaneous diseases, and finds that it produces
 more marked and prompt effects than the remedies usually resorted  to in the treat-
 ment of lupus, rupia, psoriasis, and secondary venereal.  (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. N. S.
 v. 319.)   In two cases of uterine  disease, characterized by patency of the os'uteri
 and vascular turgescence of the cervix, and attended with lumbar and pelvic pains,
 Dr. Kirby, of Dublin, afforded  relief by the use of the solution.  The dose is twenty
 minims three times a day given  preferably in distilled water.  This dose  contains a
 twenty-fourth of a grain of arsenious acid, a twelfth of a grain of deutoxide of mer-
 cury, and about a quarter of  a grain of iodine.   Mr. Donovan originally proposed
 thirty minims as the dose; but many patients cannot bear this quantity.  Dr. Taylor
 never exceeded five drops, equal  to four minims, three times a  day.  Sometimes
 the medicine confines  the  bowels, deranges the stomach, and  produces headache,
 giddiness,  and  confusion  of mind.  When these effects are  produced, it must be
 laid aside and a purgative  administered.  After an interval varying from ten days
 to three weeks, it may be resumed, but in a  smaller dose.  The  treatment often re-
 quires to be persevered in  for several months.  Sometimes the medicine produces
 moderate  salivation. By some practitioners, the solution, diluted with an equal bulk
 of water,  was used with advantage as an external application to  the ulcers or erup-
 tions, at the same time that the medicine was given internally.  This preparation is
 deserving of trial by American practitioners in the obstinate diseases to which it is
 considered to be applicable. Its use is extending in Europe, and  the evidence in its
 favour is, thus far, satisfactory.  For further information the reader is referred to the
 three papers of Mr. Donovan, contained in the Dublin Journal of Med. Science, for
 Nov. 1839, Sept. 1840, and Nov. 1842.  It is the paper of  the latter  date, that contains
 his corrected formula, which is given in the beginning of this article.
   SOOT.   Fuligo Ligni.  This well  known substance  has a peculiar smell, and a
 bitter, empyreumatic, and disagreeable taste.  Its composition is very complex.  Re-
 duced to powder and treated with water, it affords  an infusion of a deep yellow or
 brown colour, the colour being deeper if heat be employed. The insoluble portion
 amounts to about forty-four per cent.  The soluble  part consists chiefly, according to
 Berzelius, of a pyrogenous resin united with acetic  acid, called acid pyretin, and satu-
 rated with potassa, lime, and magnesia.  It also contains sulphate of lime, chloride
 of potassium, acetate of ammonia, and traces of nitric acid. If the solution be eva-
 porated to dryness, it furnishes a black extract.  This forms with water a blackish-
 brown solution, which, when treated with any free acid, except the acetic, lets fall the
acid pyretin, in the form of a black mass, resembling pitch; while  the acid employed
remains in solution with the bases previously in combination with the pyretin.  Bra-
connot thought he had discovered in the pyretin a peculiar principle, to which he gave
the name of asbolin,- but Berzelius thinks he was mistaken.  Besides these substances,
Braconnot ascertained  the existence  in soot of an  azotized extractive  matter to  the 
Appendix.
1295
amount of twenty per cent.  This matter when submitted  to dry distillation, afforded
a considerable portion of pyrogenous oil.  The soot itself, when subjected to a simi-
lar distillation, furnished one-fifth of its weight of empyreumatic oil.  To the above
ingredients of soot, must be added creasote, which was not discovered at the date of
the researches of Berzelius and Braconnot, and to the presence of which soot is sup-
posed to owe its medicinal properties.
  Soot was formerly officinal with the Edinburgh College, and the Scotch physicians
were in the habit of frequently prescribing it as a tonic and antispasmodic in  the form
of tincture.   It went very much out of use in regular practice; and it is only within
a few years, that its employment has been revived on account of its containing crea-
sote. At  present it is chiefly used as an external remedy in the form of decoction or
ointment.   In the Revue Med. for June,  1834, M. Blaud details a number of  cases of
various affections, such as obstinate tetters, porrigo  favosa, psora, fistula, cancerous
and  venereal ulcers,  chronic irritations  of the lining membrane of the mouth, exuda-
tions from the mucous membrane of the nose, herpetic eruptions of the genital organs,
and  pruritus  of the vulva, in which the use of soot effected a  cure.  The decoction is
made by adding two handfuls of soot to a pint of water, boiling for half an hour, and
filtering.  It is applied as a lotion to the  affected parts; or injected  into the fistulae,
several  times a day, and, in the intervals, the  part, if accessible, is  dressed  with an
ointment, made by rubbing up  a drachm of finely powdered soot with  an  ounce of
lard. In cases of porrigo, the  crusts must be removed  by poultices, before the soot
is applied. In scrofulous ophthalmia, M. Caron Duvillards and M. Baudelocque have
found a collyrium, made according to the following  formula, very useful.   Dissolve
two  ounces of soot in boiling water, filter  the solution, and evaporate  it to dryness.
Dissolve the dry residue, with  the assistance  of heat, in strong white wine vinegar,
and  add extract of roses  in the  proportion of twenty-four grains to twelve fluid-
ounces of the liquid.  It is prepared for use by adding a few drops of the liquid to a
glass of water. (Bull. Gen. de Therapeutique, Mars 1834.)   This formula is  not very
satisfactory, as it does not indicate the  proportions of water and  vinegar to be em-
ployed.  In a case of severe and extensive burn, in which, after the separation of
sloughs, the patient began to sink from the profuse discharge, Dr. Ebers, of Bordeaux,
found advantage from the application, to the granulating surface, of lint soaked in a
decoction  of  soot  It acted  by reducing the discharge in  a  surprising manner, by
promoting cicatrization.
  We are informed by Dr. Hewson, of this city,  that he has found  an infusion of soot
an efficacious remedy, employed by injection, in cases of ascarides.  In one case, of
long standing in an adult, in which a number of remedies had been  tried unsuccess-
fully, injections of  soot daily, persevered in for two weeks, effected a complete  cure.
The  injection was made by adding a cupful of  soot  to a pint of  boiling water, and
straining the  solution.  An infusion of  hickory ashes  and soot has formed, for  some
time past, a popular  remedy for dyspepsia.  It is made by infusing a pint  of clean
hickory ashes and a gill of soot in half a gallon of boiling water, allowing the liquor
to stand for twenty-four hours, and then decanting.   Of this a small wineglassful is
to be taken three or four times  a day. No doubt this infusion has  been useful in aci-
dity  of stomach; but its indiscriminate use in all gastric affections popularly confound-
ed under the  name of dyspepsia, is calculated to do much harm.
  Soot is employed in the arts  as a colouring matter.  Meat which has been allowed
to remain  from half an hour to an hour in an infusion of one part of soot to  six parts
of cold  water, keeps like smoked meat  From this fact  it is evident that soot is a
good antiseptic.
  SPANISH  BROWN.  A brownish-red ochre, much used in painting.
  SPARTIUM  JUNCEUM. Spanish Broom. A small shrub, indigenous in the South
of Europe, and  cultivated in our gardens as an ornamental plant.  The flowers are
large, yellow, and of an agreeable odour.  The seeds are in moderate doses diuretic
and tonic, in  large doses emetic  and cathartic,  and have been used advantageously
in dropsy.  The dose is from ten to fifteen  grains three times a day.   They may also
be given in tincture.
  SULPHATE  OF ALUMINA. Aluminas Sulphas.   The salts of alumina have been
ascertained by M. Gannal to be powerful preservatives of animal  matter.   Among
these the sulphate is  to be preferred on  account of its easy preparation and moderate
price.  It  may be made by saturating dilute sulphuric acid with  hydrated  alumina,
and evaporating. A solution of this salt was found by M. Gannal to  be very effectual
in preserving bodies for  dissection, when injected into  the  bloodvessels. In the
summer season the bodies were preserved fresh for twenty days or more; in the winter, 
1296
Appendix.
 for three months.  For use in the winter, a quantity of solution, sufficient for inject-
 ing one body, may be made by adding a pound, avoirdupois, of the salt to a quart of
 water; for use  in hot weather, the solution must be made stronger.   The acetate of
 alumina and the chloride of aluminium (muriate of alumina) possess the same preserv-
 ative power.
   SULPHOCYANURET OF POTASSIUM. Potassii Sulphocyanuretum.  This salt
 is prepared by fusing in an  iron vessel, at a low red heat, a mixture of two parts of
 dried ferrocyanuret of potassium, and one part of flowers of sulphur.  The mass, when
 cold, is dissolved in boiling  water, and, to decompose  some sulphocyanuret of iron,
 the solution is treated with carbonate of potassa, which  throws down the  iron as a
 carbonate, and gives rise to the  formation  of a  fresh  portion of sulphocyanuret of
 potassium.  The whole is then boiled for a quarter of an hour, filtered to separate
 the precipitated iron, and evaporated  that crystals may form.   These are purified
 from carbonate of potassa, by being dissolved in alcohol, which takes up the sulpho
 cyanuret and leaves the carbonate.   The alcoholic solution is then allowed to crys-
 tallize.  Sulphocyanuret of potassium is in long, striated, anhydrous prisms, deliques-
 cent in a moist atmosphere,  very soluble in alcohol, and having a cooling, somewhat
 biting taste.  It has been proposed as a medicine by Soemmering, as a substitute for
^hydrocyanic acid and cyanuret of potassium, on the ground that it possesses the same
[therapeutic properties, without their inconveniences.
   SWIETENIA FEBRIFUGA.  A large tree growing in the East Indies.  The bark
iis the portion medicinally employed.  It is smooth and  red internally, rough and gray
♦on the  outer surface, of' a  feeble aromatic odour, and  an astringent  bitter  taste.
 Water extracts its virtues by infusion or decoction.  It  is said  to have been much
 used in India as a substitute for Peruvian bark, to which  it is somewhat analogous in
zmedical properties, though it contains neither cinchonia nor quinia.  The dose of the
 powder is from thirty grains to half a drachm.  The watery extract has the virtues of
 the bark.
   The Swietenia Mahagoni or Mahogany tree, which grows in the West Indies and
 other parts of tropical America, has also a bitter astringent bark, which resembles that
 of the S. febrifuga in virtues as well as in sensible properties.  The wood of this tree
 is the mahogany so much used in ornamental wood-work.
   SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE. Comfrey. A perennial European plant, cultivated
 in our gardens for medical use. Its root,  which is the part used, is spindleshaped,
 branched, often more than an inch thick and a foot long, externally smooth and black-
 ish, internally white, fleshy, and juicy.  By drying, it  becomes  wrinkled, of a firm
 horny consistence, and of a  dark colour within.  It is almost inodorous, and  has a
 mucilaginous, feebly astringent taste.  Among its constituents are mucilage in great
 abundance, and a small  quantity of tannin.  It was formerly highly esteemed  as a
 vulnerary, but has lost its credit  in  this respect.  Its virtues are chiefly those of a
 demulcent, and it may be advantageously  used  for all  the purposes  to which the
 marshmallow is applied.  It is  a very common ingredient in the  domestic  cough
 mixtures employed  in chronic catarrhs, consumption,  and other pectoral affections.
 The most convenient form of administration is that of decoction, which may be made
 either from the fresh or dried root  According to Lewis, comfrey root yields to water
 a larger proportion of mucilage  than the root of the Althaea.
   SYRINGA VULGARIS.  Common Lilac.  The leaves and fruit of this common gar-
 den plant have a bitter and somewhat acrid taste, and have been used as a tonic and
 febrifuge.  In some parts of France, they are said to be  employed habitually by the
 country people in the cure of intermittent fever; and they were recommended by Cruveil-
 hier in the treatment of that  complaint  The fruit was examined by MM. Petroz and
 Robinet, who found a sweet  and  a bitter principle. The latter has been obtained pure
 by M. Meillet, who has given it the name of lilacin.   The green capsules, which yield
 it in largest proportion, are boiled in water,  the decoction is concentivted, subacetate
 of lead is added, the liquor is evaporated to the  consistence of syrup, magnesia is
 added in excess, and the whole is evaporated to dryness.  The residuum is powdered,
 digested in water at 90° or 100°,  and then treated with boiling alcohol, and animal
 charcoal.   The alcoholic solution, being filtered and concentrated, yields lilacin upon
 cooling.   This principle,  though  not alkaline, is thought by M. Meillet to exist in the
 fruit combined with malic acid.  It  is  crystallizable, bitter, and insoluble  in water.
 (Am. Journ. of Pharm. xiv. p. 139, from Journ. de Pharm.)
   TACAMAHAC.  Tacamahaca.  The resinous substance commonly known by this
 name, is supposed to be derived from the Fagara octandra of Linn. (Elaphrium tomen-
 tosum, Jacq., Amyristomentosum,Spreng.), a tree of considerable size, growing in the 
Appendix.
1297
 island of Curacoa, and in Venezuela.  The juice exudes spontaneously, and hardens
 on exposure.  As brought into the market, it is in irregularly shaped pieces of various
 sizes, some not larger than a mustard seed, others as much as an inch or two inches
 in diameter.  The colour is usually light-yellowish or reddish-brown;  but in the larger
 masses is more or less diversified.  The pieces are in general translucent, though fre-
 quently covered with  powder upon  their surface, so as to render them  apparently
 opaque.  They are heavier than water, brittle, and pulverizable, yielding a pale-yellow
 powder.  Their odour is resinous and agreeable, their taste bitter, balsamic, and some-
 what acrid. Exposed to heat they melt and exhale a stronger odour.  Tacamahac is
 partially soluble in alcohol, and completely so in ether and the fixed oils.  It consists of
 resin with a little volatile oil.
   Another variety is obtained from the East Indies, and  called tacamahaca orientale,
 or tacamahaca in testis. It is supposed to be derived from  the Calophyllum Inophyl-
 lum, and comes into the market in gourdshells covered with rush leaves.  It is of a
 pale yellow colour inclining to green,  slightly translucent, soft  and adhesive, of an
 agreeable odour, and an aromatic bitterish taste. It is at present very rare in commerce.
   Guibourt describes several other varieties of tacamahac, which, however, are little
 known.  Among them is a soft, adhesive, dark-green resin, said to be procured from
 the Calophyllum Tacamahaca of Willd., a tree growing in the islands of Bourbon and
 Madagascar.
  Tacamahac was formerly highly esteemed as  an  internal remedy, but is now em-
 ployed medicinally only in the composition of  ointments and plasters, and little even
 for this purpose.  Its properties are analogous to those of the turpentines.  It is some-
 times used as incense.
  TANNATE  OF LExAD. This is obtained by precipitating a concentrated infusion
 of oak bark with acetate of lead, added drop by drop.  It has been used as an external
 application with success by Dr. Fantonetti in two cases of white swelling of the knee
 joint  He employed it at first mixed with a third of its weight of lard, and afterwards
 pure, the fresh precipitate admitting of application as an ointment.  Autenrieth  re-
 commends it as a dressing to gangrenous sores, and Dr. Tott for the same purpose.
 With this intention, the precipitate, either uncombined, or mixed, in its dry state, with
 simple ointment in the proportion of two  drachms to the  ounce, may be spread on
 linen and applied to the sore.  The preparation here referred to is in composition a
 bitannate.  Other tannates of lead exist.
  TEA.  The plant which furnishes tea—Thea Chinensis—is an evergreen shrub, be-
 longing to the class and order Monadelphia Polyandria of the Sexual system (Poly-
 andria Monogynia, Linn.), and to the natural  order Ternstromiaceoe.   It is usually
 from four to eight feet high, though capable, in a favourable situation, of attaining.the
 height  of thirty feet.  It has numerous  alternate branches, furnished with elliptical
 oblong or lanceolate, pointed leaves, which are serrate except at the base, smooth on
 both sides, green, shining, marked with one rib and many transverse veins, and sup-
 ported  alternately upon short footstalks.  They are two or three inches long, and from
 half an inch to an inch in breadth. The flowers are either solitary, or supported two or
 three together at the axils of the leaves.  They are of considerable size, not unlike those
 of the myrtle in appearance, consisting of a short green calyx with five or six lobes,
 of a corolla with from four to nine  large unequal snow-white  petals, of numerous
 stamens  with yellow anthers and connected at their base, and of a pistil with a three-
 parted  style.  The fruit is  a three-celled and three-seeded capsule.   It has not been
 certainly determined whether more than one species of the tea-plant exists.  Linnaeus
 admitted two species—the T. Bohea and the T. viridis—differing in the number of their
petals;  but this ground of distinction is untenable, as the petals are known to vary
very much in the same plant  Hayne makes three species—the T. stricta,  T. Bohea,
 and T. viridis, which are distinguished severally by the shape of their leaves and fruit,
 and the  direction of the  footstalk.  De Candolle admits but one  species, with  two
varieties—the viridis or green tea, with " lanceolate flat leaves, three times as long as
 they are  broad," and the  Bohea, with " elliptical  oblong, subrugose leaves, twice as
long as broad." Lindley recognises the two Linnean species, distinguishing them by
the leaves, which, in the T. viridis, are acuminate and emarginate at the apex, and in
 the T. Bohea are smaller, flatter, darker green, with  small serratures, and terminate
gradually in a point, but are not at all acuminate or emarginate.  (Flora Medica, 120.)
  The  tea-plant is a native of China and Japan, and is cultivated in both countries,
but most abundantly in the former.   In Japan it forms  hedgerows around the rice
and cornfields;  in China, whence immense quantities of tea are exported, whole fields
        110 
1298
Appendix.
are devoted to its culture.   It is propagated from the seeds, which are planted in holes
at certain distances apart, six or eight seeds being  placed in each hole, in order to
ensure the growth of one.  In three years the plant yields leaves for collection, and in
six years attains the height of a man.   When from seven to ten years old, it is cut
down, in order that the numerous shoots which issue from the stump may afford a
large product of leaves.   These are picked separately by the hand.   Three harvests,
according to Koempfer, are usually made during the year, the first at the end of Feb-
ruary, the second at the beginning of April, and the third in June.  As the youngest
leaves are the best, the product of the first collection is most valuable, while that of
the third, consisting of the oldest leaves, is comparatively little esteemed.  Sometimes
only one or two  harvests are made; but care is always  taken to assort the leaves
according to their age; and thus originate numerous  commercial varieties of tea.
The character of the plant, dependent upon the soil, situation, climate, and culture,
has also a great influence upon the value of the leaves.  It is said that the best tea is
procured from the shrubs which grow upon the sides of  steep hills with a southern
exposure.  Though the plant grows both about Pekin in the North, and Canton in the
South of China, it is said to attain greater  perfection in the intermediate country, in
the neighbourhood of Nankin for instance, where the climate is neither so cold as in
the first mentioned vicinity, nor  so hot  as in the second.  Some of the commercial
varieties have their origin in this cause; and it is not impossible, though the fact has
not been ascertained, that difference in species  may be another source of diversity in
the product.   After having been gathered, the  leaves are dried by artificial heat in
shallow iron pans, from which they are  removed while still hot, and rolled with  the
fingers, or in the  palm of the hand, so as to be brought into the form in which they
are found in commerce.  It is stated that the odour of the  tea leaves themselves is
very slight; and that it is customary to mix with them the leaves of certain aromatic
plants, such as the Oka fragrans and Camellia Sasanqua, in order to render  them
pleasant to the smell.  It is obvious that the nature of the addition will affect to a
certain extent the quality of the tea, and thus still further increase the diversity arising
from the age of the leaf and the character of the plant.
  Tea is brought  to this country  from the port of Canton.  Numerous varieties exist
in commerce, differing in the shape communicated  by rolling, in colour, in flavour,
or in strength; but they may all be  arranged in the two divisions of green and black
teas, which, at least in their extremes, differ so much in properties, that it is difficult
to conceive that they are derived from the same species.
  Properties.   Green tea is characterized by a dark-green colour, sometimes inclining
more  or  less  to blue or  brown.  It has a peculiar, refreshing, somewhat aromatic
odour, and an astringent, slightly pungent, and agreeably bitterish taste.  Its infusion
has a pale greenish-yellow colour, with the odour and taste of the leaves.  Black tea is
distinguished by a dark brown colour.  It is usually less firmly rolled, and lighter than
the green, and contains the petioles of the plant mingled with the leaves.  Its odour is
fainter and of a somewhat different character, though still fragrant. Its taste, like that of
green tea, is astringent and bitterish; but it is less pungent,  and to most persons less
agreeable.  To hot water it imparts a brown colour, with its sensible properties of
taste and smell.  These vary exceedingly  in strength in the different varieties; and
some black teas are almost wholly destitute of aromatic or agreeable flavour.
  According to the analysis of G. J. Mulder, which is the most recent, 100 parts of
green Chinese tea afforded 0-79 of volatile  oil, 2-22 of chlorophylle, 0-28 of wax, 2-22
of resin, 8-56 of gum, 17-80 of tannic acid, 0-43  of thein, 22-80 of extractive, traces of
apotheme, 23-60 of muriatic extract, 3-00  of albumen, 17-68 of lignin, and 5-56 of salts.
The muriatic extract was the matter taken up by diluted muriatic acid from tea pre-
viously exhausted successively by ether, alcohol, and water, and consisted of artifi-
cial tannin.  The same chemist obtained from  100 parts of black Chinese tea 0-60 of
Volatile oil, 1-84 of chlorophylle, 3-64 of resin, 7-28 of gum, 12-88 of tannic acid, 0-46
of thein, 19-88 of extractive, 1-48  of apotheme, 19-12 of muriatic extract, 2-80 of  albu-
men, 28-32 of lignin, and 5-24 of salts. (Annul, der Pharm. xxviii. 317.)  But there is no
doubt that the different specimens  of each of these varieties of tea often vary exceedingly
in the proportion of their constituents.   The volatile oil is the principle upon which
the effects of tea upon the nervous system chiefly if not exclusively depend.  Hence
old teas are less energetic than those recently imported; and it is  said that the fresh
leaves have often  produced dangerous effects in China.  Nevertheless, the tannic acid
is not without influence upon the system;  and  it is not  improbable that both the ex-
tractive and thein contribute to the peculiar influences of this valuable product  Of
these active ingredients, the volatile oil, tannic acid, and  extractive, are  found most 
Appendix.
1299
 largely, according to the analysis of Mulder, in the green tea.   Tliein is a crystalliza-
 ble principle discovered by Oudry.  It was  afterwards proved by Jobst to have the
 same composition as caffein, and is now generally considered as in all respects iden-
 tical with that principle.  (See  Coffee.)  Jobst  obtained it by boiling tea repeatedly
 with water, filtering and concentrating the decoction, adding acetate of lead  so long
 as it occasioned a precipitate, again  filtering, precipitating the lead by sulphuretted
 hydrogen, and lastly, filtering and evaporating.   The thein crystallized in small, deli-
 cate, acicular crystals, which were  purified by a new crystallization from water,
 alcohol, or  ether.  According to Mulder, thein exists in tea  combined with tannic
 acid, and is obtained in the simplest manner from the decoction, by precipitating the
 acid with magnesia or lime, evaporating the liquid, and exhausting  the residue with
 ether, which yields the principle quite pure.  (Annal. der Pharm. xxvii. 319.)   Thein
 has a feebly bitter taste; in the state of crystals,  is dissolved by 93 parts of water, 158
 of alcohol, and 298 of ether; melts  at about 350° F., and at 723°  sublimes in white
 vapours which condense in minute needles.  From its watery solution scarcely any
 reagent precipitates it Infusion of galls causes a deposit of tannate of thein, which is
 again, however, dissolved by heating  the water.  (Ibid.)
   Medical Properties and Uses.  Tea is astringent and gently excitant, and in its finer
 varieties exerts a decided influence over  the nervous system, evinced by the feelings
 of comfort and even exhilaration which it produces, and the unnatural wakefulness
 to which it gives rise when taken in unusual quantities, or by those unaccustomed to
 its use.  Its properties, however, are not of so decided a  character as to render it
 capable of very extensive application  as a medicine; and its almost exclusive use, as
 every one knows, is as a grateful beverage at the evening and morning meals.  Taken
 moderately, and by healthy individuals, it may be  considered as perfectly harmless;
 but long continued, in excessive quantity, it is capable of inducing unpleasant nervous
 and dyspeptic s}-mptoms, the necessary consequences of over excitement of the brain
 and stomach.  Green tea is decidedly more injurious in these respects than black, and
 should be avoided by dyspeptic individuals, and by those whose nervous systems are
 peculiarly excitable.  As a medicine, tea may sometimes be given advantageously in
 diarrhoea; and a  strong infusion will  often be found  to relieve nervous headache.
 For the latter purpose green tea should be preferred.  The mode of preparing tea for
 use is too well known to require description.  An extract  is made from it in China,
 which is said to be useful in fevers.
   TEUCRIUM CIIAMJEDRYS.  Germander.   Chamaedrys.  A small, didynamous,
 labiate, perennial, European  plant, the leaves and tops of which have an agreeable
 aromatic  orlour, diminished by drying, and a bitter, somewhat astringent, aromatic,
 durable taste.  They have been employed as a mild corroborant, in  uterine, rheu-
 matic, gouty, and scrofulous affections, and intermittent fevers; but are at  present
 little used, and  never in this country.  Germander was an ingredient in the Portland
powder, noted as a remedy in gout  This powder, according to the original prescrip-
 tion, consisted of equal  parts of the roots of the Aristolochia rotunda and  Gentiana
 lutea, of the  tops and leaves  of the Teucrium Chamaedrys and Erythraea Centaurium,
 and of the leaves  of the Ajuga Chamaepytis or ground pine.  The dose was a drachm
 taken every morning before breakfast, and continued for three months, then two
 scruples for three months, afterwards  half a drachm for six months, and finally half
 a drachm every other day for a year.  (Parr.)
  Two other species of Teucrium have been used in medicine—the T. Marum, cat
 thyme, or Syrian herb mastich, which is a native of the South of Europe, and the T.
 Scordium, or water germander, which grows in the higher latitudes of the same con-
 tinent.  The former is a  warm, stimulating, aromatic bitter, and has  been highly
 recommended in hysteria, amenorrhoea, and cases of nervous debility;  the latter has
 the odour of garlic, and a bitter somewhat pungent taste, and was formerly highly
 esteemed as a corroborant in low forms of disease; but neither of them is now much
 employed.  The T. Marum is errhine, and was formerly an ingredient in the Pulvis
 Asari Compositus.   The dose of  either of the three species of Teucrium is about half
 a drachm.
  THUJA OCCIDENTALIS.  Arbor Vitas.  An indigenous evergreen tree, growing
 wild from Canada to Carolina, and cultivated for ornament in  gardens.  The leaves,
 or small twigs invested with the  leaves, are the part used.   They have an agreeable
 balsamic odour, especially when rubbed, and a  strong, balsamic, camphorous, bitter
 taste. In the state  of decoction, they  have  been used in intermittent fever, and,  accord-
 ing to Schoepf, in coughs, fevers, scurvy, and rheumatism.  Made into an ointment
 with lard or other animal fat, they are  said to form a useful local application in rheii- 
1300
Appendix.
matic complaints. The distilled water is praised by Boerhaave as a remedy in dropsy.
(Schoepf.)  A yellowish-green volatile oil, which may be obtained from the leaves by
distillation, has been used with success in worms.
  THYMUS  VULGARIS.  Thyme.  A small well known undershrub, indigenous in
the South of Europe, and with us  cultivated in gardens.  The  herbaceous portion,
which should be gathered when the plant is in flower, has a peculiar, strong, aroma-
tic, agreeable odour, which is not lost by drying, and a pungent, aromatic, camphor-
ous taste.  Its active constituent is a volatile oil, which may be separated by distilla-
tion.  Oil of thyme (okum thymi) is, when fresh, of a pale yellow or greenish colour,
but as found in the shops is often brown.  Its sp. gr. is 0-905.  The plant has the aro-
matic properties of  sage, lavender, &c, and may be used for  the same purposes.  It
is, however, more employed in cookery than in medicine.  The  T. Serpillum, or wild
thyme of Europe, is  analogous in properties to the garden thyme.  Both are occasion-
ally used in baths, fomentations, and poultices, along with other aromatic herbs.
  TONKA BEAN.  The seed of the Dipterix  odorata of Willd., the Coumarouna odo-
rata of Aublet, a large tree growing in Guiana.   The fruit is an oblong-ovate pod, en-
closing a single seed, from an inch to an inch and a half long, from two to four lines
broad, usually somewhat compressed, with a dark-brown, wrinkled, shining, thin, and
brittle skin, and a  light-brown, oily kernel.  The bean  has a strong, agreeable, aroma-
tic odour, and a bitterish, aromatic taste.   Its  active constituent is a crystallizable,
odorous substance, analogous to the volatile oils and camphor, and called coumarin
by Guibourt  This  substance is sometimes found in a crystalline state, between the
two lobes of the kernel.  The tonka bean is used to flavour snuff, being either mixed
with it in the  state of powder, or put entire into the snuff-box.
  TRIGONELLA FCENUMGR^ECUM. Fenugreek.  An annual plant growing  spon-
taneously in different parts of the South of Europe, and cultivated in France  and Ger-
many for the  sake of its seeds. These are one or two lines in length, oblong cylin-
drical, somewhat compressed, obliquely truncated at each extremity, brownish-yellow
externally, yellow internally, and marked with an oblique furrow running half their
length.   They have a strong peculiar odour, and an oily, bitterish, farinaceous  taste,
and contain fixed and volatile oil, mucilage, bitter extractive, and a yellow colouring
substance.  An ounce  of the seeds  boiled in a pint of water renders it thick and
slimy.   They give out the whole of their distinguishing odour and taste  to alcohol.
Their virtues depend chiefly upon their oil and mucilage.  On the continent of Eu-
rope they are employed in the preparation of emollient cataplasms and enemata, and
enter into the composition of some officinal ointments  and plasters.  They are never
used internally.
  TRIPOLI.  Terra Tripolitana.   An earthy mineral,  of a whitish, yellowish, or pale
straw colour, sometimes inclining to red or brown, usually friable, often  adhesive to
the tongue, and presenting the aspect of argillaceous earth, though differing from clay
by the roughness and hardness of its particles, and by not forming a paste with water.
The  Venice tripoli  is said to come from the island of Corfu.  Tripoli is sometimes
artificially prepared by calcining certain argillites. It is used for cleaning and polish-
ing metals.
  TRITICUM REPENS.   Couch-grass.  Dog-grass.   Quickens.-  A perennial Euro-
pean plant, very common in gardens and cultivated grounds, where it is considered
a troublesome weed. The root, which is the part medically used, is horizontal, creep-
ing, jointed, about as thick as a straw or thicker, inodorous, and of an agreeable, sweet-
ish, slightly pungent taste.  It is used in some  parts of Europe,  in the form of decoc-
tion, as  a slightly  aperient and nutritive drink.   Great quantities of it  are said,  to be
consumed in  the  hospitals of Paris.   The decoction, in consequence of the  sugar
which it contains, is susceptible of the vinous fermentation.
  TUTTY.  Tutia.  Impure  Oxide of Zinc. This oxide is formed during the smelt-
ing of lead ores containing zinc.   It is deposited in the chimneys of the  furnaces, in
the form of incrustations, moderately hard and heavy, and studded over  with  small
protuberances, of a brownish colour  on  the  outside, and yellowish  within.  As it
occurs in commerce, the pieces occasionally present a bluish cast, from the presence
of small particles  of metallic zinc.  Sometimes a spurious substance is sold for tutty,
consisting of a mixture of blue clay and copper filings, made into a paste with water,
and dried on an iron rod.  It is distinguished from the genuine tutty  by  its  diffusing
in water and exhaling an earthy smell, and by  its greater friability.
  Tutty is used as an external application only, as an exsiccant  in excoriations. To
fit it for  medical use it must be reduced to fine  powder, which  is dusted on the affect 
Appendix.
1301
 ed part, or applied in the form of ointment.  It has  been very properly dismissed
 from the Edinburgh officinal catalogue, its use being superseded bv that of the pure
 oxide.

   UMBER.  Terra  Umbria.   A  mineral  of a  fine  compact texture, light, dry to  the
 touch, shining when rubbed by the nail, and of a fine pale brown colour, which changes
 to a peculiar beautiful deep brown by heat. According to Klaproth, it contains 13 parts
 of silica, 5 of alumina, 48 of oxide of iron, 20 of manganese, and 14 of water in 100.
 Burnt umber, as well as the mineral in its unaltered state, is used in painting.  The
 umber of commerce is said to be brought chiefly from the island of Cyprus.
   URTICA DIOICA.  Common nettle.  A well known  perennial herbaceous plant,
 growing both in Europe and the United  States, by the  roadsides, in hedges, and gar-
 dens. The leaves, seeds, and roots, were formerly officinal.  They were deemed diu-
 retic and astringent, and were  employed in nephritic complaints, hemorrhages, con-
 sumption, jaundice, worms, &c.  The young shoots  are  boiled and  eaten by  the
 common people as a  remedy  in scurvy; and  the fresh plant is sometimes used to
 excite external irritation in cases of torpor and local palsy, the part being beaten with
 it till the  requisite degree of action is produced. The U. urens or dwarf nettle, which
 is an annual plant, and smaller than the  former species, has  similar properties, and
 is used for the same purposes.   This species also grows wild both in  America and
 Europe.  The two plants were formerly distinguished by the  names of  urtica major,
 applied to the U. dioica, and of urtica minor applied to the U. urens.
   VANILLA. This is the fruit of the Vanilla aromatica of Schwartz, the Epidendrum
 Vanilla of Linn., a climbing  plant, growing in  the West Indies, Mexico, and  South
 America.  It is said also to be cultivated in the Isle of France. The pods are collect-
 ed before they are quite ripe, dried in the shade, covered over with a coat of fixed  oil,
 and then tied in bundles, which are surrounded with sheet lead, or enclosed in small
 metallic boxes, and sent into the market.   Several varieties of vanilla exist in  com-
 merce.  The most valuable, called ley by the Spaniards, consists of cylindrical, some-
 what flattened pods, six or eight inches long, three or four lines thick, nearly straight,
 narrowing towards the extremities, bent at the  base, shining  and dark-brown exter-
 nally, wrinkled longitudinally, soft  and flexible, and containing  within their tough
 shell, a soft black pulp, in which numerous minute, black, glossy seeds are embedded.
 It has a peculiar, strong, agreeable odour, bearing some resemblance to that of bal-
 sam of Peru, and a warm, aromatic, sweetish taste.  The interior pulpy portion is
 most aromatic.  Another variety, called simarona by the Spaniards, is  smaller, of a
 lighter colour, and less aromatic.  A third variety is the promprona of the Spaniards.
 In this, the pods are from five  to seven  inches long, from six to nine  lines broad,
 almost always open, brown, soft, viscid, and of a strong odour, but less pleasant than
 that of the ky, to which it is considered inferior. According to  Buchholz, vanilla does
 not yield volatile oil when distilled with water.  It is employed to flavour chocolate,
 ice-cream, &c, and as a perfume.
   VENETIAN RED.  Bolus Veneta.  A dull red ochrey substance used in painting.
   VERBENA OFFICINALIS.   Vervain.  This is a common  European weed, grow-
 ing on the roadsides, in the vicinity of towns  and villages.  Its  sensible  properties
 do not indicate the possession of medical virtues; as it is nearly inodorous, and has
 only a slightly astringent bitterish taste.  By the ancients it was highly esteemed  both
 as a remedy in disease, and as a sacred plant employed in the performance of reli-
 gious rites.   In modern times, superstitious notions in relation to its virtues are still
 entertained; and the suspension of the root around the  neck by a white riband, has
 been gravely recommended for the cure of scrofula.  The  leaves, bruised, and ap-
 plied in the form of a cataplasm, are used by the vulgar as a remedy in severe head-
 ache, and other local pains.  The plant, however, is. probably inert. An  American
 species, the V. hastata, is more bitter than  the European, and is said to be emetic.  It
 is not, however, used in regular  medical  practice.   Schoepf  states  that the root  of
 the V. urticifolia, another indigenous species, has been advantageously used in cases
 of poisoning from the Rhus Toxicodendron.  It is prepared by boiling it in milk and
 water along with the inner bark of the white oak.
  VERDITER.  Two preparations of copper, employed as pigments, are known by
 this name in commerce, and  are distinguished by the  epithets  of blue and green.
 Blue verditer is prepared in London  from the solution of nitrate  of copper, obtained
in  precipitating silver by copper.  According to Gray, this solution is poured hot
upon whiting (carbonate of lime), and  the mixture stirred every day till the liquor
loses  its colour, when it  is decanted, and  fresh portions added till the proper colour
                                     110* 
1302
Appendix.
is  obtained.  By a  process for procuring this pigment, invented by Pelletier, the
solution of nitrate of copper is decomposed by quicklime, and the precipitate, after
being washed, is incorporated intimately with another portion of quicklime.  By the
former process, a carbonate of copper is obtained, by the latter a mixture of the
hydrated oxide  of copper and hydrate  of lime.   Green verditer is prepared by pre-
cipitating a solution of nitrate of copper  by chalk or a white marl, and consists of
carbonate of copper mixed with an excess of the calcareous carbonate.
  VERONICA  OFFICINALIS.  Speedwell.  Several species of Veronica, common
to Europe and this country, have been medicinally employed.  Of these the V. offici-
nalis, and V. Beccabunga or brooklime, are the most  conspicuous.  The V. officinalis
has a bitterish,  warm, and somewhat astringent taste; has been considered diapho-
retic, diuretic, expectorant, tonic, &c; and was formerly employed  in pectoral and
nephritic complaints, hemorrhages, and diseases of the skin, and in the treatment of
wounds.  The beccabunga, which is very  succulent, was used in the fresh  state with
the view of purifying the blood, and as  a  remedy in scurvy.  Both plants, however,
are at present out of use.
  VISCUM ALBUM.  Misletoe.  A European evergreen parasitic shrub, growing on
various trees, particularly the apple and other fruit trees, and forming a pendent bush
from two  to five feet in diameter.  The plant is  famous in the history of druidical
superstition.  In the religious rites of the druids, the misletoe of the oak was em-
ployed, and hence was  afterwards preferred when the plant came to be used as a
remedy; but it is in  fact identical in all respects with those which grow upon  other
trees.  The fresh bark and leaves have a peculiar disagreeable odour, and a nause-
ous, sweetish, slightly bitter taste.  The berries, which are white, and of  about the
size of a pea, abound in a peculiar viscid principle, and are  sometimes used in the
preparation of birdlime, of which this principle is the basis. At one time the misletoe
was highly esteemed as a remedy in epilepsy, palsy, and other nervous diseases; but
it is now out of use.  The leaves and wood were given in the dose of a drachm in
substance, and  of an ounce in decoction. Several  species of Viscum grow in the
United States, but are not used.
  WHITING.  This  is  essentially the same with the prepared carbonate of lime
(prepared chalk) of the Pharmacopoeias, being made by the pulverization and elutri-
ation of crude chalk.   It is used as a coarse paint, and for various purposes in  the
arts, for which  carbonate of lime is requisite.  Paris white is a variety of the  same
material.
   ZEA MAYS.  Indian Corn. Common  Indian corn contains, according  to the late
Dr. Gorham, of Boston, 77 per cent, of starch, 3  of  a principle analogous to gluten,
called zein, 2-5 of albumen, 1-45  of sugar, 0-8 of extractive, 1-75 of gum, 1*5 of sul-
phate and phosphate of lime, 3 of lignin,  and 9 of water.   The meal, in the  form of
mush, makes an excellent emollient  poultice, much used  in hospitals; and a gruel
may be prepared from it which is sometimes more grateful to the  sick than that
made from oat-meal.
   ZEDOARY.   Radix Zedoariae.  There  are two kinds of zedoary, the long and the
round, distinguished by the officinal titles of radix zedoariae longae, and radix zedoariae
rotundas, the former produced by the Curcuma Zedoaria of Roxburgh, the latter, as
some suppose, by the Kaempferia rotunda of Linn.,  but according to others, by the
 Curcuma Zerumbet  of Roxburgh.   Both kinds come from the East Indies.  The long
zedoary is in slices, from an inch and a half to three inches in length, and from half
an inch to an inch thick, obtuse at the extremities, and  exhibiting the remains  of the
radical fibres; the round is also usually in slices, which are the sections of a roundish
root, ending in a point beneath, and divided longitudinally into two parts, each of
 which is flat on one side, convex on the other, and heart-shaped in its outline.  Some-
 times the root of the  latter variety is entire, and  sometimes in quarters  instead of
halves.  It is marked with circular rings  on the convex surface, and, like the former,
 with small projecting points which are the remains  of  radical fibres.  Both are
 grayish-white on the outside, yellowish-brown within, hard, compact, of an agreeable
 aromatic odour, and a bitterish, pungent,  camphorous  taste.  The round, however, is
 less spicy than the  long.  They yield a volatile oil when distilled with water.
   Zedoary is a warm, stimulating  aromatic, useful in flatulent colic and  debilitated
 states of the digestive  organs.  It is not now employed, as it  produces no  effects
 which cannot be as well or better obtained from ginger. The dose is from ten grains
 to half a drachm.
   ZERUMBET.  Cassumuniar.  Under these names an East India root was formerly 
Appendix.
1303
used, having some analogy in sensible and medical properties to ginger, and ascribed
to the Zingiber Zerumbet of Roscoe. Some consider the cassumuniar as  a distinct
root, and refer it to the Zingiber Cassumuniar of Roxburgh. The difference of opinion
is of little importance, as neither of the roots, supposing them not to be the same, is
at present to be found in the markets.  By some authors the zerumbet has been erro-
neously confounded with the round zedoary.  Geiger describes it as in pieces of the
size  of a fig or  larger, externally grayish-brown and wrinkled, internally yellowish,
hard and tough, of a biting aromatic taste, and a spicy odour.
  ZIZYPHUS VULGARIS, Lamarck.  Rhamnus Zizyphus, Linn.  A shrub, or small
tree, growing in the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, and cultivated in Italy,
Spain, and the South of France.  The fruit is the part used.  This consists of  oval
drupes, of the size  of a large  olive, with a thin, coriaceous,  red or  reddish-brown
skin, a yellowish, sweet, acidulous pulp, and an oblong  pointed stone in the  centre.
These have the officinal name of jujubae.  By drying, their pulp becomes softer and
sweeter,  and acquires a vinous taste, evincing the  commencement of fermentation.
They are nutritive and demulcent, and are  used in the form of decoction in pectoral
complaints.  Jujube paste consists, properly, of gum Arabic and sugar, dissolved  in
a decoction of this fruit, and evaporated to  the proper consistence.   As a demulcent,
it is in no respect superior to a  paste made with gum Arabic  and sugar alone; and the
preparation commonly sold in this country under the name,  contains in fact none  of
the fruit.
  The fruits of two other species of Zizyphus, the Z. Lotus, growing in the North  of
Africa, and the Z. Jujuba, a native of the East Indies, possess properties  similar  to
those of  the first mentioned species, and are used as food by the inhabitants of the
countries where they grow.
  Note.—Of the articles included in the foregoing list, those upon Acetic Ether, Am-
monio-tartrate of Iron, Arseniate of Ammonia, Arseniate of Iron, Bisulphuret of Carbon,
Bromide of Iron, Bromides of Mercury, Carburet of Iron, Cheltenham Salt, Chloride of
Potassa, Chloride of Silver, Chlorine Ethers, Citrate of Iron, Crabs' Claws, Crab Stones,
Cyanuret of Zinc, Diaphoretic Antimony, Dippel's Animal Oil, Ferrocyanuret of Zinc,
Glass of Antimony, Gold, Hydriodic Acid, Hydrocyanic Ether, Indelible Ink, Iodide of
Ammonium, Iodide of Arsenic, Iodide of Barium, Iodide of  Silver, Iodide of Starch,
Iodide of Zinc, Iodo-hydrargyrate of Potassium, Lactate of Iron, Lactic Acid, Muriatic
Ether, Artificial  Musk, Nitrate of Soda, Nitrosulphate of Ammonia, Oxalic  Acid, Oxide
of Silver, Platinum, Sesquinitrate of Iron, Solution of Hydriodate of Arsenic and Mer-
cury, Soot, Sulphate of Alumina, Sulphocyanuret of Potassium, Tannate of Lead, and
Tutty were written by Dr. Bache; the remainder  by Dr. Wood. 
1304
Appendix.
          II. ART OF  PRESCRIBING MEDICINES.

   The  physician  should  be acquainted  not  only with the  properties of
medicines, and the  diseases to which they are respectively applicable, but
also with  the art of prescribing them, so  that they may be adapted to the
peculiarities of individual patients, and, by the mode  in which  they are
administered, may produce the greatest curative effect with the least possible
inconvenience. In relation to these points, a few general rules will be useful
for the guidance of the young  practitioner, although much must be left to
his own judgment  and discretion.  We shall compress the remarks which
we have  to offer, under the two heads of the quantity or dose in which
medicines may be given, and the mode of their exhibition.
   1. Dose of Medicines.—In the body of the work, the quantity has been
stated in which each medicine must ordinarily be given to produce its pe-
culiar effects in the adult patient.  But  there are various  circumstances
which modify the dose, and demand attention on the part of the practitioner.
   The age of the patient is the most important  of these circumstances.  The
young require a smaller dose than those at maturity, to produce an equal
effect; and the old, though their systems  are, perhaps, less susceptible to
the action of medicines than those of the middle-aged, cannot bear an equally
forcible  impression.  The  following table  of Gaubius, exhibiting the doses
proportioned to the age, is  frequently referred  to.
    The dose for a person of  middle age being
    That of a person from 14 to 21 years will be
                          7 to 14  "
                          4 to  7  "      "
                       of 4 years         "
                          3   "           "
                          2   "           "
                          \   a           a

   We prefer the following simple scheme of Dr. Young, which we extract
from Paris's Pharmacologia.
   " For children under twelve  years, the doses of most medicines must be
diminished in the proportion of the age to  the  age increased by 12; thus at
                     2
two years  to \—viz, 9,19 =?• At twenty-one the full dose may be given."

   To the  above rule some exceptions are  offered in particular  medicines,
which require to be given to  children in much larger proportional doses
than those above stated.  Such are castor oil and calomel, a certain quantity
of which will in general not produce a greater  effect in  a child two or three
years old than double the quantity in an adult.
   Sex,  temperament, and  idiosyncrasy have  also  an  influence upon  the
dose, and  should be kept in view in prescribing.  Females usually require
somewhat smaller doses than  males, and  those of sanguine  temperament
than the phlegmatic.  Constitutional peculiarities, called idiosyncrasies, often
exist in  individuals,  rendering them more than  usually susceptible or insus-
ceptible  to the action of certain remedies, the dose of which must be  modified
accordingly.   Thus in some persons a grain or two of calomel  will excite
1	or	1 drachm,
§	or	2 scruples,
1 a	or	\ a drachm,
i 3	or	1 scruple,
1 4	or	15 grains,
1	or	10 grains,
1 8	or	8 grains,
1 T2	or	5 grains.
 
Appendix.
1305
salivation, while in others scarcely any quantity which can  be safely ad-
ministered will produce  this effect.   Sometimes, moreover,  a medicine
operates  on  an individual in a  manner wholly different from its ordinary
mode.  In all  such cases experience is  the only sure guide;  but the occa-
sional existence of these peculiarities indicates the propriety of making par-
ticular inquiries in relation to the idiosyncrasies of those patients, for whom
we may be called for the first time to prescribe.
   Habit is another important circumstance which modifies the dose of me-
dicines.  Generally speaking, the susceptibility to the action of medicines
is diminished by their frequent and continued use;  and in order to maintain
a given impression,  the  quantity must be  regularly increased.  This is
especially true in  regard  to the narcotics, which are sometimes borne in
enormous doses by those  habituated to their use.  It is a good practical rule
in prescribing, when  circumstances demand  the  continuance, for  a con-
siderable  length of time, of some particular effect, to vary the medicine, and
employ successively  several of the same general powers, so as not  too
rapidly to exhaust the susceptibility to the action of any individual remedy.
Another important practical rule connected with the  influence of habit is,
when any medicine, which from its nature is of variable strength, has been
employed for some time in increasing doses, to reduce the dose upon re-
sorting to a new parcel, until its relative strength has been ascertained.  A
neglect of this precaution, in cases where the last parcel happened to be
more powerful than that previously employed, has sometimes been followed
by very serious consequences.
   2.  Mode of Administering  Medicines.—This  has reference both to
the combination of medicines with one another, and the form in which they
are exhibited.
   Simplicity in prescription  is  always  desirable when no object is to be
gained  by deviating  from it.  Remedies should never be mixed together
without a definite purpose, nor with the vague hope that out of the number
prescribed some one may perchance produce a salutary impression.  Those
exceedingly complex  prescriptions, formerly so  much in vogue, of which
the ingredients were so numerous as to render altogether impossible a rea-
sonable estimate of their bearing on each other, or their effects on disease,
have  been generally abandoned by modern practitioners.  The only ground
upon which any of them can be justifiably retained is that, by very frequent
trials, through a long course of years, and in various states of disease, their
influence  on the system may have been  fully ascertained, so that they may
be considered  rather  in the light of a single remedy than a  compound of
many.  Upon  this ground, however, no prudent physician would attempt
to originate  such combinations.   In mixing medicines, he would proceed
no further than he would be justified in doing by a clear knowledge of the
properties and  mutual relations of the several ingredients,  and their  fitness
to answer some particular indication in the treatment of disease. There are
certain principles upon which medicines maybe advantageously combined,
and which it may not be  amiss to mention for the benefit of the  young
practitioner.
  Remedies of the same  general character may be given in connexion, in
order to increase their energy, or to render their action more certain.  It has
been well ascertained that substances thus combined will often act vigorously,
when severally they would produce comparatively little effect; and it some-
times happens that, while  their activity is  augmented, they are at the same
time rendered less irritating, as  in the case  of the drastic cathartics. (See
Pilulse  Cathartics Composite.) 
1306
Appendix.
  Different  medicines are very often mixed together, in order to meet dif-
ferent and coexisting indications, without  any reference to the influence
which  they may reciprocally exert on each other.   Thus in the same pa-
tient we  not unfrequentiy meet with debility of stomach and  constipation
of the bowels,  connected with  derangement of the hepatic function.   To
answer the indications presented  by these morbid conditions, we may pro-
perly combine in the same dose, a tonic, cathartic, and mercurial alterative.
For  similar reasons we  often unite tonics, purgatives, and emmenagogues,
anodynes and diaphoretics, emetics and cathartics, antacids, astringents, and
tonics; and scarcely two medicines can be mentioned, not absolutely incom-
patible with each other, which may not  occasionally be combined with ad-
vantage to counteract coexisting morbid  actions.
  Another very important object of combination, is the modification which
is thereby effected in the actions of medicines differing from each other in
properties.  In  this way new powers are sometimes developed, and those
previously existing are  greatly increased.   Examples of  such  a result are
afforded in the officinal powder of ipecacuanha and opium, and in the com-
bination  of  squill and calomel; the former operating as a diaphoretic, the
latter as  a diuretic, beyond the capabilities of either of  their constituents.
The effects of one medicine are, in numerous instances, increased  by the
influence of another in  augmenting the natural susceptibility of the  system
to  its action.  Thus  bitters  enable  cathartics to operate in  smaller  doses;
purgatives awaken the dormant susceptibility to the action of mercury;  and
stimulants excite the torpid stomach, so that it will receive impressions from
various medicines before inoperative.  In some  instances, the action of one
medicine is  promoted by that of another apparently of a nature wholly oppo-
site. Thus, when calomel and opium are given in colic, the purgative opera-
tion of the former is facilitated by the relaxation of intestinal spasm produced
by the latter.  Medicines, in addition to the effects for which they  are ad-
ministered, very frequently produce disagreeable symptoms,  which may be
moderated  or  altogether prevented by combination with other medicines;
and this object  may usually be  accomplished, without in the  least  degree
interfering with the remediate influence desired.  Thus the griping produced
by cathartics, and the nausea by  these  and various  other medicines, may
often be corrected by the simultaneous use of aromatics.   To  cover the
disagreeable taste or odour of certain medicines, and to afford a convenient
vehicle for their administration, are also  important objects of combination;
as upon these circumstances often depend the acceptability of the medicine
to the stomach,  and even the possibility of inducing the patient to swallow
it.  Substances should be preferred as vehicles which are calculated to render
the  medicine  acceptable to the palate and stomach, and in other ways to
correct its disagreeable effects; as syrups for powders, the aromatic waters
for medicines given in the form of mixture, and carbonic acid water for the
neutral salts.
   But in the mixing of medicines, care should be taken that they are neither
chemically nor  physiologically incompatible; in other words, that they are
not such as will react on each other so as to produce new and unexpected
combinations, nor such  as will exert contrary and opposite effects upon the
system.   Thus when the operation of  an  acid is desired, an alkali should
not be given at the same time, as they  unite to form a  third substance en-
tirely different  from either; nor should a soluble salt of lime, baryta, or lead,
be given with sulphuric acid or a soluble sulphate, as decomposition would
ensue, with the production of an  inert compound.   So also,  in  relation to
physiological  incompatibility, diaphoretics  and diuretics should  not,  as a 
Appendix.
1307
general rule, be united with a view to  their respective  effects; as these
are to a certain extent incompatible, one being diminished by  whatever
has a tendency to increase the other.  There are cases,  however, in which
we may advantageously combine medicines  with a view to their chemical
reaction, as in the instance of the effervescing draught; and circumstances
sometimes call for the union of remedies apparently opposite, as in the
case of colic  before alluded to,  in  which opium  may be advantageously
combined  with purgatives.   Still,  such combinations  should never  be
formed, unless with a full understanding of their effects, and a special refer-
ence to them.
   The form in which medicines are exhibited, is often an object of con-
siderable importance.  By variation, in this respect, according to the nature
of the  medicine, the taste of the patient, or the condition of the stomach, we
are frequently enabled to secure the favourable operation of remedies, which
without such attention might prove useless or injurious.  Medicines maybe
given in the solid state, as in the  form of powder, pill, troche, or electuary;
in the state of mixture,  in which a solid is suspended in a liquid, or one
liquid  is mechanically mixed with another in which it is insoluble; or in the
state of solution, under which may be included the various forms of infusion,
decoction,  tincture, wine, vinegar,  syrup, honey, and oxymel.   Of these
different forms we have already treated sufficiently at large, under their re-
spective heads, in the second part of this work.
   In writing extemporaneous prescriptions,  neatness,  order, and precision,
should always be observed; as, independently of the  pleasing moral effect
inseparable from these principles  in all things, a positive practical advantage
results, in the  greater accuracy which the habit  of attending to them gives
to the  prescriber, and the comparative certainty which they afford that his
directions will  be  strictly complied with.  As a general rule, when  medi-
cines are combined in prescription, that should come first in order which  is
considered as the most prominent and important, next  the adjuvant or corri-
gent,  and  lastly the vehicle.  Sometimes,  however,  it is important  to
indicate to the apothecary the  succession in which the substances should
be combined in reference to the perfection  of the mixture, and  this may
render convenient a deviation from  the order above mentioned.   The phy-
sician  should  always  be careful either  to write out the full name of the
medicine, or to employ such abbreviations as are not  likely, by the misun-
derstanding of an ill-formed letter, to lead  into error.   Very serious and
even  fatal  mistakes have been occasioned by a neglect of this precaution.
The formulae of the several Pharmacopoeias which are detailed in this work,
will serve as good examples for the guidance of the young practitioner.  The
following table explains the signs and abbreviations habitually used in pre-
scription.  The formulae afterwards given will serve to  illustrate the ordinary
mode  of prescribing, while  they exhibit combinations of medicines fre-
quently employed in practice.                                     W. 
1308
Appendix.
Table of Signs and Abbreviations.
R	Recipe.	Take.	pollyr.	Collyrium.	An eye-water.
aa	Ana.	Of each.	Cong.	Congius vel	A gallon or gal-
lb	Libra vel librae.	A pound or		Congii.	lons.
		pounds.	Decoct.	Decoctum.	A decoction.
^	Uncia vel unciae.	An ounce or	Ft.	Fiat.	Make.
		ounces.	Garg.	Gargarysma.	A gargle.
3	Drachma vel	A drachm or	.Gr.	Gran urn vel	A grain or
	drachmae.	drachms.		grana.	grains.
3	Scrupulus vel	A scruple or	bit.	Gutta vel guttae.	A drop or drops.
	scrupuli.	scruples.	Haust.	Haustus.	A draught.
O	Octarius vel oc-	A pint or pints.	Infus.	Infusum.	An infusion.
	tarii.		M.	Misce.	Mix.
f§	Fluiduncia vel	A fluidounce or	Mass.	Massa.	A mass.
	fluidunciae.	fluidounces.	Mist.	Mistura.	A mixture.
f3	Fluidrachina vel	A fluidrachm or	Pil.	Pilula vel pilulae.	A pill or pills.
	fluidrachmae.	fluidrachms.	Pulv.	Pulvis vel pulve-	A powder or
"l	Minimum vel	A minim or		res.	powders.
	minima.	minims.	as.	Quantum suffi-	A sufficient
Chart.	Chartula vel	A small paper or		cit.	quantity.
	Chartulae.	papers.	Is.	Signa.	Write.
Coch.	Cochlear vel cochlearia.	A spoonful or spoonfuls.	,Ss.	Semis.	A half.
Examples of Common Extemporaneous Prescriptions.

                            Powders.
R Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i.
   Pulveris Ipecacuanhas 9i.
   Fiat pulvis.
   S.  To be taken in a wineglassful of
sweetened water.
   An active emetic.

R Hydrargyri Chloridi  Mitis,
   Pulveris Jalapae, aa gr. x.
   Misce.
   S.  To be taken in syrup or molasses.
   An excellent cathartic in the commence.
ment of bilious fevers, and  in hepatic  con-
gestion.

R Pulveris Jalapae gr. x.
   Potassae Bitartratis gii.
   Misce.
   S.  To be taken in syrup or molasses.
   A hydragogue  cathartic used in dropsy
and scrofulous inflammation of the joints.

R Sulphuris gi.
   Potassae Bitartratis gii.
   Misce.
   S.  To be taken in syrup or molasses.
   A laxative, used in piles and cutaneous
diseases.

R Pulveris Rhei gr. x.
   Magnesias gss.
   Fiat pulvis.
   S. To be taken in syrup or molasses.
   A laxative and antacid, used in diarrhoea,
dyspepsia, &c.


R Pulveris Scillae gr.xii.
   Potassae Nitratis gi.
   Fiat pulvis, in chartulas sex dividendus.
   S. One to  be taken twice or three times
a day in syrup or molasses.
   A diuretic employed in dropsy.


R Potassae Nitratis gi.
   Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i.
   Hydrarg. Chlorid. Mitis gr. vi.
   Fiat pulvis, in chartulas sex dividendus.
   S. One  to be taken every two hours in
syrup or molasses.
   A refrigerant, diaphoretic, and altera-
tive, used in  bilious  fevers; usually called
nitrous  powders.

R Pulveris Guaiaci Resinae,
    Potassse Nitratis, aa. gi.
    Pulveris Ipecacuanhae gr. iii.
    Opii gr. ii.
    Fiat pulvis, in chartulas sex dividendus.
    S.  One to be taken every three hours in
syrup or molasses.
    A stimulant diaphoretic, used  in rheu-
matism and gout alter sufficient depletion. 
Appendix.
1309
R Ferri Subcnrbonatis,
   Pulveris Colombae,
   Pulveris Zingiberis, aa gi.
   Fiat pulvis, in chartulas  sex dividendus.
   S.  One to be taken three times a day in
syrup or molasses.
   A tonic, used  in dyspepsia and general
debility.
Pills.
gss.
day.
S. One to be taken two or three times a
R Pulveris Aloes,
   Pulveris Rhei, aa
   Saponis 9i.                                A diuretic and alterative, much used in
   Misce, et cum aqua, fiat massa in pilulas   dropsy, especially when complicated  with
viginti dividenda.                           organic visceral disease.
   S.  Two or three  to be taken  daily, at
 bed-time, or before a meal.
    An excellent laxative in habitual consti-
 pation.


 R  Massoe Pilularum Hydrargyri,
    Pulveris Aloes,
    Pulveris Rhei, aa 9i.
    Misce, et cum aqua fiat massa in pilulas
 viginti dividenda.
    S. Three to be taken at bed-time.
    An alterative and laxative, useful in con-
 stipation with deranged or deficient hepatic
 secretion.

 R  Pulveris Aloes,
    Extracti Quassiae, aa gi.
    Olei Anisi Tl^x.
    Syrupi, q. s.
    Misce, et fiat massa in pilulas  triginta
 dividenda.
    S.  Two to be taken once, twice, or three
 times a day.
    A laxative, tonic, and carminative, use-
 ful  in dyspepsia.

 R  Pulveris Scillae 9i.
    Hydrargyri Chloridi Mitis gr. x.
    Pulveris Acaciae,
    Syrupi, aa. q.  s.
    Misce, et fiat  massa in pilulas decern
dividenda.
 R  Pulveris Opii gr. iv.
    Pulveris Ipecacuanhae gr.  xviii.
    Pulveris Acaciae,
    Syrupi, aa q. s.
    Misce, et fiat massa in pilulas duodecim
 dividenda.
    S.  One to be taken after each stool.
    An anodyne diaphoretic, useful in dys-
 entery and diarrhoea after  the use of laxa-
 tives.

 R  Pulveris Opii,
    Pulveris Ipecacuanhae,  aa  gr. iii.
    Hydrargyri  Chloridi  Mitis gr. vi.
    Pulveris Acaciae,
    Syrupi, aa q. s.
    Misce, el fiat massa in  pilulas tres divi-
denda.
    S.  One or  more to be taken at bed-time,
or according to circumstances.
    An anodyne, diaphoretic, and  alterative,
very useful in diarrhaea, dysentery, typhoid
pneumonia, and various other  diseases.

R  Plumbi Acetatis in pulverem triti gr. xii.
    Pulveris Opii gr. i.
    Pulv. Acaciae,
    Syrupi, aa  q. s. ut fiat massa  in pilulas
sex dividenda.
    S.  One every two, three, or four hours.
    An  astringent much employed in  hae-
moptysis and uterine hemorrhage.
Mixtures.
R Magnesiaegi.
   Syrupi f^i.
   Tere simul, et affunde
   Aquae Acidi Carbonici f^fiv.
   Fiat  haustus.
   S.  To  be taken  at a draught, the mix-
ture  being well shaken.
   An agreeable  mode of  administering
magnesia.

R Mannaegi.
   Fceniculi  contusi gi.
   Aquae hullientis fgiv.
   Fiat infusum ct cola; dein adjice
   Magncsiae Carbonatis gii.
   Ft. mist.
        Ill
    S.  One third to be taken every three or
 four hours till it operates, the  mixture be-
 ing shaken.
    An excellent carminative and mild laxa-
 tive in flatulence and pain in the bowels.

 R  Olei Ricini f|i.
    Pulveris Acaciae,
    Sacchari, aa.  gii.
    Aquae Menthae Piperitae f^iii.
    Acaciam et saccharum cum fluidunci4
 dimidia aquae menthae tere; dein oleum ad-
jice, et contere;   dcnique aquam reliquam
paulitim infunde, et omnia misce.
    S.  To be taken at a draught, the mix-
ture being well shaken. 
1310
Appendix.
R OleiRicini fSji.
   Vitellum ovi  unius.
   Tere simul, et adde
   Syrupi f§*ss.
   Aquae Menthae Piperitae f,§ii.
   Ft. haust.
  S. To be taken at a draught, the mix-
ture being well shaken.
  This and the  preceding formula afford
convenient modes of administering castor
oil, when the stomach is irritable. Any other
fixed oil may be given in the same way*

R Olei Ricini f^iss.
   Tincturae Opii Tfjxxx.
   Pulv. Acaciae,
   Sacchari, aa gii.
   Aquae Menthae Viridis f^iv.
   Acaciamet saccharum cum paululoaquse
menthae tere; dein oleum adjice,  et iterum
tere; denique aquam  reliquam paulatim in-
funde, et omnia misce.
   S.  A tablespoonful  to be taken every
hour or two hours till it operates, the mix-
ture being each time well shaken.
   Used as  a  gentle laxative in dysentery
and diarrhoea.  It is  usually known by the
name of oleaginous mixture.

R Elaterii gr. i.
   Spiritus vEtheris Nitrici f^ii.
   Tincturae Scillae,
   Oxymellis Colchici, aa f^ss.
   Syrupi, fgi.
   Ft. mist.
   S.  A teaspoonful to be taken three or
four times a day in a little water.
   Diuretic, used by Ferriar  in dropsy.

R Copaibae,
   Spiritus Lavandulae Comp. aa  fgii.
   Mucilaginis Acaciae f§ss.
   Syrupi fgiii.
   Simul tere; dein paulatim  affunde
   Aquae f§iv.
   Misce.
   S.  A tablespoonful to be taken four times
a day or more frequently.
   Given in chronic catarrhs, and chronic
nephritic affections.    The  dose must be
larger in gonorrhoea.

            Neutral Mixture.
R Acidi Citrici  gii.
   Olei Limonis TTLi.
   Simul tere et adde
   Aquae f'3"iv.
   Liqua, et adde
   Potassae Carbonatis q. s. ad saturand.
   Misce ct per  lintcum cola.

                  Or
R Succi Limonis recentis f^iv.
   Potassae Carbonatis q. s. ad saturandum.
   Misce et cola.
   S. A tablespsoonful to be given with an
equal quantity of water every hour or two
hours.
   An excellent diaphoretic in fever.

          Effervescing Draught.
R Potassae Carbonatis gii.
   Aquae f^iv.
   Liqua.

                   Or
R Potassae Bicarbonatis giii.
   Aquae f^iv.
   Liqua.
   S. Add a tablespoonful of the solution to
the same quantity  of lemon or  lime-juice,
previously  mixed  with  a tablespoonful of
water; and give the mixture, in the state of
effervescence, every hour or two hours.
   An excellent diaphoretic and anti-emetic
in fever  with nausea or vomiting.

             Brown Mixture.
R Pulv. Extract. Glycyrrhizae,
   Pulv. Acaciae, aa gii.
   Aquae ferventis f^iv.
   Liqua, et adde
   Vini Antimonii fgii.
   Tincturae Opii  Tt|_xx.
   Ft. Mist.
   S. A tablespoonful to be taken occasion-
ally.
   Expectorant, demulcent, and anodyne,
useful in catarrhal affections.

R Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i.
   Syrupi  Scillae,
   Liquoris Morphiae Sulphatis, aa f 3"ss.
   Pulveris Acaciae gii.
   Syrupi  f§*ss.
   Aquae fluvialis  f§iv.
   Ft. Mist.
   S. A tablespoonful to be taken occasion-
ally.
   An expectorant and anodyne cough mix-
ture.

R Acidi Nitrosi fgi.
   Tincturae Opii git. xl.
   Aquae Camphorae f^viii.
   Misce.
   S. One-fourth to be taken every three or
four hours.
   Hope's mixture, used in dysentery, diar-
rhoea, and cholera.

R Camphorae gi.
   Myrrhae gss.
   Pulv. Acaciae,
   Sacchari, aa gii.
   Aquae f^vi.
   Camphoram  cum alcoholis  paululo  in
pulverem tere; dein cum  myrrha, acacia,
et saccharo contere; dcnique cum aqua, pau-
latim instillata  misce. 
Appendix.
1311
   S. A tablespoonful to be taken for a dose,
the mixture being well  shaken.
   A convenient form for  administering
camphor.

R Cretae Praeparatae 9iv.
   Massae Pil. Hydrarg. gr. viii.
   Tincturae Opii gtt. viii.
   Pulveris Acaciae,
   Sacchari, aa gi.
   Aquae  Cinnamomi,
   Aquae, aa fgi.
   Solida simul tere, dein liquida paulatim
inter terendum adjice, et omnia  misce.
   S. A teaspoonful to  be taken for a dose,
the mixture being well shaken.
   An antacid and alterative mixture, well
adapted to  infantile diarrhoea  with white
R Magnesiae Sulphatis 3" i.
   Syrupi Limonis f^i.
   Aquae Acidi Carbonici f^vi.
   Misce.
   S. To be  taken at a draught.
   An  agreeable  mode of  administering
sulphate of magnesia.
R Potassae Nitratis gi."
   Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i.
   Aquae fluvialis f^iv.
   Liqua.
   S. A tablespoonful  to be taken every
two hours.
   A refrigerant diaphoretic used in fevers.
R  Sennae giii.
    Magnesiae Sulphatis,
    Mannae. aa 3*ss.
    Fceniculi gi.
    Aquae bullientis Oss.
    Macera per horam in vase leviter clauso
et cola.
    S.  Give a teacupful every three or four
hours  till it operates.
    An excellent purgative  in  febrile com-
plaints.

R  Colombae contusae,
    Zingiberis contusi, aa. 3*ss.
    Sennae gii.
    Aquae bullientis Oi.
    Macera per horam in vase leviter clauso
et cola.
    S.  A wineglassful to be taken morning,
noon,  and evening, or less  frequently if it
operate too much.
    An excellent  remedy in dyspepsia with
constipation  and flatulence.
stools.   The dose mentioned is for a child
a year or two old, and may be repeated four
or six times in twenty-four hours.

R Pulveris Kino gii.
   Aquae bullientis f^vi.
   Fiat infusum et cola; dein  secundum
artem admisce
   Cretae Praeparatae giii.
   Tincturae Opii  fgss.
   Spiritus Lavandulae Compositi f^ss.
   "Pulveris Acaciae,
   Sacchari, aa gii.
   S. A tablespoonful to be taken for a dose,
the mixture being  well shaken.
   Astringent and  antacid, useful in diar-
rhoea.
R Magnesiae Sulphatis 3*i.
   Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i.
   Succi Limonis recentis f^i.
   Aquae f 3*iii.
   Misce.
   S. A tablespoonful to be taken every two
hours till it operates upon the bowels.
   Useful in fevers.

R Quiniae Sulphatis gr. xii.
   Acidi Sulphurici Aromatici Tfjxx.
   Syrupi f^ss.
   Aquae  Menthae Piperitae f^i.
   Misce.
  S. A teaspoonful to be taken every hour
or two hours.
   A good mode of administering sulphate
of quinia in  solution.
R Spigeliae 3*ss.
   Sennae gii.
   Mannae 3*i.
   Fceniculi gii.
   Aquae bullientis Oi.
   Macera per horam in vase leviter clauso
et cola.
   S. A wineglassful to be given to a child
from two to four  years old, three  or four
times a  day.
   A powerful anthelmintic.
R Pulveris Cinchonae Rubrae 3 i.
   Acidi Sulphurici Aromatici fgi.
   Aquae Oi.
   Macera  per horas  duodecim, subinde
agitans.
   S. A wineglassful of the clear liquid to
be taken for a dose.
   A good method of administering Peru-
vian bark in  cold infusion.
Solutions.
Infusions.
f 
1312                        Appendix.


      III.  TABLES OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

      APOTHECARIES' WEIGHT.  U. S., Lond., Ed., Dub.
Pound.	Ounces.	Drachms.	Scruples.		Grains.
ibl	= 12	= 96	288	=	5760
	3 1	= 8	24	=	480
		* 31 =	3	=	60
			9 i	=	gr.20
  The Imperial Standard Troy weight at present recognised by the British
laws, corresponds with the  Apothecaries' weight in pounds, ounces,  and
grains, but differs from it in the division of the ounce, which, according to
the former scale, contains twenty pennyweights, each weighing twenty-four
grains.

                   AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT.

            Pound.     Ounces.       Drachms.       Troy grains.
            lb ]  =    16   =    256    =    7000
                     oz. 1   =     16    =     437-5
                                 dr. 1    =    gr. 27*34375

          Relative Value of Troy and Avoirdupois Weights.
 Pound.                 Pounds.                 Pound.    Oz.    Grains.
    1 Troy       =   0-822857 Avoirdupois =  0      13    72-5
    1 Avoirdupois  =   1-215277 Troy       =1       2   280

      APOTHECARIES' OR WINE MEASURE. U. S., Dub.
    Gallon.  Pints.  Fluidounces.   Fluidrachms.      Minims.      Cubic Inches.
  Cong. 1 = 8 =   128   =   1024  =   61440  =   231
           01 =    16   =    128  =    7680  =    28875
                   fg 1   =       8  =     480  =     1 -8047
                               f3 1   ■=    n\, 60  =      -2256

                     IMPERIAL  MEASURE,
           Adopted by the London and Edinburgh Colleges.
Gallon.	Pints.	Fluidounces.	Fluidrachms.	Minims.
1 =	8	= 160 =	1280 =	76800
	1	-= 20 = 1 =	160 = 8 = 1 =	9600 480 60
        Relative Value of Apothecaries' and Imperial Measure.

apothecaries' measure.                    imperial measure.
                                    Pints. Fluidounces. Fluidrachms. Minims.
    1 gallon           =             6
    1 pint             =
    1 fluidounce       =
    1 fluidrachm       =
13	2	23
16	5	18
1	0	20
	1	n
 
Appendix.
1313
imperial measure.
apothecaries measure.
1 gallon
1 pint
1 fluidounce
1 fluidrachm
Gallon.	Pints.	Fluidoz.	Fluidr.	Minir
1	1	9	5	8
	1	3	1 7	38 41 58
Relative  Value of  Weights and Measures  in Distilled  Water at
                          60° Fahrenheit.
1.
Value of Apothecaries' Weight in Apothecaries' Measure.
1 pound   =
1 ounce   =
1 drachm  =
1 scruple  =
1 grain    =
0-7900031 pints
1*0533376 fluidounces
1.0533376 fluidrachms
Pints.
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
Fluidoz.
  12
   1
   0
   0
   0
Fluidr.
  5
  0
  1
  0
  0
 Minims.
 7*2238
25*6020
 3*2002
21*0667
 1*0533
1 gallon      = 10*12654270 pounds  ■■ = 10
1 pint        =   1-26581783 pounds  =  1
1 fluidounce  =   0-94936332 ounces  =  0
1 fluidrachm  =   0-94936332 drachms =  0
1 minim      =   0.94936332 grains   =
Pounds. Oz. Dr. Sc.  Gr.
2. Value of Apothecaries' Measure in Apothecaries' Weight.
                                                      Grains.
                                             8-88 =58328-886
                                            11*11 =  7291*1107
                                            18*69 =   455*6944
                                            16-96 =    56-9618
                                                          •9493
3. Value of Avoirdupois Weight in Apothecaries' Measure.
1 pound = 0*9600732 pints        =
1 ounce = 0*9600732 fluidounces  =
Pints. Fluidounces. Fluidrachms.  Minims.
 0       15       2    53*3622
 0        0       7    40*8351
4. Value of Apothecaries' Measure in Avoirdupois Weight.
1 gallon      =
1 pint        =
1 fluidounce  =
8*33269800 pounds.
1*04158725 pounds.
1*04158725 ounces.
   In converting the weights of liquids heavier or lighter than water into
measures, or conversely, a correction  must be made for specific gravity.
In converting weights  into measures, the calculator may proceed as if the
liquid was water, and the obtained measure will  be to the true measure in-
versely as the specific gravity.  In the converse operation, of turning mea-
sures into weights, the same  assumption may be made, and the obtained
weight will be to the true weight directly as the specific gravity.

                 FORMER  FRENCH  WEIGHTS.
Pound.           Marc.  Onces.
1 FoidsdeMarc  =  2  = 16 =
1 Apothecary    =  1-5 = 12 =

                        1 =
Gros.
128 :
 96
 64 :
1 =
Deniers.
  384 !
i  288
.  192
   24
    3
    1
Grains,   Troy Grains.    Grammes.
 9216  =   7561   = 469-5058
 6912  = . 5670-5  = 367-1294
 4608  =   3780-5  = 244-7529
  576  =   472-5  = 30-5941
   72  =    59-1  =  3-8242
   24  =    19*7  =  1*2747
   1  =     0-8  =   -0530
111 
1314
Appendix.
Relative  Value of Old French and English  Weights.
Poids de Marc. 1 pound 1 once (ounce) 1 gros (drachm) 1 grain	Troy Weight. Avoirdupois. = 1*312680 ft = 1-080143 ft = = -984504 oz.= 1*080143 oz. = = -954504 dr. =	Troy Grains. 7561 472-5625 59-0703125 ■820421
Troy. 1 pound 1 ounce 1 drachm 1 grain	Poids de Marc. = 0*76180 ft = = 1*01574 onces = = 1*01574 gros =	French Grains. 7561 585*083 73135 1*219
Avoirdupois. 1 pound 1 ounce	Poids de Marc. = 0-925803 ft = = 0-925803 once =	French Grains. 8532-3 533-27
To convert French grains into Troy grains, divide by    ,
 --------Troy grains into French grains, multiply by  '
 --------French ounces into Troy ounces, divide by
 --------Troy ounces into French ounces, multiply by
 --------French pounds (poids de marc) into Troy
                                pounds, multiply by
 --------Troy pounds into French pounds, divide by
1-2189
1*015734
1*31268
       FRENCH DECIMAL WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES.

  The French metrical system is based upon  the idea of employing, as the
unity of all measures, whether of length, capacity, or weight, a uniform un-
changeable standard, adopted from nature, the  multiples and subdivisions of
which should follow in  decimal  progression.   To obtain  such  a standard,
the length of one-fourth part of the terrestrial  meridian, extending from the
equator to the  pole, was ascertained.  The ten millionth part of  this arc
was chosen as the unity of measures of length, and was denominated metre.
The cube of the tenth part  of the metre was taken as the unity  of mea-
sures of capacity, and denominated litre.   The weight of distilled water,
at its greatest density, which this cube is capable of  containing, was called
kilogramme, of which  the  thousandth part was adopted as the  unity of
weight, under the name  of  gramme.   The multiples of these measures,
proceeding in the decimal progression, are distinguished by  employing the
prefixes, deca, hecto,kilo, and myria, taken from the Greek numerals; and
the subdivisions, following  the  same order, by deci, centi,  mill, from the
Latin numerals.
The metre, or unity of length, at 32° =  39*371
The litre, or unity of capacity,      =  61*028
The gramme, or unity of weight,    =  15*434
English inches at 62°.
English cubic inches.
Troy grains.
  Upon this basis the following tables, which we take with some slight alte-
rations from the Edinburgh New Dispensatory, have been constructed.  It
was  ascertained  by accurate examination at the London Mint, that the
gramme is only 15*434 Troy grains, diough sometimes stated at  15-444
grains. 
Appendix.
1315
MEASURES OF LENGTH.
The metre being at 32°, and the foot at 62c
Millimetre
Centimetre
Decimetre
Metre
Decametre
Hectometre
Kilometre
Myriametre
English Inches.				
•03937				
•39371				
3-93710	Miles.	Fur. Yards.	Feet.	Inches.
39-37100 =	0	0 1	0	3-371
393-71000 =	0	0 10	2	9-710
3937*10000 =	0	0 109	1	1-100
39371-00000 =	0	4 213	1	11-000
39371000000 =	6	1 156	1	2-000
MEASURES OF CAPACITY.
Millilitre
Centilitre
Decilitre
Litre
Decalitre
Hectolitre
Kilolitre
Myrialitre
Milligramme
Centigramme
Decigramme
Gramme
Decagramme
Hectogramme
Kilogramme
Myriagramme
English Cubic Inches.	Apothecaries	' Measure.
•061028 =	16-2318	minims.
•610280 =	2-7053	fluidrachms.
6102800 =	3-3816 fluidounces.	
61-028000 =	2-1135	pints.
610-280000 =	2-6419	gallons.
6102-800000		
61028000000		
610280-000000		
MEASURES OF WEIGHT.		
Troy Grains.		
•0154		
•1543		
1-5434		
15-4340	lb. oz.	dr. gr.
154 3402 =	0 0	2 34-3
1543.4023 =	0 3	1 43-4
15434.0234 =	2 8	1 14-
154340-2344 =	26 9	4 20
  Though the decimal system of weights and measures was established by
law in France, it was found impossible to procure its general adoption by the
people, who obstinately adhered to the old poids de marc and its divisions;
or, if they adopted the new weights, gave them the names of the old weights
to which they most nearly approached.  Thus the kilogramme, which is
equal to 18,827 ffa French grains, or 2 pounds 5 gros 35 y1^ grains poids
de marc, was divided into two parts, and the half of it called apound. One
reason for this adherence to the old weights was the convenience of division
into  halves, quarters, &c,  of which the new  were not susceptible.   To
obviate this difficulty the imperial government legalized the employment
of the half kilogramme as the unity of weight, under the name of pound, and
allowed this to be divided  into half pounds, quarters, eighths, ounces, &c,
as in the old poids de marc.  The new pound is distinguished by the name
of metrical pound, and has been adopted to a  considerable extent; while  the
old weights are retained  by some, particularly by the apothecaries and gold- 
1316
Appendix.
smiths;  so that three systems are now more or less in use in France—the
original poids de marc, the decimal system, and the metrical pound with its
divisions.   The  following table represents the relative value of these dif-
ferent weights.
Decimal System.	Poids de Marc.			Metrical Pound.	
	lb oz. dr.	gr*		ft OZ.	dr. gr.
1 centigramme =	000	0*19	=	0 0	0 0*18
1 decigramme =	0 0 0	1-88	=	0 0	0 1*84
1 gramme =	0 0 0	18*83	=	0 0	0 18*43
1 decagramme =	0 0 2	44.27	=	0 0	2 40*32
1 hectogramme =	0 3 2	10*71	=	0 3	1 43*2
1 kilogramme =»	2 0 5	35*15	=	2 0	0 0
Poids de Marc.	Grammes.	Metrical Pound.			Grammes.
1 grain =	00531	1 grain			0054
24 grains or Bi =	1 -2747	24 gr	ains or 3i =		1-302
72 grains or 31 =	3-8242	72 grains		or 31 =	3-906
1 ounce =	30-5941	1 ounce			31*25
1 pound =	489*5058	1 pound			: 500*
}
Pound.	Ounce.	Drachm.	Scruple.	Grain.
5670*5	472-50	59.10	19-70	0-820
5320*4	443-49	55*44	18-47	0-769
5240*3	436-67	54.58	18-19	0-758
52350	436-25	54-53	18-17	0-757
6495*1	541*25	67-65	22-55	1-127
5524-8   460-40    57'55   19-18    0-960
  The following table is taken  from Christison's Dispensatory, and was
calculated chiefly from data furnished in Soubeiran's Traite de Pharmacie.

Table of certain foreign Apothecaries' Weights, exhibiting the value of
            their different denominations in Troy Grains.

French (old)
Spanish
Tuscan
Roman
Austrian
German or
Nuremburg
Russian
Prussian
Dutch
Belgian
Swedish
Piedmontese
Venetian

  Of these weights, all,  except the French, Spanish, Tuscan, and Roman,
(first named in the table,) are divided into parts  corresponding with those
of the English Apothecaries' weight.  In these four, the drachm contains
72 instead of 60 grains,  and the  scruple 24 instead of 20 grains; but, as in
the English, there are 3 scruples in  the drachm,  8 drachms in the ounce,
and 12 ounces in the pound.
5415-1	451-26	56-40	18-80	0-940
5695-8	474-64	59-33	19.78	0-988
5500-2	458-34	57-29	19-09	0-954
4744-7	395-39	49-45	16-48	0-824
4661-4	388-45	48-55	16-18	0809
               APPROXIMATE MEASUREMENT.

  For the sake of convenience, in the absence of proper instruments, we
often make use of means of measurement, which, though not precise  nor
uniform, afford results sufficiently accurate for ordinary purposes.  Of this
kind are certain household implements, of a capacity approaching to uni- 
Appendix.
1317
formity, and corresponding to a certain extent  with the regular standard
measures.  Custom  has  attached a fixed value to these implements, with
which it  is proper that the practitioner should be familiar;  although  their
capacity, as they are now made, generally somewhat exceeds that at which
they were originally and  still  continue to be estimated.

  A tea-cup is estimated  to contain about four fluidounces, or a gill.
  A wineglass      ...     - two fluidounces.
  A tablespoon (cochlear magnum)    - half a fluidounce.
  A teaspoon (cochlear parvum)      - a fluidrachm.

  Small  quantities of liquid medicines are often estimated by drops, each
of which is usually considered equivalent to a minim, or the sixtieth part of
a fluidrachm.  The  drop of water and of watery fluids is, on an average,
about this size; but  the same is by no means the  case with  all medicinal
liquids, and the drop even of the same fluid varies exceedingly in bulk,
according to the  circumstances under which it is formed.  This  is, there-
fore, a very uncertain mode of estimating the quantity of liquids, and should
be entirely superseded in the  shops, where minim measures may be had.
  The results stated  in the following table were obtained by Mr. E. Durand,
of Philadelphia.  (See Journ.  of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, 1.
169.)  They may be relied on as accurate; but should be considered as
indicating only the relative number of drops afforded by the several liquids
mentioned; for, under other circumstances than those of Mr. Durand's ex-
periments,  entirely different results might be  obtained  as relates to each
liquid.  The preparations experimented with were those of the first edition
of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
Table, exhibiting the number of Drops of different Liquids, equivalent
                          to a Fluidrachm.
	Drops.		Drops.
Acid Acetic (crystallizable)	120	Tincture of Assafetida, of Fox-	
Acid Hydrocyanic (medicinal)	45	glove, of Guaiac, of Opium,	120
Acid Muriatic	54	Tincture of Muriate of Iron	132
Acid Nitric	84	Vinegar, Distilled	78
Acid Nitric, Diluted (1 to 7)	51	Vinegar of Colchicum	78
Acid Sulphuric	90	Vinegar of Opium (black drop)	78
Acid Sulphuric, Aromatic	120	Vinegar of Squill	78
Acid Sulphuric, Diluted (1 to 7)	51	Water, Distilled	45
Alcohol (rectified spirit)	138	Water of Ammonia (strong)	54
Alcohol, Diluted (proof spirit)	120	Water of Ammonia (weak)	45
Arsenite of Potassa, solution of	57	Wine (Teneriffe)	78
Ether, Sulphuric	150	Wine, Antimonial	72
Oil of Aniseed, of Cinnamon,		Wine of Colchicum	75
of Cloves, of Peppermint, of		Wine of Opium	78
Sweet Almonds, of Olives	120		
 
131S
Appendix.
IV. ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF PHARMACEUTICAL
                        EQUIVALENTS.
Names.                   Composition and Symbol.\      Equivalent.
, acetic -	-	-	3H+4C+30	51-48
crystallized	-	-	1 acid+1 water	60-48
antimonic	-	-	2Sb+50	169-2
antimonious	-	-	2Sb+40	161-2
arsenic	-	-	2As + 50	115-4
arsenious	-	-	2As + 30	99-4
benzoic	-	-	5H+14C + 30	114-68
crystallized	-	-	1 acid + 1 water	123-68
boracic	-	-	B + 30	34.9
camphoric (protohydrated)		-	8H + 10C+4O	101-2
carbonic	-	-	C+20	22-12
chloric	-	-	Cl + 50	75-42
chlorous	-	-	Cl+40	67*42
citric	■	-	2H+4C+40	58*48
cyanic	-	-	Cy+O	34*39
gallic (dried at 212°)	-	-	3H+7C + 50	85-84
hydriodic	-	-	H+I	127-3
hydrocyanic (prussic)	-	-	H + Cy	27-39
hydrosulphuric (sulphuretted hydrogen) H + S				17-1
hypochlorous	-	-	Cl+O	43-42
hyponitrous	-	-	N+30	38-15
hypophosphorous	-	-	P+O	39-4
hyposulphuric	-	-	2S+50	72-2
hyposulphurous	-	-	2S+20	48-2
iodic	-	-	1 + 50	166-3
kinic (crystallized) -	-	-	6H+7C + 60	96-84
meconic (dried at 212°)	-	-	4H + 14C + 140	201-68
muriatic	-	-	H+Cl	36-42
nitric	.	-	N + 50	54-15
liquid, sp. gr. 1-5	-	-	1 acid+11 water	67-65
nitrous	-	-	N+40	46*15
  * This table includes the equivalents of all the simple bodies, although several of
them are not used in medicine.  It also embraces a lew compounds which are not
used in pharmacy, but which are inserted on account of their general importance.
  f By modern  chemists, the simple bodies  are designated by letters called symbols.
The initial letter of the  name is  the symbol, whenever it is distinctive; but when
several simple bodies have names beginning with the same letter, the plan adopted is
to represent one of them by the initial  letter, and the rest by the initial letter, with
some other associated with it.  Thus C stands for carbon, Cd for cadmium, Ca for
calcium, Ce for cerium, CI for chlorine, Cr for chromium, Co for cobalt, Cu for cop-
per, &c.  The use of these symbols saves time  and space in designating the com-
position of compounds.  Where a single equivalent is intended to be designated,  the
symbol of the body is simply given; but where several equivalents are to be repre-
sented, the symbol is  preceded by a figure, indicating the  number.  Thus C means
one equivalent of carbon; 2C, two equivalents, and so on.  The group of letters  and
figures, thus used to denote the composition of any body, is called the formula of
such body. In all cases, the constitution of compounds, however complex, may be
expressed by formulae; but in the above table this mode of notation is adopted only
for the less complex compounds.  These symbols are those employed  by Berzelius,
and should not be varied from, for fear of destroying their usefulness by creating
confusion. 
Appendix.
1319
Names.	Composition and Symbol.	Equivalent.
Acid, oxalic ....	2C + 30	36-24
crystallized -	1 acid + 3 water	63-24
sublimed - . - -	1 acid+1 water	45-24
phosphoric -	P + 50	71*4
phosphorous - - - -	P + 30	55*4
prussic. See, Acid, hydrocyanic.		
succinic (anhydrous)	2H+4C+30	50-48
sublimed - - - -	2 acid + 1 water	109-96
sulphuric -	S + 30	40*1
liquid, sp. gr. 1*845	1 acid+1 water	49-1
sulphurous -	S+20	32-1
tannic (tannin from galls) -	8H + 18C + 120	214*16
tartaric ....	2H+4C + 50	66-48
crystallized -	1 acid+1 water	75.48
Alcohol -	1 etherine+2 water	46*48
Alum. See Sulphate of alumina and potassa.		
Alumina.....	2A1+30	51*4
tersulphate (salt in alum) -	3 acid+1 base	171*7
Aluminium -	Al	13*7
Amide .....	N+2H	16*15
Ammonia.....	N + 3H	17*15
acetate -	1 acid + 1 base	68*63
bicarbonate -	2 acid+1 base	61*39
bihydrosulphate ...	2 acid + 1 base	51*35
carbonate -	1 acid+1 base	39*27
hydrosulphate (hydrosulphuret)	1 acid + 1 base	34-25
muriate (sal ammoniac)	1 acid + 1 base	53-57
nitrate.....	1 acid + 1 base	71-3
sesquicarbonate -	3 acid+2 base	100-66
hydrated (med. carbonate) -	1 salt+2 water	118-66
sulphate -	1 acid + 1 base	57-25
Ammonium - - - - -	N+4H	18-15
Antimony, or stibium -	Sb	64-6
oxychloride (powder Algaroth)	9 sesquiox.+2 sesquichl.	1849*72
oxysulphuret 1 sesquiox. + 5	sesquisulph. + 16 water	1184*7
sesquichloride (butter of antimony) 2Sb + 3Cl		235*46
sesquioxide (med. oxide) -	2Sb + 30	153*2
sesquisulphuret (med. sulphuret)	2Sb+3S	177*5
tartrate of sesquioxide	1 acid+1 base	219*68
Arsenic.....	As	37*7
protosulphuret (realgar) -	As+S	53*8
sesquisulphuret (orpiment)	2As+3S	123.7
Atropia.....	23H+34C + 60+N	293*23
Barium.....	Ba	68*7
chloride.....	Ba+Cl	104*12
crystallized ...	1 salt+2 water	122*12
Baryta......	Ba+O	76*7
» carbonate ....	1 acid + 1 base	98*82
hydrate - - - - -	1 water+1 base	85*7
muriate. See Barium, chloride.		
nitrate.....	1 acid + 1 base	130*85
sulphate.....	1 aeid+1 base	116*8
Benzule -	5H+14C+20	106*68
 
1320
Appendix.
Names.	Composition and Symbol.	Equivalent.
Bismuth ...	Bi	71
protoxide	Bi + O	79
trisnitrate of protoxide	1 acid+ 3 base	291*51
Black oxide of manganese.	See Manganese, deutoxide.	
     oxide of mercury.   See Mercury, protoxide.
Blue vitriol.  See Copper, sulphate of protoxide.
Borax.   See Soda, biborate.
Boron             .....B                10-9
Bromine           .....Br               78*4
Brucia             -    -     -       25H+44C+70+2N      378-58
Cadmium          .....Cd               55-8
Caffein            ....     8C+5H-1-2N+20       98-26
Calamine.   See Zinc, carbonate of protoxide.
Calcium           .....Ca               20-5
     chloride.....Ca + Cl             55-92
         crystallized    ....  1 salt+6 water       109-92
Calomel.  See Mercury, protochloride.
Camphene          - '  -     -    -   8H + 10C                 69-2
Camphor         ....   8H + 10C + O             77*2
Carbon            .....       C                6*12
Caustic potassa.   See Potassa, hydrate.
     soda.   See Soda, hydrate.
Cerium            .....Ce               46
Ceruse.  See Lead, carbonate of protoxide.
Chalk.   See Lime, carbonate.
Chlorine          .....CI               35-42
Chromium         .....       Cr               28
Cinchonia         ....  12H+20C + O + N        156-55
     disulphate.....1 acid+2 base        353-2
     sulphate.....1 acid+1 base        196-65
Cinnabar.  See Mercury, bisulphuret.
Cobalt            .....Co               29-5
Codeia            ....  20H + 35C + 5O+N       288-35
Columbium or tantalum      ...       Ta              185
Common salt.  See Sodium, chloride.
Copper or cuprum      ....       Cu               31*6
     acetate of protoxide       ...  1 acid + 1 base         91*08
         crystallized    ....  lsalt+1 water       100*08
     black or protoxide   ....    Cu + O             39*6
     diacetate of protoxide  (verdigris)     -  1 acid+2 base        130*68
     red or dioxide      ....   2Cu + 0             71-2
     sulphate of protoxide (blue vitriol)   -  1 acid + 1 base         79-7
         crystallized                   -  1 salt+5 water       124-7
Corrosive sublimate.  See Mercury, bichloride.
Cream of tartar.  See Potassa, bitartrate.
Creasote.....9H + 14C + 20           110-68
Cyanogen......2C + N = Cy        26-39
DlDYMlUM......       jj                   I
Epsom salt.   See Magnesia,  sulphate.
Ethal        -     -    -     .'   .   34H + 32C+20           245*84
Ether, acetic      -    -     - 1 acid+1 etherine+1 water        88*96
     hydric (sulphuric)   -     -    -    1 etherine+1 water        37-48
     hyponitrous (nitric) -       1 acid+1 etherine+ 1 water        7563 
Appendix.
1321
           Names.
Ether, muriatic    ...
     nitric.  See Elher, hyponitrous
     sulphuric.  See Ether, hyclric.
Ethereal oil.   See Sulphate of ether and etherine
Composition and Symbdl.
     1 acid+1 etheiine
See Zinc, protoxide.
Etherine
Ethule
Feirocyanogen
Flowers of zinc.
Fluorine
Glauber's salt.   See Soda, sulphate
Glucina            ...
Glucinium         -     -     -
Gold or Aurum    -
Goulard's extract.   See Lead, diacetate of protoxide.
Green vitriol.   See Iron, sulphate of protoxide.
Heavy oil of wine.   See Sulphate of ether and etherine.
4H+4C
5H + 4C
Fe + 3Cy
2G + 30
   G
   Au
Equivalent.
    64-9
 28*48
 29*48
107-17

 18-68

 77
 26-5
199-2
 Hydrogen
     protoxide  (water)   ...
 Iodine           ....
 Iridium           ....
 Iron or ferrum   -
     bitartrate of sesquioxide
     black oxide (med. oxide)
     bromide      -
     carbonate of protoxide
     ferrocyanuret (pure Prussian blue)
     magnetic black oxide
     protiodide  (med. iodide)
         crystallized
     protocyanuret      -    _     -
     protoxide          ...
     red or sesquioxide
         hydrated      ...
     sesquichloride     .    -     -
     subarseniate of protoxide
     sulphate of protoxide (green vitriol)
         crystallized
     tartrate of  protoxide
     tartrate of  sesquioxide
     teracetate of sesquioxide
Lantanium       ....
Lead or plumbum
     acetate of  protoxide (sugar of lead)
         crystallized    -
     carbonate of protoxide (white lead)
     chloride      ....
     deutoxide  (puce oxide)
     diacetate of protox. (Goulard's ext.)
     iodide        -
     nitrate of protoxide
     protoxide (massicot)
     red oxide (red lead or minium)
Lime       .....
       112
         H                 1
       H + O               9
          I               126-3
         Ir               98-8
         Fe               28
   2 acid+1 base         212-96
 2 protox.+ 1 sesquiox.    152
      Fe + Br            1064
-  1 acid+1 base          58*12
     7Fe + 9Cy          433-51
 1 protox.+ 1 sesquiox.    116
      Fe + I             154-3
-   lsalt+5water        199-3
      Fe + Cy            5439
      Fe + O              36
     2Fe + 30            80
- 1 oxide+ 2 water         98
     2Fe + 3Cl           162*26
-  1 acid+ 4 base         259*4
   1 acid + 1 base          76*1
-   1 salt+7 water        139*1
-  1 acid+1 base         102-48
-  1 acid + 1 base         146-48
-  3 acid + 1 base         234-44
         La                ?
         Pb               103-6
   1 acid+1 base         163-08
    1 salt + 3 water        190-08
   1 ac'ul + 1 base'         133-72
      Pb + Cl             139-02
     Pb+20            119-6
   1 acid+2 base         274-68
      Pb + I             229-9
   1 acid + 1 base         165-75
      Pb + O             111-6
    3Pb + 40           342-8
      Ca+O              28-5 
1322                          Appendix.
            Names.
 Lime, bone-phosphate
     carbonate (chalk)  -
     chlorinated        ...
     hydrate (slaked lime)
     muriate.   See Calcium, chloride.
     oxalate       .....
     tartrate       .....
 Lithium          .....
 Lunar caustic.   See Silver, nitrate of oxide.
 Magnesia         .....
     carbonate     -
     sulphate (Epsom salt)   -
         crystallized   -
 Magnesium.....
 Manganese  -  ,  -
     deutoxide  (black oxide)   -
 Mannite.....
 Massicot. See  Lead, protoxide.
 Mercury or Hydrargyrum
     acetate of  protoxide
         crystallized    ...
     ammoniated (white precip.)
     bichloride  (corros. sublimate)
     bicyanuret (prussiate)
     biniodide     ....
     bisulphate of  deutoxide
     bisulphuret (cinnabar)
     deutoxide  (red precipitate)
     nitrate of deutoxide -
     nitrate of protoxide -
     protiodide     -
     protochloride  (calomel)
     protosulphuret     ...
     protoxide (black oxide)
     sesquiodide   -
     subsulphate of deutox.  (turpeth min.)
     sulphate of protoxide
Minium. See Lead, red oxide.
Molybdenum      ....
Morphia     ....
     acetate   ....
     muriate  -
         crystallized
Composition and Symbol
      3 acid+8 base
      1 acid + 1  base
  1 chlorine + 1  lime
  -  1 water+1  base

      1 acid + 1  base
      1 acid+1  base
          L
     Mg+O
   1 acid + 1 base
   1 acid + 1 base
    1 salt+7 water
        Mg
        Mn
     Mn + 20
 7H+6C + 60

       .Hg
   1 acid+1 base
    1 salt+4 water
1 calomel+ 1 amide
     Hg+2C1
     Hg+2Cy
     Hg+2I
   2 acid+1 base
     Hg+2S
     Hg+20
   1 acid + 1 base
   1 acid+1 base
     Hg+I
     Hg+Cl
     Hg+S
     Hg+O
    2Hg+3l
   2 acid + 3 base
   1 acid 4-1 base
     sulphate -
         crystallized
Narcein
Nickel
Nitre.  See Potassa, nitrate.
Nitrogen.....
Olefiant gas   -
Orpiment.  See Arsenic, sesquisulphuret.
Osmium.....
Oxygen      -
         Mo
20H+35C + 6O+N
     1 acid+1 base
     1 acid+1 base
     1 salt+6 water
     1 acid + 1 base
     1 salt+6 water
20H+28C + 12O+N
          Ni

          N
       2II+2C

          Os
          0
Equivalent.
   442-2
    50*62
    63*92
    37*5

    64-74
    94-98
     6

    20-7
    42-82
    60-8
   123-8
    12-7
    27-7
    43-7
    91-72

   202
   261*48
   297*48
   253*57
   272*84
   254-78
   454-6
   298-2
   234*2
   218
   272*15
   264-15
   328-3
   237-42
   218*1
   210
   782*9
   734-2
   250-1

   47*7
   296*35
   347*83
   332*77
   386*77
   336-45
   390*45
   301*51
   29*5

    14*15
    14*24

   99*7
    8 
Appendix.
1323
Names.	Composition and Symbol.		Equivalent.
Palladium -	.	Pd	53*3
Phosphorus -	.	P	31*4
Platinum ....	.	Pt	98*8
Potassa ....	-	K + O	47*15
acetate ....	-	1 acid + 1 base	98-63
hydrated - - -	-	1 salt + 2 water	116-63
bicarbonate ...	-	2 acid + 1 base	91-39
crystallized	-	1 salt+ 1 water	100-39
binoxalate (salt of sorrel) -	.	2 acid + 1 base	119*63
crystallized	-	1 salt+2 water	137-63
bisulphate ...	-	2 acid + 1 base	127*35
crystallized	-	1 salt+2 water	145*35
bitartrate (cream of tartar)	-	2 acid + 1 base	18011
crystallized	-	1 salt+1 water	189*11
carbonate (salt of tartar) -	-	1 acid+1 base	69-27
chlorate - - - -	-	1 acid + 1 base	122-57
citrate ....	-	1 acid + 1 base	105-63
ferrocyanate. See Potassium, ferrocyanuret.			
hydrate (caustic potassa) -	-	1 water+1 base	56*15
hydriodate. See Potassium,	iodide.		
nitrate (nitre or salt petre)	-	1 acid + 1 base	101*3
oxalate ....	-	1 acid + 1 base	83*39
sesquicarbonate	-	3 acid+2 base	160-66
sulphate (vitriolated tartar)	-	1 acid + 1 base	87-25
tartrate (soluble tartar)	-	1 acid + 1 base	113*63
Potassium or Kalium	.	K	39*15
bromide - - - -	-	K+Br	117.55
chloride -	-	K+Cl	74*57
cyanuret ....	-	K+Cy	65*54
ferrocyanuret -	2 cyan.	potassium+ 1 cyan, iron	185*47
crystallized	-	1 salt+3 water	212-47
iodide -	-	K+I	165-45
iodo-hydrargyrate	1 biniod. mere.+2 iod.potassi		i. 785-5
tersulphuret -	-	K+3S	87*45
Prussian blue.  See Iron, ferrocyanuret.
Prussiate of Mercury.  See Mercury, bicyanuret.
Prussic acid. See Acid, hydrocyanic.
Puce oxide of lead.  See Lead, deutoxide.
Quinia......12H+20C+2O+N
     disulphate (med. sulphate)
          crystallized    -
     muriate  -     -     -    -    -
     sulphate -
Realgar.  See Arsenic, protosulphuret.
Red lead.  See Lead, red oxide.
     precipitate.  See Mercury, deutoxide.
Rhodium     .....
Rochelle salt.  See Tartrate of potassa and soda.
Sal ammoniac. See Ammonia, muriate.
Salicin  -     -     -     -    -    -  29H+42C + 220
Salt of sorrel. See Potassa, binoxalate.
    of tartar.  See Potassa, carbonate.
Saltpetre.  See Potassa, nitrate.
1 acid+2 base
 1 salt+8 water
1 acid + 1 base
1 acid+1 base
R
164-55
369*2
441-2
200*97
204*65
52*2
462*04 
1324
Appendix.
            Names.                   Composition and Symbol.    Equivalent.
 Selenium.....             Se               39-6
 Silica......           Si + 30            46-5
 Silicon......             Si               22-5
 Silver or Argentum    ...             Ag              108
     chloride.....          Ag + Cl            143-42
     cyanuret.....          Ag + Cy           134-39
     nitrate of oxide (lunar caustic) -        1 acid+1 base        170-15
     oxide.....          Ag+O            116
 Slaked  lime.  See Lime, hydrate.
 Soda             .....Na + O             31*3
     acetate.....1 acid + 1 base         82-78
          crystallized   -     -    -     -    1 salt+6 water       136-78
     biborate (borax)    ....   2 acid + 1 base        101-1
     bicarbonate        ...     -   2 acid + 1 base         75-54
          crystallized   -     -     -     -    1 salt+1 water        84*54
     carbonate         ....   1 acid + 1 base         53-42
          crystallized   -                    1 salt+10 water      143-42
     diphosphate (med.  phosphate)       -   1 acid + 2 base        134
          crystallized   ....    1 salt+25 water      359
     hydrate (caustic soda)    -     -      -  lwater+lbase         40*3
     muriate.  See Sodium, chloride.
     nitrate.....1 acid + 1 base         85*45
     sesquicarbonate     ....   3 acid + 2 base        128-96
          hydrated      ....    1 salt+4 water       164-96
     sulphate (Glauber's salt)      -      -   1 acid+1 base         71*4
          crystallized   ....    I salt+10 water      161*4
     tartrate            ....   1 acid+1 base         97*78
 Sodium or natrium     ....        Na               23-3
     chloride (common salt)        -      -      Na + Cl             58-72
 Soluble tartar.   See  Potassa, tartrate.
 Starch.....10H + 12C + 10O          163-44
 Strontia......Sr+O              51-8
 Strontium       .....         Sr               43-8
 Strychnia.....23H + 44C + 40+2N      352-58
 Sugar (cane)     ....    11H + 12C + 110          172-44
     of  lead.   See Lead, acetate of protoxide.
 Sulphate of alumina and potassa (alum)
     1 eq. tersulphate of alumina+1 eq. sulphate of potassa         258-95
         crystallized   ....    1 salt + 24 water      474-95
 Sulphate of ether and etherine      2 acid + 1 ether+1 etherine     146-16
 Sulphur    ......         S                16*1
 Sulphuretted hydrogen.   See Acid, hydrosulphuric.
 Tartar emetic.   See  Tartrate of antimony and potassa.
 Tartrate of antimony and potassa (tartar emetic)
     1 eq. tart, of sesquioxide of antimony+1  eq. tart, of potassa    333-31
         crystallized                        1 salt+3 water       360*31
Tartrate of iron  and potassa
     I eq. tart, of sesquiox. of iron+1  eq. tart, of potassa           260*11
Tartrate of potassa and soda (Rochelle salt)
     1 eq. tartrate of potassa+1  eq. tartrate of soda                  211-41
         crystallized                        l salt+8 water       283*41
Tellurium.....        Te               64*2
Thebaina        ....    14H+25C+30+N        205*15 
Appendix.
1325
            Names.
Thorina
Thorium
Tin or stannum  -
Titanium
Tungsten or wolfram
Turpeth mineral.
Uranium
Urea
Vanadium
Veratria
Verdigris.
Composition and Symbol.
        Th+O
          Th
          Sn
          Ti
          W
                  See Mercury, subsulphate of deutoxide.
                 .....         U
                 .....4H+2C+20+2N
                 .....         V
                                     22H+34C + 60 + N
           See Copper, diacetate of protoxide.
Vitriolated tartar.   See Potassa, sulphate.
Water.   See Hydrogen, protoxide.
White lead.  See Lead, carbonate of protoxide.
     precipitate.  See Mercury, ammoniated.
     vitriol.  See  Zinc, sulphate of protoxide.
Yttria            .     .     .     /   .
Yttrium         .....
Zinc           -
     acetate of protoxide
         crystallized  ....
     carbonate of protoxide (calamine)   -
     chloride     .....
     cyanuret     ....
     iodide       -
     protoxide (flowers of zinc)
     sulphate  of protoxide (white vitriol)
         crystallized   •     -     -
     sulphuret (blende)
Zirconia          ....
Zirconium       ....
   Y+O
     Y
     Zn
1 acid+1 base
 1 salt+7 water
1 acid+1 base
   Zn+Cl
   Zn+Cy
   Zn+I
   Zn+O
1 acid+1 base
 1 salt+7 water
   Zn+S
  2Zr+30
     Zr
Equivalent.
    67-6
    59-6
    58-9
    24-3
    99*7

   217
    60*54
    68*5
   292-23
 40-2
 32*2
 32*3
 91-78
154*78
 62*42
 67*72
 58*69
158*6
 40-3
 80-4
143*4
 48*4
 91*4
 33-7
112* 
1326
Appendix.
 V. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN DIFFERENT THER-
                          MOMETERS.

  In  Fahrenheit's thermometer,  which is universally employed in  this
country and Great Britain, the freezing point of water is placed at 32°, and
the boiling point at 212°, and  the number of intervening degrees is 180.
  The  Centigrade thermometer,  which has long been used in  Sweden,
under the  name of Celsius's thermometer, and is now most generally em-
ployed on the continent  of Europe, marks  the freezing point zero, and the
boiling point 100°.
  In  Reaumur's thermometer, used  in  France  before the revolution, the
freezing point is at zero, and the boiling  point at 80°.
  In De Lisle's thermometer, used in Russia, the graduation begins at the
boiling point, which is  marked zero, while the  freezing point is placed  at
150°.
  From the above statement it is evident that 180 degrees of Fahrenheit are
equal to 100° of the centigrade, 80° of Reaumur, and 150° of De  Lisle;  or
1 degree of the  first is equal to f of a degree of the second, § of a degree  of
the third,  and § of a degree of the  last.   It is easy, therefore, to convert the
degrees of one  into the equivalent number of degrees  of  the other; but  in
ascertaining the corresponding points upon the different scales, it is neces-
sary to take into consideration their different modes of graduation.  Thus,
as the zero of Fahrenheit is 32° below the  point at which  that of the cen-
tigrade and of  Reaumur is placed, this number  must be taken into account
in the calculation.  The  following propositions  will embrace all  the cases
which can arise in relation to the three last mentioned thermometers.  That
of De Lisle is seldom or never referred  to  in works which are read in this
country.
   1.  If any degree on the centigrade scale, either above or below zero,  be
multiplied by 9 and divided by 5, or if any degree of Reaumur  above  or
below zero be multiplied by 9 and divided  by 4, the quotient will, in either
 case, be the number of degrees above or below 32°  or the  freezing point of
Fahrenheit.
   2.  The number of degrees between any point of Fahrenheit's  scale and
 32°, if multiplied by 5 and divided by 9, will give  the corresponding point
 on the centigrade; if multiplied by 4 and divided by 9, will give the cor-
 responding point on the scale  of Reaumur.
   3.  Any degree of the centigrade multiplied by 4 and divided by 5, will
 give the corresponding degree of Reaumur; and conversely, any  degree of
 Reaumur multiplied by 5 and divided  by 4, will  give  the corresponding
 degree of the centigrade. 
Appendix.
1327
                           VI. TABLES,

  SHOWING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY CORRESPONDING WITH THE SEVERAL DE-
               GREES OF DIFFERENT HYDROMETERS IN USE.

  Baume's hydrometer is usually employed in France.  In this instrument,
the sp. gr.  of distilled water is assumed as the zero of the descending scale,
in relation to fluids heavier than itself, while it is  assumed as  10  on the
ascending scale, in relation to lighter fluids.  In the Pharmacopoeia Batava,
a modification of the instrument has been adopted, in which the sp. gr. of
distilled water has been assumed as the zero of both scales.  Beck's hydro-
meter is used in Germany.  In the following tables, the specific gravity of
liquids is  given  corresponding  with  the several degrees of  these  three
hydrometers.
For Liquids lighter than Water.
Dearee 1 of hydro-	Specific Gravi		'V 1	Degree | of hydro-j	Specific Gravity.		
		n Pharm I				[n Pharm.	
meier.	By Baume\	Batava. 1	By Beck.	meter. '	By Baume\	Batava.	By Beck.
o		1000	1-0000	32	0-8638	819	0-8415
1		993	0-9941	33	ff-8584	814	0-8374
2		987	0-9883	34	0-8531	810	0-8333
3		980	0-9826	35	0-8479	805	0-8292
4		974	0-9770	36	0-8428	800 ■	0-8252
5		967	0-9714	37	0-8378	796	0-8212
6		961	0-9659	38	0 8329	792	0-8173
7		954	0-9604	39	0-8281	787	0-8133
8		948	0-9550	40	0-8233	782	0-8095
9		941	0-9497	41	0-8186	778	0-8056
10	1*0000	935	0-9444	42	0-8139	774	0-8018
11	0-9930	929	0-9392	43	0-8093	770	0-7981
12	09861	923	0-9340	44	0-8047	766	0-7943
13	0*9792	917	0-9289	45	0-8001	762	0.7906
14	0-9724	911	0-9239	46	0-7956	758	
15	0-9657	906	0-9189	47	0-7911	754	
16	0-9591	900	0-9139	48	0-7866	750	
17	0-9526	895	0-9090	49	0-7821	746	
18	0-9462	889	0-9042	50	0-7777	742	
19	0-9399	884	0-8994	51	0-7733		
20	0-9336	878	0-8947	52	0-7689		
21	0-9274	873	0-8900	53	0-7646		
22	0-9212	868	0-8854	54	0-7603		
23	0-9151	863	0-8808	55	0-7560		
24	0-9091	858	0-8762	56	0-7518		
25	0-9032	852	0-8717	57	0-7476		
26	0-8974	847	0 8673	58	0-7435		
27	0-8917	842	0-8629	59	0-7394		
28	0-8860	837	0-8585	60	0-7354		
29	0-8804	832	0-8542	61	0-7314		
30	0-8748	828	0-8500	62	0-7251		
31	0-8693	823	0-8457			'	
 
1328
Appendix.
For Liquids heavier than Water.
Degree of hydro-	Sp	;cific Grav In Pharm.	ity.	Degree of hydro-	Sp<	cific Grav	ity.	
						In Pharm.		
meter.	By Baum6.	Batava.	ByEeck.	meter.	By Baum6.	Batava.	By Beck.	
0	1*0000	1000	1*0000	41	1*3947	1398	1-3178	
1	1*0070	1007	1*0059	42	1*4082	1412	1	3281
2	1*0141	1014	1*0119	43	1-4219	1426	1	3386
3	1*0213	1022	1*0180	44	1-4359	1440	1	3492
4	1*0286	1029	1*0241	45	1*4501	1454	1	3600
5	1*0360	1036	1*0303	46	1*4645	1470	1	3710
6	1*0435	1044	1-0366	47	1-4792	1485	1	3821
7	10511	1052	1-0429	48	1*4942	1501	1	3944
8	1-0588	1060	1*0495	49	1*5096	1516	1	4050
9	1-0666	1067	1*0559	50	1*5253	1532	1	4167
10	10745	1075	1*0625	51	1*5413	1549	1	4286
11	1-0825	1083	1*0692	52	1*5576	1566	1	4407
12	1-0906	1091	1*0759	53	1*5742	1583	1	4530
13	1-0988	1100	1.0828	54	1-5912	1601	1	4655
14	1*1071	1108	1*0897	55	1-6086	1618	1	4783
15	1*1155	1116	1-0968	56	1-6264	1637	1	4912
16	1-1240	1125	1*1039	57	1-6446	1656	1	5044
17	1-1326	1134	1*1111	58	1*6632	1676	1	5179
18	1-1414	1143	1*1184	59	1*6823	1695	1	5315
19	1*1504	1152	1-1258	60	1*7019	1714	1	5454
20	1-1596	1161	11333	61	1*7220	1736	1	5596
21	1*1690	1171	1*1409	62	1-7427	1758	1	5741
22	1*1785	1180	1*1486	63	1-7640	1779	1	5888
23	1*1882	1190	1*1465	64	1*7858	1801	1	6038
24	1*1981	1199	1*1644	65	1-8082	1823	1	6190
25	1*2082	1210	11724	66	1-8312	1847	I	6346
26	1*2184	1221	1-1806	67	1-8548	1872	1	6505
27	1-2288	1231	1*1888	68	1-8790	1897	1	6667
28	1*2394	1242	1*1972	69	1-9038	1921	1	6832
29	1*2502	1252	1-2057	70	1*9291	1946	1	7000
30	1*2612	1261	1-2143	71	1*9548	1974	1	7172
31	1*2724	1275	1-2230	72	1*9809	2002	1	7347
32	1-2838	1286	1*2319	73	2*0073	2031	1	7526
33	1*2954	1298	1-2409	74	20340	2059	1	7708
34	1*3072	1309	1-2500	75	2-0610	2087	1	7895
35	1*3190	1321	1*2593	76		2116	1	8085
36	1*3311	1334	1*2687	77			1	8280
37	1*3434	1346	1-2782	78			1	8478
38	1*3559	1359	1-2879	79			1	8681
39	1*3686	1372	1*2977	80			1	8889
40	1*3815	1384	1*3077					
 
Appendix.
1329
   The French Codex employs Baume's hydrometer to indicate the density
of  liquids heavier than water;  but,  for those lighter than water,  it has
recourse to the  instrument of Cartier, as the one most  diffused in com-
merce.   This differs from  Baume's  only in a slight modification  of the
scale.   In both, the lowest point is 10°; but 30° of Cartier corresponds
with 32° of Baume, so that 20 degrees of the former are equivalent to  22
of the latter.  The following table, extracted  from  the Codex, shows the
value of the several  degrees of Baume's scale in those of Cartier's.  The
centesimal alcoholmeter of Gay-Lussac is applicable only to alcohol. The
scale of this instrument is divided into 100 unequal degrees, the zero cor-
responding to pure  water, and  100° to absolute  alcohol; and  every inter-
mediate degree expresses the per centage of pure alcohol contained  in the
liquors examined.   Thus, when  the instrument stands at 40°, in any alco-
holic liquid,  it indicates that 100 parts  of the liquid contain  40 of pure
alcohol and  60 of  water.   But  as it was graduated  for the  temperature of
59° of Fahrenheit, the liquors to be tested should be brought to that tempe-
rature.    In page  62 of this Dispensatory is  a table  indicating  the specific
gravity corresponding with each per centage of alcohol, and consequently
with each degree  of the alcoholmeter; and as, in the second  table given
below,  the value of Cartier's degrees in those of the alcoholmeter is  stated,
there can be  no difficulty in converting the  degrees  of any one of these
instruments into those of another, or of ascertaining the specific gravity to
which they respectively correspond.
Table showing the Value of the Degrees of Baume's Hydrometer in
                       those of Cartier's.
Baume\	Cartier.	Baume\	Cartier.	Baume\	Cartier.
10	10	23	21-94	36	33-88
11	10-92	24	22-85	37	34-80
12	11-84	25	23-77	38	35-72
13	12 76	26	24-69	39	36-63
14	13 67	27	25*61	40	37-55
15	14-59	28	26*53	41	38*46
16	15-51	29	27*44	42	39*40
17	16-43	30	28-38	43	40-31
18	17-35	31	29 29	44	41*22
19	18-26	32	3031	45	42*14
20	19-18	33	31*13	46	43*06
21	20-10	34	32-04	47	43-98
22 —■----------------------------------------------	21*02	35	3296	48	44*90
 
1330                        Appendix.
Table showing  the  Value  of the Degrees of Cartier's Hydrometer in
           those of  Gay-Lussac's centesimal Alcoholmeter.
Cartier.	Centesimal Alcohometer.	Cartier.	Centesimal Alcoholmeter.	Cartier.	Centesimal Alcoholmeter.
10	0*2	22	58*7	34	86-2
11	5-1	23	61*5	35	88
12	11*2	24	64*2	36	89-6
13	18*2	25	66-9	37	91-2
14	25*2	26	69-4	38	92-7
15	31*6	27	71*8	39	94*1
16	36-9	28	74	40	95*4
17	41*5	29	76*3	41	96*6
18	45*5	30	78*4	42	97-7
19	49*1	31	80-5	43	98-8
20	52*5	32	82-6	44	99-8
21	55*6	33	84*4		
 
INDEX.
Abbreviations, table of 1308
Abelmoschus escu-
   lentus              1260
Abelmoschus mos-
   chatus             1260
Abies balsamea         710
Abies Canadensis       544
Abies communis       543
Abies excelsa          543
Abies nigra            710
Abies pectinata         710
Abies picea        543, 710
Abies taxifolia         710
Abietis resina         543
Absinthic acid           5
Absinthium              4
Absolute alcohol        60
Acacia                  5
Acacia Adansonii         6
Acacia Arabica           6
Acacia catechu         192
Acacia decurrens         6
Acacia Ehrenbergiana    6
Acacia floribunda         6
Acacia gummifera        6
Acacia karroo           6
Acacia Nilotica           6
Acacia nostras           7
Acacia Senegal           6
Acacia seyal             6
Acacia tortilis           6
Acacia vera              6
Acacia? verae succus      7
Acer saccharinum      614
Aceta                 773
Acetate of ammonia, so-
   lution of             831
Acetate of copper, crys-
   tals of              291
Acetate of iron         954
Acetate of iron, tincture
   of                  955
Acetate of lead         549
Acetate of mercury     978
Acetate of morphia    1039
Acetate of potassa     1082
Acetate of soda         668
Acetate of zinc        1213
Acetate of zinc,  tinc-
   ture of             1214
Acetated tincture of
   opium              1180
 Acetic acid            780
 Acetic acid, aromatic   779
 Acetic acid, campho-
   rated                778
 Acetic acid, diluted     783
 Acetic ether           1222
 Acetic extract of colchi-
   cum                 938
 Acetification            15
 Acetone                782
 Acetosella               12
 Acetum                 13
 Acetum Britannicum    13
 Acetum cantharidis     775
 Acetum colchici        776
 Acetum destillatum     773
 Acetum Gallicum        13
 Acetum opii            776
 Acetum scillas          777
 Acetum vini             13
 Achillea millefolium   1222
 Acid, absinthic           5
 Acid, acetic            780
 Acid, aconitic           54
 Acid, amygdalic         90
 Acid, anchusic        1225
 Acid, antimonic   105, 106
 Acid, antimonious      106
 Acid, aromatic acetic   779
 Acid, aromatic sulphuric 797
 Acid, arsenic            17
 Acid, arsenious         17
 Acid, asparmic          76
 Acid, aspartic           76
 Acid, benzoic           784
 Acid, boracic           669
 Acid, caffeic           1246
 Acid, cahincic         1236
 Acid, camphorated ace-
   tic                  778
 Acid, camphoric        155
 Acid, carbonic          859
 Acid, carthamic        181
 Acid, caryophyllic      488
 Acid, catechuic         194
 Acid, eerie             200
 Acid, cevadic           609
 Acid, chlorohydric       31
 Acid, cinnamic         489
 Acid, citric              27
 Acid, colophonic        585
 Acid, coniic            266
Acid, crotonic           503
Acid, cyanohydric      786
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
dro Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
Acid,
 diluted acetic      783
 diluted muriatic   792
 diluted nitric      793
 diluted phosphoric 795
 diluted sulphuric  798
 ellagic            341
 elaidic            481
 etherosulphuric    810
 eugenic           488
 ferric             327
 gallic             341
 gambogic         345
 gentisic           347
 glacial phosphoric 796
 glucic            618
 guaiacic          360
 hircic             662
 hydriodic        1261
 hydrochloric      31
 hydrocyanic       786
 hydrosulphuric    974
 hypermanganic    445
 hypo-picrotoxic    252
 hyposulphuric     696
 hyposulphurous    696
 igasuric           477
 iodic             391
 iodous            391
 kinic             239
 krameric         419
 lactic            1269
 lobelic            434
 manganic         445
 margaric         630
 meconic          517
 medicinal hy-
cyanic             789
 melassic          618
 metaphosphoric    796
 muriatic          31
 myronic     664, 665
 nitric             35
 nitromuriatic      793
 oleic             630
 oxalic            1279
 palmic            497
 paratartaric       728
 peclic             180
 periodic           391
 picrotoxic         252
 pinic             585
 polygalic         650
 prussic            786
 pure sulphuric     799 
1332
Index.
Acid, pyroligneous       41
Acid, raceinic          728
Acid, rhabarbaric       595
Acid, subadillic         609
Acid, saccharic         617
Acid, sac-hulmic       617
Acid, saliculous         623
Acid, silvic             585
Acid, stearic            630
Acid, succinic          796
Acid, sulphovinic       810
Acid, sulphuric          43
Acid, sulphurous        696
Acid, tanacetie         704
Acid, tannic            800
Acid, tartaric            49
Acid, turpentinic        500
Acid, ul.nic             726
Acid, valerianic         731
Acid, veratric           609
Acid, virgineic         650
Acida                 779
Acids                  779
Acidulous water of
  carbonate of soda   1125
Acidum aceticum       780
Acidum aceticum cam-
  phoratum             778
Acidum aceticum dilu-
  tum                 783
Acidum arseniosum      17
Acidum benzoicum      784
Acidum citricum         27
Acidum hydriodicum  1261
Acidum hydrochloricum  31
Acidum hydrochloricum
  dilutum              792
Acidum hydrocyanicum  786
Acidum hydrocyanicum
  dilutum              786
Acidum lacticum     1269
Acidum muriaticum      31
Acidum muriaticum di-
  lutum                792
Acidum nitricum        35
Acidum nitiicum dilu-
  tum                 793
Acidum nitromuriati-
  cum                 793
Acidum oxalicum     1279
Acidum phosphoricum
  dilutum              795
Acidum pyroligneum     41
Acidum succinicum      796
Acidum sulphuricum     43
Acidum sulphuricum
  aromaticum          797
Acidum sulphuricum
  dilutum              798
Acidum sulphuricum
  purum               799
Acidum sulphuricum
  venule                43
Acidum tannicum       800
Acidum tartaricum       4')
Aeipenser huso         387
Aeipenser ruthenus     387
Aeipenser stellatus      387
Aeipenser sturio        387
Aconite                 52
Aconitia           54, 803
Aconitic acid            54
Aconitina          54, 803
Aconitum               52
Aconitum anthora        52
Acouilum cammarum    52
Aconitum lycoctonum    52
Aconitum napellus       53
Aconitum neoinontanum  53
Aconitum Neubergense   53
Aconitum paniculatum   52
Aconitum uncinatum     53
Acorus                 144
Acorus calamus         145
Actaea alba            1222
Actaea Americana      1222
Actae.i racemosa        211
Aotsea rubra           1222
Actaea spicata         1222
Adeps                  55
Adeps ovillus praeparatus
                       662
Adeps suillus praeparatus  55
Adhesive plaster   921,922
Adiatitum capillus  ve-
  neris                1222
Adiantum pedatum     1222
Administering medi-
  cines, mode  of      1305
/Erugo                290
jEsculus hippocasta-
  nnm                1223
.Ether aceticus        1222
./Ether hydrocyanicus  1261
iEther rnuriaticus     1273
.Ether nitrosus         814
/Ether sulphuricus     805
-dEtherea              805
-Ethiops vegetabilis   1253
Agaric                1223
Agaric of the oak      1223
Agaric,  purging       1223
Agaric,  white          1223
Agathis Damarra       713
Agathotes chirayta     209
Agave Americana     1224
Agrimonia eupatoria  1224
Agrimony, common    1224
Aix la Chapelle water    113
Ajuga chamaepitys    1224
A.il,£a pyramidalis    1224
Aj.iga reptans        1224
Alantin                389
Albumen as an antidote
  for corrosive sublimate 983
Albumen ovi           529
Albumen, vegetable     724
Alcece -E^yptiaces     12ti0
Alchemilla vulgaris    122.5
Alcoales                62
Alcohol, Lond., Ed., Dub.
                    59,60
Alcohol, U.S.           57
Alcohol, absolute        60
Alcohol, ammoniated   833
Alcohol as a poison      63
Alcohol, diluted        822
Alcohol dilutum        822
Alcohol, preparations of 822
Alcoholic extract of aco-
  nite                 934
Alcoholic extract of bel-
  ladonna             936
Alcoholic extract of hem-
  lock                941
Alcoholic extract of hen-
  bane                944
Alcoholic fermentation   58
Alcoholic potassa      1081
Alcoholmeter, Gay-Lus-
  sac's centesimal     1329
Alcornoque           1225
Aldehyd                15
Alder, American      1226
Alder, black           574
Alder, common Euro-
  pean               1226
Ale                   740
Alembic               760
Aleppo scammony      642
Aletris                 64
Aletris farinosa         64
Alexandria senna      653
Algae and fuci, ashes of 672
Alhagi Maurorum      447
Alisma plantago      1225
Alizarin               602
Alkalimetry           565
Alkanet              1225
Alliaria officinalis     1225
Allium                 64
Allium cepa            66
Allium porrum        559
Allium sativum         65
Allspice               539
Almond confection     892
Almond emulsion     1029
Almond mixture      1029
Almond oil soap       631
Almonds, bitter      88, 90
Almonds, sweet      89, 90
Alnus giutinosa       1226
Alnus serrulata       1226
Aloe                   67
Aloe arborescens     67,72
Aloe Barbadensis       67
Aloe commelyni         67
Aloe hepatica           67
Ah.e Indica         67, 71
Aloe multiformis        67
Aloe purpurascens    67, 72
Aloe Socotorina         67
Aloe Socotrina          68
Aloe spicata            68
Aloe vera               68
Aloe vulgaris           68
Aloes                  67
Aloes, Barbadoes        71 
Index.
1333
Aloes, Bethelsdorp	69
Aloes, caballine	72
Aloes, Cape	69
Aloes, fetid	72
Aloes, hepatic	71
Aloes, horse	72
Aloes, Mocha	72
Aloes, shining	69
Aloes, Socotrine	69
Aloesin	73
Aloetic pills	1059
 Alpinia cardamomum   177
 Alpinia galanga       1254
 Alteratives               3
 Althaea                 75
 Althaea officinalis        75
 Althaea rosea            76
 Alum                  76
 Alum, ammoniacal      77
 Alum cataplasm        883
 Alum, dried            823
 Alum, preparations of   823
 Alum-root             369
 Alumen                 76
 Alumen exsiccatum     823
 Alumen siccatum       823
 Alumina                78
 Alumina, sulphate  of   1295
 Aluminas sulphas      1295
 Amber                 693
 Ambergris            1226
 Ambra grisea          1226
 Ambrein              1226
 American agave       1224
 American aloe         1224
 American centaury     611
 American columbo      336
 American dittany      1250
 American hellebore     734
 American ipecacuanha
                  323, 353
 American sanicle       369
 American senna        188
 American silver fir      710
 American spikenard     116
 Amidin                 95
 Ammonia               80
 Ammonia, bicarbonate of 824
 Ammonia, carbonate of 824
 Ammonia, hydrochlo-
  rate of                84
 Ammonia, hydrosul-
  phuret of             827
 Ammonia, muriate of    84
 Ammonia, preparations
  of                   824
 Ammonia, sesquicarbo-
  nate of              825
 Ammonia, solution  of    828
 Ammonia, spirit of    832
 Ammonia, stronger so-
  lution of             82
Ammonia, water of    828
Ammoniac             86
Ammoniac mixture    1029
Ammoniac plaster      911
        113
Ammoniacum	86
Ammoniae acetatis aqua 831	
Ammoniae aqua	828
Ammoniae aqua fortior 82	
Ammoniae arsenias	1229
Ammoniae bicarbonas	824
Ammoniae carbonas	824
Ammoniae carbonatis	
aqua	827
Ammoniaecaustic-B aqua 828	
Ammoniae citras	1242
Ammoniae hydrochloras 84	
Ammonite hydrosulphu-	
return	827
Ammoniae liquor fortior 82	
Ammoniae murias	84
Ammoniae sesquicar-	
bonas	824
Ammoniated alcohol	833
Ammoniated copper	897
Ammoniated copper, so-	
lution of	899
Ammoniated iron	974
Ammoniated mercury	1004
Ammoniated tincture of	
castor	1166
Ammoniated tincture of	
guaiac	1173
Ammoniated tincture of	
opium	1180
Ammoniated tincture of	
valerian	1187
Ammonii iodidum	1264
Ammonio-chloride of	
iron	974
Ammonio-chloride of	
iron, tincture of	975
Ammonio-chloride of	
silver	1241
Ammonio-citrate of	
iron	1243
Ammonio-tartrate of	
iron	1226
Ammonium	80
Ammonium, chloride of 85	
Amomum angustifo-	
liurn	176
Amomum cardamomum 176	
Amomum grana para-	
disi	176
Amomum meliqueta	176
Amomum repens	177
Amomum zingiber	749
Amygdala amara 88, 90	
Amygdala dulcis	39, 90
Amygdalse oleum	484
Amygdalic acid	90
Amygdalin	90
Amygdaline soap	631
Amygdalus communis	89
Amygdalus Persica	93
Amylin	95
Amylum	94
Amyris caranna	1239
Amyris commiphora	1232
Amyris elemifera	310
 Amyris Gileadensis   1230
 Amyris kataf          474
 Amyris tomentosum   1296
 Anacardium occiden-
   tale                1226
 Anacyclus officinarum  578
 Anacyclus pyrethrum   578
 Anagallis arvensis     1227
 Anagallis caerulea     1227
 Anamirta cocculus     251
 Anchusa Ilalica       1227
 Anchusa officinalis    1227
 Anchusa tinctoria     1225
 Anchusic acid         1225
 Anderson's pills       1060
 Andira inermis        349
 Andira retusa          349
 Andromeda arborea    1227
 Andromeda mariana   1227
 Andromeda speciosa   1227
 Anemone, meadow    1227
 Anemone nemorosa   1228
 Anemone pratensis    1227
 Anemone Pulsatilla    1228
 Anemonin            1228
 Anethum              96
 Anethum fceniculum    335
 Anethum graveolens     96
 Angelica               97
 Angelica archangelica   98
 Angelica atropurpurea   97
 Angelica, garden        98
 Angelica-tree bark      117
 Angustura              99
 Angustura, false        101
 Anhydrous alcohol      60
 Anhydrous hydrocyanic
  acid             788, 790
 Animal charcoal        171
 Animal charcoal, puri-
  fied                 882
 Animal oil soda soap    632
 Anime               1228
 Anise                 102
 Aniseed,  star           102
 Anisum               102
 Annotta              1228
 Anodyne liniment     1021
 Anodynes               3
 Antacids                3
 Anthelmintics            3
 Anthemis             103
 Anthemis arvensis      103
 Anthemis cotula        278
 Anthemis nobilis        103
 Anthemis pyrethrum    578
 Anthemis tinctoria      103
Anthracite             170
Anthriscus cerefolium  1228
Antilithics               2
Antimonial ointment   1192
Antimonial powder     852
Antimonial wine        847
Antimonic acid     105,106
Antimonii ct potassae
  tartras               837 
1334
Index.
Antimonii oxidum      835
Antimonii oxydum ni-
  tromuriaticum       836
Antimonii oxysulphu-
  retum               848
Antimonii potassio-tar-
  tras                 837
Antimonii sesquisulphu-
  retum               106
Antimonii sulphuretum 106
Antimonii sulphuretum
  aureum             848
Antimonii sulphuretum
  praecipitatum        848
Antimonii sulphuretum
  praeparatum         848
Antimonious acid      106
Antimonium           105
Antimonium diaphoreti-
  cum               1251
Antimonium tartariza-
  tum                 837
Antimony             105
Antimony ash         105
Antimony, crocus of   838
Antimony, nitromuri-
  atic oxide of        836
Antimony, oxide of     835
Antimony, oxychloride
  of                  836
Antimony, oxysulphuret
  of                  848
Antimony, precipitated
  sulphuret of         848
Antimony, preparations
  of                  835
Antimony, prepared  sul-
  phuret of           848
Antimony, sesquioxide
  of                  835
Antimony, sulphuret of 106
Antimony, tartarized   837
Antirrhinum  linaria   1228
Antispasmodics           2
Apis mellifica     198, 455
Apium petroselinum   535
Apocynin             109
Apocynum androsae-
   mifolium            107
Apocynum cannabinum 108
Apotheme            926
Application of heat    758
Approximative mea-
   surement          1316
Aqua                 109
Aqua acidi carbonici   858
Aqua aluminosa Ba-
   teana               824
Aqua ammoniae       828
Aqua anethi           860
Aqua Binelli         1229
Aqua calcis           877
Aqua calcis composita  878
Aqua camphorae       860
Aqua carbonatis sodae
   acidula             1125
Aqua carui            861
 Aqua cassiae           861
 Aqua chlorinii         861
 Aqua cinnamomi      863
 Aqua destillata        855
 Aqua Aomin aurantii   863
 Aqua fluviatilis        111
 Aqua fceniculi         863
 Aqua fontana          111
 Aqua fortis              37
 Aqua lauro-cerasi      864
 Aqua luciae            631
 Aqua menthsa piperitae 864
 Aqua menthae pulegii  864
 Aqua menthae viridis   864
 Aqua phagedaenica 981, 982
 Aqua picis liquidae     865
 Aqua pimentae         865
 Aqua pulegii          864
 Aqua regia            793
 Aqua rosae            865
 Aqua sambuci         866
 Aqua sapphirina       292
 Aquae destillatae       856
 Aquae medicates       856
 Aquilegia vulgaris     1229
 Arabin                  9
 Aralia hispida         116
 Aralia nudicaulis      116
 Aralia racemosa       116
 Aralia spinosa         117
 Araucaria Dombcyi    713
 Arbor vitae            1299
 Arbutus uva ursi      729
 Arcanum duplicatum  571
 Arctium lappa          117
 Arctostaphylos uva ursi 729
 Ardent spirits of com.
   merce                59
 Areca catechu         1229
 Areca nut            1229
 Argel                 653
 Argenti chloridum     1240
 Argenti cyanidum      866
 Argenti cyanuretum    866
 Argenti iodidum      1264
 Argenti nitras          866
 Argenti nitras fusum   866
 Argenti nitratis crystalli
                       871
 Argenti oxidum       1282
 Argentine flowers of
   antimony            105
 Argentum             118
 Argol                 560
 Arica bark             227
 Aricina               236
 Aristolochia clematitis  657
 Aristolochia hastata     659
 Aristplochia hirsuta     658
 Aristolochia Indica     658
 Aristolochia longa      657
 Aristolochia pistolochia 657
 Aristolochia reticulata  659
 Aristolochia rotunda    657
 Aristolochia sagittata   659
Aristolochia semper
  virens               658
Aristolochia serpentaria 658
Aristolochia tomentosa  658
Armoracia             119
Arnica                120
Arnica montana        121
Arnotta              1228
Aromatic acetic acid    779
Aromatic confection    892
Aromatic mixture of
  iron               1031
Aromatic plaster       912
Aromatic powder      1109
Aromatic spirit of am-
  monia               834
Aromatic spirit of vine-
  gar                 779
Aromatic sulphuric acid 797
Aromatic syrup of rhu-
  barb               1151
Aromatic vinegar       779
Aromatic waters, ex-
  temporaneous        765
Arrow-root            449
Arseniate of ammonia 1229
Arseniate of iron      1229
Arsenic acid            17
Arsenic, metallic        17
Arsenic, preparations of 871
Arsenic, protosulphuret
  of                 1288
Arsenic, sesquisulphuret
  of                 .1279
Arsenical paste         20
Arsenical solution      871
Arsenical solution of
  Pearson              18
Arsenici iodidum     1264
Arsenici oxydum album  17
Arsenici oxydum album
  sublimatum         871
Arsenicum album       17
Arsenious acid         17
Arsenious acid as a poison 20
Arsenious acid, tests for  24
Arsenite of potassa, so-
  lution of            871
Art of prescribing me-
  dicines             1304
Artemisia abrotanum      4
Artemisia absinthium     4
Artemisia Chinensis     466
Artemisia contra       122
Artemisia glomerata    122
Artemisia Indica       466
Artemisia Judaica      122
Artemisia moxa        466
Artemisia pontica         4
Artemisia santonica     122
Artemisia vulgaris        4
Arterial stimulants       2
 Artificial camphor      500
Artificial Cheltenham
   salt                1240
Artificial musk        1274 
Index.
1335
Artificial Seltzer water  858
Arum                  ]23
Arum maculatum       123
Arum triphyllum       123
Asagraea officinalis      608
Asarabacca             124
Asarin                 125
Asarum           124, 125
Asarum Canadense      125
Asarum Europaeum     124
Asbolin               1294
Asclepias, flesh-coloured 126
Asclepias gigantea     1237
Asclepias incarnata      126
Asclepias pseudosarsa  1260
Asclepias Syriaca       126
Asclepias tuberosa      127
Asclepias vincetoxicum 1251
Asiatic pills             20
Asparagin              76
Asparagus            1230
Asparagus officinalis   1230
Asparamide             76
Asparmic acid           76
Aspartic acid            76
Aspen                1287
Asphaltum             534
Aspidium              332
Aspidium filix foemina  1230
Aspidium filix mas      332
Asplenium adiantum
  nigrum             1230
Asplenium filix fcemina
                      1230
Asplenium scolopcn-
■ drium               1291
Asplenium trichomanes
                      1230
Assafetida             128
Assafetida mixture     1030
Assafetida pillst       1061
Assafetida plaster       913
Assafcetida             128
Astragalus aristatus     720
Astragalus Creticus      720
Astragalus gummifer    720
Astralagus massiliensis  720
Astralagus strobiliferus  720
Astragalus tragacantha  720
Astragalus verus        720
Astringents               2
Athyrium filix fcemina 1230
Atropa belladonna      137
Atropa mandragora     1271
Atropia                138
Attar of roses           498
Aurantii  aqua           863
Aurantii  cortex         131
Aurantii  oleum         132
Aurantium             131
Aurum                1257
Avena                 134
Avena sativa           134
Avenae farina           134
Avens, purple           351
Avens, root of          352
Avens, water	351
Axungia	55
Aydendron laurel	12S5
Azedarach	134
Azure	1293
            B

Bacher, tonic pills of   943
Balaustines            358
Balm                 456
Balm of Gilead   712, 1230
Balsam apple         1272
Balsam, Canada        712
Balsam, Carpathian     709
Balsam, Hungarian    1289
Balsam of copaiva      271
Balsam of fir          712
Balsam of Gilead      1230
Balsam of Peru        473
Balsam of sulphur 483,1230
Balsam of Tolu        715
Balsam, Riga         1289
Balsam.weed         1263
Balsamina            1272
Balsamodendron Gilea-
  dense              1230
Balsamodendron myrrha 474
Balsamum Canadense   708
Balsamum Carpaticum 1289
Balsamum Gileadense  1230
Balsamum Libani      1289
Balsamum Peruvianum  473
Balsamum Tolulanum   715
Balsamum traumati-
  sm               1163
Balston Spa water      114
Baneberry,           1222
Baphia nitida         1237
Baptisia tinctoria      1231
Barbadoes aloes         71
Barbadoes nuts         705
Barbadoes tar          533
Barbary gum            8
Barberry             1233
Barii chloridum        873
Barii iodidum         1264
Barilla            671,672
Barium               135
Barium, chloride of     873
Bark, Arica            227
Bark, Calisaya         225
Bark, Caribaean        234
Bark, crown           223
Bark, Cusco           227
Bark, gray            224
Bark, Huamilies        225
Bark, Huanuco        224
Bark, Jaen            224
Bark, Lima            224
Bark, Loxa            228
Bark, Maracaybo       231
B irk, new             233
Bark, pale             222
Bark, Peruvian        212
Bark, pitaya           234
Bark, red              229
Bark, St. Lucia        234
Bark, Santa Martha    232
Bark, silver            227
Bark, yellow           225
Barks, Carthagena      230
Barks, false            234
Barley                 372
Barley sugar           617
Barley water           905
Baroselenite           136
Barosma crenata       301
Baryta                 135
Baryta, carbonate of    136
Baryta, muriate of      873
Baryta, preparations of  873
Baryta, sul